Three The Hard Way: (Part 2) Three More tips for aspiring authors

Last week, I wrote a blog  for aspiring authors wishing to get a book published.

If I'm fortunate enough to have another book published - and I am starting work on some new books - there are also some things I would do differently. 

Here's a list of three things I learned from experience. Looking back, these are the things I would fix with the next opportunity. 

1. Invest your advance. When you sign a book contract, you typically get an advance. As I said in the first of these two blogs, being an author is being a part-time writer and part-time business owner. Businesses have start-up costs. My advice would be to take your advance and put it all in to the business side of being an author, such as buying copies of your own book.

2. Be prepared for the release date. I once read that the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity. There are months between the submission of your final edit and the release date. This time could be spent setting up book signings and other promotional things, which often take weeks to set up and publicize. If you time it right, which I didn't, you can have your book-signing set up right at the release of your book.

3. When the book releases, your job is just starting. Author and blogger Jon Acuff, perhaps the funniest guy on Twitter, used his blog to address friends who wrote books but felt awkward about promoting the books. 

Here was Acuff's response. 

"OK, Next time don't write a book. Write a diary. It's a lot easier and you don't have to promote it all." (1) 

 Writing a book is the first half. The second half is then convincing people that reading your book is worth their time. By this, I don't mean arrogant self-promotion. It just means standing by your work. Your book is a product just as Gatorade is a product. Gatorade has to convince athletes that sports drinks provide them with an advantage. And we, very humbly, must promote our product as well. This takes time, energy, finances and resources. 

You can hear a full-length interview I did about the book, You're Grounded, on the What in The Ham Sandwich Show podcast here.

I write these blogs as conversation starters. What questions would you like answered about writing a book? If you are an author, what advice would you give? 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ follower, a husband to Emily (read her moving testimony about forgiveness here)  and father to five crazy but wonderful kids. He leads Young Life in his former high school, Robert E. Lee in Staunton, VA. Chris has written for VIBE, Young Life Relationships, Rapzilla.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. Moody Publishers recently put out his first book, You're Grounded, which you can purchase here. The Cross Promotion blog gets updated twice a week. Please consider subscribing. 

1. John Acuff, Don't Write a Book, http://acuff.me/2013/10/dont-write-a-book/