One of the best things to do as an indie author is to write a series. People like reading them, and it makes your author page look much better when you have more than one title to your name.
For most of us, writing our first book is a Big Thing. Finishing it, whether after six months or six years, does not immediately change your mindset into ‘published author’. It’s often only much later that you read the advice about series and start to think of the sequel.
Even the most successful authors fall foul of this. I was at a Crime Writing event last year (Noirwich), where the well-loved British writer Elly Griffiths confessed that she had never expected her first book, The Crossing Places, to lead to the long run that is the Ruth Galloway series. If she had, she wouldn’t have packed so much into…
Y’all know my schedule, I am off on Saturdays. I’d just like to share my Guest Post and to give a special thank you to Kim for hosting me. Here, I give you three of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far in my Self-Publishing journey.*Comments disabled here. Please hit me on the other side.*
Welcome author, Yecheilyah Ysrayl to THE WRITER’S JOURNEY segment of Kim’s Author Support Blog. Take it away, Yecheilyah. This is her journey.
3 Self-Publishing Lessons I’ve Learned this Year
As we come to the end of another year, this one has been one of self-reflection for me both on a personal as well as a professional level. There’s been ups, downs, doubts, excitement, frustration, and everything in-between.
I’ve come out of my shell a lot this year and have learned to embrace my own vulnerabilities without fear of judgment. I used to be timid and shy about what I did or thought for fear that people wouldn’t understand me. This has caused me to, consequently, shy away from opportunities that could have been of help to me as a writer.
This year I’ve learned to be unapologetically me and to not let anyone bait me out of my character. I think…
What a most creative idea. A GoReadMe Campaign. I love that it promotes reading and support for authors simultaneously. Be sure to pledge to read at least one of Susan’s books. You have until Jan. 8th.
In August this year, I had a great idea … and the very kind Seumas Gallacher allowed me space on his blog to not only write about the GoReadMe! Campaign, but also offered to be the first to have his books promoted using it.
He’s a brave man! While we may not have reached the target of readers we wished to attract within the time period we allowed, there were a fair number of new readers who discovered Gallacher’s books through this promotion, so I was pleased with the response.
I’m back now to do the same for my own writing, since I recently published a new novel in the Bequia Perspectives series. Here’s the background to the idea:
First, let’s go back a little way in time to a blog post I published in March of this year on the perennial subject that’s of interest to all authors…
Quote – “Running a business without a business plan remains one of the biggest mistakes an indie publisher can make. As the indie publishing industry matures, this crucial tool provides a tremendous advantage in a market flooded by self-publishers lacking business experience.”
As I prepare to release another series (The Nora White Story, 2017), I thought I’d share how I decide if a book will be a series or a novel. Short, sweet, and to the point.
*Comments disabled here. Meet me on the other side*
I know right away or before the first book is finished whether or not it’ll be a series. For instance, in “Beyond the Colored Line” (Book 2 in The Stella Trilogy), Joseph and his brother Edward come to blows in their mother’s living room. As a consequence, Jo leaves home.
After I finished writing this scene, with Karen’s voice still screaming her brother’s name as he stumbles down the street, I knew I wanted to explore more deeply Joseph’s story. What happens to him on his journey? Where does he go? What does he do? What kind of thoughts run through his mind? I knew that Book 2 would end, and yet there was still more to explore.
The Ingredient List
a. A pinch of completion
b. A tablespoon of deep plot elements Most people don’t like having to wait for the next book. This is why…
Only a writer would be folding clothes at twelve o’clock at night and contemplating whether they should make a batch of coffee to spend just a few more hours writing, all of this while the History Channel recaps an episode of Pearl Harbor as background noise. It was then that this post was conceived. In fact, I still have a pair of pants under my arm as I am drafting this. What can I say, gotta write when the spirit moves.
As I took a break from my work to finish laundry that could have waited until morning for normal people, I thought about how much this blog has helped to fill in the gaps during my “Between books” stage (thanks for your support BTW!). I like to think I write at a decent speed (six months to complete the first draft) but after that things tend to slow way down as the revision and editing process kicks in. I thus find myself in the waiting room watching as an author after author fangirls over their new release while I’m in chill mode, waiting for my name to be called. It will be awhile before my book is ready. This is when blogging (among other things) helps a great deal.
It helps because while I am in limbo I can keep up with learning new things, reading new books, and keeping myself in tuned with my readers and supporters until the next book is due. It almost feels like teaching but being off for the summer. Some teachers volunteer to teach summer school for some extra funds while others take advantage of the free time. Blogging for me is like a writing summer school, a way to stay active between books. This also helps me to brainstorm on other ways to expand my business beyond the book itself and into other areas of product.
I do admit it’s a challenge to produce blog posts, engage with other bloggers, share content, engage in social media and keep my ear to the Indie Publishing ground all while writing a novel and there are days where I must turn the phone off. It’s either that or pull my hair out. However, I see it all as part of the work and it’s also a lot of fun to me. I’m a worker bee which means that I HAVE to be doing something and while the blog is still a small part of my life in the full scope of things, it does help to keep me active in more ways than one. I guess that’s sort of the point of this post.
It’s important to continue to produce material and sometimes that will take time. The Blog (and the email list) is the answer to how to stay engaged while you wait. Or at least it is for me. The ability to schedule blog posts is a huge time saver and I could sit my butt in the chair and finish what I’d been putting off. Patience truly is a virtue and I am quite pleased with the revelations I’ve been given so far. I can only hope for increased growth. #HWPO is something I try to keep at the back of my mind. That is, hard work pays off. Let’s hope so.
Now, I should probably go ahead and publish this post and get back to these clothes. It is after 1am my time after all. I’m pretty sure I’m somewhere in dreamland when you’re reading this…or not (shout out to my night-owls with the tiny light under the covers scrolling through blog posts).
Yecheilyah Ysrayl is the YA, Historical Fiction author of The Stella Trilogy, Blogger, and Poet. She is currently working on her next book series “The Nora White Story” about a young black woman who dreams of being a writer in The Harlem Renaissance movement and her parent’s struggle to accept their traumatic past in the Jim Crow south. “Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One)” is due for release spring, 2017. For updates on this project, sneak peeks of chapters, the pending book cover release, and full blurb for this series, be sure to subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list HERE.
Helpful Tips. Post Quote: “Launching a book is a big deal, especially if you are a new author. And eBooks are the readers’ choice of today, so you must make sure that the launch goes successfully. Hopefully, using these tips will help turn your eBook’s live launch into a huge success!”
This is a guest post by Mary Kleim, who works in the digital sphere. She is also a guest blogger who shares her online marketing experience on sites dedicated to creativity, self-development, writing, and digital marketing. Connect with Mary on LinkedIn.
I particularly like how she combines an online launch with a real-world event – something you don’t read about too often.
7 Author Ideas for an Amazing Live Book Launch
When you are about to release your writing into the world, you want to attract as big an audience as you can. But how can one prepare for an eBook launch and turn it into a success? One idea is to combine both a real-world event and an online one by inviting people to a venue such as a library ora bookshop on the day of the launch.
This is a guest post by Mary Kleim, who works in the digital sphere. She is also a guest blogger who shares her online marketing experience on sites dedicated to creativity, self-development, writing, and digital marketing. 
When you are about to release your writing into the world, you want to attract as big an audience as you can. But how can one prepare for an eBook launch and turn it into a success? One idea is to combine both a real-world event and an online one by inviting people to a venue such as a library or a bookshop on the day of the launch.
The PBS Blog 