I am quite proud of the fact that I have managed to avoid writing much about AI thus far, but like everyone, I’ve been thinking more and more about the impact it is going to have on writers.

As we are seeing literally unfold before our eyes, AI is rapidly changing the importance of being identifiable as a human creator.

The scary truth is that people can no longer be sure that the words that they read in books or online came from a human being.

This year, many authors have been publicly accused of using AI to write. Of course, the most recent chatter has been about the huge $2.5m book deal that was pulled after the author’s agent decided they could no longer be sure that the author hadn’t used AI to write it.

But there have been many more cases too. Earlier this year, several winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize faced accusations from readers that they had used AI in their work.

The Society of Authors has launched a Human Authored scheme specifically to help readers distinguish human-created books from AI-generated ones, but as yet, I haven’t really seen much take-up of this and I wonder how they will police it effectively? It’s a nice idea in theory, but what we really need are proper guidelines from publishers. Let’s hope they are working on that as I type…

What does this mean for authors?

It means that having a strong, trusted personal brand is more important than ever.

Which is annoying, because I wanted to be an author precisely because I have no interest in people knowing who I am, or becoming ‘famous’.

But in a world where AI can imitate almost anything, your author brand can go a long way to help demonstrate that there is a real person behind your writing.

The current situation is - understandably - really freaking out many authors. We spend years working on a book, even more years trying to find an agent and then a publisher, and now, we face the risk of someone out there asking if we actually wrote the bloody thing.

I really believe that building a super strong, recognisably human author brand is one of the most effective ways in which we can mitigate the effect that AI is having on readers’ trust.

Being anonymous online is no longer an option (sorry, like I said - am also gutted).

But how do we do this?

Building your author brand

Many authors I know have never really given much thought to their author brand, and if they have done, it’s along the lines of something vaguely marketing-y, like:

• having a professional headshot taken

• posting from time to time on Instagram

• writing a newsletter or setting up a Substack

• relying on their publisher to do the rest for them (spoiler alert: they won’t)

Your author brand is all of those things, but it’s a lot more too.

It’s the collection of signals that tells a reader who you are, what you write, what you care about and most importantly - why they should trust you.

It means allowing people to hear from the person behind the books, and not just in marketing or promotional ‘get my book for 99p this month’ kinda posts.

But in all the other stuff AROUND your writing that makes you who you are.

It doesn’t mean that you have to overshare your personal life. But it does mean you have to show your humanity.

What makes you recognisably you?

If there’s something that excites you or something that you love - talk about it online. It doesn’t have to be related to books!

Case in point, my most engaged-with Instagram post is about my daughter’s birth, that I posted last year just before she turned 10. Nothing to do with my books, but a little snapshot of how I became a mother. I was vulnerable and authentic in that post, and it resonated with people.

I also used to post about my dolls house, and I swear those posts got more engagement than any of the posts about my books!

Why? Because they showed me as a more rounded human being, someone people could get a better understanding of (also because dolls houses are cool and I will die on this hill).

The things you might once have thought were ‘too niche’ or ‘too weird’ may actually be the things that make you memorable.

Authors are really interesting people, but I think we have this tendency to feel as though all we need to talk about online are our books, because that’s all that people are interested in.

But if you think about any of the celebrities or people you admire, many of the most interesting things about them are more to do with who they are than what they do.

Here are some other ways to think about strengthening your personal brand:

Don’t be afraid to use your voice

It’s easy to believe that we have to be ‘professional’ when we’re marketing ourselves online. Which means perfect grammar, and job-application worthy copy. But in my opinion, this is a mistake.

Make sure your website copy and social media posts should sound like you, with your actual opinions, humour, observations, quirks and turns of phrase!

I have a bad habit of swearing in blog posts, and I did once wonder if I should go through and edit all the swear words out. But then I realised that those swear words are part of my authentic voice.

I do swear a lot in real life (sorry Mum!) because I worked as a journalist for a long time and every second word I heard at work began with an F or an S.

You don’t have to swear, but showing your true voice online is important.

Have a perspective and share it

What’s the one thing AI will never have?

An honest, fallible, human opinion.

When you’re writing stuff to share online, it’s so important to have an opinion! Pick a side! Bland is boring and bland feels like AI.

Don’t be afraid to be who you really are, and share some of your opinions on things that may interest your readers.

Ask yourself:

• What annoys you?

• What do you secretly love?

• What fascinates you?

• What frustrates you?

• What are you willing to say that another author wouldn’t?

A while ago, I posted about the fact that I’m a really slow reader and that it makes me feel a bit embarrassed. As I’m a professional author, I feel like it’s my duty to be reading 100 books a year.

I had a great response to that post.

From time to time, sharing something a little bit eyebrow-raising is a great way to prove that you are a well-rounded 3D individual - and will probably increase your engagement too.

Make the most of your unique story

My friend Lesley Kara has had great success doing just this on Instagram over the past year. She has leaned into the fact that she was first published post-50 and has used this to create enlightening and funny and trust-building posts around this topic on her Instagram page.

As a result, she’s gained thousands of followers and readers now have a really clear idea of who she is and what she stands for (her positive message: it’s not too late to follow your dreams!).

So ask yourself:

• What’s different about you?

• What unique history and experience (aka your life!) led you to write the books you write?

• Where did a specific idea come from?

• What did you find most difficult about writing a book?

• What’s something interesting that you learnt while writing your book?

Nicola Washington at Too Much Social also has some great tips on making sure that you incorporate your own story into your social media posts about your books.

Instagram for authors: interview with Nicola Washington →

Watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

Your brand can become a trust shortcut

Readers don’t just buy books because of the premise. They buy because of their relationships with authors.

So many of my author mates are sceptical about this, but I have seen time and time again how the successful authors I have worked with have built genuine, direct relationships with their readers and fostered an incredible sense of loyalty from them.

And you know what guys? It’s actually really heartwarming!

I think because we are authors we don’t see how fascinating and amazing authors seem to the average person.

In fact, one of my author friends recently said to me: ‘I’m not going to sign up to someone’s newsletter just because I liked their book.’ And I explained that that’s because, to her, books and authors are her ‘everyday’. She knows a ton of authors and talks to them every day. She knows the secret (sssh!) - that we are just dumb humans like everyone else.

But I remember how I used to feel about the authors of my favourite books when I was a kid. In awe doesn’t even touch it. I thought these people were geniuses, and I would hang on their every word.

Trust me, readers want to hear from you. And the more they do so, the more they will trust you.

If someone has followed you for years, read your newsletter, listened to you on a podcast and knows your sense of humour, they’re much more likely to think:

‘Oh cool, Charlotte has a new book coming out! I’ll pre-order it.’

Because your book isn’t just some anonymous product. It’s something from someone they recognise.

Why do you think celebrities have no problem getting book deals? Cough cough. 😏

This is going to become increasingly important as the marketplace becomes even more flooded with content.

A July 2026 study of more than 14,000 self-published genre books found a huge increase in books with substantial AI-generated content, with AI-heavy books gaining market share despite the overall market growing more slowly.

The problem isn’t just that AI churns out shitty books. It’s that it can churn out an enormous number of shitty books.

And when the supply of something explodes, distinctiveness becomes more valuable.

This doesn’t mean you have to prove you’re ‘not AI’

Screw that.

As we all know, AI detection itself is imperfect.

IMHO, the answer isn’t to try to prove your work is made by a human.

It’s to make your humanity as visible as possible.

How to strengthen your author brand

OK, let’s talk about the five ways you can help strengthen your personal brand as an author:

1. Make your voice unmistakable

You’re a writer, so this should be the easy part! Write your website copy like an actual human being. Write your Instagram captions like you’re talking to a friend. Use colloquialisms that you use in everyday life. Don’t put on a persona - let your authentic self shine.

2. Have something to say

Don’t just talk about your book or your writing process repeatedly on social media. It’s boring. Talk about other stuff, too. Who you are and why you wrote it. Don’t be afraid to be a little bit controversial or outspoken. Be honest about the struggles. When people know who you are and what you stand for, they form a deeper connection with everything you write and produce. Above all: be original.

3. Show the person behind the books

I know this is a tricky one. Lots of authors don’t want to overshare their personal life, and that’s fine. But there will definitely be things outside of your writing life that you can talk about to help you stand out from the crowd.

My friend Lizzy Barber likes to travel, and she often gets people recognising her from her gorgeous Instagram posts of all the cool places she’s been.

Another author, CL Taylor, is amazing at arts and crafts and talks about that on her social media.

Perhaps you like to work out? Or hike? Or play competitive chess? Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, share your experiences with your audience in an entertaining way.

I write this blog to promote my web design, but I know for a fact that some of my readers read it too!

4. Build a home you control

I’ve wanged on about this one for years so I won’t repeat myself at length. Social media is great, of course, but please don’t rely entirely on social media to establish your identity. Your website and mailing list are the only assets you truly own and they are going to become more critical than ever.

Why AI means your author website is more important than ever →

5. Be consistent, not constant

Last but not least, if this all sounds exhausting, I hear you. But you don’t need to be everywhere, all the time. I promise.

I have stopped blogging weekly for various reasons, and now pour my energy into writing two really good posts every fortnight.

It’s not about pumping out endless crap content. Quality over quantity at a pace that is sustainable to you is key.

On a budget but need an author website?
The DIY Author Website Course is just for you! →

Conclusion

So many authors I know haven’t given much thought to their personal brands, and I get it. We already have enough on our plates writing the bloody books.

But as the world becomes increasingly full of things that were generated by machines, there’s enormous value in being able to say:

• I made this.

• I believe this.

• This is my voice.

• This is why I wrote this.

• This is what it means to me.

I am living in hope that as the AI things shakes down, a new tier of books (and other art forms) will emerge. A higher tier of ‘human-made’ things, that hopefully, will warrant a higher price tag, so that humans can be paid properly for their creativity.

But perhaps that’s a little philosophical for today. Still, it’s my hope and comfort.

One thing I’m 100% sure of though, is that in the age of AI, being recognisably human is one of the most powerful things an author can be.

Want me to build you a website?

My streamlined yet personal approach, perfected over the past 6 years of building websites for ambitious authors just like you, means I can create your dream author website without overwhelming you with tech jargon or confusing decisions, supporting you throughout the whole process and gently guiding you with my expertise.

Find out more, then get in touch. I would love to hear from you!

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Hello people. I am back from another year at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival and I can honestly say it was the best yet. My seventh time!

I bloody loved it.

As I walked around, I saw smiling, familiar faces everywhere. There were too many people to talk to. And of course I missed talking to so many people, which sucks. But I am so grateful to have caught up with the ones I did have time with, and also so grateful to have met a ton of new authors too.

A huge thank you as well to all the people who came up to me and thanked me for my blog posts.

As always, I am slightly stunned when it happens and this year, it happened more than ever!

Thank you so much for reading my rambles and I am glad if they make you feel less alone.

(Sidenote: my viral ‘Harrogate’ blog post had a massive spike in hits over the weekend! 4am desperate re-readings of Eat Pray Love abound…)

On the way home, I was thinking a lot about what a great time I had had - and how much more relaxed I felt about it all, and I realised that it was most likely because I am out of contract at the moment.

Which is quite WEIRD. Not being out of contract, but feeling happier because I am… I mean - what?!

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

The joy of being out of contract

You’d think that being out of contract would make you antsy, or drown you in imposter syndrome (I rarely feel this - am I a freak? I suspect it’s because it took me so long to get published - I earnt my stripes!!) – but actually it meant I didn’t have to be in ‘promo’ mode, I didn’t have to listen and compare with all the other people there about what was going on with their books, I didn’t have to go to an awkward publishing lunch and try to be impressive or memorable and it just meant I could relax and treat it as a lovely weekend away filled with the best people I know (aka writers).

And on that note…

Perhaps it’s time for an update on my writing career?

I have been holding my cards so close to my chest lately because… well, because that’s what publishing tells you to do, isn’t it? Fake it til you make it. We must all project images of success at all times because if we don’t then… what? I don’t know. We start to whiff of failure and then everyone turns away from us.

Well, I am not a failure and I refuse to see myself as one.

LOL.

As I said, I am currently out of contract after my latest novel, Connie, came out in January.

My editor left her job at my original publisher last year. I had six books with them. I loved working with her, and the rest of the team. But especially her. She was my one constant, and she believed in me. She was a truly excellent editor (editors do not get enough credit for the work they put into shaping a book!). She really championed me and pushed me and made Connie into the best book I have ever published.

I guess naively I hoped that as my original publisher had six books with me, when she left they would still support me, despite all the evidence to the contrary from both my own past experiences and those of friends.

But basically, she left and then no-one cared about my book, and my book - the book that took me two years to write and had some of the best reviews of my entire career (a 5* Netgalley average is not to be sniffed at!) - has done nothing really.

My one review for Connie

It’s sold OK in digital. But nowhere near the levels of my past books.

I got no PR at all, except for one lovely review in Prima magazine, which only came about because the lady who reviews for Prima messaged me on Insta when I first announced the book, to say she loved the sound of it and to make sure she got a proof.

All my other books were reviewed widely across the usual magazines, I wrote guest posts for media outlets, I was on podcasts… I had a really decent amount of press each time.

This time, there was just Prima (thank you Nina!).

Maybe this has nothing to do with my editor leaving. Maybe?

A caveat here that I love people who work in publishing!

I do not hold any of this against anyone. I know how stressed and overloaded publishing folk are.

It is the system. We play the game, these are the rules.

It is a shit game for writers.

It is a really, really shit game for writers.

How do we reconcile this?

In Harrogate, no one I spoke to was particularly happy or secure when it came to their publishing experience. Everyone was stressed and worried.

Midlisters are struggling to get contracts renewed. Established authors who want to leave their agents in search of a career boost are being told it’s really hard as so many agents’ books are already full of established authors who also need a career boost.

Amazing books are languishing on submission for months and months (one friend just got an offer nine months after her agent submitted - wtf? How can anyone sustain a career like this? We have bills to pay too!)

Writers love to moan and things have always been tough, but there has been a definite shift.

It is even more tough than it was before but now, it also feels a bit… hopeless.

I don’t want to talk about AI. But, well, AI looms over us all. I think the issue at the moment is that there is no clear path and no one knows exactly what is going to happen and so everyone is waiting for the storm to blow over, and to see what remains once the dust has settled.

I have friends who have been told by their agents that it’s better to hold off going on sub to editors until next year. ‘Sit tight’ seems to be a common message.

It’s odd, because all of the above sounds pretty negative, and yet, I am feeling really content and positive at the moment.

And on that note…

Last year, I wrote a bookclub novel that I loved. From my perspective, it’s the best book I’ve ever written.

But there is something fundamentally wrong with its structure, and I don’t know how to fix it.

I did multiple edits with my agent, then I paid a (super expensive!) structural editor to work on it, and she didn’t know how to fix it either.

