Photo by Ksenia Makagonova on Unsplash
I was talking with a fellow author today about where we are in the publishing process. My book came out a few months before hers, so we’re both in the thick of the new book activities.
We’re getting many things done, but writing on other long term projects isn’t one of them. I touched on this lightly in the article ‘How to (Successfully) Write a Book as a Team‘ that I wrote for the Writer’s Cooperative on Medium, but these specific issues deserve their own post, so here it is.
You’re Not Done When the Book Gets Published
Writing a book is a monumental task. If you finish writing a book, go celebrate. If your book gets published, celebrate even more. I celebrated by signing up for a weaving class because I’m cool like that. You do you.
Once you’ve had your victory lap it’s time to move into the next phase of the book publication process: getting the word out about your book. Ideally you’ll have your author platform in place before your book is ready to buy. If you haven’t, it isn’t too late to start.
In October 2018, Publisher’s Weekly stated that “the number of self-published books topped the 1 million mark for the first time in 2017.’ Add in books published by micro-presses and traditional publishing houses, and the number is even larger. If you want to be seen in the vast sea of published books, become your book’s advocate.
It’s Hard to Mess Up Your Author Platform
Running taught me that discomfort isn’t an emergency. When you’re reaching for that next big distance, your body is going to feel tired and uncomfortable and that’s okay. It will adapt. Turns out that the same goes for learning how to position yourself as an expert.
I agonized over every little detail at the beginning. I procrastinated about coming back to writing this blog, and creating my Facebook author page because I was worried about getting it right. Turns out no one was watching me. And when I finally did have readers, most of those first readers were friends and family (hi friends and family!). They aren’t a hostile audience.
Once I let go and began posting regularly, I started noticing that other were also talking about remote work and distributed teams. It’s been rewarding listening to what they have to say. Joining the conversation has also led to some interesting opportunities in the near future. It’s even given me my next big research topic. Will this turn into another book? I don’t know. I do know that I wouldn’t have thought of the topic if I hadn’t been participating in discussions online.
I’ve learned a lot in the months after the publication of the ‘Secrets of the Remote Workforce’ book. But if you’re a writer looking for advice, this would be mine. Start your author platform, understand you’ll be working at it over the long haul, and keep your eyes open for new opportunities. Your next book may just find you.