5 Things Every Author Needs to Know
1. Writing is incredibly solitary… until you get a publishing team. Then it feels as if everyone is weighing in and sending you in a million directions. In this business, it’s important to know what fuels you creatively and how to maximize that atmosphere to recharge. Sometimes, it can be finding a writing partner or a group of other authors who know what you’re dealing with. Other times, it could be something as simple as a cup of coffee and a good book to tune out all the noise of writing and publishing for a little while. How you manage your mental space will be incredibly important in the longevity of your career.
2. Marketing and promotion are non-negotiable. Look at any of your major authors, the ones who are household names. They are out there. Their schedule is packed with book tours, meet-and-greets, social media posts, and newsletters. It used to be that a print ad here and there could get meaningful results in selling your book, but our society has changed. We carry phones with search engines at the ready; we scroll social media; we do online searches for our favorite things and we buy them with the click of a button. Readers don’t give a hoot about the publisher most of the time. They want to hear from the author. There’s no way around it. The more you put your true self in the public eye, the more people will relate to you and check out your book.
3. Negative reviews and rejection are a package deal. The form letter, saying “no thank you” to your well-crafted query—we’ve all had them. It’s frustrating and you want to know why it was a no, but the truth of the matter is no one has time to stop and explain it. They’re putting all their energy into the books that do work for them. You’re left to figure out the issues yourself. It’s the worst, isn’t it? But once you publish, you will still deal with rejection. There will be critical reviews, people who say they hate your book. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream—adore it. Some people hate it. But should we stop selling mint chocolate chip just because some people hate it? Don’t let the negativity get you down. And don’t respond to it. Just enjoy the people who see your worth. Let those people move you forward.
4. Career writing involves extensive editing and revision. Rarely does the contracted draft end up being the story that gets published. Fantastic books can be achieved by authors who are willing to revise and fine-tune their work after listening to professionals in their field.
5. Writer’s Block and stress come with the territory. I often tell my family, “I don’t just have to write 1,000 words today (my daily word count). I have to write 1,000 bestselling words.” The anxiety is real. And with every book’s success, the pressure to deliver gets higher. With deadlines, long editing letters, family responsibilities and the like, the process can get tough. Finding your place to decompress is so important. Finding strategies to use when you hit that creative block is so important. For me, if I get stuck, I go back to the beginning and start reading what I’ve got. I make changes and edit as I go, and usually, I have an idea by the time I get back to that spot where I got stuck. Find what works for you.
Career writing is about balance. Take a deep breath, relax, and go out there and conquer the world!
Jenny