In the end, we sent it out to editors late last year (under a pseudonym) and I had some deeply lovely feedback on the writing, but it didn’t sell and I am not surprised because, as I said, there is something fundamentally wrong with the structure and no one knows how to fix it.

I was desperately hoping it would connect with an editor who could see what I was trying to do and help me shape it.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

And that’s OK.

Perhaps editors don’t have time to do that kind of deep editing these days. I don’t know.

I still think there’s a brilliant, important idea in there. I KNOW that it would resonate with so many readers. I know these readers exist because they are my people and I am in communities stuffed full of them!

I still believe in that book fiercely, in a way I haven’t ever believed in any other book.

It’s a weirdly nice feeling? 😊

I also think it’s the most important book I’ve ever written. Because it’s the truest. It’s a reflection of my soul.

That book didn’t sell to publishers, but ironically that book is also why I don’t feel like a failure (even if I don’t know how to fix it so that it becomes something the marketplace wants).

I can see myself self-publishing it at some point. I toyed with doing a super limited print-run - say 50 copies - and only selling it to a select few people in those aforementioned communities.

But not yet, because I know it could and should be better and I am hoping the answer on how to make it work will come to me at the right time.

Trying something else

After that experience, I decided to lean into my ‘success’ (from a publishing POV at least) and write something super commercial.

I wrote a 7k partial of a psych suspense and sent it to my agent. She loved the premise and agreed it was very commercial.

A few months ago, she sent it to a few publishers to gauge interest.

And within a very short amount of time, I got two offers from amazing publishers and - more importantly - fantastic editors I would love to work with.

All the other editors said they couldn’t offer on a partial but would love to read the whole thing when it was ready.

Great, right?

Except… when those offers came in, something weird happened.

I got cold feet. I decided I wanted to write the entire book before accepting a contract from anyone.

I wrote the rest of the book (in a rush, with the weird pressure of these offers hanging over me), and sent it to my agent. Her verdict: it needed a big edit. The end result wasn’t commercial enough, but a weird bookclub-suspense mashup that fell between both stools.

She wasn’t wrong and I could see exactly what the book needed for it to fit into the market (unlike with the other one).

But every time I opened my laptop to work on it, something would happen. I would literally freeze. I was completely unable to think, or concentrate, or care about the people in this book.

Was I broken?

Is that burnout thing real?

I don’t know.

When you don’t know the answer, you live with the question

So I have decided to have this summer off (big things happening in my actual life, including my daughter leaving primary school!), and revisit the book in September.

I have published eight books in eight years. And written ten in ten years.

I also run a full-on web design business that has somehow led to me being in the top 0.5% of all Squarespace web designers globally, based on the number of websites I’ve worked on. 🤯

And I’m a mum.

I am really tired.

Not just of writing, but of all the disappointments that come along with publishing. And yes, I know that’s the game (see above) and no-one is forcing me to play, but it is HARD. And I am human and I am tired.

I guess it’s easier if you’re David Bowie?

I love writing. It is what I do and always have done. But I am struggling to reconcile having a career as a commercial author with writing something I feel completely passionate about.

The book I wrote last year - that felt so important and necessary and urgent to me - didn’t sell.

The partial I wrote - as an experiment ‘for the market’ - got snapped up.

**Caveat: I am not saying one type of book is superior. Only that I seem to prefer writing the kind of fiction that is more difficult to sell 😢

People always tell authors NOT to write for the market, but but but… it’s disingenuous advice if you want a long-term career as an author.

But if you’re writing something you don’t feel hugely enthused or passionate about then it’s just a horrid slog and there are FAR easier ways to make a living.

Again, how do we reconcile this?

I wish I had the answer. At the moment, all I can think is that, somehow, I need to make the partial book into something I also feel really passionate about - without making it even less commercial.

I also have an idea for another bookclub novel that I really want to write (not helpful, brain! 🙃).

So… who knows.

People need to buy more books, that’s for sure!

I have many many other thoughts about the way publishing is going that I will attempt to wrangle into something of interest for you to read at some point.

But for now, I’d just like to say that I have come back from Harrogate feeling weirdly at peace, and that everything will somehow work out for the best.

Is it a coincidence that this sense of peace comes when I have stepped off the publishing rollercoaster? Again, I don’t know. But peace is good for a writer, and so I am embracing it.

Thanks for being with me on this journey.

Writers are the best. I hope you find your peace too. ❤️

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on the book that nearly broke me

• Some honest thoughts on author publicity

• Some honest thoughts on social media for authors

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

• Some honest thoughts about writing out of contract

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

I came across the following post on Instagram this week and it brought out a very wry smile in me.

Now it’s SUPER sweary, so if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing - please look away now.

If not - enjoy…

Anyway, it inspired me to revisit something that I get asked about a lot.

Social media.

Many of my website clients ask me for advice on social media. They are often debut authors, and often overwhelmed by the whole ‘I must market my book!’ pressure, and they see that I show up fairly regularly on Instagram stories (I do post on there most days) and assume I must know what the hell I’m doing.

However, despite having used social media for years and years both personally and professionally, I don’t feel qualified to give advice on it because the truth is, I have no clue how to make the most of it as an author (Booktok remains an endless mystery to me) and I also feel extremely ambivalent about it.

My own social media

I was talking to my partner recently about Instagram and I worked out that it had taken me nearly 8 years to build up a ‘following’ (ick, such a cult-like term!) of 2500 people.

I have never done ads, never paid for any promos. I rarely seek out new people to follow but I do follow back fellow authors. I used to post every day on my feed but now I probably only post a couple of times a month, although I do ‘stories’ most days.

My ‘growth’ has been entirely organic, I have never used any strategy or particular planning. It’s been slow and steady and completely haphazard.

In short, I have NOT been strategic about growing my Instagram, and if I’m honest, as a rather Type A person, it’s a bit of a pebble in my shoe. I believe that if I had been more business-minded about it, I would have been much more successful at it. I would have a much bigger following.

However, the reason I have not been strategic about growing my Instagram is the same reason that I don’t offer social media services or advice.

And that’s because honestly (whisper it!) it just doesn’t interest me very much.

It just doesn’t. And I can’t muster up the energy to make it A Thing on my to-do list.

I don’t know why. I don’t find it boring, exactly. I like following people and I like consuming content - although I prefer the more silly, amusing stuff to anything deep and meaningful.

I like posting my own random thoughts / doings on stories too. It feels like a little diary of my life I can look back on, and I appreciate the archive so much.

But the idea of having to strategise it all somehow gives me the ick. It feels inauthentic. Calculated. Like advertising under false pretences.

I am really bad at being inauthentic (hence my oversharing blog posts!).

And I know that the whole point of social media if you are a ‘business’ (and I firmly believe that you should treat your author career exactly the same as running a small business) is to promote your goods or services on the platform.

But there’s something about mixing the business with the social thing that I just don’t like. The blurring of boundaries niggles me.

And because I don’t like it, I’m not good at it.

Having said that, there are many authors out there who are good at it. I don’t know if they like doing it or not. But somehow, like wizards, they have managed to strike the right balance between promotion and sales and entertainment and authenticity.

It’s a skill I really admire. And it is a REAL skill, and I think it’s something that should be respected as such - hence my admiration for people who offer social media services for a living.

The point of this post is to say that if you also don’t enjoy social media, if the idea of using it to promote your books gives you the ick then… well for one, it will probably show. See John Niven above, again - although the irony is also not lost on me that his post probably did exactly what his publishers wanted him to do 🙃

But for another: IT’S OK.

You don’t have to do it. When it comes to marketing your books, you don’t have to DO EVERYTHING.

You can’t DO EVERYTHING anyway, not without an assistant of some kind helping you.

Not if you want to write more books. Not if you want to write good books.

And really, isn’t that the main point of it all?

Finding your ‘thing’

However… when it comes to marketing, you do have to DO SOMETHING.

I really enjoyed this recent Substack post from Phoebe Morgan about What Authors Can Do For Themselves →

And I do believe it’s important to show willing in some way. It’s a little naive to think that your relationship with your book begins and ends with the typing of it.

So: pick something you do like (Blogging? Email marketing? Events?) and focus on that instead.

It’s a bit like exercise, I think.

Pick something you enjoy doing and you’re far more likely to succeed.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

Social media is not the only author marketing tool

And while I think social media is amazing for raising awareness generally, I am yet to be convinced of exactly HOW many books it shifts. Or the direct correlation between your awkward Instagram posts and your sales figures.

So if - like me - you don’t find social media that interesting… if you actively hate it… if you find yourself sighing at the thought of it… then I’m here to tell you to let yourself off the hook.

You don’t have to do it. Forcing yourself to create social media posts when your heart isn’t in it is so depressing. And I really believe it shows.

We’ve all watched the desperately dull unboxing videos by desperately awkward authors who would clearly rather be doing anything else than filming themselves and feigning surprise that inside their box (of books) is a load of copies of the book that they wrote.

So don’t do it. Unhook thyself!

And if you’re looking for help with your social media, then consult an expert.

(Don’t ask your web designer 😆)

I have recently discovered Nicola Washington and I love love love the way she talks about using social media as an author.

She’s all about quality over quantity and I love her philosophy about using what drove you to write the book in the first place to help you shape the content you put out on social media.

I highly recommend taking a look at her Substack because there’s so much great info there, but also: not beating yourself up about the social media thing.

As always: concentrate on your writing!

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

• Some honest thoughts about writing out of contract

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

Obviously I WOULD say this but… an author website is one of the most powerful tools for connecting with your readers, showcasing your work, and building your brand.

Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, having a professional online presence can help you establish credibility, sell books, and expand your audience.

But what if you’re on a tight budget, like so many authors are?

Is it possible to create an author website for free?

The short answer is yes - but it’s important to understand the trade-offs involved and how to make the most of affordable options.

In this post I’ll show you how to create an author website for free, explore the limitations of free platforms, and introduce a time-saving, affordable solution that might be of interest to you…

Why every author needs a website

Before diving into the ‘how,’ let’s talk a bit about the ‘why.’ An author website serves as your digital home base. Here’s why it’s crucial:

• Credibility: A professional-looking website signals that you take your writing career seriously.

• Reader connection: Your website allows readers to learn more about you, sign up for your newsletter, and follow your updates. This is more important than ever!

• Direct sales: If you’re self-published, you can sell books directly to your audience, avoiding retailer fees.

• Marketing hub: Your website is a place to host blogs, announce events, and share book trailers or reviews.

Even if you’re on a budget, the benefits of having a website far outweigh the cost.

Do authors REALLY need websites? →

Sign up to watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

Can you create an author website for free?

Creating an author website for free is possible, but it comes with limitations.

Just a little reminder… 😉

Free platforms like Carrd, Canva, and WordPress.com allow you to build a site without upfront costs, but they often impose restrictions.

These may include:

• Platform branding: Most free plans display the platform’s branding, which can detract from your professional image. Nothing says cheapskate louder than than having random irrelevant branding slapped all over your author website! And is that the look you really want readers to see when they visit your site?

• Limited features: Advanced functionalities such as e-commerce, custom domains, or enhanced storage often require a paid upgrade. So even though it might look as though the website is free, in reality if you want to be able to do anything with it, you’re going to have to pay up anyway.

• Poor SEO (search engine optimisation): I know SEO is not the most exciting of topics, but you’ll find with many of the free offerings, such as Canva’s free website builder, don’t offer any SEO functionality at all, meaning you have little control over how - or even if - your website shows up on Google search rankings.

• Design constraints: Free templates often limit your ability to fully customise the look and feel of your site, which can lead to frustration as you realise the end result doesn’t look anything like you’d hoped for. What’s worse than having no author website? Having an author website that you’re ashamed of.

• Ads: Many free platforms include advertisements that you have no control over. Don’t get me started on the random ads that Wordpress.com likes to scatter all over people’s websites… again, not a good look if you are trying to be taken seriously as a writer!

Additionally, while creating a website for free can save money, it requires a significant investment of time.

You’ll need to learn the platform, design your site, and troubleshoot any issues - and that’s time that could be spent writing or marketing your books.

I always say to authors - when it comes to building your author website you’re going to have to invest either a) time or b) money.

It’s your choice which of these you’d rather spend, but there’s no short-cut I’m afraid.

That said, free platforms are an excellent starting point for new authors or those on a tight budget. They allow you to establish an online presence and experiment with different features before committing to a paid plan.

However, as your career grows, upgrading to a paid plan or investing in professional tools becomes almost inevitable to maintain a polished and scalable website.

The good news?

Affordable solutions exist to save you time and effort, as we’ll discuss later!

Free website platforms for authors

Here’s an overview of some of the free platforms you can use to create an author website, along with their pros and cons:

Carrd

• Pros: Simple and user-friendly interface, ideal for one-page websites.

• Cons: Limited scalability; not suitable for multi-page websites or complex needs.

Canva

• Pros: Drag-and-drop design makes it easy to create visually appealing pages.

• Cons: Primarily a design tool, so website functionality is limited. Poor SEO.

WordPress.com

• Pros: A popular platform with plenty of templates.

• Cons: Free version includes ads and lacks custom domain options. Hosted Wordpress isn’t free and requires significant technical knowledge to maintain.

Why I don’t recommend Wordpress for your author website →

Wix

• Pros: Intuitive drag-and-drop builder.

• Cons: Free version includes Wix branding, and storage is limited.

Google Sites

• Pros: Free and ad-free, integrates well with other Google services.

• Cons: Limited design flexibility.

While these platforms can help you get started, their drawbacks - from limited customisation to lack of professional polish - will ultimately hinder your growth as an author.

This is where investing a little can go a long way.

Affordable options to save time and effort

If you’re looking for an affordable way to build a professional website without the hassle, then you might find my DIY Author Website Course is the perfect solution.

I designed it just for authors like you!

Find out more about the DIY Author Website Course →

Why choose my course?

• Step-by-step guidance: Learn exactly how to create an author website, even if you’re not tech-savvy. At the end of the course you’ll feel confident in using Squarespace, one of the world’s leading website platforms.

• Affordable: Get the expertise of an experienced author web designer, while avoiding the high cost of hiring one.

• Time-saving: With my hand-held expert guidance, you can skip the trial-and-error process and get your website up quickly, knowing that you’re following best practices and aren’t missing anything crucial.

Some recent feedback from students of the DIY Author Website Course…

Save 10% off your first year’s Squarespace subscription using code CHARLOTTE10

Step-by-step guide to building an author website for free

If you’re determined to create your website for free, here’s a simple guide:

1. Choose your platform

Select a platform that aligns with your needs. For simple designs, Carrd or Canva might suffice. For more functionality, consider WordPress.com or Wix.

Squarespace is my favourite web design platform for authors, however they don’t offer a free version.

They do offer a free 14-day trial however, so you might want to try that first and see how you get on.

