10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before
When I first started on my writing journey, I was extremely naive. If I had it to do over again I would have researched the publishing business inside and out. Hired a writing coach if I had the money or taken some classes before I sat down to write the first word. It would have saved me a school full of hard-knocks :-D
Here’s my list, read it, breath it, learn from it.
1. Being A Writer Means Being Able to Take Rejection, Critiques, and to grow and thrive in spite of it.
2. Being A Writer means I do have to sell myself, learn how to, and it all starts with selling your stuff to a beta reader, then to a Lit Agent, then to a Publisher, then to a reviewer, then to your audience.
3. As a writer I’m a business owner, and my business is my career, my product is my works.
4. Being A Writer opens doors that you wouldn’t believe! And you don’t even have to be published to get those doors opened! There are tons of Soon-To-Be published authors doing amazing things that they only would have pursued if they were writers.
5. I wished I would have researched the publishing business from the author side, publisher side, indie publisher side, promotions side, marketing side … dog on it every side!
6. Being A Writer Means having a platform – yep, friends on twitter, a meaningful blog, involvement in a writers’ organization – as an active member.
7. I can market my book before it’s even published! Create a book trailer, share teasers, promo samples on twitter, do contest, and get myself out there!
8. Conferences, Pitch Sessions, Agent Inbox (on www.yalitchat.ning.com) are great places to get face time with agents. I should have hung out there.
9. Use Beta Readers, Critique Partners and Writing Groups to build a better product. As the writer you want to know what the reader is getting out of your work.
10. Realize that anything I write is marketable (once it’s edited professionally, beta read, critiqued and flushed out) I need to figure out what that market is and not be afraid to go into unknown territory to promote it and myself. (ie, Anthologies, magazines online or print, or even sell it myself.)
I end this list to say, once your learn the business, you’ll know how you fit in, how many ways you can create your own success, and you’ll know that giving up…simply isn’t an option when you decide your destiny.
Writing stories for and about kids that overcome the impossible...
20 comments:
This is very true and I'm still learning. I'm trying to be patient and learn the whole thing. I have to believe it will all pay off, and maybe, one day, I will get there.
Thanks.
That's a realistic list. Add to it that it's wise to take a public speaking course if you're at all shy because you'll need to feel comfortable with big audiences when you do school visits!
Great post!!!
Thanks you all. I was asked to write this post and boy did I have a lot to say. Please fill free to add more :-D I love list!
Great list! I need to work on a few of those myself.
Yeah, you know for me the whole rejection thing wasn't as clear to me before I began writing. My only view was of those successful writers, but the story of their rise to fame always eluded me. I'm getting a much clearer picture now. LOL
Great points. Being a writer is so much more than finishing a novel or whatever and then mailing it off. Done and done. Writing the thing is just the beginning!
the platform thing was the one that came as the most surprise to me. I was at my first SCBWI conference and was like, "Twitter what?" So glad I found it, which in turn led me to YALitChat, and all thew onderful writer friends like you that I now have!
Very well said!
I'd also add, being a writer means the toughest competition and your worst critic is yourself. But that's a good thing, because out of all the aspects of getting published that are out of your control, improving craft is the most important aspect of all and is decidedly in your camp.
I'm one of those people who spent a ton of time researching the business before I ever wrote a word. I didn't do it because I wanted to save time. I just feared failure too much to just write. I'm glad I did so much research early on, though, because I never went into this thinking it would be easy, that I wouldn't have to market my work, or that I just had to finish a ms before sending it off. Still, coming at this from the completely opposite direction, I wish I understood that the only way to get published is to write the darn book. No amount of research can help you if won't write.
Good luck with the book. It's an insane amount of work, isn't it?
Oh yeah, much more work than writing, but I have help. My teens who are uber helpful with the internet marketing. But I do spend a lot of time out and about. Gives me tons to do and I've meet many people.
Great list. I think a lot of writers don't realize they have to promote themselves and their work. I'm still learning ways to do this.
This is a GREAT list; # 9 needs my attention in a massive way... thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed your insights. I try to use the same discipline as a writer that I successfully employed as a business executive. That means planting myself in front of that computer every day and doing my job!
Those who get published regard writing as a profession not a hobby.
Great list! I'm so glad I found your blog through twitter:)
excellent points! thank you for sharing
Lots of great ideas - many of which a writer can use even after jumping into the deep end. (BTW, I think I'd rather have the books I publish "fleshed" out rather than "flushed" out... LOL) Keep up the great work!
Great list and thank you for sharing it. I learned these things along the way, but I wish I had been more aware and savvy.
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