Note: In celebration of The Indie Tea’s 10-year anniversary, I’m sharing my favorite posts, moments, and memories throughout the year <3

1. Before you hit publish, you need to know that someone out there will hate your book. Absolutely *can’t believe this crap is allowed on the face of the earth* type of HATE it. And, that’s okay. It’s more than okay because even when somebody realllyyyy hates it, somebody else will reallllyyy love it. And they’re going to love it HARD.

2. You can’t please everyone, and you can’t be perfect. If you truly want to write a perfect book, leave the pages blank. And if you genuinely want to please everyone, never do a single thing.

3. No matter how many copies you sell on release day (whether it’s one, ten, or one hundred, you are a success. You wrote and published a book while millions of others can only say, “One day I’ll write a book.” You did it.

4. You will always get the following type of feedback on your work, so you might as well accept it right now: 1) I was disappointed. 2) It was nothing like I thought it would be. 3) I expected more. 4) Not my fave by this author. **Re-read point number 2

5. So-and-so’s ranking and So-and-so’s drama will not pay your bills at the end of the month. Those things won’t earn you more readers or spur more sales for you, so do your best to ignore all of that. Focus on yourself and what you need to do to get the life and career you want.

6. Have some common sense. The indie-book world is a small one, but it’s a lot bigger than you think. Before you put up a rant–about anything, I want you to imagine a new reader randomly falling in love with one of your books. This reader looks you up on Facebook to tell you just how much she loved it, but the first thing she sees is a rant about your drama and all these mean things you just *had* to get off your chest. So instead of her posting a friendly message on your wall, she’s making a mental note to never purchase anything you write ever again. (Now, multiply that by about 100. Not worth it. It’s never worth it.)

7. Know that no one owes you a living. Just because you chose to be an author doesn’t mean that you deserve sales, success, or readers. You’ll have to work your ass off and make it happen–especially in today’s crowded market. (How do you know you’re working your ass off? You don’t make excuses. You make time. You don’t follow other people’s drama. You follow your dreams.)

8. Know that to be successful, you have to accept that everyone will not like you. It’s not your job to be liked. It’s your job to write. You can’t afford to waste your time trying to get anyone on your bandwagon because life is way too short to care what someone else thinks of you.

9. Accept that every time you make an excuse as to why you can’t do something, you’re only cheating yourself. The only person in control of your career is you, so you are responsible for doing all you can to make it the best career possible.

10. LISTEN. Listen to the people who try to help you. Of course, you’ll have to make tweaks here or there to make the advice suit you. And of course, you can’t follow every suggestion to the letter, but if someone is trying to help you and honestly need their help, what’s the worst that could happen if you listen?

11. There isn’t an 11 for this list. It just looked strange ending this checklist with a question. Besides, the list says “Ten.”

Note: This list was originally published in The Indie Tea’s first-ever newsletter, but all of the points still apply today

Until the next cup of tea,

Whitney G.