Can You Build a Successful Writing Career By Mixing Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing?

Do you have a dream of a New York book deal, complete with a fat advance, a publicity department pushing your work out to readers and the media, and stacks of your soon-to-be bestseller near the register at your local bookstore?

If you do, I bet that you've heard the advice, "Don't quit your day job." But what if you changed jobs and made writing your day job? Could you feasibly support your dream of a career with a Big Five contract with other paid writing gigs?

The data says yes.

The 7k Report by Hugh Howey shows the true power of the self-published author in the digital marketplace. In a realm where genre fiction rules, many of these writers are making enough income to support themselves with only one or two books in their catalogs. The figures are sobering, and I hope that by now you've taken the time to read the report and that you're able to pick your jaw up off the floor and examine your plans and goals for your own career.

Let's say hypothetically that I'm planning to jump back into the non-fiction pool very soon. I've had experience with both traditional publishing and self-publishing in the past, and I learned from that experience that traditional publishing works best with my category of non-fiction. Because of that, I plan to take the "old fashioned" route of agent-editor-publisher with my forthcoming work.

In order to assure that I can devote more of my time and attention to research and writing, I've decided to take a gamble and self-publish two completed works of genre fiction (romance, if you're curious) that I've had stashed away for a while. If all goes well and sales are decent, I can reduce the hours spent at my day job and focus on the non-fiction project that I'm eager to complete.

Like I said, it's a gamble. 

I will have to publish these books under a pseudonym if I plan to keep the theme of my current publishing catalog separate from the genre fiction, which means I'm essentially starting my platform from scratch. I will need to market and promote these titles, which will take time away from my non-fiction project, but it's time that I can control. I will still need to connect with readers via social media and email to build my audience, but again, that's time I can control.

The biggest gamble of all? I may do all of this and not make a single dollar.

After reading The 7k Report, how would you handle the hypothetical scenario above? Would you write for money to better enable yourself to write for passion, or would you skip the risk and stick with the hours on the day job? How about the Secret Third Option: Would you give up the dream of the Big Five contract and pursue self-publishing exclusively like author Brenna Aubrey?

How to Find a Balance Between Private Life and Book Life (Before It's Too Late)

Here's a stereotype for you: writers, as a species, tend to be introverts. We can interact just fine via email (the written word being our friend, of course) and are able to manage the occasional phone call. Face-to-face meetings and public appearances, however, cause sweaty palms and sleepless nights. Why is it then that we create these products which practically force us into public view? Because we must.

This need to share information and the fruits of our creativity demands that we learn to adapt, learn to give just enough to our audience to satisfy them without depleting ourselves. This slippery slope is one that many socially awkward authors, myself included, have overcome by finding a balance between "real life" and "book life" using these steps:

• Decide in advance how much to reveal. Establish boundaries to protect the areas of your personal life that are off-limits. If you don't want your readers to know about your home or family, be sure to exclude those details from your social networking updates and blogs. This may sound like common sense, but many authors don't think of this valuable step until it's already too late.
• Choose your platforms. Communicate with friends and fans via social networking outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, but be careful not to bite off more than you can handle. Richer communication through fewer platforms is much more beneficial than spreading yourself thin and disappointing readers!
• Select in-person events carefully. Will you be the sole attraction or will you be part of a panel? Will the appearance require lots of one-on-one time with fans? Are you expected to stay for a few hours or an entire afternoon? Know your limits and take this into consideration before agreeing to take part live events. Fans want to see you at your prime, not worn out and grumpy.
• Protect your time to avoid burnout. How? By learning to say NO. If you simply can't take another interview or appearance for a while, no one will question your motivation when you respond to invitations with a friendly, "I'm sorry, I'm currently on deadline."
• Keep writing. There is nothing more soothing to the writer's soul than the isolation of writing. Bring yourself back to earth after a dizzying publicity campaign or promotional tour by immersing yourself in another project.

If you're not yet published, you have the advantage over veteran authors in this area. Begin laying the foundation for your book life now and you'll find the balance will much easier to maintain than if you tried to backpedal after your project is released.

Have you found a trick to harmonize the two aspects of your creative life? Please comment - I'd love to learn what you find helpful!

Building Your Platform: Steps That Every Aspiring Writer Should Be Taking Right Now

If you've considered a career in writing or perhaps you want only to author a single book, then chances are good that you've heard the word platform tossed around. It seems to be all the buzz in writing groups, at conferences, and in almost every book of tips and advice for writers--and for good reason.

Your platform (a group of friends, followers, and social contacts who make up your initial audience) is quite possibly the most important factor in determining whether your career ever has a chance to start. Sounds pretty scary, right?

