Puzzles and Authors

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine 

One might ask an author if they like puzzles. And if you are wondering what puzzles have to do with being an author who writes novels, short stories, and creative non-fiction you may be surprised to learn that it has a great deal to do with puzzles.

Without realizing it, author’s work puzzles. How? What puzzles pieces do writers have? Simple. One piece is deciding what they are going to write; one piece who the characters will be; another piece is what the plot will be and one is where it will take place. These are all puzzle pieces that fit into the writing of the book.

The next set of puzzle piece after the story is written involve the editing, correcting errors, proofing again making sure it is ready for the eyes of an agent/publisher. This now brings us to the next set of puzzle pieces. Find an agent/publisher.

Once we have secured the agent/publisher (traditional or self-published). This takes time to find that just right agent/publisher that fits into our puzzle. Then we need to find the puzzle pieces that determine what our part is in marketing and promoting our book. Some of the pieces of that puzzle will be Social Medias, blogs, ours and others, websites and searching for different places to put our name and the title of our book to draw more attention.

When you write a book and it gets published you are hoping to generate revenue by selling the book. This means you need a lot of different venues where you can market and promote your book.

This part of the puzzles requires, events like book signings, finding book stores, libraries and other venues in many different cities. Hopefully you will set up speaking engagements that will put you in front of more people to expose your book to more readers. You will have to search for book clubs, perhaps associations and organizations that your book relates too. The list can get larger if you spend the time searching for venues. Remember it is important to make a list of all the places you can market, promote and sell your book. Don’t limit yourself just to your city.

Some venues are going to be free, others will have a fee. Remember, it is a business. There are places you can advertise your book for free but some places will charge you.

The more people to see your name and the title of your book, the better chances of them buying your book. So put your name in as many areas as you can.

Some authors feel as if they are a one man show. It can be daunting.

So make it fun, team up with another author or two and enjoy meeting new people.

Just as with any puzzle, you have to decide where each part of the puzzle goes and when it goes there.

It gets easier each time you do it. It takes work, determination, and perseverance along with focus, a good positive attitude and a belief in yourself and the book you’ve written.

When you see the puzzle finished it’s a beautiful picture. Just like when you hold that book, how great it feels and when you receive revenue from the sale of that book, you will feel it was worth all the work and effort you put in.

It does take a lot of effort to get your book out but think of how much joy others will receive from your writing.