The truth about your first book

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Hello, Writers!

 

Every aspiring writer has a vision of their life post-publication. For most people, this dream is full of images of success. Let’s face it, no one dreams of publishing their first book and hearing crickets. But, this is the post-publication reality for most first-time authors. This is what has prompted me to write this blog post, to share with you the truth about your first book and what to expect. Knowing what to expect is so important, because if you can pre-empt moments of failure and success, then you also have the power to change your experience.

 

The purpose of this article is not to scare you or put you off writing your first book. As I alluded to in the paragraph above, it’s important to share what to expect from writing your first book. If you’re reading this and you’ve yet to write or publish your first book then, this is for you. In this blog post, there are valuable pieces of information you can learn from, to ensure your experience is a better one.

 

So, let’s get started.

 

#1. Your First Book is Important

Your first book is the start of your writing journey. Many people talk about writing a book, but few actually do. Getting to a place where you’ve written your first draft or are editing your book is a huge milestone.

 

Authorship is a journey, and along with that journey, you learn and grow as a writer. These opportunities present themselves in the form of book ideas that are later published.

 

It’s in the publication process where you learn what it really means to be an author. This is why your first book is so important because it’s the start of your journey. To get the most from your journey, after every book you publish take a few moments to look back and make a note of the lessons you learned along the way. If you fail to look back, you’ll keep making the same mistakes, and as a result, you’ll never learn and grow as an author. 

 

#2. Your Book Will Suck

I realise this seems a little harsh but, as you look back over your first book, you won’t remember it as your best book. I’ve heard a few successful Independent Authors explain, they went back and re-edited their first book. The reason for this is, they were in a rush to publish. I’m currently, re-editing my book SMARTER Goal setting for a similar reason and I want to make sure this book is evergreen. So, don’t be in a rush to publish your first book. 

 

Take the time to perfect it. When I say perfect, I’m using the term very lightly. When you think you’ve done editing, I recommend to put your book aside and pick it up again a week later and look at it again. It’s important that you spend time self-editing and revising your book. Invest in a structural edit by a professional editor, then make the necessary revisions. After this enlist the help of beta readers to help you improve your book. It’s important to get your book in front of many eyes as possible.

 

#3. You’ll Struggle to Make Sales

Many first-time authors don’t understand book marketing. They have a build it, and they will come mindset when it comes to book marketing. When I published SMARTER Goal setting my idea of marketing was using long-tail keywords and talking about my book on social media. As I soon realised, this was not enough. I also made a huge mistake. This mistake was starting with one book in a new series. I recommend starting your author journey with at least two books. One book to give away as a lead magnet so you can, collect email address and build an author platform. And the second book to sell on Amazon. It’s important to publish both books and release them on Amazon. But, never lower the price or offer the first book for free.

 

Why?

 

Seeing the book, you’re giving away for free will encourage people to sign up to your email list. This growing email list will become your author platform. As you release more books, you will have people waiting to read your next book.

 

Author Platform

If you want your first book to reach more readers, you will need to build your author platform before you release your book. You can build your platform by starting a blog that’s aligned with your books genre or niche. Hosting giveaways where people enter the competition by subscribing to your list. Building an author platform is about positioning yourself in front of your ideal readers and giving them an exciting reason to sign up to your list. It’s important to that you don’t expect to hit the bestseller charts with your first book unless you’ve been writing for years and have built up a huge platform before you release your book.

 

Concluding Thoughts

As always, I have an important question to ask you. Are you an aspiring author who is dreaming of writing a non-fiction book? How are you going to use these truths to ensure you have a better experience publishing your first book? I want to hear from you. Let me know by sharing your actionable steps in the comments section below.

 

Thank you for listening, reading, commenting and sharing with such enthusiasm.

 

Your coach,

 

Amelia xx

 

Amelia D. Hay

Written by Amelia D. Hay

I’m Amelia. When I’m not hosting the Authorpreneur Podcast™️ and the Book Nerd Podcasts, I write Mystery Novels under the pen name A. D. Hay. And, I’m the author of Suspicion, the Lawn, and the Candidate.

On this blog, I help new writers to finish their first draft, prepare their manuscripts for professional editing, and when they get stuck in the first draft phase or are confused about the revision process.

Right now, I’m editing and preparing my soon to be published mystery novels, Suspicion, Duplicity, 24 Hours, and Immunity for publication.

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