Tag: Writing careers

Self-promotion Tips for Your Writing Career

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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Many writers I know are more comfortable working behind the scenes on their novels than being in the spotlight. Which means they’re not usually comfortable blowing their own horn. Promoting their own work doesn’t “feel right,” they say. “I don’t want to come across as arrogant or narcissistic,” they might say, or “I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of people.” Neither could be further from the truth.

Self-promotion is neither arrogant nor narcissistic, and no, you won’t embarrass yourself, not if you plan how to promote your writing to the right audience. The truth is, If you want people to know who you are and what your book is about, you have to put yourself out there.

Self-promotion is about gaining visibility for yourself as a published author and for your work. These days, it doesn’t matter if you are self-published or traditionally published, writers are expected to carry some of the marketing workload.

Children’s author Linda Kay Hardie at the Writers and Publishers Network suggests not thinking of this process as self-promotion. “Reframe it as getting acquainted with other writers and meeting your readers,” she explains.

You’re not cold calling or going door to door to strangers’ homes, adds Hardie. You’re talking to people you already know about something that you’re passionate about–books and writing.

General tips for self-promotion

Browse the internet and you’ll come across numerous articles about self-promotion tips for writers. Here are a few that are valuable for any writer no matter where they are on their writing journey.

1. Make sure to create a good product. Take the time to produce something that people will want to buy and read. Keep in mind that just because you love your work doesn’t mean it’s quite ready to spring out into the world. Have a professional look over it to make sure that it’s not just technically clean but that the content is meaningful and relevant.

2. Start promoting your product Before the book is published, not just after publication.  That means telling people about what you’re working on even while you’re still working on it. Talk it up. Tell people what the book is about and why you decided to write it. Use social media to share snippets from the book so readers get a taste of what to expect. Or offer a discount on pre-sale orders. Then once the book is finally released, readers will (hopefully) be excited to buy. If you wait to promote your book until after it’s released, you’ve lost time and opportunity for initial sales.

3. Know your genre. Different genres require different approaches to self-promotion, says literary agent Carrie Pestritto on the Manuscript Wish List blog. For example, non-fiction writers will more likely need a strong online platform that promotes their expertise, such as a blog, website, or podcast. Meanwhile authors of middle-grade children’s books will likely do better with in-person events at libraries and schools.

4. Know your target audience. Who are your likely readers? Demographics can play a role in the type of self-promotion you use. Young adults in their 20s and 30s are likely to be found on X and Tik Tok (and Booktok), while older readers are more likely on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram as well as in-person events. Find out where your target readers go to learn about new writers. It’s important to meet your readers wherever they are.

5. Start within your local community. While it’s important to raise your online profile, in-person appearances are just as important. Children’s author Linda Kay Hardie suggests checking out libraries, universities and book clubs, which are usually eager to  work with individuals to provide educational talks and performances as part of their programming. Also check out local bookstores, street fairs and book festivals where you can volunteer to do book signings or readings.

6. Become a good literary citizen. Help other writers promote their books. Share their book info via your social media channels or write a review. If you blog about your own writing journey, remember to talk about the other writers you’ve met along the way. If and when the time comes for you to publish your book, they may do the same for you.

7. Bring extra copies of your book wherever you go. This piece of advice is the most surprising, yet most common sense thing you can do to promote yourself. When you’re invited to a party or some other social event, either bring a backpack with a small supply or keep a few copies in your car. You never know when you might meet someone who expresses interest in your book and wants to buy it. Then you can sell it to them right there on the spot.

8. Consider offering a freebie. If you’ve produced a short e-book, consider offering it for free for a short time, say a week. The freebie introduces people to you and your writing, and can generate enthusiasm for larger works that you have in your portfolio.

If all this makes you feel overwhelmed, don’t fret. Choose the ideas that best suit your audience  and your personality. It might help to develop a strategy for promoting yourself. Remember, quality of communication is more important than quantity.

Most importantly, don’t be pushy. No one likes an aggressive salesperson. Avoid hitting people over the head with your new product. Take a kinder, gentler approach, such as bringing it up naturally in conversation. Be yourself.

Hope these tips help you think about how to promote yourself as a writer. Remember that it’s all about being visible in your community and in your profession. You’ve put in the work to create a book close to your heart, so don’t be shy about telling people about it. 

Picturing Success for Your Writing Career

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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A professional colleague once told me, “Success comes before work only in the dictionary.” I remember her words today many years later because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be successful as a writer. The truth is, you have to work at being a writer. Success doesn’t happen overnight.

