So, you have decided to take everyone’s advice and write a book, huh? The ever-elusive great American novel, perhaps? Hey, it could happen. You will not know until you try.
When it comes to writing your first book, if you are anything like me, you’ve thought about it for years, probably decided to do it a couple of times, and maybe even managed to put a few words on paper, or more likely a few words on a screen, before running up a white flag and retreating to a safe spot to lick your wounds and prepare to try again another day. This time is different, though. This time, you will do it come the proverbial Hell or high water.
I published my first book, The Streets of Greenfield, in November 2023 and my second book, Snapshots In Time, just a few weeks ago. To put that in perspective, I have wrestled with writing a book since the mid-1990s. I actually wrote a few words back in 1999 and again in 2002. Both efforts lasted about five days. It wasn’t until 2019 that I finally committed myself to seeing it through, and it still took me four years to complete. I had just turned fifty-eight when I could finally say I was a published author. The moral of the story is, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. So, do it!
The first thing a new writer must do is read. Do not worry about writing if you are not reading. If you do not read, you can no more write than you could surf without swimming or run without walking. Read anything, but mainly within the genre of the book you are writing. For me, I read a lot of short stories by accomplished fiction writers because my two books are collections of short stories: books by Ernest Hemingway, Donald Ray Pollock, Stephen King, Flannery O’Connor, Tim O’Brien, and Sherwood Anderson, amongst others. Reading will sharpen your understanding of sentence structure, punctuation, and, most importantly, perhaps, dialogue. Things you could have learned in school but, like me, probably did not. Reading aloud is especially helpful because it is easier to evaluate the flow of the story when you can actually hear the words.
Read a few “How To Write” books. I have read several, and like anything else, some are better than others. Amongst my favorites are:
How To Write Winning Short Stories by Nancy Sakaduski. Full of practical advice written in language a novice writer can understand. I learned a great deal about sentence structure, when not to use adverbs and adjectives, proper formatting, choosing story titles, how to submit stories for publication, and more.
Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Ernest Hemingway, Edited by Larry W. Phillips. No writer exemplifies the concept of manliness and the American myth quite like Ernest Hemingway. More importantly, Hemingway changed the style of English prose like no other writer of the twentieth century. He remains the quintessential American writer, and his influence on successful modern fiction writers is unquestioned, whether those writers want to admit it or not. This book is entirely in Hemmingway’s words. All entries are taken from his personal letters, journals, manuscripts, and published works. This book helped me learn not always to tell my readers the whole story but instead to give them enough information to figure it out. Hemingway called that the “iceberg theory,” I have tried to make it a part of my style. He also teaches us to write “one true sentence.”
Stephen King on Writing by Stephen King. This book is part autobiography, so it is interesting whether you are writing a book or not. The King of Horror gives you some excellent writing advice and insight into how he got started and what makes him tick. He also talks a lot about getting his start in writing. I laughed my butt off while reading this book.
Write Naked by Josh Langston. I met Josh on a Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago. He is a wonderful writer and a great guy. His book breaks down the fundamentals of writing in a way that makes you want to keep turning the pages. His witty delivery will make you laugh, which is always good!
DIY Book Promo by Dan Klefstand. I met Dan at one of the Writers Nights I hosted at Big Jack’s Coffeehouse & Cafe in Lawrenceburg, KY. Before launching his writing career, Dan worked at NPR as a newscaster and hosted his own show. His book, DIY Book Promo, delivers practical advice on how independent authors can promote their books using free and low-cost tools such as social media and email campaigns. The book is well written and flows nicely compared to many other “How To” books.
There are certain “rules” to writing that you will hear so often that you will take for granted that they are ingrained in the soul of every person who has ever written a book. Take these rules for what they are: advice, like this column. Give them a try, and if they work for you, great. If not, forget them and move on. Two of the most repeated are:
Write what you know. - This one is generally good advice but isn’t set in stone. For example, suppose you’re writing about a serial killer on the loose in Tokyo. In that case, you should probably have a pretty good understanding of Japanese culture and the geography, street layout, train schedules, and landmark locations around the city. You will also want to be familiar with Japanese police investigative tactics and procedures. Brushing up on Japan’s criminal law statutes would be a good idea, too. You should probably have visited Tokyo at least once in your life. Otherwise, you should reconsider your decision and start considering Plan B. Conversely, if you are writing about an alien named Nerd who travels from his home planet of Bandgeek to explore the woods behind a bowling alley on the edge of some random small town, you can probably wing it. After all, who is going to fact-check you?
Write every day. - This is the most often repeated “rule” of writing and probably the most useless. It is definitely the least useful. Listen, sometimes you feel like writing; other times, you do not. If you sit down to write and the words do not come, you are emotionally drained, your shoulder hurts, or the grandkids stop by unexpectedly, don’t worry about it. It’s not the end of the world, and you aren’t going to forget how to write just because you miss a day or two. In fact, I find that I sometimes do my best writing when I’ve taken a day or ten off. Give it an honest effort if you can, but if your circumstances prevent you from writing or your creative genius has left the building, find something else to do. That is much better than beating yourself up to the point that you write a few lines of garbage that you will delete anyway. Marathon runners do not run every day, power lifers do not lift every day, and plumbers do not plumb every day. Why should writers have to write every day?
Resist the urge to set a hard deadline for completing your book. Of course, you need a general idea of when the book will be completed, but do not get hung up on a deadline. I am in the midst of writing my third book now. I hope to have it out this Spring. If I cannot have it out this Spring, I will shoot for this Summer. See how that works? If you cannot resist the urge, go ahead and set a hard deadline, but keep it to yourself. I made the mistake of making the deadline for my first book public. When I missed it, not once but twice, I beat myself up and heaped too much pressure on my head. My writing suffered when the third deadline approached because I focused more on the calendar than my craft. The result was that I had to make cuts from the book that I didn’t want to cut and publish some pieces that I feel I could have done better on had I given myself more time. I also rushed the editing process and ended up with several embarrassing errors and typos, which I had to clean up after publishing.
