~Take these truths with a grain of salt.
Some of these truths are not necessarily true for everyone. In my personal author journey experience they all are truths I wish I had been aware of when I decided to become an Author. With that in mind these are 5 truths new authors should know about.~
- There is no such thing as instant success.
- You can publish a Great book at the wrong time.
- Your fiction stories are not unique
- You cannot make everyone happy
- Being an Author can be extremely lonely
Back in 2020 when I first published my book Grandma’s Magic Blanket I was not prepared for the reality of being a unknown self published author. On the same note I did not have extreme unrealistic expectations either. I knew things would be ruff, just not sure how ruff.
God has a funny sense of humor and I believe it too. Almost exactly a week after publishing my first book the world went into lockdown. Giving me a very good look at how hard it would be to sell my book when I was relying completely on having book signings at library’s and local stores. So right off the bat, I was thrown a curve ball.
Frankly, I was not ready for it. 99.9% of us in all the different careers, weren’t ready for that lockdown. Skipping over 2020 completely, my book had gone to side.
2021, I was jobless, and writing a new book in the exciting genre of young adult.
2022, I was looking for book publishing options for my first YA book. Right now I am in the wrap up stage of getting my book formatted. Woot woot!!
These past three years have thrown multiple challenges my way and I am happy to report, it’s been rough but I think my books will make it through.
1. There is no such thing as instant success.
Oh boy, this one hurts.
There seems to be an unspoken excitement, I believe all or most authors go through when they discover their love of writing. We fill up with such excitement and hope that our brain tells us what we wish to achieve. Success, being known worldwide as a Great Author, as soon as possible!
Nothing is wrong with this, in fact we need this hope.
The truth bomb is the fact that if you are a new author, unknown for writing, you will not be a success.
Not right away! Haha freaked you out for a second huh? You can take a deep breath and relax.
Success takes time. On top of that, each author goes through a different journey. No one has the same exact experience when it comes to writing and publishing books.
All you have to do is Write your stories, find the publishing system that works for you and get your name out in the world as an author. Once that is done, you keep going and success will come when it’s right.
2. You can publish a Great book at the wrong time.
This one did surprise me. I thought once you wrote your book and published it, your audience would find it.
However just like any social media, everything seems to have a pattern of trends.
Look in the past year, search “top trends in book genres” You might want to take notes.
This does not mean don’t publish your book necessarily.
Just means be strategic.
Every years certain books do better than others. Be strategic about when and where you release your book. Look hard and deep into who your ideal audience is. Target and share your book with them!
Do your research and plot with a purpose.
3. Your fiction stories are not unique.
WOAH, Wait one second before you drop a mean comment. Keep reading, I’m not being rude.
Let’s be brutally honest here, we live in a day and age where there are millions of stories being shared on the internet. The plot of the story you are writing is most likely not the first plot like it out there.
However, what is unique is your individual perspective in the story. You might say it’s the angle of your story that makes it one of a kind.
That’s the Unique part of your story.
The point of view you write from. No one has lived the life you have. You are one of a kind.
4. You cannot make everyone happy
I can not STRESS this enough!
Authors, it doesn’t matter what genre, story style, person or font size you write your book in. You cannot and will not make everyone happy.
That’s a thought that I want to encourage you to push out of your mind right now. Instead replace the thought “I want to please everyone” with “I want to relate with my ideal audience”.
Make that your new line of thought.
I want to relate with my ideal audience.
Once you get your ideal audience down, the marketing and sharing of your book will go much smoother.
5. Being an Author can be extremely lonely
This comes with a gentle reminder.
Please authors if you struggle with depression, anxiety, any different types of mental health struggles, please look for proper help. You write much better for longer when you are feeling your best.
Take care of yourselves.
Check out my two blogs on self care for tips:
Get outside and keep up with your social calendar.
Go spend time with your friends, go shopping, and explore new places.
What ever you do, do not keep yourself tucked away in your house with your computer. It’s not healthy.
Your body still needs fresh air, sunshine and nature.
Being an author means you spend a large amount of time writing, editing, plotting and staring at computer screens. This also means you need to prioritize having a social life to help balance out your busy writing life.
Trust me, you need to find a balance in order to not have major burnouts. Speaking straight from experience.
I know the pain and real terror of being an introverted new self published author and that’s why I wanted to share these 5 truths with you. If you go into the author lifestyle with knowledge that things will be tough at times, you still need to live a full life outside of your writing, and that you can succeed! You will be just fine.
Did I miss any Truth Bombs? Comment below which bomb hit you the hardest?
Thank you for reading until the end. As a new blogger any and all support is appreciated and welcome.
Write on~
Cecilia
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis. Its always useful to read through content from other authors and practice a little something from their sites.