Hey guys, hope you are good when reading this. To be honest, once you write a book, you want it to be in as many hands as possible. Be the talk of the moment. Get a movie deal. Roll down the window of your new car as billboards show your bestseller becoming a global phenomenon. Truth is that even though it can happen, that is slim to non-chance whatsoever.
So what has become of my first book? Has it sold? Am I getting interviews? Living completely of the book?
I knew starting to publish, this first book was to wet my feet. Before you go swimming, you need to test the waters, so you just put your toes in the water. Something like that. Things in the script-writing business, I thought, write present, repeat. But with books is not the same. The author’s platform is very important. And it has been kicking my butt ever since.
After writing the book you get overwhelmed on where you want to put it on sale. I decided to go with Ingramspark and ebook on Amazon. Like everything on the internet, there is too much noise. You need to surf through it so that your book is noticed. So it has sold, not as you may think, but in my opinion, being a nobody I think it has done pretty well. The other thing is that as I continue to put out books, sales will increase, hence Amazon’s ranking.
Because I’m just starting, is not like I get national exposure, but I’m being asked for interviews on podcasts. My Facebook page keeps getting bigger, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube at a slow pace. Now that in a month or so, my children’s book will come out, I bet I’m getting a different kind of public that will know about what I’m writing. So no, I’m not living out of just my book.
One thing I’ve learned is that the book industry is growing, even though its traditional route has changed because of the pandemic. New business has changed. The way promotions have been done is changing. But if you want to break through, you got to be patient. Consistent. Persistent, and keep improving your art.
Before writing more things I did a 5-year goal to see how hard I’m going at writing. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop, just that my pace could shift. This will also affect the day-to-day things that happen in real life. So at the end of the 5-year goal, I need to see a steady amount of economy brought by the books. If this doesn’t happen I will slow my pace and concentrate on time with my family, especially with my daughters. This goal includes, but is not limited to:
2 more Reign of Darkness books. First, the story must continue. It is a series after all. So that means books number two and three published in that span.
3 more children’s books from Panda The Magic Dog. Book 1 is out on July 30th. We are talking about having three more after the first part. Book number two should be out at the end of this year.
2 comic books should be published. The first one we are looking to get it out maybe starting next year. We already booked a spot at Puerto Rico’s ComicCon. Hopefully, that will help us get more exposure and sure eventually lead to more sales.
Another thing that I’ve learned since publishing my first book is, that working full-time and trying to be a writer sucks. There is no other way to put it. I really don’t like giving less than 100% when working. People depend on me. There is satisfaction in doing your job well, but it takes a toll, and when you have kids, a significant other, pets, you want to give them all the attention they deserve as well. This is one of the main reasons you need to prepare. You need to pay the bills, you want to live your life and want your projects out.
Another thing that I learned is both the writing and reading communities are very helpful. It feels warm being around people with the same interest. On the other hand, it is time-consuming. Same as trying to manage your author platform, engaging with the community really helps to get exposure, but that means more time on your phone or computer.
Distractions are everywhere. Once you have written your first book, for some reason you had all the power in the world to block the world. After that is done, not so much. Interruptions grow and are probably because maybe people thought the writer will be on their desk, write the novel and come back to the real world. You can balance that out, but it feels more like the little devil on your shoulder trying to seduce you to stay away from your work moving forward.
Writing a companion book, trilogy, and/or series is a headache. No matter how much you prepare, how much you outlined, you hit some bumps in the road. The first one is a breeze. The second one, you have to be conscious of what you wrote on the first one, and if you are going for third and beyond, that second can’t mess the future of the next books. So you take a bit more time but you are calculating so that the whole universe you are creating makes sense.
Silly banter and jokes about your writing. More or less like distractions, people tend to take a poke at what you are doing. Some will actually support you. My advice to you is, don’t take it personally. People often project what their weaknesses or insecurities are in others. They’ll say if they write a book of their life they’ll become a millionaire, yet they also say they don’t have time to read. The sad part is, that they don’t know that people really do not care. Who are you again? Unless you are a celebrity, someone that has gone viral or trending, people do not care. So you as a writer, do not get discouraged by others. If you published a book, you’ve already done more than the majority of the world’s population.
In the end, patience and persistence are the keys. Keep working on your manuscript, your story, arch, and characters. Make something unbelievable. Work on your author platform. Promote yourself, and be part of the writing community. It will take some time, just like any emerging business to thrive.