And increasingly I've heard that this is not just the case for self-published authors but for traditionally published authors as well. I think you really pointed out a common foible for writers. We always want to just get absorbed in the act of writing when we need to give attention to building our community as well.
Yep. With traditional publishing it is even greater I believe because they want you to have a huge following before they commit to a book deal. Where self-publishing doesn’t need a huge following, it just needs a following.
Thanks for your advice! I am planning to possibly self-publish my Substack memoir later this year. Do you have any recommendations as to where to do this?
Hi J.R. I've already been publishing it through Substack, twice a week, one chapter(year) at a time. I'm about half way through. I'd like to publish the completed memoir once I've hit the present. Here's a recent post for the year 1994: https://danpal.substack.com/p/a-top-ten-memoir-1994-we-all-want?r=lru5s
I really value this advice. For me, as a way to maintain motivation, post launch, I’m thinking of this as my launch year. If you focus just on the Big Bang of launch day and hope that’ll carry you through forever more, you’re mistaken. Promoting your book is an every day thing, so pace yourself and lean in to the peaks and troughs.
I’ve got my first signing in 2 weeks - nearly 3 months after launch. And I’m good with that
That’s awesome! My first book I promoted as n my own for a year after I published it. Learned a lot during that time and saw a lot of orders and excitement that kept me going!
Writing a book is challenging, but the way you talk about success from building an author platform, having a launch strategy, and growing a community are crucial steps. Great piece. Thank you.
My self-publishing journey is definitely not as you described. I edited my daughter's book, which launched my business. We wrote the 2nd book together. The books are published on Amazon, but we don't use the platform. I know we may never become best selling authors that way.
That said she's releasing more products. She and I promote, but I do a good bit of it for her. I'm more than her mom, I'm her consultant and business partner.
I like what you're sharing. It's great encouragement.
Excellent advice, J.R. 👍🏼👍🏼 You’re rapidly becoming my publishing guru.
Oh my. If anything, I just want to help people write and publish their books. So glad I can be helpful and encouraging!
And increasingly I've heard that this is not just the case for self-published authors but for traditionally published authors as well. I think you really pointed out a common foible for writers. We always want to just get absorbed in the act of writing when we need to give attention to building our community as well.
Yep. With traditional publishing it is even greater I believe because they want you to have a huge following before they commit to a book deal. Where self-publishing doesn’t need a huge following, it just needs a following.
Wow! So this definitely applies to everyone!
Soooo good!! I’m deep in the “writing” part and not doing the other things. Thank you for the that 🦵 in the 🍑. ☺️
I know how that goes! Sometimes, simply sharing about your progress can start to drum up the excitement about it.
Thanks for your advice! I am planning to possibly self-publish my Substack memoir later this year. Do you have any recommendations as to where to do this?
Are you thinking of serializing your memoir for one chapter at a time on Substack and then putting it into a completed book later?
I think that is totally worth doing.
That’s how I write my book. Then I do the serious edits once it’s in a manuscript. Or do you want to only publish it on Substack?
Hi J.R. I've already been publishing it through Substack, twice a week, one chapter(year) at a time. I'm about half way through. I'd like to publish the completed memoir once I've hit the present. Here's a recent post for the year 1994: https://danpal.substack.com/p/a-top-ten-memoir-1994-we-all-want?r=lru5s
I really value this advice. For me, as a way to maintain motivation, post launch, I’m thinking of this as my launch year. If you focus just on the Big Bang of launch day and hope that’ll carry you through forever more, you’re mistaken. Promoting your book is an every day thing, so pace yourself and lean in to the peaks and troughs.
I’ve got my first signing in 2 weeks - nearly 3 months after launch. And I’m good with that
That’s awesome! My first book I promoted as n my own for a year after I published it. Learned a lot during that time and saw a lot of orders and excitement that kept me going!
It took me a while to understand that it's not just about what you do, but how you do it too!
So so true. And once you dial that in, it’s huge!
Writing a book is challenging, but the way you talk about success from building an author platform, having a launch strategy, and growing a community are crucial steps. Great piece. Thank you.
Yes. It can be hard, but it’s not as daunting as it used to be!
My self-publishing journey is definitely not as you described. I edited my daughter's book, which launched my business. We wrote the 2nd book together. The books are published on Amazon, but we don't use the platform. I know we may never become best selling authors that way.
That said she's releasing more products. She and I promote, but I do a good bit of it for her. I'm more than her mom, I'm her consultant and business partner.
I like what you're sharing. It's great encouragement.