What I've Learned Since Publishing my Book

Or what I'd do differently if I were to do it all over again.

This is me holding the first copy of my first book.
Yes, I do look a little shell shocked...
but not shell shocked enough.

Dear Me of six months ago,

You're about to change your life, and the entire way you think about writing. 

You know that invisible shiny editor who's approval you so desperately wanted? She's busy, and she isn't the person whose opinion matters. I know that's difficult to swallow, but it's true. An editor finally accepting your work isn't what will make your dream have meaning. I heard the other writers too. I've heard the words you've thought. I know you're just trying to be the kind of writer that an editor wants.

You're wrong.

 Editors are only looking for one thing, a book that readers will like. Your readers are the most important people to impress. Your job is to learn what your readers want, and figure out how to make it for them. And that's the amazing thing. That's really, really, simple.

See, not everyone who reads your book will be one of your readers, but you'll know them when you see them. Your readers will be people you know, and people you haven't met yet, who get the way you think. They are beautiful, supportive, amazing people, and your life will be better for having found them.  Trust them. Trust yourself and the way you tell stories, because YOUR readers will love YOUR stories. You know this, because you have writers who write the way you think.

You need to say goodbye to that editor in your head who is standing in your way, and just go find your readers. When you do that, you'll remember how much you love writing. Words will be magic again. Characters will be real, and you won't be writing to impress anyone, but your work will get better. You will, in fact, impress yourself. And once you've done that say no to yourself, and rewrite it until it's better than you would have been satisfied with before. Be your own invisible shiny editor, and keep improving. Never be satisfied until it feels right, until you can walk away and not think about it anymore.

You need to stop half-dreaming and get to work. If I could talk to you earlier, I'd have you have finish all those half-finished stories in your laptop. Get six finished books done so that I can release one every two months. Choose who you want to be as an author, and don't waste time on stories that are off brand. Tell people on facebook earlier, and build up a following before you launch a book. Join twitter. Use goodreads. Kiss my children's faces and tuck them in, living in that magic moment with them, and not be half a fictional world away. Make work time just for work, and leave the half writing for half writers.

Look around and smile. Take days off and watch Pretty Little Liars, and binge on Netflix just cause you can. Learn that whole tense shifting issue of ours cold, so I don't have to worry about it now when every word counts.

There's something magical about not being published yet, about being able to write anything you'd like, about only having one story in your head at a time. But you will love being published. Even though it means your heart is out there, and people won't always love it, and that every once in a while you'll be kicked around or ignored, it's all worth it. You don't know this yet, but there is an eight year-old girl out there who will look at you in pride and pull you aside and tell you she wants to write books just like you did. You don't know this yet, but there will be teenage girls who will think you are cool.

Yes, you. You in the minivan.

There's a day that is coming that will make you shake your head in awe. You will read good reviews that make you stay up late as you memorize every word. There will be bad reviews that you will shake your fists at, and that will keep you up late as you try to un-memorize them. You will stalk people on goodreads just because there's a 'currently reading' status next to their name. You won't hide that you are a writer anymore, in fact there will be times when you walk up to someone reading a completely different book just to tell them you're an author too. Your ego will grow, and shrink, and be kicked in the gonads. You will cry of joy, and cry of grief, anger, and frustration... in fact, just invest in Kleenex now. It's hard. You won't know what to do, which is the most difficult part of being self-published; sometimes it feels like you're in this on your own.

But you're not. The main thing I'd tell you is that most self-published authors are kinder than they need to be. They know what to do, and how lost it feels to be on your own, so don't hesitate to ask questions, and join forums and groups, and be kind to others. Give your time away. Give your book away. I mean, for reals, learn what rafflecopter is, and soon.

Writing is such a lonely business. Publishing, however, isn't lonely. Publishing is inviting every person in the world to live inside your head, and then ask their opinions of the setting.

So enjoy the alone time now. Sooner than you know, you'll be me.

Meet you then.

~Sheena

Sheena Boekweg is the author of Funny Tragic Crazy Magic, and the coauthor of Alchemy (launches October 11). You can find her on facebook, goodreads, and twitter.

How to Market Your Book on Twitter

Of the 280ish people I follow on Twitter, approximately 95.89% have a book to sell. So far, three of them have sold to me. Here's how they did it, and how you can too:

The Life of the Party
Twitter is an Internet cocktail party (or fraternity party, depending), and everyone's invited. You meet and greet and see if you have anything in common. You converse. You crack jokes. You tell very short stories. Would you go to a party and just start talking up your book to anyone you could corner? (Don't answer that. Make a mental note of what the "correct" answer most likely is and vow to do better next time.)

