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Your video was a gold mine when it comes to this side of an indie author career. I was taking notes on everything you broke down. I really appreciate how transparent you are, and you voiced what I've long suspected of success bias when it comes to indie authorship. I read in a follow up to a comment here that your book cover artist Rena, and I think her work is really beautiful on your cover. As a cover artist and professional illustrator myself I'm glad you provided that as I seek to live the double life of setting up my book cover artist site and my author site (will thankfully save me expenses on that as well!). I look forward to hearing more of your experience, and I'm very optimistic you'll only continue building your audience! :D

Looking at Ingram Spark right now. They will sell on Amazon for you. Do you recommend doing amazon sales separately? Would I make more money that way? Thank you.

I kinda felt the same. Lots of the book I enjoyed, but certain parts I found myself wondering what the heck was going on! Still, overall I liked it and will deffo continue the series 👍👍

Hi! Thank you so much for the video. I am also an indie author and I relate to this so much. My first book came out last year and I had/still have a very similar experience.

When you sell your books in person, can you talk about where you sell them?

Thanks for making this video. WOW pretty discouraging if you are an author. I am a reader and sure am glad of you authors. Thanks go out to the authors. .

I think there is something more happening with Alix. It sees to me she planned death of Nathan. Remember the title “None of this is true“, which makes me think that Alix is far from innocent. She only cared about her social status and what people would say about her drinking husband. She is also the only one benefiting from all of this, with fame, Netflix deal, etc.

Yay for indie transparency! 🫶🏽 It takes a lot to be so open, especially with numbers, and I really appreciate it! 🥹 I'll be self-publishing two books next Fall - One of them will be free, so the ROI will likely leave me in the red for sure 😂 It's good to know what I'm getting myself into, so thank you!

I think what a lot of people miss is that when an agent or publisher rejects a book, they do so for the reasons they believe a book wouldn't sell well. Whatever those reasons may be, they will also mean that it will be difficult for the same book to sell well if self-published, and that's assuming you have the knowledge, contacts, skills and resources to market your self-published book as well as a publishing house could. Authors who have success when self-publishing probably have books that also would have done well if published traditionally and they also have a lot of skills well beyond those required to be a good author. For the rest of us, querying is our best option, as frustrating as it can be. I have only just begun it and I can already foresee a long hard slog. But I would rather be rejected by a plethora agents and publishers while attempting to find one that loves my book, than to see my book flop because I didn't know how to self-publish, because if that happens I'll never know whether the book was good/marketable enough - only that I couldn't market it. If it fails the traditional route, I'll know it was an issue with the book, and I can try to write a better one.

I’ve never used Canva - I think I downloaded it, saw that (at the time) it was a paid subscription only (I think that’s changed, but maybe I’m mixing it up with another app!) - I’m super interested in hearing more about how you use it for both your chapter headings and your social media marketing! Would you consider doing a video covering that? 😊 Also, huge respect to you for paying living artists when you can, rather than outsourcing to AI because you can’t afford it!

I’ve never used Canva - I think I downloaded it, saw that (at the time) it was a paid subscription only (I think that’s changed, but maybe I’m mixing it up with another app!) - I’m super interested in hearing more about how you use it for both your chapter headings and your social media marketing! Would you consider doing a video covering that? 😊 Also, huge respect to you for paying living artists when you can, rather than outsourcing to AI because you can’t afford it!

My hope. If I have to self-publish. Is that I can at least make back the production costs. Thankfully, I married a formatter and type setter who wants to help me if I end up going the self route. I lack money. I can’t up front foot a publishing bill myself. But damn does the market currently seem horrible for us writers.

Thank you for sharing your story. Keep going in your journey!

Keep up the good fight. First year is always going to be the hardest. It'll soon turn around for ya. By the way you have an amazing book cover. Whoever did it, did a great job. Definitely going to order a copy of your book.

Great video. Really appreciate you sharing cause right now, I am deciding which company to go with on my book and your take really helped me decide.

