BEST ENDEAVOURS

BUSINESS BEST PRACTICE

So there we have it: from a deal signed in August to the perhaps untimely escape of the book just before Christmas – the first part of Another You’s story is complete. But in many ways the hard graft is just beginning.

Having come through the ranks of savvy indie authors it amazes me when I meet writers with publishing deals who think that marketing isn’t their job. Yes, when you have a deal you aren’t the only one trying to sell as many copies as possible, but I don’t believe you can delegate responsibility. As a writer I have three books to market – as a publisher Endeavour has thousands.

My motivation for writing is to share my stories. Perhaps it’s different for other authors; maybe the craft itself is enough, and finding a publisher is sufficient reward for a job well done. Perhaps for them it is the end of the journey.

How other authors approach the business of writing fascinates me and next year I’ll be using this blog to talk to some of them about how they make a living from their words. This will come as later in 2017 I’ll be making the transition from more-or-less full time accountant to more-or-less full time writer. It’s going to be quite some year.

But for now I am back to the anxious business of nursing a new baby through its first fragile steps into the world. I can’t stop myself from checking Amazon rankings daily and I am waiting with equal parts of terror and excitement to read the first review. Quite frankly I need to get a grip because no one is going to get around to reading the book over Christmas.

As for me, I’ll keep on gently marketing during the break. I need to approve a press release for issue early in the new year. I need to send seasonal/promotional emails to friends. I need to perfect the art of creating publicity material with Canva (my new favourite website). Perhaps I need a Facebook advert. And I have blog tour material to prepare and at least four guest blogs to write.

Thank goodness my husband has Christmas sorted…

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. Another You tells the tale of how chance meetings on the 60th anniversary of D-Day help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.