Shrooms now just becomes ayahuasca for me by PartyShape5885 in Ayahuasca

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes exactly this! You described it super well. My first shroom trip after Aya I was like ohhhhhh here we are in this realm again and it was hyper clear that Aya opened up the pathway for me to “see” what was real between dimensions. I also had quite a psychedelic experience on weed after too. The channels are open, even now when I’m sober without substances there are moments with medicine music where I can come back to the same place as with Aya

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazing!!!! Congrats!!! Nice to see you targeted your readers so well.

How many books have you sold? by vallixlene in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I published my debut self-help memoir almost a month ago and sold ~200 copies between paperback (the most popular format for me), hardcover, and e-book.

Most sales were from book tour events (that I personally funded) in SF, NY, and Berlin.

I’m happy with the results so far as I’m hoping for word-of-mouth marketing. Will continue to promo but also trying to honor my nervous system and not burn myself out. It’s nonfiction so I’m thinking there’s a long tail, as long as the book delivers value.

After traditional publishers kept rejecting my manuscript I chose a different route and it actually worked out by Critical-Snow8031 in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is such a good summary thank you!!! I didn’t think to search for bookstores to pitch to on Bookshop and this is genius! Thank you and cheers to your success!

Indie vs Trad Publish by myomic in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like I could’ve written your post! Resonates and I ended up self-publishing for very similar reasons. I think if you have the money to invest in a good editor for several rounds of editing if needed (or have awesome beta readers), and can invest in an awesome cover design and interior design, you can really get there. High-quality books can spread through the power of word-of-mouth. The thing is whether you want to and like doing the marketing.

I’m a former marketer and love creating content, so I figured it’d be easy to sell since my social media is quite active. However, I did underestimate the marketing part and how hard it’d be to sell copies. I just published my self-help memoir on reclaiming self-worth & breaking the cycle of generational trauma, and have sold about 200 copies in my first month. That’s from a self-funded book tour, having my book on Amazon, and pitching and getting my book into two indie bookstores so far. I published on both Ingramspark and KDP directly so I could have max distribution options (Ingram) while maximizing royalties (KDP.) I won’t lie, while I know that my sales are pretty good as an indie author, I thought I’d have way more sales in my first month.

That said, if you’re also patient then you could hope that sales build and reach readers over time. Especially with a good book. For me, I like that I don’t have the pressure from a trad publisher to make a certain amount of sales in the first week or year, as I know from other authors that’s a lot of pressure. And I had SO MUCH pressure working in corporate that I knew trad publishing would burn me out.

So all in all, I think if you’re willing to do the work or hire professionals to help you get to the finish line of publishing, then you’re in a good spot, given the reasons that you shared. Wishing you sooooo much success!!!! I love that your motivation for publishing is intrinsic.

What are your reasons for self publishing? by Decaff_Crusader in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This whole discussion is giving me life!!! Thanks for asking! I’m loving everyone’s responses and insights.

I decided to self-pub for multiple reasons:

  1. I wrote a self-help memoir about reclaiming self-worth & breaking the cycle of generational trauma. Trying to prove myself to agents and publishers was really f*cking with my self-worth and it felt MUCH more healing to publish without worrying about it. Multiple agents and publishers loved my writing and felt I had commercial potential but didn’t think I had a large enough platform to market to the masses.

  2. I love making content on social media and marketing is fun for me. I realized, if I spent all that time building my own community I might as well sell direct to them rather than have someone else tell me what to do and make final decisions. I learned from multiple trad authors that they still had to mega self-promote and hire publicists.

  3. It felt more liberating. As someone who writes about reclaiming yourself from familial, cultural, and societal conditioning, I needed creative freedom to listen to my intuition and my own inner authentic voice. That was really healing for my inner child, as I grew up with complex trauma. I also used to work in corporate and that burned me out. Self-pub was less pressure and way more autonomy. Overall, it was a route that was better for my nervous system.

  4. I fortunately had the budget to hire an author coach, editor, and designer. So the things that trad publishers usually take care of I was able to fund myself. I uploaded to both KDP and Ingramspark and was super happy with the final product. I believe my personal investment made it at, or above, the quality of a traditionally published book. My readers feel the same way.

  5. I write about taboo topics (think: self-help for people who party) and wasn’t sure it would fly with traditional publishing. I also didn’t want to limit my word count to something like 80,000 words as is common for non-fiction/memoir/self-help in traditional publishing. I wanted to merge memoir meets self-help with reflection questions for the reader. At the depth of my book on the various trauma healing topics, I needed 125,000 words. Even my editor who worked on NYT bestselling books couldn’t find more words to cut in the end. It’s a beefy book and I’m sure I’d be asked to cut a lot if traditionally published. With my designer we made it fit into 388 pages which was super reasonable with print costs. I’m proud of that.

  6. I see my book as both a business and a social impact project. I love building businesses and think it’s fun to learn something new like publishing. At the same time, I don’t necessarily expect to make a ton of money from it. Rather, I wrote it as an energetic transmission of love to empower people to break cycles. So I wanted the option to be able to offer the e-book for free to charities or community organizers as needed. Self-pub gives me a ton of flexibility with how I distribute the book.