(Spoilers) I think if we knew how Brooke died we'd have our answer. I do not think that Josie killed her alone. It was either Walter and Josie together, or Roxie did it and her parents helped cover it up. Josie never plans anything, i can't imagine her carrying out this plan alone. I do not believe that Walter would've helped Josie unless he had also done something wrong (resulting in death or accident, no sure or him just previously being a "creep" and worrying Brooke wouldn't keep quiet) I have a hard time believing that Roxie would've seen her first love go missing and just let it go though. So its hard for me to believe she wasn't involved at all. The end of this book tries to make us believe that a grown 40+ man was seduced by a 16 year old and it's all her fault. That's something society has said in the past and it is NEVER true. He was a creep back then and he could be a creep with Brooke.

When you gave the first number, I was like, that's pretty good for just basically 5 months of sales for two books. Then you said how much you spent. OUCH! I appreciate these types of videos that show the reality, even if it is disappointing. I have seen other stories that are similar to yours, even by authors that have more books out than you, so you are not alone. Have you checked out 20 books to 50k? It's a strategy for independent authors to reach five-figure monthly income. I obviously haven't done it as I have no books, but you might find it helpful.

You have a lot of great advice here. And I think you have a great attitude about your author journey so far. I'm hoping for some measure of long-term success as an author myself. Good luck!

Thanks for being transparent. I know other indie authors who have had a similar experience as you, and then other authors who did really well right out of the gate. Super frustrating.

What I noticed in indie authors do not support each other in a way that they could. FOR EXAMPLE, if there was an organized support group, Indie authors could request the books of their fellow indie's AT THEIR LIBRARIES and this would help to a degree boost sales even if they themselves can't afford to support other authors. It does seem like many authors are just in it for themselves and some get lucky. A support system for everyone with the same dream is something that could change things for everyone. But authors don't connect in that way.

Percy knew the baby he left in the rose garden was his because Isabelle wrote about it in her journal (the missing pages). I don't think Meg knew for certain that the baby was his, but I do believe she may have suspected as much. And while it's true that what she did was evil and incomprehensible, it's important to remember that Isabel and Percy weren't without sin. They were both married to other people when they had their affair. In no way does that justify what Meg did, but I hesitate to hold either one of them in high regard. Their decision to become lovers had far-reaching effects across several generations and many decades. So sad!

This is quite the list. I really like the Phoenix and the Crown cover behind you.

I'm curious if you have ever read the Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis, set in the Roman times? (1st book is The Silver Pigs) or the Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian? (1st book is Master and Commander). The Falco books are definitely mysteries, as he is a private detective for the Emperor. On the other hand, the O'Brian books are not true whodunnits but are set during the Napoleonic wars and often involve enough cloak and dagger elements that I still group them with this type of story.

Great recommendations-thank you! 💜

The type editor John Adamus calls agents "pimps". Normally I'd hate this moniker, but with agents, it's pretty accurate. Self pub is hard but it's so much more satisfying and unrestricted!

I just got into this genre this year, so this video was exactly what I was looking for! I'm excited to add some of these series to my TBR. The only one I've read is the Bess Crawford series - I've only read the first couple, but now I'm feeling inspired to get started on the next one!

These are some of my favourite types of books. The Anne Perry books sound so intriguing especially with Anne Perry's own personal backstory. There are two other great series I would suggest. The first is the medieval monk, Cadfael, in a series by Ellis Peters. That series runs 20+ books and is very well done. The next is a series by C. J. Sansom, who sadly just died a couple of weeks ago. That is the Shardlake series about a lawyer in the time of Henry VIII who investigates murders on behalf of the Royal Court.

I so appreciate this review and you articulated so many things that I felt about this book.

ending is left open on purpose. she does that in most of her books

I found this video while looking for comp titles. I’ve read Stroud’s other series, the Bartimaes Sequence and was wondering if he had anything more recent. If you haven’t read them, I definitely recommend them. I will be checking out Lockwood & Co, thank you.

Great video! Thank you for sharing!

