Recently I’ve been browsing back through this blog and reading some of my older posts: the posts from way back in the day when I first really started being serious about writing original fiction and publishing.
It is totally priceless stuff.
This blog has always been for myself most of all. Because I process things by writing about them. I’ve always been like that. Writing down my experiences cements them in my mind. And the things I’ve written here over the past four years show a clear progression. Each post usually documents a fundamental shift in my writing knowledge, craft, or execution, or even just my basic understanding of some specific facet of the writer’s life that was before that point a complete mystery to me.
I thought I might come here while I had a few minutes and document some of the key discoveries I’ve made over the last 4 years. Especially in light of some of the events of the last week. Like last Monday, when basically my favorite publisher ever announced abruptly it was closing its doors. And then this Monday, when rumors began circulating that maybe that publisher wasn’t dead yet, after all. And of course the recent news about the new Amazon Terms of Service, and the increase in authors having their book reviews yanked because they were written by “friends” (even though most of them were not actually the author’s friends and family). And last Friday I attended the Longview Literary Festival. Obviously, since it was held at a college, there were a lot of college kids who approached our table to ask about writing and publishing.
I absolutely loved talking to them about these subjects, but the numerous discussions at the Lit Fest and all this turbulence in the traditional AND indie publishing world got me to thinking.
So here is all of my most essential advice for anyone starting out on their author journey. Stuff I’ve learned from rolling with the punches these last four years, but could stand to remind myself of again every now and then. So now it’s officially a blog post. It’s written down. Now I’ll remember, and hopefully you will, too. 😉 (NOTE: Feel free to ignore all of this advice. But if you do, I betcha in 4 years you’ll be doing it all, anyway. Why not just take a shortcut?)
- YOU, and only YOU, are responsible for your writing career. Not your writing group. Not a literary agent. Not an editor. Not a publisher. Not Amazon. Do not rest easy and think you have it made (at any point) or think that any of these people will take care of things for you, or market your book for you, etc. … everything can change without warning in the span of seconds. This industry is volatile and ever-changing. TAKE CONTROL of your own career. This means:
- CLAIM YOUR OWN DIGITAL SPACE. You need your own website. You don’t have to blog, but you need a little corner of the internet to be your island when/if other online book retailers go mad or close up shop. You need a hub that YOU control. You need a place to send your readers. A place to sell your books if there’s ever no other option. A place that you control and retain ownership of. A place where people can find out more about you and get to know you. Make it look professional, and treasure it.
- KNOW, IDENTIFY, AND ENGAGE YOUR READERS. When faced with the 3 million books on Kindle, or when walking into a bookstore, readers who don’t know exactly what they’re going to buy that day will end up walking out with a book that was written by one of their favorite authors. Why? Because they trust that author. They know that author. You need to be that author. Start building your email list NOW. Don’t argue. No ifs, ands, or buts. I don’t care if you haven’t yet published a single word, and don’t have a blog. DO IT ANYWAY. RIGHT NOW. Not sure where to start or what to do with a mailing list? Check out Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl and Reader Magnets by Nick Stephenson. Both of those books will stress the importance of the email list, give you a brief breakdown of how to set one up, and then give some examples of what to send to your list as well as how to attract people to your list. If you do not capture your readers in some way and get them off of other online retailers you can’t control and into YOUR space, it’s as good as never having had them at all.
- MAKE FRIENDS WITH OTHER WRITERS. Taking charge of your own author career doesn’t mean you have to be alone all the time. And you shouldn’t be alone all the time. That’s not good for you. I highly recommend searching for a local writing group, or starting your own. Don’t rely on them to get you published, but they will help you through the most frustrating times of your career (and there are a lot of those). They will be great motivators and sounding boards for ideas, too. (And if they’re not, find a different group.)
- MAKE FRIENDS WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS. It’s not as scary or difficult as it sounds. Attend writing festivals, conferences, or conventions. Do this BEFORE you get published or publish anything yourself. YES! I mean it! Why are you waiting around until you have something to sell to do these things!?!? This isn’t about selling your work or yourself, this is about gaining knowledge and making friends. Doing this NOW will also improve your writing craft, so you’ll write better books sooner. Sit and listen to panels by industry professionals or career authors. Take notes. Listen to their advice. Then go talk to them about what they said. Follow them on social media. See if you have anything in common. Be helpful to them. DO NOT be pushy, annoying, or stalker-ish. But really. They are people, too. And if you offer genuine good discussion, a common interest, and a helpful adage or support every now and then, you might be surprised at what can happen (even before you are published).
