When I completed my first thriller, “Tell Me My Name”, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. All the toil and sleepless nights, the hours of solitary confinement and obsessive overthinking about plot twists and dialogue, were finally behind me. Now I could sit back and let the “masterpiece” I had created capture the attention of the publishing world. Boy was I wrong.
Here are five things I wish I knew before launching my debut book:
- Writing it is only half the battle.
Though there is no greater joy than typing the words “the end” after months, if not years, of painstaking effort, it by no means signifies the end of the hard work. In fact, for me it was just the beginning. After multiple rewrites and query letters eventually led to an agent, then came the task of finding a publisher, building a website, soliciting testimonials, managing social media accounts (poorly), and planning “out-of-box” ways to launch and promote a book amid a pandemic, all while my kids were at home demanding snacks.
- Bookstores are no places for soon-to-be published authors.
Stepping into a bookstore before your book comes out is as soul crushing as it gets. It’s when the anxiety of having to sell your book first hits you, as you stare out over the sea of gleaming book covers, each branded with words like “Gripping!” “Propulsive!” “Unputdownable!” My advice for any debut author is to stay out of bookstores until yours is stacked among them. Although walking in proudly as a first-time author only to find one, lone copy tucked on a dusty back shelf can be just as demoralizing.
- Proving your genius to non-friends and family isn’t easy.
Whether it’s hearing crickets from prospective agents or hearing crickets from prospective publishers, you’d better get used to the sound of silence—that is, until those Advance Reading Copies go out. At that point you might find yourself longing for crickets. Opinions will run the gamut. Bad reviews will trickle in—and the worst part is, they’ll stay on the internet forever. As an author, you have no choice but to suck it up or refrain from going online ever again.
- What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
When it comes to publishing first novels, this adage couldn’t apply more. Why? See points one, two, and three.
- The people you meet make it all worthwhile.
When I started this book journey in 2016, I had no idea that a glorious community awaited me—one filled with authors and hobbyists, bloggers and bibliophiles. Strangers who would have my back and share my enthusiasm for the thriller genre. Some would even go on to post creative images of my cover on Instagram without me having to pay them. If there is anything I will take away from this experience, it’s that. The people you meet make it all worthwhile.
Erin Ruddy is a Toronto-based journalist and debut author. Her thriller, “Tell Me My Name”, was a Booklist starred review. It is available wherever books are sold.
About TELL ME MY NAME
Ellie and Neil’s romantic weekend at their new cottage takes a dark turn when they’re captured by a man claiming to be Ellie’s soulmate. Giving her just three chances to remember his name, Ellie is thrust on a trip down memory lane to sift through all the dubious men of her past. Each wrong guess results in grisly consequences for Neil . . . but is there more to their captor’s obsession than Ellie knows?
Visit www.erinhruddy.com for more info.
