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Ever imagined joining the likes of Shakespeare, Steven King or Dr Suess? With the likes of Amazon KDP it’s never been easier to become a published author and let your story take flight across the globe. Comparing a good book to a fine wine, Dr Rada Jones reveals insights she’s gathered from her journey of pre-selling and publishing her ER Thriller- “Overdose”. Making money before the work is done, how awesome is that? – Andrew

 

Publishing Your First Book

A view from the trenches

So, you’re ready to become an author! Congratulations! It’s a special exclusive feeling reserved for the few. You are about to enter hallowed ground. You’re about to rub elbows with Shakespeare, E.L. James and Dr. Seuss. You are about to become immortal!

Well…Not so fast, my friend. There’s a few steps to muddle through first.

I just learned it. The hard way.

So let me tell you.

I bit the bullet and put my novel, OVERDOSE, an ER thriller, on preorder on Amazon.

Thirty-nine people have already bought it. Two months before it hits the ground.

That’s amazing, you say.

I agree.

Now if I only had a book to sell.

I don’t.

But I digress. We’ll get to that.

Let me share with you the insights and wisdom bestowed to me by a whole year of struggling with the process. Who knows? We may share a drink some day, you, me and Dr. Seuss, in the ‘Bar des Immortels,’ that special place which is neither in hell and nor in heaven but in between, the place where the immortals meet. I don’t know where that is, since I’m not a member. Yet. But if I had to guess I’d go to Paris.

So there’s my recipe.

1. Write your book. Do it slowly and carefully, at low temperature. Books take a long time to cook. Baste it well with love, wine and endless obsession. Season properly with despair, and humor, if it’s in season. Low, slow, steady and go is the word. For specifics, check out my article “Your first book” on medium.com.

2. Edit it. Books are like wine: They start slow and get you high. You start with a terroir, (French for dirt), and a vine. It may take 30 years for the vine to come to maturity. Same with authors. And that’s just the beginning. The grapes have to suffer to become wine – they get crushed, squeezed, fermented. It takes a long time and a lot of pain. It’s the same with your book. The first draft is to your book what grapes are to wine. The prequel. The squeeze is about to begin. For more specifics check out my post, ”Editing your first book” on medium.com.

3. Understand your market. If you don’t, you’ll fail like a fine dining restaurant in a metro station. Unless you happen to be in Tokyo, it’s inevitable. Who are you writing for? Other doctors? Neuropathic diabetics with bad teeth? Iguana lovers? “Everyone” is not a market. A clearly defined audience is a must for your writing to match their needs, their interests and their level of understanding. The better you understand your audience, the more successful you will be. I’m writing for medically curious thriller/suspense lovers with a sense of humor.

4. Understand your goals. Why are you writing? If you’re doing it to make money, think again. Few books make money, and most aren’t written by first time authors. Are you writing to improve your credentials and establish yourself as an expert? That may help you get speaking gigs and promotions. Are you hoping to become famous? There are easier ways. Like training your cat to smoke pot and going on YouTube.

5. You wrote your book. You edited it. You have all the answers. You’re ready to look at publishing. That part is simple, really. There are only two choices.

   1. Traditional. You’ll have to talk somebody into publishing your book. Start by getting an agent, since most traditional publishers won’t even look at unagented manuscripts. That in itself is about as easy as ice-fishing with one hand. First, your writing has to be good. then you have to be tough, confident and persistent. Being lucky doesn’t hurt. Twelve publishers rejected Harry Potter. How many will reject your work?

   2. Indie. You’ll learn to do it all – or outsource some. That includes:

      1. Editing or hiring an editor – hire if you can. It’s impossible to be objective with your own writing. It’s like being objective about your kid being cute or your dog being smart. You need a fresh eye.

      2. Formatting it yourself or hiring a book designer. There’s excellent software if you’re up for the challenge.

      3. Designing your cover or hiring an artist. After my personal adventures in book cover design which involved ketchup, a syringe, some milk and a shower curtain, I recommend hiring. To compete, your book needs a professional look.

      4. Printing. This is another decision making point. Will you go digital, print, or both? Will you do audio?

         1. If you want to hold your book, sign it and gift it, print on demand is a wonderful option – Ingram Spark, Book Baby and many others compete for your printing pleasure.

         2. If digital is good enough for you KDP on Amazon is almost painless and free, with royalties of up to 70% and access to markets everywhere. There are many others including Kobo and Ibooks that I still need to learn.

         3. Audio is where it’s at. The demand is outgrowing the supply, and you’ll have less competition. You must have a digital product first. It’s a substantial money and time investment.

      5. Designing a marketing campaign, including key words, strategies, ads, scheduling and planning your book release.

      6. Implementing it.

      7. Reevaluating your results and making corrective changes.

What Did I Do?

After meeting a few agents – nice people if you’re into crocodiles – and working with a couple of editors whose outlook on life was as foreign to me as the sex life of the manatees, I decided to go indie. Good or bad, my work is my work.

I hired an editor.

I thought I had a finished book. He fixed that. Check radajonesmd.com, Carving Overdose.

For printing, I decided to go with Amazon KDP. I committed to preorder. D Day is January 18.

BUT, since I happen to be in Thailand, and since a writer friend introduced me to a printer, I am looking forward to see my proof in 2 days and a batch of 50 copies in a week!

Next stop: Marketing.

PS- since writing this article a week ago, my book has been printed and last night (26/11/18) I sold 7 copies at a friend’s party!

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About Rada

Rada Jones MD MBA FACEP is an Emergency Physician in Upstate New York, where the winters are long, the people are sturdy and the geese speak mostly French. She lives with her husband, Steve, and Paxil, his deaf, black cat. Her ER novel OVERDOSE, a psychological thriller in which many die in exciting ways and the good guys drink like fishes is now on preorder on Amazon Kindle.

OVERDOSE: An ER Psychological Thriller

More at RadaJonesMD.com, instagram radajonesmd, and @jonesrada.