Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 97

A Halloween Verse

I’ll tell you a tale

and hope no one’s offended

by this true Halloween story

and the way that it ended.

Being the kid that I am

at sixteen I was still

Going trick-or-treating

for my Halloween thrill.

Though that year’s festivities

would be different from any other,

because this was the first year

that I took my step-brother.

My old friend Jeff

wanted to go with us through town,

but his Chiquita Banana costume

kept slowing him down.

After an hour,

he was sick of wearing high heels

that kept pinching his toes

and rubbing his heels.

“I can’t take anymore

of this trick-or-treating!”

I swear my poor feet

are really taking a beating.”

“Jeff, don’t give up,”

I desperately pleaded.

“If we call it quits now

my little bro will feel cheated.”

“Fine,” he sighed,

“But if we continue

my feet will fall off

so let’s change the venue.

Please no more walking

up and down all these streets.

Show some mercy

for my precious feet!

I have an idea

to give this night a sweet end.

Let’s break into that vacant

house ‘round the bend.”

I agreed. “This’ll be a night

that we’ll never forget

and be my little step-brother’s

best Halloween yet!”

The house seemed empty

when we first got inside,

but then we were confronted

by Frankenstein’s bride!

If we weren’t so afraid

we’d have screamed if we could’ve

or maybe turned and ran out

like we knew that we should’ve.

Yet, strangely enough

the creature looked somewhat familiar.

I couldn’t shake the feeling

that I’d seen her before.

And then it hit me. Of course!

She was none other

than TV’s Suzanne Sommers!

“Oh look. Some fans

have come round to see me.

Please come sit down

in front of the TV.

So, which is your favorite

of my TV shows?

We can sit here together

and watch every last episode!”

We sat there petrified

unable to flee

as Suzanne blissfully

put on the DVD.

I felt bad for my brother

whose life had barely begun

and now he was here

watching Three’s Company reruns.

“Jeff,” I whispered.

“We don’t have to stay here.

Let’s leave now before

we spend all night and day here.”

Jeff said to Suzanne,

“It’s time we should go.”

Then the three of us stood up

and moved toward the door.

She stepped in front of us

with a strange look on her face

then said, “I’ll never let you

get away from this place!”

We tried to run

but Suzanne was faster.

She hit Jeff in the head

with a bright pink Thighmaster.

Though somehow that night

through some twist of fate

My brother and I

barely made our escape.

I have always felt guilty for

leaving my dear high-heeled friend

because after that night

Jeff was never seen

or heard from again.

Ok, so this story

has a bit of fiction mixed in-between

my mischievous way of wishing you all

Happy Halloween!

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The Haunting

Another night of no sleep. I don't know how much longer I can go on. I'm stuck. All my money was used to buy this house.

There is the sobbing again. The headless woman is roaming my bedroom. She is looking for her head.

I should have done more research on the house. There was no mention of the son chopping off his mother's head and then calling the police. He wanted them to put her head back on.

This house is over 100 years old. It is a wonder I have not lost my mind. It was built on top of an old Indian burial ground. In the late 1800s on a snowy day, the people tried to bring a dead body up cliff road. As they couldn't get the coffin up the hill, they buried the body right under my basement.

"Someone please turn off the sobbing." My headache is returning with a vengeance.

My first clue was the telephone constantly ringing while I was trying to clean the front room floor before moving in. There was no telephone anywhere. It was ringing from the walls. If I would have been able to answer it, maybe I would have found out about the headless woman.

I can hear the bottles rattling in the basement and the sound of cracking bones. I have checked the basement repeatedly and there is no sign of anything being out of place.

I wish my dogs would come in at night, but they refuse to enter the house. I would feel so much safer if they were near.

"Please go away. I need to get some sleep," I cried into the darkness.

I hear the door chime downstairs. It is now midnight. Who would be coming to the house at this hour? I guess I'll have to get up to check it out. It's been ringing now for 30 minutes. I've got to get some sleep.

As she got up from the bed, put on her robe, and headed for the stairs, she felt a cold chill in the air. She took the first step down and felt the push. She tumbled down the flight of stairs to end in a heap at the bottom. She now does not have to worry about getting her sleep anymore.

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How To Deal With Negative Blog Comments (Professionally!)