You can also use my discount code: CHARLOTTE10 for 10% off Squarespace and check out my blog post on the different pricing plans for more information on the costs of Squarespace (TL;DR: most authors will be fine on the Personal plan and the minimal cost is well worth it, I promise! 😉)

2. Design the basics

• Choose a template.

• Customise colours and fonts to match your author brand.

• Add your name/logo to the header.

3. Include essential pages

• About: Share your bio and writing journey.

• Books: Showcase your publications with buy links.

• Contact: Provide a way for readers and media to reach you.

• Blog (Optional): Share updates, writing tips, or behind-the-scenes insights.

If you’re not sure what to include on your author website, you can download my Author Website Content Guide here →

4. Optimise for mobile

Did you know that more than 50% of website traffic comes through mobile?

It’s more important than ever to make sure your site is responsive, meaning it will also look great on smartphones and tablets.

Don’t forget this step in the process!

5. Test and launch

Preview your site, fix any issues, and make it live!

How to build an author website: a step-by-step guide for authors →

FAQs

Can I create an author website for free?

Yes, free platforms like Carrd, Canva, and WordPress.com allow you to create websites, but they often have limitations like ads or lack of customisation.

How much does it cost to create an author website?

Costs vary. Free options exist, but investing in a domain and hosting typically costs around £50-£150 annually.

How do I set up an author website?

Choose a platform, design your site, and include essential pages like your bio, books, and contact information.

Do self-published authors need a website?

Absolutely. A website helps you build your brand, connect with readers, and sell books directly.

Summary and key takeaways

• An author website is essential for building your brand and connecting with readers.

• Free platforms like Carrd and Canva can help you get started, but they come with limitations.

• Investing in an affordable DIY course, like mine, can save you time and provide a professional result without breaking the bank.

Want more insights? Sign up for my free training to build your own author website today →

More posts like this:

• How long does it take to build an author website?

• The top 5 mistakes author websites make

• What’s the best Squarespace template for authors?

• 5 finishing touches to make your author website look pro

• Which Squarespace plan is right for authors?

• Is a one-page author website right for you?

My eighth novel, Connie, was recently published in both the UK and the US, by Quercus (an imprint of Hachette).

Even when I type that now, it amazes me that it’s true.

I’ve had eight novels published!

When I was a kid, I only ever wanted to have one novel published. And now I’ve had eight!

EIGHT publication days.

And yet… the truth is that even typing that, I actually feel very little about the days themselves at all.

I didn’t get the swelling sense of purpose and validation on publication day that I might have expected when I was unpublished.

I remember my very first publication day - for my debut novel The Rival.

It felt like such a big deal that I didn’t even have a ‘publication day’ - rather, I had a PUBLICATION WEEK.

I had a launch party in Covent Garden Waterstones a couple of days before the book actually came out, and then on the day, I celebrated with my close family.

There were expensive dinners out, posh dresses and new shoes, lots of champagne, even a cake with the cover of my book on it.

It felt like a really big deal. And of course, it was, but it was also exhausting and slightly… disappointing.

My book didn’t immediately rocket up the Amazon charts.

The hardback didn’t even get stocked in any shops near me, so I couldn’t go and ‘see’ the book on the shelves and feel like a real writer.

Here’s what I’ve learnt since about publication days…

(I reckon you could probably apply this to any ‘big’ event, ESPECIALLY if you are an author/introvert and big events aren’t something you generally relish).

They are often simultaneously slightly anticlimactic and also hugely overwhelming.

I would go so far as to say that many authors I know (not all, of course there will be some authors that love them!) don’t really enjoy their publication days at all.

There is SO much build up to ‘the day’ and the fact that your book is out there in the world and you’ve DONE THE THING and finally you are a legit published author, but most of the time, not much actually happens on the day itself.

Here are a few things that might happen on your book’s publication day:

• You might get a gift from your publisher - which is actually always so lovely. Flowers, perhaps. Or chocolates.

(But some authors don’t, because not all publishers send them.)

• You should at the very least get an email with some kind of acknowledgement and congratulations.

• You’ll probably get tagged in tons of social media posts - which is totally lovely, but can also bring a bit of anxiety with it… what if I miss responding to someone and they think it’s a deliberate slight?! Or what if no-one actually posts about your book at all, or only a handful of people do?

Sidenote: I really do believe in acknowledging nice comments, shares and reviews as much as you can - ignoring readers who are championing your book is not a great look.

• You might go out for lunch with friends - which of course will be fab, unless they start asking you how many books you’ve sold (NEVER ASK A WRITER THIS, PEOPLE 😂!) and how come when they popped into the bookshop on the way here, they didn’t see your book anywhere? 😭

• You will definitely check your Amazon rank three million times, while praying that none of the two-star reviews from Netgalley have been copied across.

Another side note: I will NEVER forget the publication day when I rushed excitedly to Amazon to find that I had only ONE review so far, and that it was A TWO-STAR ONE.

It was absolutely the most crushing thing ever - and meant I really didn’t want to triumphantly tweet ‘my book’s out today’ and link to Amazon as I’d planned, because everyone who clicked on the link would think my book had a two-star average.

(If you’re a reviewer - maybe hold off on posting the two-star reviews until the author has at least a few more on their page!?)

Thankfully a few more reviews appeared during the course of the morning but it still really took the wind out of my sales (pun intended).

• You might venture to your local supermarkets / bookshops to try to find your book on the shelves and take a photo next to it for social media.

I am yet to find this anything but a cringey, slightly surreal experience, but that might just be me!

Top tip: if you do decide to try to find your book in supermarkets, then it’s probably best to wait until the afternoon. The book stock in the UK is changed over on Thursday but not always first thing, as I learnt to my peril in February when I went to my local Tesco and had to linger like a complete weirdo for 45 minutes while the woman restocking the shelves got my book off the crate and into its position.

She DEFINITELY spotted me lurking in the book aisle for ages and clearly thought I was unhinged. Either way, the whole experience was painfully awkward (but again, that might just be me!).

But perhaps your book didn’t get any retail slots (surprisingly common).

Despite the fact that my all my previous books were stocked in supermarkets, Connie didn’t get a single placement, which means it’s only available to buy online.

Crushing, but again, SO COMMON.

The truth about most traditionally published novels →

The truth is that nothing MUCH actually happens on publication day, unless you’re Richard Osman or something and you’re appearing on breakfast TV to promote your book.

Publication day biscuits from my literary agency for my second bookclub novel 😍

So it can all feel a bit: now what?

You’ve been working towards this day, this goal, this DREAM for what feels like most of your life and now you realise that NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED.

It’s the same with all goals.

Really, the journey is what matters, not the destination.

This is a mantra that I really believe authors must embed into their souls, in order to cope with the challenging rollercoaster life of a writer.

The writing is the good part. Honestly.

The book deal, the foreign rights deals, the reviews in mainstream press, the table-slots in bookstores - they are all great, but they’re just the cherry on the top.

Your sense of pride and satisfaction absolutely has to come from the writing itself, otherwise you’ll go mad.

There’s a phrase I love (that I actually used in my seventh book): wherever you go, there you are.

Having a book PUBLISHED doesn’t change anything.

The real success is in the effort, resilience and hard work it took to write a publishable book in the first place, and not in the ability to order your book on Amazon and have it delivered the next day, or the number of copies you sell in the first week.

Before my debut came out, I had these weird, naive ideas about the publication of the book somehow ‘changing’ me in some way.

Making me into a BETTER person somehow.

I even posted in a writer Facebook group to ask:

How has your life changed since your first book came out?

And I got a barrage of (perhaps-justified) piss-takes in response:

Oh I can’t walk down the street any longer without people stopping me and asking me to sign a copy.

Obviously I’ve bought a yacht and taken a younger lover.

Well, I now write every sentence with utter confidence and self-belief.

Etc etc…

I felt really stupid.

But to be honest, those were fair responses in the face of my sweet naïveté.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

The truth about publication day

Publication day is just another day in the many varied and interesting days of being an author.

We might be a little bit more visible that day - especially online - but really it’s the weeks and months after publication that truly count.

If your book doesn’t do as well as you’d hoped (which is VERY common with both self- and traditionally published books) then how do you deal with that?

Do you throw in the towel and sink into a pit of despair, or do you dig deeper and keep going?

I have learnt that the best thing to do is accept the difficult feelings, be kind to myself, and take a few days to rage about how hard it all is, then move on with the next book.

Publication day is nuts →

I’ve also learnt that designing a publication day that suits you can be really beneficial.

Feel too busy and stressed to celebrate on the actual day? That’s absolutely OK.

Don’t like the thought of hosting a launch party? Again, totally fine. In fact, your publisher will probably be pleased (there’s evidence they don’t make much difference to overall book sales, even if the pics do look nice on social media).

5 tips for surviving your book’s publication week →

I have my own publication day routine - which involves being on my own for most of the day, and spending a lot of time thanking readers on social media, then having a nice celebratory dinner in the evening with my family.

No fuss or fanfare. No fancy lunches or outfits.

But you might want to go all-out. And that’s fine too.

Don’t feel pressured that your publication day has to look a certain way, or involve something that makes you uncomfortable (many authors don’t like looking at their Amazon ranking or reviews at all, and that’s probably extremely sensible).

I think this is my most important takeaway - it’s YOUR publication day, so spend it how you want to.

FAQs on book publication days

What exactly is a publication day?

A publication day is the day that your book is officially released to the world. You can have more than one - for example, if your book is publishing in multiple editions, such as hardback and ebook, you may find the publication days vary for each format of the book.

What day of the week is book publication day?

For self-published authors, you can set your book to release on any day of the week. But for traditionally published books, they are released on certain days of the week.

In the UK, books are released on Thursdays. In the US, they are released on Tuesdays, which is why if you have a book deal in both countries, you may find that your book comes out slightly before in the US than it does in the UK.

Why do some books come out first in ebook?

This is known as a split publication - when different formats of books are released on different days. For example, the ebook of my debut came out a couple of weeks before the hardback did.

Then with my previous psychological suspense, The Wrong Mother, the ebook came out a whopping six months before the paperback!

Your publisher will have their reasons for staggering publication like this - if you want to understand more then just ask them and they should be happy to explain their rationale.

Who chooses the publication day for a book?

If you’re traditionally published, the publisher will decide which date your book will be released on. And this will be decided based on their own editorial calendar and schedules, and what time of year they think your book will best be received - by both readers and the retailers (eg, you don’t want your summer romcom to come out at Christmas and be swallowed up by all the celebrity memoirs and gifting books!).

Do publication days change?

Yes! They definitely do. Publishers change dates of publication quite often, depending on schedules and potential clashes with other books. They want your book to have the best chance for its moment in the spotlight, so don’t worry if they decide to push your publication date back a little bit. It may be frustrating, but they are (usually!) doing it for the right reasons.

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• Why I hated writing full-time

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

• How not to be a dick when you get a book deal

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author

If you’re having a novel traditionally published then there’s one thing that’s certain to happen: you are going to get a bad review.

Hopefully only one (wouldn’t that be nice!?) but AT LEAST one.

Sorry.

It’s a rite of passage. Someone out there is going to HATE your book, and they’re going to take great delight in telling everyone all over the internet.

And it’s horrible. It really is. It’s really, really, really horrible.

In no other job (other than showbiz) do you get so publicly criticised. In no other job do you get people passing judgment on your blood, sweat and tears in front of literally the whole world.

I think it’s definitely harder when it’s your debut, so if you are a debut dealing with your first bad review, then please know that it will get easier.

(Sadly) you will become hardened to it, and you’ll be able to deal with it better.

But it’s still not nice.

I always find myself getting really tense in the days leading up to the first few reviews (especially if my book is available on Netgalley).

Goodreads and Netgalley are the devil’s work →

Then if the first few reviews are OK, or good, I feel I can relax a little. At least some people enjoyed it.

But if the first few reviews are bad, I find it so tough.

I have to keep telling myself that not every book is for every reader. And that the right readers will find my book in time.

Here’s how I cope with getting bad reviews:

1) Remind myself that no rubbish books get publishing deals

I’ve had people argue with me on this when I’ve said it before but I really do believe that in order to get a publishing deal a book has to be good. On some level at least.

It might not be ‘good’ in the sense of being a great work of literary merit, but in order to get published the publisher is going to have to believe that it’s commercially viable, which makes it ‘good’ by another metric - the measure of whether or not a book is likely to appeal to readers.

So the fact that one, or two, or a handful of people, didn’t agree that the book was ‘good’ does not mean that it isn’t.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

2) Remind myself that a bad review is often because it wasn’t what the reader was expecting

This was a huge realisation.

MUCH of the time a reader leaves a mean review it’s because the book wasn’t what they were expecting when they first sat down and opened the cover.

Book covers have to do a lot of heavy lifting. They have to let the reader know what to expect inside the pages, with nothing but an image and a few chosen words to go on.

And sadly, this often doesn’t work.

I’ve had experience of this with my novel The One That Got Away. The initial covers for the book were VERY romantic, and the tagline was also incredibly romantic.

Hence when readers opened it and started to read, they expected something that would give them all the romance feels they were looking for.

However, my book is definitely not a romance! If it had to go into a genre, I’d call it bookclub.

It’s a story about first love, but it’s not a love story.

Also, when my publisher first put it on Netgalley, they listed it under Romance rather than Women’s Fiction by mistake.

Cue many very distressed readers getting quite angry that my book had a lot of triggering topics in it.

And they delighted in telling me so!

Anyway, lesson learned. A lot of the time you get a bad review, it’s because the reader didn’t get what they were looking for from the story, and that’s not always your fault.

3) Remind myself that it’s all about them, and not about me

It’s obvious now I write it down but I often forget.

The way a reader reacts to a novel is entirely subjective. It’s 100% about their life experiences, and how they relate to the story.

Whether or not something resonates with them.

Whether or not something triggers them.

A bad review is often them vocalising THEIR reaction to the book. It’s not a critique of the book, in an academic sense.

It’s ALL about them, and nothing about me.

4) Don’t read them when I’m feeling vulnerable

I know some authors who don’t read their reviews at all, but sadly I am not tough enough for that.

I also genuinely WANT to know what readers are saying about my books. I’m a commercial fiction author and their reactions are important.

So, now I only look at my reviews if I’m feeling tough.

If I’m feeling vulnerable or insecure about my writing, or just having a bad day/week, then I remind myself that looking at my reviews is really unlikely to help!

I’ve got better at this over the years. I genuinely check myself and my mindset before I click onto my Amazon page or Goodreads.

I make sure that I’m feeling resilient enough to take whatever is out there waiting for me.

But if you aren’t sure that you can do this, then it’s maybe simpler to make a blanket ban for yourself and tell yourself not to look at all.

You can use the Freedom app to block yourself from looking at certain websites, and I have friends that use this regularly:

https://freedom.to/

(It also comes in handy for social media addictions!)

