The Continuing Development of 100 First Drafts

 

Here in Melbourne it's the beginning of Autumn (not that you could tell from the heatwave). This time of year is all about change. And 100 First Drafts is no exception. 

 

The last few weeks have taught me something very interesting.

I am a very good writer, but very inexperienced publisher/promoter.
 

I just have so much to learn about self-publishing well. Publishing The Five Day Writer's Retreat was an interesting experience, but a very steep learning curve! So, before I get onto the next one, I want to try and understand a bit more.
 

Further, my work has breathed a sigh of relief, 'she has published her book, so now she will be happy to come back and work full time.' Our previous wonderful agreement that allowed me to do 2.5 hours of writing in the morning has been reneged. They have left me with little choice but to go back to full time work. 

It is nice to be loved, but seriously people?

So, what to do when there is more to learn and less time to do it in? 

Well, continuing to write without being able to properly publish the works seems a little unproductive. Instead, if I spend the next while developing my online platform and learning how to promote and publish, then when I settle back into my lifestyle of prolific writing I will be able to actually do something with it, which will be exciting.

So, for the next little while I’m going to put writing more on the back burner (but as I told everyone in The Five Day Writer’s Retreat, it is still important to keep practicing writing almost everyday, but blogging counts) and make learning about the business of writing my focus.
 

What does this mean for 100 First Drafts? I am becoming more writer focused! I will be doing less of my own writing, but more to help me and you succeed once we've written.  

I'm going to be passing on all the wisdom that I work out through trial and error about the actual business of being a writer online. 

You can expect to hear more about:

building an online platform

 

marketing and promotions
 

developing networks with other writers
 

and building an efficient business.

I want to get to the stage that I can say ‘this book is going to be ready to be published in 2 months’, and there will be strategies set up to see that when it comes out, it has more exposure than if I had traditionally published it. And I want to pass all that information on to you, so you can do it too.
 

The first step is to continue with my Killer Online Platform series. I am currently working on the post about Personal Branding, which is a lot hard than you would think! But hopefully I will have it ready for you in a day or two. Until then, keep up the writing!

Another change you will notice soon is that 100 First Drafts will be moving onto its own domain! Hopefully you will be automatically redirected, but just keep an eye out for www.100firstdrafts.com 

Also, all writers who want to add in their tips are most welcome!

Yours,
 

Buffy.