Even before we put any words on the page or think about our next story, we should think about what success means. To truly enjoy success in this odd creative profession we call writing, it helps to picture what success looks like. That picture won’t be the same for everyone. For one person, success might be getting their novel published after slaving over it for five years. For another, it’s finishing a first draft of their first novel. For yet another person, it might be sitting down to write 500 words every day.

When you’re just starting out as a writer, it might be difficult to imagine the big picture of your writing life because you’re more focused on getting words down on the page for your current project, or simply finishing your story. Few writers have any clear idea what their writing careers will look like down the road. They only know that they want to write something that people will want to read and enjoy.

There are two good reasons why picturing success is an important first step in your writing career. It helps you to:

*Imagine a positive income for your efforts
*Work toward a concrete goal

Picturing success isn’t always easy, at least not when you’re starting out as a writer. There are several steps to create that picture that will drive your creative efforts.

Step 1: Define Success
Before you picture success, take time to define what it means for you. What does it look like? What does it feel like in your body? Write down that definition and meditate on it. Your definition won’t be the same as someone else’s, so don’t be shy about defining it in unique ways.

Step 2: Think Ahead
Imagine what your writing life looks like one year from now or longer. Sometimes picturing your life in the future can help you set intermediate goals that will act as stepping stones toward that long-term goal. In the corporate world, they use a similar method called a Blueprint for Success. Apply it to your own writing career and see where it takes you.

Another trick is to use visualization exercises to help you “see” your success as if you’ve already achieved it. Close your eyes and visualize yourself receiving that writing award, reading a positive book review, or seeing your name as a byline. As you visualize your success, note how it feels in your body. That is the mindset you want to re-create as you move forward.

Step 3: Find a medium that best fits your picture.
Once you’ve defined success on your terms, consider different ways to picture success. Some creatives might prefer drawings or photographs while others use words. Whichever medium you choose, make it something that is meaningful and helps you see the possibilities for your career success as a writer. Here are a few ideas to get started:

* Meditation. Take time out of your day to meditate for a few minutes. Meditation can slow your brain which can help clarify the picture of your writing life. The mind can get fuzzy at times trying to juggle so many thoughts and tasks. So a brief meditation about success can bring your writer self into sharper focus.

* Journaling – Write about your writing dreams. Jot down ideas on how to achieve them. This might be a good place to jot down your definition of success, what it looks like and feels like to you. Journaling can help you sort out any feelings of self-doubt or confusion or fear that you might have related to your writing career.

* Create a vision board or a collage. Compile photos from your own collection or cut them from magazines to create a collage representing your writing career. Choose the images that best tell the story of your writing life, the goals you want to achieve or what you want your writing life to look like.

* Sketch your vision of success. If you enjoy drawing, sketch pictures that demonstrate your picture of success the way you defined it. The act of drawing or sketching can reinforce your writing goals so you feel more connected to them.

* Repeat affirmations. Create several affirmations to reflect what you want to achieve in your writing life. Then once a day, repeat those affirmations several times. The act of repetition, just like the drawings, can reinforce your picture of success so you don’t lose sight of it.

* Write a note to your future self. With a pen and paper, describe the writing life you’d like to achieve a year from that moment. Remind yourself what your goals are and what obstacles you must overcome to achieve them. Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Then fold up the note and bury it somewhere out of sight. Make a note to retrieve it in one year to review and reassess your progress.

* Write a manifesto. A manifesto is a declaration of intentions. To picture her own success as a writer, Octavia Butler created a manifesto that helped her stay focused on her writing goals. Whether or not you aim as high as Butler, your manifesto can guide your efforts as a writer.  Much like affirmations, a manifesto can reinforce your picture of success.

* Create a symbol of success. Think of a symbol or icon to represent what success means to you. It could be a star, a book, a smiley face, a rolled up scroll, a heart. Make sure the icon has meaning for you and relates to your vision of success. Then put the symbol somewhere where you can see it every day, whether it’s by your desk, a refrigerator, a mirror. Seeing the symbol everyday can serve as a reminder of what you want to achieve in your writing life.

Step 4: Revisit and Revise
No matter which medium you choose, it’s important to revisit your picture every so often, usually six months or a year. Have your goals changed? Has your definition of success changed? Have you set new goals for yourself? If your picture of success hasn’t changed, keep working. If it has, rewrite your goal, resketch that picture of success, then get back to work.

Keep your picture of success close so you never lose sight of what you want to accomplish.

The Path from Journalist to Fiction Writer

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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Writers come from all walks of life. Many have had previous careers, such as lawyers, doctors and journalists. No matter our background, we have one thing in common: a desire to tell stories. However, the journey to get published isn’t the same. In fact, it’s a struggle for most. That shouldn’t stop us from trying however.

