Why My Book Failed

Way back in 2016, I was going through a breakup. It wasn’t just any breakup, it was THE BREAKUP. The relationship had been toxic, but I hadn’t realized that yet. It was the type of relationship that had expired long before we said our final goodbyes to each other.

Throughout that relationship I hadn't been able to put much time into writing. He always wanted me to be with him. I felt smothered and unloved all at once. It's a feeling that's difficult to explain unless you've been in that situation. When the relationship ended, I felt two things: relief and a sense of worthlessness. When you spend a lot of time with someone you can grow used of having them there. I went through a period of trying to adjust to normal life without him. I started to revisit things I liked to do, and that's when I went through my old Word documents. I wasn't sure when I'd started writing Zombie Bite, but there was something about it that drew me to go back to it. Maybe I was putting myself in Zoey's shoes. She'd lost a lot throughout the short story, and I felt that I had too. Part of me also felt like I was getting too old to not have a book published, so I rushed it. I sent my "book baby" into the world with a crappy cover and quality equal to a first draft. I knew the book wasn't my best work, so I didn't promote it. I didn't think of Zombie Bite much after that. It was just there, selling a whopping six copies on Amazon.

Around September 2017 something happened that brought my attention right back to Zombie Bite and my writing in general. An author posted a Facebook post where she was using a hurricane to promote her friend's book. Something in me snapped, and I reacted. I know now that I shouldn't have reacted, but I'm a Louisiana native who had to evacuate during Katrina. Her post hit a nerve with me. I was someone who regularly put my characters through hell, but I found myself getting annoyed with a few words. I thought that the author might see my point, but she didn’t. She sent her fans after me. They started messaging me on Facebook, leaving me rude tweets on Twitter, and rating my book on Amazon. I wish I could say that it didn't bother me, but it hurt almost as much as that breakup. I’ve wanted to be a writer for my entire life, but I felt like I’d lost my chance. Ratings tend to kill indie books faster than they did traditionally published ones. I felt a knot form in my stomach as my finger hovered above the unpublish button. I had already been thinking about unpublishing Zombie Bite, but I didn’t want to give in to the bullying.

It took me about a month, but I decided that I would edit Zombie Bite and republish it. I know my book will start out with negative reviews that had been left in anger, but I really hope that people can see past that and give Zombie Bite a chance. Thank you for reading the story behind the story.