By Karen DeBonis

For years, I wondered how it would feel to know my memoir sat on a bookstore shelf or, even better, in a reader’s hands. I could name the expected emotions—excited, proud, content—but being a published author was so foreign to my previous life experiences, I couldn’t envision how those feelings might manifest themselves in my body or what thoughts they might generate.

And I could also picture myself signing copies, engaged in conversation at a book reading, giving a presentation on stage. The enigma was imagining myself going about my everyday activities like eating breakfast, weeding the garden, or watching TV, my published author status of little relevance.

What would it be like to fully inhabit the body of a published author? It’s a question you can’t answer until you can.

Publishing is a Thorny Path

I started writing my memoir in 1999, never having written much of anything before. In January 2020, thinking my manuscript was ready (it wasn’t), I began querying agents. I knew the ghosting and rejections would soon follow. I knew it would be disheartening. So when I received my first rejection email, I printed it on bright coral paper and made an origami rose. As I had hoped, it lessened the sting.

Over the next two years, my rose garden grew so plentiful, I didn’t have a vase large enough to hold them, so I hung the blooms on a chain. Finally, after querying 85 agents, I launched Plan B—submitting to small presses—and signed a contract with Apprentice House Press early in 2022. Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived was released in May 2023.

In all those months and years of the “before times,” there was so much I didn’t understand about the “after times.” Now that I’ve lived in the after times for a whopping 2 months, there are other surprises I didn’t anticipate:

What I didn’t expect when I was expecting my book:

I’m glad it’s over.

Ecstatic even. I’d do cartwheels if I could to celebrate the end of my long journey. The past seven years of writing full-time was less acutely painful than birthing my two sons but nine times longer, so I’d say it was worse. In the final three months leading up to my book launch, I felt like a stack of encyclopedias—the print kind, not Wikipedia—sat on my chest. I even turned to Xanax, which, on a good day, lifted volumes D through Z. Now that the pressure is gone, maybe I can manage a somersault or at least roll around on the floor in glee.

Post-Publishing Depression

The cloud of post-publishing depression, which several of my author friends have experienced, has not yet spit on my parade. In the throes of my encyclopedia-weighted years, I yearned for the mythical days of moping around the house, lying in bed for hours, or joylessly binge-watching Netflix. It sounded so…easy (as long as I could avoid the hopelessness and despair that accompanies true depression). But so far, my state of elation (see “I’m glad it’s over” above)) has kept the blues at bay.

The Possible End of a Writing Career

I suspected I’d be a one-book author, and I’m still leaning in that direction. I doubt many fiction writers quit after one book, regardless of its success or lack thereof, but memoirists—think Tara Westover of Educated fame—are more likely to walk away from their authorial lives.

Why? In my case, I’d never intended to be a writer. Then life happened and I knew the story was meant to be told. I studied my craft and the world of book publishing, put in the time, failed often, and finally landed a book contract. As long as I don’t have another story to tell, I won’t need to write another book. (If you happen to be an agent who likes what I have to say, however, let’s talk.)

My Why has benefits.

From the first day I picked up a pencil and yellow legal pad to scratch out my motherhood survival story, I believed others would learn from my experience. That why hasn’t changed. But I didn’t realize how much I would learn. Seeing my flaws splayed out on paper and screen meant I couldn’t hide any longer. I had to own my Achilles heel—people-pleasing—and learn to overcome it once and for all. I had to grow. And I did.

Marketing is more fun than I’d expected.

Trust me, I’m as surprised as you. In fact, I enjoy it so much, I need bullet points to explain it.

• The “yeses” of marketing happen more quickly and more often than for writing and submitting, so much so that it’s addictive. Every positive review, modestly viral tweet, or booking on a podcast gives me a hit of adrenaline. Craving more, I work long hours for another hit. But remember—marketing is FUN, so I don’t mind.
• Having an actual book to my credit, along with the frequent yeses, make me more comfortable pitching—book talks, workshops, companion essays, podcast appearances. I’m more confident I have something to say that people will want to hear.
• I prefer the creative outlet of marketing to the creative outlet of writing. Writing serves a purpose and I’m proud when I’ve written something that connects with a reader. My finished book is a soul-satisfying accomplishment, and I couldn’t be more proud if I had climbed Everest.

But for me, writing is laborious and rarely pleasurable (the exception being flash pieces). On the other hand, designing my bookmarks, t-shirt, pull-up banner, and bookplates never felt like work. I could wake up early and stay up late doing those projects without regret. Even better—brainstorming creative ideas, like this freebie I’ll hand out at book festivals. It’s been a blast.

I’m a survivor.

I discovered this about myself as a parent through the process of writing my memoir. I learned this about myself as a writer through the process of publishing my book. I thought I was weak. I’ve learned I am strong.

Final Thoughts

I have a saying—“I’m open to the possibility”—and that is what I advise in the writing and book publishing journey. You just never know where this trip will take you, but I guarantee you will grow, and isn’t that what life is about?

