Today, on the blog, I’m answering your author questions that were submitted. I won’t get to all of them today, but please know that any of the one’s not answered, I am working on. Some of them require more in depth information (like videos) to explain. So they will get answered soon.
Question 1: How many words do you write each day?
So, my current schedule is like this.
Sunday: I do my character sheets, summary and outline.
Monday: I start writing. I usually get around 2,000 words by the end of the day. Usually, getting that first sentence on the page is the hardest for me. Once that’s done – it comes pretty easily.
Tuesday: I write 8,000 – 10,000 words to finish my story and usually send to the editor in the late evening.
(Now, I feel like I should say that this writing schedule works for me because I have been doing this for over a year now. Not everyone is able to write fast like this. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t.)
Question 2: For a new short story writer, how important is it to get reviews for your first books? Can we start earning money without getting initial reviews or building a launch list?
When I first started I had 0 subscribers, 0 follows and 0 likes on social media. I didn’t even have a website in the very beginning. I have not exchanged any ARC’s (Advanced Reader Copies) for reviews. So I know this is not the norm. I know most people will tell you that you have to have a lot of reviews to be successful. Well, I’m proof that you don’t. You can earn money without getting initial reviews. Even now, I only average around 20 reviews per book. And I have those because I have some awesome readers that I have connected with in my Facebook Readers Group and through my email newsletter.
So, my advice to you would be to make sure you have an email optin included in every one of your books. Encourage them to sign up and once you have a list, encourage them to review your books. If you haven’t read it yet, please read my post on Email Marketing for Authors. It gives you detailed information on what to include in your emails.
Question 3: What marketing do you do for your books now since you’ve been publishing for over a year?
I don’t buy any ads. Not to say that one day I won’t, but for now, I am fine without them. Most of my marketing is free. I do offer giveaways on Facebook (a $10-$25 Amazon Gift Card). The marketing that I most rely on is my email list. It’s not a big list, but it is a highly engaged list and really, guys, I have some awesome readers!
Since I publish weekly now, here is what I do each week:
- Make sure I connect my book to my Author Name via Author Central
- Send Email to my list
- Update to Website
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Instagram
- Pin to Pinterest
- and then resend to any unopens on my email list
Question 4: How do you deal with issues like imposter syndrome and analysis paralysis?
I’m not even going to lie. I had to look those words up. LOL
Imposter Syndrome: According to Harvard Business Review, Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.
Ok – so I’ve felt this, but didn’t know what it was called. I hope this doesn’t come across wrong, but if you look at my author ranking or if you knew how much I make in a month, I would be considered a success. However, I still sometimes feel that I’m not enough. I compare myself to others, I think I don’t write well and I even sometimes think “I’m not a real author, I write short stories.”
I know you are asking me how I deal with this, and to be truthful, I don’t deal with it the best. I still have to deal with it almost everyday. I ask myself on a regular basis, “how is this my life?” But I don’t let it stop me. I keep writing. I have used all my feelings of inadequacy to do better! I work harder to be a better writer and to not compare myself to others. It doesn’t always work, but I won’t quit trying.
Analysis Paralysis: According to Behavioral Science in the 21st Century, Paralysis by analysis is the state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome.
This is a good one. When I first started writing, i couldn’t write a “long” story. I would try to analyze and think about everything until I finally become so overwhelmed I gave up. Writing short stories helped me with this. I told myself I would put up 12 books the first 12 weeks of the year… and I did. I still sometimes question things – like should this happen in a book, or maybe I should go another direction. The best answer I can give on this is to trust yourself. Make a decision. Whatever you do, don’t let it stop you.
In Closing
So that concludes the questions and answers for today. Please keep a look out in the next few weeks where I will answer:
How do you select your keywords? Besides using Kindle Rocket.
I’m not particularly techie and find things like building a website and starting a mailing list to be intimidating. Any tips would be appreciated.
How do you make a simple cover for your book?
Do you have a Question that I didn’t Answer?
If you have a question I didn’t answer, please submit your question HERE!
