by Meghan Riley
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Release Date: 2016
Summary from Goodreads:
No longer on Earth, Anna must now piece together her memories on the strange, new world of Enki. Guided by Julianus, the mysterious man who brought her back, she soon realizes this isn’t the same world she was starting to remember, making it even more difficult to figure out why she was sent to Earth. Will she be able to solve the mystery before the people who sent her away realize she’s back? Or will her memories forever remain lost?
Book One (click on image for Goodreads link):
Guest
Post
10
Things I Didn’t Know About Becoming a Published Author
My
newly released book, Quintina, is the second book I’ve published. Like many, I
dove into publishing headfirst, not entirely sure what I was getting myself
into, but driven by my dreams of being published. Along the way, I’ve learned a
few things about publishing, not just from my own mistakes, but those of other
writers, as well. I want to share those lessons with anyone who may be
considering publishing a book.
1.
Writing
a book and publishing a book are two different things. You
can spend hours putting words to paper, but publishing a book requires
tenacity. It’s what gets you through hours of editing, formatting, graphic
design, and rejection. It requires you to be more than just a writer, because
you’re creating a product.
2.
Published
authors spend as much time learning about formatting and marketing as doing
research for their books. Be prepared to learn the technology behind publishing and
marketing, or be ready to pay someone else to do it for you. Even if you are
picked up by a traditional publisher, you’ll be expected to know social media
and other marketing outlets.
3.
Editing
is a necessity. I don’t mean going through your book a few times looking
for errors. I refer to a second party taking a close look at grammar, punctuation,
syntax, etc., possibly even fact checking. Too many writers skip editing or
have an unqualified friend do the work. As soon as you hit publish, you’re not
just putting your writing out there, but establishing a reputation. You want to
make a good first impression and a poorly edited book can follow you for years.
4.
Editing
is expensive. No, really. It’s EXPENSIVE. New writers are often surprised
by this, but you get what you pay for and a good editor can really help you to
elevate your writing (and help you improve your own skills).
5.
The
cover is very important. Investing in a professional cover designer can increase
your chances of getting a cover that will increase sales of your book, but
won’t guarantee it. I paid a professional to do the first cover of Anna, the first book in the Starseed
Series, but I wasn’t 100% happy with it. When I redid the cover myself, I sold
more books, but I did a lot of research and chose features from popular books
in my genre. Do your research and ask the opinions of others before you
finalize your cover.
6.
Packaged
deals may sound like a convenient solution, but they’ll cost you a good deal
more.
With my first book, I paid a service that handled everything from editing to
formatting. I paid about twice as much for editing than I should have. I also
got upsold on some services that had little bearing on the success of my book.
With the second book, I broke up those services. I took control of what I could
confidently handle (the cover and marketing pieces) and outsourced what I
wasn’t (editing and formatting). I saved a good deal of money.
7.
Book
review services are not worth the money spent. With
my first book, I paid for a service that advertised my book to a list of
reviewers. Those interested could request a copy of my book in exchange for an
honest review. I sent out a lot of copies. Only a fraction followed through and
some of those clearly stated in their reviews that they don’t usually read my
genre and didn’t really enjoy my book (so why did they request it?). I don’t
suggest going that route. Take the time to research bloggers and reviewers who
read your genre and contact them directly with a request to review your book.
8.
Brick
and mortar stores will not instantly warm up to you if you’re self-published.
There’s a general feeling that independent authors do not sell and stores are
constantly struggling to compete with companies like Amazon, so they have to
focus on the bestsellers. You’ll need to prove that you have a large enough
audience to make stocking your book worthwhile. It helps if you offer to do a
book signing or some other promotion to drive traffic to their store.
9.
One
book will not produce a significant
income, because published authors rarely make it big with their first book. So,
don’t write a book to get rich. You need to establish an audience first. The
sales of one book will fuel the sales of the others. The only exception may be
if you already have a large amount of followers on social media, a blog, or an
email list. Some bloggers with a strong following see significant success when
they publish a book in their niche.
10. Published
authors need thick skins. This may seems obvious, but until you start getting
reviews, you don’t realize how true this is. Not everyone will like your
book…and that’s okay! No one is a perfect writer. Heck, even Amazon will
question the validity of your reviews if all you get is 5 stars. Low reviews
are expected at times. There’s no need to worry about it unless that’s all you
ever get.
If
you’re considering publishing a book, I highly suggest that you join a writer’s
group. You can learn some invaluable information from the other members,
including recommendations for editors and formatters. You can even round up
some beta readers. If you’re short on time, it doesn’t need to be a local
group. There are some good writing groups on Facebook. Here are some of my
favorites:
Looking for something new to read? You can check out my Young Adult series, The Starseed Series on Amazon:
About the Author
Meghan Riley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland and immediately pursued her lifelong passion for the written word. Her debut novel, Anna, presented itself as a way for Riley to inspire teenage girls to expand their interests beyond the typical teenage quandaries, ultimately encouraging females toward an interest in science. She is currently hard at work on the next book in The Starseed Series.
Author Links:
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