Self-Employee of the Month!

 I hate headshots. I know some authors like to put them on their book covers (or in their books). I know some readers like to see them. I think it's the weirdest thing. Humans are an inscrutable race. Nevertheless, every now and then I set up the green screen and the lights, I put on makeup and think about which shirt I wouldn't mind seeing the collar one in a photo, and I take a ton of pictures.

These are some that did not get selected for professional use. Now, I get to use them for entertainment purposes.

And calling back to my previous post about the many hats of a self-publisher, every one of these employees works in a different department, and they are all deserving of an award.

The awards are as follows:

• January - Valerie the Ad Content Writer, for composition and editing of book blurbs
• February - Valerie the Tax Accountant, for completion of business taxes
• March - Valerie the Market Researcher, for blog promotion reconnaissance 
• April - Valerie the Publicist, for her amazing efforts in hosting an online book launch
• May - Valerie in Human Resources, for negotiating a contract with editing services
• June - Valerie the Novelist, for great efforts in writing alien stories
• July - Valerie the Cover Designer, for tireless efforts in designing seven book covers
• August - Valerie in Advertising, for creating promos that doubled our previous month's page reads
• September - Valerie in Layout Editing, for efforts in preparing Book 7 for publication

Seriously, indie authors. Congratulate yourself for the volume and variety of work you do. Celebrate a little bit. I can't wait to see what other awards I get this year!

This dose of happiness was inspired by the Beardo "Self Employee of the Month" comic book. If you need a slice of life comic, check him out!