Every Author Needs an Author Team
The writing part of the job is indeed the lonely part (dog walks help). Then on to the editing and marketing, which with the right book family can be fun. This is when your team joins in, bringing their own creativity to the table, enhancing your lump of coal and turning it into a diamond.
I have never met most of my team, they live overseas. We connect via the magical Ethernet, shunting little pieces of data backwards and forwards between us until we’re happy with the finished product. I often wait with baited breath for their emails, like a kid in a candy store, as they help bring my story to life.
To be honest I was in two minds whether to write this missive or not. On the one hand I selfishly don’t want to share my hard sourced pots of gold, because I may lose their precious time to others, but on the other hand they are SO wonderful that I have to show them off, these unsung heroes deserve to be recognised. Plus it’s always good to spread good karma, it comes back at you three-fold. So here goes.
I am proud to introduce... tah dah!!!... my book family :-)
1 Readers / Followers
Foremost are the people you write for, the reason you do this crazy job in the first place, the readers. The awesome gang of supporters who link up with you on social media, give you courage and prod you for the next instalment, eager to know what your characters will do next. In this day and age Authors are spoilt with immediate feedback from fans. I cross a few genres. My wish is to keep them entertained, to help them escape, to get them thinking a little differently on a few topics, to thrill them and make them laugh.
2 Editor
Every Author needs a skilled editor, it is very had to read your own work with a critical eye, you’re so immersed in the work that you’re unable to see it clearly. Linda Kasten is my editor and a dream to work with. Being slightly dyslexic and easily bored, spelling, punctuation and structure tends to bore me, but Linda manages to make editing exciting and fun. Her enthusiasm pumps fiery energy into my words, giving them a natural flow and her sharp attention to detail deftly cleans up all my mistakes (and there are many!). I can’t wait to work on my next book with her.
Her charges are reasonable and her work is of high quality. Her company ‘Fix It Write’ supports fiction or nonfiction formats and covers; proofreading, editing, coaching, critiquing, story development, query letters, synopsis evaluation, and any tailored requests for improving manuscripts.
Linda is based in Kansas, USA and can be contacted on; Email [email protected] Website
3 Book Cover Artist
My next gem of a find is Mike from 10dollarcovers.com. He is an incredible book cover and marketing designer. He produces premade and custom made covers. My covers have been challenging to source, they are multi genre with complex storylines. But this was no problem for Mike, indeed he thrives on the difficult.
Mike cleverly interviewed me to source the main ingredients of each book and brought the characters to life, more than I dreamed possible. The energy that jumps out at you is formidable, the colours, balance and storytelling is spot on. He sorts all product you need as an Author, and more; Ebook, paperback, audiobook covers, as well as facebook, twitter, animation and marketing images. His prices are affordable and he delivers on time, a wonderful find for indie publishers who want a professional look. See my book covers.
Mike is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and can be contacted at; Email [email protected] Website
4 Web Designer
My next gem of a find is Web Designer Simon Woolverton of Web Creative. He has the patience of a saint. I am old, they didn’t teach computer stuff when I was at school, so having Simon to unwearyingly guide me through building a work-horse of a website is a Godsend. After all, it’s my shop front, my place to connect with the world, my home for precious product. I would be lost without it.
Simon is a professional designer and programmer with ten years commercial experience in designing dynamic sites that are visually pleasing, user friendly and web standards compliant, ensuring they work well on all major web browsers and devices.
For the techies amongst you… he hand codes sites using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, MYSQL and AJAX technologies… thank God, because I don’t know what any of that stuff means! But with him around I don’t need to. I can get on with the writing stuff. Simon is based worldwide, whereever he lays his laptop is his home, everytime we speak he's in a different country.
Simon can be reached on; Email [email protected] Website
5 Beta Readers
A team of beta readers is essential; they must be reliable, objective, analytical and impartial. They read your work and tell you as it is, warts and all. They don’t stroke your ego and tell you what you want to hear. They help you find holes and fix them. I have a few readers whose views I respect and value.
6 Reviewers
When your book is finished you need to take a deep breath and test it out on professional book reviewers. This is a scary moment because they are not paid by you, they write as they see fit. If they hate it they say so, loudly across the net. But if they love it, their words help you enormously.
My latest review is from a mysterious, faceless, nameless lady at NDP Book Reviews. She sounds wonderful; a structural engineer who fly’s planes, paddle boards with her dog, and has adopted Ambrose the Killer Whale an Orca who lives in the Pacific. She loves yoga, reading books and lives a hermit life in the mountains. She also writes reviews for the Romantic Times (RT Book Reviews) under the pen name India Caedmon.
Miss Non de Plume has a wickedly good writing voice, as you can see in the link below, she should write a book herself. Am grateful to her for her fab review of ‘The Deal’. She can be reached on; Website
7 Online Author forums, Interviewers and help sites
There are many author sites and forums to link up with where fellow authors give each other courage and ‘how to’ advice. Author Interviews can also be great fun, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Michelle of Writing Fun
A few sites I like are;
8 Music, smelly candles and comfort food
When I write I like to set the scene. I light smelly candles, put on chilled music and surround myself with naughty nibbley snacks. Supper sometimes consists of a (large) tub of Ice Cream, especially when I’m stuck on a script and can’t leave the screen to prepare something.
9 Friends and family support
Last but not least my wonderful daughter and soul-lifting friends who keep me on the straight and narrow. Giving lashings of support and love throughout my journey as a writer, and a BIG thank you to my dogs, who snuggle loyally at my feet as I write... they know I do it to buy dog biscuits and pooh bags.
There you have it, my uber amazing author family.
Thank you for visiting. You are important and I’m glad you're here.
Siobhan x
P.S. If you want to join my author family, or be kept informed of my rants, book deals and releases, join up on the contact page, would love to have you on board.
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