Hello, dear EOTM readers! Welcome to a new article series that has probably been longer in the making than I thought. The time has finally come for me to move on to the next season of writing, as you may have heard if you’re in my writing community circles…
I, Allie Lynn, am finally, seriously, truly, pursuing publishing.
It feels unreal to admit that, and honestly I’ve chewed on the idea for a while. I’m a big believer in “taking it slow” and not rushing to become published. But I believe that it’s the next step, have prayed about it a lot, and thus, I am prepping my current WIP, my superhero dystopian duology Dust of the Arena, to pitch early next year. I am pitching to a small press, which, while traditionally publishing, I’m approaching it as more of an “assisted indie publishing” mindset since the press is newer and I would like to independently publish in the future afterward.
The main issue with this, for me, is that since I will be devoting more extensive mental energy to the process of revisions, it’s getting difficult for me to mentally “switch topics” every week from being deep in editing mode to writing articles for my site.
BUT I HAVE DEVISED A SOLUTION!
Namely, a bi-weekly article series chronicling the process, to give my readers a more extensive view of how getting a book published works than what I can give in the limited space of my email newsletter.
(You still get special extras for being on the newsletter, by the way. But this article series is a way for me to keep public content up on this site without dealing with the hassle of switching every weekend to write a blog post when all I want is to just edit stuff XD)
There will still be horse articles, don’t worry. But I will be shuffling some things around to accomodate my busier schedule/more intensive writing focus on a single project. I’m not ditching blogging yet, don’t worry!
With that being said, today I’d like to introduce you to the first topic in this new article series: Choosing When And What To Publish.
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The Chosen One (And How To Choose It)
Sometimes, authors treat finding their WIP to publish as a random lottery chance. Like one day they’ll get hit with inspiration to write the book to become “the one”. While there’s a small element of truth to this, it’s actually not as random as you’d think.
When younger authors ask me for advice, the first thing I tell them is to know why they’re writing, and who they are writing for. And don’t even think about publishing until you know who that is. You can take days, months, yeah, even years to figure that out, and that’s okay. But until you know why you’re writing, and who you’re writing for, it’s gonna be a lot harder to go through the publishing process. Honestly, I think this is the real reason why so many people advise writers not to publish their first novels. It’s not enough to just have a story– you also need to have an audience, even in theory. Most writers are too early in their writing journey with their first books to know that yet.
Always, always write a first draft before you make the choice. It’s okay to have first drafts you just write for fun, and then move on from. Personally I think young writers learn more from writing lots of different books than just working on the same one over and over and over. So before you get into publishing, write for fun. Write poetry. Write short stories. Get a solid grasp on your writing voice. Learn what you like to write, and who you like to write for.
Once you have a solid idea of those elements, then you can dive into the serious question: when, and what, should I publish?
The answer is going to vary. In some cases, you might realize that your first novel, with some revisions, would be your perfect debut into the author world. Maybe you want to write an entirely new one based on your tastes and audience.
You can create a list (I did), but hold that list loosely. These are guidelines, not rules. If you know who you’re writing for, and have a book that matches that audience, then that’s enough.
This probably seems really broad and ambiguous, because it is. The right book for me to publish as my debut isn’t going to be the same for you. But I strongly encourage you not to just publish for the sake of publishing. Even if you only want to publish one book, know who it’s for and why you’re doing it.
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But… When Should I Publish?
For most authors, the question probably isn’t necessarily “what” you should publish, but “when”. This is, again, another ambiguous point. But thankfully, there are a few more guidelines for this.
For starters, after you know why you’re writing and who you’re writing for, you hone your craft. With so many mediocre books being shoved out by AI, skill is an important factor in publishing. Know how to write your genre and write it well. You can’t just publish copycats– you have to hone your writing voice to be uniquely you.
But, let’s say you’ve had a few years of craft building under your belt and you know your audience. What next?
That’s where the dreaded word platform comes in. A lot of writers shy away from building platforms, and I could go into a whole talk about building one and setting yourself up for success, but I’ll keep it simple here. The biggest thing I’ve learned in building my platform is this: it’s not so much about the numbers, as it is the connections between you and your readers, and you and other authors.
You can have a small platform and still do well. It depends on the route you’re going, and what you want, but you don’t need a huge Instagram platform. I am currently building my entire platform without any social media besides Substack Notes. The majority of my platform is based on this website and my email list. It is more of a long game, since I have limited exposure than I might possibly have on Instagram, but I believe it allows me to build deeper connections with my readers since I’m not splitting my attention between too many circles.
Besides, while you build your platform, you can still hone your craft. Knowing what to build your platform on comes back to what I mentioned earlier– knowing your audience. If you know your audience, it will be easier for you to create content that will serve them well. And, you get practice in marketing, which is another important skill you should learn whether you independently or traditionally publish.
After these pieces are in place, it’s ultimately up to you. I always thought that I would wait until I had 1k subscribers– right now, I just hit 400. But God is calling me to take that leap. So ultimately pray about it and keep being faithful in the little things as you build your craft and platform.
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Why You Should NOT Publish Right Now
While the “dos” of knowing when to publish are ambigous, the “don’ts” are a little more clear. Here are some things I’ve learned as pretty good reasons why you shouldn’t publish right now.
- This is the first draft of your first project EVER.
Woah, slow down. I know you’re excited to publish, but don’t go looking for agents or anything yet. In fact, don’t even THINK about publishing until you’ve finished that draft. It’s great to have dreams and ambitions, but when you’re just starting out, you’ve still got a lot of room to grow in your voice and skill. Write that book for fun, and for you! Not for someone else.
- You have NO platform.
50 loyal people on a dinky email list who will all buy and review your book is better than no platform at all. Do not skip this.
- You’re still deciding what you like to write.
Again it’s totally okay if you don’t have a fully set ideal on exactly the genres you want to write– but you should at least have an idea. It will be a lot easier for you in the long run, trust me.
- You’ve only finished one project
Finish at least two. It can be a novella. But only ever working on ONE novel is not going to help you grow as a writer.
- You just like writing for fun.
This is a very valid option. Publishing is stressful and it is totally okay if you just want to scribble stories for your own enjoyment.
- You’re still pretty young
Again, publishing is a strenuous process. Do you really want to be dealing with that, and high school? Can you balance marketing, writing, and publishing a book with your schoolwork? I generally wouldn’t recommend publishing to most teens– even homeschool teens– because you have to be able to devote your time and energy into getting that book off the ground.
- You know nothing about the publishing process
If you learn about the publishing process, business skills, and marketing BEFORE you jump in, you’re setting yourself up for much greater success than half the authors in the game. I started following podcasts and reading books on it years before I seriously debated publishing. You have to at least know something— because sooner or later, you will need those sklills.
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Ultimately, it’s something every writer has to decide for themselves. I can’t stop you from publishing your book if you really want to, nor should I. But I also tend to see a lot more authors who publish “too soon” rather than “too late”. There’s never really a “too late” for publishing (unless you die), despite what our brains and writer culture often say. So take a deep breath and relax. If you’re a baby writer, hold onto those dreams– but also enjoy the journey. If you’re a moderate to advanced writer, I hope this article was a helpful first step in figuring out how soon publishing is in your future.
I’ll keep you updated as I go! Next up will probably be another article on editing– we’ll see.
Thanks for joining me on this journey <3