Life as a Published Author

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I’ve always dreamed of being published, but I was busy having babies, remodeling a house and helping my husband get our business up and running. In January I started getting serious about my writing, pulled out my WIP, blew off the cyber dust and knocked out the first draft.

That’s when I came across this blog and Jody Hedlund’s blog. Ever since then I feel like I signed up for a couple intense college courses. Blogging, social media, the publishing industry, writing craft books, blogs, conferences, retreats, agents, editors, ACFW, MBT and on and on! Not to mention working on my “tribe” – which is a part time job in itself. And all of this is just the beginning! I’ve been taking it one day at a time and learning as much as I can.

I’ve been following Katie Ganherst, Keli Gwyn and Beth Vogt as they debut their first novels and I’m amazed just thinking about everything they are doing right now. Publishing isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning. I’m watching and learning – dreaming about my own publication some day, but doing so with knowledge and realistic expectations.

As a PR consultant by day, and a writer by moonlight, I can greatly appreciate the challenges you outlined. It’s so easy to think once a book is done (and destined for the best seller list), you are good to go and smell the roses. Not so – at least if you actually want to make a go of it! And that’s just the marketing end of things

But, Rachel, I appreciate your candor. There is much to consider when deciding when it’s time to truly make the leap!

Thanks!

For me becoming a published writer was my dream come true. I received enough of an advance for me to take the leap, and I’ve enjoyed the public appearances, feature writing commissions and so on more than I expected. It would be hard though if I had to keep up a day job too, especially as I am a single parent. As for the money, I might as well be stacking shelves at walmart, but I don’t care, I am living my dream and I would rather be a poor writer than a rich banker.

Rachell, thanks for telling it like it is–or could be.
Just curious, if a novel is accepted and edited by a traditional publisher, does the editor go ahead and make the corrections, or do they mark up a MS for the writer to edit/rewrite.
And, I know it probably depends, but how much time does a writer typically get to rewrite?

An interesting wake up call! Nevertheless something to aspire towards. Thanks for a look at the “real world.”

Thank you, Rachelle. This is a very valuable post. These are also some great “problems” that I am one day looking forward to having! Sharing!

Wow, sounds exactly like the life of an independent author, except for the advance and the pressure of deadlines. But I’m currently out there promoting three books while I write two more (I got hooked into a non-fiction idea, and it’s working well so far). It’s a busy, busy project, but it’s rewarding. I received my February royalties last week; it was nice. March’s will be nicer. April’s royalties, I just calculated, after taxes will be enough to pay the car payment and my utilities, if I think of it like that. Otherwise it’ll be a nice entertainment boost to the budget while my day job continues to cover the boring stuff.

Nobody ever promised I’d get rich at this or any other venture. But this one’s turning out to be worth my time, and it’s certainly proving to be an exciting time to be an author!

I’m thankful to have witnessed several dear friends who’ve gone through this. They’ve been gracious to show me the ropes as they climb. I’m inclined to say I’m ready. At the very least, I’ll provide humorous fodder for when I’m pulling my hair out, dangling like a monkey on those same ropes.

Laughter is a legitimate survival mechanism.
~ Wendy

Thanks Rachelle! I’ve realized through the editing process that time is on my side right now. I’ve been working on strengthening my tribe and determining the direction for my next book with only self-imposed deadlines.
This is giving me time to also put myself in a better Financial position to sustain my family when I do finally realize the craziness you mention above. Terrifying and exciting to think about at the same time.
I appreciate you for all that you share.

Rachelle, You’ve got it right. It reminds me of the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” Right now I’m working on edits for novel #5, trying to write novel #6, continuing to market novels #1-4, while maintaining what’s laughingly called my life.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to be in this position, but it certainly isn’t a life of eating bonbons, watching daytime TV, and enjoying fame… like an agent. : )
Thanks for the dose of real life.

My dream looks like me basking in the sun as I read all my rave reviews in the latest magazine
Okay, really its me in front of the computer, scheduling social media, writing on my blog, answering comments and emails … oh yeah, writing a book in there somewhere … and writing speeches for women’s groups. All while desperately trying not to get bummed by that one (or more) review that tore my baby to shreds ).

