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| Photo courtesy of John O'Nolan |
There's been a lot of talk lately about indie authors who decide to pull their work and call it quits. Boy, have I been there! Some days, I still think it would be so much easier to act as if this entire endeavor was an elaborate dream and I've just now woken up. The bottom line is that you have to love what you do more than you hate the details!
Writing is the fun part (most of the time) and the part most of us are the best at. Granted, there are some people who are good at all of it, but most aren't. After the manuscript is written, you have to pass it off to your editor (which you should have) and for formatting if you don't normally do your own. Then, beta readers or the like to look for issues missed in editing rounds one and two. Lastly, you run through the editing yet another time while compiling the suggestions from the beta readers and editor and look for continuity. You get covers made depending on how you're releasing your title. You pick a platform and click submit and there you go!
Obviously, there are a few parts that seem simple that really take forever, but you get the idea. Not to mention the money coming out of pocket to pay the service providers, unless you just have really awesome friends. In that case, I may need to make friends with these people :D
So you clicked submit. Now what? The short answer: market yourself. Ha! Easier said than done, unfortunately. Unless you already have a network of bloggers, writers, readers, etc., you may find yourself overwhelmed. Marketing is the part most of us suck at. But it's not really our fault! Some social media networks are requiring money in order to reach an audience. Pages I follow on Facebook are starting to move their business elsewhere because no one sees their updates anymore. A lot of people want to move to Google+, but aren't sure how it works and Twitter is so spammy it makes my eyes cross. Yet, most established indie authors will tell you to have the following:
Website
Blog
Facebook Page
Wattpad
Google+
Tumblr
(Insert other social media here)
Still, all of these things can be instrumental to garnishing exposure, but most authors can't keep up with it all on their own and many don't feel it's worth the trouble now that it's harder to connect. I mean, really? Who has that kind of time? A writer should be writing, not pushing refresh on their News Feed every five seconds in hopes that someone retweets or shares their story. That's what we'd all like you to think, but sadly that is exactly what most of us do. We get so wrapped up in spamming seemingly pointless social media that we forget to actually write! Craziness!
If you have money, you can hire a personal assistant who is versed in social media, but this person will handle your business. I mean, all of your business. You'd basically be leaving your livelihood in the hands of someone you don't know so you can actually do the thing that creates your livelihood. (Ouch, my head hurts). Chances are, if you're writing, you don't have enough money to pay someone else's salary. If you do, I think I'd like to make friends with you, too!
Think about this, also. How many indie or self-published authors are out there? I think it's more feasible to ask how many aren't out there. These authors, including myself, have to break through the din to have our voices heard. That also means we have to believe in our work and that it's as good or better than the mainstream books. Dog eat dog, my friends.
Listen, there is no single secret. Not really. I've been writing my whole life. I've been published since 2010 and I'm as starved as starving can get! I've wanted to quit. I've told myself that publishing isn't worth the headache if I don't see the returns, but I'm 100% full of crap. Publishing is worth every second. My blood, sweat, tears and screams go into the stories I'm sharing with the world and, although the crowd is small, they're inviting me into their imaginations for a few days or weeks of entertainment and then back again with open arms. I may not be the best writer, but I believe in my stories and characters to a fault. My passion is inked on those pages and it shows.
So for all of those who are looking to quit, ask yourself why you started writing in the first place. Did you want to become famous? Did you want to tell a story? Did you think "what the hell" and crossed it off your bucket-list? Do you even enjoy writing?
Get back to basics. Figure out what you want, first! Find the joy in what was once your great love. If the butterflies and goosebumps are gone, you may need to break up for a while, see other people, find new fish and what not. But if at the end of the day, you find inspiration from a typo before auto-correct has the chance to change it, there's something bigger going on there (true story). Take a step back. The world is most certainly your oyster.
'Til next time!
Lisa
xoxoxo
