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State of the Estelle // Q3 2025

calendar outline 11 September 2025

Allow me to (re)introduce myself! Hi! I’m Estelle Van de Velde, and I’m a Belgian indie author!

If you’re here, that means that once upon a time you found me or my work valuable in some way, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. I hope you’ll continue to stick around because there’s a lot of really awesome things coming your way!

But first, how about a recap? I feel all over the place, so it would actually be good for me too.

And if you’d like the audio version, check out my YouTube channel below.

In my notebook

I started my self-publishing journey in 2021 when I released The Londoners, a memoir about the five years I lived in the UK. I had a YouTube channel back then (more on that later) and I was very determined in making it as a full-time author.

In 2022, I released the French translation of The Londoners. And in 2023, I released SEO for Authors, a guide on how to optimize your content for search engines like Google (and a little bit on Amazon too).

Then, things derailed from there.

I stopped being consistent with my videos on YouTube. I even wanted to shift my content because I was pivoting in my professional life and hoped I’d be more visible for a potential job. I also had a hard time finding time for writing and self-publishing and marketing my books because I had a beautiful son in May 2022. In summary, my family and professional life were taking the lead while my bookish life got into hibernation.

This ends now: I’m BACK!

I’ve got a few things on the back burner I’m dying to tell you about.

Time is still scarce as of now. My son just turned 3 last May, and I’m spending a lot of time with him that I won’t sacrifice for anything in the world. I also found a web design role that I love in a small web agency. So yeah, being a full-time author isn’t my dream goal anymore. I guess I’ve got to adapt because YES, I still feel the pull of writing and sharing my author journey.

So here’s the status on my different projects:

Project Sky

Project Sky is a middle-grade contemporary/fantasy novel that I started writing in 2016. I had enrolled a few beta readers in 2022 when the story was completed. Then I hired a developmental editor and… queried it for a year.

I sent my query package to 52 agents and got 52 rejections.

Don’t you worry, I’m not sad. It wasn’t a good time for it, that’s all.

I decided to get back to this project last July. So I ordered a proof copy to be able to read it easily in paperback format. I’m currently reading it in the comfort of my sofa and I’m loving it. There are still a few things to change here and there, but I think it would be a great candidate for publishing in 2026. I’m not setting a release date yet but it’s definitely coming your way.

I’ll also be looking for an illustrator for the book cover very soon, as those kind of things take a while to make. If you’ve got any illustrator name you like, please send it my way.

Project Mum

Before I left for a surprise hibernation, I was working on a memoir about pregnancy and motherhood. The first draft was completed in February 2023, and I intended on finishing the second draft this year but things got complicated. This first draft is currently in a journaling state, which means I repeat myself A LOT. I admit it’s more complicated to rewrite than I originally thought because I’ve to rethink the whole book.

So for now I’m focusing on Project Sky before getting back to Project Mum.

Existing work

This Summer, I thought about narrating my own audiobook for The Londoners. This project is on hold until I figure some things out, because I realised jumping head first onto that kind of projects is time-consuming. And also there’s the second Audible gate happening right now. But do let me know if getting an audio version of my books would interest you :)

And… all my books are wide ! I’ve ditched the exclusivity with Amazon, and I’m now on every book retailer platforms. I’ve added links to those shops on my website.

Social what?

A quick update on social media, because I have been all over the place regarding this topic. But I finally settled with a few things:

Time is scarce, did I already mention it? So that’s to keep my sanity in check and not burn out. I’ll revise it in a year-time.

I guess that’s it for today. Thanks again for all your support. I’ll be back with more updates in December. Until next time, friend!

Wanna chat about this post?

Send me an email in French, English or Frenglish.