I came from a professional background in association publishing. I knew how to string together complete sentences to present clear ideas. But how that would translate into a fiction writing career remained to be seen.

For me, writing an 85,000-word novel was a huge challenge. But did I have the patience and determination to see it through? That was the question. One I was itching to find out.

I started on this writing journey for several reasons.

* To determine the next chapter in my career. I was at a crossroads and wasn’t sure what was next for me. I had just left a full-time job after eight years and I wanted to take time out to consider other options. One thing I knew for sure was that writing was the core of my being, and it would play a significant role in my career in some shape or form.

* To fulfill a fantasy. I had toyed with the idea of writing a novel earlier in my life, but did nothing with it, likely because I didn’t know what I was doing. I knew nothing about story structure or scene development back then, nor were there the amazing number of sources available to help a newbie like me to learn the ropes.  

* To meet my accountant’s challenge. While getting my taxes done about 10 years ago, I updated my accountant on my job search woes. I confided that I wasn’t sure what to do next in my career. Her response? “I think you should write a book.” The challenge was on. My dear accountant has since retired, but I still hear her words of encouragement in my head.

* To sow the creative seeds that were sprouting in my brain. I don’t know if it was all the free time I had after I left my job or the writing classes I took, but my creative muse started working in earnest, spitting out story ideas like a factory. I had no choice but to work with them. I started to see story ideas everywhere, and there were too many to ignore. I saw them as a sign to take my dabbling to the next level.

Even though I wanted to take my writing to the next level and explore different genres, I knew there was plenty of work I needed to do. How did I move from corporate writer to aspiring novelist?

* I signed up for writing workshops and classes. It was at a local writing studio that I was able to unleash my creative writing juices. Being around other writers and getting their feedback helped me to hone my craft. 

* I subscribed to Writer’s Digest. Each issue is chock full of articles about the writing process, author interviews, agent profiles, news about the publishing industry, and tips for new writers. It also explores different genres, and gives a clear-eyed view of the writing life. There are other similar publications, like The Writer, Poets & Writers, Publishers Weekly (about the publishing industry) and Script Magazine (about script writing).

* I ramped up my novel reading. Since I had more time on my hands, I dove into my favorite hobby in earnest. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading. The more I learned about the writing process, the more I started paying attention to how the stories played out in the books I read. Reading was part of the self-education process.

* I started reading books about writing. The two best I’ve come across are by Stephen King (On Writing) and Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird). Though there were two very different approaches to writing, both provided the inspiration and motivation to support my writing goals.

* I started following authors, editors and publishing pros via newsletters and social media. I especially enjoy the insights shared by Jane Friedman, a former editor of Writer’s Digest, and book coach Janice Hardy. There are plenty of blogs and writing communities online covering the publishing business too.

* I joined a writer’s group. Though our group is small, only three people, we meet monthly to share best practices and motivate each other. The group is more about accountability and socializing than anything else. Still, it’s fun to talk shop with people who share my interests.

Though I started this journey in 2014, I’m still learning and growing. The more I have learned about writing fiction, the more I realize I need to learn and the more it feeds my determination to succeed. I hope one day to become published, and while I have accomplished a lot, that first completed novel to show editors and agents remains elusive.

For my readers and fellow writers who are in the midst of their own transitions or are considering one, here are a few tips based on my experience:

* Learn about creative writing and story structure as much as you can. No matter how much you think you know, there will always be something new to learn.

* Read as much as you can in your preferred genre. Notice how those authors crafted their stories and learn from their writing styles. It also helps you see what people are reading in that genre.

* Be patient with yourself. Learning about the writing process takes time and you will certainly make missteps along the way. Don’t beat yourself up when that happens. Instead, take a deep breath and start over. But don’t give up.

* Ask for help and support when you need it. Find a support group, not necessarily a writer’s group, but one or two people who will listen to your writing woes and be your biggest cheerleaders.

* Be consistent with your writing practice. That way you won’t lose momentum. Take breaks when you need it or when you feel stuck. Most importantly, have fun.

For more about this topic, check out these articles:

Navigating the Road from Journalist to Novelist
From Astrophysicist to Author: Tips for Making the Transition to Career Author
15 Tips for Starting Your Writing Career Later in Life

I’ll leave you with this wonderful tidbit of wisdom from science fiction author Mark Alpert: “Don’t worry about how long it takes to reach your dream. The long road just gives you more life experiences to enrich your fiction.”