My famous author dreams date back to 2001 to 2003, until they were dashed at my first writers conference. Strangely, I never had dreams of big advances, people lined up to have me sign a book, or best seller status. My dream was just one thing: The pub house coming to my house and setting up an awesome computer home network for me, so that I could communicate with them adequately and keep in touch with hoards of fans. The computer is my bete noir, so that’s where my dream went.

Now, I have not writing dream beyond what I can do myself.

This really hit home for me, and I really appreciate all these comments. My first historical mystery (Renaissance Florence) comes out in December and I feel as if I have hit a tidal wave of, ta-da: social media. What I try to keep reminding myself is that I’m in control here. I can pick and choose. I am so fortunate that I don’t have to have another job to support myself. The trick is just to keep it all in perspective and enjoy. Believe me, I know how lucky I am. I just need to keep remembering how hard it was to get this far. Good luck to everyone.

I’ve loved reading all these comments. I personally had to step back this year from pursuing my dream. The timing in my life for a book contract and all that it means (IF I had a book written that was good enough to be accepted) wouldn’t work right now with all that’s going on in my life.
But publication is still my dream and when the timing’s right, I will go at it again:)

And, then there are those of us who chose to self-publish… and the work load is INSANE… unbelievably exciting, but definitely more than I expected. Great post Rachelle!

It is insanely busy…balancing a 3 book contract and 3 kids + home-school, but I am LOVING every minute of it. I keep pinching myself that I get to live my dream

This post was probably the wake up call I needed. I always dreamed of being a writer, but I have a progressive disability and as holding down a job became more difficult, I had to set aside my WIP. I had to stop working because of my disability and recently began to focus on writing. I had a book self published locally with my father about his memoirs of the ministry he began here in The Bahamas with Haitian immigrants. Now I’ve finished my WIP, and I’m itching to have it published. Those who’ve read it think I should try to get an agent, and I must admit I’ve been dreaming of book covers and the like! But after researching agents and the publication process, reading blogs, tips and advice, I’ve become worried that with my disability I might not be up to the challenge. I’ve been praying about it for months while working on a query letter and proposal. Can I do this?
This post really gave me a good dose of reality. Thank you.

It’s been interesting to read all these comments and see so many different reactions to the reality you’ve described, Rachelle. There’s everything from “through rose coloured glasses” to “OMG, I’ll never be able to do this!”

Our backgrounds probably play a big role in how we will approach the rigors of the published life. I owned my own professional dog show business, and for each event I handled everything, from contracting with the hosting kennel clubs to creating the initial publicity brochures, copying and mailing thousands of them, receiving all the entries and money, recording all the information on computer, creating catalogues and doing advertising layouts, preparing judges’ sheets, ordering ribbons, then going to the event and dealing with hundreds of people. There’s more, but you get the idea. It was hectic preparing for one event, but there were multiple events in the works, so there were overlapping preparations going on all the time. I ran on little sleep and lots of adrenalin at times, but everything got done. Despite being exhausted and occasionally overwhelmed by the never-ending schedule, I loved what I was doing. And I think that’s the secret.

What does the dream look like for me? If the opportunity to be published arrives, I expect to go into it well prepared with the knowledge that there will be pressure, schedules and stress. I know it’s part of that job and I’m looking forward to it as a new and challenging adventure. I’ll also have more time to cope with it since I no longer have young children at home and I’m retired from my previous business. I realize that’s an advantage a lot of younger writers may not have!

Thanks for providing this opportunity for a great discussion!

Sorry, Rachelle, no time to comment.

Jim

It looks scary busy. But the only way to overcome that fear is to pinch my nose and jump in feet first.

Also…it looks to me like I’d better make a bunch of money up front because there’s no way I could do all that without quitting my day job. ; )

Rachelle, I enjoy your post. I am currently about to release my fourth book. I do inform others who ask about publishing that it is time consuming. Thanks!

This is a great post…another one that would be so helpful is an attempt to answer the question you posed at the end – just how SHOULD we be preparing ourselves? Haha because now I’m starting to freak out a little