Writing
Frequently Asked Questions
I frequently get asked questions about writing, and generally it’s the same 5-6 questions, so I decided to make this FAQ that I can point new authors to. I don’t pretend to be any kind of guru on publishing success, but I do have some knowledge that I’ve gathered over the years. I hope you will find this helpful!
“How did you get your first work published?”
I self published my first book on Amazon in 2013. Prior to this, I had gone through the long and incredibly painful process of querying for an agent/publisher, and I was thrilled I could get my work out there without having to suck up to anyone.
“How does traditional publishing compare to self-publishing?”
My only “traditional" experience so far is with Bookouture, which is an ebook publisher, so they have a similar model to self-publishing. In that sense, it isn’t SUPER different. There are pros and cons to both. I like working with Bookouture because my editor there is awesome, and they help with things like foreign rights deals that are hard to negotiate on my own. They also do cover design, editing, proofing, blurb, and some social media stuff. However, as a control freak, I kind of like doing all that stuff on my own!
“Should I put my book in Kindle Unlimited? Also, what is Kindle Unlimited?”
Kindle Unlimited is an Amazon program where you make your ebook exclusive to Amazon, and in exchange, they put you in the KU library, where readers subscribed to the service can borrow it for free. You get paid per page read… an obscenely tiny amount that can add up to quite a lot when you get to the millions of pages. I recommend KU for new authors because it will make readers more likely to take a chance on your book since it is free to them, and also it’s a nice thing to do for readers at a time when money is tight for a lot of people. I personally have had a lot of luck with KU.
To be clear, KU exclusivity applies *only* to ebooks. Your paperback and audiobook can still be sold everywhere.
“What is the best way to write? Should I outline? Should I edit as I go?”
Um, my answer is basically you do you. Everyone has a way that works best for them. My process is that I come up with an idea including a twist in advance. I plan it out only in my head for a couple of months, then I spend a couple of weeks banging out a first draft. I don’t stop, just write. If it seems bad or I feel stuck, I just write. I keep telling myself that I’ll fix it later. Although I have that rough outline in my head, I do generally let the characters take me where they want to go, but I always know the final destination.
Over the years, my books have become much more “tight,” especially my first drafts… I know the rhythm of a plot and what works or doesn’t work, which makes it easier to bang out solid first drafts. Over the years, plotting is where I have grown the most.
“Are your characters based on people you know in real life?”
People love to ask me that… I don’t know why! My early books are definitely more strongly based on my real life experiences and real people. Like Dr. Alyssa Morgan in The Devil Wears Scrubs was 100% based on a real person. And Dr. Matt Conlon in Su!cide Med was based on my real life anatomy professor. I’ve had way too many characters based on my husband.
“Your life seems incredibly busy. You’re a doctor, a mom of two, and you put out multiple books per year! How do you find time to even sleep? Also, can you make an appearance at my book club?”
(I had to throw that last question in there. It does seem like the frequent book club appearance requests are always preceded by acknowledging how painfully busy I must be, so please show up at this random book club for an hour.)
I work part time as a doctor, so that frees me up a bit. Honestly, I feel like my job focuses me… it keeps writing as an escape rather than a drag. Whenever I consider cutting way back, I always change my mind for that reason. I try to be very efficient in the way I work, and I’m always multitasking. If I’m in a boring meeting or between seeing patients, I whip out my phone and do social media stuff. That said, there are times I do feel super overwhelmed, but the nice thing about self publishing is that you can always slow things down.
Overall, I believe being a doctor has helped me with my writing career. First of all, I’m able to write medical scenarios with a high degree of accuracy. Second, knowing that I had a stable job to pay the bills made me feel more comfortable spending money on marketing, even knowing there was a chance I might not earn it back. (I almost always did though.)
“What do you do for marketing?”
Very little at this point because I’ve caught the favor of the fabled Amazon algorithm! I run Amazon ads, but that’s my only paid advertising. I have a newsletter, and of course, my reader group, Freida McFans. Mostly, I just try to get out there on social media as much as possible. In terms of social media, I have always just tried to show how super grateful I am to anyone who mentions my books.
But if I were starting out now, it would be a different ballgame. This isn’t 2010 when you can simply upload your book to Amazon and readers will discover it by chance. Marketing is NOT optional. I have no expertise in starting out in the current market, but I’d probably try to do a bunch of discounted 99 cent promotions with paid newsletter slots like in Bookbub or Robin Reads. Facebook ads didn’t really work for me, but other people like them. If you have several books, consider giving one away for free to gain new readers, especially if it’s the first in a series.
“How much does it cost to self-publish a book?”
It varies wildly.
I’m a bit of a one woman show. I know how to format and I can make covers in Photoshop. I have a retired family member who edits for me, one other person who I pay, and some other readers I trust who always comb for typos. I have a ton of writer friends who beta read for me, including a real life writing group. I have a lifetime subscription to ProWritingAid.