Alternatively, you can ask your partner, a trusted friend or maybe your editor or agent to look at your reviews for you, and collate the nice ones and send them over to you in an email every now and then 🙂

Feeling overwhelmed by your book deal?
Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

5) Read other people’s reviews to remind myself that all books get bad reviews

A classic tactic that I’ve mentioned before, but I promise you it DOES work.

Every time you get a bad review, take a few minutes to look up one of your favourite novels and read the one- and two-star reviews for it.

You’re not alone.

There is no such thing as a book with no bad reviews.

And if you DO find one, then it means no one outside of the author’s friends and family has actually read it.

6) Craft snarky imaginary responses to the reviews

CAN I JUST ADD A CAVEAT HERE TO SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH I MIGHT DO THIS, I NEVER POST THEM!!

Most often this a tactic I turn to when I’m feeling pissed off with everything to do with the publishing world.

Sadly this does happen from time to time. To me, and to all authors.

On those days, when I’m just feeling really irritable, I have been known to write snarky responses to the people who’ve left bad reviews on my books.

Mostly I write these reviews in my head. But sometimes I type them out too.

And then I delete them.

Because under no circumstances must you EVER EVER let them know they’ve got to you!

So do not respond to your bad reviews. No matter how tempting.

No good will EVER come to responding publicly.

Moan about them with your author mates. Share them on Whatsapp and have a proper whinge.

But do not share your feelings publicly - it’s surest and quickest way to being cancelled. Or blacklisted.

No good has ever come from an author complaining about their bad reviews.

You have been warned!

Watch my FREE 45-minute training on how to build your own author website! →

Pssst, want to get your author website sorted?! I can help! Find out more about my exclusive Squarespace services for authors…

There are tons of articles out there about how to spot a shady literary agent, but they are almost all for people who are still looking for representation, and they talk about things like never paying someone to read your manuscript etc.

But what if you have an agent, and on the surface, they are a ‘good’ one? A reputable one that looks after lots of successful writers?

What if they were your dream agent and yet somehow, the dream has soured? And you can’t quite put your finger on it, but something doesn’t feel right?

Sadly this isn’t an uncommon situation.

We’re so so happy when we first sign with an agent that we brush aside any little niggles that tell us perhaps we aren’t a good fit.

Your relationship with your agent is unique. It’s unlike any other business relationship I have ever had, and often, so much of a successful relationship between author and agent is down to the chemistry you have together.

One man’s meat and all that… it can be that one agent’s working style works well for one author, but leaves another author pulling out their hair.

For example, some authors prefer a more blunt, honest working relationship, whereas others prefer to be treated more delicately.

It’s really important to find the right agent for you.

I’ve been lucky - I signed with my agent nearly 15 years ago, and we have a really good working relationship.

But I know so many authors who’ve signed with agents only to have the relationship turn sour after a while.

They feel trapped and confused, and they don’t know if it’s just them being oversensitive, or if there’s something wrong with the relationship.

I also think many authors have a long, hard journey to getting an agent in the first place, and so they’re really nervous about the prospect of making a move.

But your agent is such a vital part of your publishing career, that if things don’t feel right or if the relationship is causing you more harm than good, then it’s definitely a good time to reassess.

You always have options. I know many, many authors who have changed agents midway through their careers.

It happens all the time and it’s really not that big of a deal.

Why a loyal agent is better than a hotshot agent →

An oft-repeated mantra in the publishing world is: no agent is better than a bad agent and I 100% agree with this.

Do not settle for shoddy behaviour!

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

OK, so let’s run down the top six signs that your agent might not be the right one for you…

1 They make you feel inferior in some way

If your agent makes you cry then they are not for you. If they make you feel like you should be grateful to be represented by them then they are also not for you.

Your agent should be your biggest cheerleader. They should believe in you and your writing and you should really FEEL as though they do.

If they put you down, gaslight, criticise or ignore you then it’s time to put your big pants on and find someone who treats you with the respect you deserve.

2 You feel like they’re putting the publishers’ needs before yours

I do find the author-agent-publisher relationship inherently a little problematic.

On the face of it, it’s clear: the agent works for the author. And your needs should come first. You shouldn’t be left feeling as though your agent is more interested in appeasing your publisher than serving your career.

However, whether right or wrong, the truth is that agents do have to maintain long-term relationships with all the key editors at publishing houses, in order to sell their clients’ books.

And you are not their only client.

I don’t have any specific examples to share here, but anecdotally I have heard of stories where authors feel as though their needs are being compromised in order for the agent to keep an editor at a publisher happy, because they have other authors with that editor, or they are hoping to sell another author to that editor in the future.

It’s an inevitable conflict of interest, and the sad fact is that there are thousands of would-be authors out there but only a handful of very influential commissioning editors.

However, it’s not fair on you and you shouldn’t feel as though your needs are being sacrificed in order to keep an editor sweet for a different author.

3 They don’t respond to your emails in a timely manner - or at all

Agents are busy, I know. Editors are busy too.

I’d like to also argue that most writers are bloody busy as well because we’re probably doing another job alongside our writing in order to pay our bills, but hey, we don’t SEEM as busy as the others because the secret truth is that our writing is always our priority, so we will reply to emails within minutes (not so much with emails for the dayjob though amirite?!)

Anyway, the short version of this is WE ARE ALL BUSY.

So I do understand that agents can take a while to get back to you, especially on something non-urgent, I would be very pissed off if my agent took weeks to reply to my emails, or didn’t reply at all.

If this is happening to you, and it’s not a one-off thing (I get that sometimes people have a lot of other things going on outside of work) but more a systematic pattern, and you’ve raised it with your agent before - then it may be time to move on.

Feeling overwhelmed by your book deal?
Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

4 They take months to read your manuscripts

I’m kind of stunned at how common this is, and how many authors are sitting around waiting for their agents to read their books.

Unless you’ve landed a book on them with no notice, then I can’t think of a decent reason for them to not put your MS near the top of their priority list.

I always discuss a date to deliver to my agent and I always ask her to make sure it suits her and her workload. We can usually find a time that works for us both.

I’m a bit Type A though, and I tend to hit all my deadlines so this method has always worked for me.

But if you’ve agreed a date to deliver and your agent still hasn’t even opened the MS three months later, then this is not good!

As an existing client, you should be one of your agent’s priorities.

5 They aren’t ambitious for you

Oh this makes me so sad even to write about. But if you feel as though your agent has lost the faith slightly, and isn’t ambitious for you, then it might be worth thinking about moving on.

You want an agent who is fired up on your behalf, who genuinely believes you could be the next biggest thing, and who is determined and energetic enough to go out and fight for you and your career.

If you feel as though your agent is just going through the motions and is happy with you signing deal after deal for the same amount, with no sense of your career being on an upward trajectory then you probably deserve more.

However, I understand that for some authors, this might be fine. Not all authors are desperate to have ‘big’ books and all the associated pressure that comes with that.

But if you are keen to keep on progressing in your career, and you don’t feel as though your agent is helping you do that, then it’s time for someone new with some fresh energy.

And the ultimate red flag…

6 They don’t pay you promptly

I’m not sure I need to elaborate much on this point.

But if your agent is sitting on money that’s rightfully yours then that is NOT ON.

Do not accept excuses or fob offs. If your agent is repeatedly late paying you money you are owed then it’s time to talk to the Association of Authors’ Agents or the Society of Authors.

Moving agents is obviously a scary thing. I haven’t done it myself, so I can’t share much insight.

However, I do know lots of authors who have, and they all seem to have survived the process!

More importantly, I don’t know of anyone who’s changed agents and regretted it, so listen to your gut, and if any of the above resonated with you, then perhaps it’s time to start considering your options 😊

Watch my FREE 45-minute training on how to build your own author website! →

You might also like:

• How I deal with bad reviews

• Why I hated writing full-time

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

• How not to be a dick when you get a book deal

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

I want to start this article off by saying that if you have been offered a traditional publishing deal for your book, then this is a MASSIVE DEAL.

It is getting harder and harder to get published - the landscape is changing dramatically with every year and publishers have become more and more risk adverse. So getting a book deal is an incredible achievement - even more impressive than when I got my first deal in 2017.

So you should be very proud. But… you may also be feeling rather overwhelmed.

Working towards a huge goal like this takes a long time and if you’re anything like me, it often means you haven’t thought much about the ‘other side’.

IE: what happens next.

So today, I thought I’d run through 5 things you must do after getting that exciting, life-changing email.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

1) Celebrate

I’m going to start with the most obvious one. But I don’t mean to be facetious. The truth is that the run up to getting that email with news of an offer is often fraught, stressful and can test even the most stable person’s sanity.

Is there actually anything worse than being on submission to publishers? It is the most hideous process! I’ve had eight novels published and I still find it completely draining.

So when you finally hear that someone actually wants to buy your book, you are often so exhausted by it all that it’s hard to feel anything but numb relief.

Or at least, that’s how it was for me.

Looking back now, with my years of experience, I can safely say that being offered a book deal is one of the highest highs of the whole process of being published. Not to say that it’s always downhill from then on, but getting an offer is almost certainly the highest point of the rollercoaster and although the rollercoaster will go back up again, it’s important to make the most of the view from the top every time you get there.

I don’t want to sound negative but I do think it’s important to be realistic about what being published is truly like, because there are often disappointments involved. However, when you get that first book deal, anything is possible. Your book hasn’t been tested by the market yet, it hasn’t been deemed unworthy of shelf space in a supermarket, or been pulled to pieces by frustrated-writers-turned-reviewers on Netgalley.

So please, for the love of god, make sure you celebrate!

It doesn’t matter if you’re completely burnt out by the submission process, you absolutely must make a fuss of yourself. Go for dinner. Go on holiday. Buy a huge cake. Treat yourself to something you’ve wanted for ages. Do whatever you usually do when you celebrate something, and take tons of photos.

It is a HUGE thing to get a book deal, and it needs to be celebrated in the same way as any endeavour that someone has worked long and hard for.

I’ve always been guilty of not living in the moment, and always looking ahead to the next thing to tick off the to-do list. I’m trying to work on it! And looking back, I wish I had celebrated my first book deal more. So don’t be like me!

2) Get your online presence in order

OK, so once you’ve got the fun stuff out of the way, it’s time to start reframing the way you look at yourself.
It’s time to start seeing yourself as An Author. And treating being An Author as you would any other new job.

Being an author is like being the CEO of your own business. But often, new authors don’t see it that way.

The issue is that writing a book is often something that’s done ‘around the edges’ of the rest of a life, and for a long time has to be treated like a hobby.

But once you get a book deal, it’s important to shift your mindset and start treating it like a(nother) job.

This means, you have to do start-up stuff, in the same way you would if you were launching any other kind of business.

As soon as your deal is announced, there will be people In The Industry (because it’s a job, see?!) looking you up online.

What will they find when they do?

If it’s nothing but an out-of-date Facebook page then it’s time to up your game!

Ideally, here’s what you need to have in place when your debut book deal is announced:

• A simple, clear author website with contact details for all your professional contacts (agent, publicist etc)

• An up-to-date author bio

• A professional headshot

• A mailing list sign up

• Public social media accounts in your author name (if you want to use social media)

None of this has to be flashy or complicated. You just need to have the basics so that people who are interested in you / your book can find out what they need to know easily.

And if you want help with your author website then you’re in the right place!

Sign up to watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

I know I’m biased but the earlier you get this stuff sorted, the better. Time and time again I get contacted by authors who want a website for their debut that’s coming out next month, and I have to turn them down because I’m fully booked.

The run up to publication is a hectic time, so the sooner you can get your online presence sorted, the less work you will have on your plate in that busy period. Your future self will thank you for it.

It also takes time for the SEO of new websites to establish, so the earlier you get your website up and running, the more chance you have of it appearing if someone Googles you.

When should I launch my author website? →

As for social media, this is personal preference but IMHO, you do want to be using at least one platform in a professional capacity. I am not an expert but I have done a few interviews with social media experts that you can read by clicking the links below:

Instagram for authors: interview with Nicola Washington →

Marketing for authors - top tips from Katie Sadler →

At the very least, it’s worth setting up professional accounts on the major platforms - using your professional headshot for continuity - even if you don’t intend to use social media.

This way you have at least ‘claimed’ those accounts / usernames should you wish to invest time on the platforms in the future.

3) Get involved with the author community

This point was originally called ‘network’ but it’s such a horrible word I decided to change it!

Still, whatever you want to call it, getting out there and meeting other authors is crucially important, if you want to stay sane in this business.

My author mates are the only ones who truly understand what the aforementioned rollercoaster ride is like, and I don’t think I’d survive this crazy career if I didn’t have them to talk to.

So please get out there and meet as many authors as you can! Even better if they are debuting at the same time as you.

Go to as many events as possible - yes it’s utterly terrifying turning up to a book launch not knowing anyone but I PROMISE you it will be OK and someone kind will take pity on you. And before you know it you’ll have made your first author friend.

If you don’t know any other authors or you haven’t been invited to any events, ask your agent or editor if they can pair you up with someone – most authors would be more than happy to chat to you!

4) Get an accountant

I have been self employed for fifteen years and yet I still only understand the very basics when it comes to tax.

Luckily, I have a great accountant.

Many authors I build websites for have never been self-employed before and understandably don’t know much about tax, either. Which is why it’s REALLY worth getting an accountant.

A good accountant should always save you money, but they will also help advise you on how to set everything up correctly, ensure you keep accurate records and basically hold your hand through your first tax return as an author.

They are worth their weight in gold! Especially if you have to do VAT returns too (if you earn over a certain threshold, you will have to register for VAT).

As an author, you can choose to set up a limited company or become a sole trader. There are pros and cons to both of these routes. There are also certain things that authors can take advantage of - such as ‘creative averaging’ (I’m not going to attempt to explain this here, please Google!).

Again, this is where a really good accountant can make everything a lot less stressful.

However, when it comes to finding an accountant, it’s important to do your research. Also, bear in mind that accountants can vary hugely in cost but more expensive doesn’t always mean better.

I would always seek a recommendation from a trusted friend or relative when it comes to finding an accountant. Also, make sure that they understand the nature of authors’ incomes, that they can vary drastically from one year to another, and that they have experience dealing with similar clients.

5) Keep writing

OK, last up. Again, something that might sound obvious but from experience I know that many authors are so caught up in the excitement / stress / admin involved in their first book deal that they put writing their next book on the back burner.

Please don’t do this!

Not only will writing a new book give you something to focus on and keep you sane throughout your debut journey, you’ll also be so thankful to have the next book underway when your debut comes out and you are stupidly busy promoting it while on a deadline for book 2.

Writing is HONESTLY one of the only things we traditionally published authors have control over. It’s our domain. Our thing. The thing we do best.

So you must keep writing. Keep up the momentum and try to separate what’s going on with your first book (reviews, cover reveals, sales slots) from your work in progress, because every book is unique and if your first book doesn’t end up being the mega seller you’d hoped for, there’s every chance your second book might.

