Writing - The Truth
The good, the bad and the plain frustrating
Writing is a joy. I love writing. It’s what lights my soul up.
However, there are some downsides to being an author, especially for the indie variety. And I wish I’d known some of this before I started - so I could be prepared. I don’t think anything would have ever stopped me. So, here it is…
We can have the most aesthetic writing space ever and have candles and coffee galore. But some days the words just won’t come. Or the doorbell keeps ringing. Or the kids keep shouting, “Mum!” And that’s OK.
Look, writing every day is a myth. Sometimes, there are distractions in many varieties. Roll with the punches. It’s fine. Write when you can.
And, of course, one must pay the bills. So, there is the day job to be done. Writing can only be completed in your precious spare time.
Once you’ve written your first draft, the hard work of editing begins. Some of your precious scenes may have to be removed. I cut and paste them into a different document, so it doesn’t feel like they’re in the trash bin!
Editing involves reading your book so many times you feel your eyes will bleed, and you’re really quite bored of your own book now.
And then there are many many decisions which must be made. Do you want to self-publish or go for the rare trad route? Do you enter KDP Select (KU), do you use a different company for paperbacks, what size paperback, who to use for cover design, how to obtain ISBNs, how to write a good blurb…?
Right, so you have the book uploaded, probably to multiple sites. And you somehow manage to get them to show up on Goodreads and BookBub etc. Huzzah!
*SPOILER* Your book will never upload perfectly to KDP first time. Always check their previewer as the machine will crunch your beautiful formatting to ensure a curveball gets thrown.
However, the hard work is only just beginning!!
Oh yes, you thought you could just hit publish and readers would magickally appear. No, no, no. Now you have to learn to advertise and market!
And OMG what a ^joy^ that is.
What works for one doesn’t work for another.
So, you put yourself ‘out there’. You create a website, a newsletter (which also somehow needs to be advertised in its own right), SM accounts (plural; TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, what’s Bluesky? Oh, there’s a new shiny - oh, it disappeared (Hive!)!). Each and every one of these demands a different approach. You spend hours laboriously creating images/photos/videos. So…much…time and energy!!!
Each year, your social media reach seems to get less and less as ‘algorithms work against you’. They don’t btw. It’s not personal. Somewhere there is a person just trying to prove they’re still worthy of having a job.
Don’t forget to post on Substack Notes everyday too, and write a weekly post. What do you mean, nobody will read it? You must still post everywhere all the time!!!
(*heavenly choir music*) You manage to bag a BookBub Featured Deal - this will make your book skyrocket, right? Right? Well, if you stack promos (use other promo sites too), yeah, maybe you’ll hit the top spot in your category for a day or two. Wahoo! Orange banner on Amazon. Oh, look, it vanished! And now you’re back in the duldrums.
Just as you think you’ve mastered the art of advertising or SM, something will change and you will plummet.
Wow, you got a review! Oh, wait. It’s 1 star. And they didn’t even leave a comment. Why did they not like your book, whyyy???? Or they do leave a review, and you wonder why on Earth someone who doesn’t enjoy chicklit chose the book with the flowery, pink cover with a blurb that screams ‘chicklit’, yet somehow it’s your fault they didn’t frickin’ enjoy said book (yes, this did actually happen to me)??
There’s a reason we seasoned authors say DON’T EVER LOOK AT YOUR REVIEWS! Reviews are for other readers. And some people are just weird. However, your fragile ego also craves validation. You’re desperate to see that all your hard work wasn’t in vain, that someone somewhere enjoyed your book. I get it. At least, that’s why I check, especially upon launch. Also, I need some 5* review quotes for book teaser images.
DO NOT EVER RESPOND TO ANY REVIEW EVER! Readers get creeped out by writers who comment/reply to reviews (even the positive ones). And if you’re trying to defend yourself, it’ll only escalate badly - you’ll end up on the wrong side of Booktok and get cancelled so fast that your head will spin; I’ve seen it happen.
Good reviews feed your need, and encourage you to write more. But bad ones crush that spirit and make you consider taking up scorpion petting as your next hobby.
Your voice of Self Doubt will squirrel away those negative comments like acorns in autumn, and hurl them at you in your darkest moments, whilst whispering insidiously that, “See, you’re a bad writer. I told you not to put your book out there. Now you look stupid, don’t you? Everybody hates you. I wouldn’t bother with that book you’re halfway through writing. It’s garbage. You’re garbage.”
Seriously, Self Doubt is your worst mean girl ever, and she fakes your voice.
OK, here’s what to do. Because even incredibly successful trad authors like Marian Keyes get the Self Doubt vitriol… comfort yourself with this knowledge. Accept it as part of the process. Then stuff chocolate and/or wine (or favoured snack/beverage combo) into your gob - it shuts it up for a while, at least. And carry on regardless!
Every darned day, you will get messages from scammers! They will creep into your DMs and email inbox to offer you golden bullets of gaining followers, giving you reviews, promotional services, editing services… DON’T EVER REPLY! You come to spot scammers. And you soon learn to check people’s profiles; no photo, gobbledegook usernames, no posts (or all on one day - all tell-tale signs you need to hit that ‘block’ button.
I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will…paying for reviews is against Amazon policy. If they so much as suspect you’ve done this they will close your entire account and it’ll be super difficult to ever get it back.
Over time, you will become sceptical of anyone offering help. You shrink yourself. You become afraid of the world. Each day you will gingerly open your KDP Dashboard with the very real fear that maybe today is the day it won’t be there.
Because this is a very real problem. As well as the above scammers, there are pirates. Annoyingly, if someone pirates a book which is in KU, the Amazon bots will spot your book ‘on sale’ somewhere else (even if it wasn’t you who did that) and auto-close your account.
Sometimes, for shits and giggles, Amazon itself will encounter problems. Their system will crash. It happens. It’s not on purpose. But it will give you a coronary! Keep calm. Check writing groups (on fb) - there will always be someone sharing the news so the Collective can breathe easy. It’s OK - it’s them not you this time.
It’s not just Amazon, of course. Technology, generally, will test the patience of saints. There will be days when there are blackouts. Systems fail. Updates will insist on jumping in at inappropriate times. Passwords will be demanded, and you’ve quite forgotten the million-word-combo.
Which reminds me - always back up your work. Save in more than one location! Do NOT trust auto save always works - it’s a trap!
Over time, all of this will naturally grind you down, no matter how much of a PMA you try to maintain. ‘Stay positive, keep an air of success, never let them see your suffering’!?
You will feel exhausted.
Burnout is real! Please please please make sure you schedule in rest stops. Actual days when you take a walk in nature, have a hot bath, watch crap or read - whatever, you do you - I can’t stress enough just how vital this is. Because, baby, if you don’t, the Universe will land you on your arse and enforce rest and it’ll take far longer to come back from, trust me!
This is why it is vital to build meaningful relationships with other authors.
At the end of the day, with the best will in the world, only authors truly understand authors. We’ve all been there. Your best author friends will chat in DMs and talk you down from that ledge. We will be your cheerleaders when the world seems to have rejected you. And we will celebrate with you every book launch that we see.
I try to champion others. I will read and review books I love (ones I would recommend to a friend get featured on my blog). I will post those onto my IG too. The book news I see (sales and releases) I will at least repost on my IG.
Writing is hard? No, it’s all the other crazy BS that’ll get ya.
But we write because we love it. The idea of not writing is like telling me to stop breathing. There are still stories demanding to be told.
And someone somewhere needs your story! So keep going. Just maybe don a shield like a knight, and cut your way through with your literary sword.
Always in love and light,
TL
NB If you think reaching the end of this post was hard, try living it for 12 years ;-P