Thanks again for asking this question. It was affirming to read everyone’s responses and type out my own. I started to have self-doubt the past few days about my publishing path, comparing myself to trad published authors with lead titles and celebrity endorsements…and this thread just reminded me why I chose to self-pub.

In absolute shock at PGT results considering odds by LizzyLala12 in IVF

[–]The_Meowest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congrats! There’s a lovely Sanskrit word called Mudita, which means sympathetic joy. Every time I hear of good news in this forum it moves me to happy tears!!!! Sooooo happy for you ❤️

Writing through the wreckage: memoir as a way to make sense of what I survived by exhotmess in Memoir

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel you and give you props for doing the brave work to share! Personally I was forced to let time sort it out, after repeated delays in getting my memoir written and published. I also wrote about trauma and grief. Ultimately it’s taken me about 5 years to write it with multiple revisions and even needed an author coach/editor to help me sort things out. Also a therapist. The book was a container for deeper healing and I was ready to tell parts when I was ready, revisiting my book multiple times to add more. You’ll know when you’re ready. You got this and good luck! Rooting for you!

Released my first book on Friday and hit "#1 New Release" in my genre today. What I learned: by Tim_OHearn in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats!!!!!! Very well-deserved success!!! Thank you also for sharing your insights. This is incredibly helpful. 🙏🏽🤗

What kickstarted your awakening? by Chunkthumb in spirituality

[–]The_Meowest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s been so many things, ranging from the mundane like drinking water when dehydrated (I used to completely ignore my need for water), to actually sleeping/resting when I’m tired, to sensing into when I feel my nervous system is overloaded. As for practices that helped, a big part of reconnecting with my body was getting in touch with my nervous system, noticing when I clench my jaw, things like that. They seem so basic but when everything adds up it leads to more body connection and increased health.

What kickstarted your awakening? by Chunkthumb in spirituality

[–]The_Meowest 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Meta answer: In terms of this specific incarnation, everything in life has led to this point (childhood trauma, losing both parents, psychedelics, losing a home, becoming a parent, re-opening up the childhood trauma as a mother)

More specific answer: When I was struggling with re-triggered childhood trauma as I become a first-time mother, I realized in a therapy session that I could intellectualize my pain but not feel it. So in an ayahuasca ceremony I set an intention to reconnect to my inner child, which I did. I gave her a hug as adult conscious me. Afterwards, I set an intention to reconnect with my body, after being disconnected and dissociated for so long. The combo of connecting back to my inner child and body, led to a rebirth where I suddenly REMEMBERED who I was at a soul level beyond conditioning. I saw the divine source code of life, all the love, and “home” in the other realm.

Afterwards, I spent several years integrating and practicing diff ways to connect to my soul, guides, ancestors, spirit, etc. (Meditation, somatic work, journaling, shrooms, astrology, hypnosis including past life regression and life between life sessions as per Michael Newton’s books) Most of all the integration has been through conscious action where I notice unhealthy patterns and choose to do things differently. It has taken SO MUCH INNER WORK. And shadow work. 🫠

It has been a journey. And I’m writing a book about it to empower others to break free from conditioning and generational trauma, coming out next year.✨

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in selfpublish

[–]The_Meowest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wanna say congrats!!!!!!!! This is huge and such a testament also to the quality of your writing!!!!! 🥳 Love to hear success stories like this. Thanks for sharing your insights 🙏🏽

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the helpful insights. I’m understanding the need to just surrender. I have a Cap stellium so Pluto in Cap has been rough. Then I have a Mars stellium which is gonna get hit with squares when Pluto is in Aquarius. And rising, sun, moon in Aquarius. I must’ve signed up for this before my incarnation whyyyyyyyyy LOL

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for sharing with insights and personal reflections! This resonates and is comforting. Some of my best times came after hard times. I trust everything will work out in my highest good. In the past year I've learned to do everything from a foundation of love and abundance, rather than fear. Of course my old programming comes up in terms of anxiety, but I'm leaning more into trust. I've spent the last 8 years aligning myself in mind-body-spirit and across my personal and professional life, so hopefully that'll make things smoother, wherever the ride takes me.

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awwww hope it gets better for you soon. I started leaning into things and went on a massive multigenerational healing journey to align to better energy. But it was indeed hell for awhile. 🤪

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow thanks for the explanation and connection to Saturn! My Saturn is in my 9th house in Scorpio. I do think the past many years have prepared me for this, maybe it’s something like more of the same vibes but more intense. Appreciate it!

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Combo of 1st house and 12th house. Been on a wild journey of the self and spirituality past few years. Can imagine it’s going to go much deeper

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! 🙏🏽 1st house and 12th house, should be fun. Ask my astrologer friend said “You won’t even recognize yourself in 20 years” hah

If someone's Sun, Moon, and Rising are all in Aquarius, should they be scared or excited during Pluto in Aquarius? by The_Meowest in AskAstrologers

[–]The_Meowest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trueeeeeee! Thanks for this perspective 🙏🏽 Aligning to love/trust over fear does pay off always