Lessons I've learned as a Debut Author

Since Stupid Cupid has been out for almost 2 months now, I thought I'd do a post about some of the lessons I've learned during my whole debuting process (from acquisition in Feb 2008 to release in Dec 2009). For those of you who are writers or who want to write, here are 10 lessons I learned from the experience:

1. The industry's motto seems to be "hurry up and wait." You wait and wait and wait for stretches at a time, not hearing a word. And then everything comes all at once, like copy edits and this and that, and then you turn them around and waaaaaait some more.

2. Comparisons are evil. Comparisons are natural. You will do it, even if you tell yourself you won't. After all, you may have good friends who are published too. And when you find out what their print run was, or their advance, or how many printings they've had, you're going to compare it to yours. And sometimes, you're going to find yours may not be as "good" as what they had. The big thing I have to tell myself is that this is a long-distance trek, not a short race. I'm in it for the long haul.

3. Your book will probably never be as good as you think it could be. Even after being released, I'm scared to go back and read my story...I just know I'm going to find places I could have written better. So I'm trying to focus my craft on my new stories and just keep working on improving my storytelling.

4. You will get lots of emails. You will have people who want you to give them copies of your books for free, because they can't afford them and they can't get them from the library because they have too many fines (yes, this is true). You will have people who ask you to read their stories. You will get people who want to be on your book cover. You will get people who will request an advanced copy, and a good portion of those will never post a review. You will get interview requests. The emails come with the territory.

5. You will probably be petrified. I spent the whole day before my book launch nervous--OMG, what if I show up and they don't have any of my books there? What if everyone hates it? You will probably drive yourself insane.

6. You will probably be ecstatic. The first time I saw my book on the shelves, I couldn't describe to you how happy I was. Seriously, it's the most humbling, amazing experience ever.

7. Fan mail is the BEST. It awes me that people take time to email or msg me and tell me they loved my book. Seriously, it makes my day!!

8. Life is more than just your book. It's sooooo easy to get wrapped up in the craziness of debuting. But don't let your life fall to the side.

9. People are going to ask you how your book is doing. Odds are, you probably won't know. I just tell them it seems to be doing fine. haha

10. Don't let promotion overwhelm you. It's so easy to get caught up in the urge to pimp, pimp, pimp the crap out of your story. Of course, do get out there and do events, do contests, talk to people--but don't let it make you insane.

I hope this helps! Anyone have any questions for me? I'd be happy to answer them! In the meantime, I'm gearing up to go through these steps again, because Flirting With Disaster comes out on March 9. YAY!

And speaking of, pop by my blog to enter my launch contest HERE! Up for grabs is a $50 bookstore gift certificate, plus a signed copy of Flirting With Disaster. To enter, just gimme your best confession. Hope to see you there!

Words of Wisdom by Rhonda

Come gather 'round auntie Rhonda, my kiddies. It's time for me to share WORDS OF WISDOM (that part is said in a deep, echoing voice):

1--you can tell how a guy's gonna treat you by the way he treats his mom (or other significant females in his life)

2--spend at least a few minutes by yourself every day

3--faith and action must go hand-in-hand

4--don't trust someone who says, "trust me"

5--if you want to see the best and the worst in someone, go on vacation together

6--the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know

7--don't ditch your friends for a guy/girl--it's important to keep and nurture those friendships

8--it's NEVER too late to try something new

9--chocolate has zero calories when used in a therapeutic manner

10--even if you give 100% into a relationship, it's still only 50% (because you're only 1/2 of a couple)

So, what words of wisdom do YOU have to share?