After years of putting in the hard yards, novelist and journalist Maria Lewis had her debut novel ‘Who’s Afraid’ published earlier this year, to rave reviews and great success. As she kicks on to her second (and third!) books, Maria reflects on all the ups and downs of the publishing process in order to give you a a clearer image of the journey ahead for all you future authors.
Check out Maria’s best and worst moments from the publishing process below, as part of our series with AustralianSuper, helping you kick start your creative career!
Panic! At the disco
Except the disco is your real life and panic will be all the time. After years of pushing, pulling and publishing, your debut novel is about to hit shelves finally – finally – yet all you can do is think about how much you want to throw up.
This, apparently, is a completely normal thing. It comes with the territory of creating something and putting it out there for people to consume. Sweaty palms and anxiety are the ever-present accompaniment of a debut novelist. The best part though? Soon that feeling will have subsided and the book will just be out.
Walk the walk
Not physically, of course. Unless you have a specific strut already in which case – good for you! Sashay away! What is meant by ‘walk the walk’ is you are going to have to do a lot of interviews: your publisher will set them up, your agent might do it, heck, even social media is a great tool for igniting press attention.
However it gets done, there will be a lot of questions coming your way and usually about five or six of them will be the same, repeated over and over again with different wording or a new inflection. It’s important to have something to say, not just ‘yes’ ‘no’ or ‘nar-der’ because – Zeus willing – if people like your book they are going to want to know more about you.
Heck, even if they hate it they are going to want to know more. Interviews are your opportunity to give them that and provide insight into the story you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Yes, the media circuit can sometimes be tiring but it’s also a gift and a way to communicate directly with the people you care about the most: the readers.
There will be opinions: many opinions
Art is subjective, therefore every 10 million people that adore Star Wars there’s another 10,000 that loathe it. That’s just the way it goes. It will be the same with your book: some people will love it, some will inevitably hate it. It’s all about how you manage it.
Author Cecilia Tan wrote an excellent piece about what she learned from reading bad reviews and there’s definitely merit to her argument, because reading only positive reviews can be just as an unhealthy experience. For me, personally, I put a blanket ban on reading any reviews – positive or negative – as the nerves didn’t have a great effect on my mental health.
Unless my publishers sent me something with the explicit instructions ‘bloody read this will you’ then I didn’t touch it.
For me, that worked. I stuck to engaging and interacting with readers directly at book events or social media. The trick is learning what works and what’s sustainable for you.
What’s next though?
Whether you’ve written a series or a standalone book, everyone will want to know “what’s next?” And you better have an answer for them. It might be the case that you have five books shoved up your sleeve that you’re ready to whip out at a moment’s notice or – simply – you’re looking forward to regrouping over a well-earned break.
But reporters and readers will both be asking that pesky “what’s next?” question so expect it.
Maria Lewis is a Sydney based journalist, producer and author. Find out more about her and her debut novel Who’s Afraid on her website.
If you’re just starting out in your career, a few right moves early on can help set you up for life. For more stories in our AustralianSuper KickStart series head here, or go to AustralianSuper.
This article has been sponsored by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd ABN 94 006 457 987, AFSL 233788. The views and opinions expressed in any article accessed through Crave are those of the author or Crave and not the responsibility of AustralianSuper. For more information, please visit australiansuper.com
