Christmas is over. Unless you look forward all year to the after-Christmas sales, you may be feeling a bit of a letdown today. It’s the same letdown feeling you have once your book is finally completed and you’re holding it in your hands.
You work for months or years researching for and writing your book. You go in search of a publisher or decide to self-publish—making many decisions and maybe putting out money at every turn. Throughout the process you worry and fret. You’re also wildly excited about bringing out your book. And then, one day, it arrives. You can actually embrace your completed book. You are living your dream of becoming a published author.
Once the celebrating is over, however, reality sets in and you wonder, “Now what?” Your sense of joy and extreme accomplishment begins to fade when you realize what comes next. The anticipation is over. The celebrating has stopped. And you’re left with responsibilities and obligations of major proportions.
After Christmas, all that remains are wrappings, trimmings and dirty dishes. You know what’s in the packages so carefully placed under your tree. You’ve experienced the delight in everyone’s eyes when they opened your gifts. What you once viewed with happy anticipation now makes you cringe. It’s a similar feeling for authors who find themselves facing what comes after publishing—the hugely serious job of marketing their books.
If you are working on a book or you’re thinking about writing one, do yourself a favor and prepare for that day that comes after you hold your book in your hands for the first time.
No matter where you are in the process of writing or producing your book, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, NOW. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Read the testimonials along the left side of the page. Click to read some of the reviews. This book is serious ammunition for any author who wants to succeed in the highly competitive publishing field.
If you’ve already experienced that post-publication letdown—you have a book that you’re promoting and things aren’t going so well, read The Author’s Repair Kit. It will tell you how to breathe new life into a failing or faltering book. It may be a simple matter of marketing to the wrong audience. http:www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html
Don’t forget to sign up for my online book proposal or book promotion workshops. Read more about the courses in the December 25th blog post.