Survival of midterms, check.
Survival of novel #2, check.
Finishing a novel and having midterms in the same week. Legendary no. Crazy stupid, probably.
That means one goal is off my check list. Hallelujah!
It’s been a week of blunt beginnings.
The life of a writer, a good life it is.
Car stuck in a field, check.
Crippling deadlines, check.
No sanity left, ahem check.
It’s Monday! I’m the crazy person that likes Monday.
What’s on the agenda is novel editing. Yes another novel is coming!
Aha I am preparing to send to my publisher which is exciting news. I have one more book scheduled for release this year. Maybe I might be able to squeeze in another project.
Early days yet but some big changes have already been made this year. Updates to come!
Being an author is not easy work.
A lot of people say to me, “Oh you’re an author, that’s cute.”
Cute? Writing an 80,000 word book and shoving it out there for the world to ridicule is cute?
*Inwardly screams in frustration
Being an author is so much more than that. It is a lifestyle and a career. Most importantly it is a lot of work. Writing the book was the easy part.
I enjoy what I am doing. I really do. I’ve met a lot of kind people, and I’m beginning to learn who I am as a person and who I don’t want to be. It’s all because I am building my author brand.
There are some days that I honestly feel like am getting nowhere. But at the end of the day I realize that I have gotten farther than I ever could have dreamed I would have.
My mind 24 hours a day is thinking about my author brand. It does not matter what I am doing.
Building your author brand begins with getting yourself out there. That means social media. Now don’t go crazy but be you. As I tell myself Building a brand around a fake you is not building a brand around you. Likely what I’m meaning is don’t let some mongrel wreck your self-esteem.
For example I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube under Author Brooke Myers/ brookemyersauthor.
Instead of using a personal account I use these to express my own unique personality through my author brand.
The next thing to do is find something to identify with. Something that makes people think of you. For example I write about monsters, but I have purpose. Monsters are the object that sort of shows what my brand is. It’s how people identify me as an author. I’m the girl who writes about monsters.
As an author you need to continue to create new books to keep your readers happy but you also need to create content to keep people engaged.
On YouTube I talk about my writing experience and I also do makeup videos. It’s an easy way to make your content “real”. People want to know you are an actual person.
Another thing about building your brand is to be consistent and come up with new content. Also show gratitude. You may like to be rude in real life, BUT a simple thank you goes a long way. It tells your followers that they are important to you and without them you would not be where you are.
Now there are some things to avoid. Don’t waste people’s time. If someone asks you about your book, you need to be ready. Have a pitch and show them that you are serious and that you know your book. I mean you did write it!
Don’t get discouraged. Rome or anywhere wasn’t built in a day. It all takes time. It’s frustrating to feel like it all is going at a snail’s pace. But building an author brand can take years upon years. It’s about dedication. If you truly love what you are doing, you won’t give up, no matter how much you want to.
If you would like to check out my social media, feel free.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookemyersauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookemyersauthor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHPVU7wZAH3V6LB7YVnp7aw
The Devil’s Retreat Book Buy Links:
https://www.books2read.com/u/m2oKLo
The Devil’s Retreat (Digging Up the Past Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077MMDMHV/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_KtlfAbKPVE0TV
It’s been a long 2017. It feels longer than usual for a year. Though maybe that’s just because of all the things that have happened.
Thanksgiving is in two days. I haven’t said what I am thankful for yet.
I’m going to say this, I am thankful for 2017. It’s been the best and worst year of my life.
Time is flying now.
Back in August I self-published my first book. What a wild ride that was. I had to learn so much. I will forever be thankful for the lessons that experience taught me.
I thought I made my dream come true. I thought getting published was simply enough. Now I know, it wasn’t going to be enough until I did everything the right way.
But I made a decision. I figured if I want to be a writer I needed to get it together. The night I made my choice, I took my book off all markets. Got online and found the publisher that had remarked how interesting my book looked when I met her at a Convention.
I submitted my manuscript directly to her and after consideration, she accepted it. It’s been a wild ride going through cover design and having the help of an editor who showed me the things I should have shown myself years ago.
Last night my book came out on all eBook markets. Next week my paperback comes out. It’s been a long haul to the finish line, but it’s right in my grasp.
My head is straight, and my focus is right where it should be.
Time flies, but has brought me to the place where my dreams reside.
Where I’m at now I am living the dream that I have had since age five. I’m not without regret, but I’m a hell of a lot more thankful.
Day one of a new beginning is ending. I am me, but my goals are different and so is my outlook.
I have wanted to do this for a long time. Rip apart everything and start fresh. Start the way I wanted to start in the first place.
The only difference? I realized it wasn’t too late.
I’ve been serious about getting published for five years. That is not a long time, but it’s a long time for such a terrifying commitment.
I went Indie, and I don’t regret anything about it. Self-publishing helped lead me to the path I have always wanted to be on.
I am now publishing a four book series with a traditional publisher. A publisher that I met at an event I went to as an Indie author.
I got tired of listening to the “traditional is better” spiel, and I honestly think that is why I turned to self-publishing. I wanted to carve out my own, as many people choose to do. But I have wanted this outcome for a long time. I trusted my gut and I have accomplished.
It’s been a long 2017, I’ve embarked on a publishing journey and now I’m on my second. I have stressed over everything along the way, but in the end everything is coming together.
Life isn’t perfect, but some of these paths we go down, they can lead us to who we are. Every night is a new dusk, a fresh start. Wake up with the dawn and chase that dream of yours. This is your life, stop saying you can’t reach that dream. Get off the couch, get out of the house, flee to the city, run to the mountains, jump to the ocean. You are only alive now, go.
Stop what you’re doing with your story.
Insert your own name in replace of the main character’s.
Does the story still convey the message you want it to?