If you’re starting out, you should expect to pay for cover design, editing costs, perhaps a beta reader or two, formatting costs (or do it yourself with Vellum), proofreading. Fiverr is your friend for cheap services. Premade covers are much cheaper than custom covers. You can also join a Facebook group like Indie Author Support, which has a wealth of resources and advice. Authorsxp is also a site I like with a lot of author resources at reasonable prices.
“Do I need to have an editor for my book?”
I don’t know you or your writing, but I’m going to say almost certainly.
“What are ARCs? Do they have something to do with math? Because if they do, you can just stop right there.”
They don’t have to do with math. ARCs are Advance Review Copies. One of the most important ways to sell your book is to distribute advance copies and get reviews that will go live on release. You can approach people on social media to do this, and there are paid services that will help get your books to advance readers, such as Hidden Gems, Booksprout, and Netgalley.
To be clear, it is NEVER ethical/legal to pay readers directly for a review. But it’s okay to pay a service that makes the book available to eager readers, who then give an honest review for free.
“How do I make an audiobook version of my book?”
I’m a bit new to the audiobook game, but you have a lot of options if you decide you want to make an audio version of your book. Amazon ACX allows you to put up auditions for your book to connect you to potential narrators, who will narrate your book for either a flat fee or a share of the profits, or else you can hire a production company to record it for you (although that is $$$$$$). Another alternative is to sell your audiobook rights to an audiobook production company such as Dreamscape or Podium, in exchange for a smaller share of the profit.
“Why do you write in the first person present tense?”
This has actually become extremely popular, especially in self published books. I started doing it after reading a bunch of Sophie Kinsella books. I love how it keeps you in the moment and gives an opportunity for humor.
“How do you come up with your twists?”
I am always tempted to answer “my brain”! I definitely have a very analytic brain. When I was a teenager, I was on the math team and solving puzzles was very fun for me. But it does seem like readers expect more in a twist these days because everything has already been done. You have to step out of the box of: “The suspects were A, B, C, D, and A is the killer.” It’s not even enough to say E is the killer. It has to be E is the killer because he is actually B, and was the victim’s mother and his daughter, and also was dead the whole time. That is the level of twistiness that is now required. It’s kind of frustrating when I have a great idea but I can’t come up with that great twist, and yet it’s always exciting and satisfying when I do come up with it.
“What is your best piece of advice for authors just starting out?”
Stop procrastinating! If you want to write and publish your book, just do it!
Good luck!!!
“How did you get your first work published?”
I self published my first book on Amazon in 2013. Prior to this, I had gone through the long and incredibly painful process of querying for an agent/publisher, and I was thrilled I could get my work out there without having to suck up to anyone.
“How does traditional publishing compare to self-publishing?”
My only “traditional" experience so far is with Bookouture, which is an ebook publisher, so they have a similar model to self-publishing. In that sense, it isn’t SUPER different. There are pros and cons to both. I like working with Bookouture because my editor there is awesome, and they help with things like foreign rights deals that are hard to negotiate on my own. They also do cover design, editing, proofing, blurb, and some social media stuff. However, as a control freak, I kind of like doing all that stuff on my own!
“Should I put my book in Kindle Unlimited? Also, what is Kindle Unlimited?”
Kindle Unlimited is an Amazon program where you make your ebook exclusive to Amazon, and in exchange, they put you in the KU library, where readers subscribed to the service can borrow it for free. You get paid per page read… an obscenely tiny amount that can add up to quite a lot when you get to the millions of pages. I recommend KU for new authors because it will make readers more likely to take a chance on your book since it is free to them, and also it’s a nice thing to do for readers at a time when money is tight for a lot of people. I personally have had a lot of luck with KU.
To be clear, KU exclusivity applies *only* to ebooks. Your paperback and audiobook can still be sold everywhere.
“What is the best way to write? Should I outline? Should I edit as I go?”
Um, my answer is basically you do you. Everyone has a way that works best for them. My process is that I come up with an idea including a twist in advance. I plan it out only in my head for a couple of months, then I spend a couple of weeks banging out a first draft. I don’t stop, just write. If it seems bad or I feel stuck, I just write. I keep telling myself that I’ll fix it later. Although I have that rough outline in my head, I do generally let the characters take me where they want to go, but I always know the final destination.
Over the years, my books have become much more “tight,” especially my first drafts… I know the rhythm of a plot and what works or doesn’t work, which makes it easier to bang out solid first drafts. Over the years, plotting is where I have grown the most.
“Are your characters based on people you know in real life?”
People love to ask me that… I don’t know why! My early books are definitely more strongly based on my real life experiences and real people. Like Dr. Alyssa Morgan in The Devil Wears Scrubs was 100% based on a real person. And Dr. Matt Conlon in Su!cide Med was based on my real life anatomy professor. I’ve had way too many characters based on my husband.
