Now that my book has been out a month, I can breathe a sigh of relief! The response has been wonderful. So have my tour hosts. My final guest spot at Patricia Stoltey’s
I’m pleased so many have found my book helpful. Publishing and promoting have changed so much in the last ten years. There are many opportunities not available even five years ago. Of course, there are just as many pitfalls. That was the purpose of my seminars and my book. Trust me, I made enough mistakes. You guys don’t need to make that many.
For those of you struggling to find a publisher or overwhelmed by the marketing required, don’t give up hope! There are so many options now. You don’t have to find an agent. You don’t even have to find a publisher. But you do need a business owner mentality no matter what path you take. And with all the resources out there, you will find your path.
Sometimes your path will surprise you. I started writing fiction. (YA, although now it would be New Adult.) But after two successful non-fiction books, I think I am better suited for that genre. I might venture into fiction again one day, but for now, I’ve found my path.
Have you found your path?
$4.99 Ebook ISBN 978-0-9827139-9-0
Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle UK, and Powell’s.
36 comments:
I'm so pleased to hear your book is doing well!
It is interesting where your path takes you. The one book I thought would be "The One" is the only one I've had to shelve permanently (though bits of it are being recycled!)
I think you do a great job with both non-fic and fic!
Good point about writers needing a business mentality, no matter what path they take.
I'm working on it and will hopefully find it soon with help from people like you steering us clear of the pitfalls.
I just got my copy in the mail and have gotten through the traditional publishing chapters. Got it this past Saturday.
Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
It's so great to read about your success-- I love your energy. I don't have a book yet, but am hoping some day an idea will bloom. And when it does, I'm so glad your book is out there!
I love your confidence and upliftedness! Yay for your book's success. And I believer you are right about this being a new world to publish in. Instead of letting it defeat you - you use it. A pioneer.
My path surprised me because I'm still on it!
And thanks for being such a faithful IWSG poster.
I love that we have choices now. It feels freeing. I'm about to query my NA book to a select list of agents. And if nothing comes of that, then I'll self publish it. I'm not even going to bother querying 100 agents before I give up. And because I have choices and am only querying a select group of agents, the rejections won't be paralyzing like they might have been in the past. :D
Still hunting for mine but I'm really glad things are going well with yours.
I love the encouragement you shared~
Thank you for this post :D
It brightened my day~
I'm glad you found you niche. Thanks for the encouragement. Writing can be a lonely place.
Your book is a Must read in my list when my time comes. :)
I'm still on the path and the mud hasn't even started to dry yet...but, that's o.k. There are a lot of great members of the community, always looking to help out and that's what makes it so great :)
Most of my 'success' has been with NF but I love fiction. I guess I should really try writing a NF book--maybe that's the path I should be on. Thanks for a great post.
BTW, if you'd like to do a guest post on how to put together/write a NF book email me at jessyferguson (at) gmail (dot) com. Would love for you to be my guest. Anytime.
Elizabeth, and that's what kills some writers.
Shelly, thank you so much for buying it.
Stina, there are so many options now!
Karen, I would love that.
Jess, thank you - I will.
I think I've settled into the fantasy pathway. I have so many books waiting for me to write, I don't think I'll have time to try something else.
That must be nice to feel so calm about everything. I doubt I ever will. But I definitely know my path. I just hope I can always follow it.
Hi, L. Diane,
CONGRATS again on your new success! IT is great that you found your niche.
My problem is I have such varied tastes. So I am still experimenting and writing whatever pops into my head. Since I am still unpublished, I guess I will know what works best for me WHEN I hit pay dirt with one of my books.
AND thank you so much for the really nice comment you left me. I know you are a no nonsense type of woman and knowing this made the comment that much more special. You made my day!
Diane, I can't tell you how much you inspire me :)
When I started out, I wrote a bit of non-fiction, which I really enjoyed!
Upon venturing into the fictional arena, I've discovered that I really enjoy flash fiction.
Not sure what all of this means. But will find out.
Good to hear your book and blog tour are doing well! :)
It is so great to see your book taking off and becoming so successful. I have no doubt that there is a wealth of knowledge between those pages and when I get to that part of my writing journey, I'll know exactly what book I'll need to get that will help me through the publishing and promoting stage. (:
Thrilled to hear your book is doing so well - deservedly so!
I've made a lot of changes over the past year, and I believe I've found my path. Of course there is always the potential for it to fork and lead somewhere totally unexpected—but that's okay, too.
~VR Barkowski
I have been spreading the word around about your book via the various social networks. And one science fiction writer I'm currently working with, is going to be purchasing your book.
My apologies, due to unforeseen circumstances with several trips to the hospital, my feature on your book has been rather delayed. I will soon get around to that.
I'm very pleased for you, my good friend.
Gary
Books like yours are so important - now more than ever. Too many options and pitfalls are out there lurking in the dark.
Your experience really shows how one should keep an open mind. That's great that you found such success.
The first thing I started thinking about writing was non-fiction but after only a few days of trying to plan it out, a fiction story stole my brain. :)
No, I haven't found my path. I'm still struggling with the concept of developing a brand - not totally sure what genre I should write in except it will be adult fiction; and in this world of inde publishers, I don't want to self pub my own novel. Nothing wrong with it, but I don't have that marketing mentality so important to successful inde publishing.
Like Faeries, I guess the traditional industry needs authors to believe to survive. As a champion of lost causes, I guess I'll plug along the dwindling path a while longer.
Congratulations on the success of your book. Honesty about the publication journey is in high demand. It may not always be pretty, but the road is the road, and better forewarned than misled.
.......dhole
Glad to hear that your book is doing well. Congrats.
H Diane .. you always offer us the professional touch .. and this comes across in your posts - so I'm sure your book has incredibly useful information in it ...
Having noted everyone's positive reactions to the book - such good news ...
I'm buying it in paperback .. prefer to be able to refer to aspects this way ... I expect I'll get into the Kindle thing - but for now the real thing it will be ..
Cheers Hilary
Nancy, the calm is an illusion.
Michael, that and I'm really blunt!
Gary, thank you so much. That is very sweet of you.
Donna, still some good options in the traditional world.
Hilary, thank you.
So happy for you that your book is doing well. I've been on my path for a long time, and I'm definitely on the right one :-)
I'm still trying to find my path. I've self published, but I'd really like to find a traditional publisher for my next books. It gets a little frustrating when you get one rejection letter after another!
I'm glad your book is doing well!!! I just feel like I've ventured about a mile down a much longer path, and I think I've found the right one, but I'll see as time goes on.
I need to start planning my book tour. Of course I have no idea the exact date my novel is being released.
I'm glad your book is selling and receiving exposure. What a fantastically positive post.
Paths take strange turns sometimes, huh? Glad your book is doing well.
I thought my path was more literary... once upon a time. Ha!
I'm on my path...I know it...but it's filled with so many dang detours lately! :)
Post a Comment