We’ve all been told that writing an author blog can help boost our book sales, widen our audience and build our fan base. Indeed, done well an author blog can both help to sell more books and an author to create a name for themselves.

However, just like when you submit your story for review, or put your book on Amazon, or put and of your work ‘out there’ in any capacity, you are exposing yourself to negative comments -and these can be tough to take.

While many authors perhaps don’t view their blogs as necessary as their books or other forms of creative writing, they still take time and effort to create and keep relevant and fresh and worthwhile. Therefore it can be very demoralising, not to mention infuriating if a blog post is received negatively.

Negative comments, just like bad reviews, are bound to happen if you keep publishing and marketing your blogs. When this happens, it can be tempting to react badly, to respond angrily to the person who posted the comment, to start a war of words, or just let it get to you so much that you want to give up writing your blog in the first place.

Learning how to deal with negative blog comments in a professional manner, as well as understanding how not to let them affect you is important. Here are some useful tips for how to do just that:

Read what they are saying

It’s easy just to flare up when you read a negative blog comment without really taking into account what the person has said. It might be that they’ve found spelling or grammatical errors - if that’s the case, they perhaps have a valid point. It may be they are just stating their personal opinion, in which case let them have it. Perhaps they are just being unfair and negative for the sake of it, in which case you don’t need to take it to heart because they will end up looking foolish, not you. Whatever they've said take the time to actually read it before you dismiss it or get upset - there might be some truth or wisdom there which can help make your blog better.

Look for the positives.

Hey if someone’s commenting on it, it means they are reading it, and that’s got to be a silver lining at least! See if the comment has any use. It might be that you do need to re-read a certain paragraph in your blog, or that you haven’t explored the topic enough. Sometimes negative blog comments can inspire you to do better next time.

Don’t read them when you are already in a negative mood.

Don’t torture yourself! If you are already feeling a bit vulnerable or down on yourself then just wait until you are feeling more robust! When you have a clear head and can receive comments and feedback constructively you'll be much better at dealing with them.

Remember that you can’t please everyone.

If you are trying to make your blog unique and interesting (as you should be) it’s likely that sometimes your opinion will rub people up the wrong way. Sometimes people will just disagree with you. It’s as simple as that. Just accept it and stick to your guns if you are writing about what you believe in and are passionate about.

Always react professionally (if at all)

You don’t necessarily have to respond to a negative blog comment, but if you do, try to react with professionalism. Even if someone is trying to antagonise you, don’t rise to it. Thank them for their comment, ask them to explain themselves further if what they have said seems unjust, or simply thank them if their comment has some truth to it. You could always try being humorous if the situation warrants it - showing you are unaffected and that you can be witty will make you look so much better, and if you are upset by the comment, remember you can always delete it!

How do you deal with negative blog comments? Let us know here!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How to Write Character Arcs

When it comes to excellent writing, your characters naturally play a massive part. Without fantastic, well-developed characters even the most exceptional plot on earth will fail to impress your readers. Your plot is the adventure that the readers follow, but the characters are what they invest in, and caring about what happens to them is what keeps your readers turning those pages.

Writing great character arcs is an art, and the better and more experienced you become as a writer, the easier it will be to naturally create these as you write. A character arc is how your character changes and evolves as the story develops, what they can learn and how they can grow because of what happens to them.

This doesn’t necessarily mean your character needs to follow a steady curve throughout your story. There are in fact, many different types of character arcs that can occur throughout. Some can be positive, some can be negative, and for them to be successful they need to align and fit in seamlessly with what is taking place in your story.

So what are the elements you need to include to create fantastic character arcs? Here are some you can try:

Your characters desire

Readers need to understand a character's desire and motivation early on in your book. What your character wants is the hook that draws readers in. It makes them invested in your book. They want your character to achieve their goals, they root for them (or not if your character is a villain perhaps). Setting this up from the outset will allow readers to feel connected to the character throughout their journey.

Establishing who they are

When you introduce a new character into the book, readers need to get a sense of who they are and why they are present. The more economically and effectively you can do this the better. Readers should be directed how to feel about a particular character from the outset. Their expectations of this character can then be met or destroyed depending on the kind of character arc you create.

You character's ghosts

The catalyst for your characters desires, actions and reactions lie within their ghosts. Readers need to understand what causes them to behave the way that they do. Understanding their histories and the things that haunt them and have shaped them to be who they are today are essential for creating empathy and understanding.