“Your life seems incredibly busy. You’re a doctor, a mom of two, and you put out multiple books per year! How do you find time to even sleep? Also, can you make an appearance at my book club?”
(I had to throw that last question in there. It does seem like the frequent book club appearance requests are always preceded by acknowledging how painfully busy I must be, so please show up at this random book club for an hour.)
I work part time as a doctor, so that frees me up a bit. Honestly, I feel like my job focuses me… it keeps writing as an escape rather than a drag. Whenever I consider cutting way back, I always change my mind for that reason. I try to be very efficient in the way I work, and I’m always multitasking. If I’m in a boring meeting or between seeing patients, I whip out my phone and do social media stuff. That said, there are times I do feel super overwhelmed, but the nice thing about self publishing is that you can always slow things down.
Overall, I believe being a doctor has helped me with my writing career. First of all, I’m able to write medical scenarios with a high degree of accuracy. Second, knowing that I had a stable job to pay the bills made me feel more comfortable spending money on marketing, even knowing there was a chance I might not earn it back. (I almost always did though.)
“What do you do for marketing?”
Very little at this point because I’ve caught the favor of the fabled Amazon algorithm! I run Amazon ads, but that’s my only paid advertising. I have a newsletter, and of course, my reader group, Freida McFans. Mostly, I just try to get out there on social media as much as possible. In terms of social media, I have always just tried to show how super grateful I am to anyone who mentions my books.
But if I were starting out now, it would be a different ballgame. This isn’t 2010 when you can simply upload your book to Amazon and readers will discover it by chance. Marketing is NOT optional. I have no expertise in starting out in the current market, but I’d probably try to do a bunch of discounted 99 cent promotions with paid newsletter slots like in Bookbub or Robin Reads. Facebook ads didn’t really work for me, but other people like them. If you have several books, consider giving one away for free to gain new readers, especially if it’s the first in a series.
“How much does it cost to self-publish a book?”
It varies wildly.
I’m a bit of a one woman show. I know how to format and I can make covers in Photoshop. I have a retired family member who edits for me, one other person who I pay, and some other readers I trust who always comb for typos. I have a ton of writer friends who beta read for me, including a real life writing group. I have a lifetime subscription to ProWritingAid.
If you’re starting out, you should expect to pay for cover design, editing costs, perhaps a beta reader or two, formatting costs (or do it yourself with Vellum), proofreading. Fiverr is your friend for cheap services. Premade covers are much cheaper than custom covers. You can also join a Facebook group like Indie Author Support, which has a wealth of resources and advice. Authorsxp is also a site I like with a lot of author resources at reasonable prices.
“Do I need to have an editor for my book?”
I don’t know you or your writing, but I’m going to say almost certainly.
“What are ARCs? Do they have something to do with math? Because if they do, you can just stop right there.”
They don’t have to do with math. ARCs are Advance Review Copies. One of the most important ways to sell your book is to distribute advance copies and get reviews that will go live on release. You can approach people on social media to do this, and there are paid services that will help get your books to advance readers, such as Hidden Gems, Booksprout, and Netgalley.
To be clear, it is NEVER ethical/legal to pay readers directly for a review. But it’s okay to pay a service that makes the book available to eager readers, who then give an honest review for free.
“How do I make an audiobook version of my book?”
I’m a bit new to the audiobook game, but you have a lot of options if you decide you want to make an audio version of your book. Amazon ACX allows you to put up auditions for your book to connect you to potential narrators, who will narrate your book for either a flat fee or a share of the profits, or else you can hire a production company to record it for you (although that is $$$$$$). Another alternative is to sell your audiobook rights to an audiobook production company such as Dreamscape or Podium, in exchange for a smaller share of the profit.
“Why do you write in the first person present tense?”
This has actually become extremely popular, especially in self published books. I started doing it after reading a bunch of Sophie Kinsella books. I love how it keeps you in the moment and gives an opportunity for humor.
“How do you come up with your twists?”
I am always tempted to answer “my brain”! I definitely have a very analytic brain. When I was a teenager, I was on the math team and solving puzzles was very fun for me. But it does seem like readers expect more in a twist these days because everything has already been done. You have to step out of the box of: “The suspects were A, B, C, D, and A is the killer.” It’s not even enough to say E is the killer. It has to be E is the killer because he is actually B, and was the victim’s mother and his daughter, and also was dead the whole time. That is the level of twistiness that is now required. It’s kind of frustrating when I have a great idea but I can’t come up with that great twist, and yet it’s always exciting and satisfying when I do come up with it.
“What is your best piece of advice for authors just starting out?”
Stop procrastinating! If you want to write and publish your book, just do it!
Good luck!!!