Mary Newman's Blog - Posts Tagged "self-publishing-observation"
What I’ve Learned as a Self-publishing Author
This is a repost of the blog on my website:
I’ve been self-publishing since 2012, so that’s about four years, most of that time writing MF fantasy romances. The past year or so, I began writing in the MM fantasy romance genre. I think I’ve made every newbie mistake at least once, sometimes twice. The romance writing community can be some of the most giving and kind people out there – at their best. Or, they can rival a school of piranha during a feeding frenzy, at their worst. I’ve seen things I can’t unsee, as well as enjoyed the online friendship of some really great people. This is merely a recording of my experiences and the things I’ve observed, since I began publishing. These are my experiences; others might never come across any of this, and still others will say “that’s not how it really is.” So, I’ll reiterate, these are MY observations and experiences, no one else’s. If you see yourself, join the club *shakes hand* welcome to my world.
1. Develop a thick skin. A really, really thick skin. Think you have one? Can you deal with someone telling you your writing sucks big green donkey dicks and you should never bother to sit at a keyboard again for the rest of your life? No? Get a thicker skin because somewhere, sometime, someone is going to detest your writing to the extent they call your parentage into question and decry your writing abilities as non-existent.
2. Learn how to market yourself and your work. I’m a lousy marketer. I think I’ve tried just about every route to get my books out there and read every helpful guide there is. I suck at it. I keep hoping someone will award a “world’s worst marketer” trophy to me just so I can say I succeeded in something in regards to marketing. I have no good advice for you on this front other than don’t write in the fantasy/science fiction genre.
3. Never, never, never put down another author or blogger. I’ve not done this, but I’ve seen it and it ALWAYS backfires in an absolutely spectacular way. I don’t care if you think they’re the biggest hack or cheat you’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. Don’t. Do. It. You’ll come off sounding petty and unprofessional. Hand in hand with this observation is don’t ask your readers to not read another author’s work or go give them one star reviews. It’s petty and demeaning. If you’re willing to do it to someone else, they’ll be happy to return the favor, someday.
4. Just because another author promos for you one time does not mean they’re obligated to ever do so again. Seriously. Unless you’re paying for promo, you don’t get to count on others to do it for you. You CAN put out a request for bloggers and authors to host you on their blog, share your book, etc., but you CAN’T expect them to do it. You want promo, pay for it.
5. Don’t offer ARCs for reviews and then get upset because A) you get a bad review out of the deal, or B) your book shows up on a pirate site. Nor should you be surprised when all those reviews you meticulously requested and received on Amazon suddenly disappear. No, it’s not fair. Yes, it’s probably going to happen because Amazon is rather arbitrary at enforcing their own rules. I much prefer a review on someone’s personal blog or Goodreads. I simply don’t ask for reviews on Amazon any longer, nor do I give them often. That’s just me, personally, though.
6. Accept that at some point you’re going to be pirated or plagiarized. Handle it with composure and class. Don’t scream and yell all over Facebook and Twitter. Just make note of it, notify whoever you need to in order to get it taken care of and go on with your life. Less stress that way and I have to admire those authors I see who handle this issue with calm. The others I honestly just scroll right past because who needs the drama.
7. For the love of God, edit your work before you release it. If you’re unsure, hire a good editor. It will be money well spent. Nothing ruins a great story more than misplaced or missing punctuation or words that don’t mean what you thought they did. Wonder and wander are not interchangeable, neither is you’re or your. I’m not the grammar police, but one too many mistakes in a book and I’ll put it on my DNF pile.
8. Don’t engage if you get a bad review. Akin to this is receiving an email from a “fan” that says you suck and so does your book. I don’t care what they say about you or your book. Don’t. Engage. I mean it. Don’t thank them for their kind words. Don’t tell anyone you think their review was unfair or someone sent you a mean email, not even in a private group you’re sure they are not a member of. Don’t email and ask them specifically what they didn’t like. Don’t respond. If you feel the need to say something to them, just don’t. You’ll regret it during this lifetime and the next.
9. If someone disagrees with you about something, don’t call them names on FB or Twitter. Don’t call them names on your blog. Don’t even call them names under your breath within the hearing of another person. This is another one of those issues that will explode into something horrific you don’t want to see. If you need to say something to them, just tell them while you understand their point of view, you don’t agree. And walk away.
10. Don’t ever “borrow” another author’s work. If you think something you’ve written might overlap or be iffy, private message them and let them read it or ask them what they think. The couple of times I’ve inadvertently borrowed and felt my writing was iffy, I emailed the author in question and asked, and I didn’t get the stink eye for doing so. At least, not to my face. If they are uncomfortable with what you’ve written, you can rewrite it or scrap it. If they’re cool with it, you’re good to go. It’s easy enough to accidently borrow when you read as much as I do. An idea comes to you and you’ve got a hundred pages written before you realize where you’ve seen that idea before. If you’re doing it on purpose, though, don’t. If the words aren’t yours, don’t claim them. You can’t get back trust if the reading public or other authors feel you’ve plagiarized someone.
11. This last one is an absolute pet peeve of mine, so I’m going to include it. If you’re in a writing group and someone asks for advice. That’s what you offer. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is a gift, flat out criticism isn’t. It’s mean and only makes someone feel bad. If you’ve got something to add to the conversation that will help the one asking for advice, do so, but if you’re just doling at negativity, don’t.
For what it’s worth, that is the benefit of my observations since I became a self-published author. I don’t know it all and I’m still going to make mistakes that are cringe-worthy. If you’re ever unsure about something, join a writer’s group and ask. Speak up. You’ll get honest answers and points of view that will, hopefully, save you from making a mess of things.