The catalyst of change

Your character arcs need to have a moment, an occurrence in the novel that motivates your characters to take action. What suddenly wakes them up or forces them to see things differently? To stop living the life they have been and want to live in another way? That moment is an opportunity to excite your readers and draw them further in, allowing them to invest even more in your characters and their world.

The obstacles and your characters reaction to them

Throughout your novel, your characters will come upon an obstacle, or obstacles that prevent them from reaching their goals. How your character reacts to these and overcomes them helps to develop your character arcs further. Do they always fight against them, remain positive, and act bravely? Or do they get scared, angry or want to give up? The reaction of your characters to the obstacles they are presented with, show the reader how they are changing, or how much they still have to learn.

The Climax

The climax should pinpoint the very essence of your story. It is the reason you wrote it and reveals to the reader why your character's journey was so necessary and why it was worth all the pain, heartache, loss, drama. Or in the case of an unhappy ending, why it was not.

The Resolution

In the final part of your book, you must tie up loose ends, and show the reader how the character’s world has changed, and what this might mean for them going forward. Your resolution should leave your reader in no doubt about whether the journey was successful and how they should feel towards that character now.

You can use these points to help you create a character that goes on a real journey throughout your book, and at the end, has changed, either for the better or, the worse. Making sure you pay attention to character arcs in your novel will ensure that your characters don’t just remain flat and that you are always in tune with what happens to them and making them active and present in your story.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Make A Writing Buddy

Having a writing buddy can be so helpful. Writing is so often a solitary pursuit and while it’s great to get your head down, avoid any distractions and try to get into the writing ‘zone,' it's also good to get out there and meet fellow writers too. If you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off, to help constructively criticise your work, or just to share the highs and lows with, it can get pretty lonely, and also tough to stay on track.

A writing buddy:

Helps you stick to deadlines

Gives you useful feedback and advice

Is a great person to share ideas with and explore how you can take them further

Helps you if you feel like you are suffering from writer's block

Will celebrate/ commiserate with you when the time comes

Is just nice to have around, so you don’t end up talking to yourself!

So how do you find one?

Luckily there are plenty of places where you can try to find a writing buddy, here are some of the best:

Online forums

There are plenty of online forums where writers meet virtually to share their work, discuss ideas and help one another. The advantage of this is that you can do it from anywhere in the world, while still receiving lots of the benefits of having a writing buddy.

Local writing clubs

Most places have local writing clubs which you’ll be able to join and where you can meet like-minded people. These are great for people who want to find writing friends and who love face to face meet-ups.

Writing courses

Writing courses are naturally great places to meet fellow writers. Not only will the course help you to shape up your writing and hopefully give you the determination and motivation to keep it up, but when the course has finished if you stay in touch with the writer’s you met. This way you can develop solid relationships and continue to help and inspire one another as you continue your writing journey.

Local adverts

If you want a writing buddy, you don’t have to wait around to get one. Many creative people often post adverts in local papers, on noticeboards in shops or online to try and get groups of like-minded people together to work. If you can’t find anywhere why not try and set one up yourself?!

Remember, once you’ve established these relationships you need to ensure that it’s mutually beneficial, so be prepared to help your writing buddy work through their problems, give them encouragement and become invested in their work too! It’s a two-way street remember!

Finding a writing buddy can be so helpful for writers, even those lone wolves who mostly prefer to work alone. So if you are looking for someone to help keep you motivated and inspired and help you improve your writing, why not try and find a writing buddy today?

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Deal With Negativity About Your Writing

Every writer who puts their work out there is going to receive some negative feedback at some point or another. Whether that be a rejection from a publisher or an agent, or a less than impressive review on Amazon, it’s important to remember to try to deal with negative comments about your writing in the best way.

Of course, it’s going to feel horrible when it happens to you. Writer’s put so much time and effort into their writing, and sharing it with others puts them in a vulnerable position. However, there is no point in overreacting or making yourself so miserable about it that you put yourself off writing altogether.

So how can you deal with negativity about your writing in the best way? Here are some helpful tips.

Try to understand their point of view.

