You Gotta Be Persistent
This would have to be one of the hardest things for me to do! When I began my life as a writer and finally worked up the courage to publish my first work of fiction, honestly... I had no idea what to expect. Would I be famous over night? Would millions of people buy my book? Would I fail and realise that no one likes my writing? Well let me tell you this, I was not an over night success and what I learnt from it is that creating anything is only the tip of the iceberg. What comes next is promoting the book, building a brand, a following, putting out more products and getting people to recognise you!
I started doubting myself. I was making next to no money and spending up to 80 hours a week slogging it out, trying new ideas, still writing, interacting with people, making a social media presence. My goodness the list is endless. At one point I literally threw my hands in the air and screamed "I can't do this. It shouldn't be this hard!"
While I was out having coffee a few years back with a friend of mine, I confided in her that I just truly felt like a failure and was seriously considering giving up writing. It's not that I wasn't getting good reviews, it was just all the work involved getting it noticed. I wanted sympathy I guess or at least a confirmation that maybe it was too much and I should just say goodbye to something I loved but unable to handle. I got neither, what I did get was a slap on the wrist and a stern talking too.
" I honestly thought that if anyone was going to be persistent in this journey, it would be you Sarah. You think that after two years of trying, things were just going to magically fall in your favour. You will not quit what you are doing and in a few years time you'll look back and appreciate the road you have travelled. You will know what works and what doesn't. I promise things will get easier the more you learn" that's what she said to me! I'm not going to say I was over the moon about that lecture. I was angry. She had no idea how I felt. But after that day, I replayed what she had said to me and she was right. If I wanted this to work, I had to keep going. I'm so thankful that I listened and took it in.
The more I wrote, the more people began to take notice. Emails began to come from people who loved reading my books. More sign ups for new release alerts, reviews. I began to know what marketing worked and what didn't. I still try new things but I have a pretty good understanding of what pays off and what to leave behind.
When I decided to branch out and take a massive leap by starting IndieLove Magazine, I had to start all over again. Everything about marketing and promoting a magazine publication was different from fiction. Not only that I wasn't writing for myself anymore. I was now writing and trying to promote other peoples journeys, music, books, art, photography. But like my books I wanted it to grow organically, I wanted people to want to read it and support the creators within the pages. It started slow but word of mouth is a powerful thing and everyone knows at least one talented person they recommended the publication to.
So her is my advice for anyone who is struggling in their endeavours right now, no matter what the field.
1. Be persistent in marketing yourself- I contacted bloggers, wrote articles, did giveaways and offered to promote others work. I'm going to tell you all something. I have had submissions from people who have emailed me their business or books or music etc a dozen times. Guess what? I pay attention. They don't annoy me, they make me sit up and smile. Why? Because they are working it! I start to know their names and sooner or later they are on my editorial list for the magazine or blog, because they never gave up. Don't think that just because you didn't get a reply the first time you have been rejected for good! Keep persisting.
2. Persist in building your brand- I know it's hard trying to do and be everything. Most of us have families or jobs aside from creating in the beginning. You need to keep creating though. One size doesn't fit all and you need to have more than one option for potential clients. It's like a band, I may like one or two of their songs and download them, but what if they released only one song and it happened I couldn't stand it. I would never buy again right?
3.Persist because you love it- This is so important. If this is truly your calling and this is what you want to do for the rest of your life, you have to keep going. Even if I hadn't of continued publishing does that mean I would have quit writing? Heck no! It was apart of me and there isn't a day I don't come up with book ideas or think about the scenes or characters I am writing. I figured if I was writing them i may as well have them published, because who knows... It only takes a few people to spread the word and more will come.
I truly hope you enjoyed this post and if you would like to add anything or ask questions, by all means drop me a line! And don't forget to keep sharing these posts on your social media pages, reddit and linkedin. Help IndieLove to continue to grow organically. The more people that read it, the creators we get to share with the world!
Love Sarah x
