by Kasia | Dec 18, 2015 | Business, Writing
You’ve written a novel. It’s either sitting in your drawer, on a file on the computer, or maybe you’ve taken the plunge and self-published. What’s next?
You have a choice: you either let it be and enjoy the accomplishment or you keep going, write the next book and plunge into creating your author business.
Have you read Joanna Penn’s Business for Authors: How to be an author entrepreneur? What about How to Make a Living With Your Writing: Books, Blogging & More?
If you want ‘Author’ as your full time job title then I suggest you pick up your Kindle or log onto your Amazon account and buy the books right now. Go on, I’ll wait.
You won’t regret it. The books are great. Informative. Easy to read. You’re going to keep going back to them as you start to build your own writing business.
Yesterday, I finished reading Business for Authors.
My dream has always been to a full time author. Since I was about ten or so, I’ve enjoyed writing and in my teens I’d dream of days of getting a publishing deal.
I no longer dream about publishing deals. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them and if one came up well, then I’d cross that road when I got there. But I want more.
I’ve also wanted to run my own business. The first time I came across the concept of Entrepreneur, I was in high school going to a presentation at Bond University and there was an Entrepreneur there explaining to us pimply know it all kids about careers and study choices. At the time I liked the sound of it but I didn’t completely understand what the word meant but it stuck in my brain somewhere, and ever since I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur too.
It’s a fancy word. Maybe that’s part of the reasoning, haha.
It’s not about making billions, although I won’t get upset if millions end up buying my books. You can grab a copy of Lethal Disposal here.
So what does it mean to be an entrepreneur? It’s a fancy word for setting up a business.
Anyway, Joanna Penn is an author-entrepreneur. She’s done an amazing job in the last few years with her author business and now makes a full time living with her writing. Her books are awesome too. That goes for both her fiction and non-fiction. Her style is friendly, upbeat and very conversational. From her blog and podcasts she seems like the sort of person you could sit down and have a glass of wine with and chat about anything from books and business to theology and murder. Are you intrigued yet? If you’re interested in religious conspiracy thrillers check out her books under JF Penn.
Go on. I’ll wait.
Good to have you back. So where was I? Ah, yes. We’re getting down to business peeps.
For the past two decades my writing has been treated as a hobby. There was a stint of a couple of years whilst living in Europe and teaching English as a foreign language I wrote and got paid for articles, churning out between three to eight a day for content mills. It was easier money and converting it to local currency, well, it was minimum wage for a quarter of the hours put in. At least it supported my coffee and shopping habit.
What used to be perceived as just a dream has now become a goal? It no longer seems impossible to crack the author circle. It’s no longer about editors and publishers taking a chance on you. It’s you, taking a chance on yourself.
The control has shifted and Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and ITunes have given us mere mortals with a passion for writing, creating stories and entertaining with the written word, a chance to step out into the light. Ok, that sounds scary, a little overdramatic, but it’s true.
In today’s technologically advanced world, it’s up to you whether you become an author you’ve always dreamed of or continue hiding in the closet. The world is your oyster, and you too can become successful and make a living doing what you love.
It’s going to be hard work though. You’re going to put in the hours. Waking up an hour earlier to fit in your writing quota. Saying no to drinks with friends because you have a deadline tomorrow. Hustling for reviews. Being active on social media. Helping others promote their books. Writing quality reviews of your own. Setting up a blog. Connecting with other writers. Writing every day. Then writing some more.
You’re also not going to become successful on your own. You need a team; a support network. From editors and cover designers, to beta readers and a your own personal cheer squad – your family and friends, who will not always be as supportive of your efforts as you’d like them to be. But remember this is your goal, your dream, tread your own path not someone else’s.
Being an author or an entrepreneur is not sleeping in and watching day time TV. Of course you can do it but your business and your writing has to come first. Otherwise you simply like the idea of having been written. That’s fine too, just don’t complain if you don’t get anywhere. Your author business needs your attention every day, there’s no such thing as waiting for the muse to show.
