Poor, little, naive me. I thought I could just sit down, put my ideas to paper, and the world would come (in droves) to read it. Ha! There are so many, MANY steps that happen after the ideas are already written, and rewritten, and re-rewritten (you get the idea).
Anyway, long story short, I have a boat load of new respect for all the published authors out there! It takes so much more than a good story idea. After you've written at least 70,000 words, the to-do list begins (and it's huge!) To name a few big ticket items: there's enlisting beta readers, editing, cover design, building a mailing list, SEO (i.e. keywords), web design, newsletters, marketing, promotions, targeted ads, writing the perfect blurb (not too long, not too short--you know, one that goldilocks would love), distributing advanced copies for potential reviewers, coordinating all that to finish in time for a launch date, then hoping (and praying) that everything comes together and that the reviews are kind.
Whew. Let's just say, for a newbie like me, it's a lot.
Welcome, new friends. So glad you're here. Thanks for joining me on this journey :)
Xoxo,
Lissa
