Dawn Colclasure's Blog

Author and poet Dawn Colclasure

Thursday, June 29, 2023

From Writer to Author: The Newbie Author’s Guide to Getting Your Book Published Offers Advice, Tips and Resources to Make a Dream of Becoming an Author Come True

 


When I was 19 years old and trying to get my first book published, I knew nothing about the publishing industry. Yes, I had been writing for years, and I’d taken the novel manuscript I wrote in high school through several rounds of revision, but I never really took the time to educate myself about the realities of becoming an author. I figured all I had to do was find a publisher in Writer’s Market, query the ones my book seemed a good fit for, and just take it from there.

 

I didn’t know there were predatory publishers. I didn’t know what red flags to watch out for. This is probably why I ended up getting swindled by a shady publisher!

 

Fortunately, my story has a happy ending. I extricated myself from that mess and was on a mission to learn EVERYTHING I could about the publishing industry. I worked with an attorney who, bless him, agreed to help me pro bono, built a network of more knowledgeable authors who kindly and generously helped me figure out where to go from there, and eventually signed with an indie publisher who published a brand new revised edition of my first book. The novel that started out as November’s Child became Shadow of Samhain and I have not looked back since.

 

All the same, I never forgot all of those people who helped me out. I was young, new, confused and scared. They took me into their fold and ushered me onto my new path of making a comeback as an author.

 

And because I know just what it’s like to be an unpublished author who only dreams of getting their book published, I decided to write an ebook sharing everything I have learned about the smart way to make that dream come true.

 

The Newbie Author’s Guide to Getting Your Book Published is that ebook. If I were to take on a writer who wants to become an author, this is everything that I would tell them. This ebook contains everything I have learned so far after 30 years and 40+ books under my belt.

 

I decided to write this ebook because I believe that writers should help other writers. We all need to support each other and pass on the knowledge that we have learned. I am happy to help out the writers who have often emailed me or contacted me somehow with questions regarding writing and publishing. In fact, I know some young writers who dream of becoming an author someday.

 

And I know what it’s like to be inexperienced and to have that dream. There is so much information to wade through out there. There are so many choices about getting a book published and so many things about being an author that some writers don’t yet understand. Getting a book published seems to be this magical gift bestowed on only a select few or those who the publishing gods have deemed worthy. But you know what? It doesn’t have to be. And it's not like that at all.

 

The truth is, anyone can become an author. The trick is to do it right.

 

This ebook will help you to do it right. If anything, it will help you gain the confidence and knowledge to boldly press forward in your quest to achieve that fleeting status of Authorhood.

 

Don’t just dream about becoming an author. Believe in yourself and your book enough to make it happen. You CAN make that dream come true, as long as you go into this journey with a bit of knowledge about how to get there.

 

Here is the book’s blurb:

 

Have you always dreamed of being an author? Have you written a book but don't know how to get published? What caution should you take in trying to find an agent or publisher for your manuscript? This book will answer those questions, and more. From taking your first draft to a final draft, networking with other writers and how to find the right agent or publisher for your book, The Newbie Author's Guide to Getting Your Book Published is for everyone new to this author thing, and what you can expect once you make your dream of becoming an author a reality.

 

Available for free on Kindle Unlimited. Print coming soon! Click here for the ebook.

 

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