so you think you wanna publish...
Tonight I was mindlessly scrolling on Facebook when I saw a book club ask the question “What would you tell a new author who is about to release their first book, to save them a headache?” And since I rarely eschew a chance to espouse my opinions on things I answered. Then I thought it would also make a pretty good blog post, so I decided to expand upon each point that I made in the Facebook post a little further to underscore why I think that these are important things for a person to know before deciding that they want to *publish* a book. I won’t even get into things that one should consider when thinking about wanting to *write*…maybe I’ll come back to that. Anywho, here’s my $.02 on the matter…in no particular order.
Spend that bread on an editor. It’ll save you a lot of headaches in the long run. Let me put ten on twenty for you, having your homegirl who always got As in Mr. Feeny’s English class take a gander at your document and offer suggestions is cool, but also seek out a professional to run their gaze across the words before you hit send. Editors (should be) well-versed in not only grammar/syntax, but also story structure so that they can provide comprehensive feedback regarding your work.
Canva.com is THAT GIRL if you can’t afford a graphic designer. No matter what folks say many do judge a book by its cover, stay woke! I am visually challenged and even I have managed to make two of my own covers utilizing the services of Canva. Play around with it a bit, get to know the features, and learn how to create good looking covers for the freeski.
Don’t take reviews personally. Everything ain’t for everybody but that isn’t an indictment on your pen. You have to learn two things when reading reviews. The first is that there are very arbitrary reasons for which people do not like things and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to understand the logic where there is none. The second is that opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. Just because it’s what they feel does not make it fact. Forget having thick skin, you need skin made of teflon so that shit just rolls off. I’m not saying that no critique has any merit because that’d be foolish, I’m saying move with the discernment to know what to leave and what to heed.
Know your own voice. Don’t come in the game tryna be the Great Value version of so and so because it’ll bleed through if folks who are avid readers of the person you’ve modeled your work after consume yours. It’s easy to fall into trends or want to write what’s getting so much praise, but trust and believe your unique viewpoint has someone out there with whom it will resonate. Don’t be afraid to stand on your own.
Do not apologize for promotion on you social media pages. You are your own street team, baby. If you don’t pub who will? However I will also say…
Be a person, not a robot on social media. No one wants to keep following someone who is promo only. Allow a peek behind the veil, but be cautious w/ how much you share bc baby people get FAMILIAR. And if you’re like me? You’ll have to stop yourself from saying, “hold up pardna, you think you know but you don’t really know me. Remember your place.” often LMAO! In all things, balance is key.
Do not rely on people who aren’t readers to share, buy, engage with your work. Idk if it’s ya mama, daddy, granmaw, papaw, etc. it isn’t their responsibility to prop you up. If they do share your links? That’s awesome. But remember—it isn’t their job. Go reread number 5. You back here now? Good. Don’t begrudge anyone in your life if they aren’t your 24/7 street team. i can almost guarantee they’re supporting you in a multitude of ways that aren’t directly related to link sharing.
Know who and what you’re writing for. That means your audience and your purpose. If you decided to pub bc it looked like a quick way to make money? LOLGURLNO. It isn’t, but Jah bless if you think it is. It’s hard work, but very satisfactory if you have a clear goal and objectives in mind. Keep these two things at the forefront of your mind at all times and you’ll rarely go astray.
There are so, so many other things I could list, but I’ll stop here because eight is my favorite number and I gotta go see a man about a dog.
-Nic