You are a writer and it’s your job to keep writing, no matter what happens to the output of your efforts.

I also think that publishers appreciate authors who are able to continue writing and behave in a professional way throughout their debut year - not getting too emotional (even though god knows it’s the most exposing, excruciating thing to have a book published!) when things don’t work out as hoped. It shows that you take your writing seriously and that you treat it as a job.

I do honestly think it makes a difference to your chances of remaining published if you can take bad news on the chin and always look ahead to the next book.

Also, as I always say, the writing really is the best bit about it all - you got into this business because you loved writing, and it’s important to remember that!

6) Bonus tip! Download my Debut Authors’ Survival Guide

If you found this post helpful, then you will find tons more advice and solidarity in my Debut Authors’ Survival Guide, which I wrote alongside fellow author Caroline Hulse a few years ago.

In it, we cover everything we wished we’d known when we first got our book deals.

Download my FREE Debut Author’s Survival Guide →

I hope you find it helpful, and I’m sending you huge congratulations on achieving something that so many people want to do, but so few people do! ❤️

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on the book that nearly broke me

• Some honest thoughts on author publicity

• Some honest thoughts on social media for authors

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

• Some honest thoughts about writing out of contract

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

I haven’t done an ‘honest thoughts’ post in a while, but this topic has been niggling at me lately, so today’s the day! Let’s talk about publicity.

For those that don’t know, I was a journalist for a long time. After I left uni, I did a post-grad in magazine journalism (or ‘periodicals’ as they were called back then!) and I worked in magazines for about ten years afterwards. Mostly interiors magazines but some women’s magazines too.

I then left journalism to set up a digital marketing agency, and we offered online PR, social media and content marketing services to businesses in the interiors industry.

I also used to host workshops to teach people how to do their own PR, as well as training small business owners on a one-to-one basis.

A lot of people I worked with appreciated the fact I had been on ‘the other side’ and understood what journalists were looking for and how to make their jobs easier by providing them with content and ideas that they could use in their publications.

Suffice to say, when I got my debut book deal, I already knew a lot about journalism and PR.

I was super excited at the thought of working with the publicist that my publisher had assigned me.

So excited that I created spreadsheets of all the different articles that I could write that related in some way to my novel, and all the different angles we could pitch, and all the different outlets we could pitch them to.

There were two spreadsheets: one for long-lead mags, another for short-lead.

Here’s a picture of the long-lead one, because it’s just so cute:

So yeah: I was SUPER keen.

I was expecting a big PR meeting, a strategy plan, weekly check-ins, lots of follow ups… I expected my book to be reviewed in all the main places where books are reviewed: the newspapers, the women’s magazines etc etc.

I thought we’d be working about six months out from publication.

But… I don’t think we ever even had a meeting…

In the end, my debut did get a review in the Guardian and mentions in a couple of women’s magazines, which was super exciting, but - LIKE MOST BOOKS - not much else.

The truth is, it’s really really hard to get your book featured in a publication. Especially if it’s a novel.

Yeah, I know, just like everything else in publishing - it’s really really hard!

Because there are simply TOO MANY books fighting for TOO LITTLE space.

And publicists are working on multiple books at the same time, and they have to prioritise the ‘super-lead titles’ so if you’re not one of them, you’re going to get the bog-standard basic PR treatment, my friends, and that’s just how it is (absolutely no shade here to all the hardworking publicists working in-house at publishing companies by the way!).

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

Writing first-person pieces

One of the ways that publicists try to get novels featured is by offering up ‘first-person pieces’ (much like the ones in my spreadsheets) written by the author talking about something in their life that’s either traumatic or interesting or noteworthy in some way.

The hope is that you can shoe-horn in a mention of your novel somehow, and that this will help raise awareness of it, and ultimately, sales.

Before my debut was released, I had a request from an editor at the Daily Mail to write a piece about my experience of becoming a mother.

I think the headline they wanted was ‘I’m not a natural mother’. 🥴

It was basically a soul-baring piece about how difficult I found the adjustment to motherhood after running my own business and not being a particularly maternal person up to that point.

It broadly echoed the themes of my debut, The Rival, a psychological suspense in which a woman loses her job to a younger woman while pregnant, and eventually loses her sanity and her baby too.

This felt like a groundbreakingly original theme to me at the time, but now, of course, I know better 😆

Anyway, I wrote the piece. I felt very conflicted about it. I’m not a particular fan of the Mail, and it felt SO personal.

But I was keen and I wanted to show willing. I believed it was a bigger opportunity than it actually was. I wanted my book to succeed, I was prepared to do whatever it took. So I wrote it.

In the end, they never published it.

Not because there was anything wrong with it, per se, but because the Daily Mail over-commission and often just don’t run pieces.

Now I look back and I am so, so relieved that that article never made it to print.

The thought of that headline following me around the internet for the rest of my days sends shivers down my spine.

Luckily, as I was a journalist, I had negotiated a fee, and even though they didn’t publish the piece, they did actually pay me a ‘kill fee’ (which is usually half the original fee) so I got some cash out of it at least.

Since then, I have learnt that many authors write these kind of articles for free.

And I would just like to say here, very loudly, please don’t do that.

Do not write for a mainstream national publication for free!

They have a budget for this kind of thing, you are writing in a professional capacity and you deserve to be paid for your work.

Since I was first published I have heard countless stories of authors writing extremely exposing and personal pieces for mainstream outlets.

And the outcome is usually:

1. They didn’t get paid any money for the piece

2. They bitterly regret writing it

3. The piece made zero tangible difference to their book sales

Now, I would advise debut authors to think very carefully about this kind of thing.

As a former journo, it feels quite exploitative - especially if you don’t even get paid for your article.

The truth is, no one I have spoken to has ever said that writing one of these pieces helped sell books.

So what does it do?

One piece of coverage like this helps raise your profile, a little, temporarily.

So it can help build your author brand. But it’s a tiny piece of a monumental effort that must be sustained for any long-term results.

You need to be in ALL the magazines, in ALL the newspapers and across all online media to really have that huge impact you hope for.

Publicity for non-fiction authors

I’d like to add a caveat to this: I suspect that writing articles for mainstream press works better if you write non-fiction.

It’s certainly easier to come up with topics to write about if you write non-fiction - your book will undoubtedly be full of ideas that lend themselves to feature articles.

And if a newspaper reader reads the article and identifies with your book, I think there’s a higher chance that they’ll pick it up if they see it the next time they’re at the train station.

Fiction is just so much more subjective - it’s almost as though the barriers-to-purchase are higher.

Someone might have resonated with my piece about not feeling like a natural mother, but they might not even read novels, or they might hate psych suspense, so what are the chances of them actually going out and buying my book after closing their Sunday paper?

Really slim, and ESPECIALLY if my book is nowhere to be found.

The ONE thing I wish I had known before I got my book deal →

Short stories

You might also be offered the ‘opportunity’ to write a short story for a Sunday magazine.

I’ve done this twice now, and wasn’t paid for either (there was just a blanket refusal when I enquired about payment).

While that felt a bit galling, I decided to do it anyway because I’d hardly written any short stories and I thought it would be a good challenge.

I also went on to use one of them as the free download for my author mailing list on my website, so I got some leverage out of it.

So, this one is up to you. I don’t think it likely sells books, but it’s also a fun thing to do, and it’s always nice to see your (creative) writing in print.

Reviews

So, what about reviews?

I’ve been reviewed in a few mainstream newspapers over my time. I don’t honestly know if they helped shift books.

And I think this is part of the issue with PR in general - it’s so hard to track. It’s really difficult to know what makes people pick up a book.

There’s a saying that you need to encounter something SEVEN times before making a purchasing decision.

So one review in one newspaper is probably not going to carry much weight.

BUT four or five reviews, plus an advert on the Underground, plus your best friend telling you the book is great, plus a first-person piece in a women’s magazine plus a few online adverts… that may well encourage someone to buy your book.

Sidenote: it’s been proven that word-of-mouth is the most powerful book marketing method.

And what does that mean?

It means that writing the best book you possibly can is the most powerful thing you can do to help shift it.

I love getting reviews though, and what they ARE really useful for is ‘social proof’, which can be used on your books and on your own online platforms and website, almost as a stamp of legitimacy.

TV and radio

Over the years, I’ve also done a handful of radio slots. Which were a bit nervewracking, but actually really lovely.

I am not convinced that they sold any books but again - it’s impossible to track!

However, I do think that taking up these opportunities is really important because, if nothing else, it gets you used to talking about your book, which can really help when you come to do events.

I only have one experience of my book (not me!) appearing on TV, and that was when The One That Got Away was recommended on the Today Show in the US.

That was a pretty big deal. Obviously.

Here’s a line from my publicist’s email about it:

This truly a dream come true placement. Charlotte, congratulations!!! Last week, the Today Show had 2.568 million viewers with 594k in the A25-54 demo.

And I believe it did lead to a handful of orders. So that was great (also because it required absolutely no input from me!)

So yeah, get your book on TV if you can. Easy. 😛

Paying an external PR firm to publicise your book

Another thing I considered when I was a debut (and have since heard a lot of other authors consider) is paying an external PR firm to run a campaign in the lead-up to the publication of my debut.

I think if you write non-fiction this can be a really good idea. This is an instinct-based comment, not based on any evidence, but I can see from my experience as a journo and as a PR that this could work well, ESPECIALLY if the subject of your book is particularly topical or even a little controversial.

Also, if you’re trying to build your own brand in a wider sense (not just your book) and position yourself as a thought-leader in your area of expertise, it makes a lot of sense to have a PR on board.

However, if you write fiction, I really don’t advise you do this.

For one, if you’re traditionally published, it’s your publisher’s job and they should be doing everything an external PR firm can do for you, so you’ll just be doubling up.

Also, it’s super expensive. When I looked into it, I was quoted around £10k for a three-month campaign.

I’m not saying that it’s overpriced because I think that’s fairly reasonable given the work involved, but it IS a big investment and I just don’t think novelists will see the ROI they’re hoping for.

I think using an external PR can be helpful if you’re keen on building your personal brand, but not if you’re just looking to promote your debut novel.

Writing for blogs and online publications

I actually feel a little more encouraged by this aspect of PR.

I’ve done quite a few interviews with blogs and smaller publications and I think these can often be more effective than writing those aforementioned first-person pieces for large mainstream papers and magazines.

Why?

1) because the readership of these publications is often small but highly targeted (you would hope that the people reading book blogs like to read!)

and

2) because online outlets offer a direct click-through to your book on Amazon etc, meaning impulse purchasing is more likely.

It’s also nice to support smaller blogs and publications who might not even be making a profit, but simply running to share their love of books.

So when it comes to book PR, what does work?

Don’t get me wrong, I do think PR is important.

However, I think it’s simply one part of the huge puzzle of sales, marketing and publicity (SMP) in books, and it can become extremely distracting if you let it.

If you’re traditionally published, it’s your publisher’s job to secure media coverage. Of course, be helpful and collaborative, but please don’t feel pressured or obliged to write articles for free, or to share more personal information than you are comfortable with.

And don’t feel bad if your book doesn’t get any mainstream coverage.

My third book The Perfect Father (my bestseller) didn’t get reviewed in any mainstream publications at all. And yet it’s sold more than 100,000 copies to date.

Publicity really isn’t the be-all and end-all of a book’s success.

That book took off because of the marketing and visibility it had - and these really are the crucial factors that impact a book’s success.

Remember: the best marketing a writer can do is to write their next book!

So don’t allow all the SMP stuff to pull your focus away from your actual job.

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on social media for authors

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

• Some honest thoughts about writing out of contract

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

Most of my author friends are, like me, traditionally published, and one theme that comes up again and again in conversation is: frustration. And a sense that we don’t have control over our careers.

Published authors often feel at the mercy of the publishing house’s decisions with regards to marketing and sales, as well as staffing changes, budget cuts and shifting priorities.

As the author, when we sign that contract we are essentially ‘selling’ our book to the publisher. Which means they can do what they want with it afterwards!

And sadly, it often feels as though they don’t DO much at all… 🤨

The ONE thing I wish I had known before I got my book deal →

There are a million stories on Substack from authors who feel let down by their experience being traditionally published, and it’s always so upsetting and hard to hear.

Upsetting, but also - the brutal truth is that it’s just the way the business works. And your book is just a product - one of many, many other similar products, and the publisher’s primary responsibility is to maximise profit for their shareholders.

But this post isn’t going to be about what you can’t control as a traditionally published author, because, like I said, there’s already more than enough of that on Substack.

Today, I’m going to attempt to be more positive instead, and talk about the things you CAN control.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

1) Your attitude

I’m starting with one of the most difficult things of all, but it’s something that I really do believe is fundamental to get to grips with if you’re going to survive life as a traditionally published author: your attitude.

Your attitude towards publishing, your attitude towards your own success, your attitude towards your fellow authors, your attitude towards your reviews, your sales figures, your writing… it goes on and on.

Being a published author is honestly so bloody hard on your self-esteem and mental health. I don’t think I can accurately describe what it’s like - it’s the sort of thing that you only fully understand when you have to experience it yourself.

When you feel chewed up and spat out by publishing (as sadly, many authors do!), you really have two choices: either fall apart in despair and wallow in bitterness and self-pity, OR brush yourself off and keep going. Remind yourself that you are not alone, that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that the most successful authors have long and winding careers. Ones which rarely take a linear path. There will ALWAYS be ups and downs and a setback is just that - a setback. NOT the end of your story.

So take some time to grieve whatever ambition has been lost (for the moment), and then get back to what you’re meant to be doing - writing your next book!

Also, remember that you are NOT your book. You are not just one book. Your book is an entirely separate thing from you - it’s something you’ve created, but it’s just ONE thing.

There will be many more things you create and each one is its own opportunity to create the kind of success you’ve been hoping for.

It’s also good to remember that what you see on social media from other authors is rarely the complete picture.

I think cultivating and maintaining a positive mindset is one of THE most difficult aspects of the job, in a similar way to most creative industries. My partner is a professional singer-songwriter and it’s just the same in his work: endless knockbacks and disappointments.

But you have to find ways to adjust, and to cope, otherwise you may as well give up.

If you are looking for some help with your mindset, then I’d really recommend checking out Sophie Hannah’s Dream Author coaching programme.

Her advice on dealing with the ups and downs of author life is excellent.

2) Your relationship with readers

I am quite evangelical about building a direct relationship with your readers. I think this connection is the most powerful thing you have and can truly make or break your career.

If your readers grow to love and trust and feel as though they ‘know’ you, they will follow you wherever your writing takes you.

But if they don’t really know who you even are, then there’s no loyalty there, no reason for them to remember you if in the future, you move publisher, re-brand, take a break or even decide you’d like to try the self-publishing route.

Many traditionally published authors don’t bother to invest much time in developing their relationship with their readers.