- Speaking of, GET YOUR ASS ON TWITTER. Currently, I know of no other social media platform which offers so much potential to budding authors. Dear lord, get yourself on there and out there. For more details on how to handle yourself as an author on Twitter, and which hashtags are “must follows”, see my Author’s Guide to Twitter here.
- SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. One of my absolute favorite quotes is: “Surround yourself with people who have ambitious plans, meaningful purposes, and big goals.” It’s weird, but y’all … osmosis works. This is also why #5 is so important. THIS IS CRUCIAL. It may be painful, but you’re going to have to separate yourself from the Debbie Downers, Negative Nathans, and Drama Llamas in your life. I promise you, this is what’s best for you. I cannot stress this enough. Put yourself in the company of positive, ambitious people who build you up instead of tear you down. This will make all the difference in the acceleration of your own life goals (whatever those may be). Related:
- FIND A ROLE MODEL. First, know what your goals are as an author. Then, find someone who has achieved that. Follow them. Listen to them. Subscribe to their mailing list. Read their books. Stalk their website. Analyze everything they do. How do they talk to their readers? How do they market their books? How do they write their books? If you can find out (or even just ask!), who do they use for their editing, covers, formatting? How do they engage with their mailing list? If they offer any workshops or online courses, take them. If they’ve written non-fiction books on their processes, buy them and read them. Learn what they’ve done right and emulate it. Learn what they’ve done wrong and skip that agony yourself. Which brings me to:
- YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND MONEY & YOU TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. *gasp* No, for real. Just plan for that now. Go ahead and start saving, actually. If you go the traditional publishing route, you’re still going to need to pay for your own website. That may include web design, or it may just include web hosting if you want to try the design part yourself. You still need your own mailing list. You can start with MailChimp, which is free up to 2000 subscribers, but eventually you’re still gonna have to pay. And since authors are increasingly responsible for their own advertising, you’re probably going to have to also pay for any Facebook ads you want. Or blog tours. Or promotions. Or conference fees/travel expenses. Or give-away swag like bookmarks, postcards, mugs, t-shirts, bags, pens, buttons, etc. If you’re going indie, the price is much steeper. You’ll need to pay for covers, for interior formatting, for editing, plus everything mentioned above. And please, PLEASE do not try to go cheap on these things or do them yourself (unless you have professional training in any of the above). I’ve seen the results of this … and trust me, trust me … it is better to pay someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s worth it. It’s worth every. damn. penny.
- DO NOT CALL YOURSELF AN ASPIRING OR WANNABE AUTHOR. What you label yourself is what you will become. Call yourself a writer. Call yourself an author. If you have nothing published and that really bothers you, say “pre-published author”. No one takes you seriously (including yourself) when you say “aspiring” or “wannabe”. Eliminate those words from your vocabulary. Think of yourself as an author, and you’ll become one a lot faster.
- THIS JOB IS NOT EASY. It’s hard. It’s time-consuming. It’s expensive. And there’s no guarantee even after you get published that you’ll stay published, even if you go with a major house. They can terminate your contract at any time. Smaller houses might go out of business at any time, leaving your book orphaned. Amazon can change their rules whenever the heck they feel like it, leaving indie authors high-and-dry. So if this is what you want to do … you have to love it awfully hard. All is not lost, however. There can still be success. Focus on what you can control and do your best to connect with the readers who love you. They will be what keeps you afloat no matter what else happens in the industry. The writing community, too, is a wonderful place. Writers are some of the most awesome people I know. They are so helpful and encouraging and supportive, because they know what you’re going through. Lean on them when you need to. Just remember the three most important things when it comes to being an author: patience, persistence, perseverance. Hang on to those, and you’ll get through.
“The race does not always go to the swift, but to those who keep on running.”
— one of those motivational posters. This one had a majestic tiger on it. So go be that tiger. Be that tiger running majestically through the water on a motivational poster. Keep running, you fierce tiger, you.
(In hindsight … they probably should have picked a different animal for that. One that actually did a lot of running to survive. Like a gazelle. But I digress…)
And because I love you, if you enjoyed this post, you can download a slimmed-down .pdf version of it for free by clicking the button below. Print it out and hang it on your wall next to your motivational posters! 😀 I even made little boxes next to each item so you could check them off once you’ve tackled them!
Download your free Writer’s Life Survival Guide!
Until next time, happy writing and reading!
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