It’s the day before Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and I have much to be thankful for. My debut novel, “Moon Songs” is now for sale on Amazon. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to finally have a book published. It’s a life-long dream come true. I’ve learned so much in the months since I retired from corporate America. Deciding to be an independent “indie” author was my first step. I thought that would be so much easier than trying to find a traditional publisher. Well my friend, I’m here to tell you – there is no easy way.
Here are a few things I learned about writing and publishing a novel:
1. Being indie doesn’t mean you go it alone. There are lots of people involved if you do it the right way.
2. You need an editor. I found mine by serendipity. She’s a friend of a friend. Isn’t that the best way? She taught me more about story structure in a few hours than I’d managed to absorb through a lifetime of reading.
3. You need a good cover. Luckily, I have a sister who’s an artist. She graciously painted and donated the artwork for the cover.
4. There’s a proven method for writing a novel. I needed to learn the ins and outs of writing a novel, and for that I have Joanna Penn’s course, “How to write a Novel” to thank. Don’t you just love a name that tells you exactly what you’re going to get?
5. There are the amazing people out there who so graciously offer free advice to new writers. People like K. M. Weiland whose Helping Writers Become Authors was and continues to be invaluable. And Mark Dawson with his podcasts and Self Publishing Formula. If you’re aspiring to write and self-publish, I highly recommend that you check these people out. Click on the links above and you’ll be taken to their websites.
6. You can’t just write and publish a book. You have to promote it.
7. The best way to let people know you’ve published a new book is through a targeted email list. That’s why I’ve started a list and have a goal of adding 100 people by the end of this winter. If you’d like to subscribe, click here. I’ll only email information about new books I publish. I promise I won’t send a million messages, and I will never share my list with anyone.
I’ll never sit down to read a novel again without being aware of all the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the book.
Help me get to my goal of 100 subscribers by the end of this winter! Click here to join my email list.
Happy Reading, Writing, and Thanksgiving!
Shirley