Dear readers,
A 'short' while ago (summer of 2018) I started a non-fiction project titled Simple Ways to Write, Publish, Market a Debut Novel (+ Intimate Testimonials from Published Authors).
Because of various things going on in my life (working on several fiction books, some health issues, turning my newest release — Whispers and Other Strange Stories — in audio book format (full production for it has begun last Monday and if all goes well, the audio book will be available by middle of September 2019 on sites like Audible, Amazon and iTunes; see the cover just below — the narrator's name will be announced later; all I can reveal about him for now is that he's been a professor for the last 20 years)),
this particular book is taking me longer to publish.
I have, therefore, decided to release extracts from my project here, on my website, in case something happens to me before I manage to publish the book, I want to make sure I'm sharing these awesome letters with you. These extracts are from Part 4 of the Simple Ways book, titled Intimate Love Letters: From Published Authors to Aspiring Authors. They contain, as the name suggests, letters I have gathered from authors about their journey to, through, and after publication. These are the questions I have asked them to specifically write to me (and you) about:
How was the experience of writing your first / debut novel? What is some (brief) advice you would give to aspiring novelists now?
What are the essential things to do, and others to avoid, to make a good start as a writer and aspiring author?
How has writing the first novel influenced writing your second one, and/or your writing career in general?
What did you learn the most from this author journey you’ve been on so far?
What lessons have you learned about life from reading?
What book changed your life that you would also give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?
What would you tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time ‘disguised’ as a stranger?
What is one thing that always makes you smile?
‘The thing’ of your choice can be tangible or intangible and doesn’t have to be writing related. Can also be a pet, person, book, movie, poem, memory, etc. If you’d like to mention more than one ‘thing’, please do.
I will be releasing their 'letters' one by one, every week or so, in the order they got back to me.
I hope you enjoy them and find them useful. I love reading them and think are most enlightening, especially to aspiring authors, but also to seasoned ones. It is always great to learn from others.
This sixth letter is from Dane Cobain.
Dane Cobain (High Wycombe, UK) is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician with a passion for language and learning. When he’s not working on his next release, he can be found reading and reviewing books for his award-winning book blog, SocialBookshelves.com, while trying not to be distracted by Wikipedia. His releases include No Rest for the Wicked (supernatural thriller), Eyes Like Lighthouses When the Boats Come Home (poetry), Former.ly (literary fiction), Social Paranoia (non-fiction), Come On Up to the House (horror) and Subject Verb Object (anthology).
You can find and follow him here:
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Dear Aspiring Author,
Dane here, and I wanted to let you know that I’ve been there. We all have. Writing is one of those skills that’s easy to get started with but which takes a lifetime to master, and every author in this collection is still learning.
Don’t be disheartened if you’re just getting started and you’re not sure if your work is “good enough”. I wrote my first full-length novel, Annie, when I was 17 and I was super proud of it at the time, but now I won’t let anyone read it. I don’t even think I could rescue it with editing and rewrites. But it was a lot of fun at the time and a great learning curve that just left me wanting more.
So my first piece of advice would be to enjoy the process and to remember that you’re in it for the long haul. I’m yet to come across a writer who hasn’t just got better and better over time, so you have to have a lot of patience and the ability to stick with it through the bad times.
Remember that writers also need to be readers. In fact, one of the best decisions I made in my writing career was to launch a book blog, because it gave me greater exposure to the publishing industry and helped me to start making contacts. My first book deal, for No Rest for the Wicked,
came about because I’d reviewed and interviewed an author called Jesse James Freeman, who at the time was the vice president of community at Booktrope. So reading (and reviewing) is a big help when marketing, but it also helps you to develop as a writer and as a critical thinker.
Writing that first novel led me naturally to writing a second and then a third, with each one building from the last. I learned new ways of planning, working and writing, and I’d always be looking to better my last book in some way. Every writer works differently, which is why you need to experiment to find the approach that works best for you. Never settle, though. Test something new the next time, and something else the time after that. Always look for ways to improve your craft.
I was lucky enough to get a job in marketing before I went self-employed, and that meant that I learned all of the tricks of the trade that I needed to get the word out about my work. Every author needs to know the basics of marketing if they want to be successful, and the best way to learn is to just jump on in. Luckily, it’s easy enough to start a blog or to sign up to social networking sites. Better still, find a community to join. Become a Bookstagrammer or join the BookTube community.
Just don’t be pushy, and don’t be “that guy” who spams people telling them to “buy my book” without offering any substance. Build relationships with readers instead, and if you can do that by talking about your own reading then all the better. It’s easier to sell people on your book if they already trust your book reviews.
Sometimes life will be shit. You’ll go through breakups, find, lose and leave jobs and just generally have to make tough decisions. Don’t let it stop you from writing. Use your writing as a kind of catharsis and let the pain leak out of your fingertips and through the keyboard. And when it all gets to be too much, retreat into a good book.
One of the best quotes I ever heard about reading comes to us from James Baldwin, who said, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” Reading helps you to deal with your pain and to be more empathetic towards the pain of others.
With a bit of luck, you’ll find yourself a favourite book. For me, that book is Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy. That entire series opened my eyes up to the power that words had and inspired me to give it a go on my end. Every person has a different book and one of the best things you can do is to try to find it.
If I could disguise myself as a stranger and go back to see my 16-year-old self, I’d tell him to just stick at it. In fact, I’d read him this letter and then give him a copy of my latest novel, Driven. He might not like it, but I’d give him a copy just the same.
When you’re a writer, you need to surround yourself with objects and people that make you smile. You need to keep your morale up during those long hours at the keyboard, and only you can figure out how to do that. For me, my cat is the one thing that always makes me smile, even if he does like to sit on the keyboard and to accidentally delete stuff.
If you take nothing else from this, just remember that practice makes perfect and that if you want to make it happen, you just have to keep working at it and hoping for the best. There’s no big secret. If you want to be a writer, you need to write lots and read lots. And by reading these letters, you’re off to a good start.
Good luck and keep writing,
Dane Cobain