Becoming an Author... From the Ground Up
At one time or another, most of us have had the idea for a novel rattling around in our heads begging to be written while convincing us it would be an overnight success; number one on the New York Times' Best Seller List.
And, if you’re like me, you've even fantasized about who would play the leading roles of your characters. Hayden Panettiere and William Moseley (the older brother from Narnia) are mine – in case you were wondering.
Well, after reading this article from one of my favorite authors, I finally answered that voice and set off to write my first novel. Couldn’t be that hard, I told myself.
Those of you who have been in my position will understand what an understatement this was. It’s equivalent to saying only a few drops of oil made it into the Gulf from the BP spill.
No bother. If a stay-at-home mom or an English teacher could do it, I certainly could. Maybe. Just don’t expect to read about any vampires from me. My young adult, sci-fi novel, PInesport Divide, was published March 24, 2010. That’s all I will say about it (for now), because my intention for this blog is not to promote it.
It’s been 154 days since the release, and to my bewilderment I’m still counting beans at the day job, so I think it’s safe to say I am not going to be the next overnight sensation. In fact, I’m only now starting to realize just how green I truly am. Naivete can be so comforting.
With a ginormous learning curve ahead of me, I plan on documenting every bit of the difficult journey right here, with as much brutal honesty about my experience as I can muster. Just don’t tell my publisher. ;)
This includes writing, publishing, advertising, and well, everything else about becoming an author … from the ground up. I’m hoping you’ll share your experiences with me, as well.
With the intention to report on at least one thing in every post that I’ve learned, I will leave you with this insight. When it comes time to publish your book, everyone you have ever known (i.e. all the people on your Facebook page) will have good intentions to run out and buy your book, but only a small percentage of them actually will. Good times!
Next Week : Time Management Techniques I Used To Finish My Novel
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