When I wrote my first novel, I was elated. It was in 1997 and I wrote it in less than four months. I always dreamed of writing a novel, but always found excuses not to sit down and just write it. After a life-changing event, I reevaluated my life and what I wanted to achieve. One thing I always wanted to do was write a novel. Actually, many novels. Becoming a writer when I retired was a long-standing dream, but I was forced to reevaluate that long-term goal. I told myself, “If I don’t write the novel now, I may never write it. Life is too short not to follow my dreams.” That set in motion my dream of writing my first novel.
I had some ideas for a novel, but one idea stayed in my mind for days after I made the decision to write the novel. I wanted to explore an abused woman and the complexities of love and betrayal resulting from that abuse. I already had a character in mind that would be my lead. She was a tough woman, proud but angry and bitter, and she would endure some incredibly harrowing incidents in her life. I wanted to capture her spirit on paper and convey to the reader why she was a survivor.
When I decided on my protagonist, it wasn’t hard to pepper the novel with other colorful characters to bring the story to life. To create compelling characters, I drew on the characteristics of the people I knew, their personalities, their special annoyances, and their quirks to make the story interesting and believable. I wanted the characters to ring true with my readers. I wanted the readers to care about the characters. I wanted readers to want to meet the characters, go into their worlds, and feel their pain and sadness.
After finishing the novel, I felt that I had achieved my first goal as a writer: to put the work on paper. I did. I spent several more months tweaking the novel and making changes here and there until I felt like I had said all I could say about the characters at the time. My baby was finished.
It was time to see what others thought about my baby, my novel, so I sent the manuscript to numerous book publishers only to be met with rejection letters saying my work was not what they were looking for at the time. My first rejection letter floored me because I had not expected such a blatant negative response from the publisher. He expected some feedback on why it didn’t fit, but that didn’t happen. So I protected the book for a few years.
I realized that there was a lot I didn’t know about the publishing industry, and before I jumped into those waters again, naked, I needed to learn a little more about a world in which I had planned to make a career. I read, researched, and printed all kinds of internet articles about book publishing. When I came across self-published articles, it really hit me. At that time, in the late 1990s, self-publishing required a huge investment of money. To have a small print run, you would have to invest a large amount of money with no guarantee of a return on your investment. I put that idea on hold and decided to continue to focus on traditional book publishers to get my book to bookstores.
I waited another couple of years and continued my research. I also decided to write a couple more novels while I waited for the right time to get my books out. I researched the types of books that were being sold on the shelves and decided to write some short stories in those same genres. I could always go back and turn them into novels if the idea occurred to me.
In 2004 I came across information on print-on-demand publishers and decided that this was the way to go. I could self-publish my novel without a huge investment and an inventory of books that I couldn’t get out of my apartment’s spare bedroom. I didn’t have that concern with POD editors. I printed only what I wanted to sell. There was no backlog of books, and no inventory that I had to be responsible for selling to recoup my initial investment. I could recoup my initial investment by selling just 200 books. And I did it.
I researched POD publishers and settled on one outside of Canada, Trafford.com. I researched the website and the guidelines for submitting the novel for print. I decided on the size of the book, 5″ x 9″ x 6″, and determined that I wanted it to be paperback. I checked prices on Trafford.com and chose the package that would provide an ISBN number for my novel. I would also keep all rights of the book author.Through book distributors, I could place my novel in book wholesalers, chain stores, online bookstores, and independent bookstores.I was well on my way to publishing my book for the world to read.
However, I made some mistakes that first-time authors make. I didn’t have my book proofread before printing, so getting the book into key markets was more difficult after the fact, and I didn’t get the sales I expected. Nor did I plan a marketing strategy for my novel. I thought I would learn it as I go. Also, I didn’t promote my novel to the best of my ability, mainly because I didn’t think I would have to spend all my time promoting it. I just thought money would fall from the sky.
What a wake up call! Money didn’t come rolling in or falling out of the sky, for that matter. I had to seriously rethink how I wanted to make this new writing career work. Being a writer was not simply about writing the book and publishing it. To be a successful writer, I had to promote my book to keep it in the minds of readers so they would want to go out and buy it.
I learned that the hardest part of being a writer is learning how to market myself. It takes hard work, perseverance, and most of all, dedication on the part of the author, meaning myself, to go out and let the world know that I have a book that must be read.
So now I trudge.