Like any successful business you’re going to want to put in the hard yards and the success along the way is going to be so much sweeter. I can taste it already as I write this post and sip on my cuppaccino, across from one of the best beaches in the world, the sun rising, a sea breeze adding a saltiness to the air. The clatter of cutlery in the cafe kitchen, a coffee machine’s steamer, the chatter of patrons all around, the waves breaking on the shore.
This is the dream. The goal. And once a week it is my writing spot.
Writing is no longer a hobby. It’s a business. I’m no longer dreaming of being an author, I am making it happen. Step by step. Day by day. Word by word. Book by book.
I’ve got my business plan done and dusted. A one page plan of what I want to achieve with my author-entrepreneur business in the next twelve months as well as where I see myself in five years. A one page marketing plan. A one page productivity plan. And one page that specifies daily and weekly tasks that need to be completed to create a viable business that can support my dream lifestyle.
One thing, at this early stage I’m not making any specific financial goals. I’m focusing on productivity and on activities that are within my control.
My ‘A’ goal for 2016 is huge.
It’s a challenge. It’s reaching for the stars. It’s pushing myself further and harder. It’s stretching every muscle in my body and mind to get it done.
I want to have 6 great books on the market by 31 December 2016.
Crazy! I know.
But here’s the thing. I’ve been writing for almost two decades. That’s a lot of material.
I’ve found two manuscripts that I can salvage. The foundation is in them which saves several months of writing. I just need to put on the editors hat and get moving.
In the past four months I’ve drafted two novels and two novellas in my ‘Lethal’ series. Novellas are becoming more popular these days, people have short attention spans. It’s nice to throw in a shorter book in between long ones to sustain reader interest.
That’s six books ready to be edited, revised, and rewritten.
Will you reach for the stars in 2016?
A friend recommended a book to me a few months back, it’s ‘Do The Work’ by Steven Pressfield. I’ve read it a couple of times now. Every time I’m feeling sluggish, overly critical, lose confidence or just couldn’t be bothered, I start reading the first few pages, and realise that I need to stop resisting and keep moving forward even if it’s just getting a sentence written, publishing a blog post, brainstorming the next scene, posting on Facebook or Twitter, connecting with another author.
It’s going to take time, but it will happen. Success doesn’t come overnight.
It’s the slow but steady steps along the way that help us reach the ultimate destination.
I’ll be keeping track and posting regular updates on my productivity and my results. It’ll help me stay accountable but also allow me to share with you the ups and downs of becoming an author-entrepreneur from day one. I hope you join me for the ride.
There are three possible outcomes:
A) I succeed, and within 3-5 years I start making a six-figure per year living as an author.
B) I fail miserably and keep working in a 9-5 (or 8-4) job till I’m 65.
C) I have a dozen or so on the market within a years, each earning me a small income that gives me the freedom to indulge in my favourite things – travel, coffee, wine, books, running, and of course, enjoying more time with family and friends.
Either way, I’d have given the dream a shot.
So yes, that’s it for me. Six books in twelve months. Did I mention that my writing time is limited to the commute to work and a couple hours over the weekend? The goal is a ginormous stretch but even if I only manage half it’s still better than none at all. The only failure would be having done nothing.
What are you doing today to get closer to living your dream in 2016? Is it still a dream or have you changed it to a goal?
*This post contains affiliate links.
by Kasia | Dec 4, 2015 | Writing
I want it all, and I want it now…the lyrics to a Queen song currently humming in my head. Get out already. Yes, I want it all. But I can’t have it all right now. Life doesn’t work that way. There needs to be some sort of order. Get your ducks in a row, it will all come eventually…if you work hard enough.
Hard work. People are afraid of working too hard in case they don’t get what they want. Then they get disappointed because they are in the same place today as they were a year ago.
Choices. We all have them. Your choices have led you to the place you are today. Remember that.
Having spent twenty years dreaming of being an author, it’s my fault that I don’t have more books out there. I chose to trash manuscripts instead of sending them out to editors or beta readers. I chose to hide my passion. I chose to do nothing about it.
In 2015, I made a different choice.
It’s the best one I could have made.
