Be familiar with the archetypal “Hero’s Journey”. It resonates with humanity and has been a literary vehicle for millennia. This pattern was identified by Joseph Campbell as a Monomyth in his book, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” This was later adapted by Christopher Vogler as the Twelve Stage Hero’s Journey. The number of stages vary, usually between eight and twelve. Just Google it and you’ll find multiple references, including several different illustrations. As a writer, it’s something with which you should be familiar. Classic examples include “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars.”
Remember your main character needs to have a fatal flaw. It doesn’t have to be evil; it could be something like being too honest or outspoken. No one is perfect and to be convincing, your characters shouldn’t be, either. It’s their weaknesses that make them more endearing and real. They also build suspense, an essential ingredient for any story.
If you’re not sure what a character’s fatal flaw might be, take a close look at his or her strengths. Any trait that can be a strength can also be a weakness, if taken to the extreme. Obsessions, for example, can go either way, to a person’s advantage or detriment, depending on the situation. For example, being determined and not giving up can also result in beating the proverbial dead horse.
Other than a chosen few best-selling authors, the people making the most book-related money are those that offer promotion services, teach classes, or provide other publication help, such as cover design, formatting, and video trailer creation.
Unless you have unlimited resources, choose them wisely to make sure you get your money’s worth and a suitable ROI (return on investment). While any new endeavor requires a certain level of investment, it’s an easy trap to fall into where you’re putting out far more money than you’ll be able to recover for a long time. Making easy money by becoming an author is about as likely as becoming a famous singer or Hollywood star. The odds are not in your favor.
Social media presence is important for readers and fans to connect. However, you need to post engaging content to draw them in as opposed to only promoting your books. This is likely to be viewed as spam and lessen your popularity as opposed to boosting it. Giveaways, interesting blog posts, excerpts, and selling yourself as an interesting person are a few ways to draw them in.
If you’re anything like me, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Things either take longer than expected or something pops up and devours the hours. Parallel processing helps somewhat. For example, if my computer is taking forever to download or update, I get up and do something else, rather than sit there and call it unsavory names. I’ve foolishly spent an amazing amount of time waiting for my computer when I could have been doing something else. Like cleaning out the cat’s litter box, for example.
The same goes for cooking. It doesn’t take long to figure out you can cut down your preparation time by not doing everything in a serial, one thing at a time, manner. Rather, you brown the meat for spaghetti while you’re waiting for the water to boil, and so forth. It’s not rocket science.
With such busy days, it’s easy to see how learning to parallel process, or better yet, multiplex, is essential, not only to get everything done, but to find time for yourself. It’s pretty pathetic when you have to schedule time for fun or to enjoy something, but that’s often the case. Another way to slip in something you enjoy while doing something you don’t, such as your daily commute amidst the worst drivers on the planet, getting in those steps to keep your FitBit happy, or weeding the garden, is via audio books! Recordings of motivational talks, college courses, and even novels, have been around for a while. But now they’re as easy to access as your smart phone, which is most likely within reach.
If you love to read, but can’t find the time, this is a great solution. Make those mindless tasks more pleasant by listening to something you enjoy. If you don’t like to read, it’s even better, because someone is reading to you! Just like those tender memories of being read to as a kid!
Such an indulgence used to be expensive in the old days when you had to purchase tapes or CDs. Now you can get a subscription for Audible for just under $15 a month, which includes one book. You can even get a free trial for a month when you sign up! Do it through Amazon and they’ll give you two books free, that you get to keep, even if you decide not to subscribe. Buy the ebook and you get a huge discount on the audio book!
Some author groups provide a variety of benefits including classes, tweet groups, review opportunities, online writing conferences, blog tours, interviews, and vetted author services providers. Two I can recommend are ASMSG (Author’s Social Media Support Group) and RRBC (Rave Reviews Book Club). Getting into ASMSG is free, but requires a recommendation from an existing member, which helps keep the membership focused on more experienced writers. Anyone can join RRBC by signing up on their website here. They charge a membership fee, but the more involved you get, the more benefits you’ll receive. If you decide to join, be sure to tell them I sent you!
There are numerous author groups which have a variety of excellent benefits. These are where you can find authors with whom you can do a beta swap or provide editorial reviews. There may be one in your local area where you can get together face-to-face with other authors. If not, there are several options online. One place to start is Linked-In, which has several author groups. Facebook has some as well. Make sure that any other groups of which you are a member, even if they don’t relate to writing, know that you are an author.
Networking with other authors is a must, especially with those who write in the same or similar genre. See them as allies, not competition. How many readers stick to books from only one author? However, they do tend toward certain genres. Your fans will appreciate learning about authors who write stories similar to your own.
Beta exchanges, promoting each other on your respective blogs, retweeting, Facebook posts, sharing marketing ideas, etc. are a few ways where you can help each other.
If you’re a new author, don’t expect readers to find your book as soon as it’s released. There are literally millions of books out there and you need to take action if you want anyone to find it. Think of it as being in a huge stadium, such as at the Super Bowl, and trying to get everyone to notice you. Then multiply this by a hundred or more!
This is where networking and book promotion is essential. You can start drawing attention to your work before its release by posting excerpts or updates on your progress to build reader anticipation. Once you have an established fan base it’s a lot easier.
Enhance the professional appearance of your book’s interior by using a glyph that relates to your story instead of asterisks for section breaks. There are many options in unicode and wingding fonts which are easier to use overall than a jpg file.
For example, multiple jpg files can be a nuisance for some print on demand establishments such as Ingram, where the pdf file needs to be distilled. Creating a pdf from a MS Word file reduces their resolution, so each one has to be replaced manually. If every section break is a jpg this would be a major pain!
The same goes for cooking. It doesn’t take long to figure out you can cut down your preparation time by not doing everything in a serial, one thing at a time, manner. Rather, you brown the meat for spaghetti while you’re waiting for the water to boil, and so forth. It’s not rocket science.
Recordings of motivational talks, college courses, and even novels, have been around for a while. But now they’re as easy to access as your smart phone, which is most likely within reach.
Marcha's Two-Cents Worth 