They might do some token social media from time to time, but they don’t think about setting up a newsletter, for example, preferring to leave email marketing to their publisher.

But honestly, especially when it comes to newsletters, I think this is a mistake.

Your publisher is meant to invest in the books they’ve bought from you, but not so much in YOU, as an author. So handing over your newsletter list to them is really risky.

As we’ve already discussed, many things change at publishing houses. Imprints close or get absorbed, editors leave, senior leadership teams evolve and when things like this happen, authors are often negatively affected.

It’s at this point that you may want to start discussing with your agent moving to a new publisher.

But if your existing publisher has built up a mailing list on your behalf of 1000 of your most-dedicated fans, what happens when you leave?

Nothing. You have to leave that mailing list behind, because you don’t ‘own’ the data, or the right to contact those people.

Despite the fact they wanted to hear from you!

So please, don’t offload this stuff to your publisher.

Please treat your writing career like the small, fledgling business it is, and think strategically and professionally about this stuff.

Your relationship with your readers is your most powerful marketing asset - cherish it! Nurture it! Develop it!

Invest time in it and it will pay dividends in the future when / if you choose a different publishing path.

When should I launch my author website? →

Sign up to watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

3) Your brand / online presence

And on a similar note… one thing I really think authors can take control of is their own online presence or ‘author brand’.

Your publisher - honestly - has almost zero interest in this.

They don’t care what you look like. They don’t care ‘who you are’. They care about your book, its place in the market, and the response it gets from readers (not the response YOU get from readers - an important distinction).

Unless, of course, you get cancelled. Or suddenly become famous. LOL.

Why do you think publishers don’t routinely offer their new authors media training, despite perhaps getting you spots on panels or interviews with newspapers etc?

It’s because they don’t actually care how YOU, the author, are perceived. Especially if you write fiction.

Perhaps in non-fiction, it’s less of an issue, where your own brand is a powerful marketing asset for the publisher - but often when you are offered a non-fiction deal it’s because you have already worked so hard to cultivate your own personal brand.

Author branding is such a huge topic and I can’t do it justice here, but I do think the onus is on you to start thinking about who you are as an author when you get your book deal, and treating your author career like a business.

Which means, among other things, setting up a website and that aforementioned all-important mailing list.

How to build an author website: a step-by-step guide for authors →

Here are a few prompts to get you thinking about your readership and how you can build an online presence that would appeal to them:

1. What gender is your ideal reader?

2. What age range do they fall into? (this is an important consideration as many older readers don’t use social media, but they are likely to use email)

3. What level of education have they achieved?

4. Do they have children?

5. How much money do they have?

6. If they do use social media, what platforms are they most likely to be on?

7. Which websites do they visit the most?

8. Where do they shop?

9. Where do they get their book recommendations from?

10. Where do they buy their books?

11. Why do they enjoy your books? What is it about them that they enjoy?

12. Are your authors in book clubs? Where do they like to read?

13. Do they read your book for pleasure, business, self-help or something else?

14. Are they busy people, constantly pressed for time, or do they have time to fill?

15. What other authors do they enjoy reading? And what do those authors’ websites look like?

16. What other media do your readers enjoy? Podcasts? Newspapers? Magazines?

Once you’ve got a clearer idea of who your ideal readers are, you can work towards tailoring the content of your author website to appeal specifically to them.

Remember: always, always think about your readers. Without them, your career doesn’t exist!

4) Your literary citizenship

Oh I love this term!

In case you’re not sure what it means, allow me to enlighten you. It basically means supporting your fellow authors and the literary community in general through engagement, reviews, social media support, mentoring and more…

Basically helping out your fellow authors. S’nice, right?

And even though, of course, the aims are usually altruistic, the truth is that this kind of work can really help lift you up when you’re feeling down.

How I deal with professional jealousy as a writer →

Not only because it reminds you that you’re not alone, and that there are many authors out there who may also be struggling with the rollercoaster of publishing, but also because doing stuff to help other people out just feels really good.

On that note, I have to confess that I am not the best at ‘conventional’ literary citizenship.

I am a really slow reader, which means even though I get sent tons of proofs, I don’t get the chance to blurb as often as I’d like.

I actually talked about this on Insta recently!

So I try to be a good literary citizen in other ways. For example, this blog! And my free resources for authors. And my Debut Author Club.

All of these things help me ‘give back’ but also feel part of a community that so desperately needs to exist in order to support everyone in it.

None of this has anything to do with your publisher, or your publishing deal, and everything to do with building a sustainable, positive career as an author.

Becoming a ‘known’ figure within the community will ultimately benefit you in myriad ways as your career progresses.

5) Your writing

I had to save the big, most obvious one until last!

So, the MAIN AND MOST IMPORTANT thing you can control, as a traditionally published author, is your Actual God Damn Writing!

So obvious.

Yet so true.

For those who have not read my blog before, you might not be familiar with my absolute favourite writing mantra which is:

WRITING IS ITS OWN REWARD

Writing was something you did before you got a publishing deal, and unless you are completely insane, you didn’t do it because you thought it was a great way to get rich.

You did it because you loved writing.

And you wanted to create something.

And that’s a beautiful thing. And the main, and most important thing: that no matter how your ‘career’ develops, and no matter what shit publishing throws at you, your writing will always matter most of all.

Your writing offers you endless possibilities. That’s the beauty of it.

No matter how many copies your trad-pubbed novel sells, you can always write another. And another. And another.

You can re-invent yourself, change your name, move genres, switch to non-fiction for a change, self-publish…. The possibilities are endless and the writing is always firmly in your control.

Once you have finished writing a book, no one can take that away from you. That’s YOUR achievement. And it’s a ginormous one, and you did it all by yourself.

Publishing can’t touch that fact. Ever.

So well done, and keep writing.

You might also like:

• 5 lessons I’ve learned about book marketing

• 5 things you must do when you get your first book deal

• 6 ways your author website can support your marketing

• Some honest thoughts on the book that nearly broke me

• Some honest thoughts on author publicity

• Some honest thoughts on social media for authors

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

If you’re an author, it’s tempting to think of your website as a static thing. You build it once then leave it. A bio, a list of books, a contact page, job done!

But in reality, your author website should be one of the hardest‑working parts of your marketing ‘toolkit’.

As I have said repeatedly, social media platforms come and go, and algorithms change overnight. Your website, though, is the one place you fully own and control.

When it’s set up well, it can be a central hub that ties together your mailing list, events, and promotes your new books in a way that feels joined‑up and makes your life easier.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through six ways you can squeeze the most out of your author website, so that it works as hard for you as you did to get the damn thing live!

Why your author website is the ideal marketing hub

I always say to think of your author website as your online home. Social media, email newsletters, podcasts, and guest posts - all of these things should lead people to it.

When readers land on your site, they should be able to:

• Understand who you are and what you write

• Discover your books easily and find out how to buy them (with just one click!)

• Sign up to hear from you again

• Find events, launches, or news about your upcoming books

All of that stuff is crucial from a marketing perspective.

As we know, these days even traditional publishers do very limited marketing for their authors - unless you are one of the rare ‘superlead’ titles.

It’s becoming more and more incumbent on authors to pick up some of the marketing slack. I don’t like it, and I don’t think it’s fair, but unfortunately I don’t make the rules.

And of course, if you are self-published, then your own marketing is the thing that will make or break your book.

Here are the ways you can use your author website to support your efforts:

1. Grow your mailing list

I do honestly think that authors are becoming more and more aware of just how important having your own mailing list is.

I’m in quite a few Facebook groups and every week there are new posts asking for advice on this topic.

As you probably know, I’m evangelical that all authors should start building their own lists.

Why every author should set up a mailing list →

Your mailing list is still one of the most powerful tools you have as an author.

Unlike social media followers, your mailing list gives you direct access into people’s inboxes, where they are FAR more likely to see your messages.

Your website should make joining your mailing list feel natural and worthwhile.

Where to place sign‑up forms

Good places to include sign‑up forms include:

• Your homepage, ideally above the fold

• A dedicated newsletter or “freebie” page

• At the end of blog posts

• In your footer so that it appears on every single page no matter what

• A subtle pop‑up for new visitors

Should I add a pop-up to my Squarespace author website? →

You don’t need all of these, but you do need at least one clear, visible invitation.

What I love most about Squarespace is how easy it makes it to integrate your newsletter within your website. The sign-up boxes are all built-in, it’s just a question of dropping them into the page, and you can manage your mailing lists and send newsletters directly from inside your Squarespace account.

Why I use Squarespace (not Mailchimp!) for my author newsletter →

What to offer readers

People are far more likely to sign up if there’s a clear benefit. Popular options include:

• A free chapter or short story

• A behind‑the‑scenes essay or deleted scene

• Early access to announcements or cover reveals

• A reader‑only newsletter with extra content

Be specific. ‘Join my newsletter’ is not just vague, it’s completely unappealing!

‘Get a free chapter and exclusive early updates’ gives readers a reason to act.

From an SEO perspective, dedicated landing pages for your mailing list can also rank for searches like ‘[your name] author newsletter’ or ‘free chapter from [your name] author.’

2. Promote your author events

Events are easy to promote on social media and then forget about, which is why your website should be the permanent record!

Whether you’re doing in‑person book signings, festival appearances, school visits, or online events like Q&As and launches, your website can handle it all.

I feel like this is one of the areas that gets most neglected by authors (I am also guilty of this, although in my defence, I don’t do a lot of events!)

Creating an events section

The easiest way to address this is with a simple list of appearances that you update regularly.

Make sure you include all the important information - times, dates and click-through links for readers wanting to book a spot or buy a ticket.

Again, Squarespace has Events functionality built-into the platform, making it all very straightforward.

How to add an Events calendar to your Squarespace author website →

Using events to build trust

Including past events matters too!

Photos, short write‑ups, or testimonials help new visitors see that you’re active and engaged and also provide a nice record of what you’ve been up to. Writing about a past event always makes a good topic for your blog too.

And including past events is especially useful for authors offering talks, workshops, or school visits as it gives people an idea of what to expect, providing content you can link back to later when promoting similar events.

Watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

3. Announce your new books

A new book announcement is the perfect reason to direct people to your author website!

Unless you are an extremely prolific author or writing books in a series, ideally, each book should have its own dedicated page on your author website.

For new book announcements, that page becomes the page to link to for everyone who wants to learn more about your upcoming release.

What to include on a new book page

A strong book page usually includes:

• The book cover and blurb

• Release date and formats

• Pre‑order or purchase links

• Early reviews or endorsements

• Media coverage or blog posts

• Links to related events or appearances

This page can be updated over time, shifting from “coming soon” to “out now” to “available in paperback.” That ongoing relevance is great for SEO.

Using your mailing list to drive visits to new book pages

Your mailing list and launch pages should work together.

Encourage readers to sign up for launch updates, bonus material, or post‑launch content.

This turns casual visitors into long‑term readers, not just one‑off buyers.

4. Promote your social media

Make sure you include links to all your various social media platforms on your author website. It sounds obvious but honestly I come across SO many author websites that don’t have them on (even though the author does indeed use social media!).

Linking out clearly (without overdoing it)

At a minimum, your author website should make it easy for visitors to find you on social media. Clear links in your header, footer, or contact page are usually enough.

You don’t need icons everywhere, but you do want them to be obvious.

Think of these links as signposts. A reader who enjoys your books or blog might want a more informal, day-to-day connection with you, and social media is often where that happens.

Using the Instagram block to drive engagement

If Instagram is one of your main platforms, embedding an Instagram block on your website can be surprisingly effective.

Squarespace has this block built-in so it’s easy peasy to add to your author website.

An Instagram block lets visitors:

• See recent posts without leaving your site

• Get a feel for your tone and personality

• Click through to follow you if they like what they see

This works particularly well on homepages, about pages, or blog sidebars.

The ideal scenario is someone arriving via Google to find out more about you or your books, seeing a snapshot of your Insta ‘personality’, enjoying your content, and then deciding to follow you.

From a marketing point of view, this is the perfect cross-pollination opportunity.

Having your latest Insta pics on your homepage can also help make your author website look up to date and show you as a busy author, living your best busy author life!

5. Provide resources for press or media

A press or media page is often overlooked, but it can be one of the most useful marketing assets on your author website.

Your press page should be an easy toolkit for journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and event organisers looking for more information about you.

What to include on a press page

A strong press or media page usually includes:

• A short, clear author bio in different lengths, written in the third person so that media can simply copy and paste it

• High-resolution author photos

• Book covers and blurbs

• Press releases or launch announcements

• Links to interviews, reviews, or features

• Contact details or a press enquiry form

By putting everything in one place, you make it easy for people to write about you without having to chase you for assets.

How a press page supports your marketing

A good press page saves time, but it also builds credibility. When visitors see that you’ve been interviewed, reviewed, or featured elsewhere, it reinforces your authority as an author.

From an SEO perspective, linking out to reputable publications and media appearances can strengthen your site’s trust signals. You can also link back to this page from book launch posts, event pages, and your about page.

If you’re pitching podcasts, festivals, or events, sending people directly to your press page looks professional and helps them say yes faster.

On a budget but need an author website?
The DIY Author Website Course is just for you! →

6. Drive traffic with blog posts

Have I mentioned that I am a HUGE fan of blogging?

Good old fashioned content marketing is, in my opinion, still one of the most underrated ways to get people to find you online.

Blog posts are brilliant for:

• Driving search traffic to your site (new people coming from Google)

• Linking readers to book pages and mailing list sign‑ups

• Supporting new book releases with behind‑the‑scenes content

• Answering common questions readers and writers search for

• Adding internal and external links to your site, which is really important for SEO

For example, a post about the research behind your novel can link directly to the relevant book’s page, but also to any other resources mentioned on other websites.

A post about an upcoming event can link to the event details and include a newsletter sign up to encourage people to find out first about any future events.

You get the idea! It’s not rocket science ;)

Internal linking like this helps readers navigate your site and also helps search engines understand how your content fits together.

But I don’t have time to write my next book, let alone do all this!

Authors are often juggling many balls alongside their writing - and most authors have another day job to consider. So please don’t worry if you don’t have time to do all of the above!

I often hear from authors that they don’t really know what their author website is ‘for’, so I thought it would be helpful to list a few ways in which you can make your website really work hard for you, and justify its existence.

But just implementing one or two of the above ideas will make a difference.

You can start small:

• One clear mailing list sign‑up

• One events page

• One strong book page per title

The important thing is to have a foundation from which you can build as your career grows.

Instead of chasing every new platform, you’re building something sustainable. A place readers can return to, again and again, to discover your work and stay connected.

That’s what a good author website should do.

And if you don’t know where to start with building an author website, then please do take a look at my online course. Or if you’d prefer to hand the whole thing over completely (I get it, I really do!) then please do get in touch.

I love talking author websites and will be happy to advise, no matter what stage of your career you are at ☺️

Save 10% off your first year’s Squarespace subscription using code CHARLOTTE10

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• How to back up your Squarespace author website

• How many pages do I need on my author website?

