ISWG Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

It's time for another installment of the ISWG. For those who'd like to learn more about this supportive and helpful membership, please click on the name of our illustrious host: :Alex J. Cavanaugh

This month's question was a doozie, and well worth posting about: What pitfalls would you warn other writer's to avoid on their publication journey. 

There's so much I've learned from drafting PAWN OF THE GODS, that I hardly know where to begin. I could tell you all not to edit your book as you go. I did this and it took twice the time to finish my first draft, but this is advice lots of writers give, IMO. 

It's what happens after the book is done that counts. Even if you're published through traditional means, new authors are required to market their books. I thought if I wrote it, "they" would read it. This might have been true twenty years ago, before self-publishing took off on Amazon. However, nowadays, each new release is a drop in a sea of stories. You could have the best book ever written, but if you can't attract an audience, then it will sit there unread. So, I'd advise new authors to begin their marketing campaigns early, before their book is completed. Reach out to sites within your genre. Establish relationships with other authors. Network in the community. The earlier you begin, the more of a buzz you'll create about your work. This will help when querying agents. Conversely, if you decided to take the self publishing route, it'll give you a leg up against the competition.  

At one point, two major publishing houses reviewed my MS. Although they felt it was well written, etc, they weren't sure how to place an end of the world piece that flipped between the 16th century Mayan jungle and the 21st century White House.  Once I got over the rejection (four years later), I self published the book while I worked on my second novel. The problem was I had no clue how to go about marketing myself. It's been a journey of tough knocks. I'm still Forrest Gumping my way through it, and once I've figured things out, I plan to post about them. Moral to the story, don't put all your eggs in one basket, have a plan B and market yourself early. 

I haven't received much feedback from other bloggers over the past few months so this post may fall on blind eyes. However, hope runs eternal, and if this advice helps one writer, then it was worth the time I took to draft the post.  Until next time, happy writing.