BEFORE YOU FINISH YOUR BOOK, by guest blogger and bestselling author Aaron Patterson

Before You Finish Your Book

by Aaron Patterson

I talk to writers every day, and there is one thing that seems to stand out. We creative types are introverted, and closed off. We write, think, and sometimes get the idea that, it is all about the writing. I am here to tell you that writing the book is just the first stage, and maybe not the biggest part of your success as an author.

Here are some tips to get you thinking about the future of your writing.

First, this is a business. If you want to write for a living then you need to look at your JOB as a real business and not a hobby. Treat it as such. To sell a lot of books you need to first write the darn thing. But before you are even half way through you need to get the cover done.

The cover? Really? Yeah. It will do a few things for you. It will hold your feet to the fire, get you to finish and not just say you are going to write a book like most want-a-be-writers. It will get you promoting. You can list your book on Amazon a year in advance if you want, but you can’t do that if you don’t have cover art. I have covers done as soon as I decide to do a book, even if not a word has been written.

Second, start a blog and your social media marketing. If you do not have a blog, get one going. Talk about what you are writing about; find other authors to guest post, get active on Facebook and Twitter. Talk about your project and find other authors, reach out and start building a fan base NOW. It takes a good year to even get the ball rolling.

If you don’t get all this going as you start your book and do it like most authors and wait until your books is in print. You will have a year of hard work before you even see any results. Why not do it sooner rather than later? Have a large group waiting for your book when it hits. Get reviewers a copy before it is released and have them post a review on Amazon the day it hits.

You can do so much before you book is available. So the choice is yours, have a plan and market your business and be one of the success stories, or wait and end up getting burned out and see your book fail.

 

Aaron Patterson is the author of the bestselling WJA series and lives in Boise Idaho. He is the founder of StoneHouse Ink a crazy innovative publishing house that markets in strange and exciting ways. You can follow him on Twitter: Mstersmith, or read his blog: www.TheWorstbookEver.blogspot.com

 

Books by Aaron Patterson:

Sweet Dreams (Book one in the WJA series)

Dream On (Book two in the WJA series)

In your Dreams (Book three in the WJA series, coming soon)

Airel

Michael (coming soon)

 

Digital Shorts:

19

The Craigslist killer

The eBook on eBooks

 

StoneHouse Ink: www.StoneHouseInk.net

StoneGate Ink: www.StoneGateInk.com

 

Joshua Graham is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, winner of the International Book Award and Forward National Literature Award. His thrillers include DARKROOM, LATENT IMAGE and BEYOND JUSTICE, and TERMINUS. Graham's works have been characterized as thought-provoking page-turners.

Legal Notice: All information on this website and blog are from Mr. Graham's personal experience and insight and should not be viewed in any way, directly or inferred, as qualified professional advice.

All creative writing on this website or Mr. Graham's books: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. (novels, short stories)