Post going around about writing advice is great but this isn't writing advice per se so I'm not going to QT that. Instead, this is my one piece of advice for anyone in self-publishing. (publishing in general? sure, but VITAL for self) It is the one thing you need for long-term survival.
Community.
"Publish every three months!"
"Run a kickstarter!"
"Build up social media!"
Like, all fine things? YMMV? But you're gonna burn out. You're gonna have setbacks. It is VERY HARD WORK.
If you want to survive to be doing this in any capacity five, ten, twenty years or more down the road? Community.
I don't mean join some scam group on Facebook with ten thousand. I don't mean go to events just to network.
Quality beats quantity. Find your people. Ones who have personalities that mesh with yours. Ones that share writing philosophies with you. Ones with a range of publishing experiences.
And *involves yourself with that community*.
You are not the main character! Everyone is their own main character.
By this I mean, read books in your community. Support people in your community. Promote books in your community. BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
A lot of folks show up and just expect everyone to promote their stuff and never reciprocate. Notice when others have release dates and boost them! Drop a few bucks on someone else's book (they're business expenses)! Take time to read and care about other people's stuff.
Time/money is limited, I know, BELIEVE ME I KNOW, LIKE HAVE YOU MET ME. But make a damn effort when you're part of the community. Invest in them like you expect them to invest in you. We have a symbiotic relationship with one another--we survive by connecting with and lifting up one another.
You will more than likely be apart of several micro-communities that have some overlap in areas. Sometimes it might be two or three people. Other times it might be ten or twelve. Maybe within a larger group you'll gravitate toward a couple of other folks and form a new micro-community.
THIS.
I found you through a follower on the birb site who was so happy that THE CATS ARE OKAY, and you led me to Michelle Manus, whom I adore. Hillary Monahan introduced me to Kit Rocha (Bree & Donna) through supporting their work.
As an avid reader, I'll check out what my fave authors are reading!
And I love this so much because I adore Michelle's books and I just want everyone to read them and gush with me. We're all connected and I really feel like we only survive in this industry by making an effort to strengthen these connections.
