Advice For New Authors

Bouncing off of my previous post, I wanted to expand on what advice I gave to my friend about starting his intrepid journey into the writing world.
(see what I did there about splitting one potential post into two?  😊)

First off, understand that writing is the fun and easy part.  I think a lot of us thought that our writing careers would entail us waking up when the sun was warm, brewing a fresh pot of coffee, and sitting down to craft our masterpiece.  After all, we went into this to write…right?

As I relayed to my buddy, writing is the least stressful and least time consuming part of what we do as writers…

Staying on the topic of just the writing, know that unless you’re a prodigy, rarely can you just sit down and churn out something grand.  Sure, lots of writers are what are known as “pantsers,” as in “writing by the seat of your pants”(little outlining), but even the most prolific panster needs to know where he or she is going, and that involves just sitting and thinking about your story.  Even if you don’t outline it, figuring out where it’s going is a huge time commitment.

Then there’s the editing.  Again, unless you’re a master who has bene doing this for more time than has ever existed, the first thin you put on paper isn’t going to be flawless.  There will be continuity problems.  There will be errors in spelling and punctuation.  There will be LOADS of extraneous words that make your story seem overwrought and cumbersome.  So you’ll need to invest time in editing.  This means you, the author, going back through your work and culling large parts while you correct others.  And this isn’t even to preclude working with an editor for hire whose edits you till need to look over to determine their worth(remember – never, ever, ever submit your stuff without outside eyes looking it over…no matter how good you think you are, you’ll miss stuff and come off as an amateur).

But let’s say that you’ve gone through all of that – the outlining, the writing, the editing, etc.  Now you have to get folks beyond you and your family to read it.  And that is multi-layered in itself.  You need to figure out if you want to go with traditional publishing or indie publishing.  Have you researched agents and how to write a query?  Have you thought about semi-annual reimbursement rates?  Are you willing to accept whatever edits the publisher says are required, and how comfortable are you with giving up control over the cover?  If you go indie, do you have the financial resources?  Do you know what you want your cover to look like?  Who will format your book for release, and what platforms do you think will be good to offer it on?

Yet even that pales in comparison to getting the word out.  Whether traditional or indie, you will be expected to generate your own buzz unless your name is Rowling, King, or Patterson.  It’s a lot like trying to find a job – you need to network, you need to attend trade shows(ie, writers’ conferences), you need to join readers groups, etc.  Remember, until you build a name cache, no one knows who you are, much less do they care about your story.  You have to find ways to make them care.

You also need to consider how you’ll run your business as an author.  In traditional, do you like the terms the publisher demands(pro-tip – when you’re a newbie, the publisher holds all the power)?  In indie, will you set up an LLC or a sole proprietorship(remember, Uncle Sam wants his cut)?  I know you got into writing to write, but there are laws about this stuff if you ever hope to make any money.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing just for fun too, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to eventually get paid for my creativity.

I’m not trying to scare anyone off – I just want to make sure those entering our world understand what is involved.  There’s a difference between being an amateur, just-for-fun writer, and a professional author.  Know what that means going in so you can make an informed decision.  You’ll be so much happier with whatever path you choose if you do.