You’re published, you’ve been making the convention rounds, and things have started to change. Many fellow writers have made social media comments about family and friends treating them differently. Some have shared surprising family and friends support, which I have been lucky to have as well, but many have shared the negative. Something I have also experienced. If you haven’t experienced any changes or haven’t noticed yet, this article is for you. It is to give you a heads up of what may happen as you progress in your career.

You will start experiencing negative feedback. This will come in many forms, but the main one is that you don’t have a real job or that someone doesn’t like your work and offering advice, especially when they have not taken part in this line of work.  Much of the negative you may experience falls into myths and stereotyping us indies by those that are not. I wrote an article called The Word: Mythbusting – Stereotypes and Misconceptions of Self-pubbing and independent pubbing that covered many misconceptions about being self-published, independently published, or even being a hybrid.

You may even experience name-dropping. From what I’ve read some have experienced the unwanted use of their name from others trying to gain something in the favor. It must be nice to be one of those not helping but wanting to benefit from your work, right? You put in months or even years on building yourself up just for someone that may or may not know you to try and use your name.

The above one can sometimes even stir worries within yourself. Who really are your friends? Are they only your friend to try and gain something? This will be a change that may begin, so keep aware of who you keep the company with.

Being approached. It happens, it can be nice. People wanting to work with you more is always wonderful, but you must be cautious. Sometimes they’re not the type of people you want your name connected to. On the other hand, fans approaching is always nice. Meeting someone who loves your work can be a moral boost if it’s a positive interaction.

Sales Fluctuation. It goes up and it goes down. It happens to everyone. Just like with reviews you’ll get some good ones and you’ll get some bad ones. You cannot please everyone with your work. Remember even the greatest writers couldn’t please everyone or even was denied publication several times.

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Have you experienced any of these? Let me know!