I finished my novel, I edited, I hired an editor, a book designer, got a couple of people to read it for their opinions. I self-published.
I stopped talking and started doing.
How about you? What choices are you making right now that will help or hinder the chance to achieve your wildest dreams?
Publishing my debut novel in May 2015, unlocked a door for me. Now it’s my choice whether I continue to walk through it or backtrack to a lifestyle I don’t particularly enjoy.
I’m choosing to walk through it. So for the past six months I have been a bore to my family and friends, and drafted four manuscripts; two novels, and two novellas. I also found two stand-alone novels in the bottom of a drawer whilst packing which I wrote years ago that I might be able to rework next year. That’s six books that can potentially hit the market over the next twelve months.
The choice is mine.
Where are you planning to be with your career/life/situation in 12 months time?
The choice is yours.
2016 is just around the corner. You’re probably already thinking about your goals, the fresh starts, the awesomeness of new beginnings and planning out a year of success.
Dreaming is easy. Planning is simple. Taking action is the hard part. Taking the right action is the hardest.
We all want something. I’m here to tell you that you can have anything you want, within reason.
What do you really want?
Consider the previous years. What goals have you set and achieved? Which ones have you regurgitated year after year?
What happened? You probably got excited the first two weeks of January and forgot all about them come March. Maybe they weren’t as important as you first thought. Or maybe you didn’t have a plan.
The first step is to differentiate between a goal and a dream.
A goal is an achievable objective. Eg. I want to publish 6 books by the end of 2016.
A dream is an objective somewhere in the future which may or may not happen. Eg. I want to be a New York Times Best Selling Author six weeks in a row.
As you can see, one is within the realms of your control; the other not so much, if at all.
The goal can be broken up in to smaller steps. Six books in a year is one book every two months.
Are these books going to be full length novels? Are they 25,000 word novellas? Are they a part of a series? Have you already written some of them? Do you just have the editing to go? What about beta readers? Cover design? Publishing platform? Cost? Marketing?
There are a lot of variables to consider. But if you’re serious about achieving your goals in 2016 whether they include writing and publishing a book, losing weight, running a marathon, travelling to five new destinations, or spending more quality time with family and friends, you will take time time to figure out an action plan to make them happen.
Once you have that action plan you will stick it on the wall, keep it in your purse, secure it with a magnet in the fridge, put it up on your cork-board at work, and make sure that each day you’re making an effort to achieve your goal.
I want it all, and I want it now mentality is a detrimental one. You need to be willing to work hard and to work smart for what you want everyday, if you don’t, whatever your goal is was never meant to be. You can have it all, but it will take time.
One small step each day. It won’t happen overnight, but no great success ever did.
Where do you want 2016 to take you?
by Kasia | Dec 1, 2015 | Writing
Welcome December, how nice of you to make it. It feels a little early but as I check my calendar for the third time today, it is indeed the first of December. Twenty-four days till Christmas. Thirty-one days to a new year.
Where have the last eleven months gone?
I say this every year. The days are long but the months are short.
Are you where you expected to be this time of year?
I’m not sure. There are some things that seem so much better than they were. I published a novel which is awesome. We bought a block of land in the suburb I have wanted to live in for years. I drafted two novellas and two novels whilst commuting my day job; they are to be published over the next six months. I’ve been working four days per week in a job I’ve had for four years and I’m itching to gain some new skills. I’ve even returned to running and swimming again.
The seeds have been planted.
2016 is going to be incredible.
How are you feeling this December?
In my part of the world, the days are getting longer and hotter. At 6am you can already feel the mugginess in the air which the fan simply swirls around the room. There’s still a chance of a mild breeze but you know that within an hour you’ll have sweat pouring down your spine. It makes you want to get up early and get the job done.
If you’re on the opposite hemisphere, the days are shorter and colder. Snow might be just around the corner. It might be a time where sleeping in is a pleasant treat.
Wherever you are, the Christmas Carols may have started, the festive season is on our doorstep. You might be reflecting over the past eleven months or going crazy Christmas shopping.
