Recently, I featured guest posts from 2 best-selling, award-winning authors on my blog. Both Teresa and Lauren have a wealth of publishing and writing knowledge. I'm delighted to share their expertise with you. Enjoy!
The 10 Things All Successful Authors Do
By: Teresa R. Funke, Award Winning Author of 7 WWII Novels for Adults and Children
I’ve been a professional writer for 27 years and have authored seven books, so it’s not surprising people often ask me the secret to having a career as a writer. When I really got to thinking about this question, I realized there were ten things all the successful authors I knew did on an ongoing basis. In other words, they never stop doing these things. Here are three:
Invest in Your Career. Writers love freebies. And because many writers, especially in the early stages, don’t earn much income from their work, it’s tempting to cut corners. Don’t.
Buy good equipment: a decent computer, a good printer, a tape recorder for interviews, well-reviewed writing software, etc. Invest in a desk that is ergonomically set up: an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, a foot rest, a standing desk maybe. You’re going to spend a lot of time at this desk, so make it comfortable.
Invest in your research: buy books rather than checking them out of the library so you can mark them up and keep them handy. Pay for a research trip. Buy good tools to organize your material.
What Separates Best-Selling Indie Authors from the Rest
By Lauren Carr, International Best-Selling Mystery Author
A couple years ago, a young author I was mentoring asked me to meet her for lunch.
This was four months after the release of her first (and only) book—a date that I will firmly remember and not for positive reasons.
This young writer had scheduled a party in which she had invited all of her friends to witness this life-changing occasion—the release of a new author’s first book. Being the nice lady that I am, I had delayed a release for one of my own books to help this very talented writer get her book ready in time for her scheduled release and party.
To this young writer’s surprise, the book that I had predicted had what it took to be a best-selling YA was not selling! Thus, the reason she had invited me for lunch—which I took time out of my own writing to do.
I responded to her query about why her book wasn’t selling with a question of my own. “How’s your website coming?”