6 Smart Tips For New Authors
If writing is your thing, then these great tips are for you. As an emerging author, I wanted to share some of the essential tidbits I’ve learned throughout my journey with my followers. Every aspiring writer should know the essentials of starting a career as an author. Below are six principles you should follow to be successful in the industry:
1. ) An Inspiration Haven
A writing space is comforting and motivating. It helps to sit up straight and not fall asleep. A person who creates anything needs the freedom to do it—a place where they can be independent of others, yet inspired by their work. Having a space to write is the key that sparks your mental engine, giving you the motivation to drive. Maybe you have a room with all your hard-earned awards in it. Or a picture of the family that you feed is on your desk, right next to your monitor. Suppose you’re very wordy like me. You use post-it notes with a to-do list and motivational quotes written on them. This is great! A lovely space will emerge.
In crowds of people, a person can take notes, like in a classroom. A writing space, however, allows your mind to stir is more significant than people give credit. Distance away from our loved ones, away from the phone and other demanding responsibilities, is self-care as well. It’s the space where you have closure from the world. You have the time to ponder and the ability to produce more material.
2.) Read—a lot.
Research is often necessary if you want to make a career in writing. Knowledge is gained by reading books about the craft and how to make it into what you want. These non-fiction books are all over the place. A prominent writer must read just as much or even more than they write. I use the word writer because it’s so broad. Even Steven King, the Godfather of horror, has emphasized this in some of his articles where he advises other authors.
I started liking self-help books when I was in school because psychology was my major in school. Those books always had helpful solutions to problem-solving in them, taking on life as if it were a math equation. Then I fell in love was black literature. It expresses so much culture and reality. I have a vivid imagination and I like to read raw fiction, but not all books carry me away like fiction reading is supposed to do.
Read. Read. Read your favorite authors. Like them on social media and follow their work if it entertains you. If you find creditable resources, then share them with others in your writing. For example, I just finished reading Joanna Penn and Jane Friedman’s work, and they are a great resource to have at our fingertips. Google them and tab their websites for later reads in your spare time. I know spare time only comes once in a blue moon for some, but it’s necessary to read a variety if you want to make a career as any professional writer.
3.) The Community On Social Media
Social media is significant in general. I’m talking about the places where we communicate and give our opinions, meet other people with plans to meet them in person, join social groups, build longevity within a league, buy tickets to book conferences, and reach out to friends to market your work. I’m talking about all that, especially during these COVID times. Social outreach is a step in the right direction.
Writing in itself is an individual task. A smart entrepreneur knows to cast out a net to try to build an audience. It would be best to have followers, influencers, mentors, and everything else that you could potentially grasp from the internet. Connection to the world is important. Your followers make you just as much as you make yourself. They’re your readers. So humble yourself to reaching out to others in the community. That goes for all those like me, who are a bit slower to yield.
Engagement from fans is the best way to be successful in social media. Let someone who doesn’t know you give you kudos for how hard you’re trying to be innovative. They will at least follow you, if not comment. You want the comments, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Then you want to reach back out to them professionally, with minimal stress on your part. Reach for a group that matches you. Search diligently for your next best opportunity and sometimes others will point you in the right direction along the way.
4.) My Editor, My Buddy
Keep an editor in your back pocket. They’re your closest ally in the industry. Praise them just as much as you’d like them to praise you. They’re necessary. For everything you put out on the market for sale, you want some editorial overview that takes place beforehand. I say this in those particular words because editors are expensive. I wouldn’t advise taking the cheap routine and trying to get someone to edit it like a friend or a retired teacher because you could end up disappointed. It’s imperative to look into the few kinds of editors out there and get the exact type you need based on where you are in your career. For first-time authors, I’d say make sure you have a developmental editor and keep them around. Build a long-lasting relationship with your editors, and you’ll be building longevity in your career. Use them often, put them on your payroll, if you can, because they’ll be your partner with every book you put out.
5.) Revisions
I’ve found that modifications can be a rejuvenating polisher for your precious manuscripts. It can also suck at times. It can be tedious. Be prepared for that. It’s not at all that your work sucks or that you’re not a good writer. Revisions are apart of the process. Anything for the mass has to be polished to a tee. Otherwise, you can forget about it. A smart writer wants to make themselves look good every chance they get. So DON’T slack on the revisions.
Time and time again, I rewrote the opening to my first novel. I take constructive critiques and consider other people’s ideas. Their feedback is good because it’s some information that you can analyze and see if that’s what’s needed in your story. It’s good to listen to the people who write in your category. They’re often resourceful.
6.) Passion
When you first had the idea you were going to write a book, did you already know it would take a lot out of you? Writing can be therapeutic, but it requires a patient producer. Yet, it can be fun. Promise. Writing requires you to use your creative skills to develop punchy hooks, tales of forbidden love, and other animations from our imagination. It’s freeing and can be a type of stress relief if you’re truly a writer at heart.
Write just as much, if not, more than you read. There’s no better way to say it. A dedicated author is an avid writer, and many times, it requires researching information, in other words–reading. They go hand-in-hand. While I’m writing, my laptop is my home, and the internet is my television. Use your time wisely when you write. You want to write some, break (or do other things), read a bit, pause, write more, and then fact check with the internet. Spell check your work more than twice, too.
Great insight comes out of nowhere, at times. So, it’s best to jot it down when it comes to you. Let’s say you happen to be driving, then use that good memory to recapture what was so very catching in your thoughts while you were out running errands. Some will advise you to write every day. I say, TRY to write every day, and you’ll probably end up writing every other day. No worries. That’s still good!
If you enjoy these tips and you like to learn more about writing, then visit K.B. Krissy A Write Life and follow me on Medium!
