When you decided to write your first book, I
have no doubt you thought the same as myself. You would become an author. A
writer of stories! An entertainer of sorts! And that would be your goal. The
work that would earn you a living (hopefully) and gain you some small acclaim
with the readers.
have no doubt you thought the same as myself. You would become an author. A
writer of stories! An entertainer of sorts! And that would be your goal. The
work that would earn you a living (hopefully) and gain you some small acclaim
with the readers.
What you didn’t realize was that today, to become
successful in this career, you must take on many other roles. If you learn
nothing else from me and my posts, please do understand this. Writing a good
book will not get you your dream. Not unless you can find a traditional
publisher who believes in you to the extent that he/she is willing to spend a whole
lot of time and money publicising your work. And even then there’re no
guarantees.
successful in this career, you must take on many other roles. If you learn
nothing else from me and my posts, please do understand this. Writing a good
book will not get you your dream. Not unless you can find a traditional
publisher who believes in you to the extent that he/she is willing to spend a whole
lot of time and money publicising your work. And even then there’re no
guarantees.
Today,
to be a prosperous, victorious author you must also become:
to be a prosperous, victorious author you must also become:
1. Writer
– a prolific story-teller who’s
really good at the craft.
– a prolific story-teller who’s
really good at the craft.
2. Promoter
– as soon as you get the book ready, this is the most important next step you
can take. It’s the hardest of all the other occupations you will have to assume.
But it is the most vital.
– as soon as you get the book ready, this is the most important next step you
can take. It’s the hardest of all the other occupations you will have to assume.
But it is the most vital.
3. Computer
geek – who is comfortable around the computer’s many efforts to sabotage your
work.
geek – who is comfortable around the computer’s many efforts to sabotage your
work.
4. Editor
– this you can and should hire someone to do for you but if you write badly, it
will cost you wayyy too much. Therefore, you must learn to edit yourself first.
– this you can and should hire someone to do for you but if you write badly, it
will cost you wayyy too much. Therefore, you must learn to edit yourself first.
5. Formatter
– again you can hire someone. At the beginning I did so and it jumped up and
bit me in the ass. It’s much better to learn how and keep control of all your
work.
– again you can hire someone. At the beginning I did so and it jumped up and
bit me in the ass. It’s much better to learn how and keep control of all your
work.
6. Cover
designer – now here, I truly believe you should hire a professional because their
creativeness of color, style, understanding what works goes in a whole other
direction than ours with words. I know many of you slap a cover together, and
do it well. I guess, for me, it’s like going out in public with my hair kinda fixed, my makeup kinda okay and dressed kinda nice. But I could look a whole lot
better – eye-catching, stunning…. Ahhh you know what I mean.
designer – now here, I truly believe you should hire a professional because their
creativeness of color, style, understanding what works goes in a whole other
direction than ours with words. I know many of you slap a cover together, and
do it well. I guess, for me, it’s like going out in public with my hair kinda fixed, my makeup kinda okay and dressed kinda nice. But I could look a whole lot
better – eye-catching, stunning…. Ahhh you know what I mean.
7. Blogger
– not every one of you wants to blog and that’s just fine. For me, although it’s
time-consuming, it’s helped tremendously with my writing. Because of the
blogging, I can write faster, smoother, my mind wraps itself around issues I
want to talk about a lot quicker than it used to because of the practise. And…
I reach a lot of people/readers with my blogs. Many have become friends who
support me. I love them and I love my blog.
– not every one of you wants to blog and that’s just fine. For me, although it’s
time-consuming, it’s helped tremendously with my writing. Because of the
blogging, I can write faster, smoother, my mind wraps itself around issues I
want to talk about a lot quicker than it used to because of the practise. And…
I reach a lot of people/readers with my blogs. Many have become friends who
support me. I love them and I love my blog.
8. Website
Manager – we were all told that having a website was one of the most important
choices we could make when starting out. I believe it’s true. But someone has
to manage it. I do my own blog but I have a webmistress. Except… she only does
what I ask her to do. It’s still up to me what material shows up there and how
it’s placed. Another chore to deal with!
Manager – we were all told that having a website was one of the most important
choices we could make when starting out. I believe it’s true. But someone has
to manage it. I do my own blog but I have a webmistress. Except… she only does
what I ask her to do. It’s still up to me what material shows up there and how
it’s placed. Another chore to deal with!
9. Accountant
– because this is a business, someone needs to keep track of your income and
expenses. Who else but you can know what those are? I’m lucky that in my working
life, I was a pay-mistress with a goodly amount of bookkeeping experience. But
that doesn’t help the rest of you.
– because this is a business, someone needs to keep track of your income and
expenses. Who else but you can know what those are? I’m lucky that in my working
life, I was a pay-mistress with a goodly amount of bookkeeping experience. But
that doesn’t help the rest of you.
10. Reader – reading is really important to you
now. Much more so than when you did it to be entertained. Oh those good old days!!! Now, your reading must include other’s blogs
about the business, books on craft, editorials about the future we face,
hundreds of e-mils to sort through which ones you must deal with in a day/week
and as everyone tells you – a good book by someone in the same genre who is already
reached the golden heights of the New York Time’s Best-seller and the USA Today’s
land of success.
now. Much more so than when you did it to be entertained. Oh those good old days!!! Now, your reading must include other’s blogs
about the business, books on craft, editorials about the future we face,
hundreds of e-mils to sort through which ones you must deal with in a day/week
and as everyone tells you – a good book by someone in the same genre who is already
reached the golden heights of the New York Time’s Best-seller and the USA Today’s
land of success.
If I’ve forgotten anything in this list,
please leave a comment and I will be happy to add it to my already daunting
number!!
please leave a comment and I will be happy to add it to my already daunting
number!!
We’ll deal with these one at a time
so next blog will be on – #1 Prolific Writer
so next blog will be on – #1 Prolific Writer
Okay, you're scaring me now! I thought this was supposed to fun, easy, get-rich-quick. No? It almost sounds like a job, 🙂
And not just any job. In a normal workplace, they pay you. In this situation, you find yourself paying…and paying…and….gulp! But – in the end, if you persevere, it'll come back to you – trust me :-))
You also have to deal with pesky friends who ask unreasonable favors and directions. It's not your job, but you get us anyway. 🙂
I love you un-pesky friends. You're what keep me having fun 🙂
Mimi, you do a fabulous job handling all of your different hats. You do much more than many other authors. You should be proud of yourself and you should do another podcast so that I can see you again. 🙂 Thank you my friend.
Leandra… you are a sweetheart! And if I ever do another podcast, I will be sure and tell you. As you know, I wasn't aware there was anyone watching me – dumber than a rock – I never thought to check the bottom of the screen where it showed there were others on the line. If I had, I would have waved and said hi! I'm glad I found you also – you make my life so much richer and easier and my books so much better xo
Thank you, Mimi, for the much needed validation. All these professions tied into one easily explains the lack of harmony I'm feeling in my writing career right now. Thank you for putting things in perspective.
Hi Carole, I hope I haven't scared you away – I just wanted to wake some of the newbies up LOL What we do is a tough, hard grind – and if you can learn to do it well, the sweet part is your creative soul can provide hours of entertainment for readers all over the world.
Wow! Who knew that so much went into the life of a published author. I guess we all have dreams of a romantic lifestyle, sipping on scotch while we tap at the keys, but this is not to be. At least we can say we work for ourselves and can hopefully be proud of our work.
Charles Campbell @ EVM Digital