I have never been
more determined to make a name for myself then now. Up until October 9th of
2011 I had been working at an Ice Cream Parlor for three some odd years. After
several months of no longer working there, my husband, Shawn took up a stalking
position to help support us. I couldn’t have asked for a better guy.
I guess up until
mid-year, around June or July, I loved writing but I guess I really didn’t know
what it takes to make a good writer. I spent so much time working on just one
story that I forgot about all the other things like: book covers, blurbs,
getting my name out there, starting a social media connection with people, and
many more things. I was just set on writing that one good story which would
“make” my career.
In the end I
struggled to figure out why people didn’t want to read my work when it came
out, or why people weren’t really even viewing it, but it was my fault. Just
posting your book up and expecting it to be a big success isn’t going to work.
Writing the book is only part of the battle, becoming a good sale person and
pitching it is also a big part of it. If you can’t convince people that they
want to read your book, than no one will.
The first thing I
needed to do was take a step back and view what I was doing was wrong and see
how I could correct it. Mind you this is after having written something.
1: I needed to get
specific. Break down: What would I love to write about? What kind of genres
does it fit in? Poetry or Prose? Fiction or nonfiction?
2: Once I figured
out my style of writing at that moment it was time to dust off my social skills
and connect to people. I created an Author bio in third person, a small set of
information such as: likes, dislikes, favorite books, movies, ect… A couple of
pictures of myself after having decided I would use my real name on my stories
(Some people use pen names as they are testing out the water.). I created a
Twitter account, A Facebook personal page and Author’s page, and a Blogger
account which I have linked to my Gmail. You want to spread the word of your
story as far as you can reach and these are just some of the places to do it.
Mind you that honestly is good no matter what you are doing and you shouldn’t
feel these pages with false information to discredit you in any way.
3: Now as I begun
to establish my connections I needed to check my work. Go back to my manuscript
and edit it. I also needed to provide a good cover. For those in which neither
is an easy task you will be surprise what joining an author’s group on facebook
can do. You will run across people that will volunteer to help edit, people who
create covers, and those that will review your book. All of them are great.
They are your friends. So I had to get over the fact that I would be spending
money at some point, but use what you have first. If you have an editor in the
family, don’t be afraid to slid your manuscript their way and promise a little
mention or something. If you have a Photoshop pro in the house ask them if they
could help, but if you don’t you may need to hire someone and its okay. A good
cover will help to increase sales.
4: As I waited to
hear back from people about creating a cover (and keeping up with my social
media) I needed to take the next biggest step. I had to decide where my
manuscript would go. At first I figured just Smashwords, which is a free online
eBook website, but after thinking about it I realized that I wasn’t limited to
just one site. Every free eBook site you go to has a different style guide and
thus more work, but in the end it’s worth it. So I placed my manuscript not
only on smashwords, but Amazon as well. Amazon is viewed and recognized by a
much larger crowd and thus is makes sense to get publish with them. You can
also put it up on Lulu.com, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads. The good thing
about Smashwords is that once your story is up it isn’t just up on the
smashwords page, but they spread it so several other sites which is explained
on their website.
5: After I figured
out where my manuscript was going I began to sale it. I created a short blurb
(a short summary which would be vital to help me sale it), little sales
pitches, blogged excerpts for people to get a taste of what was to come, set up
a date for when people could buy it, and spread the word as far as I could go.
(You can never go far enough so no matter what keep trying to sale it, even
after you’ve published.)
6: Once I had the
manuscript edited, a nice cover, a blurb, a good working title (which you should
have come up with early on), and what appeared to be several people backing me
up I submitted it and announced to the public is was online and ready for
purchasing.
7: Continue to
write! This is the most important step that I have come to realize.
You shouldn’t
expect to make it big off of one story and this was my biggest mistake. I
thought, I could do it, but I couldn’t it. Yes, I was heartbroken when I
realized my sales weren’t going up and yes I questioned if it was possible, but
after stepping back and walking through the steps above I launched my book
again on Amazon this time with a new cover and a new thirst for success! I
received the gratification I had been looking for and received a few sales. It
was these sales that gave me the little spark I needed to continue on.
I had accomplished
becoming a self-published author, receiving a good review, plenty of
compliments, and many new friends and supporters. In this moment you must take
in all the good and try not to get a big head. Take your new found drive and
put it into the next thing you are writing. That’s the secret. Keep writing.
1: Make a writing
schedule and stick to it.
2: Create not only
long stories but short ones.
3: Promote all your
works as often as you can without spamming.
4: Last, but not
least, it is okay if it’s free.
Making a story free
isn’t a bad thing. You’re not losing money if you do it right. If you wrote a
Trilogy and you give the first one away, depending if they loved it or not, you
just created a potential buyer for the next two books! That’s one more person
you didn’t have before who could tell a friend and give you more buyer. Making
a short story free allows people to get a taste for what you write and a chance
to review your other works.
In the end it all
comes down to you, the writer. It is rare to strike it rich early on and many
people won’t make enough of a profit in this field to no longer need a part
time or full time job, but what you can take away from this is the fulfillment
and enjoyment of bringing others into your world or to bring a smile to a
child’s face.
And to those that
do strike it rich, do not forget what it took to get you there nor the people
that assisted you along the way.
My name is Brenda
Franklin and I am a Writer by day and Vampire by night.
J You can reach me on
Twitter,
Facebook, my
Author page, or continue through my Blog. If you would love to
read any of my works (including the FREE ones) you can find them on
Smashwords.
I also have Book One of The Pulse Trilogy,
A Steady Pulse on Amazon.
Please feel free to leave a message and tell me what you think. :)
