Preparing to Write the Next Novel

Preparing to write another novel has not been something I've looked forward to, and for a very good reason.  The success, or rather lack of success of my first novel:  Experimenting with Murder.  I'm not going to even bother providing the link in this post, because you can simply find it by following one of the existing page links, or by going to http://charmbaker.com and looking for the title.  The difficulty in self-marketing is what has led to the failure to succeed for many new authors like myself.  Adequate marketing is an issue that affects every new title, whether it comes from a newbie or an established author, AND, whether the book is garbage or actually quite good.

In the past two years since I first released the above mentioned title, I've learned and discovered a whole lot about the online self-publishing business.  There are things that every author must learn about the marketing end of things, whether they plan to pay for marketing or not.  Needless to say, this is especially the case if you're a self-published author who attempts to do the marketing all on your own.  Without really meaning to, this is exactly what I ended up doing, not just for my only novel, but for all the non-fiction titles that I've published prior to Experimenting with Murder.  While I've had relatively more success with book sales when it comes to my non-fiction titles, I've still failed to gain any real momentum with my author status or significant online book sales.

Focusing on a Best Seller

Recently I learned something that has helped me set the tone for the remainder of this year, as well as the upcoming year of 2017.  It is time for me to fully focus on writing a best seller!  During the many years that I've spent doing online writing, I've learned a lot of good information and I have always managed to find a way to share some of what I know.  This is no different from most freelance writers, as well as newly published authors.  If you're anything like me, at some point you discovered that we have to use a number of online activities to  promote yourself ourselves as writers and authors, and help establish our own brand.  This includes the use of blogs, websites, writing gigs, promotional ads and solicitations, social media, and a host of other online activities.  Since I've always been a DIY and hands-on kind of gal, I've learned how to perform many of these activities myself, and perhaps to my detriment.

It is clearly a good and necessary thing for a self-published author to understand the importance of effective marketing.  Even if you hire yourself a whole marketing team to promote you and your book titles, you still need to know the importance of helping to market yourself.  The problem with getting too involved with this process is the fact that it leaves very little time for REAL writing.  Because we are writers and not marketers, we can get bogged down in the process, plus get discouraged when a positive outcome doesn't happen or is  slow in coming.  Others may not understand what happens to a writer when their heads are not properly on straight, but another writer does.  Outside negativity can make you anxious and unable to write.  I experience this time and time again and it takes a while to come back from this feeling.  My newest goal is to prevent any future distractions so I can fully focus on writing a best seller.

Important Aspects 

One all important formula that I've written down and posted for myself is a recipe for creating a best seller.  These are points that I've picked up from other authors and put into my own words so that I can snap out of my complacency when it comes to writing.  Here is what I've come up with:

HOW TO FOCUS ON WRITING A BEST SELLER:

• Take the reader somewhere else! BUT give them something familiar and make them relate
• Give them a puzzle, a mystery or something to solve or wonder WHY– little at a time but keep them guessing
• Write active and descriptive scenes the reader can visualize BUT not wordy!
• Create colorful and real characters that readers love to hate and hate to love
• Write emotional, engaging and thought provoking dialogue
• Create lovers, relationships and “causes” the reader can cheer for all the way (make readers really care about the outcome)
• Include twists, turns and “a ha” moments that the reader didn’t expect
• Provide plausible resolutions that: Answer questions sensibly and satisfy the reader
• Ending should leave a good taste in their mouth and make them want more.

As you can see, there is much to keep in mind when creating your characters and story line, if you want to have a really awesome book.  That's exactly what I want, because if I publish a truly awesome book, I doubt if I'll hesitate to pay a professional marketer.  

With that being said, I plan to focus all my attention for the upcoming months on this newest endeavor.  In all honestly, I may not engage in much activity on this blog, my Wordpress blog (self-published) or even my two websites:  www.charmbaker.com or www.doityourselfbooks.info I plan to be too busy focusing on writing a best selling novel!