I celebrate one year being published with my novel Perfect Imperfections and in the past year I’ve come to learn many things about the publishing world as well as the world of being an Author.

So to celebrate, I thought I would share some things with you about my journey to become a published author.

Rejection is normal

My first lesson learnt was that rejection is part of the cycle of becoming published. You will submit your manuscript to countless people and they will send you letters of rejection. The trick is to never give up. Rejection does not mean your work isn’t good, it just means you might not be with right fit for that particular publisher or agent. Soon enough, you will come across the right publisher who will make your work shine.

Being published is only the tip if the iceberg

So now you’re a published Author. What’s next? Do you get to sit back, sip Champaign and celebrate? Absolutely not! Its work, work and more work ahead of you.

You need to discover your target market, find ways to promote to them, meet them, and develop fan clubs. People take recommendations from people, so you need a network of people to recommend your book, it won’t just sell itself! There is only so much your publisher can do, but you need to do the rest. You know your work better than anyone, so you need to develop the course of how your book is marketed.

“People take recommendations from people”

Social media is a great tool to success

Familiarise yourself with social media. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, are great tools to get exposure. Join book groups on Facebook, be a part of the community, and soon people will want to know more about your work. Host live video chats, open a Facebook fan page, be relevant, be interesting and be seen!

Not everyone will support your work

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learnt is that not everyone closest to your will support your work. Your closest family and friends might be the ones who just refuse to buy your book and read it. That’s okay! Actually I’ve learnt, it’s better than okay, because there are thousands of other people who are more than willing to read your book and tell you their honest opinion about your work. They will be your greatest and most loyal supporters, and they are so valuable. Some will even become friends!

Influencers are essential

Don’t underestimate people with influence. These are book bloggers, journalists, people who own book clubs. The masses follow their recommendations, so get your book in their hand, get them to write reviews, and allow their followers to be exposed to your work.

Judgement will come

There will be people who have the cruellest things to say about your novel that your spent blood sweat and tears developing. The key is to separate constructive criticism from jealous rants, and people who are just plain mean spirited trolls. Take the constructive criticism for your next book, and leave the mean trolls to grovel in their misery!

Keep writing

The biggest lesson for me is to keep writing! Sales will come, your book will get seen, but in the interim, keep writing. Follow your passion, the reward will eventually come! You have a talent, keep going, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is an Author. Your writing style will improve, and with more books, you get more readers and more sales. So put those fingers on that keyboard and type away!

Taryn Leigh is very active on her social medias, you can follow her below!

Like her Page on Facebook

Follow her on Twitter

Connect with her on her website www.tarynleighauthor.com

Blurb of Perfect Imperfections

Sarah Lewis desires nothing more than to begin again after a failed marriage and a tragedy so terrifying, it forces her to leave her life in London to stay with her best friend a world apart in South Africa. Despite immediate success in her business, she struggles to understand who she really is and where she belongs in the world. So begins a journey of discovery as Sarah re-unites with Katy in the land where she was born, where the air is lavender scented, and weekends are spent cycling on the beach. Until the day when she has to return to London to face the ghosts of her past and confront a situation that has grown more complicated in her absence. Perfect Imperfections is an intriguing tale which hints at wrongdoings and deceit without giving too much away. The author cleverly weaves a tale around fragile yet strong Sarah as she tries to reconcile her past with her future, engaging the reader to the point where we simply want the best for her and for happiness finally to come her way.

You can purchase a copy of Taryn’s book from the following places:

Amazon.co.uk | Olympia Publishers | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones