From the Mailbox

WU reader Julia Weston asked this question in response to Therese’s post on Facebook and building an author website:

I’m an unpublished fiction writer and, after reading all the comments, I have to confess that I’m a bit intimidated by all this. Why? Because I’m unpublished. I have a finished manuscript and I’m preparing to search for an agent….so here’s my question for the day: How do I shake the feeling that, without publication, I’m not worthy of promoting? I recently created a blog, but it’s almost as if I’m keeping it a secret. I admire how all of you can create great sites and just put yourselves out there. Darnit, I want to do it too!

I think all — okay, most — unpublished authors feel that unless they’ve sold, they aren’t “real” writers.  That’s not true.  Everyone who writes is a “real” writer; having the imprimatur of publication doesn’t make your writing any less real, but it is nice (and lucrative) to have professional validation. There are zillions of aspiring author blogs out there, and it’s really hard to be differentiated from the others.

When Therese and I began talking about starting a blog, we had the advantage of working in the publishing industry in various capacities.  We knew that we wanted to start a blog about empowering genre fiction writers, so we concentrated on finding information that would be helpful to writers in various stages of publication.  We also used our skills as interviewers to find published writers who could share their stories.  As our readership grew, we reached out to other writers who also wanted to share their tips for success, and who wanted to be part of a writing community.

Therese here to remind you that Christina Katz also advocates this approach — create a platform, brand yourself, find a niche. Consider what you and only you can offer your readers. Back to Kath.

We weren’t thinking about promotion, per se.  We were mostly interested in decoding the mystery that surrounds the writing industry and letting others in on what we thought was the “secret” (which is that the road to publication is really hard work combined with a little bit of luck).

Having an online presence allows people to come together so easily these days. But as many of us know, blogs and websites and discussion forums are time-intensive endeavors, time that could be spent on more query letters or getting that next proposal in good shape.

My personal view is that until you are published, it’s better to concentrate energies on the book and the sale that will get you published.  Everything else will fall into place after that.  Leave off worrying about promotion for the time being, because if you can’t finish the book or make a sale, promotion is a moot point.  And you’ve tied your intestines in knots.

I’m speaking from experience now.  A few years ago, I’d gotten a good agent to represent my first novel, and I thought the sale was just a few weeks away.  So I registered my domain name, started researching web companies to build a website, spent a ridiculous amount of time exploring promotion venues, worrying, worrying.  And then . . . the book never sold.

BaDunk!  That was the sound of me coming back to reality.

I would never get back the time I spent on promoting a product that didn’t exist yet.  Or the money. Or the gallons of Maalox I swilled.  Hubris, thy name is Kathleen.

It’s a good thing to be out there, use social networks and other online spaces (like WU!—sorry, had to say that! :-0) to stay connected to writing communities that are supportive and useful.  We need each other for support in a tough industry that doesn’t care that you’ve sweated blood and cried a river of tears over a novel. But be careful not to agonize and spend money and time on promoting a book that doesn’t exist yet.

I’ll say it another way: put the emotional energy into making the sale now; after the sale, transfer your emotional energy into promotion.

Therese here again to stress that while you should definitely strive for balance and put the manuscript first, you can still promote yourself through social networks and a personal blog. Get out there. Become known. Make friends. Network like mad. The connections you create now can make a difference later. And, yes, you are worth it!

What Therese said.  But I would add, please don’t stress out about it.  There are enough stresses in this business as it is.

We have our fingers crossed for you, Julia.  Good luck!

Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She writes under a variety of pseudonyms, including Ani Bolton.

She has written two novels as Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter–both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President’s teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins, and Tamara Blake, for the novel Slumber.

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