Guest Post: Lessons Learned by First Time Authors

So You Wanted to be a Published Author ☺

Congratulations! You got your wish. After much trying in the trenches of queryland or working through multiple rewrites, edits and the whole shebang involved in self-publishing a product you could be proud of, you’ve done it.

You’ve published your first book.

For many authors, the first reaction is to jump up and down with joy screaming, “I did it!”

Next thing to pop into their head is, “Oh dear goodness, what did I get myself into???”

Well, take heart in knowing there are lessons every writer learns after they publish that first book:

1. The buzz machine must always roll – Before the book you slaved over and nurtured made it to the bookshelf or became available with one click of a button, you probably started building buzz, alerting readers and bloggers to the arrival of your baby – erm – book. Maybe you did a cover reveal and ARC giveaways. That buzz was great, but it shouldn’t slow down. Keep the buzz moving, keep the momentum going and add fuel to a little thing called “word of mouth.” Okay, it really isn’t a little thing. It’s very powerful and can be key in helping build sales of your story because “the word” spreads like wildfire.

2. There is power in multi-tasking by priority – I am a single mother, employed full time, love to read and have self-published one full length novel as well as three novellas of varying lengths since September of 2012. My schedule was pretty hectic before the reading and writing, so multi-tasking was something I thought I was good at before I published Neverlove, my debut YA novel. After I published, multi-tasking took on a whole new meaning. Now I had to really involve myself in marketing and promoting. Being a single mom and spending eight hours of each day at my day gig can eat a LOT out of the time I have. I struggled, sorely, on this front, not having time for much of anything like living. It’s still a struggle, but it’s day-by-day. I’ve learned to make time by prioritizing better. It’s freed up more time I would have wasted spinning my wheels. Now my daughter doesn’t quite see me as the blur that moves around our home and I don’t hover over my laptop as much. And that is a good thing.

3. Deals are brokered and broken, so keep writing – Publishing is a business. That is probably the one lesson every author learns rather painfully after that first book publication. Book deals can happen, modest advances brokered and an excellent novel released to the world. But if sales flop, it’s a hard part of the business that the three book deal can just as quickly be canceled. Because…publishing is a business. It isn’t intended to be ruthless, but these things happen. It’s the same with self-publishing. I am rich in love, thanks to my daughter, but I can’t afford to pay for professional book covers, content editing, proofreading, book tour setups, etc. then get absolutely nothing in sales from my books.  I could choose to do none of those things but I want to put out a product I can be proud of, imperfect, for sure, but something I can enjoy sharing with the world. So that is also why it’s important to keep writing. If a book deal falls apart, the writing is always there. If sales just aren’t going well, the writing is an ever-present opportunity to work on something better. Things may not go 100% perfect with the first book, but keep writing so it definitely won’t be the last.

It can be tough learning these and plenty other lessons after publishing that first book, but armed with newfound knowledge, the first time author doesn’t have to be a one-hit-wonder.

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Born and raised in Little Rock, AR, Angela Brown now calls Central Texas home. She's a lover of Wild Cherry Pepsi and chocolate/chocolate covered delicious-ness. Steampunk, fantasy and paranormal to contemporary - mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books. Mother to a rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy. Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ~Mahatma Gandhi

She is the author of Neverlove (Shadow Jumpers), They All Fall Down (Shadow Jumpers), and Frailties of the Bond (NEO Chronicles).

Find her online here: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

10 Social Media No-No's

There's a time to be flowerly, and there's a time to be blatantly honest. This is a blatantly honest post.

DON'T:

1. Use TrueTwit.

I say this all the time, and I'll say it again: DON'T USE TRUETWIT. It's actually quite ironic. TrueTwit is intended to stop spammers from following you (why you would care about an extra follow, I have no idea), yet it's become the most common form of spam on Twitter. It would be funny if they weren't making money from this ridiculous model. Learn more about it here.

2. Unfollow someone when they follow you back.

You may be able to trick some, but many users can tell when you've unfollowed them via services like justunfollow or a quick look at your following to follower ratio. This is spamming, plain and simple. Don't do it. You'll lose credibility, and you'll (hopefully) be banned from Twitter.

3. Post without interaction.

The point of social media is to be social. Regularly posting is a must, but if that's all you do, then you're wasting your time. Like other posts, comment on blogs, retweet, reply, you name it. Not only can you connect with new people, but I'd say interaction is at least 3 times more effective than a simple post.

4. Cause unnecessary controversy.

When communicating with strangers, the general rule of thumb is to avoid two topics: religion & politics. Unless it's directly related to you as an author or your books, then you're better off avoiding these topics on social media as well.

5. Auto direct-message on Twitter.

This is just as bad as TrueTwit. First impressions are important, and "spammer" is not a good image to portray to a new follower. Yes, there are some who utilize auto direct message in a positive way, but 98% of the time, avoid this like the plague. How about you send a custom direct message or mention instead? Your new follower will be flattered, will pay attention to your future tweets, and is one step closer to becoming a fan.

6. Post links without content.

Whenever you post a link on Twitter, Facebook, or wherever, make sure to add a sentence or two enticing your readers in some way. Summarize the article, comment on the content, or list it as a "must read!" If you don't, no one will click on that link. Why should they? They know nothing about it, and you haven't made any effort to convince them otherwise.

7. Become a "thank you spammer."

Thanking for a follow, like, retweet, favorite, comment, etc. is great, but you have to be careful. Make sure it's personal, custom, and not too regular. If your follower finds that you used the same exact "thank you" with 100 other people in the past week, it loses its use, and you can even come across as "spammy."

8. #Overuse #Hashtags #Wink

Hashtags are great (on Twitter, at least). They can add a layer of meaning, and they make your tweet easier to search for. However, you should never use more than 2 or 3 hashtags, and they should always be related! 

9. Ignore mentions/comments.

If someone takes the time to comment on your post, blog, or tweet, then you better respond. Seriously.

10. Promote without a purpose.

Of all these "social media no-no's," this is the most often abused. You know the type of posts I'm talking about. Tagline, review, a few stars mentioned, and a link to a book on Amazon. Has this ever worked? Of all the thousands of authors on Twitter/Facebook, I swear half of them believe this is a great way to social network. If you yell loud enough, someone will hear it, right? Wrong. It's okay to promote, but be creative! Plan a campaign, make a joke, run a blog tour, you name it. There are hundreds of imaginative ways to promote your book.

If you care for your fellow author, or are as bothered by these 10 "no-no's" as much as I am, then share this article with regular offendors. Hopefully they'll learn and become one step closer to a social networking master.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.

Intro to Blogging: Headers & Backgrounds

In my first previous post about blogging, we explored five of the most common blogging platforms for authors. Today, we will discuss how to personalize the look of your blog using headers and background themes.

Theme Templates

The background and layout of the blog, or the theme template, can capture the tone of what you write about and bring in a bit of personality. The benefit of creating a template for a blog is being able to customize and personalize it so it looks exactly how the user likes. The downside is the time that will have to be put into it and being knowledgeable enough to create the code for it to work.

It’s important to find (or create) a background that isn’t too busy. You want your readers’ attention on your content, not the image behind it. Luckily, several free templates are available online—a simple search will yield many results. To make it easier, we’ve provided links to a few good places to start. Below are theme templates for the three most common platforms: Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr.

Theme Template Resources for Blogger

Listed below are a few resource sites for bloggers who use Google’s Blogger platform:

1. 40 Free Beautiful Blogger Templates, Part III
2. 20 Best Free Magazine Style Blogger Templates

Theme Template Resources for WordPress

Listed below are a few resources for bloggers who use WordPress:

1. 1001 Free WordPress Themes
2. 41 Great Looking Free WordPress Themes

Theme Template Resources for Tumblr

Listed below are a few resources for bloggers who use Tumblr:

1. Themes That You Like
2. The Theme Gods

What’s a ‘Header’?

