How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide

How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide How to Become an Author: The Ultimate Guide There’s a very short answer to the question of how to become an author. Simply publish a book. With advances in self-publishing, you could technically write and publish a book this afternoon and call yourself an author. So instead, we’re going to ask a better question: how do you become a self-sustaining author.In this post, we’ll share with you the approaches that countless writers have taken to become a full-time author. Regardless of the type of book you want to write, you’ll find an approach here that will help you set the wheels of your publishing career in motion. Read this! "How to Become an Author: The Ultimate Guide" Part 1: Doing the groundworkIf a healthy publishing career is like a garden, then your first step towards success involves preparing the lot. And in both gardening and your writing life, there’s a lot you can do to make sure your soil is fertile and ready for the season.Figure out why you want to be an authorBecoming an author is a massive undertaking and unless you know why you’re doing it, you could be setting yourself up to fail as soon as the going gets tough (and trust us, it will). Some of the most common reasons for becoming a published author are:Creative fulfillment;To reach readers with your work;To make money (from royalties, etc.);To become famous and critically acclaimed;To support your existing business.Writing is art so, naturally, a lot of you will balk at the idea of getting into publishing as a way to acquire money and acclaim - but a reason as legitimate as any. And, having your eye on such a lofty prize can help you stay focused. On the other hand, â€Å"creative fulfillment† isn’t necessarily as strong a reason to become a published author: you can achieve the same result just by writing for yourself (and not having to deal with editors, critics, and sales figures). (Photo by  Stage 7 Photography)Remember how we said at the start that your goal shouldn’t be to become any ol’ author: it’s to become a self-sustaining one. With that in mind, there are a few things you should always be doing to build upon any success that your first book brings you. After you've published your first book, the work doesn't stop! Grow your profile and market yourselfOne of the biggest misconceptions is that if you have a publishing company behind you, they’ll take care of your marketing. The truth is that the vast majority of their advertising spend goes into their top five or six authors. Any marketing budget that is assigned to you (as a new author) will largely go into ‘trade marketing,’ which is working with booksellers to feature your book more prominently in stores.With that in mind, authors need to play an active role in their own marketing and publicity. This might mean hiring their own publicist (at the costlier end) or organizing book tours and signing events. If you can’t afford that, then at least make sure that your online platform is working: Twitter, Instagram, and blogs are pretty much free!Have multiple ideas on the goYou should always be thinking about what’s next. Professional authors are constantly generating ideas that could become a book - and working o n more than one at a time. Who knows when someone from the industry will show interest: if you get yourself in a situation where someone wants to work with you, you need to have a few ideas in the bank.Think about writing a seriesThis is true of traditional publishing, and even more so for indie authors. If your first book has sold thousands of copies and readers love it, the simplest way to capitalize on its success is to continue the series. If you’ve written a fantasy novel, could the main character (or one of the charming side characters) come back for another installment? If people really love your non-fiction title about kitchen refurbishment, could you write a companion piece about bathrooms?With each book you add to a series, you can theoretically grow your revenue exponentially. Every new reader you attract doesn’t just buy one of your books: they buy three or five or fifteen of them.Extra reading: â€Å"How I become a self-publishing millionaire† (inte rview)Create secondary revenue streamsMovie theatres famously make a loss on their ticket sales†¦ but they make it all up at the concession stand. If you’ve got a captive audience who love your book, what else can you do with them? Non-fiction authors regularly tell their readers if you’ve enjoyed my book on meditation, why not buy my online course on Yoga or join me on my (paid) annual retreat to an ashram in Bakersfield?This can be a bit trickier for novelists, but you can always have an online store where you sell totes and t-shirts related to your book. There’s no shame in it: if you want the time to write full-time, you need to find a way to pay the bills.With all this hard work, some talent, and a pinch of good luck, the garden of your career as an author should come to bloom. But that’s just the start. You need to consistently put in the work to continue thriving and gaining new readers. If you’re ready for that, then roll up your sleev es and get to work!If you've recently become an author and would like to share your thoughts and experiences, why not drop a message in the comments below.