Goodness. How inspiring. It took him three years, two of those studying full time, struggling financially as he had a family to support – but taking the long-term view. There’s the theory paper, and then sessions in front of a stern panel, answering questions. People may have to resit several times. I read somewhere years ago, that it takes 10,000 hours of study/practise to become a professional in any field, whether that be a concert pianist, an Olympian, an author – or indeed, a London taxi driver. Once I added up all the time I’d spent writing before getting my first novel deal, and the figures matched this theory.

All of this got me thinking that, really, there are three areas, in my opinion, that writers need to become knowledgeable about, as they make their way along the road to publication. The writing itself, social media and how the publishing world works. And, just like that driver, authors need to take the long-term view – success won’t come overnight.

Writing – I’ll never forget the first novel I wrote, back in 2005. At 94,000 words I’d only written four chapters! I had no idea about structure, point of view or show not tell. It came straight from the heart and was typed withe raw passion. It also contained a lot of autobiographical content which I needed to get out. The next book was rather different as I joined a writer’s forum and started to learn more about my craft. Also, I voraciously read how-to books (see below!) and over the years, had editorial reports done on my work so that professionals could point out where I, personally, was going wrong. I’m not one for rules but feel they  need to be learnt to be broken properly – see my blog post here.

Over eight years, whilst I tried to get a deal, I never stopped learning and pushing myself, hard as it was in the face of rejection. This is the crucial part of an author’s “Knowledge” because no amount of contacts or followers on Twitter will get you an agent or publisher, if the writing lets you down. And the journey doesn’t stop, when you are published. Lately my editor has helped me take my writing in a different direction with my latest book The New Beginnings Coffee Club. I’ve covered controversial themes and really delved into my emotions and whilst it has been hugely challenging, I’m thrilled with the results.

Social Media – Eventually I joined Facebook, started blogging and later, found my way onto Twitter and Instagram. Nowadays, I probably spend half of my authorly working time on social media, promoting my books and networking with readers and bloggers. It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice, even though lately my writing time is limited due to a vocational course I am running it alongside and other new personal commitments. I see it as an essential and enjoy it – probably a little too much! Like it or not, a good social platform is seen as an essential now, by many agents and publishers. Don’t wait for that deal – set yourself up now.

Communicate with the writing community. Get involved. And don’t forget, when creating your brand, to make it three-dimensional. This means to share something about your life that shows the whole you. No one is interested in a flat social media profile that just says “buy my work”. It should reflect an interesting,vibrant, rounded personality. One thing I share a lot about my love of baking. Your interests don’t have to be ground-breaking – and perhaps the more relatable, the better.

Publishing – Over those eight years, I learnt more and more about the publishing business. How best to phrase a submission letter. How to write the most concise but fully informative synopsis possible. I researched agents and publishers by always consulting the latest edition of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook.  And, as rejections came in, I took what I could from those letters, when given a snippet of personal feedback. I discovered that every agent is different – blanket submissions are no good. You need to research their own personal list of authors and follow their own submission guidelines to the letter. And since I’ve got published, my knowledge is ever-expanding. I’ve had to get my head around pricing strategies, Amazon metadata and promotional tools. The list goes on.

Last week I asked the taxi driver if The Knowledge exam was any easier because of SatNav. Did the examining board expect less? His answer was a vigorous “no!”.  It’s the same for us authors. There are no shortcuts. You need to get to grips with – and constantly evolve alongside – the way our industry works. It’s hard. Like anyone else I can be fearful of new challenges. Just the idea of trying Facebook Live isn’t good for my nerves!

In my opinion, if you want to become a professional and get paid for you work, you really need to focus on this writing malarkey as a job. You need to educate yourself in your craft, social media and how your environment works. Don’t see those years of rejection as wasted, because they are a vital part of your training ground. Good luck!

Before we start, this is how the dictionary defines a sin:
“An act regarded as a serious or regrettable fault, offence, or omission.”

One… the biggest ego in the world – which can so quickly swing to being the smallest. Whilst starting a first draft, I have what I call “X Factor Moments”. That is, flashes of thinking the book I am writing is so brilliant that any film director would be mad not to turn it into a movie. Then, usually, a third of the way through a manuscript, the total opposite happens and I suffer a massive crisis of confidence. It’s an exhausting rollercoaster and a regrettable fault, indeed, because it can shred a writer’s nerves.

Two… using writing as an excuse to justify overindulging in substances. Coffee, wine, chocolate, cake – be it a bad review or fantastic book launch, we’ll tell ourselves our poison of choice is the only way to commiserate or celebrate. This inevitably leads to writer’s bottom and is a huge offence against our health. Last year I took myself in hand and got cycling. I still enjoy my coffee and cake but try to aim for moderation.

