I meant to post last month but was busy with my edits so didn’t have time. October saw me reach my ten-year anniversary as a published author. It was also kind of eleven years as I had independently published the year before, but in 2013 the book was picked up by Harper Impulse, now One More Chapter.
That book was “United States of Love” and was a contemporary romance. I went on to publish nine more books with Harper Collins, each one moving more into the romantic suspense and psychological thriller arena. Two of those books hit the Number 1 spot in the UK Kindle Chart.
I then had a switch of genre and a new pen name with “The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger” and have published five books in total in historical fiction, with “All That We Have Lost” winning the RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award. I’ve also independently published two books in a cosy crime series and published several romances under a pen name.
Of course, all these things are just the high points of my career to date. There have been many low points, some of which have involved tears and, if I’m honest, one period of time nearly broke me. I seriously considered walking away from writing and it was my independently published books that saved me and kept me sane. They still do. I get a great deal of joy and satisfaction from the Applewick Village Mystery series and absolutely love writing them.
So, what have I learnt from all this? Far more than a quick blog post could do justice, but here are my top ten – one for every published year.
- It’s a tough gig and can be very demanding on your physical and mental health.
- It’s a small world and you cross paths with agents and editors the whole time as their careers take them from one publisher or agency to another.
- The demands and expectations on authors are constantly changing and these can be overwhelming, unrealistic and at times unreasonable – especially when an author is asked to do something for the exposure which is essentially asking them to do it for free.
- There are no dead certs. Books can succeed and bomb on a number of things. Marketing spend can play a big part in this. You can write the most amazing book ever but if the marketing budget isn’t there, then it will be hard for it to be seen.
- Books can become number 1 best sellers because it’s a great book, it’s got a fantastic cover, a catchy blurb and the Universe has decided for some undeterminable reason, that it will succeed.
- Not everything that glitters is gold. I’ve had contracts which on paper sound amazing, but when converted into pounds, shillings and pence, aren’t quite so shiny.
- A debut author can fly from the word go. An established author with a big backlist can suddenly fly with a ‘break out’ book.
- It’s OK to value yourself and your time and by that, I mean it’s OK to say no.
- Everyone’s idea of success should be personal to them. Don’t look sideways. Be ambitious but don’t compare.
- It’s still, in my opinion, the best job in the world and I wouldn’t want to be doing any other thing.
- This is a bonus reason for my first year as indie published – readers make it possible for me to live my dream of being a full-time author. It’s so lovely to hear from readers when they’ve enjoyed a book or the story has struck a chord with them. I have the best readers!
Although writing is a solitary job, I didn’t get here on my own, there is a whole raft of people who helped which include – my family, my friends, my agents, my editors, my publishers, book bloggers, the writing community and my readers. I’ve made some wonderful friends along the way and some really are on my best friends list.
So, what of the next 10 years? I hope I’m still here writing, that I’ve added some more notable achievements to my CV and readers are still enjoying my books.
Suzanne Fortin | Sue Fortin 