First, try not to sweat it. Building your platform is hard to screw up, but it does take time, patience, and a little creativity to make it work for you in the way you need it to.

I started cultivating my platform about a year before I pitched my first non-fiction book to a publisher. According to everyone I've talked to and all of the expert recommendations I've read, one year of network-building is really just the beginning. I may have jumped into my pitch prematurely, but because I had targeted my connections and built my platform strategically, it worked for me.

Here's what I did:

Find your online community and become a contributing member.

It's okay to lurk for a while to get a feel for things, but once you've found a like-minded group of people online who share an interest in your topic of choice, join in the conversation. Share helpful and interesting articles, links, and upcoming events. Reply to questions if you know the answer. Add meaningful comments where you can, and above all else--don't spam or troll.

Find a local social group and meet people face-to-face.

Use the web to search for local social groups centered around your topic or interest and do the homework to learn how you can attend a get-together. If no formal membership is required, RSVP and go start shaking some hands. 

Physical bulletin boards still exist in lots of places, so seek them out and look for upcoming meetings and events. Check out the community calendar in your local newspaper or even on (gasp!) Craigslist for potential ways to meet folks in your niche. If you're shy, bring along a talkative friend to help break the ice.

Can't find a local social group? Start your own! 

Facebook.com and Meetup.com make this easier than ever.

When I first went looking for local enthusiasts of the paranormal, there were no groups yet established. I used Meetup.com and set up a place for folks to congregate online. I met with local businesses who had meeting rooms or who simply had enough space to host a dozen or so people to get together and chat. My group quickly grew so large that we had to start reserving a 100-person capacity presentation room at a local library (bonus: it was free to use) for our monthly meetings.

Meetup requires a monthly fee for its use, but Facebook allows you to create and manage an online group for free. While it doesn't have some of the same administrative conveniences as Meetup, the fact that it costs nothing to start means that you need only to risk your time on the venture.

Get out there and volunteer.

Helping out in your community can not only benefit the organization you're volunteering for, it can also work as a bonus for you by putting you in contact with people who will become part of your network. (Let's not forget that volunteering is super for your self-confidence and overall karma!)

Ask for help.

Tell your friends that you plan to start a blog or write a book about whatever the topic is that you've chosen. Ask if they could help you to connect with anyone in their networks who might be interested in reading about that same topic. This method often has a way of snowballing when each new contact learns more about you, begins to trust you, and then connects you with even more people. 

If you're still sitting there asking yourself, "Why do I need a platform now? I haven't even finished my first draft yet," then pay close attention:

 

Your existing platform can make or break a potential book deal.

My first non-fiction book was about something that I'd studied as a hobby. While I was about as far from being a traditional expert in my field as one could get, I had a well-established platform of targeted readers who respected my opinions and who looked forward to reading a comprehensive work. This was what made my publisher decide that my first book was worth their financial gamble.

My platform led to the publication of a book, which led to a larger platform and the publication of books two and three. After that, my platform was substantial and stable enough that I ventured out on my own and self-published a few things.

The lessons I learned? 

Never take any relationship for granted. 
Always give before you hope to get.
If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it.

Now that you're armed with all of the things I know now that I didn't know then, get out there and build something awesome!

Five Motivating Blogs For Writers

If you write (for fun, financial gain, or both) then chances are good that sometimes you need a good kick in the ass to get going. When I find myself in a creative lull or even facing a full-blown case of the dreaded Writers' Block, I know that I can read a bit from some of my favorite writing blogs to help recharge my motivation.

The five blogs that I consistently return to are:

1. terribleminds

Author Chuck Wendig is not for the faint of heart. He dishes out stories, advice, and how-to articles like the profanity-spewing, tough-love bestie we all wish we had.

2. Query Shark

Janet Reid is a literary agent who critiques real query letters submitted by blog readers for all to see. Not only can you sharpen your querying skills by combing through the posts, but the excitement of other writers trying to get their work seen in the industry can give you a powerful nudge to get back to work.

3. The Renegade Writer

Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell blog about the highs and lows of a freelance writing career and offer a bounty of tips for organization, time management, and career management for writers of all types.

4. Writer Unboxed

Created by Therese Walsh and Kathleen Bolton, Writer Unboxed now shares inspiring and educational content from dozens of contributors who are experts in their fields. Every genre imaginable is represented here, and the blog's interviews alone are worth checking often.

5. Writers Write

This collective of South African writers curates a blog brimming with technical tips and advice to help hone your craft. Their continuing series of exercises to keep your creative juices flowing is great for anyone looking for a course-like structure to help stay motivated.