What experience do you most anticipate when you first become published? What was the most surprising when you did? Share with our readers your own publishing experiences and suggestions!

About Karen

Karen DeBonis writes about motherhood, people-pleasing, and personal growth, an entangled mix told in her debut memoir Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived, released by Apprentice House Press in May of 2023. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, HuffPost, The Insider, AARP, and numerous literary journals. A happy empty-nester, Karen lives in upstate New York with her husband of forty years. You can see more of her work at www.karendebonis.com.

"Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived" is available where books are sold.

Join my mailing list today at www.karendebonis.com and I'll send you a sneak peek--the first chapter of "Growth!"

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by Kris Maze

Writing and music can go hand in hand just like comfort food and hot cocoa. If your writing muse has left you agitated, unsettled, or discombobulated, perhaps you can appease it by selecting music appropriate for your creative process.

Research shows that music can increase a person’s focus when working on complex projects such as writing a story. Listening to music is also known to boost one's mood and to give one’s perception of the work as easy. A study in California State University at Fullerton showed that athletes performing squat jumps had more explosive force and speed then those who worked without music. Let’s look at how music can impact our work of writing.

Music can change your outlook on a difficult project

Get yourself over a hump and conquer a tough scene by switching up your music. Listen to songs that get your pulse racing and your mood improved. Before you know it, the words will be flowing and you won't be thinking about how burdensome this project is, but rather how happy you are getting closer to finishing it.

For me a difficult project is something that involves formatting. For some writers, the detail-oriented work of creating a clickable table of contents, creating an index, crafting a bibliography, or anything format related at all, is a challenge they will gladly accept.

But these types of work tend to shut down my creativity and spin me through a wash cycle of anxiety that keeps me from finishing my work. I understand the importance of these tasks and can force myself to be disciplined enough to hit my deadlines, but it's not without pain and potential hives. Music is the balm that takes my mind off the difficult parts and helps me focus enough to finish my work.

Music can keep you and your muse motivated

Play some of your favorite tunes and give in to your groove. Playing the same music at the start of a project can help you get into the mindset of your work in progress. Keep track of the songs you play and see whether listening to your favorite song helps you become a more consistent writer.

Create a specific playlist that represents the project you're working on. Find music that gets you in the mood of your main character, or the tone of your writing, Or the pace of your plot actions.

For example, if you are writing a historical period piece, perhaps your playlist contains Bach minuets or orchestral pastoral romps that remind you of a Bridgerton-esque setting of high tea. Perhaps you're writing a sci-fi epic saga and need long techno flowing music. Or perhaps you write about the underground cultures of post punk rock and listen to a little Sid vicious to get into the rebel mindset.

Music can boost your mood and keep your muse happy

Listening to music you like can make writing feel easier. The feeling of enjoyment you get from listening to your favorite songs will carry over into the writing and you will enjoy the writing process more. Pick music that speaks to you and is that a pace that you want to work at. Faster or slow your satisfaction while working will improve.

Music will make you write easier

Our brains are smart and are always at wits against our muse. Our brains recognize how difficult writing is and it has the natural tendency to make you think about it. With physical exercises perceived rate of exertion can make our brains put on the brakes. How can this relate to writing?

One article states that our brains also have limited attention or upload speeds and a way to trick our brains into working anyway, is to give our mind something pleasant to focus on. Listening to motivating uplifting music can distract you in a positive way from the difficult parts I'm staying butt-in-seat.

Try music to increase your word count in less time

I'd like to propose the idea that listening to music at certain beats per minute can correlate to the number of words a writer can produce over time. Who would like to join in on this study?

Beats per minute – a writerly experiment

These are not story beats, nor beets-you-eats, what I am referring to here are our music beats. Want to try something fun? And non scientific? Join me in reflecting on how music works in your writing process.

1. Pick out a song that last inspired one of your works. Maybe it was a song you had on repeat while working on a short story or a playlist that just gets you into the writing mood.
2. Go to Song BPM | songbpm.com and type in your favorite writing mood tune.
3. Post the song, genre, and beats per minute in a comment below.  Tell us why it helps you write.  Let’s see what we find out!

Examples:

Astrud Gilberto &Stan Getz – The Girl from Ipanema – 130 BPM – I enjoy this walking-paces song because it is chill and cheerful. It gets me in the mood to write a spunky scene with a sassy heroine.

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’ – 113 BPM – Who knew that this power ballad would roll along at a slower pace than Getz?  I believe the feel-good factor of this song can help the most stuck writer complete a page or paragraph

Paperback Writer – The Beatles – 78 BPM – This tune is described as happy and high energy.  And the lyrics align with my writerly goals.

Anti-hero – Taylor Swift – 97 BPM – Any Swify’s out there?  This smart and snarky tune conjures up delightful characters for me. And a little research for my YA novels, lots of teens (and their adults) really dig this music.

