If you are a self-published author, the one thing I'm sure you know is that you are definitely on your own in the marketing of your book or books. Don't get me wrong, traditionally published authors also have to do a certain amount of marketing and connecting with their readers as well. But, this article is about the things no one tells you about as a self-published author as you venture through this maze of writing, publishing, and marketing. Here are (7) things that I have discovered and I'm sure you can probably think of a few more:
1.) No two author journeys will be the same! (There might be some similarities, but most of the time the journey for each writer will be different). So don't compare your writing journey with another writers journey. 2.) Authors who are a 100% employed by their writing never stop working. (If you work a 9 to 5 job and also write you might find yourself not always writing because your livelihood doesn't depend on it). 3.) Writing a book can be lonely if there is no one to share this process with. (If this is you, you might want to check out Facebook writing and author groups to help you through those times when you feel like you've become too much of a recluse). 4.) Depending on what you are writing, some things can cause you to become depressed. 5.) As a self-published author depression can be greater if you aren't selling too many books or if you're worried about maintaining your book sales every month. 6.) When you finally make it as a top-selling author your worries will become greater as you try to continue putting out better and better books. 7.) You will be judged more then you could ever imagine. In fact, your English and grammar teacher will be around every corner just waiting and lurking to pounce on you.
Here is a video I found below talking about this subject:
I think one of the best things I discovered from the above video was having a schedule to do everything. I have been doing this and it has helped me a lot. I've been using Trello for creating my schedule and I love it.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss how do you find success as a writer?
You start writing a book and then you stop. You start writing another book and then you stop. You'll actually write a book to its completion but it's just the first draft and you don't know if you have the energy to go back through it to edit what you've written. So instead you decide to start writing another book. You write a book to its completion and edit it to death...and edit it to death. You edit it to the point that you decide it isn't very good. So you junk it and start writing another book. We're not even going to discuss the motivation and procrastination we go through in writing a book. Anyway, this cycle continues on and on for many writers until the book you have written never gets published. (Here is a video that I found on youtube that basically sums up why writer's don't ever finish their book).
The other thing that writers have to consider is are they really writing a story that they are passionate about. If you are writing something that doesn't really interest you, this will usually cause you not to finish a book. Then there is writer's block; this is something that plagues many writers at one time or another and can cause you not to finish your book as well.
So if you are a writer who is sitting on a lot of unfinished manuscripts and you wonder if you will ever finish one of them. You might want to think about the above-mentioned information and see where you fall into this equation. The only suggestion I can give you is that if you are writing something that you are not passionate about don't abandon this story just set it aside and start writing something else. I have found that stories I have abandoned along the way that I eventually have gone back to later in my life.
One last thing, if you don't know how to end your book and you feel like it has been going on forever, think about a book series and just end the first book with a cliffhanger and then start the second book. While you are writing the second book find some time to work on the 2nd draft of the first book. Let me just say there is something about having one book done in your series that helps you to write the second book, and so on and so forth.
In my next article, I am going to discuss the things no one tells you about as you journey through your life as an author.
When writing a book, writer's can deal with a whole lot of situations, especially if you are writing about something that you never would have fathomed ever writing about before. As a writer, I can tell you that ideas for books for me have come from all kinds of places, especially some of my dreams at night. The other day I was watching a video from a fellow writer talking about writing dark fiction and how hard it was. (see video below).
Most writer's at some time or another will be faced with writing something that they could never contemplate ever writing, but as writer's we are generally driven from our inner core to write our stories. Why this is I can't really say, but I think a fellow writer by the name of John Perrier stated it right in a quote when he said, "My stories come from someone inside me. I'm just the typist". I can relate so much to this when I am writing. I especially can relate since I am a pantser and not a plotter type of writer. Yes, I would rather write from the seat of my pants without really thinking ahead of what is to come in my story. So because of this my mind generally runs what I like to call a mind movie in front of me. As I watch the movie in my mind my fingers just start to type. If I ever tried to be a plotter and outlined every part of my book, I can tell you this would never work for me. I guess what I am trying to say here is that if you are a plotter writing something deep, dark, and twisted that just outlining your story is probably going to be tough. Since I don't outline I can't answer truly what happens when a plotter is writing something off the beaten track. I can only talk about how I write. (Here is a video below talking about pantsers and plotters).
I have heard writer's tell me that sometimes the story they are writing becomes too much to handle at times. They say that it can take a toll on their health and drain them. They talk about how their story can absorb their everyday life, to the point that they feel they are going insane. When I was younger I was very much like these writer's, but the older I got the more aware I became on how to deal with the writing of certain things that might not have been what I would call the most enjoyable.
How I deal with writing something that I wouldn't normally ever consider is by basically separating myself from it. I know that most writers have to place themselves into their story, but I don't. What I do is when I am writing something that is hard to write I just pretend that Hollywood has come calling and wants to do a movie about my book, and they ask me who would you like to star in it. So what I do is cast my book with certain actors and actresses playing the parts. This way when I am writing I just see a mind movie starring my celebrity lineup and it makes it easier. Yes, sick, twisted movies do affect me, but I am not personally in them. Not to mention, I never place any family, friends, or co-worker types in any of my books. If I did that I wouldn't be able to write it. I find it interesting when a writer says they can't really see their characters. If I couldn't see my characters I definitely wouldn't be able to write. I like making picture boards to go with my story. I get a lot of photos off the Internet and place them on a picture board so that when I'm writing I can look at it and it inspires my story. Also, music video's help me a lot with the writing of my books as well.
But, I'd like to share an example of something I wrote which was a first for me and that was my erotica book: "The Ugly Side of Paradise".
This was the very first time I decided to write in the erotica genre, and I have to tell you it was extremely challenging. Since I usually write adult contemporary romance you would think that erotica wouldn't be that much harder, but it was. In adult contemporary romance, the story is the stronger selling point in the book and not the sex. Whereas, in erotica, the sex is the highest selling point in the story. Also, in erotica, the language is usually pretty foul and somewhat disgusting, so this book did make me at times somewhat uncomfortable when writing it. It made me think of E.L. James who wrote "Fifty Shades of Grey". In an interview with Elizabeth Vargas, it was obvious that writing this book was extremely uncomfortable for her at times. When watching this interview you almost could feel her embarrassment over it. (See video below to this interview).
I think the one thing I could relate to in her interview was when she said that she never wants her two sons to ever read the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy. I can relate so much to this. I would not want anyone in my family to read "The Ugly Side of Paradise" because they would probably get the wrong idea and start to wonder what I've been truly up to. They probably wouldn't be able to under that what I write is one thing, who I am is another. (Most writer's I'm sure can relate to that statement). The truth is when I wrote "The Ugly Side of Paradise", just like E.L. James I had to do a lot of research and some of it made me quite uncomfortable. I bought and read a book called: "How to Write Erotica". This book helped a lot. I do have to say that I take my hat off to writer's who write under the erotica genre all the time because this is one heavy subject. Personally, I like writing adult contemporary romances with just sex as basically the backdrop and not the full story.
So my best advice for writing a story is write something you truly feel comfortable writing, but if you get an idea that takes you to the dark side, (so to speak) you might want to try the Hollywood effect and try to cast it with actors and actresses playing the part and creating a picture board with them on it before you sit down to write. Anyway, this has helped me, maybe it will help you too. In my next blog article, I am going to discuss why a lot of writers don't ever finish their book. So stay tuned!
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When writing a book the thought of how you will publish it is generally in the back of your mind until it comes time to publish it. If you are self-publishing you will need to decide how you will market it to your possible readers, such as; will it be an eBook only or just a Paperback only. Maybe you will want it to be published as an eBook and a Paperback. Whatever you decide, if you are self-publishing and you want both of these options each will require work on your part. The reason is that the setup of an eBook template is different from the setup of a Paperback template. Then if you decide you also want your book to be in Hard Cover and Audiobook format this will open up a lot more work for you because each of these types of publications requires there own different setup as well. I have to admit that personally I only have some of my book as just eBooks, and a few of them as both eBook and Paperback. I am currently working on making all of my eBooks into Paperbacks, but like I said, this takes a whole different template to set up before an eBook can be made into a Paperback as well. (and it is also very time consuming if you are planning on doing this yourself). I do not have any of my books currently in Audio or Hardcover, but I have been researching this and might just attempt to do this to all of my books. The one that I recently have been considering more than any of them is Audiobooks because I heard that sales in this area for the year 2017' has gone up by 25%, so it's obvious that the market is headed in the Audiobook direction. I know there are people out on fiverr.com who offer the various publication services in formatting eBooks, Paperbacks, etc., so if you are willing to fork over some money to someone else to do this for you then this can help get your book or books published in the format for your reader market a lot quicker then you could possibly do it yourself. This is just something to consider. (Here is a video below talking about eBooks and Physical Books).
And here is another video below with a person giving their pro's and cons for an eBook and a Paperback book. The Audiobook will also be discussed in this video.
Hopefully, if you haven't yet published, or have published at least an eBook that this article and the videos presented have given you some food for thought in how you want to publish your book for the mass market. I know that, although I have published 10 books that they are still a work in progress on whether I should branch out from just eBooks and physical books. As a writer, this is definitely something I will be thinking about more.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss how much writing a book affects people, from their sanity to their general health, etc., and the things I have learned along the way that has helped me to get beyond some of the craziness called book writing.
I recently was in a writers group and the discussion came up about whether a writer should be on more than one social media site? First, let me just say that social media is great for branding yourself or your business. Social Media helps you and your business to get discovered. But, does a writer need to be on every social media site out there? This is the question that I have wondered about at times. Personally, I don't think so. I think if you start out with maybe three or four main social media sites and go from there that eventually your name will get out there. I think the thing that you need to realize about social media is that it is no good to you unless you use it regularly. I have found many writers starting out on many social media sites, only to become overwhelmed by having to maintain all of them. (Here is a video talking about how to build your author platform and dealing with social media below).
One of the most important things to remember if you are a writer starting out on social media the last thing you should be doing is selling your books to people. Most people don't want to be sold to all the time on social media. Most people usually are on social media to get to know people from all over the world or to learn something, or they want to introduce themselves to you. The last thing people want to see on social media is buy my book, buy my book, buy my book!!!! Now, I am not saying that you shouldn't eventually tell people about your book or books but it should be in basic conversation. Of course, now if you are doing something special with your book, like offering it for free for a time you can always mention this, or maybe you are currently writing a book and you want to talk about it, such as: the plot, difficulties you are having, maybe struggling with writers block, etc. You can announce a pre-order of this book if it is available, but it should only be in passing as you talk about the writing of your book. Remember people on social media don't want to hear buy my book, buy my book, buy my book if you haven't first stopped to get to know them and offer some kind of value and help to them. Why should someone care about your book, if you don't have any interest in them other than as a customer? Stop spamming and start getting to know your potential readers first!
Also, social media is a tool to get to know people and your potential readers, and as a writer, it should be used first and foremost for this. You also need to remember that you are a writer first and that you should schedule only a certain amount of time on social media per day so that you don't ignore your writing over it. (I personally have a digital timer and I make sure to stick to my schedule of time for each social media site, and then for my writing).
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss the various ways to publish your book and whether you should have all of them. (eBook, Paperback, Audiobook, Hard Cover, CD)
It's interesting when I hear from a fellow writer who admits that they've only written and published one book and that they feel defeated that no one is reading it. Yes, I can understand why this fellow writer might feel this way. But, since writing is my passion, I could have never just written one book, and published it, then called it a day and said because no one was reading it that I wouldn't be writing another book.
But, I know this writer isn't the only one who has done this. When I check writer's and their books out on Amazon.com I have found this to be the norm, believe it or not. Of course, there is also the person who never gets around to publishing their book even once because of the unknown and fear they have attached to doing so. There is also the writer who is probably writing a book for all of the wrong reasons. I don't know what your reason or reasons might be for writing a book, but when I hear someone say they have been writing for years and never have published anything I generally start wondering why especially when it is so easy and economically cheap to self-publish today? Now that the gate guards (traditional publishers) can't stop you from self-publishing I really started to question a writer when they tell me they've never published. Okay, I should admit that a few writers did tell me they were somewhat scared because, after all, when you publish something you have written you are exposing a lot to a potential reader. I mean, I've admitted that I write under a pen name, right? But, like I said I do this for many reasons. If you haven't yet read my previous article about "Pen Names: Are They a Good Idea", it will explain why I do this, and maybe if you are holding back in self-publishing because of this technicality then maybe a pen name might just work for you. The most important thing if you are a writer who has just published one book and it hasn't worked out for you yet, that the next book could? You never know if the next book you published just might be the one to resonate with a large group of readers, and if not, just remind yourself that not everyone will be a reader to what you are writing, but keep writing! Here is a video below that might just help you decide once and for all if writing and publishing is really what you should be doing.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss social media and the importance of it for writer's.
As a writer this is something you will have to think about when writing your book. Just how long a chapter should be, and when a chapter might be too short? This dilemma is something you have to consider because readers will. Let's face it, personally when I am reading a book I don't particularly like a long chapter. I guess it's because if I am only planning on reading one chapter before I go to bed I don't want to be reading something more than ten pages. Of course, this is just me. If you are a person who reads a lot, but you are also a writer you know the value of time. I know many writers who will reward themselves with reading if they write so many words. I've also heard many of them say when taking a break from writing and treating themselves with reading that they don't like it when the book chapter is too long. They say that they hate stopping their reading of a chapter in the middle when their break is over. I have to agree with this. (Here is a video discussing this topic).
The only time that I can handle a long chapter is when something crucial is happening in the story which makes you almost not even realized just how long it is. I don't know how you all feel about it, but this is definitely something you should think about when you are writing your book; just how long is too long, and just how short is too short?
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss the one book phenomenon. This is the person who only writes and publishes one book and doesn't plan on writing anymore because their first book isn't selling.
The thing that makes this site so interesting is that it will analyze any document you've written and tell you various things about it such as; word count, how many times a word is used, the number of wordy sentences you have and how many words make up that sentence. It will tell you if you weigh heavily on using certain words, and so many other things about your document. The site is basically plain in its appearance but will amaze you with how much it can tell you about your writing. It will ask you some questions that you will need to fill in so that the program will know how you want it to analyze your text document. Some of the things it will ask you to fill in are:
minimum characters per word
special word or expression to analyze
number of words to be analyzed
...and a few other things.
Then all you will have to do is click at the bottom on the left-hand side the words: analyze the text. Your data will then come up. The one thing I did discover is that this site works best when you deal with just a page or two. If you were to insert a whole book it could take awhile.
Anyways, you might want to give this site a try and see if it can help you with making your writing stronger. I personally found some interesting things in regards to my own writing and I am sure you will too.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss long chapter vs. short chapter. Which do you prefer? So stay tuned!
If you've been reading this blog regularly then you know that I wrote an article awhile back about an app called Evernote and how it could organize your life from personal to professional. I also talked about how Evernote could help you with outlining your book. Well, recently I found something that I think is just a little better and I want to share it with you called Trello. The website is at:
The reason I think Trello is somewhat better than Evernote is how it is set up. Whereas in Evernote, it runs off of notebooks and notes, but Trello is more visual in its appearance. (Here is a video showing you Trello and how it can be used for outlining a book).
Personally, I think Trello is a better, organized program. I also found that it is easier in finding what you need quicker and easier than Evernote. Yes, this is just my personal opinion, but I'm sure if you try Trello you will see what I am talking about here. (Here is another video about Trello showing you the many other things you can use this program for other than just outlining a book).
Anyways, I hope you'll check it out, and I hope you find that organizing your personal and professional life can be done at the click of a button. So get rid of all those little paper notes you have laying or hanging around you and get better organized through TRELLO!
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss what is Textalyser, and how it can help your writing?
When you first get an idea for a book it is usually an exciting time in a writer's life. You generally can't wait to get started in writing this book. In the beginning, your ideas are flowing and your excitement is energizing you. But, then as time goes on the newness starts to fad and your book starts to feel somewhat like a chore in writing it. You might even start to wonder why you even decided to write this story in the first place, right? Hey, I've been there and questioned that. This is the time when it becomes extremely hard in staying focused on your book to be able to finish it to its completion. Believe it or not, this is the biggest reason most people who start a book never finish it. The excitement turns into a struggle, and as a creative person, it can become somewhat daunting to your everyday life. This is when an author will generally abandon their story for a new idea and start down the same path to writing a new book, only to repeat this cycle over and over again. I have had several authors tell me they are sitting on many unfinished manuscripts because of this. So what's an author to do when you experience this? (Here is a video that discusses this topic and some of the things you can do).
One of the things I've started doing is writing the scene in my book where my idea originates. I know this might seem strange but a lot of times when we get an idea and start a book, we just want to get to the part where our idea comes into play; at least that's what I want. But, trying to get to that part is usually the thing that trips us up. I say this because in the current book that I am writing, which is a historical romance my main idea comes towards the end and I found I was having trouble starting this book because of this. So in the end, I just decided to start my book towards the end where my idea originates and work my way to the front. I know this might sound really strange to start a book at the end, but it seems to be working for me so far and I am enjoying my story as it is taking shape. And since this is the first historical romance novel I have ever attempted to write this seems to be working out for me.
The other suggestions I can offer to you is try to find something that will inspire you every day to write. I have certain music that I listen to. When I hear this music it makes my brain wake up to the knowledge that it is time to write, and this seems to work for me also. (Here is the music video I listen to with my headphones when I am writing).
Also, see if you can find some pictures on Pinterest which might inspire you as well. I found this video on youtube from the movie "Pride and Prejudice" that helps me get into the historical mood when writing my current, historical novel. (See below).
These things do help me and just might help you. Just find something to inspire you so that you can get back to writing. There has never been a better time than now with all of the technology around us that is just a click away to inspiring your writing. So stay focused and get back to writing now!
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss a site called Trello, and how it can help you in outlining your book or logging in other story ideas and keeping track of it all. For a writer, I feel this site is just what the writing doctor ordered. lol
In the movie "Field of Dreams," there was a phrase used that said, "If you build it they will come". I bring this up because I always thought that if you write it, your readers will come, but that has not been the case for me. Marketing a book is what I consider harder than actually writing a book. If you have yet to publish a book then I have to warn you about this. This is the reason I call this blog "The Struggling Indie Author" because this is where I am struggling the most and I want to be upfront about that. I don't want you to think when you publish your first book that your readers will instantly come because the percentages are against you. I have studied marketing a book heavily and I have tried many of the tips and strategies for selling my books and I have had little to show for it. I have even talked to other authors about this out on social media and many of them tell me the same thing in that it has been hard finding readers to read their books as well. Yes, you can go out to youtube and find people who claim that they make over $10k on their books per month but I would be cautious of these individuals. Don't get me wrong, I am sure some are making good money, but the percentages of them will tell you it didn't happen with just one book straight out of the gate. I have heard many of them say that it took a lot of hits and misses before they finally found their audience of readers. Even the best selling authors who have been on the New York Times bestsellers list will tell you that it took time. (Here is a video that I found on youtube where top authors give beginning writers advice about this).
The one things that I have learned after self-publishing is that you can't be in writing for the monetary values of it. You need to be into writing for the enjoyment of creating a story and just hoping that you'll be able to share it with someone else. This is a career that takes a lot of patience and determination. Writing is something that you have to be in for the long run or your chances of being successful probably won't happen. (I found another video that discusses how bad do you want something).
Number 10 on this list is what I decided is the best tip I could give myself today so that I know I will continue to write everyday regards of whether I ever find my readers. (If you didn't read the above list, here is what I wrote to myself on #10).
10.) And, if all else fails if you don't ever find your readers, then enjoy your own books, after all, you wrote them because you have a great passion for storytelling.
I guess what I am telling you here is that after you publish your first book, if you find that your book isn't selling, don't panic, just keep writing. Do it for the love of writing because like the saying goes do what you love and the money will follow. If not, at least enjoy the journey of getting published and being able to hold your paperback book in your hand. There is really something about doing this that makes all your hard work worth it. You can take my word on this.
So if you self-publish and don't see very many sells, if any, just remember, keep writing. The more you publish the better chances you will have one day in getting discovered. But, most importantly, do it because you truly love it. It's the reason I do it every day. Good Luck.
In my next blog article, I am going to discuss how to stay focused writing a book, especially when you find that your story seems to not be going anywhere and you are thinking about abandoning it.
One of the most important things you have to think about when writing a book is the names of your characters. This will be extremely important if you are dealing with certain types of stories base on a time in history, cultural, and mythological, etc. These types of stories you really need to pay attention to when naming your characters.
The other things you need to be careful is when naming your characters if two characters first names start with the same first letter. The reason I say this is that you can mix up these names without even thinking about it. Believe me, this can happen. It happened to me, but luckily I discovered it during one of my edits. (Here is a video below talking about how to name your characters).
As you can see from the video above, naming characters can be difficult. The one thing I learned from this video was creating a list of names to always have on hand. I have to tell you this list has helped me in more ways than one. Another thing I have discovered about naming characters is a website called: "Behind the Name" to which I have linked. This is a handy website because it gives you lists of names from different nationalities. I have found this site to be quite handy when naming characters. Maybe it will help you too.
In my next blog entry, I am going to discuss the difficulties you will face when marketing your book or books.
If you are a self-published author, the one thing I'm sure you know is that you are definitely on your own in the marketing of your book or books. Don't get me wrong, traditionally published authors also have to do a certain amount of marketing and connecting with their readers as well. But, this article is about the things no one tells you about as a self-published author as you venture through this maze of writing, publishing, and marketing.
![The Ugly Side of Paradise by [Hart, E.S.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51T00oOLQLL._SY346_.jpg)
