April 11, 2025

Hi! My name is Rachel and welcome to my official newsletter. Join me in the rat race as I work towards publishing my first novel, Heartlines, a New Weird urban fantasy about a trans prince who seeks to fight back against gods messing with his fate.

I’ve only been at this process a few weeks but whew is it a lot of work! I knew that going in, but actually getting my hands dirty, while satisfying, has definitely eaten into my writing time. But! Here’s what I’ve accomplished and learned so far:

1. Finished a draft of the book–technically the third
2. Set up a fuck ton of accounts (KDP, Draft2Digital, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit, Storyorigin, WordPress… there’s probably more I’m forgetting)
3. Commissioned a cover from a very talented artist, who is also one of my best friends
4. Started engaging with people on BookTok–finding like authors to follow and support
5. Made my first few TikToks! They’ve gotten about 100 views each, which I don’t think is too shabby considering I started from nothing
6. Began recruiting beta readers for Heartlines–a few friends, and hopefully some more people I don’t know.
   

Building community has also been a key goal of mine. There are tons of resources available to indie authors if you know where to look. The Indie Authors Ascending Discord server and r/selfpublish on Reddit have both been valuable. I feel like I’ve received a warm welcome and really want to do my part to support other writers too!

Now for the hard part. Marketing. Augh! More to come soon.

With love, Rachel

What I’m reading: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, and 3 beta projects

What I’m watching: Yellowjackets season 3, The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, Pachinko