• My #1 author website design secret

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• How to build an author website: a step-by-step guide for authors

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2025 is nearly at an end and I thought I would share my very final author website project of the year with you!

The Brief

Sarah is an ultrarunner, writer and memoirist who wanted my help with setting up a portfolio website to spotlight her published essays, freelance articles and podcasts, and also to provide a place for agents and other publishing professionals to find out more about her work.

Sarah had one book published in 2017 but didn’t want this to be the main focus of the site. She has built up a huge following on her own Substack, where she writes regularly about running in midlife, so we wanted to make sure this was clearly signposted in multiple locations on the new website to encourage cross-pollination.

It was also important to Sarah that the new website was flexible enough to be adapted easily to highlight her memoir when it’s finished and published.

Sarah knew she wanted earthy tones for the website, so we went with a deep forest green as the main colour, complemented by a sandy cream.

Best of all, Sarah had some really great photography which I was determined to make the most of, so we included it full-width wherever possible! The end result really leans into the mountain-running-midlife vibe.

Scroll down to see more of Sarah’s website and find out more about how she found our project…

The Details

Version: Squarespace 7.1

Fonts used: New Spirit, Aktiv Grotesk

View the site: sarahlavendersmith.com

Sarah’s Verdict

The Post-launch Q&A

How do you feel about your completed website?

I am so happy with the look, feel, and functionality of the site Charlotte built. I needed a basic professional site that introduced me to the world and spotlighted my book project along with my published work and other credentials. She managed to design a site that conveys my natural, outdoorsy, and athletic aesthetic. I feel confident that if someone researches me for background, my new site will put forward my best and most authentic self.

Before working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, when it came to my website I felt …

…daunted by the prospect of overhauling my old, buggy WordPress site. I looked into a DIY site build with the help of AI, but it felt overwhelming to handle the design and technical backend when my main concern was the content. Therefore, I was gratified to find Charlotte and let her handle the design and technical aspects of it.

What fears or hesitations did you have before deciding to work with Charlotte Duckworth Studio?

First, I was concerned that the site wouldn’t be to my liking, but thanks to her detailed questionnaire, she understood and captured my taste in terms of layout, color, typeface, and other design elements. I also was concerned about migrating the new site to my existing domain provider, and then learning how to make design and content updates to the new site. Charlotte’s personalized video guidance allayed all those fears.

How do you expect your new site to change things for you?

I hope and expect it to help me secure an agent and book deal when I start querying. I also expect it will lead more journalists to contact me as a source, because the site highlights my experience in a specialty, and Charlotte handled all the SEO for me, so I’m confident the site will come up when someone researches my niche.

For someone on the fence about working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, what would you say to them?

Her guidance and followup help to make the site go live are completely worth the cost!

Is there anything you feel could have been done to improve your experience? Have suggestions? This can be anything that crossed your mind from the time you hired me until now!

No, not really.

Would you recommend Charlotte Duckworth Studio to a friend who also needed to build an author website?

Yes, most definitely.

Want me to build you a website?

My streamlined yet personal approach, perfected over the past 6 years of building websites for ambitious authors just like you, means I can create your dream author website without overwhelming you with tech jargon or confusing decisions, supporting you throughout the whole process and gently guiding you with my expertise.

I have had a ton of amazing enquiries in the past week, but I’m already fully booked until March! I hate disappointing people so please do find out more, then get in touch to secure your slot.

I would love to hear from you!

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• Project Spotlight: Kit Conway

• Project Spotlight: Clare Harlow

• Project Spotlight: Liza Tully and Elisabeth Elo

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• Project Spotlight: Mel Pennant

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• 5 amazing author website built by my students

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I just want to put something out there, in the full knowledge that it might make me seem like a spoilt brat. But being a writer is hard. Really. It is.

Let’s take away the never-ending financial insecurity (which most people would find incredibly stressful), the loneliness, the fact that so much of your success is completely out of your control, the long hours, the late nights, the backache, the lack of exercise and consumption of too many snacks.

And let’s focus on the hardest thing of all: professional jealousy.

I’ve always thought that I was quite lucky, as I seem to be missing the jealousy gene. As a general rule, I don’t get jealous of other people. Or their success.

I suspect that the reason for this is that I am far too self-absorbed to really care what other people are doing (this is probably not a good thing!). I’m too focused on my own life, my own success, my own happiness.

I don’t really notice what other people are up to in anything more than a perfunctory way, and I usually just think ‘good for them’ and move on.

However, when it comes to writing, I think even the most self-absorbed person struggles just a little bit with professional jealousy.

Because no matter how well you write, how well your book ‘performs’ in the marketplace, there will always be someone else out there with a ‘bigger’ book. A ‘better’ book.

And you will sit back and wonder why it isn’t you.

And you will be pleased for them, but then you’ll also start to panic that your book is going to get lost, because surely there’s only so much room for big books out there, and what if yours isn’t one of them? What does that make you?

Who wants to be second rate? Who wants to ‘nearly make it’? Who wants to be the one that people look at and think ‘Oh dear, guess it didn’t work out for her then’?

The reason I write this post is because recently I’ve had to remind myself of the most useful tool you have for defeating this green-eyed disease: abundance mentality.

I have noticed my bouts of professional jealousy come and go in waves.

Usually, it’s when things are quiet, when I’m just sat at home doing the part of writing that people ignore when they see it as a ‘dream’ career: the actual bloody writing.

Sat at home alone day after day, struggling with my characters and the ever-present imposter syndrome that seems to be just an inevitable part of this job, and I start to look at other writers with 300 five star Amazon reviews and tons of praise on social media and I think, why am I doing this again? The world doesn’t need my books. I’ll never be as successful as them. What do they have that I don’t? Why are they so brilliant/lucky/talented?

I read about abundance mentality a few years ago in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and it’s probably one of the most helpful concepts I’ve ever come across.

I’m not usually one for self-help books, but this particular concept really struck a chord with me. Put simply, people who believe in abundance - that there is enough happiness, success, love and joy for all of us, are much happier than those who believe in scarcity - that if you’re eating the cake then I can’t eat it too.

I’m no philosopher, and I am terrible at explaining things like this so here’s a diagram that really neatly sums up this way of thinking:

If you see success as something scarce, that can’t be shared, all you do is make yourself miserable. Because the truth is there IS enough space for everyone.

To be specific about writing, just because a reader likes someone else’s book, that doesn’t mean they won’t like your book too!

Just because an agent has sold someone else’s book for six figures, doesn’t mean they can’t do the same for the next book you write.

There’s no limit to the amount of books or writers that readers can admire and enjoy.

It’s easy to write this down as a theory - something that’s nice on paper, but it’s more difficult to change your mindset.

So on the days when I’m really struggling with self-esteem and find myself slipping into a scarcity mindset, I have one trick that really works for me.

Fake it til you feel it.

And the best way to do this is to support others. On the days I’m feeling really down about myself and my writing, I make sure I praise other writers, share their posts on social media, am supportive and helpful to them in any way that I can.

Sometimes I have to force myself to do it, sometimes I really just feel like locking myself away and eating a whole packet of Maryland cookies and simmering with envy, but I always feel better afterwards.

I really believe that putting a bit of positivity into the world is the best thing you can do when you’re feeling negative. It’s the ultimate mood lifter.

Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

I also try to go back to the writing and remember what I love about it - because for me, it really is the best bit about being a writer.

When I’m writing and it’s going well, I find I don’t care at all about how successful or not the book might be. Instead, I’m completely focused and absorbed in my own little created world.

Of course, you can also choose to avoid social media, and lots of people I know do that, but it’s quite hard to do that completely (especially if you have your own book to promote).

It’s also tough if lots of people you know are writers too, as you’ll inevitably hear about their success one way or another. So really, I think supporting them as best you can is the healthiest thing to do. Because they will, of course, have felt the same way you are feeling at some point in their writing career - it’s par for the course.

Are you even a writer at all if you haven’t felt like a massive failure at some point?!

I hope this doesn’t sound super preachy. I’m not trying to tell anyone else how to live their life - everyone has their own ways of coping with things.

But I thought it was worth a blog post, because it is something that helps me, and if there’s any chance it might help you too when the green-eyed monster comes to call, then that’s gotta be good, right?

You might also like:

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• Why I hated writing full-time

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Perhaps you knew this already. Perhaps, deep down, I did too. But something I’ve learnt throughout my journey of being published (six books released to date, two more under contract) is that:

MOST NOVELS DO NOT SELL MANY COPIES.

See, that would have been a REALLY depressing headline!

Also, here again, I must preface this by saying I’m talking about most traditionally published novels.

Because I don’t know anything about self-published books and I don’t know much about non-fiction, and the digital book market is completely different and again, although I hear all the time of great success by my fellow authors in that department, I don’t have any direct experience of that publishing model.

I think back to when I first started writing and how naive I was. I honestly thought the hardest thing would be getting an agent.

I was actually quite lucky and it only took me about three months to get an agent, but even so, it was the longest three months of my life. So if you are looking for an agent right now then I hugely sympathise! It can be a very long and painful process.

Anyway, I got my agent and I thought, YES! I’ve done it. The hardest bit is behind me and now it’s going to be all sunshine and rainbows from here on in.

I guess I knew it was tricky to get a publisher but I assumed if you had an agent then at some point, it was a sure thing that you would get picked up by a publisher.

I don’t have any stats on that, by the way.

I’d love to know if there are many authors out there with agents who are consistently trying who still haven’t secured a publishing deal after ten years?

Anyway, it turned out I was wrong about that too. I wrote two books that my agent didn’t manage to sell, another that we agreed wasn’t strong enough to go out on submission, before writing my fourth novel, The Rival, which finally sold to Quercus.

By that point, I was already pretty battle-hardened.

But really, the true test of my mettle was yet to come.

I guess I assumed if you got a publishing contract with a big publisher - which I did (Quercus are part of Hachette) - then that was it. Your book would be a success.

Again, I was so naive.

I don’t really know where that assumption came from either. I guess I just didn’t know enough about the publishing industry, or the market for novels, and I had no idea just HOW MANY NOVELS were published each year.

Looking back now, it seems obvious that OF COURSE not every book that’s traditionally published can become a bestseller, but it really, honestly, didn’t occur to me at the time.

Now I know.

Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

I have heard on the grapevine and read on various blogs and heard on podcasts that the average number of copies a traditionally published book sells throughout its lifetime is 3000.

From my experience chatting to authors over the years, I’d say that sounds eminently possible.

And 3000 copies - if you are writing commercial fiction - is not a lot.

I mean, it IS a lot if you try to visualise 3000 people standing in a field holding a copy of your book, but it’s not a lot if you want to make a decent living from your writing.

What happens in the commercial fiction space is that some books - maybe 2% of all books that are released - suck up all the market, selling thousands upon thousands of copies.

I remember speaking to someone in publishing a long time ago (I can’t remember who it was annoyingly!) and they told me that the majority of adults read one or two novels a year - often while on holiday - and they will choose the book that they’ve seen EVERYWHERE.

That’ll be that year’s BIG BOOK.

Think Crawdads, Lessons in Chemistry, Osman etc etc

The person I was talking to referred to them as the ‘cannibal’ books, which eat up all the shelf space and the publicity and the attention.

It’s almost a self-perpetuating thing. The more they sell, the more they sell.

These are the books that are still available to buy in supermarkets six, eight, ten months after their initial publication.

These are the books that sustain the publishers, that basically provide the income so that publishers can afford to take risks on other authors.

They are often ‘written’ by celebrities, but that’s a post for another day… 😉

When I look back, I try to remember what I thought might happen when my debut novel was released.

I wasn’t wholly naive, I did know that the likelihood of my book becoming a massive bestseller was slim.

But maybe I hoped it would sell enough copies that I would out-earn my advance, which was a pretty high five-figure one.

It didn’t! And it still hasn’t.

But that’s not unusual. Most authors I know who have published a few books and are still writing and being published today, have not sold thousands upon thousands of copies of their books.

I am sure you are fully aware that most authors don’t earn enough from their writing alone to sustain themselves.

Everyone talks about how hard it is to make a living from writing, and I suppose I assumed that they were just moaning, and I looked at all the bestselling authors and thought ‘well, it’s definitely possible’.

And it is! It absolutely is. You absolutely HAVE to keep the faith in this industry, believe in yourself, and keep producing your best work.

It’s just not definitely likely.

The truth is, that most novels do not sell many copies.

If you get a publishing deal, the likelihood of your book selling a gajillion copies is still really really slim.

Why the size of your advance matters →

But it’s also quite unpredictable.

The good news

You might have got a small advance at a big publisher, and after reading this decided that the likelihood is your book won’t sell that many copies, but that’s not necessarily true.

There are those rare breakout books that seem to come from nowhere and catch people’s attention, and these can then go on to sell far more numbers than their publisher ever anticipated.

Also, there’s DEFINITELY the possibility that a book you’ve previously published takes off at a later date. Especially if you have a breakout book further down the line

So, what’s the point of this post, you might be wondering?

I guess to reassure you that if your book hasn’t been a massive success and sold thousands of copies that this is totally normal.

You are NOT a failure.

You have not disappointed your publisher.

This is probably, in fact, exactly what your publisher expected to happen.

Eek, I know.

Sure, they would have hoped for a different outcome, but they would also have known (perhaps unbeknownst to you) that it was the most likely thing to happen to your book.

Because most novels do not sell many copies.

It’s just the way it is.

As I’ve said before - each book is a lottery ticket, and you just have to keep on buying them, until one day, your numbers come in…

You might also like:

• Why I hated writing full-time

• How I deal with bad reviews

• How not to be a dick when you get a book deal

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author

• Some honest thoughts on the Harrogate Crime Writing festival

A caveat here that in this post I am not talking about being a writer in general, but very specifically about being a novelist, writing fiction, and being traditionally published (as I have said many times, I know nothing about the indie publishing world!).

My dad wanted me to be a lawyer. Like many (most?) writers, I was academic. I did well at school, I was pretty quick at most subjects and I was very good at English and assimilating a lot of information and then, well… writing about it in an accurate and relatively concise way.

(If this sounds like I’m bragging, please let me assure you that I was terrible at anything that involved graphs or numbers and I still have nightmares about my A Level Economics Data Response paper. I was also painfully shy and terrible at sport).

Anyway, I did not want to be a lawyer.

I wanted to be a novelist. From the moment I could read, I wanted to be a novelist.

I’ll save you the usual story about me writing my first book aged 6 because I’m sure you’ve heard that kind of thing a million times, and it’s likely true for you too. But all I ever wanted to do ‘when I grew up’ was be a novelist.

I’m not sure, however, that anyone in my childhood ever discussed this with me as though it might actually be a real option, and so it always felt like a fantasy, much akin to growing up to be a princess (respect to K-Mid for pulling that one off).

