5 Things I Learned After My Book Was Published
By Mary Ann Loesch
The road to publication has not been an easy one for my novel, Nephilim. Finding the right home for this urban fantasy took some time and careful thought. In the end, it fell into the capable hands of Lyrical Press Inc. Now that it’s published, I’d like to share a few things I learned about writing and publishing after Nephilim was released.
1. Remember your editor’s advice for future projects. Listen to your editor. Love them. Write them big thank you notes. My editor, the wonderful Tiffany Maxwell, guided me through the process of cleaning up my novel. I’m so glad to have worked with her! Having published the novel, now I appreciate the importance of a second set of eyes who really knows what they are talking about. The things she pointed out to me as writing weaknesses are things that I now use when working on other projects.
2. It is never too early to promote your book. The sooner you do this and have a plan of action in place, the better off you will be after the book comes out.
3. Tooting your own horn is important! This is different than creating a website or a webpage where you just blindly promote. Tooting your own horn means being confidant enough to talk to people face to face about what you have accomplished. There is a time and a place for humble pie, but being able to chat about yourself and your book is just as important as setting up your Facebook or Twitter page.
4. You can be successful without an agent. I really worried over this one. As writers, we are trained that the only way you can achieve success is if you have an agent and get published through a major publishing house. That is no longer the case. Agents can play a vital role, but they aren’t the last word on whether or not you can make it as a writer. I don’t have an agent and I feel fine. At least for today…
5. Continue to make time to write. Just because you have a book out doesn’t mean you should stop writing. This is tough one sometimes because the promotion process is so time consuming. Make sure that you are still putting aside time to write that next novel or short story, too.
Mary Ann Loesch is an award-winning author living in the Austin Area. Teacher by day, writer by night, Ms. Loesch has an extensive background in Theatre Arts and education. In 2009 her novel, Nephilim, won the Writers League of Texas Manuscript contest in the category of Science Fiction/Fantasy. Having published short stories in SNM Horror Magazine, A Side of Grits, and Red Fez, she is also a proud contributor to the blogs All Things Writing and Loesch’s Muse, both guides for beginning writers. Lyrical Press, Inc. published her urban fantasy, Nephilim, July 2011.
You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com or her blog at http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.