I’ve been self-publishing since 2012, so that’s about four years, most of that time writing MF fantasy romances. The past year or so, I began writing in the MM fantasy romance genre. I think I’ve made every newbie mistake at least once, sometimes twice. The romance writing community can be some of the most giving and kind people out there – at their best. Or, they can rival a school of piranha during a feeding frenzy, at their worst. I’ve seen things I can’t unsee, as well as enjoyed the online friendship of some really great people. This is merely a recording of my experiences and the things I’ve observed, since I began publishing. These are my experiences; others might never come across any of this, and still others will say “that’s not how it really is.” So, I’ll reiterate, these are MY observations and experiences, no one else’s. If you see yourself, join the club *shakes hand* welcome to my world.
1. Develop a thick skin. A really, really thick skin. Think you have one? Can you deal with someone telling you your writing sucks big green donkey dicks and you should never bother to sit at a keyboard again for the rest of your life? No? Get a thicker skin because somewhere, sometime, someone is going to detest your writing to the extent they call your parentage into question and decry your writing abilities as non-existent.
2. Learn how to market yourself and your work. I’m a lousy marketer. I think I’ve tried just about every route to get my books out there and read every helpful guide there is. I suck at it. I keep hoping someone will award a “world’s worst marketer” trophy to me just so I can say I succeeded in something in regards to marketing. I have no good advice for you on this front other than don’t write in the fantasy/science fiction genre.
3. Never, never, never put down another author or blogger. I’ve not done this, but I’ve seen it and it ALWAYS backfires in an absolutely spectacular way. I don’t care if you think they’re the biggest hack or cheat you’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. Don’t. Do. It. You’ll come off sounding petty and unprofessional. Hand in hand with this observation is don’t ask your readers to not read another author’s work or go give them one star reviews. It’s petty and demeaning. If you’re willing to do it to someone else, they’ll be happy to return the favor, someday.
4. Just because another author promos for you one time does not mean they’re obligated to ever do so again. Seriously. Unless you’re paying for promo, you don’t get to count on others to do it for you. You CAN put out a request for bloggers and authors to host you on their blog, share your book, etc., but you CAN’T expect them to do it. You want promo, pay for it.
5. Don’t offer ARCs for reviews and then get upset because A) you get a bad review out of the deal, or B) your book shows up on a pirate site. Nor should you be surprised when all those reviews you meticulously requested and received on Amazon suddenly disappear. No, it’s not fair. Yes, it’s probably going to happen because Amazon is rather arbitrary at enforcing their own rules. I much prefer a review on someone’s personal blog or Goodreads. I simply don’t ask for reviews on Amazon any longer, nor do I give them often. That’s just me, personally, though.
6. Accept that at some point you’re going to be pirated or plagiarized. Handle it with composure and class. Don’t scream and yell all over Facebook and Twitter. Just make note of it, notify whoever you need to in order to get it taken care of and go on with your life. Less stress that way and I have to admire those authors I see who handle this issue with calm. The others I honestly just scroll right past because who needs the drama.
7. For the love of God, edit your work before you release it. If you’re unsure, hire a good editor. It will be money well spent. Nothing ruins a great story more than misplaced or missing punctuation or words that don’t mean what you thought they did. Wonder and wander are not interchangeable, neither is you’re or your. I’m not the grammar police, but one too many mistakes in a book and I’ll put it on my DNF pile.
8. Don’t engage if you get a bad review. Akin to this is receiving an email from a “fan” that says you suck and so does your book. I don’t care what they say about you or your book. Don’t. Engage. I mean it. Don’t thank them for their kind words. Don’t tell anyone you think their review was unfair or someone sent you a mean email, not even in a private group you’re sure they are not a member of. Don’t email and ask them specifically what they didn’t like. Don’t respond. If you feel the need to say something to them, just don’t. You’ll regret it during this lifetime and the next.
9. If someone disagrees with you about something, don’t call them names on FB or Twitter. Don’t call them names on your blog. Don’t even call them names under your breath within the hearing of another person. This is another one of those issues that will explode into something horrific you don’t want to see. If you need to say something to them, just tell them while you understand their point of view, you don’t agree. And walk away.
10. Don’t ever “borrow” another author’s work. If you think something you’ve written might overlap or be iffy, private message them and let them read it or ask them what they think. The couple of times I’ve inadvertently borrowed and felt my writing was iffy, I emailed the author in question and asked, and I didn’t get the stink eye for doing so. At least, not to my face. If they are uncomfortable with what you’ve written, you can rewrite it or scrap it. If they’re cool with it, you’re good to go. It’s easy enough to accidently borrow when you read as much as I do. An idea comes to you and you’ve got a hundred pages written before you realize where you’ve seen that idea before. If you’re doing it on purpose, though, don’t. If the words aren’t yours, don’t claim them. You can’t get back trust if the reading public or other authors feel you’ve plagiarized someone.
11. This last one is an absolute pet peeve of mine, so I’m going to include it. If you’re in a writing group and someone asks for advice. That’s what you offer. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is a gift, flat out criticism isn’t. It’s mean and only makes someone feel bad. If you’ve got something to add to the conversation that will help the one asking for advice, do so, but if you’re just doling at negativity, don’t.
For what it’s worth, that is the benefit of my observations since I became a self-published author. I don’t know it all and I’m still going to make mistakes that are cringe-worthy. If you’re ever unsure about something, join a writer’s group and ask. Speak up. You’ll get honest answers and points of view that will, hopefully, save you from making a mess of things.
Mary Newman's Blog
I am currently migrating my blog to my website on Wordpress. New posts will generally be shared here, but the blog itself will now be on Wordpress. I look forward to hearing your comments on the new s
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