10 Ways to Survive Your Debut Author Year

Find a supportive community of published authors. Make friends with other debut authors. Make friends with other authors who have recently published a book. You need someone to cry to about all the frustrations of the publication process. You need someone to vent to about all the stress and excitement of the book launch.

Learn the skill of being patient. Sometimes the pace of publishing is extremely slow. Sometimes weeks go by and you see no book cover, no reviews, no sales, no progress. Don’t worry, it will all happen. Talk to your supportive community.

Hoarding your ARCs is not helping you any. Give them away. A lot. The more you give away, the more love and reviews will come back to you. Don’t keep all those pretty books in a big box tucked away in your writing room. Share!

Learn all forms of social media while you wait for the book to go through editing. Every day do a little bit. I resisted Instagram as much as I could, but then I realized it was necessary. It took me no more than a few hours in the end. Also–Learn to check your email and social media every day. Sometimes things begin to move very fast and people want you to respond within 5 minutes. There were times when I walked away from all electronics for an hour and came back to a dozen urgent messages. This can cause anxiety. But only if you don’t expect it.

Plan for your launch like you plan for having a baby. Make lots of freezer meals. Tell your significant other you are very sorry, but they are in charge of taking care of the kids for a few weeks. You simply won’t remember and won’t know what you are doing outside of managing the launch. You life will be consumed by it. You will rate everything in your life in terms of 1-5 stars as soon as your book shows up on Goodreads.

Learn how to be a kind and 100% responsive person. You will need to respond to comments from your kind readers who will tell you how much they love your book. You will need to thank bloggers and reviewers. You will need to send giveaways and sign books. All with nice comments. All with a smile on your face. It’s not difficult, it’s just a different way to function.

Book Bloggers will become your best friends. Yep, that’s right. They are the ones who will truly root for your book. They will write about it, post your reviews, sell your book all the time, and write you lovely messages that will pick you up at the time that you think that no one will ever buy your book. I love book bloggers dearly for being my debut novel’s champions.

Learn how to do marketing. If you are lucky, your publisher will do a fair amount of marketing for you. But this varies quite a bit. You must be knowledgeable or you will find that you missed some great opportunities. Marketing for your book starts 4-6 mos before your book is on Amazon. You must know what to do. There is a great deal of information available to authors. And—see #1, #4, and #7. Those sources will help.

Grow a very thick skin or maybe outer shell. You will see your book not do as well as others’ books. You will see negative reviews. You will see dipping sales at times. You will see people’s lists of best books that don’t include yours. You have to learn to let it wash over you. Your book is not the same as others. It can never compare to others. You are unique and your readers will be as well.

You will experience enormous levels of excitement before your book launch, followed by what my fellow debut authors and I have termed “Post-Launch Depression.” You are up on a pedestal for a while with all the adrenaline going through your system, everyone worships you, there are many parties and festivities, and then, suddenly, all of it is gone. And it’s quiet. The dishes have to be done again. The house has to be cleaned again. By you—a talented celebrated author. Also—you realize your readers want you to write another book… WHAT?

JUST ENJOY SOME OF IT—OKAY? YOU WROTE A BOOK! HOW INCREDIBLE IS THAT?

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I am a published author and a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the Author’s Guild, the International Thriller Writers Association, and the RWA PAN. She writes Agent/Editor Spotlight feature for the bi-weekly member newsletter of the WFWA.

I like to write stories about smart women in extraordinary circumstances. My first novel, WRAPPED IN THE STARS, was released worldwide by The Wild Rose Press, Inc. in February of 2018. It was short-listed for the Del Sol First Novel Prize in 2017.

I am somewhat obsessive about travel, but, when I am at home, in San Antonio, I can be found browsing through bookstores or antique shops with my husband and two children.

When not writing stories, I am a Pediatric Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, helping children with chronic medical illness. I blog on issues of mental health for teens and adults. I enjoy working with the media due to my expertise in managing anxiety, stress, and parenting issues. My nonfiction blog and articles can be found at https://www.elenamikalsen.com. My nonfiction chapter was included in COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS TO CREATE CHANGE IN CHILDREN published by Rutledge/Haworth Press in 2014.

Website https://elenamikalsen.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/WF_writerEM

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17629655.Elena_Mikalsen

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElenaMikalsenAuthor/

About WRAPPED IN THE STARS

Struggling with guilt over her sister’s death and the stress of her medical residency, Maya Radelis runs away to Scotland. A robin seems to lead her to an antique shop, where she finds a century-old engagement ring. But what is the ring’s history? She follows the slim paper trail, wondering if it is only coincidence that her dreams reveal the story of a Swiss woman physician who wore the ring during World War I.

In Paris she meets fellow New Yorker David Fischer, a lawyer with family in Switzerland as well as America. He helps Maya follow the memories stored in the ring as they lead her around Europe. The attraction between David and Maya grows, and when they discover a connection between the ring and David’s family, they learn, bit by bit, more about the ring’s earlier owner. Will Maya’s own life have the same tragedy of lost love?

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips