Can you relate to my experience with my first book?
Imagine working on your romance—on your own—for four years. You make progress, but you also flounder, second-guess yourself, stop and start a dozen times, wish you had validation about an idea. You long for a trusted friend and ally to tell you “You got this!” when you all you feel is lost and confused and frustrated.
But you don’t reach out, since you’re an author and authors work alone.
So says popular belief.
Now, imagine working on your romance in a community with other romance authors, all looking toward the same finish line—becoming published. When you second-guess yourself, you wave a flag, get the support you need to take the next step, and get the book published in months, not years.Â
Ready to stop procrastinating and finish your book?
Often, the main difference between a work-in-progress and a finished manuscript is the tenacity of the writer. I wrote Scrappy Rough Draft to help writers build self-confidence, develop a writing habit that works for you, and identify the kinds of people you need in your writing community to help you get your story out of your head and onto the page. It’s available at all retailers.
Ready to publish, just not sure how?
From the technical to the strategic, I’ve got your back in the Author Ever After community and will share with you options, the pros and cons of different approaches, and the budgets and the timelines for every decision you have to make. And there are about 173 decisions to make, give or take!
2 things that make me want to scream
Vanity press publishers
They charge mega money for meh results
If you hired all the contractors yourself—editor(s), cover designer, book formatter, publishing coach, marketing mentor—and had paperbacks done via print-on-demand, the cost to indie publish would be at least half of what vanity presses charge. In some cases, one-tenth the cost.
If you hire contractors yourself, you can guarantee they’re experts in your specific sub-genre of romance. None of the many vanity presses I’ve researched have any kind of romance expertise, let alone an understanding of different reader expectations with different sub-genres.
Also, if you plan to publish more than one book, building relationships with key service providers makes your future books more efficient and better as you and your editor / cover designer / launch team get to know each other’s skills and areas to boost.
“Be a bestseller!” promises
The "bestseller" result is 100% garbage
If anyone promises to make your book a bestseller, ask for specifics.
- Where will I get this bestseller tag? (If they say, “on Amazon,” ask, “how many sub-genres deep?”)
- How many copies of my book will I sell, per your bestseller promise?
- How much will I have to spend on ads to reach the status?
- What can I expect my net royalties to be?
If you don’t understand why these questions are so important, you’ll be bamboozled.
The truth is, bestseller status is virtually meaningless. It can be a nice ego boost, but it has zero impact on a brand new author’s success or income.
A few of the published romance authors I’ve guided
Talk to me!
Even with over ten titles published, two awards and USA Today bestselling status, I still need a coach, and I meet with my own mastermind peers every week to ensure I’m always learning and keeping up with all the new, weird and wonderful indie publishing trends and tips.
I love meeting new romance authors, so be brave, click the button below, and schedule a time to tell me about your book. You’ll have to bring your own tea, but I promise that I won’t pressure you into meeting again unless you feel some chemistry!
Not that many years ago I was where you are now— and it would be my privelege to work with you to get your first romance novel published without wasting time or money.
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