Feeling Good - Nina Simone - 79 BPM – Good and gritty. And at a pace that encourages me to stay in my seat and write.

Tell us your below!  Maybe we can add some inspiration and music to our own playlists.

About Kris

Kris Maze is an author, writing coach, and teacher. She has worked in education for many years and writes for various publications, including Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish and the award-winning blog Writers in the Storm where she is also a host. You can find her horror stories and young adult writing on her website. Keep up with future projects and events by subscribing to her newsletter.

A recovering grammarian and hopeless wanderer, Kris enjoys reading, playing violin and piano, and spending time outdoors.

And occasionally, she creates a kick-*ss playlist for her muse.

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by Ellen Buikema

One aspect of the book business that authors dislike is marketing their work. Not all of us are born salespeople. Some authors are extroverts who enjoy putting themselves out there, and easily juggle a day job, writing, and family time. Not all of us have this superpower and find that time to promote ourselves and our writing is difficult.

People cannot read your work if they don’t know it exists.

Authors need time to successfully promote their books. We can’t borrow time but we can expand our reach by cross-promoting with other authors, particularly but not exclusively with writers in the same genre.

Don’t worry about competition. Readers consume far more content than any of us can write. Teaming up makes sense.

Forms of Cross-Promotion

Newsletters

Cross-promotion works best when you’re supporting other authors who write in your specific genre. Since your target audiences overlap, you will all have a better chance of increasing your reach.

Because of privacy concerns, authors don’t “swap” e-mail lists. Instead, they agree to mention your launch, discount, or contest in their own newsletters. Since newsletters are a productive path to book sales, this type of cross-promotion is great and the only cost is a bit of time to contact other writers via social media or email.

Multi-author giveaways and contests

Get several authors together to run a contest or giveaway, with every writer promoting the event and donating an eBook, paperback, or audiobook code as a prize for readers to win.

Have a care if you decide to use something like an eReader as a prize. Some years back I joined a multi-author giveaway that had such a prize. A plethora of people entered, giving their email addresses long enough to know whether they’d won, and then opted out of the authors’ email lists. Not all, but a large enough percentage “unsubscribed” that MailChimp flagged me. After I explained what happened they gave me time to rectify my situation and remove the subscribers myself.

This same situation with unsubscribing can happen if you join a group that is in a different genre. Multi-author promotions can work wonders for attracting positive attention to your work, multi-genre—not so much.

Goodreads lists

Authors are unable to add their own books to Goodreads lists. Enlist other writers to add each other’s books to Goodreads lists that are a good fit.

Exchange ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies)

Having giveaways for ARCs during a book’s preorder period is a fantastic way to collect early reviews. Consider trading ARCs with authors in your genre and asking them to run giveaways for your books on their social media channels, offering to do the same for them. This creates greater exposure all around and a good chance gain more new readers.

Interviews

Be interviewed by another author on video.

Video is a great attention grabber. If a video includes multiple authors, each can publish the video to their social media channels, cross-promoting to several audiences, and giving exposure to each other’s fan base.

Speak on an author panel

Public speaking can be intimidating, but there is safety in numbers. Like singing, being in the choir is a lot less nerve wrecking than singling solo with a band.

During a panel, authors are usually seated in the front of the room with several other authors. A moderator will ask the questions. Most often, these questions will have been predetermined with a chance to discuss them beforehand. Some questions will be for a particular author, and others will be for the entire group.

Speaking on panels at bookstores, conferences, and festivals, is a great way to gain exposure to readers, fellow authors, and publishing professionals. Panels offer authors many cross-promotion opportunities. Participants have visibility to fans who originally came to hear a different author speak. Panels let authors connect with and learn from their fellow-panelists.

How to find authors to cross-promote with

• Join a critique group, meet other writers at conferences, or hang out in the same Social Media groups.
• If you don’t have writer friends yet, join some Social Media groups for your genre, follow the hashtags for that genre, and start commenting on fellow writers’ posts. It’s very important to comment.
• If you’re traditionally published, reach out to other authors who are with the same publisher. If you are self-publishing, search for a group of indie authors in your genre.
• Participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It’s a good place to meet other writers.
• Join cross-promotion platforms like BookFunnel, Prolific Works, and Story Origin that offer group promos you could join. This option is not free, but it may be worth consideration.

For more ways to find authors to cross-promote, author Donna Galati shares 11 Steps to Find and Connect with Other Authors in Your Genre on the WITS blog.

Final Thoughts

• Be easy to contact. If you don’t have a website or you don’t have your email or a contact form on your site, fellow authors will have trouble finding you.
• Build a relationship. People who know you are more likely to recommend your book to their readers.
• Sharing is caring. Share some of their content, comment on their posts, and get to know them.
• Return the favor. If a fellow author helps you promote your book, ask what you can do to help them promote theirs.
• Be professional and reliable. Stick to deadlines.

How do you cross-promote your work? Share a cross-promotion story.

* * * * * *

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works In Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and Crystal Memories, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay