Seven Lessons Reluctantly Learned from Publishing My First Book

Seven Lessons Reluctantly Learned from Publishing My First Book When your first book is finally accepted and (miracle!) published, you may think all your writing problems are solved. But I found that publication, like finally losing those stubborn ten pounds, isn’t the Nirvana we imagine it to be. In the process of publishing my first book, I’ve learned some important lessons, shared here. I hope these seven (and I’m sure they’re only a fraction) help you cushion your own publication shock and plan your counterattacks.   Ã‚      1. Tell everyone. Perfect your elevator pitch- a one-sentence explanation to rivet the person who’s getting off the floor ahead of you. Here’s mine: In Trust Your Life: Forgive Yourself and Go After Your Dreams, I apply practical spirituality to help you let go of regrets, relabel your past, and reach your lifelong yearnings. Then I mumble something about AmazonBNBooksAMillionKindleNook and whip out my bookmark, which coincidentally displays purchase and website information. For nonfiction pitches, see Ann Brandt, â€Å"Marketing Your First Nonfiction Book,† Writing World, 10:22, Nov. 18, 2010. For fiction pitches, see AuthorBuzz, authorbuzz.com/dearreader/firth.shtml. 2. Once you broadcast the good news, accept congratulations graciously. Don’t deflect: â€Å"Awww, it’s only my first. Miss Successful-Author-Five-Years-Younger has twelve.† Instead, reply like a seasoned author: â€Å"Thank you so much for your kind words.† 3. Climb on your platform. When you’ve finally finished the last revision, or, as experts counsel, much before, concentrate on your platform. This is everything you can think of to promote your book: book launch, ads, press releases, blogs, websites, social media, articles, interviews, book tours . . . . Post your book notice on Facebook, tweet about it, Pinterest it. See, for example, Clary Lopez, â€Å"The Ultimate Book Launch Party,† http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Ultimate-Book-Launch-Partyid=857042. 4. Watch out for promotion envy. Someone always does it bigger and better. Larger launches, finer wine, catered monogrammed mini-cakes, more blogs posted, excerpts published, ads placed, reviews acquired, book clubs toured, interviews given, TV shows graced, emails blasted, friends liked, tweets twitted. Do what you can- sanely. For inspiration, good judgment, and gentle stretching of your comfort boundaries, see Christina Katz’s excellent article on platform-publicity-building, â€Å"50 in Five Minutes a Day,† writersdigest.com/whats-new/50-simple-ways-to-build-your-platform-in-5-minutes-a-day. 5. Guard against Overwhelm. Staring at an endless list of bloggers inviting guests, radio shows inviting interviews, or excellent ezines for excerpts from your book, you can feel like you’ve been handed a shopping list for double septuplets. Regain your bearings 6. Write about what you’re experiencing. If you have the urge to write about the entire process, do it! Spilling can help frustration, worries, and engulfment. For the first ten days after acceptance, I kept a â€Å"Book Journal† that channeled much of my anxiety. A journal may seem like it’s taking you away from revisions or yet more promotion. But you’ll feel better, and you’ll have the makings of a blog. 7. There is writing life after publication. When your book finally appears, in print and multi-e-forms, and you’ve got the publicity on a decent schedule, go back to your writing routine. Get to the next writing project you left hanging or pine for. You’ll feel more balanced and, paradoxically, despite your first-book publication, more like a writer again. My new project (admittedly publicity-related) is excerpting passages from Trust Your Life into articles and editing them for appropriate markets, judiciously cutting and reworking snappy endings that don’t segue to the following chapters. These lessons should help arm you in advance to better ease the publication shock, handle the disenchantment, and regain your writing routine. And keep you glowing with the wonder of publishing your first book.