Three… Comparison. With other authors – which, inevitably, leads to jealousy. I blogged about this here and can heartily recommend this post if you ever suffer  pangs of wishing you were J K Rowling. Remember, your own success could be just around the corner. Comparing yourself is fruitless as there is a lot more to an author’s career than just the quality of their work. Luck plays a part and it is pointless wasting energy fretting over something that you can never consciously acquire. Instead focus on learning, improving and becoming the best version of yourself.

Four… Use their job as a threat. I do this quite a lot. “Be nice (read that as ‘do a good job’), or I’ll write you, as a villain, into my next book.” I say it with a sweet smile and little tinkling laugh, but believe me, I mean every word. This phrase has come in handy with all sorts of people, including an optician, tiler and a gynaecologist!

Five… Selfies. I now take these regularly to promote my work. And yes, I admit the sin of vanity – I do sometimes use Instagram filters. Like the one below. It’s a coaster about coffee because my upcoming May release, The New Beginnings Coffee Club, features this marvellous drink a lot. Last week I visited my editor and we were talking about photographers who ask clients which is their “best” side. Most of us wouldn’t know but *shamed face* I do now. Although I can never remember which it is!

Six... An obsession with social media. Hands up. At all hours I feel compelled to check my notifications on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I tell my family – and worse, myself – that this is purely for work. That funny gif of Brad Pitt? *Ahem*, um yes, it might inspire a character. And don’t get me started about checking the Amazon ranking of a newly released novel!

Seven… The blame game when things go wrong. The fact is, the publishing industry – the charts, readers, reviews – it’s all such a random, fickle, unpredictable business. Yes, sometimes causes can be pin-pointed, but prolonged negative thinking, resentments, bitterness – they are highly destructive and ultimately futile. If it’s impossible to focus on the positives – or they just aren’t there – then alter your situation, even if that means changing agent or publisher. I find meditation and mindfulness help. Plus a recent interest in Buddhism. Rubbish happens and will probably happen again. Usually it isn’t personal. For your own sake, try to move forwards.

Firstly, I always allocate whatever spare time I have to promoting my book on social media. Sounds obvious? Yes, but some authors are very shy of doing this. However it is important, in my opinion, to connect with bloggers and readers, and COMMUNICATE. By this I don’t mean just try to sell, sell, sell. Instead, tweet or post on Facebook in a way that might excite  potential buyers. Share new reviews and snippets of the plot. Talk about the characters. Post about themes related to your story – I have tweeted a lot about Cornwall, Poldark and delicious Cornish food. Try to keep your various online feeds varied. And MOST IMPORTANTLY  interact with the people who show an interest. Like their comments. Retweet. Show gratitude. It is only good manners, actually great fun and very few authors these days have their own PR person – you are your own trumpeteer and your book deserves to be seen and heard. Just be polite and don’t shout too loudly

Secondly, don’t raise your expectations too high and get obsessed with rankings. Most of my books have usually taken around four weeks to peak in the Kindle chart, and during that time the ranking can fluctuate up and down. If it slips a bit on the second day of release, don’t flounce out of your office declaring the whole show is going to be a disaster (you can tell I’ve done that, right? ) And, hand in hand with this… appreciate the supposedly smaller things. For example, one of my reader friends (you know who you are) told me that she’d waited up until midnight the evening before launch day, so that she could download Breakfast under a Cornish Sun as soon as it was available, and start reading it. That meant an awful lot.

Thirdly, pat yourself on the back and celebrate! You’ve done it! Regardless of sales and rankings, you’ve brought a bookbaby into the world and been through the gruelling writing, rewriting and copy-editing process. It’s a mammoth task, producing a novel. It requires real stamina, guts and passion. My new summer book features a quirky cocktail bar called Donuts & Daiquiris, so there was really only one way I could celebrate – cue this delicious Spiced Mojito!

Fourthy… Don’t let launch week overwhelm you. Whilst I enjoyed  my cocktail evening out last week, I had intermittent stomach pain from sitting down working for too long. And the day before backache. Plus lately I’ve developed what I call Twitter Seasickness – a real sense of nausea from being on there too long, replying to tweets and scrolling up and down my notifications to find competition winners and… you get the picture. In other words, realise you have a life away from your writing and desk. Whilst launch week is super-important, in the bigger picture it isn’t the be all and end all. It takes a few weeks, sometimes a few months  for a book to be found by all its readers and some of you may even delay your blog tour, for example, until the hullabaloo of the actual launch has settled down. So remember to take stock and breathe

Finally… Get stuck into another project. The more novels you get out there, the more readers you’ll pick up. Plus, thanks to a widening back catalogue,  the bigger those royalty cheques will look. Still allocate a good part of your available time to spreading word about your launch baby… but one of my diehard mottos is:  you are only as good as your next book...