A self-published author shared some valuable tips and advice with a group of aspiring authors and writers during an authors’ morning at the Durbanville library.
A small group gathered on Thursday September 8 ready to soak up all the knowledge that author Cindi Page, had for them.
Page self-published her first book, A Piece of My Heart, in April and says it’s been a rollercoaster ever since.
While her book took her over three years to complete, she told the group that writing it had only been one of the many steps she’d needed to take to get it published.
“You need to approach this like a business and think of your book as a product. I know it might be hard to separate yourself from something that is so personal to you, but that is the first step in being able to market your book and make a success of it.”
She explained that writing is only a 10th of what goes into a book and said guests needed to consider things such as the book cover, the spine, the back, layout of the book, editing and, most importantly, marketing.
“I decided to go the independent route as I heard of many bad experiences that authors have gone through and wanted to be able to control the final product. I just said to myself, if I fail, then I’ll do it at my own expense, and if I succeed, then it was all me.”
She initially went through Amazon.com and committed to a three-month contract with them.
“During that period, I could not sell my book digitally. But when you are starting out and you are an unknown author, you need an audience and some hype around your book. Amazon provided that platform for me, and I later received access to Kindle Unlimited, which opened so many doors.”
Discussing how she went about getting her book published, she advised guests to firstly devise a marketing plan, set up an email database, finish the book, start networking and lastly get your book on the library shelves.
“Just because your manuscript may have been rejected by some publishers, does not make it a bad manuscript. I always think of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter book which was turned down several times,” she said.
A Piece of My Heart tells a story of Victoria, a 24-year-old teacher from South Africa who meets a Turkish businessman, Alkan, who is 13 years her senior.
From the outside, these two should have nothing in common, but from the moment they lay eyes on each other, they both know that they have found their other.
She is currently working on her second book, a follow up to A Piece of My Heart and says the third one is already planned out.