The Glamorous Life of a Self-Published Author
When I published my first book, friends and family would ask
excitedly what it is like to be an author.
Let me rip aside the veil and give you a clear view of my
glamorous life as an author.
It’s exactly like my previous life as a part time marketer
and stay at home mom. Just with less sleep.
Everyone asks how my book is selling.
It’s not.
Which is mostly my own fault, because I spend about zero
time promoting it. I don’t submit it to reviewers, polish my press kit, or pimp
it out online.
I have met several fabulous women who work tirelessly on
behalf of authors like me, and it makes me attempt to focus more time and
energy on my own materials and promoting, to deserve the efforts they make on
my behalf. (Yes, I’m talking about you Natasha, Julie, Melissa, Stacey, Kelly,
and Gaynor).
But my days are mostly spent doing laundry, dishes,
chauffeuring, cooking, and working at my real life job of marketing for a
software company.
I’m that mom with bags under her eyes, up at midnight with
only the light of my computer eerily illuminating my living room as I attempt
to accomplish something, anything, on
my writing and book promoting.
I don’t even want to look at the clock, because I know 6 AM
will arrive much too soon, and with it the demands of a daily life that
includes only in the periphery my status as an “author”.
After my first book published, with absolutely no fanfare or
preparation beyond editing and formatting the manuscript, then hitting publish
on Amazon, I felt like Alice down the rabbit hole, stumbling around trying to
figure out how to promote my book.
The world of book promotion, like any industry, has many
nuances that involve quite a learning curve. I’m pretty sure I’m still at the
bottom of the curve, but I’m working my way up. I am nowhere NEAR to being an
expert.
The industry itself is one that is evolving so quickly, once
an author has mastered a marketing technique, it has become passe. In a market
that is over-saturated, and an audience that is used to tuning out the noise
from beginner authors like myself, I must find readers. And not just readers,
but fans.
I know my story has resounded hundreds if not thousands of
times over for other emerging authors like myself. Like any small business
owner or entrepreneur, it’s not glamorous. It is a lot of work. A lot of tears,
self-doubts, tripping over hurdles and getting back up to try again.
But in the end, the journey is worth it. I love writing, I
love connecting with other authors passionate about their work, and the
readers, bloggers, and promoters who give tirelessly of their time to help
indie authors succeed.
I might not be glamorous, but I am surely blessed. How many
of you other authors can relate? And how many readers can say thanks to those
authors who keep putting out books year after year with little reward other
than your positive reviews and (if they’re lucky) 30% of their royalties after
VAT (I’m still not even certain what that means).
What’s your glamorous story? I’d love to hear it!
BIO
Lindsey Winsemius is an author, marketer, and supermom
surviving on coffee and wine on the West Michigan Lakeshore. She’s currently
published two romance novels, and is working on her third which will be
released in summer 2016, assuming her wine and coffee don’t run out. Learn more
about her and books on her website: lindseywinsemius.com and find her Facebook
Page: /lindseywinsemiusauthor
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