Being a new author is tough! There are so many things to consider. (We will talk about published authors soon.)

 

Here are some tips:

• Not everyone is going to like your work – that’s OK – write it anyway
• Learn to accept rejection
• Build your audience prior to releasing your first book
• Educate yourself – read up on others that write in your genre – developing your knowledge within your genre is super important and often overlooked
• Research the business
• Respect other authors
• Develop your writing skills – a first draft is NEVER a final project – be open to learning continually
• Our job is to tell our stories – not making changes to things we feel our important to the story – we must always advocate so that our voice is not changed
• Self-editing is important
• Hiring an editor is also a must
• Be open to feedback and criticism
• Set short term and long-term goals
• Meet your deadlines
• Research, be creative, observe everyday happenings
• Be picky about your cover – while a cover should not make or break a book – it often does
• Have thick skin (see the first point) – be ready for negative and just plain hateful and hurtful comments and reviews
• KEEP READING – as Steven King has said – “In order to be a good writer, you must read often”
• Promote! Promote! Promote!
• Offer your book everywhere!
• Make an impression with your first book
• Your first book is going to be difficult to sell – you’re new – many times a reader won’t take a chance until you have 2 or 3 book releases. This is why series are great!
• NEVER STOP WRITING
• Finally, if you can – join a critique group and see if you can also find a mentor (outside of that group)

Thanks for joining me again. I will soon be covering how to determine how to publish your book, bringing your backlist back to the front, promotion strategies, and more.

 

Please feel free to comment and share.

 

Topic ideas? Please email me! SalemDevina@gmail.com