OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I spoke at Strathpine Library Book Group (Brisbane, Australia) the other night and thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
It was a group of lovely people, of varied ages and experience. There was the (almost) published thriller writer, the blocked sci-fi fan, the lovely ladies who wrote children's books, young adult and poetry, the footie fan who needed help with his audio transcription, and of course, the 82 year old who was not having any of my digital publishing nonsense!
I am certainly no expert on the craft of writing, so I went to inspire and excite the group about the possibilities there are in publishing right now. I also wanted to share the things I wish I had known prior to writing my first book as follows:
- Writing is a journey, but a book is a goal. You can make it. You can hold your book in your hands. It is achievable. But it is not just about just writing, you actually have to set a target and then make it happen. Make your goal SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Based. So don't say “I will write my Lord of the Rings style trilogy epic in 6 weeks”. That's not going to happen. But you can say “I will write 1000 words per day on my <genre> novel and I will finish the first draft in 3 months”. When you write that first book, you struggle because it seems endless…but you can make it!
- You need to know about publishing options before you finish your book. I knew nothing about publishing while I was writing my book. I thought once I wrote it, I could just find a publisher. Imagine my surprise when I found out how long things take, and how small the industry is here in Oz compared to the US and UK! I also found out that I should have sent a query letter and a proposal as opposed to a completed book (for non-fiction at least). If you know your options, then you can set things in motion before you finish the manuscript.
- Publishers want a “platform” and a marketing plan as part of your query/submission. If you are not an established author, this is even more important. I have lots about this on the blog – but I will particularly point you back to How Gary Vaynerchuk got a 10 book deal with Harper Collins. Also, here is a free award-winning book marketing plan if you need ideas for your marketing!
- There are other methods to publication other than the traditional route. Don't be discouraged and don't give up! Free your creativity! Use your energy to get your words out there! Self-publish, publish an ebook, write a blog, write articles, do a podcast, use print-on-demand. There are so many options and adventures to be had with your creativity.
- You can sell your book on Amazon.com, the biggest bookshop in the world. You don't need a publisher to sell your book on Amazon. You can use a self-publishing service like Lulu.com, CreateSpace or Booksurge and distribute your book that way. You can use print-on-demand and you don't have to hold stock. It is practically free! Wow! This was (and still is) so exciting to me! Despite the #AmazonFail debacle, Amazon still provides an amazing service to readers and authors all over the world.
- Promotion can be done yourself, with time and no money. Suck up all the knowledge you can and do it yourself. Don't have your finished book sitting sad at home – get it out there! You can even make it onto Oprah with a self-published book now. My story is not quite so ‘big', but I made it on Australian National TV with my self-published book “How to Enjoy Your Job”. I didn't have the budget for a publicist so I spent 9 months learning about marketing. A great investment!
- Writing and publishing books is addictive! You might think you will only write this one, but soon you have loads more ideas for more books! I have since written 2 more – both are ebooks now, and both will be on Amazon in the next month or so.
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1 2 Next »This information is very, informative. I am currently heading down the "LuLu" path myself. I think that's the best entry point for myself at this time.
I write poetry mostly, but have been thinking of doing an Urban Fiction book in the near future.
I am now in my sixth year as a Director of Marketing in the publishing industry, and in regard to #2, #3 and #4 . . . I couldn't agree more! I would also like to add that self-publishing should actually be the GOAL, not the fallback position.
It's frustrating to watch potentially great authors sign their intellectual property (and their money) away to 'publishing companies' who don't really do anything. I have done extensive writing on this topic as well, and I have two articles you might be interested in:
5 Reasons to Publish Your Next Book:
http://www.thesmallcompanyblog.com/TheBlog/2009/04/authors-5-reasons-to-self-publish-your-next-book/
Self-Publishing: A Simple and Expensive How-To Guide:
http://www.thesmallcompanyblog.com/TheBlog/2009/04/self-publishing-a-simple-and-inexpensive-how-to-guide/
Feel free to remove these from my comments. I'm not trying to schill my own stuff--just point out that I do some writing on this topic as well.
Great post!
There are some great tips here. I think your second tip, might be the most important. It's fine to be creative and explore different ideas, but if you are going to devote serious time to writing a book, you need to know the realities of the publishing world. With all the information that is available for free on the internet, there is no excuse for not making yourself familiar with how publishing works.
To Antwan: self publishing poetry makes sense because this isn't traditionally a big enough seller for most traditional publishers to touch. If you promote the heck out of it, you can really make a name for yourself. For your urban fiction novel, I would try to see about finding an agent to help you get published or exploring smaller presses who will accept unagented submissions as this is something that publishers are interested in.
To Eric:
I don't entirely agree with you on self publishing being the best route. I think it depends on the nature of the book. For non-fiction works I think self-publishing holds a lot of potential. For novels, I think self publishing is not the best route to go. Self-publishing will make it very difficult to get into certain markets, like the library market, and it will mean that your novel isn't seriously considered for awards, a big drawback for children's and young adult authors.
(editorial note: think you might want to check the title of your second article in your comment you say it's Self Publishing: A Simple and Expensive Guide, but I'm pretty sure you meant to say inexpensive. You don't want to scare away potential readers!)
After having published my first book, I am now motivated to write another one and another one. My mind is flooded with ideas. It's so much fun. I love it. I use my commute time to work (50 minutes going and 50 minutes coming back) to put in at least 500 words per day and may be on weekends when I'm not marketing my first book.
Also, I originally thought that self-publishing was my last option. Now I know that it doesn't have to be. Thanks for sharing this post.
Thanks so much for these comments. There is so much to learn before attempting to get published, or to self-publish. Some people just don't know where to start!
I wish I'd have know all this before writing my first book too!
Thank you so much for this article.
I truly mean that.
I have had this book idea swimming around up there for ages and ages. I finally put fingertip to keyboard a few months ago and have been tapping away, secretly wondering how on earth I would ever get a book published, edited....
So I am going to visit here again and soak up what you have to say!
Hi Yvonne, thanks so much for the comment. I am so glad you are writing and rest assured, you will be able to edit and publish it. The exciting part of being an author these days is that it is more accessible than ever!
All the best with your new book! Joanna
Joanna, I caught this via your tweet on Twitter. Good post, and an interesting discussion. I've posted my own list of 7 things I wish I knew before writing my first book. I'm looking forward to more authors pitching in their 2 cents.
-TimK
Great post, Joanna. Simple, good direction for authors.