Authoring
I’ve been a writer all of my life but it’s been 5 years since I became an author when I published my memoir Angel Child. I’ve since moved on to children’s books where I now have 4 that I can call my own.
I never dreamed that I would one day be an author with 5 books under my belt. It’s been an interesting journey to say the least.
I’m self-published. I decided it wasn’t worth it for me to go through the route of finding a traditional publisher and all that it entails. I don’t have the patience to write “query letters” and to do all that is required of “traditional” publishers. All my books are all professionally edited and illustrated, something a traditional publisher would normally take care of but in my case I took care of it myself.
Writing comes easy for me. The challenge after publishing became “selling myself”. If you want people to recognize your product you have to become comfortable with them recognizing YOU. I struggled with this for a long time. I found it difficult to put myself out there. How did I overcome? I put myself out there and learned along the way!
I studied marketing in college: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. However, I didn’t really put the 4 P’s to practice with Angel Child. It was actually 4 years later when my first children’s book, Down By The River Where Dreams Come True, came out, that I realized I had to market. My first attempt was to arrange a book signing at a local restaurant and advertised it on social media. To my utter surprise, people actually came to see me and I had a decent turnout!
5 years later I’m no marketing guru, but I’ve definitely become more comfortable with putting myself out there and believing in my product. Social media has helped greatly as there are many wonderful groups dedicated to children’s book authors.
What’s next in my journey? I’m not certain. I never strived for fame, fortune or notoriety with my books. I just wanted to put my words out there for the world to see. I get a kick out of Googling myself and seeing all the hits that come up about my books. I like the fact that I’m able to call myself an author and maybe, just maybe, one of my books will have left an impression on someone, somewhere.
What I want to leave you with in conclusion is this: Anyone can be a published author. If you have an idea in your head get it out on paper and go for it. I’m happy to offer any help or advice based on what I’ve learned along the way.
Happy writing!
