First Word

  So, you’re ready to publish your book, but you’re not ready to promote it. You may not know what it takes. If you don’t want to promote yourself, you can hire an expert like myself (email me at info@3LPublishing.com ). If you don’t have a promotional budget, here are some things you can do on your own.   No. #1 – Join all applicable social media platforms well in advance of your book’s official release . You can set up your Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook or TikTok accounts long before your book releases. You can begin advanced promotion to attract readers who are ready to buy your book. You also want to ensure you’ve built your following ahead of time, too. Without a strong following, you won’t get the necessary exposure.   No. #2 – Create a blog and start using it . Blogger is free. Write related articles and content for your book’s promotion. It doesn’t have to be specifically about your book, and it probably shouldn’t be. You can highlight m...

  What are common mistakes writers make?   Mistake #1 – Self-doubt : Oh, this one can actually kill careers. Self-doubting writers lack confidence in their work. Projects get scuttled even before they can be finished. The anxiety and fear that their work will fail before it even sees the light of day holds many writers back from finishing what they start.   Mistake #2 – Not studying writing itself . Key mistakes get made out of sheer lack of education. An overall story can be really fantastic but so poorly executed that it’s unreadable. Mistakes like overwriting scenes and focusing on minutia versus pushing a story forward (and it’s all equal when it comes to fiction or nonfiction) can bog down your manuscript. You can hire a copy editor to clean up those minor mistakes, but the writing itself needs to be solid.   Mistake #3 – Writers who lack grammar skills and make their work almost impossible to read . Editing is a profession in and of itse...