Things I Wished I Knew as a First Time Author

After building a career as an author for 12 years, I can say there are some things I wish I knew as a first-time author that would have saved me time, money, and some agony.

As important as it is to write a book that does well in its market, that doesn’t mean you need to write a cookie-cutter story that feels out of your element.

Keep this in mind…you will read this book several times as you edit. And, you want to show off a book you love. Plus, if you don’t love your story, it is going to show through your writing.

Make sure that you love your characters, can see the world you are building, and feel as if you can’t wait to share it with the world.

This is how you know you wrote a story you love.

As early as you can, you want to find your people.

Join communities on social media, writers’ groups at libraries, and more. Why? Because having people understand what you are going through as a writer makes it all feel much more manageable. To discuss, to vent, or even to share thoughts on any parts of the writing or publishing process can feel like a Godsend.

I found writer friends through the writer community on X and through in-person author events. And I am so glad I did, because it has helped me immensely as an author.

In addition to this, it’s important to find your reader people. The people who will read your book for you and give you honest-to-goodness feedback even if it hurts your writer soul. (Believe me, it makes your book better.)

My husband, a few close friends, and my brother and sister-in-law read my work. And I always tell them to tell me something they don’t like and to be honest. Without this honest feedback, the book won’t be as good.

Once you find these groups of people, your journey to creating a career as an author becomes exponentially better.

If you have been here long enough to hear how I messed up in the beginning of my career, then you know how important this lesson is.

Yes, it’s tedious and overwhelming, but you will be thankful you took the time to learn from others about writing and publishing. Whether you decide to go the self-publishing or the traditional route, there is information out there to help you navigate the publishing waters.

A wonderful resource all authors should know about is Jane Friedman because she talks about so many aspects of the publishing industry. So much so that she teaches workshops at colleges.

And if you are wondering what platforms to try to self-publish on, each of them typically does a walkthrough guide to tell you their process and distribution rates.

This was a lesson I took too long to act on.

In order to grab those in-person events, get your books into public libraries and more, you need to be the one creating these opportunities. That means reaching out to the people you wish to work with, offering what you can, and seeing if it is possible.

I didn’t do my first in-person event as an author until 8 years into my career. One, because I was still learning and trying to find these types of events. And two, because I was nervous to put myself out there.

This often means thinking outside the box and figuring out where and who your book fits with.

As authors, we are naturally introverts, but the act of being an author means that we need to promote our works…which means we need to be extroverted.

For example, my face was the shade of a tomato the first few author events I did, because I hate being in front of people. But over time, it has become easier. Plus, it helps that half of my events are presenting to kids…so, there’s less pressure.

If this is something that terrifies you, do it in small steps. Post faceless videos on social media that simply highlight your books. Donate books to public libraries or free little libraries and post about it on social media.

Despite being introverted, if we don’t promote our work, then who will?

Take the leaps. Make the big moves. You never know what could come from it.

There are always going to be naysayers out there. Someone with a negative book review. Someone who tries to downplay your success.

You need to ignore it.

In the beginning of my career, I took any negative reviews hard. And it gnawed at me, hurting some of my writing as I worked to hone my writing craft after my first book.

But part of being a writer/author means growing a thick skin and ignoring the negative notions people may throw your way.

Everyone can be a critic, but they don’t know how hard it was to create what you did.

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