Believe it, or not there is always something to learn from negative commentary about your work. Pay attention to what they are actually saying. Are any of their points valid? Or are they just criticising you for no reason? Many authors complain that the negative comments they receive are unjust or not relevant to their book - if that’s the case then it’s important to just acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their opinion and move on. If however, the person who has commented has a valid point such as ‘there were spelling errors and inconsistencies’ or ‘the pace felt a little slow in some parts’ instead of just dismissing them see if you can use their comments to make your writing better!

Look on the bright side.

A review is just a review even if it is negative. It still means your book was eye-catching and exciting enough for that person to buy it over all the other millions of books out there that would have been available to them. That’s something at least. Finding positives can help you get over the negativity much more quickly!

Know that it happens to everyone

You must accept that not everyone can like what you’ve written, regardless of whether it’s a great piece of writing. Everyone has individual tastes, and even the most famous and successful of authors get negative comments about their work too. When it comes to rejection from agents and publishers the same is true. Even the very best writers have experienced rejection at some point. It’s tough, but it’s just part of the writing process, and the sooner you can get over it and move on, the better.

Use them to inspire you.

Whatever you do, never let negative comments stop you writing. If writing is your passion, you should keep going. Making a success of yourself as a writer is a battle. You’ve got to put up a good fight if you want to get anywhere.

By making sure you view negative comments, rejections and feedback as an opportunity to learn and develop as a writer, you’ll find that you quickly get over it, and get even better as a result. There is no point wasting your time feeling down about negative feedback, and the sooner you can pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and just get on with it, the better.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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Are You Addicted To Your Writing?

When it comes to writing are you one of those writers who procrastinates, and finds every excuse, however random, to delay doing your work, or are you one of those who find themselves waking in the middle of the night in a hot, excited sweat and simply can’t wait until morning to write their ideas down?

Perhaps you are both!

Many writers find that the way they write chops and changes and some days they lose all track of time and suddenly the sun has gone down, and they realise they haven’t eaten anything since breakfast, but others they sit and stare at their computer screen for hours and nothing seems to come out.

Neither way necessarily means you are a better or worse writer. However, when your writing is going well it can feel as though it is impossible to stop - and that’s a wonderful feeling indeed.

So are you addicted to your writing? Here are some signs that you just might be!

You have a list of favourite authors you’d love to meet - your authors are your inspiration, and out of all the people you’d like to have at a dinner party, they top your list.

Your house is full of scraps of paper and half used notebooks full of ideas. You always find yourself thinking of a new idea, or even a sentence or phrase you just love and are constantly writing them down. You might not use them all in the end, but you’ve always got a trusty notebook with you regardless!

You turn down parties because you’d rather stay in and write. Sometimes the world you’ve created through your stories is just more interesting than the real one!

You find yourself daydreaming about your book when out and about. Do you find yourself only half-listening to conversations, or just start imagining your world and characters when out on a walk or travelling by public transport? Sometimes it’s hard to stop thinking about them, and why not?

You chat to your characters in your head. Do your characters feel real to you? Do you talk to them in your head? You aren’t going insane; it’s just another great way to get to know them better.

You can’t get to sleep because you are thinking about your stories. Sometimes we just have too much going on, and can’t switch off. If this happens to you, it’s often better to just get up and start writing it out!

When you get in the writing zone hours, pass like minutes. Being in writing ‘zone’ is one of the most satisfying things to happen to a writer. When it does time seems to fly by!

You get a funny knot in your stomach when you think of a new fantastic writing project or ideas. Writing motivates and excites you, and when you think of some great new idea you can’t help but get butterflies!

You find time to write your novel even when there is none. Writing is a priority to you, even if you’ve got a full-time job, a house to run and kids to look after, you still find time to get your writing done!

You know if you stopped writing you’d be miserable/ go insane! Writing isn’t just about creating your stories. It’s part of who you are and what you do. If you stopped, you don’t know what you’d do with yourself!

Do any of these sound familiar? If so you may well be addicted to your writing! Not that that’s a bad thing of course!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Big Up Your Writing (Without Sounding Arrogant)

One of the things that many writers would agree they could be better at is being more confident and able to talk about their achievements.

So often authors who have written a book, or writers who are currently working on and genuinely passionate about a project find themselves completely clamming up when asked about what they are working on or what it is they do.

Sometimes we fear we come across as snobbish or arrogant ‘oh I’m a writer don’t you know?’ Or we merely get the fear that someone will pull our idea to pieces, or perhaps say something annoying and obvious about how difficult it is to make money writing. Or possibly, (the worst) will simply look incredibly bored and disinterested when we start enthusiastically talking about our latest writing project.

