Teaming Up

Nobody Does It Alone

Writing is mostly a solitary endeavor, but publishing a novel is not! Getting your book out there for others to read takes a village. When I first decided I wanted to be a published author, I joined a team. Not the kind advertised on TV, offering to edit and publish your book while you sit back and count your royalty payments. That team is a sham. That "publisher" will ask you for money instead of sending you money.

My team was a writers' group. In my case, the Tulsa Nightwriters. They assisted me in the nuts and bolts of writing -- how to prepare a manuscript, books and magazines to check out on how to submit work to an agent or publisher, what sort of feedback to expect. I also joined a state group -- the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. (OWFI) and attended their annual conference where I met New York agents and editors. Then I joined another team -- a national one -- the Romance Writers of America (RWA) -- and another one, Western Writers of America. At their conferences I met more agents and editors and other writers, some starting out like me and others that were published many times over. Almost all of these folks were generous with their advice and support.

It's hard to explain how important these groups have been in my quest to be a published author. They taught me how to write a winning synopsis, how to write a good outline, how to talk to an agent, how to work with an editor, how to be professional when negotiating about revisions, rewrites, book covers, and cover blurbs. These are just a few items one must learn "on the fly" but I was saved from embarrassment many times thanks to "my team" preparing me so well. I knew how to write a good query letter and how much advance each publisher usually offered a first-time author.

I still rely on a team all these years later. My literary agent and her staff assist me along with my proofreader and editor. I also rely on my readers, who are a very important team. I read their reviews and take each one of them to heart. I ask some readers to look at my manuscripts in advance of publishing and give their honest feedback on what they like and dislike. I want to know these things before I allow the public to read my next book. My team always comes through for me, which I believe is one of the main reasons I've been able to release so many books.

It's scary to write a novel and then ask knowledgeable people to read it and comment on it. You can't simply bask in the affirmation of your parents or your spouse or your children. You have to take the leap and show your work to strangers. It's a terrifying thing, let me tell you. But it was made better for me because other writers in the groups I belong to had already read my manuscript and pointed out any mistakes, clumsy writing, or confusing scenes. By the time I sent my work to New York, I was confident that it was the best I could possibly do.

Reviews are very important in independent publishing. You just can't get enough of them and I think of those reviewers as part of my team, too. There are so many books released every month that professional reviewers or bloggers are swamped and have to say "no" to more than half of the requests they receive, so I depend on average readers to leave their thoughts on Amazon or Goodreads. Of course, few of the people who read my books ever leave reviews, but those that do are golden in my eyes. Reviews matter. Amazon and other publishers pay attention to ratings and the number of reviews that are left. So, if you're ever on the fence on whether to leave a review -- leave one! At the very least, give every book a star rating.

Every author needs a team. In the beginning and every day after that. Even when they are "self-published" or "independent", those authors are not alone. It takes a team, and if you're lucky, an army! 

.