Some theme templates have options for headers. Headers are usually images at the top of a blog, sometimes with writing over them. Headers can be simple or complex, depending on the blogger’s style and purpose. Headers usually have the name of the blog or tagline written across them. Picking the right Header adds more visuals to a blog while also expressing what the blog is about. You should test headers before making your blog live to make sure that any text that goes over the header doesn’t blend in with the image.

Below are 4 great places to find a header that works:

1. Free Web Headers Land
2. Theme Headers
3. Free Blog Header Resources
4. Shabby Blogs

Finding the right theme and header for your blog will take some experimenting, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Note: When using tiled images as a background, avoid bright colors or complex patterns. In general, the simpler, the better. If you’re worried about your backgrounds or themes being ‘boring,’ don’t worry. They’re called backgrounds for a reason.

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—Jessica Winn, publicist at Cunning Relations & Jolly Fish Press.

Self-Publishing on a Budget

In a perfect world, self-publishers are flush with capital. They invest in professional editing, copyediting, layout, cover design, websites, book trailers, and a publicists from people they know or through a company like Cunning Relations. They pay for a reasonable print run and plenty of promotional materials. After all is said and done, they have a high quality book with an aggressive promotional campaign. As a result of this, their books will sell very well.

Of course, we don't live in a perfect world. Although self-publishing is like any other business that requires investment to produce a quality product, not all self-publishers have extra funds or access to loans. However, with a bit of effort and ingenuity, you can still produce an excellent book. This is what we recommend:

Editing/Copyediting

1. Join and participate in writer's groups. They will help you polish your book to a point.
2. Enlist help from an editor friend. As a writer, there's a good chance you'll know someone with experience in editing who may be willing to help.
3. Although not the same as professional copyediting, anyone with a good sense of grammar can give your manuscript a good once over. A different set of eyes, untrained or not, can be hugely beneficial.

Publicity/Marketing

1. Research, research, research. Becoming an expert book promoter takes experience and training, but the benefit of the internet is that you can gain access to the same resources professional publicists use. Subscribe to sites like PR Daily and book industry newspapers (Galley Cat, Publishers Weekly) to keep updated on current promotional trends.
2. Emulate similar authors. Not sure how to structure your marketing plan? Find an author with a similar target market and do what worked for them.
3. Social network. Seriously! This is one of the best forms of marketing. It's cheap and easy. Yes, it's time consuming, but it's the best way to build your fanbase.

Design/Layout

Cover design, layout, and eBook conversion are a few items you simply cannot skimp on when publishing. If you are a professional designer or know someone who will give you excellent design services for free/cheap, then this is not a problem. Most people, unfortunately, do not know design or many designers. 

Of course, there are still ways to save on design without sacrificing quality:

1. Throw your ellaborate cover ideas out the window. Those will cost you thousands. Instead, think of simple designs. You'll pay less and, right now, simple is in.
2. Find individuals or companies who create quality covers, but don't charge too high of a price. You should expect to pay between $499 and $899, which is right in the range of our designers. You can see some examples of what our team has worked on here.
3. Keep your layout simple. If you have illustrations, complex maps, spot art, or special characters, it will make it a bit more expensive. You can expect to pay $199 to $499 for a good layout and around $299 for quality eBook conversions.

Quality books take more than writing. If you're self-publishing, you cannot even begin to compete with traditionally published authors unless you invest in your book. Whether you pay for it or reach out to your connections and pull in all your favors, your book needs the full suite: editing, publicity/marketing, design/layout, and more. Once you've done that, you're on the right path to become the next bestseller.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.