Write for yourself. Read that sentence again. If you are going to be at your best, you can’t worry about what your family, preacher, kids' teachers, neighbors, or people on Facebook think. Write what you like; many other people will like it if it is good. Some will not like it, though, and that is okay. Everybody has different tastes. Maybe they will like your next book, or perhaps they will not.
Do not worry about negative reviews; consider the source when you receive harsh criticism. Like I said, not everyone is going to like everything you write. A negative review from someone who read your book isn’t terrible as long as they can articulate what they didn’t like and why. Use those reviews as learning tools, and thank the reviewer for their honest appraisal. On the flip side, harsh criticism from people whose only feedback is that your book sucks doesn’t mean anything—people who leave that kind of feedback often never even read your book. Shortly after releasing The Streets of Greenfield, my book and I were criticized in a hometown Facebook group by two people who could not understand how they, having lived in my hometown for a few years long ago, had never heard of the things I wrote about. They made it clear that none of the stuff I wrote about ever happened, ignoring the fact that my book is pure fiction. One of them asked why, if it is fiction, I used the town’s name in the book’s title. I pondered that question for days, and all I could do was laugh. After all, a real place name has never been used in a work of fiction’s title. Right? Both of these people admit to having never read the book, by the way. I attribute their comments to their general miserable attitudes and a heaping helping of jealousy. Oh, here is the good part: in the days immediately following their attacks, I sold 39 copies of my book. Proof that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Take advantage of social media. Social media is free publicity and a great way to market yourself. Use it! Create social media accounts dedicated to your writing that are separate from your personal accounts. Having a separate Facebook page allows you to focus solely on your writing ventures instead of mixing it in with pics of your dinner, vacation updates, and sundry political rants on your personal page. It is also a way to promote your book to those interested. Plus, it makes you look more professional. Use your social media to promote you and your work. People are not going to swarm you and buy your book automatically. They do not even know you exist. You have to go to them. Convince them that your book is worth reading. Give them a few teasers here and there. Introduce yourself and let folks know a little about you. Avoid drama. Do not bash other writers or books. Do not discuss politics, religion, or social issues on your writer's page. There are plenty of places to do that. Your writer's page is not one of them.
Avoid the urge to follow or join every writer/author page or group you encounter. Conversely, avoid inviting every other writer/author page to follow yours. Why? For whatever reason (I guess to have as many followers as possible), many writers use their social media pages to share memes and invite other writers to follow and share their page instead of promoting their books. Before you know it, your feed is full of regurgitated memes and rants from writers who feel slighted by other writers who did not follow them back after they followed their page. Unfortunately, like most other online communities, the writing community loves some good Facebook drama. That said, I follow several other writers who do not engage heavily in the meme/drama game and enjoy learning from them and reading about their writing experiences. I have bought many of their books, and some of them have also bought mine. Generally speaking, though, you can’t count on other writers to buy your book. Nor should you. Instead, focus on attracting followers who are readers first and foremost and who may be interested in following your writing journey and purchasing your books. Encourage YOUR friends and family to share your page with THEIR friends and family to help you build a base. Focus on the quality of your followers rather than the quantity of followers.
Here is the last word on social media. Use it to self-promote. Talk about what you're writing. Share your thoughts on what you’re reading. Post photos of you typing away on your iPad. Promote your favorite bookstore. Go on Facebook Live to talk about your book. Create events for your book signings. In short, sell yourself. People are going to take you as seriously as you take yourself. When you present yourself as a legitimate writer, that is how you will be perceived. Build up a loyal following that is genuinely interested in your work and will encourage and support you along the way. Having that encouragement and support is vital to your success.
Create a website in addition to your social media pages. Even if you do not always use it, it looks professional and helps convince folks that you are serious. Several easy-to-use do-it-yourself platforms are out there: Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, etc. I use Wix, but most are decent and will probably work for you.
Regarding book sales, do not rely too much on family and friends. Some of them will buy your book simply to be supportive, which is fantastic! Others will buy it because they want to support you, AND they really like what you have written. That is awesome! Others will not buy your book at all, and that’s OK, too. I think many intend to buy it but do not get around to it, and eventually, it becomes a moot point. Others are not readers or have no interest in your book’s genre or subject matter. Some may just not like you (said with a smile.) It happens! Regardless of their reasons, not every family member or friend will buy your book. Let it go, and do not ruin Thanksgiving by dwelling on it.
The best way to sell your book is to publish it on Amazon. Do not be afraid to talk about it every chance you get. Issue a press release a week or so before your publication date and send it to area radio stations, newspapers, television stations, podcasts, etc.… Many will happily advertise your book's release; some may want to interview you. Approach libraries and bookstores about stocking your book and ask them to host a book signing. Attend writer's nights and open mic nights where you can read selections from your book. Most will allow you to sell your books at these events. You can also make posters advertising your book and hang them in local businesses. Have a QR code on the poster that goes to your website or the sales link. In a nutshell, present yourself as a serious writer, and people will treat you as one. That in and of itself will help your book sell.
Finally, please refrain from fooling yourself into thinking that writing a book is easy because it is not. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. It is mentally taxing, and it takes much effort. Your family and friends will have to understand that you must devote lots of time to writing. You must alter much of your routine to accommodate your new venture. On the flip side, when you are all done and hold an actual book in your hand, with your name on the cover, you will feel like you accomplished something, and you did. Whether you sell a dozen copies or a million, the fact is that you wrote a book, and no one can ever take that from you.
Good luck with writing your first book. I cannot wait to read it!
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