1) It’s not all about being a “good” writer. Writing well is definitely important, but it’s not everything. Many elements go into creating success for a published book. It’s imperative to work on your craft, but know that beautiful writing is not the only thing.
2) Marketing is not something you do once or for just a short time before and directly after a book is released. It’s not a start here and end here kind of thing. You’ll have to continue to market the book for as long as you want to find new readers for the book.
3) You should market a book that’s important to you for 3 to 5 years. It’s a long game, not a short one, and you should do three to five things to market your book every day for several years.
4) Librarians will not jump at the offer of your free book. Getting your books into libraries (in most cases) requires that you convince librarians that their patrons will want to read your book. Same goes for bookstores.
5) You will receive some bad reviews (everyone does), and some reviewers seem to enjoy tearing writers down. It’s not fair and there’s nothing we can do about it, but it does happen. Be prepared. And when you get a mean review, go on Amazon and look up your favorite book, whatever that may be, and click on the one-star reviews readers have given it. That should make you feel a little bit better.
6) There’s still a stigma on self-published books. Knowing this, make your book as good as it can be. Do not indulge in a “this is good enough” attitude. Be better. Be the best you can be. That means purchasing a professional cover, professional editing, and whatever other professional help you need to create an A+ product.
7) Publishing is a business, and you have to spend money to make money.(See the above entry concerning professional covers and editing.)
8) Advertising won’t help much until you have several books published. The reason for this is that advertising costs a certain amount of money, and if you are selling only one book, you probably will not sell enough copies to make a profit. If you have several titles to sell, however, that one ad for your latest-book-in-series will help sell all of the other books in that series.
9) You must work very hard to get even a little bit of attention on book release day. Many, many books are published every week, so go out there and grab as much of the spotlight as you can. Organize a launch that does more than you think you need to do. Post on social media, hire a blog tour host, purchase professional reviews (if you can afford them), gather up a street team (a group of supporters who receive an advance review copy and review your book on release day), get a podcast to interview you, and don’t forget to text everyone you know and tell them your book is available. Pull out all stops, in other words.
10)
The joy of hearing from readers who loved your book is greater than you ever
imagined. No matter what happens,
whether you reach the goals you’ve set for yourself or you don’t, positive
reader feedback is an invaluable perk that will remind you why you chose to
write in the first place.
Excerpt 1
“I’m sure you’re aware of what’s going on with the humans in Philadelphia?” Evander said.
Uncle Jimmy pulled some dried leaves from the plants to his left, then began to pluck the dead blossoms from a tray to his right. Without looking up, he said, “The human beings are doing fine as far as I can tell.”
That was a disappointing statement if ever Evander heard one. “They may be on the cusp of warring with the clones you created,” he said. “Something needs to be done.”
Uncle Jimmy removed his focus from the flowers and met Evander’s gaze. A gentle innocence settled over his face. “I’ve never made a human clone. I was against making the clones from the very beginning.”
“And yet somehow, with your help, an entire race of them lives on this planet. How is that, I wonder, and please don’t tell me it was written in the stars. Things like cloning don’t just happen.”
“Cloning has been and always was sewn into the tapestry of human fate, even if that’s not what you want to hear,” he said, his cheeks pinkening. “You seem upset, are you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Jimmy went back to tending to the various plants. “You’re human. It’s to be expected.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’m human and I’m Jovian and I have emotions. From what I’ve been told you experience them, too. Is that correct?”
Jimmy gave up on gardening and stepped up to Evander, tilting his head in a contemplative way.
“I feel empathy. Empathy and all that comes with it.”
“So you can understand when I tell you that I made a promise to my mother to protect the human race, and I intend to follow through because she means a lot to me.”
“But you’ve already followed through. You’ve protected them with your legislation. You saved their planet, made it inhabitable again, safe again. I suspect you’ve done more for this planet than any other individual ever has … or will, for that matter.” He paused before placing a heavy hand upon Evander’s shoulder. “Your mother would be proud of you.”
“That may be so, but what’s happening in Philadelphia would concern her nonetheless,” he said, stepping aside so he could get out from under Jimmy’s hand. “I thought you cared about my mother. She always spoke so highly of you.”
Jimmy blinked as if some dust had fallen into his eye. “I care for her just as I care for you.” He rubbed the back of his head, the thin shock of hair left standing in a whirl. “And, for your information, it was the humans who came up with the science that led to cloning. I only nudged them in the right direction. Either way, it had to be done in order for other occurrences to … occur.”
“In spite of that,” Evander said, “the humans and clones are at odds. The humans are the physically weaker species, and they know it. They’ve been fearful of the clones from the start.
The only leg they have to stand on is a societal one. They are purebred. ‘Real,’ as they like to say. But they’re not stupid. They know the clones are smarter and stronger, and therefore destined to take over the species.”
“What you describe may be an issue now,” Uncle Jimmy said with optimistic light in his eyes, “but it won’t always be. Minds will change. In time, all of the genes will have mixed.
There will be no such thing as a purebred human. No reals or fakes, clones or hybrids. Only humans with varying degrees of Jovian DNA. That’s the beauty of it.”
Uncle Jimmy argued with ease and self-assurance, but Evander knew it wasn’t that simple. Life never was. Humans, in particular, never were.
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