Ways To Prepare For Your Debut Year
Since I’m preparing for my debut year (my book comes out October 2022), I’ve decided to come up with a few ways for other authors out there to prepare for your debut year. Let’s dive in.
I. Make a writer/author website.
This may be one of the most important things for you to do. Having an author website is important because it’s ground zero for making yourself searchable to people that may be curious about your books/past writing.
There are lots of resources today that can help you make a website, ranging from WordPress to Squarespace to Cargo Collective. I personally use Squarespace for my personal website, which is here, and pay for my domain name through Google Domains (which has domains for as little as $7 a year)
WHEN: 3-6 months before publication
Pro Tip | Search for local or regional grants for artists and apply for them. Many artist support grants allow you to use funds to pay for your website.
II. Set up on 1 or more social media platforms.
It took me a while to dive into Twitter, but when I did sign up and took the time to get adjusted to the learning curve, I saw so many things that were useful. Twitter gave me access to tips from editors and calls for pitches, helped me find other authors to be in the community with, and as a freelance journalist, helped me find sources.
Establishing yourself on just ONE social media will be helpful to you as you dive into your debut year and want ways to update people with career/writing updates. Dip around and see which platform works best for you.
WHEN: At least 6 months before publication
Pro Tip | Note career objectives in your social media bio (ie, “seeking literary agent” or “writing debut novel”) to help you get noticed by relevant people to your goals.
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