Whenever You Remember

The Truth, here it is. Please read.

Hello there.

If you are reading this, then I hope you know what a pleasure it has been to write for your eyes to read. Writing on wattpad has been me, truly stepping out of my comfort zone and opening myself up to others through my writing. It is a deeply personal endeavor, a cathartic experience that has helped my mental health over the years as I process my own daily emotions.

The stories on my profile I worked on during my high school years. Getting to Know the Bad Boy, I wrote in less than 6 months when I was 16 years old. Typing it mostly on the notepad of my phone, until 2am some nights sacrificing my sleep during my studies, to write 24 chapters and 72,409 words.

With the support of the wattpad community, I began a second work, Whenever You Remember. This one, I was focused and heavy set on perfectionism. I've read it in its entirety and edited it meticulously many many times, having started in when I was 16 and finishing it in about a year and a half. This one, 28 chapters and a whopping 96,328 words. When it was done, I was so proud of myself for finishing.

So proud, when I was approached by someone about publishing it, I was thrilled! Eventually I explored a couple options and sought out another publisher and by the time I was starting college at 18, I had a book in the works to be published. My dream ever since I was 5 years old and wrote a story about a 3 legged parrot in need of a friend.

But, long story short, this publishing match ended up not being one made in heaven. Despite having sales, I never received a dime from them, despite having contributed money to the publishing process. The company went under, was sued, and I felt extensive embarrassment over the whole situation. I still feel like I was naive and foolish, and it's been admittedly a little hard for me to devote the time and energy in to writing after feeling like I had been so obviously taken advantage of.

For a time, I had removed chapters 4-28 of Whenever You Remember from wattpad. But, now, I have re-uploaded all of them. It is difficult for me to read now, but I appreciate and cherish the story for what it stands for at the time of life I wrote it. It is a teen fiction novel, and it checks the boxes for attracting a young audience, which was my whole goal! I'm now 23 years old, and at times I read the words I wrote and thank heavens my writing style has evolved over the years.

Lately, I've been finding the courage to begin a new story-- not quite like others I've written, but I'm ready to break down the barrier and explore writing again. From a new perspective, from an older age, from a person who has grown in to a readiness to accept the ups and downs of writing publicly.

If you're in for it, I am too. Thank you for your support over the years, it really warms my heart and gives me so much motivation to see how people read my stories! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading here with me, and being so positive when you didn't even know how much I needed it.

With love,

the truly missindependent :)