(Disclosure: The idea of me, moi, Sarah McCanless, giving advice on working any kind of a party, even a virtual one, is beyond ludicrous. Proceed at your own risk here.)

Twitter's no different. Tweet something interesting, personal, informative, or useful. Something someone else may actually want to read. Something you didn't tweet 10 minutes ago. Something that could spark a conversation, make me laugh,  make me want to know more about you, or make me want to share something in return.

Stephen Blackmoore (@sblackmoore) is not only consistently friendly and funny, but he’s also semi-local. I learned through Twitter that we have both had tree roots destroy our sewer lines, and we talked about the rapid changes in South Bay real estate and demographics over the last twenty years. It was good cocktail party conversation... and suddenly I found myself buying his book, City of the Lost, the day it was released. Zombie pulp noir is not my usual reading genre, and yet this book has made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. It ROCKS.

Be Nice

I may not know parties, but I like to think I know nice. Still, I’ve stumbled on this fundamental rule when I forgot that tongue-in-cheek doesn't always come across when your communication consists of an avatar and 140 characters. I was quick to apologize, the offended party remained offended, and I may or may not have sobbed like a crazy woman because it was a hormonally vulnerable time and it turns out I’m rejection-sensitive even with total strangers online. (My husband has been instructed to neither confirm nor deny.)

After my (alleged) meltdown, I tweeted something about feeling guilty for screwing up my manners. Ryan Smith (@spinningcook), a follower I didn’t even know I had, sent a nice reply that put a smile on my face. We had a pleasant exchange, I followed him back, and he made it onto my radar.
I always remember kind words. If he comes out with a book someday, I'll buy it simply because he struck me as a nice guy. Although it's a definite bonus that his blog on cooking and kids is full of helpful tips.

Be Nicer than You Have to Be
I no longer seek out literary agents on Twitter. I realized that we are not friends, we are not going to be friends, and I'm not interested in the game of trying to be noticed without being obnoxious, especially when I don't have a book on submission. Deidre Knight (@DeidreKnight), however, is the nicest agent I’ve come across on Twitter so far. She's the only agent I've ever tweeted who actually replied, and who seems willing to engage in fun conversation with the commoners. (I’m sure there are more like her and I just haven’t found them.) When I discovered she was also a romance writer, I knew I wanted to read her books, and now Butterfly Tattoo is loaded on my Kindle and just waiting for me to find some time. I don’t even know if Ms. Knight represents my genre, but I do know that agents have a bazillion followers and she's nicer than she needs to be.

Reply vs. Retweet
Retweeting strokes my all-too-human ego, and so I do appreciate it. Replying, though, is more. It's conversation. You reply, I reply, and pretty soon we're talking. If I’m not following you, I’ll start. You’ll be on my radar. If we talk about cat barf, I will think of you next time my cat barfs. You've infiltrated my subconscious. Then, when you have a book out, I’ll think, that’s the cool tweep who chatted with me about barfy cats. Maybe I'll look into that book.

Blog
(And tweet links in moderation.)

Author D.M. Kenyon wrote a blog post about women learning to fight that resonated with me, and I told him so in the comments. His thoughtful reply explained how the post tied to his YA novel, and with that I was sold. (Sadly, those comments were lost when he had to change blogging platforms.)  I’m reading The Lotus Blossom now and I'm blown away by the authenticity of his voice and the way he sneaks in brilliant bits of Zen philosophy through a teenage narrator. I didn't buy it because he advertised it. I bought it because he had something interesting to say.

And what about my blog? I don’t keep score, and I don’t want to spam the world any more than I want to be spammed... however, if someone actually takes the time to read one of my posts and let me know what he or she thought, I get warm fuzzies all over. Warm fuzzies have been known to inspire book purchases in the past.

Does all of this sounds like a lot of work? Like you have to actually build relationships with individuals, one by one? How on earth will you become a best-seller this way?

You won't.
 I  have more books than I have time to read. I don't use Twitter to buy books; I go to meet people, have interesting conversations, and experience a virtual cocktail party without having to wear heels. I go to pretend it's a good hair day and make small talk I don't get in person because all the moms at school are glued to their iphones, checking Facebook.

So if all this seems like way too much work on Twitter for a possible handful of sales, then I say congratulations, young Jedi. You are now ready for the lessons I’m not qualified to teach. For those I send you to the Red Pen of Doom (@speechwriterguy) and his brilliant post: The Twitter, it is NOT for selling books.


Go read that now. There will be a quiz. Answer the questions correctly and you just might sell me a book someday.