Tools to Increase Your Productivity

Staying productive is, to say the least, difficult. There’s a myriad of different techniques, courses, and software that claims to make you more productive, but finding the right method for you can be overwhelming. Below are a few options we both suggest and use ourselves.

Toggl

Take a trip to Facebook or Twitter, and you’ll find several authors bragging about writing late into the night or for 10 hours straight. The truth is, if these authors actually timed themselves, many would find that 10 hour writing session was actually 3 hours of browsing, 2 hours of social networking, and only 5 hours of writing.

Timers like Toggl will help you record your actual working hours. This is hugely beneficial for many reasons. Not only can you get an accurate measure of your working schedule, but it can also be motivating. Only worked for 20 hours this week? Let’s try to reach 40! It’s also a great indicator of when to take a break. Already worked for 60 hours? Nice work! Now go spend time with the kids.

StayFocusd*

There’s nothing wrong with falling prey to distractions. It’s simply a part of human nature. However, you should do everything you can to avoid it.

StayFocusd acts as a timer and website blocker. You can block entire sites completely for a certain period (or all day), or you can give yourself a time limit before it’s blocked. Of course, there are always ways around the blocks, but the large reminder to “Stay Focused!” each time you visit a blocked site will hopefully motivate (or guilt) you into getting back to work.

*Only available on the Chrome app store. 

Asana / Wunderlist

Although created with businesses in mind, apps like Asana and Wunderlist can be a productivity lifesaver. You can create, organize, share, and search all of your tasks. Plus, you can easily set up due dates to stay on top.

Although probably not best suited for writing, these task managers are a perfect fit for the publication process, no matter your publishing route. It can also be adapted for life at home, as well.

Paper

Oh, good old fashioned paper. There’s plenty of software to help you stay productive, but if it doesn’t work for you, a notebook will work just fine. Sometimes simplicity is the best way to stay on top, so grab yourself a pen and paper and create a to do list. It’s tried, true, and can work for you.

Now, you need more than tools to maintain productivity. Here’s some advice:

1. Take regular breaks—You should take a 3-5 minute break every 40 minutes. No, seriously! Stand up, walk around, use the restroom, talk with someone, take a drink, eat a snack, whatever. Trust us, you’ll be much more productive, and you’ll find that taking a step back will solve most problems better than frustratedly staring at your screen.
2. Write down everything immediately—The last thing you want to do is forget a brilliant idea or an important task. Although using sticky notes is good, save yourself loads of searching (and deskspace) by using software that take advantage of the cloud like iOS Notes, Evernote, Google Docs, and Asana / Wunderlist.
3. Create and follow a schedule—Consistency soon becomes habit. It’s much easier to work when it’s become a habit. In addition, any work you do outside of your normal schedule will feel that much more rewarding.
4. Exercise and eat healthy—If your body is in shape, then your mind is sharper. Even small increases in exercise and healthier foods will cause significant improvements.
5. Don’t stress about being productive—As much as we should strive to be productive, the last thing you should do is stress about it. Everyone works at their own pace. Some days, you simply won't get anything done, and that’s okay. As long as you’re at least trying, you can reach your goals and achieve success.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.

Weekly Social Networking Quota

Curious about how often you should post on your social networks? You’ve come to the right place.

Here's the quota we suggest an author fulfills each week:

Overall:
-3 to 5 posts a day.
-2+ posts on weekends.
-Try to mix it up between a self post, link post, and picture. Use a social media manager like Hootsuite or Plant Social to easily post everything.

Facebook:
-Like several related pages from your author page. Interact with 1 to 2 a day via comment or share.
-Acknowledge all comments. By acknowledge, that doesn’t mean you should reply to every comment. You should only reply to comments you can provide a meaningful response or which the writer put plenty of thought into it. You should, at the very least, like the comment.

Twitter:
-Retweet 1 to 3 times a day.
-Interact 2 or more times a day. There’s no limit on your interaction, although it should always be meaningful.
-If you’re building a following, follow at least 5 people a day. Although there’s nothing wrong with following in large bursts, it’s better to even it out so you can learn more about those you’re following.

