Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "published"
Smile, Ignore, Repeat
No disrespect intended to anyone, but the minute you publish a book, everyone you know is suddenly an expert. I even had one person tell me I needed a different man on my book's cover and proceeded to show me a picture of a "male model" who was downright frightening! I think she had Fabio in mind, but somehow it escaped her that Fabio wasn't in the book (so why should he be on the cover?)
People always mean well with this kind of unsolicited advice, but it is rarely helpful. Type-o's, plot holes, confusing dialogue, absolutely! Listen and listen well.
But people who are merely offering to rewrite your book for you (or redesign the cover) should be, well, politely ignored. Don't hurt anyone's feelings or infer that their opinions don't matter, because of course they do. But don't get carried away and start second guessing everything because of so-and-so's opinion.
Give a thousand people a book to read and you'll get a thousand people telling you what needs to be changed. However, unless you want to write a thousand books, or customize each one for the reader, you have to let it stand or fall on it's own.
Be nice, be polite, nod and smile, but never make changes to your novel based on another person's opinion!
People always mean well with this kind of unsolicited advice, but it is rarely helpful. Type-o's, plot holes, confusing dialogue, absolutely! Listen and listen well.
But people who are merely offering to rewrite your book for you (or redesign the cover) should be, well, politely ignored. Don't hurt anyone's feelings or infer that their opinions don't matter, because of course they do. But don't get carried away and start second guessing everything because of so-and-so's opinion.
Give a thousand people a book to read and you'll get a thousand people telling you what needs to be changed. However, unless you want to write a thousand books, or customize each one for the reader, you have to let it stand or fall on it's own.
Be nice, be polite, nod and smile, but never make changes to your novel based on another person's opinion!
Drop the Snake Oil and Step Away
I think almost everyone has purchased some type of snake oil at some point in their life. Well, they’ve invented snake oil for authors, and sadly, they buy it by the gallon. One of the worst things a newly published author can fall for is what I refer to as the “Secrets Scam.”
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