You might be already thinking ahead. Realising that you don’t need to start your resolutions in January. Getting a head start in December, might help you develop a new habit just in time for the New Year to begin.
Wherever you are today, it’s your choice where you end up tomorrow.
by Kasia | Sep 6, 2015 | Business, Writing
Accountability is a huge factor in success. As someone who dreams of living a location independent lifestyle I need to start being more accountable for my goals. My dream has always been to be an author who can make a comfortable living from writing novels. But unless you’re Stephen King or Nora Roberts or even Joanna Penn or Nick Stephenson, well, it’s not as simple as just writing a book and putting it out on Amazon. A writing business, is a business, and like any business it takes time, energy, perseverance and dedication to get off the ground. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen.
The online world is quite transparent. Writers, especially indies, bloggers and freelancers, often share details of their progress with income and sales. I plan on doing the same. Although I’ve been writing for two decades, I am only beginning to treat writing as a career. I want to share my progress with those who are interested. I will be posting monthly updates on my progress including goals, achievements, and income.
I’ve been working up to this post for the week. It’s not because I’ve failed to achieve the goals I set for myself, it’s that I did in fact achieve 95% of them. The only one I stumbled on was contacting 15 book reviewers, I only contacted five. Now I’m worried that I’ve set the bar too high for myself and September will become a let down. Fingers crossed I can continue with my output.
I’m giving myself a pat on the back for August. I set high goals so that even if I don’t tick them all off, there’s quite a bit that I get done. Here’s a quick August recap:
- Regular coaching with Gina – done!
- Apply for 20 freelance jobs – done!
- Complete draft of book 2 – done!
- Interview 5 authors – done!
- Read 5 books – done! (all fiction and I read 6 – reviews to come soon)
- Contact 15 book reviewers – I contacted 5 and 1 got in contact with me.
- Run a Goodreads Giveaway – over 400 people added my book to their ‘to read’ shelf and over 900 entered the giveaway.
- Run a free promotion on Amazon – 2 days and 180 books downloaded. I only advertised on my personal Facebook page and Twitter account. Next time I’m going all out.
CHEERS TO SEPTEMBER!
So what’s up with September. It’s a busy month for me. It’s Father’s Day here in Australia, then it’s my husband and mine first wedding anniversary and eight years together to the day, hubby’s birthday and our lease expires so we’re moving back in with the parents while we start building our new home. It’s going to an interesting time that’s for sure.
September Goals
- Send 100 pitches. That’s five times the amount as last month. I like a challenge. It’s definitely doable. Three and a bit a day, although I’m going to aim for more on the weekends.
- Connect with people I know and ask them if they need a writer/blogger/va for their business or website/blog
- Contact 15 reviewers
- Finish writing draft of book 3 (yes, I’m giving myself a huge challenge), it’s day 5 and I’m 15% into it already.
- Interview two authors
- Improve my websites home page
- Start a series of blog posts on novel writing
- Read 2 non-fiction books (research!) and 3 fiction books (I’m currently reading The Girl in the Spider’s Web).
How are you going with your goals?
Does your business or website need a writer? Check out my Hire Me page for more information or contact me at kasiajradzka@gmail.com.
Have you read Lethal Disposal yet? It’s currently available on Kindle for only 99cents (US$).
by Kasia | Aug 30, 2015 | Interviews
Welcome to the series, Sunday Sessions, where you’ll get to meet authors from around the world, writing in different genres, sharing their writing tips, marketing adventures and much more.
Please welcome Australian author, Nene Davies.
1 – Tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi Kasia! Well – my name is Nene Davies and I’m a Welsh-Australian writer living in beautiful Brisbane. I’m married to Chris and have three grown-up children and two dogs. I started writing full-time back in 2012, when Chris’s job took us down to Melbourne for a year. I found myself in a little apartment in the middle of a new city and realised that this was my opportunity to get that book written!
2 – What inspired you to write ‘‘Distance’ and ‘Further’?