Changed, But For the Better

What kind of crazy author takes an indefinite hiatus from her largest audience (Facebook) only 24-hours before her latest book's scheduled release? Oh, yeah--that would be me. There's a very good reason for it. I promise.

Withdrawing from social media may not seem like the wisest thing to do in the midst of a publicity push, but it was something I had to do in order to get over the last few potholes on my journey back from Crazytown. I bet you didn't know that I'd been on a long and arduous trip these past two years, did you?

Believe me, it was no pleasure cruise.

I started my voyage at 10:14 PM on August 8, 2011. That's when I got the phone call that my mother was on the way to the hospital in the back of an ambulance and my brother was under arrest for her attempted murder.

Sparing you the disturbing details, let's just agree that the fallout was graphic. The stuff of horror movies or detective novels--more blood than you can imagine, more police inquiries than there are hours in the day, time spent in the ICU, multiple surgeries, and all of "normal" life put on hold until the pieces could be put back together again.

It took two years.

After The Incident (to which the whole situation is now referred) I felt completely disoriented. I withdrew from social activities, avoided going out of the house, and really just started driving myself crazy. This went on for about a year before I finally saw a therapist--a step that I made because my writing and visual creativity seemed to have dried up.

I was diagnosed with PTSD and subsequent depression. Cleaning up the gory crime scene myself probably wasn't such a good idea, I suppose...

My journey back to being a functioning member of society was difficult, but I did it without medication. I got a part-time job as a tour guide so I would have to get out of the house and talk to people, whether I felt like it or not. I started writing my Morning Pages again (thanks, Julia Cameron.) I set some new goals for myself to act as indicators that I could still create. Finishing Underground was at the top of that list.

Now that the book is officially DONE and has fledged the nest, I'm taking some time to sort my head and my home to celebrate. I've cleaned out cabinets and closets and all sorts of nooks and crannies as a symbolic gesture of purging the mental funk that has dominated my life since that August night two years ago. I've also been casting off lots of negative thoughts and feelings that came along with that funk--a process that would have been slowed or even halted if I'd been distracting myself with Facebook or other marketing and publicity outlets during this surreal time of celebration.

While I certainly feel that completing Underground is an accomplishment in itself, I feel that it's more a symbol of where my life is right now. It's a testament of my return from Crazytown. Do I think that I'm sabotaging my hard work on the book by neglecting this delicate publicity time immediately following its release?

Maybe, but it's totally worth it.

*Note: If you're reading this at Facebook right now, you can thank the magic of RSS feeds!

Note - Balancing Private Life and Book Life

Here's a stereotype for you: writers, as a species, tend to be introverts. We can interact just fine via email (the written word being our friend, of course) and are able to manage the occasional phone call. Face-to-face meetings and public appearances, however, cause sweaty palms and sleepless nights. Why is it then that we create these products which practically force us into public view? Because we must.

This need to share information and the fruits of our creativity demands that we learn to adapt, learn to give just enough to our audience to satisfy them without depleting ourselves. This slippery slope is one that many socially awkward authors, myself included, have overcome by finding a balance between "real life" and "book life" using these steps:

• Decide in advance how much to reveal. Establish boundaries to protect the areas of your personal life that are off-limits. If you don't want your readers to know about your home or family, be sure to exclude those details from your social networking updates and blogs. This may sound like common sense, but many authors don't think of this valuable step until it's already too late.
• Choose your platforms. Communicate with friends and fans via social networking outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, but be careful not to bite off more than you can handle. Richer communication through fewer platforms is much more beneficial than spreading yourself thin and disappointing readers!
• Select in-person events carefully. Will you be the sole attraction or will you be part of a panel? Will the appearance require lots of one-on-one time with fans? Are you expected to stay for a few hours or an entire afternoon? Know your limits and take this into consideration before agreeing to take part in live events. Fans want to see you at your prime, not worn out and grumpy.
• Protect your time to avoid burnout. How? By learning to say NO. If you simply can't take another interview or appearance for a while, no one will question your motivation when you respond to invitations with a friendly, "I'm sorry, I'm currently on deadline."
• Keep writing. There is nothing more soothing to the writer's soul than the isolation of writing. Bring yourself back to earth after a dizzying publicity campaign or promotional tour by immersing yourself in another project.

If you're not yet published, you have the advantage over veteran authors in this area. Begin laying the foundation for your book life now and you'll find the balance will much easier to maintain than if you tried to backpedal after your project is released.

Have you found a trick to harmonize the two aspects of your creative life? Please comment - I'd love to learn what you find helpful!