A publishing retrospective
3 lessons I learned from my debut year
Let’s get right into it.
#1 - Not reading your own reviews is impossible — until it becomes the easiest thing in the world.
When my book became available on Netgalley - and subsequently, most of those same reviews trickled over to Goodreads and StoryGraph - I couldn’t not read them. I tried blocking the websites, only to unblock them a day later. I tried putting it out of mind, only to remember and then head to my shortcuts (yes, I clicked into the links so often that my safari browser prompted shortcuts), nose to my screen.
This continued all the way through pre-pub marketing, and even continued through the next two weeks after my book released.
And then, one day, I read a review that was short and awful, and felt so specifically designed to have been written as a message just for me (whether this is true or not, I don’t know, and frankly, it’s not the reviewer’s place to care if I saw it), that I decided enough was enough.
There is an insane satisfaction, I have come to realize, in not looking. In never looking. Something with the power to kill me is only a few clicks away, but I won’t let it. I can’t promise I won’t read early reviews for future books I write — if I’m honest, I gained insight from a few thoughtful but critical reviews of Love Interest, written by ARC reviewers who are decidedly more skilled at it than the general population — but now that my debut is on sale, I won’t read those reviews ever again.
The point of this is to say, if you are currently wrapped up in your reviews, or worried you might be one day — I promise, war will be over soon.
#2 - Other authors don’t hate you. They just don’t have time to love you.
After my debut was announced, I will admit it. I was a bit disappointed when other authors in my genre more ahead of me in their careers didn’t immediately flood my DMs with offers of eternal friendship, advice, and unprompted industry gossip.
I blame this reaction on sorority culture, of which I was a member in college. The second you’re offered a bid, you’re immediately inundated with new followers and friend requests, with comments on old photos saying You’re such a cutie!!! or Got that girl!! And beyond social media, the older sorority women made sure to give you the what’s-what about Greek Life, other chapters, etcetera. I think this conditioned me to expect that getting a traditional publishing deal would be like joining a club of sorts.
The truth is that authors who aren’t debuting anymore don’t have the actual time or mental bandwidth to hold your hand through your entire debut year. They have books to write, readerships (their bread and butter) to keep up with, and of course, personal lives to abscond to. Copy edits aren’t as exciting to seasoned authors, and they probably aren’t as chronically online.
In fact, the people in this industry you will become closest with the quickest are other debuts. You are experiencing things at the same time, going through firsts together. Of course it’s instinctual to want to become close with authors who have already “made it” — and this isn’t to say I haven’t had lovely interactions with authors who have published longer than me — but nobody is going to be in your corner like your fellow debuts will be. Those are the relationships to foster.
#3 - Your social media doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to prove that you care.
There is so. much. back-and-forth on the internet about whether authors need to “master” social media to sustain their relevancy. The continuous response from agents and editors regarding this discourse is: “It’s not required to be savvy with social media, but it does help.”
In my opinion, the only rule you need to abide by is showing the utmost respect for this marketing format, and specifically, its ability to sell books and create community. Forget the entire conversation about how much of the heavy lifting your marketer and publicist are doing in-house versus what they might’ve done ten years ago. Forget all that. Because the truth is, social media marketing isn’t between you and your publisher. It’s between you and your readership.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my attempts at social media marketing over the past year and a half, it’s that readers want a direct line of sight to the authors they’re supporting. I feel this way about the authors I choose to read, and I’ve seen readers connect with me in the same manner. As long as you are showing respect for readers who are choosing books solely from social media (in whatever manner best suits your mental health), you’ve mastered the platform.
What I’m into right now:
Book Recommendations:
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
I was SOBBING near the end. I adore all of Adrienne’s work, but this book knocked Fable out of the #1 spot for me. Adrienne excels at atmospheric settings and emotional family dynamics.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
This book has been languishing on my shelf for 6 months, but after being inundated with the sight of it over the last two weeks based on excited readers’ yearly wrap-ups on Instagram, I finally scooped it up. And WOW! Oh wow. I loved, loved, loved this romance.
Television shows I’m watching:
The Bear
Fellow Travelers
Other things I’m excited about in 2024:
Wedding planning (I got engaged on Christmas Eve!)
My new 2024 planner from Writing with the Soul
Living in Charlotte, NC (I moved from Nashville in December) and spending time in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my fiancee and my dog
Launching my second book! More on that soon.
Thank you so much for being here! Happy New Year.