We emigrated from Wales to Queensland in 2002. It had been a dream that became a possibility, and then finally a reality. We couldn’t believe it! Emigrating was fantastically exciting and terrifying at the same time. We had never been to Queensland before, though we’d spent the Christmas and New Year of the Millennium in New South Wales, so the whole adventure was amazing! We were lucky; most people were super-supportive of our dream to emigrate and only wished us well, but I started to wonder ‘what if?’ What if my Mum had been so distraught at our leaving that she’d begged us to stay? What if I’d had cold feet about the move but my husband had not? Would we still have come? Would we be in Wales today instead of Brisbane? This little seed of an idea became the basis for my first novel ‘Distance.’ I took all the ‘what ifs’ and wrote them into my fictional family’s lives. The bones of the story are true, in that we did emigrate, we do have three children, the locations in the story are places where we lived – but I gave the Richardsons a ton of drama and angst that thankfully we didn’t encounter….but we could have! After I had finished writing ‘Distance’ I went on to the sequel, ‘Further,’ which as the name suggests is the next instalment of the story. In ‘Further’ we find the family’s problems are only just beginning and when main character Isobel’s elderly mother becomes ill, twelve thousand miles away on the other side of the world, the wheels really do start to come off!
3 – Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
‘Distance’ is a story about the nuts and bolts of starting a new life, but it’s also a story about relationships. The mother/daughter bond, a marriage, parenting. It’s about making hard decisions that you know will hurt someone you love. It’s about trying to do the right thing for everyone. It’s about strong women who care. It’s about not giving up.
I think the best way I can sum up the message of ‘Further’ would be by way of that old saying ‘Relax. Nothing is under control.’ We try and try, but oftentimes the universe has other ideas for us!
4 – What sort of research did you do before you started writing?
To be honest, I didn’t really do any. I had the Distance Series books in my head as a result of our own journey of emigrating, so all I had to do was take our story – and then put my fictional family through the wringer!
5 – What do you love/hate most about writing or being a writer?
First and foremost, I love writing! I love the feeling of completing a sentence, or chapter, or novel and knowing that I’ve created something that didn’t exist before. Getting deep into a scene and really living that argument, or feeling the sun on my face, or welling up with tears, or laughing my head off along with my characters – that’s the fun part I think. I’m also a big fan of social media. I love marketing which might sound odd, but it’s something I’ve learned over time, to enjoy. I love meeting readers and writers – whether it’s face to face or online What I dislike would be the nitty gritty bits like editing and formatting. I’m not a graphs and spreadsheets kind of person, I don’t really plan much and so keeping to required guidelines can be a struggle. Bleugh!
6 – What is your typical writing day like?
Mornings are for scooting round and getting stuff done. I’m up early and after sorting out the dogs with their breakfast, I usually grab a cup of tea and hop online. I’ll post things on my social media pages and have a look at what’s going on in the world. It’s lovely to connect with other writers and readers and I’ve made some wonderful online friends that way. After breakfast, I’ll head out to do all the bits and pieces like grocery shopping and dog walking – and there is always a coffee break in there somewhere! I usually meet a friend but if I happen to be by myself, I’ll take the chance to catch up on some reading. I start writing in the afternoons. Typically one o’clock until about five-ish. Hopefully, a lovely family member will appear with a cup of tea and /or wine at some point! Fortunately all the family are good at cooking, so we take turns to make dinner. I like to have dinner early and go to bed early too, as I’m up at the crack of dawn. I enjoy yoga and meditation – when I’ve finished writing for the day is my favourite time for that.
7 – What are you currently reading?
Oh I’m reading a book called In Conversations With Strangers by Queensland author Brenda Cheers. I have just started – and loving it so far!
8 – If you were having a dinner party and could invite five people, living or dead, who would you invite and why?
Well first and foremost – my family! It’s always a special time when we get together, which isn’t all that often as we are scattered around the country. There are usually one or two of our children around, but often not at the same time so to have us all round the table at the same time would be fab. I’d love to have met Maeve Binchy. Her books just shine with warmth and friendship and I feel that she would have been a lovely person. I’d love to meet Billy Connolly and I reckon he’d make a fantastic dinner guest! He just comes over as a genuinely nice guy, plus funny as all get-out, interesting and a brilliant storyteller. Eddie Izzard is another person I’d love to meet as again he seems like such a wonderful teller of tales and has a warmth and friendliness about him. Oh gosh, there are so many others….but I think that maybe I’ll stop there!
9 – What’s your view on social media marketing for authors?
I think that like it or not we need to embrace social media if we want to spread the word about our work. However, it can be tempting to sign up for all the various platforms and in order to post interesting content – or at least a good quote or something! – we need a ton of time. I think it’s probably better to stick to just a few and try to do those well, rather than spreading oneself too thin. I post to Facebook and Twitter every day and to Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn less frequently. Social media is a fabulous tool for writers, but it can also be a time thief. Finding that balance is sometimes not easy.
10 – Do you have any marketing tips for new authors?
If possible, I think it’s great if you can create a brand for yourself. If you can keep your voice consistent and your content in the same tone, I feel that it helps people to remember you. I’ve read blogs where the author suggests using the same profile photograph across all your social media sites and while I think this is a good idea, I do tend to use different photos for different places. I’ve also read somewhere that it’s good to change photos and headers quite often, as it doesn’t take long for a page to look tired. If a reader doesn’t think it’s changed since the last time they checked in, they are perhaps less likely to bother scrolling through.
11 – If your book was turned into a film, who would you like to play your main characters?
Oooh – this is a fun one! Well, I’d like my main character Isobel to be played by someone who I think is charismatic and relatable – and also very beautiful! Rachel Weisz would be perfect. I think that Welsh actor Rhys Ifans would make a wonderful Leo (Isobel’s husband). Helen Mirren, Judy Dench or Maggie Smith would all be fabulous as difficult grandmother, Nana Helen!
12 – Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you overcome it?
Not writing is the surest way for me to get writer’s block. I like to flex that writing muscle every day as I find that the more I write, the easier it is to avoid the dreaded writer’s block.
13 – Where is your favourite place to write? Why?
I love my little office at home. It’s blue and white and very calm. However, since my husband travels with work and I sometimes go with him, I have learned to carve out a space to write, wherever I am. Even a busy cafe can be a fab spot for writing sometimes.
14 – What do you love most about living in Queensland, Australia?
Oh goodness, there are too many things to name, but what springs to mind first, is the sea. I adore the beach and would love to live as close as possible. Brisbane is home, but I like to daydream about having a little writing shack on a pristine Queensland beach and writing bestselling novels underneath a palm tree…sigh….!
15 – How did you go about getting your books in physical bookstores?
I have found that turning up in person is the scariest way to approach this, but also the most effective. I’ve tried e-mailing (hard) and phoning (harder) but meeting a store owner or manager face to face (hardest!) is the way to go. At least – that’s what’s worked best for me so far.
16 – Can you tell us a little bit about your current project?
I have just finished writing the third and final book in the Distance Series. This one is called Surfacing and I hope to have it published over the next few months. I’m editing like mad at the moment!
Please share your social media links:
Website – http://www.nenedavies.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/nenedavieswrites
Twitter: – @Nene_Davies
Amazon: – Nene Davies
THE DISTANCE SERIES
in a nutshell…
Distance
Take a passionate couple, a rock-solid family and an idyllic life on the West Wales coast. Throw in an outrageous dream, a life-changing situation and a difficult grandmother. Add a teaspoon of luck and a bucketload of love, mix in a dollop of emotion, a river of conflict – and stir!
Further
Isobel Richardson is torn. With an elderly dependent mother on one side of the world and her husband and children in Australia, her priorities are drifting further and further away from one another. She tries to stretch around the globe with a hand on each household, but guess what? She can’t. If only she could be in two places at once; be everything to everyone. Perhaps then her family wouldn’t be falling apart.
Surfacing
(coming soon)
Isobel’s life has changed. All but destroyed one sunshiny day; just like that, when she wasn’t looking. She needs to wake up and realise that unless she starts swimming, the waters might close completely over her head.
