What motivated you to become an indie author?

When I started, I had no idea what publishing a book entailed. So I began reading about it when I was almost finished writing my manuscript. Then I sent out a letter to a publisher, thinking it was the same as sending an application letter to a company. I worked in a corporate world before and I had written enough job application letters during my business career. Then the more I read about publishing, the more I found out you need a literary agent. I suppose just like selling your home, you need a real estate agent. I can’t argue with that. I was also a real estate agent before.

I read Chuck Sambuchino’s book on Formatting and Submitting your Manuscript and started studying it thoroughly and then started working on my manuscript format and all kinds of things. I sent a query to a literary agent just before Labor Day in 2012. I waited a month but never heard from him. Since it was going into the holidays, I decided to postpone sending queries till the beginning of 2013 and instead started rewriting, editing, and polishing my manuscript. I sent an email query in January and got my first rejection letter. Then I filled up a blank form on a website for another agent. I never heard from her. I found an agent dealing with WWII subject, sent her my query and got a rejection letter within the hour. She could not do anything either.

I was not to be defeated. I started reading about self publishing. That was when I realized I didn’t have to wait years and years to get published. The publishing world is changing. As a former accountant, I analyzed the numbers and the numbers don’t lie. I decided to self-publish. Besides getting more royalty on self publishing, I’m not waiting for twenty years to be published. I don’t have that luxury of time. I’ll be dead by then. I’m 69. I want my book published now before my mother died. She’s 90 and “BAHALA NA (Come What May)” is based on her story. Formatting a manuscript for publication took a lot out of me but I learned a lot and enjoyed the journey. Rewrite, edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite, edit for few more times until I thought it was done. I felt like I was doing my garden. It was constantly changing but the experience was exhilarating seeing my name on the cover of a finished book and I made it to happen. It was all my effort. I created a beautiful book and I did it from start to finish. I sent a copy of “BAHALA NA (Come What May)” to my mother whose story the book was based on. When my mother read the book, she was thrilled and told me she could not help smile seeing her life story in print, I felt it was my best reward. But wait, she said I missed a few things. I guess I have to do a revision someday.