I met Emily Benet at The Self Publishing conference where, in between showing us how exciting and not boring social media promotion can be for authors, she mentioned her publishing story which I found quite interesting. With books published traditionally, regular blogging, Wattpad successes and self publishing experience, I thought you might want to read about her so here it is! Thanks Emily!
Occasionally aspiring authors contact me out of the blue for help. They are frustrated because they’ve written something but either they haven’t managed to find a publisher, or they’ve self-published and now can’t seem to get the public excited about it. Sometimes they’ve thrown money at it and ask me how much more money they should throw at it (editor’s note: we’ve talked about this before, if you are interested). None, I say, just write another book. They don’t like that advice and don’t reply.
Or else, they ask if I can advertise their book on my blog, as if that might catapult them to fame and fortune. If only my blog was so powerful. It always comes as a surprise to me that people think I have a) got somewhere and b) the answers. But I suppose, I have come a long way from that 11 year old illustrating stories about mice.
My drive to become a fully-fledged, published author has led me to try out lots of different publishing platforms. Einstein said, “insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Well, if you’re not getting anywhere with one method, then maybe it’s time to try a different route.
Blogging
In 2008, after plenty of rejections under my belt, I began a blog about working in my Mum’s eccentric chandelier shop. I was fed up of waiting for my writing career to get started and just wanted to write and have some readers. I took it very seriously, writing weekly and editing it as if it were going into print.
Six months later, after leaving my link on Salt Publishing’s facebook page, they got in touch and asked me to turn the blog into a book. That’s how I got my first publishing deal which led to Shop Girl Diaries.
Blogging has become the soul of my career, keeping me connected to my readers and maintaining my online presence. There are many bloggers turned authors out there, and without exception they started because they were passionate about what they were writing about. When you blog, don’t just write about your book. You’re not trying to sell something to your readers, you are trying to engage them, and give them a good time.
Self-Publishing on Amazon
You get one publishing deal and you think you’ve made it? Wrong. After Shop Girl Diaries I struggled to write something new. I was once again without a publisher and getting an agent without a new book was impossible. Unable to accept the idea that I wasn’t going to get anything published again for a few years, I visited my archive and put together a collection of all the short stories that had been commended in short story competitions or performed at events. I then tested the Amazon waters and published an ebook for the kindle. It sold a few and made me feel good. Next I wrote a Blogging for Beginners ebook, which sold much better since I’d spent the previous two years running social media workshops and making a name for myself in the blogosphere.
If you’re going to publish on Amazon, don’t expect one book to have a huge impact, especially if you don’t have an online presence. You’ve got to be in this for the long run, and accept you might need to write quite a few books before sales really kick off.
Wattpad
I had blogged my way to a book deal and self-published ebooks, yet I was still of the traditional mindset. I still felt I needed an agent to get a publisher. But to get an agent I needed to write a new novel, and I was really struggling.
My brother introduced me to the online writing platform, Wattpad and I tested it out by posting a few short stories there. A few days later a Wattpad PR person got in touch and said since I had been published previously, that if I wrote a whole novel for them, they’d feature it. Although I would be writing for free, they have a monthly readership of 10 million, so I decided to go for it.
I came up with an idea for a quirky romantic comedy Spray Painted Bananas and started posting two chapters a week. It liberated me.
Writing on Wattpad put my work in front of a whole new audience, and they were so engaging. Each morning I’d wake up to comments of What happens next?!! It really motivated me and I finished the whole novel in 4 months. The novel racked up over a million hits, and it was this social proof, as well as the writing (I hope) that got me an agent within a week of contacting one.
If you’re going to write on Wattpad, check out the types of novels posted there to see if your writing will find a home.
Traditional
My success on Wattpad led me to sign with the lovely Louisa Longrigg at MBA. She then secured a two book deal with the digital first imprint of Harper Collins, Harper Impulse. They published my Wattpad book, under the new title, The Temp, which in hindsight might not have been the best idea, since I’d grown my following through the original title. Ah well, there are a hell of a lot of writing lessons to be learnt on the journey!
My next book #PleaseRetweet, a comedy about our addiction to social media, was written in a traditional manner. In other words, OFFLINE. I don’t know the exact release date, unlike the ebooks I self-published, I have little control over the process now. There are ups and downs to every method of publishing. What’s the next step? I’m not quite sure. I just know that whatever road I take there will be a lot of writing involved, and in the end that is the essential part of every method.
Find and follow Emily online:
Her website
Her Facebook page
Her Twitter account
Her books on Amazon
Editor’s note: if you want to guest blog for us just send me a message!
