Debbie A Heaton – Becoming a Published Author

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Becoming a Published Author

by Debbie Heaton

I’ve dreamed of being a published writer all of my life (well since first grade anyway!).  But writing novel length books is still fairly new to me.  There were many things that surprised me about the publishing world.  Here are just ten.

1)      As a published author you get opportunities to travel.  There are book conventions and writing conferences, promotional responsibilities, and book signings.

2)      Readers want to know you.  To my surprise, the genre communities in the book world are like big families and readers want to meet the author and interact with them personally on social media sites.  They are passionate supporters of their favorite authors’ careers.

3)      Writing doesn’t get easier, but you do become more confident about it.  The more books your write, the more you realize that no matter what, you will figure out how to get to “The End.”  There will be a point at which you think you won’t finish it, but then inspiration hits and you carry on.

4)      You get opportunities to dress up.  This was a fun surprise to me.  Writing conventions are non-stop parties, which means a lot of clothes changing!

5)      The time spent studying theater in high school comes in handy.  I acted in school theater productions in high school and thought I was wasting my efforts and quit.  Now that I’m expected to interact with book lovers I’ve found that what I learned in acting class helps me entertain the audiences I speak to rather than boring them to tears.

6)      Other authors are great company.  Authors are in general very grounded, generous, supportive individuals.  And we all know exactly what we all go through every day.  We don’t have to waste our time trying to explain the insane process that writing is to anyone, because we all live it.  The result is a strong and instant bond.

7)      More than half of your work day is about promotion.  Sounds high, I know, but it’s realistic.  This was probably the biggest shock to me.  I spend more time promoting my work than I do creating it.

8)      You get respect as a writer.  As an author, we go to some mystical place and bring back a book that can be enjoyed.  It surprised me that so many people actually see writing in that way.

9)      You get to meet all your favorite authors.  You get to thank them for everything they have done for you.  You get to be on panels with them.  You get to socialize with them.  And often, they will actually read your work.  That is totally awesome!

10)  You get to spend a lot of time exploring social media.  This point piggybacks on #7, but truthfully, writers spend an incredible amount of time finding creative ways to promote their work!

All in all, writing is a great life.



Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Romance (Gothic)

Rating – R for graphic sex and language

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Website http://debbieaheaton.com/