Blog:
-Respond to all comments, even if not necessarily worthwhile. Blogs tend to have less interaction, so you want to thank everyone, short and sweet, if they leave a simple comment. If it’s a longer comment, respond to the points they bring up. "Thanking" is not sufficient if they put thought into the comment.
-At least twice a week, interact by commenting on other blogs. On each post, leave a link to your preferred social network to make it worthwhile.

Interaction around the web:
Depending on the time you have, this may be difficult. However, whenever you find an article or post that piques your interest, do not hesitate to respond. You’re establishing yourself on the web, so don’t hold it back. Good examples of sites you can interact on:

1. Blogs
2. News articles (especially from Publishers Weekly, Galley Cat, and other book news sites)
3. LinkedIn
4. Reddit (especially certain subreddits like r/books, r/writing, r/selfpublishing, etc.)

If you follow all of these guidelines, you should have a solid week of at least 19+ posts and 35+ interactions. If you maintain this constant activity, you can easily grow your social networks to an impressive, book-selling level.

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—Kirk Cunningham, principal consultant at Cunning Relations 

& head publicist at Jolly Fish Press.

Intro to Blogging: The 5 Main Blogging Platforms

Today, more than ever, authors need to create and maintain an active blog. With how quickly things move in our society and the varying distractions warring over people’s attention, blogging is a way for authors to stay on their readers’ minds and display their writing prowess.

As important as blogging is, many authors don’t know where to start, which is where this post will help. There are many choices for blogging platforms available to authors with different levels of difficulty. Below are the five most common.

The 5 Most Common Blog Platforms:

Blogger - Formerly BlogSpot, Blogger is owned by Google. It is one of the easiest blogging platforms to use and one of the most popular. One of the benefits include the integration with other Google products.

We recommended blogger for beginners due to its simple functions and no-fuss layout. Because it is owned by Google, the analytics are pretty dang good too. However, if you’re more experienced with websites or blogs, you might feel limited with Blogger.

WordPress - Another top blogging platform is WordPress. WordPress is meant for those who are a little more familiar with blogging or for those up for a challenge. Wordpress has its own varying degrees of difficulty and customizability. You can also create a custom blog domain with relative ease.

Another benefit to using Wordpress is the option to host your blog with someone else. For more advanced bloggers, this opens up a lot of possibilities with ads and the types of widgets that can be used on the blog. Research of what authors can do with the platform is highly recommended to those who choose WordPress.

Tumblr - This platform is meant more for quickly sharing content (primarily images) found on other Tumblr blogs or online. Growing rapidly in popularity, Tumblr is an attractive option for authors who don’t really want to write lengthy blogs.

Depending on an author’s audience, Tumblr could be the way to go. Be warned—bloggers have been known to be shut down for copyright infringement because of images on their Tumblr accounts.

LiveJournal - Possibly the most versatile blogging platform, LiveJournal is flexible with how people use it. Customization is easy and users can set different security levels for individual posts. It also has an appealing close knit social aspect.  

LiveJournal allows users to have a ‘friends’ list and load ‘avatars’ that appear next to their pen names. Users can join communities (essentially groups) and post entries under those communities’ topics. Users can also create and monitor communities of their own.

Custom Website - A custom website is the most complicated and expensive type of blogging platform. Unless you’re design savvy or have a crowded wallet, this is probably not for you. However, a custom website gives you complete control over the look and feel of your blog, which can be a major plus if you’re willing to put in the extra work.

Know What You Need

One of the keys to picking the right blog for you is to know what you need it for. With all the different platforms out there, authors can find one that matches with their blogging goals. All it takes is a little research and knowing what to look for.

What blogging platform do you prefer to use?

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—Jessica Winn, publicist at Cunning Relations & Jolly Fish Press.