The Top Five Things I’ve Learned as an Author       

 

Patience: The publishing industry often seems to move at a snail’s pace, so if you don’t have
patience you will go mad. It takes time for agents, editors, or publishers to go through the mountains of slush they receive on a daily basis. Because of this, an author needs to learn to play the waiting game without becoming discouraged.

 

There Are No Short Cuts: There are no short cuts when it comes to the publishing industry, at least not if you want a quality book. Whether you publish traditionally, self-publish, or go the hybrid route, you cannot skip important steps like having a professional editor read through your work. You also cannot have the “Field Of Dreams” mentality. Just because you write it, does not mean the fans will come.  It takes a lot of hard work to build a fan base, a platform, or a brand.

 

It’s Up To You: And speaking of hard work and brand building, it is up to you. It is not your
publisher’s job to promote you and your book. They may offer assistance, but not necessarily. By definition, a publisher is a person or company that prepares and issues books, journals, music, or other works for sale. They are not your public relations department. They are not your salesman. They are not your go-to-guy.

 

You Will Make Mistakes: You will make mistakes along the way and that’s okay. Anyone who takes the time to try new things, anyone who takes the time to be creative, or anyone who takes the time to interact with others is bound to make mistakes. I have sent an agent a request and typed Mr. instead of Mrs., as well as having asked a fellow literary blogger if he would link to my page because I needed more traffic. Definite faux pas, but mistakes I learned from and did not repeat.

 

Persistence: Establishing yourself takes time as mentioned in point one, but it also takes persistence.
You have to stick with your writing, your marketing, your social networking, your pursuit of an agent or publisher, your pursuit of excellence, or any other numerous tasks related to being an author. You cannot give up just because the journey is long and difficult. You have to believe in yourself and your writing and know that eventually, all the waiting, the hard work, the brand building, and the learning from your mistakes will pay off.