Writing a book is just the first step in becoming an author. Once you’ve sweated blood and tears and finished that book baby, you need to decide how you want it to be published. Perhaps you want to try to engage an agent, or send it directly to a publisher, or you might want to join the revolution that is changing the face of the industry and self-publish your book. Just to be clear here, when I say self-publish, that does NOT mean vanity publishing. By self-publishing I mean taking control of your own author business and working with a professional freelance team for your covers and editing.

Whether you want to be traditionally, or self-published, marketing yourself and your book is essential in today’s world. If you want readers to know your book is out there and go on to build a long-term relationship with them, you need to establish your own author platform. For those who want to self-publish, it’s absolutely essential.

Before you run for the hills in blind terror, don’t panic. The key factor is what do you actually want to achieve from your writing? Some people might answer to be a full-time author and make a good salary, the next person might say, just to feel the sense of achievement in having got a book into the world. A mentor should tease out exactly what your goals and ambitions are and help guide you towards achieving them. This can start before you’ve written a word of your book. Some authors ‘write to market’ i.e. they only write something they think is going to sell. Other authors are the exact opposite and write the story in their heart, no matter whether it sells a single copy.

I have been a writer all my life, starting in journalism. I went on to study for a PR diploma and most recently a digital marketing diploma. I published my first book in 2016 and that reached the Amazon top 20. Since then, I’ve written another seven books, many of which are being released in 2021. I’ve spent years learning from industry experts, fine tuning covers, blurbs, advertising, websites, launch strategies and how to make the most of Amazon’s algorithm (if you get it right they’ll help push your book for you).

I started mentoring and went on a coaching course when I was with the BBC, and found I really enjoyed it. I would love to work with you if you want to be in charge of your own author career. As a mentor, I not only want to share my experience, skills, and knowledge, but I’d like to encourage and inspire you to reach your best potential. Ultimately every person’s idea of success and happiness are different.