Because of this, it is much easier for us to dismiss our writing, to get all shy and coy about it, or to avoid the subject altogether.

However doing so could mean you miss out on some great opportunities. For a start, being a writer is massively interesting to most people, and having written a book is an awesome achievement, so you should be proud of yourself - whether it is on the bestseller list or not. You also never know when you might be talking to a publisher or agent who loves your idea or even a potential fan who’ll go out and buy your book the very next day.

Above all, this, of course, is the fact that we should be able to talk eloquently and enthusiastically about our writing without feeling embarrassed or worried that we will be mistaken as self-obsessed, arrogant or delusional.

So how can you talk about your writing when the opportunity occurs? Here are some helpful tips:

Be able, to sum up your story coherently and confidently.

If someone asks about our writing, we can often get flustered if we aren’t able to quickly sum up what our story is about. We either go into way too much detail, are seemingly unable to tell the story in a linear fashion, forget seriously essential parts which help make it make sense, or are so brief that it sounds incredibly dull. Practice summarising your story in an interesting way so that when people ask ‘so what’s it about?’ you can tell them confidently without going into every single detail.

Be enthusiastic.

If someone asks about your writing chances are they are genuinely interested. If you start every sentence being self-deprecating, i.e. 'it’s a bit of an odd story', or, 'it’s probably not very good', you’ll either sound irritatingly coy about it, or they’ll believe you and won’t be interested to hear more!

Be prepared for questions to be asked.

Make sure that you know your story inside out and can answer questions such as ‘why does that happen?’ ‘How are you going to make people believe that part?’ ‘How did you come up with the idea?’ and ‘how do you plan to market your book?’ You aren’t being quizzed, they are just interested, but you do need to have answers prepared, so you don’t look like a fool.

Listen politely to other people’s ‘additional’ ideas.

Of course, if you talk about your book you are going to have to put up with people’s opinions about it and reactions to it. They’ll also probably ‘helpfully’ suggest ways you can alter your story to make it ‘even better’ - listen to them, you never know they might come up with something you haven’t thought of before!

Stop yourself before you say too much.

Remember, it’s easy, once you get on a roll, to talk about your writing project all day. But don’t ramble on about it for hours without pausing for breath. If their questions run out or they don’t seem that interested then know when to stop, otherwise you do run the risk of seeming a little self-obsessed.

Be honest about what you have achieved.

If you’ve self-published and your book hasn’t done that well, that's OK. It’s still a huge achievement, and you don’t need to make it seem otherwise. Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if your book didn’t get picked up by a traditional publisher. Plenty of authors self-publish because they believe it is the right thing to do for their book - and become way more successful that way anyway.

Of course, you will always make a slightly negative impression if all you do is talk about yourself all evening, whatever the subject, so do remember to spend an equal amount of time talking about them too!

Talking about your writing accomplishments is not something you should shy away from. Your writing is a huge part of your life and in some ways is what makes you who you are. So embrace the fact that you are a writer, be proud of it, and be prepared to speak up next time you are asked!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Protect Your Work Online

Many writers understandably feel nervous about sharing their written ideas, novels, short stories, poems and any other type of writing online. While it can be a great idea to get feedback and exposure, doing so can make them feel vulnerable. What’s stopping someone coming along and stealing your idea, or worse still, passing off your work as their own?

Whether it’s setting up your author website, or submitting your stories to competitions, or websites to get feedback, there are things every writer can do to help protect their work and ensure that no one runs off with their ideas.

Here are some tips to help you:

You cannot copyright an idea

The first and most important thing to understand is that you cannot copyright an idea.

According to Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act, “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in such work.”

Because of this, it is a good idea to think carefully about who you share your ideas with. While it is unlikely that someone will hear your idea and copy it exactly, there is very little you can do about it if you do. So if you think you are on to something unique and genius, make sure you trust the people you share your thoughts with and keep any written plans or outlines to yourself until you are ready actually to execute your idea.

You can protect your written work.

As soon as you write something, be it an entire novel or just a chapter of your book, it is protected by copyright law. Many authors mistakenly believe that they must place the copyright symbol on their work for that to be the case, but this is not so. However, if can make your life easier, and give you peace of mind to officially copyright your work with bodies such as the Writers Guild of America and the U.S. Copyright Office. This will make it easier to state your case should you have to enter into a legal dispute.

