Be an Amazing Author

By  KELLIE COATES GILBERT

As authors, we all want to be amazing. We all want to be successful, happy, and regarded as important figures in our fields—those known as A-listers. I am sure that you’ve heard all the keys to success before planning, hard work, perseverance, etc.  Today we’re going to look at the one factor that will likely make or break your success: the people you surround yourself with.

Let’s face it, we all have high hopes for a book release. We envision soaring sales and amassing mountains of accolades.  Many authors soon learn achieving these goals is far more difficult than imagined. This begs the question . . . how do you make that happen?

I don’t have all the answers, but I was fortunate early in my career to have the counsel of a wise author who has built an amazing career. She told me this:  don’t do this thing alone. Find like-minded authors with similar audiences to your own and link arms.

Fortunately, I listened. Taking her advice has not only helped me build a successful career as an author but has provided me with an avenue to keep from feeling the isolation many authors suffer.

I am part of a group of amazing authors who host one of the most fun book gatherings on social media. The BLUE SKY BOOK CHAT was started by Bette Lee Crosby and includes fabulous authors, Marilyn Simon Rothstein, Patricia Sands, Grace Greene, Judith Keim, Heather Burch, Barbara Davis, Maddie Dawson, Kerry Anne King, Peggy Lampman, Alison Ragsdale, and myself.  We are an official Facebook group and now have several thousand readers joining us daily for book chats, contests, story recommendations and a party that never ends!

We’ve become a family of authors and readers who celebrate good books and reading. When one of the hosting authors has a book release, it’s a big deal and we all link arms and spread the word. Blue Sky Book Chat is a place where we can read stories with our readers, talk about characters, the plot lines that left us breathless, and share the books we love. We no longer read alone!

Author friends . . . as mentioned earlier, THIS is the key to book success. Assemble a group of authors who write like you do, authors who have a similar audience (Blue Sky authors all write heartwarming, emotional stories) and throw a party!

In the meantime, I invite you to join our party!  The month of June is packed with fabulous activities and fun!  You won’t want to miss it!  Here’s the link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlueSkyBookChat

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Kellie Coates Gilbert has won readers’ hearts with her compelling and highly emotional stories about women and the relationships that define their lives. A former legal investigator, she is especially known for keeping readers turning pages and creating nuanced characters who seem real. In addition to garnering hundreds of five-star reviews, Kellie has been described by RT Book Reviews as a “deft, crisp storyteller.” Her books were featured as Barnes & Noble Top Shelf Picks and were included on Library Journal’s Best Book List of 2014. Born and raised near Sun Valley, Idaho, Kellie now lives with her husband of over thirty-five years in Dallas, where she spends most days by her pool drinking sweet tea and writing the stories of her heart. My website is:  www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com