This was a timely video to see. I am self-publishing my first book next month. This reminds me of how many folks on Twitter complain, even after they've been accepted through an agent, then passed on to submission or editing, that it is quite common to experience no more replies to their emails, or DM's and months and months go by, then they hear back suddenly that the agent is no longer able to work with them, or the company the agent was with failed, or publisher is no longer interested, or it gets held up in publishing limbo with no release date set, and then years go by if they get their book out at all. Getting accepted by an Agent, or even the publisher, is never a guaranteed path. It seems that with indie/self-publishing booming, trad publishing are becoming even more rigidly gatekept. The few people who do get deals, always happen to have six digit or higher social media followings, or sold a successful book or had a successful Wattpad story. I have chosen the self-publishing route as well, all for the very same reasons. My book isn't perfect, but I'd rather publish it after years of hard work, then sit for years in silence and never share it at all.

No Romance! A YA novel without a love triangle? How did it ever get published? I do like the shorter reviews. Sometimes you like a book just because you like it. (I still miss your biting reviews of books you didn't like, but I understand why you don't do them anymore.) I can totally relate to the MC not wanting to be around people. BTW, I like your earrings. 😁

Great review! 💖 I really enjoy shorter videos for reviews. Most of them are way too long, but yours are the perfect length. About the book: no romance! Finally! I have nothing against romance (I actually really enjoy it) BUT sometimes it's just annoying and I crave a main character (especially a FMC) who doesn't spend half the book thinking about their love interest.

I hated the book. I will no longer be reading books recommended to me. This is the third one I absolutely did not like.

3:10 We'll take whatever we can get 😅 Great review. It's always fun hearing your thoughts on what you're reading.

100% Roxy killed Brooke. When Erin woke in the hospital it was hinted that Roxy told Erin what she had to say. It 100% was because she was making Erin say it was Josie. This discussion and these comments make me feel more confused about the whole thing when I was not confused listening to the actual book 😂

I just finished this book and it is absolutely one of the most wild and unpredictable stories I’ve come across. I love to have a conclusive ending, but I actually kind of enjoyed this one that had complete open ending to it. I listen to a lot of true crime podcast that you don’t always catch the killer And spoiler alert… This one is that. I knew the story was “None of this is true” yet I continued to believe Josie until I didn’t. But by the end, I have no idea who to believe or what to believe. Overall, I thought this excellently written because it’s is very relatable to real life stories that don’t have a resolution and we can always hope our “fantasy/fiction” stories have a proper ending but that is not a requirement of any genre at all. I am someone who thrives on skimming and skipping to the next page to find out what happens and I could not do that with this book as a new page. Personally, I would highly recommend and… I think the true story of the night Brooke died has still not been told

Thank you, Rachel. Very good, clear video. I have gotten a few proofs for my upcoming book through Amazon. Will do IngramSpark for their distribution to bookstores and libraries. Took Amazon only a couple of days to get me my proofs. Three weeks for IS? Egad! I will have to factor in how slow they are and see how it affects my marketing plans. Wishing you all success!

Ok, I kind of think Roxy did kill Brooke though, because otherwise there is no payoff regarding her violent tendancies and record of bad behavior in the rest of the book. With a mom like that, a dad like that, a grandma like that, it makes sense to me that Roxy would lash out in a way that caused Brooke's accidental death. The follow up of Erin and Roxy threatening to tell everyone and Walter planning the cover up, though, I think is where the story becomes more fictional.

Yay! A new video! It's been a hot minute.

I like your book reviews Rachel. You're views are really smart and informative. :)

Such a disappointment. I listened to the audiobook and it was a great start. It hooks the reader. The crime podcast format of hearing from different angles were great but story fall flat, with a twist that didn't measure up to the built up. I honestly expected the ending to be part of Alex's big imagination of creating a fictional tale to get big ratings for her podcast since the title of the book does say "none of this is true" but to give us a lame story of Josie killing her husband by accident or to free Alex from an alcoholic husband was very poorly drawn plotline. This was my first book reading from this author and I'm not impressed.

Yuck. Trash publisher for a trash author.

Thank you for the comparison. Solid speech.

I'm surprised that you didn't mention the skull. An important character. I agree, this is a fine YA series.

Thankyou - very helpful. Given that my epic sf novel is at least 600 pages, I like the sound of IngramSpark.

I felt so sad that Meg knew the baby survived but let Percy believe it had died because of him. Basically extra payback for cheating. She is truly evil

The author did a great job of making me think every character was sus 😂 really had no idea who was the murderer until the very end

Just finished it, loved it so much !! So many twists and exciting conclusions