Eight Lessons Learned as a Debut Author…so Far

We are thrilled to introduce you to WU’s newest contributor today, author Yasmin Angoe! Yasmin’s debut novel, HER NAME IS KNIGHT, is a powerhouse novel about a woman stolen as a child from a village in Ghana, who goes on to become an elite assassin determined to avenge her family and put an end to a human trafficking ring. Sound fantastic? It is! It received a starred review from Library Journal, became an Amazon ‘best book of the month,’ and earned Yasmin the Sisters in Crime Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color.

It also came with some pressures, and that’s what Yasmin is going to talk with us about today–how she handled all of that in order to write another day.

Yasmin, who is a former English teacher (middle and high school), is also a developmental editor and sensitivity reader, and a member of SinC, Crime Writers of Color, Southeast Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

Learn more about Yasmin on her website, and follow her on Twitter.

When I started on this journey back in the fall of 2021, and my agent told me I got a two-book deal, I had so many expectations about what my author life would be like. All the glitz and the glamour. Seeing my book out there in the world. Signings. The honor and prestige. However, once my toes touched back on solid ground, I was faced with real life. Working full-time along with my freelance editing. Author stuff. Juggling married life and family. Remembering self-care. And I realized that trying to keep all those plates in the air was A LOT! Before I got my deal, I didn’t think about what things would be like when book one was done, and I would have to do it all over again—this thing called writing a book. And as my deadline neared and sheer panic began to settle deep within my bones, I realized I couldn’t do it all. Something would have to give. I needed Help!

It took all this time for me to come to some understandings with myself and some learnings that have helped me manage my expectations and deal with the complexities of life—both personal and author life. I’m sharing with you a snippet of what I’ve learned (am still learning) about being a debut author.

1. Throw most of your expectations out the window and manage what’s left. What you think will happen may not. What you think won’t happen probably will. That’s really all I can say about that. Manage your expectations so you’re not disappointed or caught totally unaware.
2. Balance those spinning plates. We all have too many plates in the air, some breakable upon impact, some durable and that can take a drop or two. Know which plates you’ll keep in the air and which you’ll need to let drop for a little while. As a mom, wife, and author who works another job full-time, I had to learn this the hard way. I spent many angst-ridden months struggling because I was stretching myself so thin, trying to be everything for everyone else except for me. My answer was always a “yes” even when I knew I probably should have said “nope”. I eventually dropped a plate I should have kept in the air. That plate was my own self-care and my joy. What I learned was sometimes, something will have to give, and that can’t be me. Now, I take the time to figure out which plates I can let slip for a little while and which need my focus. I probably still say yes too often, though. I’m a work in progress.
3. Try to be gracious on your path. Publishing has many moving parts, and you will encounter many, many people along the way. You’ll need to go through a lot of edits from your publishing house. They may suggest a sensitivity reader, and if they do take them up on it. You’ll be asked a million questions from your cover, to asking other authors for blurbs (so terrifying), to having to do publicity and marketing for your book. It will be a lot, believe me. But don’t be afraid to ask all the questions you need answered to understand what’s going on, and definitely don’t take any mistreatment from anyone. Know that when it finally all comes together and your book is ready to hit shelves on your book birthday, it’s amazing and worth all that led up to that moment.
4. Celebrate the joys–yours and theirs. Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It absolutely is. I worked hard not to compare myself to others, but I am human and not immune to feeling bad or less than at times. But lifting my fellow authors up brings me true joy and I hope that would be the same for them. Don’t worry about what nominations and invites you didn’t get. Celebrate those who did get those nominations and invites because they worked damn hard too.
5. Be prepared for everyone’s opinions. From your editor to your fans during a book club meeting, everyone has an opinion of your work. Most of it will be fantastic!! Some of it not. Take it all in because you can pull out the feedback that helps you grow and use it to make you an even better writer. For those opinions that are way off the mark, are rude, privileged, or backhanded compliments, ignore them.
6. Get out of your own way! Imposter syndrome is real and can be debilitating. Once I was done with book 1, I had to write the sequel without anyone having read the first yet. I found I could barely write because I was so terribly afraid my second wouldn’t live up to the hype of the first. I truly believed I’d forgotten how to write. I definitely forgot the joy I felt when I was writing the first book. I think it’s because I was afraid of disappointing everyone, of not living up to everyone’s expectations. I didn’t have to think of expectations then. But I had to think of them now, which put a of a lot of pressure on me. I began to ground myself in the knowledge that I got where I am because of my talent. That my talent is real. Not a mistake. Or a fraud. I wrote a good ass story. I could do it again with book 2. And then again. And then again after that. And so, I will. Remember that for yourself when you feel those icy tentacles of doubt and self-destruction trying to seep in your pores.
7. Get yourself a tribe to vent privately to. Social media is great for telling people what you’re thinking. But no one needs to hear everything thought, complaint, or whatever comes to your head in the heat of the moment. Pause a moment. Speak with your tribe of writer friends or family, whoever your go to is, and then decide if what you want to say is truly what the hell you want to say. Because everything we say will matter to someone.
8. Put in the work. Everything done well takes time and care. Once you’ve written your book, the work doesn’t end there. If you want it enough, you’ll put in the work and then some. This doesn’t mean you should neglect other parts of your life. Please don’t! It means be prepared to put in the work, however that will be. End stop.

There are so many more learnings but my time and space here is limited and these are my big ones for now. Maybe one day we’ll talk about more. Being a published author is wonderful and fantastical, a dream come true. But it can also be sad and terrifying. It can make you question yourself and who you may be disappointing. But when you get email from readers telling you how your book has resonated with them or how they related to your characters, it’s also unbelievably rewarding. The privilege to reach so many people and give them a literary experience is worth the hard learnings. All of it has made me a better writer and person. It’s made me respect the craft even more and appreciate all I have. It’s taught me to celebrate myself, my accomplishments, and what is yet to come.

And that’s what I’ve learned about being a debut author…so far.

What have YOU learned so far–whether you’re a not-yet-published author, a debut author, or a well-established author? What do you know to be true that others may not? What do you sense you have yet to conquer? The floor is yours.

Yasmin Angoe

Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American and debut author of Her Name is Knight. In 2020, she received the Sisters in Crime Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color and is a proud member of SinC, Crime Writers of Color, and, Southeast Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

Yasmin was a middle and high school English teacher and currently works as a developmental editor and sensitivity reader in South Carolina. When not writing or editing, she is watching movies, engrossed in a new audiobook, or daydreaming about the fact she probably should be writing.

yasminangoe.com/