We all have dreams. There are people who dream of one day getting into their top college, of becoming a professional athlete, or earning a million dollars. And while the chances of those things happening are low, all have higher statistics than Nicole Cavey’s dream of becoming a published author.
Currently Cavey is a sophomore at West Virginia University, and her dream came true when she was only a junior at Centennial High School. She has authored two of her planned five-book series. Her debut novel was Realm Crashers and the Shadow King, and Realm Crashers and the Curse of Chaos followed as its sequel. They are available for purchase at Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes and Noble, with links and reviews posted on her author website.
Four years ago, the Centennial alumnus sat in her 10th grade English classroom, listening to her teacher as he described their upcoming project. That teacher was Rus VanWestervelt, currently the Humanities IV English, Yearbook, and Journalism teacher.
He tasked his students with crafting a short story. Cavey submitted what was more like a novella.
“Nicole —while she was drafting— kept asking me, ‘How many words? How many words? How many words?’ And it kept going up and up and up,” VanWestervelt said.
But he didn’t discourage her from writing.
“I remember the one day I came in, and he had this binder in his hands,” Cavey recalled. “He started walking towards me and he kind of dropped it on my desk, and he was like, ‘That’s what you wrote.’”
It was then that she realized how long 73 pages really was.
“I was blown away by how mature the writing was, how developed the characters were, how intriguing the storyline was, and I knew after finishing it that she had to keep going and she couldn’t stop,” VanWestervelt added.
“If it wasn’t for that assignment, I would not have published anything at all,” Cavey continued. “He [VanWestervelt] was the one to really give me that push.”
VanWestervelt’s impact is made clear through her dedication to him for the first book.
With the assignment’s due date pushing her, the first draft came very quickly to Cavey. “I had to go into crunch time, but it also gave me permission to leave some things out.”
The original was 30,000 words, and soon she had churned out another 60,000.
“It took maybe from January of my sophomore year to May of my sophomore year for me to be happy with it,” Cavey reflected. “And then I kind of was like, ‘Okay, let’s take a step back and think about this.’ So then I had to go figure out what printing companies I wanted to use, if I wanted to do indie publishing or traditional publishing.”
The question of traditional publishing versus self-publishing is something that nearly all authors have to grapple with at some point.
Authors that opt for the traditional publishing track send their manuscripts to established publishing houses. Only about one percent of manuscripts are accepted.
If accepted, however, the publishing house takes care of all the details, including cover design and printing. But it also takes an average of 85 to 95 percent of the royalties –or revenue– from book sales, not to mention the whole process can take years.
“Today there are more opportunities than ever for writers to publish their work,” VanWestervelt pointed out. But the changing publishing landscape comes with a caveat for traditional publishing.
“If you are fortunate for a publisher, traditional publisher —Random House, Penguin, Putnam— the chances of them doing any marketing for you is very small. Why? Because they put their marketing budget into a very few titles that they think will become national bestsellers.”
Self-publishing, or indie publishing, means the author is in charge of all steps of publication, from cover art to font choice, to marketing and printing. Authors who select this mode of publication have exceptional freedom in the entire process, and do not have to worry about a big business sucking all the profits from their sales. However they also have to deal with the financial risk. Producing copies and paying editors and cover artists are just some of the many costs that come with self-publication.
In the end, Cavey chose self-publishing, which is a common choice for debut novelists. “You have the most creative freedom with it,” Cavey explained.
VanWestervelt similarly recommends taking this path.
“[I]f you want to publish your book, going to the self-publishing group is absolutely not only a strong and respectable way to do it, but if you’re going to have to do the marketing on your own, regardless of whether it’s traditional or non-traditional, you get to retain the complete control of your book.”
A common concern writers have who are hesitant to self-publish is that they lack the prestige of having a publishing house on the cover, but Cavey considered that too. She created the trade name Octavo Press, which is also the domain of her website.
“I decided to have a trade name in the beginning,” Cavey said. “Being Indie – some people are nervous to take a chance.” Creating a trade name allowed her to overcome one of the common struggles of indie-publishing.
That isn’t to say it was easy. Cavey also emphasizes how many resources companies have that indie publishers don’t.
“They got the editors, they have the cover artists and everything, so indie you’re doing everything yourself.”
It was a lot of work — just finding the cover artist took several months. Luckily she had a great support system to help her through the process.
“[H]er parents were 100 percent behind her,” said VanWestervelt. “And I talked them through the entire process of how you take a draft of a manuscript from publication.”
By junior year, Cavey was finally able to bask in the fruits of her efforts. Realm Crashers and the Shadow King hit the shelves on April 3, 2023. Two years later, on June 2, 2025, Realm Crashers and the Curse of Chaos was ready to be added to her resume.
As a college freshman, Cavey had two full-length novels to her name, and as a sophomore she is already preparing to add to it. Even though her books are out, there hasn’t been any stoppage of the hard work. Not only is she drafting the rest of the series, but for the past several months Cavey has put in a lot of effort to promote her work, which included several signings at Barnes and Noble across Maryland.
“The first book follows two teenagers from our realm of existence as they travel and find themselves in a new realm,” Cavey described, providing a brief synopsis. “This realm has lots of threats like magic, tyrant kings, and other evil forces that they have to navigate. And as they’re attempting to find their way back home, they realize that they have, almost, secret ties to this new realm and they’re trying to figure out those secrets.”
The second novel is, of course, a continuation of this story and its characters’ journeys.
“I would say if you are a fan of the Percy Jackson series, this will be your type of art,” VanWestervelt said.
Since its publication, Cavey’s series has received high praise.
“The main characters are really relatable.” VanWestervelt continued. “And it’s funny, too…. She’s witty, and that comes through in her characters.”
Writing a successful novel is undoubtedly an accomplishment, but publishing, or simply finishing, one at all is an accomplishment in itself. Few adults achieve it, though many dream of it, and the number is even smaller for high schoolers.
“It’s equally terrifying and equally so exhilarating, because your heart and soul is basically out in the world, open to criticism, which is very scary, but also really good when someone’s like, ‘I really enjoyed it,’” Cavey admitted.
There is something intimate about writing something you alone have read. When you have spent as much time working on a project as Cavey has, it becomes a part of you. Publishing is a way of putting yourself on display.
Fortunately for Cavey, it seems the magic of sharing her creation with the world has outshone all else. For those wishing to follow in her footsteps, she offered a simple, but very meaningful piece of advice.
“Just finish the first draft. The first draft can suck. I’m looking at my first draft right now and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is a dumpster fire.’ But once you get it done, you’re going to feel so proud of it and you’re going to be giddy.”
“That’s one of the hardest parts mentally,” Cavey further reflected. As to that, nearly all fellow writers can concur.
VanWestervelt emphasized the importance of taking the next steps towards publication. “There are so many young writers who are intimidated by the publishing process and feel like their words could never get out there to a larger audience. And I want to remind everybody that they too can publish their words.”
“You have to share your story.” His concluding statement: “You just need to believe.”
