by Non-Bestselling, Non-Award-Winning Kentucky Author, Gera Jones
It has been a year and a half since I began my blog, A Writer’s Journey. What a journey it has been! Unfortunately, there is a lot of it I have not shared. Why? I have been a really bad blogger! When I began the blog, I was a fresh writer, starting out, with a book series in mind. Gung-ho! The first book, Painted Windows, flew out of my fingertips! Was it like the book simply formed in my subconscious and just poured out on the page? Not exactly. Yes, the story and the characters had become familiar to me. A composite of many of the foster children that had stayed in my home, Ruby was like my own! But as I began writing, a curious thing occurred. The characters took on a life of their own. Even inviting other characters into the story. The story flowed. There were many times when I sat staring at the screen and keyboard thinking, “I didn’t see that coming!”
So...currently, I am writing this update reflecting on six novels written and published. My latest is The Bridge, a story that takes place not in fictional Gunpowder or Mooreland County, Kentucky, but in the very real Maysville, Kentucky and on the historic Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge! Those who have read it say it’s my best novel yet! (but wait until they read Dr. Mann!) Yes, I am doing final edits on my seventh novel, Dr. Mann. Again, I think my readers will love and resonate with this story! No spoilers! And, I am actively researching and sketching out my eighth novel, with several other stories on the warming plate waiting to be stirred!
So…here and today, as I face this white screen, I ask myself what have I learned along this journey?
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED…
1. I love the process of mapping out plots and creating/developing characters. Bringing them to life. Giving them history. Giving them favorite colors, and memories, and likes and dislikes. Learning how they approach the world. I love developing settings, or even reminding readers of settings that already exist, viewing them with different eyes.
2. Bryn Donovan’s “Blank Page to Final Draft” has been invaluable to me! Thanks, Bryn! 😊 I even developed a visual chart to detail key points in a plot to be sure the story keeps moving forward, moving the reader along. Also, her book has been so useful in my making sure each of my characters “arc” or grow in the book from beginning to end, assuring they are somehow changed.
3. Did I say I love writing? If too many days pass, and I haven’t sat down at the computer and made progress on a story or a plot…I PaNiC! It is almost as if I feel like my characters are suffocating! They demand life! Air! To breathe! It is not unusual that I have been working on a scene, and a character suddenly does or says something unexpected. They go rouge! Then they leave me—the creator—to figure out what to do with that! Each time this has happened (I call it “my character has hijacked the story”), it has brought a wonderfully unexpected element to the story! This is when I know my characters are real and what I am doing is working!
4. I am not that big on the social media-promotion-marketing aspects of being an author, which is a really big deal in the world of book publishing! ESPECIALLY, when you are self-publishing. Working a full-time day job, does not make this any easier as the J-O-B commands a pretty large chunk of time and energy each day, week, and month. I have made hard choices with my limited “free” time (evenings and weekends): do I continue to write on a particular project or do I stop writing and send out emails and Facebook posts on what I am doing? Nine out of ten times, I continue to write. I don’t want to lose my ‘groove’!
5. Why am I horrible at promoting myself and my books? Because I feel like I am “bragging”! That is what ‘putting myself out there’ feels like to me. I have always been of a humble nature and have refrained from discussing myself or and of my problems or issues (except with my bestie and closest family—who probably wish they weren’t so close when I get done! LOL!). I have always worked hard to be the proverbial ‘flower on the wall’ and stay out of the limelight. Pushing that flower into the center of the room feels boastful and prideful, and this is definitely not what the Good Book and God prescribe! A little internal conflict for me there!
6. Putting myself or my books “out there” is a foreign concept. I don’t want to hound people and flood them with messages constantly! I realize I need to overcome whatever is holding me back and say, “Hey, you might like one of my books! Give one a chance!” Marketing requires touting and spreading the word. It requires asking others to share your posts and write reviews. You have to give people a reason to purchase and read your book. When you put your book out there, you put yourself out there too! Your name becomes the ‘brand.” You want people to know your name, and when they hear it, hopefully they will say, “Oh that's the author of such-and-such!” or “She’s that local Kentucky writer!” or “Have you read her books? They are amazing!” Yet, at the moment, the wider world says, “Gera who?”
7. Have I regretted my decision to self-publish? Not in the least! I’ve learned that traditional publishing houses only do so much in terms of marketing for an author, and they look for authors who have already established a solid social media platform(s) and email lists. After about six months, the publisher focuses on another new book, leaving the author to continue navigating the book marketing scene pretty much on their own. Agents and publishing houses require so many signings and book readings, and even send authors out with other authors to promote their work. (I can’t do book tours right now.) The promoting of a book really rests on the shoulders of the author one way or the other! Plus, working with an agent and a publisher, you generally sign over the rights to your books. Your book becomes theirs! They can (and do) ask you to make changes to the storyline or a character to make it more marketable based on current sales trends! Authors are required to work on someone else’s time schedule to get edits made, or even to produce a sequel or another work. While some authors get advances, some publishing houses will require authors to ‘buy back’ unsold copies of their books if the book is not successful! No, unfortunately, that would not work for my situation. I am pretty happy with self-publishing, and I work for me and on my own time schedule! It makes writing books and actually getting them out there doable for me. Note: I am not endorsing self-publishing over traditional publishing. I am only saying that self-publishing has been the best option for me given my situation. Any writer wanting to publish needs to explore the options and decide what best suits their publishing needs!
8. Reviews! Ah, yes, the book reviews! These babies are the hardest to get and are the most valuable to an author. Don’t give an author gold, give them a good book review! This speaks volumes! It is the lifeline of an author. Especially for authors whose books are in more general genre categories like Literary, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Romance or Women’s Romance. In these more general categories, a book has to compete against so many other books. Specialty niches are a little easier to get recognition, but it is still just not easy! So many readers don’t even think to put down a few kind words to guide other readers in deciding whether to read or not to read. To buy or not to buy! Okay, I am going to get preachy for a second: People, if you take the time to read a book someone has taken the time to write, leave a review! It’s the very least you can do! Think of it like tipping a server at a restaurant!
9. Awards. They just all cost money! $50 minimum and up from there! But I am going to have to start researching to see which ones are worthy of applying to. Awards are not only great in that I can put “Winner of the XYZ Award” or “Awarding-winning author” on my book covers and in promotional items, but they do get the books out among other professionals in the business. It is ultimately exposure. I know this. I just have to do it!
10. Reviews, again. And there is the matter of professional book reviews. Again, these can cost the upwards of $450 (Kirkus) or more to get a professional review. Sadly, The New York Times Book Review doesn’t cost a penny, but they won’t even look at self-published works! Now that is just down and out discrimination! (I might just submit one for spite!)
At this point, I have written and published six books, with a seventh on its way! In the final editing stage and the cover finished, I expect it will release just about the time the June apples ripen in Kentucky! Also, book number eight is well underway. I am researching every day and discovering all sorts of incredible things I never knew! And I plan to share many of these exciting facts with you! Come aboard the research train!
It just all takes time. And more time. And money. There are some things I can do--like be consistent with my blog, and there are some things I simply don’t have the time to do--like book tours. Maybe when I retire from the day J-O-B! For right now, I embrace being the Non-Bestselling, Non-Award-Winning Kentucky Author, Gera Jones!
Come read one of my books! And make sure you leave a review!! Pretty please?!