Self-publishing my journey of discovery after my divorce
taught me a lot about myself, writing, editing, marketing
and publishing.
By Summer Daniels
I have been a writer for many years, but never really considered myself an author until I hit "publish" on the first part of my Summers' Journey series back in August, 2011.
I was wrong. Being a published writer did not make me an author.
Traditional publishing can stand upon the decks of their sinking ships and attempt to stigmatize self-publishing until the waves of change finally crest over their heads. I could care less.
Being self-published gives me total control. It also makes me a writer, editor, content format expert, website guru, marketing genius and saleswoman all rolled up into one busier than ever package.
That still did not make me an author however.
I did not come to realize this fact easily. Introspection does not come naturally to most of us and I am certainly no exception to that rule.
It has been pointed out to me in the past that I was what we will politely term a "pigeon" promoter. I came flying into a particular Facebook group or forum / etc. and I dropped a load of self-promotional material - then flew off again. This particular strafing run marketing technique did not earn me a lot of friends and followers among my fellow authors.
I felt like some marketing was better than nothing and certainly - being self-published - no one was standing in line to volunteer to give me a hand.
It was about this time that I came across a quote on J.A. Konrath's blog site - A Newbie's Guide to Publishing - that really struck a chord in me. As a writer. As an author. And truly as the person I want to be when I grow up.
(As if writers ever grow up - but humor me for the sake of my argument for a moment.)
Here is the quote - and I have no idea whether or not to attribute it to Konrath as it was listed with a bunch of other motivational quotes.
"Always have two hands reaching out. One, for your next goal. The other, to help people get to where you're at."
That's it. That was my "aha" moment. Simple and concise - yet it speaks volumes. It is not a new concept of course. Not like anyone was reinventing the wheel. Help one another. Or as Joe also said in that particular blog post - "we are all in the same boat - and we all need to row."
I did not stop my self-promotion, but I began to embrace the tremendous feeling of community all around me. I began to review books for other indie authors I had interacted with. I volunteered to write a blog post or two myself - thinking all the while that as a newly self-published indie - who on earth was going to care what Ihad to say?
There is another famous quote that I shall paraphrase as follows:
Half of success is just showing up.
I began to show up. I began to re-post other's promotional efforts, re-tweeting other author's tweets, sharing links to helpful articles or promotional sites I had found. I became part of the community that I felt truly supported me when I was a nobody with a dream. Now I'm a nobody with a dream AND a few books on Amazon, but I digress once again.
I became interested in more than my own goals, desires and needs. I became someone that was happy to help with advice, opinions, beta-reading, reviewing, etc.
I became an author.
And then I had THE IDEA.
Shamelessly riding the coattails of the Fifty Shades wave, I set up a Facebook page called What to read after Fifty (50) Shades of Grey.
The intent behind the page was to simply expose these new readers of the erotic romance genre to other authors, including myself.
To say it has worked would be an understatement of epic proportions.
The page turned 18 months old on October 25th.
Over 300,000 books have been sold through book recommendations on the page - or an average of almost 600 a day.
Originally intended as a promotional tool - the WTRAFSOG page has truly turned into a fantastic interactive author and readercommunity.
What I discovered was there was tremendous value to be had in gathering voracious readers and introducing them to new authors.
The point is that I finally feel like I am giving back - in some small way - to the community of authors that supported, encouraged and nurtured me from the very beginning.
It takes some of us longer to see the obvious - right in front of us - than it does others. Do good for others - happily and willingly - and I truly believe that goodness will return to you ten-fold.
Come join us at WTRAFSOG, find some good books to read and help support your favorite authors!
Pay it forward!!
WTRAFSOG Page: https://www.facebook.com/WhatToReadAfter50ShadesOfGrey
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