Be smart

Although you cannot copyright an idea, keeping evidence of how you came up with your idea is a smart move. If you have dated documents detailing your ideas, chapter outlines, character sketches and so on, these will all help to back up your case and can be used as evidence if required. Make sure you save all this somewhere safe and even share copies with a trusted friend, colleague or family member. Also, be smart about who you send your writing to. Reputable publishers and agents are incredibly unlikely to try and steal your work, so make sure you do your research before blindly sending it off.

Be fair

Is there such a thing as a unique idea? While you might feel disgruntled that someone has written something based on a similar theme or concept, unless you can show that the work was copied from your own, you can’t go around kicking up a fuss about every story that has similarities to yours. If you think about the world of books, there are a huge number of stories that have similar plots or characters which echo one another. That’s because authors cannot help but be influenced by one another, and also may have shared experiences which prompt them to write in a similar vein. You have to accept this and take comfort in the fact that there is room for more than one story with a similar plot, you just need to execute it in your own unique and intriguing way.

Don’t panic!

While it is good to exercise caution, being overly protective, secret and paranoid about your work is only going to be detrimental to you and is quite unnecessary. For someone to steal something you have written, they firstly have to manage to obtain it, and then sell it or publish it themselves - this actually takes a lot of work on their part, and for someone to go to those lengths to do so is fairly unlikely.

As a writer, it is a good idea to understand the basics of what you need to do for your work to be protected online. Just remember to be sensible but also not to let concerns about your work being stolen stop you from getting feedback, sending it to agents and publishers and trying to gain readers and build your following as the chances of someone actually stealing your work are very low.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Self-Publish Better Than Any Publisher Could

When every author finishes their book, they are faced with the same dilemma. Is it better to send off their books to agents and publishers and see if they can get their writing published traditionally, or do they go it alone and decide to self-publish their book?

There are, of course, pros and cons to each. But one of the things holding an author back from deciding to self-publish is feeling as though they don’t have the first clue how to promote and market their book.

However, there are ways to make your self-published book a raging success. How? Do what publishers do, but do it better than them!

While this might seem daunting, even impossible to novice authors, there is no reason why you can’t follow the same path and take the same steps as a publisher would If you really put the research and the work into each stage, there is also no reason why your book won’t do just as well as if it had been published traditionally.

So what exactly do you have to do?

Edit your book

When it comes to editing your book, there are several stages you should go through. Editing your book yourself is great, but once you have done this as thoroughly as possible, you need to choose a professional, reputable editor to look over it as well. You will have to pay for this service, but it will make all the difference to the standard of your book.

Get a great cover

Think just as a publisher would do and create a cover that’s eye-catching and clear. Your cover should reveal what the book is about, look totally professional and draw the reader in.

Physically publish your book.

When it comes to publishing your book, you will have to make many decisions. Are you just going to sell it digitally or have physical copies too? Get lots of advice and look into the different services and avenues there are to sell your book. Try to get it onto as many platforms as possible. Don’t just think Amazon, think bookshops, libraries, getting it accepted by the trade and so on.

Gain some media attention

For your book to sell well, you need to create some buzz about it. Send out a press release, get people talking about it on social media, advertise it however and wherever you can.

Have a fantastic website

Your website is your author platform so make this as professional and interesting as possible. Keep a relevant and interesting blog, have sample chapters of your book (with links to buy it of course), link in your social media accounts and make sure you keep it up to date.

Create an amazing book launch

If you book launch goes well, it could create a snowball effect where more and more people will become interested in buying your book. Make sure the right people know when you intend to release your book, invite any useful contacts to your book launch as well as the press. Make it an event worth talking about and the book sales will follow!

If a publisher were to accept your novel these are the routine steps they would take to get the book onto the marketplace. By following these and doing them as best, you can, you can launch your book safe in the knowledge that at that moment you have done just as good, or an even better job than any publisher could.

We’re not saying that’s the be all and end-all, of course, you need to continue to promote and market your book to gain a readership and see sales increase - but then so does a publisher!

So next time you are debating whether or not to self-publish your book, just dare to believe for a moment that you can do as good a job as any publisher could and that nothing is holding you back!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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