Apr 21, 2014

Blog Tour & Guest Post: Things Young Writers Should Know by Adrienne Woods author of Firebolt


Firebolt: The Dragonian Series (Book One) by Adrienne Woods

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: GMTA  Publishing – Mythos Press

ISBN: 978-1491244654
ASIN: B00GS5SUM6
Number of pages: 289
Word Count: 95 000
About the Book:

For the love of blueberries, Elena Watkins was destined for greatness, even though she didn’t know it. Before entering Paegeia Elena was not special, she wasn’t even average until the night her father was killed by a creature she thought only existed in fairy tales – a dragon. With her father’s death leaving her orphaned, Elena is whisked away to her true birthplace, Paegeia.

Arriving at Dragonia Academy, the premier school for young Dragonians; a school she was never meant to attend because her father was a dragon. Unbeknownst to Elena danger is lurking behind the enchanted vines concealing the once thriving capital of Paegeia – Etan.

Goran, the darkest sorcerer in the realm, has lain dormant for over a century behind the crumbling city. There, in the shadowy ruins he plots his revenge to destroy the only weapon that can kill him – the King of Lion Sword.

When the sword is stolen without a trace Elena doesn’t think twice about seeking it; knowing deep down that it is her destiny to save her new home.


  by Adrienne Woods
Things Young Writers Should Know


I'm still considering myself as a young writer. I've recently published Firebolt, book 1 of The Dragonian Series a couple of months ago, but the things I've learned on this short journey will be enough to write a book about it.


Marketing:
I thought getting a publisher was going to be hard, but it wasn't the hardest thing for me. It was to get my novel in front of the market.
So before you even start writing a novel, know your market. 
I used to think that people were insane when they told me to start marketing my novel three years before its release date. I mean, how do you sell a book if it isn't available yet?
What I didn't grasp was marketing and selling were two different things.
Get a fan base for your book. 
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are all amazing sites to get people to follow your work and they do help by sharing your posts.

Virtual book tours, such as Bewitching, really works. I've become a freak when it comes to virtual tours and I've only found in my experience that they are the only tool that does help with getting your novel out there. Advertising helps also, but not in the amount you wish for, unless you have a budget that can afford Google Ads. That is the best tool in getting your novel to number one.

PR services is a must. I'm not saying to go and get a PR company on your first novel. Wait till you have a couple of novels out there and then use a PR to promote you with all your novels. 

As a writer you should market your own novel. Not even all the traditional published authors get a good marketing structure and they too have to take out the money and get their novels out there.

Use sites on the internet to help you. 
Goodreads is amazing place to start. Join genre groups you write for and have a conversation with all of them. Get them on your side because you are going to need them when your novel is published. A new website I found for YA authors is one called LitPick. They get your novel in front of young people, the ones you written this novel for. You might think that teenagers can't help getting your novel out there, you are wrong.
When they love something, they share with all their friends and family, you'll end up having mom and dad reading the novel too as they wanted to know what sort of books their children reads.

The internet is filled with websites that can help you with getting your novel out there. Just do your research and use them.
Tip: Marketing should be done on a monthly basis for at least six months if not more.

Reviews:
You need to change your mind set when it comes to handling reviews, otherwise they will get the better of you and in most cases authors question their ability to write novels. 

Don't ever question yourself. You've written a novel, most people can't even do that, so in that way you already won.


As a new author you want everyone to be smitten with your novel, they won't. You always get the kind of person you just can't please. Some of their reviews are plain nasty, but never let it get under your skin, because not everyone will love your novel.

Now I know you probably think but if I get a one or a two my novel will stop selling.

Not in the least. It was proven that even with negative reviews that your novel still sells, as long as it's a good story and the majority of your readers absolutely loved it.

Go look at the big block buster authors. Stephanie that wrote the Twilight Series got so many 1 star review, people actually took the time making cartoons to express how much they hated it. Instead they gave her a bit of marketing. Where did she ended up, with a movie deal. 
If she comment on those bad reviews, do you think that she would ended up with so many fans. 
The one thing she did have was an audience. She new her market and she attacked them with Twilight with everything she had. It led to a lot of reviews and a lot of people loving it. 
Another sample is J.K Rowling. Harry Potter was the most amazing series in this world, yet there were still people that hated every word of it. Just go on goodreads and go see how many one and two star reviews she has.

I would be so happy if I could end up with the amount of reviews she got one star for.

All of the block buster movies got their one and two stars. I would be worried if I didn't get them.


So the faster you make peace with this, the easier your live as an author will be. Believe me, I've been there and there were so many times I wanted to comment back on a one star review, it's human, but instead I started to appreciate their input. They supported your work, bought the book, and that is what you should be aiming for.


Editing:
Get yourself a professional Editor. If your novel isn't edited it will harm you in ways you never dreamed off. Editors ended up becoming good friends and are the people that can help you on the long run. I'm sure there are many typos in this post, but it shows you that even I need my editor, which I didn't use for this post. hahahahaha.


Cover designers:
A book does get judge by its cover. Don't ever think it's the opposite. You need a professional designed cover in order to make a good impression.
Aim for the next number one seller's cover. A cover that looks cheap will not grab attention and it will just lay on the shelves.
There are pretty amazing cover artist that makes them for next to nothing. Spend time in getting everything perfect.

The last thing, never give up. If you aren't a published author yet, it should become your number one motto. Rejections are more than the acceptance when it comes to the publishing industry, especially if you want to go the agent and the traditional publishing route. Stephen King had so many rejections, I think if he wasn't Stephen King, he would've given up after then tenth rejection letter. He made it and today everyone knows who he is.

I hope all the new writers out there got a bit of insight to what a published author goes through, don't be afraid, I'm loving every moment of it.

Thank you to everyone that spend the time reading this and I truly hope I would see your novel out there.

Kind Wishes,
Adrienne Woods


About the Author
I was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live with my husband, and two beautiful little girls. I always knew that I was going to be a writer but it only started to happen about four years ago, now I can’t stop writing.

In my free time, If I get any because Moms don’t really have free time, I love to spend time with friends, if it’s a girls night out, or just a movie, I’m a very chilled person.
                     
My writing career is starting with Firebolt, book one with the Dragonian Series, there will be four books in total and two to three books that is about the stories taking place inside The Dragonian Series.

I do write in different Genres, I have a woman’s fiction called the Pregnancy Diaries, but it would be published under another name. And then I have a paranormal series, called the Watercress series. There are about ten novels in that one.

So, plenty of novels to come out, so little time.

I hope you are going to embrace the Dragonian Series as much as I loved writing them.

Find the Author

Twitter: erichb3
Goodreads: Adrienne Woods
Google+: Adrienne Woods

1 comment:

  1. I agree with most all of this. A good cover and a good editor is SO important! And do marketing before the book comes out, but especially when it's first out. Then once you have more books out remember to do regular marketing to keep it out there.
    This is a great cover!

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