January 16, 2020 0

Writers’ dilemmas, trilemmas, umpteen-lemmas

in Viviana Ioan Books

When personages populate your mind and scream out for life, what can you do but spark them into existence. Seated in front of a white page on paper or screen, you write the first few words, then indulge in creating.

Powerful as the little beings in your head may be to steer the plot, act, make choices, you play the master of the game. Writing feels empowering. Thus authors immerse themselves in a parallel life.

Writers’ dilemmatic existence

Meanwhile, real life unfolds without mercy. Authors want to stay healthy, most have families, or other full-time jobs. Crushed at the interface of two worlds depicts a writer’s foremost dilemma. Once they have decided to write, chances for a fair division are gone―writing comes first. Or does it?

What about after-writing? Written stories need taking to market in nice, enticing, provocative packages. Pen down or last click signal a brave new venture: editing, proofreading, cover design.

Hiring professionals, though a good choice if affordable, still requires you present, alert, and agile. This hyperactive presence will interfere with the division above, which is getting to “fair”, no matter how unfair your author’s persona regards it.

Self-published authors’ trilemma

Self-publishing, a portal for fresh authors to address the world, is an amazing opportunity. Take it! But YOU do the work. See how the balance between creation and action suffers a new shift?

Publishing wedges itself into the creator’s dilemma, making it a trilemma. With three on the swing, self-published authors are double-crushed: write, live, or publish?

Go public and share the parallel world you lived in while writing. People love experiencing other dimensions, probing imaginary planets. Amazon is great, for instance. Everything you need is there, even tools for book covers, e-book convertor, price and distribution options, etc. Create an account, follow instructions, and press “publish”.

But who will probe PLANET YOU?

Umpteen-lemmas

This new wedge, publishing, is many-folded. Clicking on “publish” does not open readers’ doors. The next phase is knock-knock. Yet, knock wise, do category and key-word research first. First… and countless times after, as you want to make changes. Pros like Dave Chesson have designed useful tools that can help.

Your book is a dwarf planet lost in web space, among millions―of bigger, more visible planets, or bright stars. Give searchers telescopes to detect an Unlit Fantastic Object on the book sky. Encounters with first readers are magical, dwarf turns nova and starts beaming.

Inspired to write a new novel, you set off on creation journey again. Shall the nova be left to shimmer shy and lonely? No, take to the marketing road to keep it shining. Promote, promote, promote!

Set up an author’s site, sign in with authors’ platforms, and post three-four times a week. Be active on social media, like and follow people―the right ones―every day. Advertise on Amazon, Facebook, anywhere you can. Dedicate time to posting daily on Instagram, liking and following―first and back. Organize book launches and signing sessions, do networking. Oh, this reminds me, in case you have a job, remember to go to work.

From nova to star

Well, how should you prioritize these actions? Are some more important than others? To have constant readers, a writer crams promotional technicalities and activities into her/his real life. Time dedicated to the parallel world of creating fiction diminishes, but what can a self-published author do but come to grips with this frustrating condition.

Despite initial or long-term frustration, rewards are huge. From unknown to nova, each published book will turn star some day.

So keep your books beaming to the world.

• #promote
• #self-published