So You Want to be a Writer?
A first-hand guide to self-publishing with Coley Taylor, author of ‘The Dark Side of Happiness’ (Valrue, Book One)
To be an author often feels like one of those ‘dream’ jobs that, as you get older, become more of a ‘realist’; or just a bit bitterer since entering the world of work; feel unattainable. However in 2020, as we know all too well, our busy lives and hobbies were snatched from our grasp. Dietician Coley Taylor found herself drawn back to her passion for writing and her lockdown resulted in her first novel of the four-part dark fantasy series Valrue. It turned out, after finishing the book, the hard work had just begun, and her experiences as a beginner in the world of publishing and marketing proved challenging in unexpected and deeply personal ways.
To start off, tell me about the moment you finally decided to start writing this quartet? Was COVID a big factor, as we’ve seen with the surge of self published literature.
A: Yes, COVID was a big factor! Like many other people, I struggled to find ways to stimulate my brain over the lockdowns, and as a creative person, I found that writing was the best way for me to scratch that itch. I had an idea in my head that I’d been tossing up for a while, and decided to put it down on paper, and within an hour I had drafted the prologue for my first book.
What would you say to people who have always dreamt of writing a book?
A: Do it. You don’t need to plan it all out to start. I certainly didn’t. My story and characters evolved and I wrote. It’s an amazing experience, though exposing, and very personal, whether you chose to do it for yourself, or to share it with others. If you do plan on sharing it, it certainly comes with challenges! Writing is the easy part, and there is so much to learn about the publishing world.
What level of discipline would you say it takes to produce a piece of work? What kind of methods did you use?
A: For me, writing the start of a story took very little discipline. Finishing a coherent novel took a lot. I found keeping myself on track very difficult, especially when there were so many stories I wanted to tell! I know some writers who plan out each chapter and have everything so clear in their minds that they never deviate from it. This fascinates me, as it’s so different from my own style. I am ‘pantser’ writer, meaning I write by the seat of my pants. I plan very little, and even found writing chapters ahead of where I was in the story meant that when I went back to ‘fill in the gaps’, I kept trying to squash characters into plots that no longer suited the way they had developed. You learn a lot about yourself as you write, and soon develop your own style and preferences.
The publishing world can be quite an unknown and intimidating place for a newbie. Your self publishing journey has not been all smooth-sailing, could you elaborate a bit on your experiences and speak to the place you find yourself in now.
A: At the time of finishing my first novel, I was exhausted, terribly excited, and overwhelmed by what to do next. To my dismay, so many publishers didn’t even accept adult fantasy manuscripts anymore, due to being flooded with them post COVID. This was one of the reasons that I decided to self-publish, and, unfortunately, I looked for support in the wrong place.
I published my first book with what the industry calls a vanity publisher – a publisher who uses aggressive marketing and sales techniques to hook in young and inexperienced writers to self-publish their books. Their contracts vary hugely, and some authors can lose all the rights to their work, whilst paying enormous sums of money to get their book out there. Luckily, I kept the rights to my novel so I was able to cancel my contract and republish a different way, but I took a huge hit to my confidence and self-worth. It took me a long time to feel ready to share my experience with others. Now, I feel much more comfortable navigating the self-publishing world, though there is still so much to learn, especially in an industry that is rapidly evolving.
That sounds like a very stressful and trying experience. Do you know what would have happened had you not kept the rights to your work?
Depending on the contract, I may not have been able to republish or use my own work without the consent of the publisher. I may have had to buy the rights to my book back from them. From what I have learned from reading other experiences of self-published authors, it varies hugely. I’ve even heard of contracts so exploitative that if the book doesn’t reach a certain number of sales, the author is expected to pay the publisher the difference. It’s critical to spend time learning the industry standards, and to ask for help if you’re inexperienced, or unsure.
We seem to live in a time where art has to be inextricably linked to our personal lives and there seems to be an expectation to ‘put yourself out there’ as a face of the novel. How have you found marketing your work compared to writing and has it been an exposing process?
A: Marketing is the hardest part, and absolutely crucial to getting your book into the world. Social media allows us wonderful platforms to share our products, but it requires commitment and discipline to do it effectively, as well as being open to criticism. People aren’t just interested in products, they want to know about the person behind them, so being visible to your readers is really important. Sure, you can spend some money and put out some adverts, but personally, I want to be able to really connect with my readers. I do have an Instagram and I do my best to post, but I know I can do better. My Tik Tok is even more dire! But it’s hard to juggle writing, coordinating publishing, marketing, as well as having a full time job, and maintaining a social life, on top of everything else.
If you had the chance to speak to the Coley Taylor at the start of her publishing journey, what advice would you give her and any other aspiring authors out there?
A: At the end of the day, write for you. It’s so easy to get swayed by other people’s opinions. No matter how many wonderful reviews I got, a single bad one got me down. I started writing for the joy of it, so whatever you started writing for, don’t forget that.
My second piece of advice – talk to other authors. Start as soon as possible, even before you’ve typed your first word. There is a wonderful and supportive community out there, willing to help and share knowledge and ideas. Most importantly, they also understand what it’s like to write! I found many friends on Facebook and Instagram writing support groups.
Throughout this entire journey, did you ever think about giving up?
A: Surprisingly, no. Writing was something I loved, I was loath to let anything take that away from me. I do sometimes wonder how much spare time I would have if I’d never started! But I am blessed to have an amazing husband who was overwhelmingly supportive through the hardest parts of my writing journey, and now that I’ve got my groove back, I’ve got a book series to finish!
Three Key things to help Self Publishers Succeed
Start social media early. It’s a great platform to meet readers and other authors, learn, and get your story out there. Start posting about your writing journey, learnings, a day-in-the-life of an aspiring writer, books you’re reading, your favourite/ least favourite book characters…
Cover design is a key determiner of sales and to make your book look like it fits on the shelf (or on an online selling platform like Barnes and Noble). If you can afford it, pay for a professional cover design. Be sure to check out previous work by the artist; some designers are better than others. Fiverr is a good place to find affordable designers. If you don’t quite have the budget, you can do a cover yourself, made much easier if you’ve got a creative eye (or a friend who does). Look at the top 100 best-selling books in your local bookstore, or on Amazon’s bestsellers lists. Research fonts and styles particular to your genre. People should be able to tell what genre your book is from a quick glance. Keep an eye out for stock photo deals, download the free GIMP photo-editing software and watch some Youtube How-to videos to get you started, and I found Canva a user-friendly resource too. I would warn against using AI for your cover. Many readers will pass over a book if they suspect it to be created using AI, regardless if the manuscript is all yours.
A professional edit is essential. Yes, it costs money, but you won’t regret it. There are different types of editing including developmental, copy editing, line editing – the list goes on. At the very least, pay for a decent proofread/copy edit. Most editors charge per word, so it helps if you’ve got a 20,000 word novelette as opposed to a 180,000 word epic novel!