I always expected that I would have to have some kind of other ‘job’ as well.

Being a novelist for a job didn’t feel like something that was possible, somehow. It certainly wasn’t the kind of job that people at my school talked about.

We were expected to get traditional degrees and go on to work as, well, yes, lawyers, or accountants or for banks or in HR or, if we loved science, then perhaps we’d become doctors or vets.

So when I left uni (with a rather unhelpful but very interesting degree in Classics), I disappointed everyone (but especially my dad) by declaring that I wanted to be a journalist.

It was the closest thing to ‘being a novelist’ that I could think of that also sounded like a real job.

I did love being a journalist. I did it for around ten years in the end, and I worked my way up at a major magazine company, eventually becoming the Managing Editor of a big interior design website.

But I still always wanted to write fiction, and so I did alongside my job, landing a literary agent at the tender age of 26.

Fast forward a few more years, and I finally got a proper book deal.

I won’t go into more detail about that because I’ve already written about my publication journey extensively, and this is meant to be about what it’s like once you have, technically, ‘made it’ and been invited into the coveted inner sanctum of TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED AUTHORS.

My journey to publication (so far!) →

Traditionally published authors: also known as authors who have actually made it into a job. Who have been paid, by OTHER PEOPLE, for the weird stories they made up.

I can’t tell you how strange it was to finally be paid (by a big, corporate entity, no less!) for my fiction.

Being paid to be a princess. It sounds kind of miraculous when you put it like that, doesn’t it?

My first book was released in 2018, and I have released a book every year ever since, meaning that I have been working as a professional author - that I have had a ‘career’ as a novelist - for six years now.

However, I still don’t see it as a career.

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

The thing that I’ve realised over the past six years is that everyone in my childhood was right. Especially everyone who thought it would be more sensible to be a lawyer (I’m looking at you, Dad) and all the other very smart authors I know who trained as lawyers first so that they’d always have something solid to fall back on.

So here’s my controversial statement of the day: writing fiction is not a ‘real’ job, and being a novelist is not a real career.

It’s not a real career because:

1. There is absolutely no stability whatsoever

2. There is no clear path of progression, no obvious career ladder to climb

3. A depressingly high percentage of authors earn the most they ever earn from writing right at the beginning of their ‘career’, then nothing ever again

4. You can do it at any age, and you might have tons of experience or absolutely none and it doesn’t seem to make any difference

5. Ditto qualifications and training

6. Financially, the remuneration makes no sense. Two writers can have the same amount of talent and expend the same amount of energy and write equally brilliant books and one might earn millions while the other earns nothing at all

7. It is not a transferable skill. Obviously, writing itself is a transferable skill, but writing fiction is completely different from writing journalism and not the sort of thing you can offer ‘for hire’ (except possibly as a ghostwriter, but even those kind of jobs don’t have any stability or security)

Show me another ‘career’ that works in the same way as that of a novelist’s?

I know that lots of arts jobs are similar in the sense that there are no guarantees and that you can be amazingly talented but still not make it, but even singers have a skill that can be put to use in a more commercial sense if their solo artist career doesn’t work out (eg they can become wedding singers, or do corporate events. No one wants to hire a novelist to write a novel about their wedding!).

That’s a crap example, but I hope you get what I mean.

I guess songwriting is similar to writing fiction - I know because my other half recently did an MA in Songwriting and much of his experience of trying to get a publishing deal for his songs is very similar to those of novelists trying to get a book deal.

Why writing novels is not a career

I did an Arvon course when I was in my early 20s, around the time I signed with my literary agent.

I remember that the tutor on the course said to me that she didn’t know of any authors who didn’t have either:

a) a private income (I still don’t really know what this means, but I guess it means they were born rich?)

OR

b) a wealthy spouse to support them

OR

c) another job

As I had neither of the first two things (and still don’t), I found this deeply depressing. Was I doomed before I even began?

We all know that advances are lower than they ever have been, that it’s even harder to get a book deal, and that when you do get one, it’s even harder still to break out or get your book seen by the masses.

More than ten years later, I can see why that tutor said that, and sadly, apart from a handful of ‘lottery winning’ authors who got big book deals and whose books subsequently went on to sell well, I don’t know of many authors - especially not female authors - who don’t have either a) nor b) nor c).

It makes me mad.

Authors should be paid fairly. Even if they have rich spouses!

I firmly believe that traditional advances should be at least a living wage, across the board, rather than some authors getting millions upfront and others getting nothing.

I am sure there are reasons that advances are done the way they are, but I have yet to read an article that convinces me it’s ever in the best interests of the authors.

However, being angry about this won’t change things. Being angry is a waste of energy.

Over the past six years, writing has paid me more money than any of the other jobs I’ve ever had.

And yet, and yet…

I worry about money all the time.

I have no job security. And the truth is I may never earn another penny from my fiction.

Except for one final advance payment I am due when my next book is released in 2026, there is no way of knowing if anyone will ever pay me for my writing again.

That’s just the truth of it.

Do not go into writing fiction thinking of it as a career. Because it isn’t one.

It’s a vocation. And you need to adjust your mindset to accept that, or you’ll go mad!

I appreciated this recent, blisteringly honest article in Esquire: has it ever been harder to make a living as an author? →

It was good to see someone speaking the truth.

Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

But it’s not all doom and gloom, I promise!

Here’s how I cope with writing ‘as a career’:

1) I do something else too

I work almost full-time as a web designer.

It’s so important for my mental health to know that I have another source of income.

Even though I know, comparatively speaking, I have earned well from my writing, as I said, there is no security, I live in one of the most expensive parts of England and I have a family to support.

I am lucky because I love doing web design.

I am also lucky because I did earn enough one year to have a year where all I did was write, full-time, and that experience taught me that I did not enjoy it!

Why I hated writing full time →

I am SO grateful for that year. It taught me a lot about myself. And taught me that, even putting aside the job-security-aspect of being a full-time novelist, the loneliness and pressure of having only one nebulous thing to pin all your self-esteem on is enough to send anyone mad.

You want to write? Then write. But don’t make it the only thing in your life.

Make sure you have something else - something more stable - to keep you going when things get tough. Because (unless you are one of the very rare 2% of ‘brand name authors’ who will always be published) they will!

2) I always come back to the writing

But on that note - always try to remember that the WRITING itself is the important thing.

The writing itself is what really matters - your own artistic expression. Not the publishing side of things.

Write because you love it. Write because you can’t not write. Write because it helps you make sense of the world.

Do not write to be published. Do not write to become rich. Do not write for fame and glory.

Writing itself has to be its own reward - and it truly, really is, if you can shut out all the noise around it.

Writing is the best thing in the world.

3) I accept that writing brings me more important rewards than money

Writing is incredibly important for my mental health.

When I don’t write, I find myself having weird dreams. I’m an incredibly anxious person and writing really helps ‘level me out’.

It also helps me process things that are worrying me, gives me the chance to hyperfocus on things I’m fascinated by, and offers me the space to be endlessly creative - which really is a gift to the soul.

In these ways, writing brings its own rewards. I try to remember this when I feel frustrated by the state of my ‘career’.

4) I view writing novels like buying lottery tickets

And finally, I have adjusted my mindset so that I now view each of my books as a lottery ticket.

I write it, and I send it out into the world and I wait and see if my numbers come up.

Sometimes they do, mostly they don’t. What will be will be.

But you have to be in it to win it, and if you want to win ‘it’ whatever ‘it’ may be - some intangible, indefinable sense of success - you have to throw your books out into the world and wait and see what happens.

Do not expect anything - aim to be pleasantly surprised!

Hope I cope with the ‘writing life’

There’s a logical, slightly rigid part of my brain that finds the life of a novelist very difficult to accept!

To me, it seems obvious that the more you write, the better you get, and therefore the more you should be respected for your work, and the more you should earn.

But that just doesn’t apply when it comes to writing fiction.

So in order to cope, I treat writing as my vocation. It’s something that’s in my blood, something I was born to do, and something I am sure I will do forever, whether or not I’m being published.

The life of a novelist is undoubtedly a difficult one, but at the same time I do think it’s important to remember just how lucky we are to have this vocation - to have this drive and passion to do something that’s honestly so difficult.

A life without that kind of drive must be incredibly unfulfilling.

We are rockstars, in our own way. And being a rockstar is just cool. Right? 😆

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author

Another post that might get me into hot water but here we go anyway. The somewhat controversial topic of author blurbs. What do we think of them?

I’m not sure that, before I became a published author, I had any idea about the practice of author blurbing.

I guess I was aware of them, in the sense that I must have seen them on the back covers of books and sometimes on the front too, but I can honestly say that they have never influenced my purchasing decisions at all.

(Which is a point I will come to in more detail further along!)

Unlike a word-of-mouth recommendation from someone I actually know, which ALWAYS make me more likely to pick up a book.

What is an author blurb?

But first, let’s back up a bit. In case you’re not sure, then I’ll clarify exactly what an author blurb is.

A ‘blurb’ is a quote that an author gives to support another author’s book.

They are often used on the cover of books and also on online retailers’ listings.

You can’t fail to miss them on Amazon if you take a proper look at the page listing an author’s book, rather than scrolling right down to read the reader reviews instead (just me?!).

There are often at least one or two quotes praising the book by other authors, who (usually) write in a similar genre.

There might also be some quotes from newspapers or magazines in this same area, but we’re not talking about those today (and to be clear, I have no beef with these at all, because that’s literally a newspaper reviewer’s JOB).

Today we are talking specifically about the quotes that have been written by other authors to describe a book and basically support it, to help encourage readers to take a chance on it.

The other meaning of the word ‘blurb’ in the book world

Just a little aside here - the word ‘blurb’ is a bit confusing.

Like so many things in authorland (I really need to do a glossary of author terms one day!), a blurb can also mean the short description of the book - usually written by the publisher but with help from the author - that appears on the back of the book, and at the top next to the book’s cover when it’s listed for sale online.

Here’s the back cover copy for my latest novel:

This is the story of girl meets boy.

And then everything goes wrong . . .

Ever since they first met at university, Beth and Nick have circled in and out of one another’s lives: supporting each other through grief, marriage, divorce, career crises and family dramas.

Fourteen years ago, when they were on the cusp of adulthood, they both survived a devastating fire that sent their lives in different directions. And they’ve been running ever since: from the pain, from the memories, and most devastatingly of all, from the guilt.

But no matter how hard they try, there’s something else they can’t run from. The inescapable, terrifying truth: they’re in love with each other.

But how can they move forward, when neither of them can stop looking back?

Sidenote: Interestingly these descriptive passages trying to sum up the book are longer in the US. In the UK we tend to keep them short and snappy.

But I’m not talking about that descriptive copy in this post.

I’m talking about endorsements from other authors.

I was lucky to have a lot of them for my first book under my pen name Charlotte Rixon. I have never had this many blurbs before or since, which is interesting (maybe people were just curious about my change in direction?).

You can see them here:

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

How authors get blurbs for their books

I do not know of a single author who enjoys the process of trying to get other authors to read and blurb their book.

It is cringey and awkward and embarrassing and goes against most authors’ inherently modest personalities.

And yet if you want to have your book published by a traditional publisher, it is something that you will have to face.

The process usually goes something like this:

• At around the same time as your book’s copy-edits are signed off, your editor will ask you to start thinking about who you might want to send an early copy to, in the hope that they will enjoy it and give a quote

• You will panic and be unable to think of a single person you could possibly ask. It will set off a sense of existential dread that probably won’t leave until your book is actually released. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it 😆

• Over the next few days, a few ideas of authors you could possibly ask will come to you

• Perhaps someone will ask you to blurb their book, and this will give you the emboldened boost you needed to reach out to a couple of author friends. See, everyone’s doing it!

• You’ll get excited by your initial list and before you know it, you’ll start throwing in pie-in-the-sky names like Gillian Flynn and Stephen Fry. Oh and surely Richard Osman has time to take a quick look?

• Your editor may also come back to you with a list of authors that he/she knows (and has probably worked with) and will suggest that they reach out to them on your behalf. TAKE THEM UP ON THIS

• You will reply to your editor with your own totally random list, made up of people in Facebook groups who you’ve chatted to a few times, perhaps some authors who share the same agent as you, and those world-famous authors you added when you were feeling those rare five minutes of unadulterated confidence

• Your editor will suggest you contact these people directly. Except for the world-famous people. Unless your editor knows them, those suggestions will be silently ignored by everyone involved

• If your editor is really organised you might even end up with a blurbing spreadsheet listing author names, dates they were contacted, whether or not they said yes, and any response!

Now, here’s where I want to stop for a second!

You do not need to contact the authors yourself.

If you feel too awkward or embarrassed (and I totally get it, I really do) then there’s absolutely no shame in asking your editor (or your agent, if more appropriate) to do the initial reach-out for you.

Yes, they will usually want you to contact people directly because you are more likely to get a positive response than if they do it on your behalf, however, by no means do you have to do this.

Editors and agents ask authors for blurbs ALL THE TIME.

They have rhino skins when it comes to doing this and while some of them may also find it a bit uncomfortable, they won’t experience the same emotional anxiety that you will about the process (especially if it’s your debut).

So if you can’t stomach it, please don’t be afraid to ask them to ask on your behalf.

I do this even now, and I’m eight books in!

Right now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s carry on with our step-by-step guide to author blurbing:

• If you’re reaching out yourself, you’ll send a super cringey message to the author which will DEFINITELY include the words ‘totally understand if you’re swamped!’ or ‘absolutely no pressure of course, I am sure you are overwhelmed with requests like this’ (this is part of the process, editors also say this, do not deviate from this script 😆)

• Nine times out of ten the author will reply saying of course they’d be happy to read, but also add a caveat that they have quite a few proofs in their TBR so ‘please don’t be offended if it takes me a while to get to it’ (again, part of the script, most authors are nothing if not polite!)

• You breathe a HUGE sigh of relief, thinking that you’ve finally done something towards marketing your book! Go you! Even though when you sat down to write it and dreamt about yourself as a writer having to do this kind of thing never even crossed your mind

• Weeks of tumbleweed will roll by and you will be convinced everyone who got an early copy of your book hated it. When the truth is that none of them has even opened it yet

• Eventually, you may or may not hear back with a blurb. Whether or not you do really has more to do with a) how busy that author is; b) how hyped your book has been by the literary scene; c) how many other books that author has to read; and d) whether or not you actually know that author in real life (do you have their phone number? If so, your chances of getting a blurb just went up massively - and not because I suggest you stalk them over the phone, but because it means you actually have an established relationship with them already, and, understandably, most authors want to support their friends!)

• Your publisher will be ‘thrilled and delighted’ to share the blurb with you, they will truncate it and cherry-pick adjectives from it that they think will grab the most attention from readers / booksellers / reviewers and before too long, it’ll be slapped everywhere that your book appears

• Someone at your publisher will probably even make you some social media assets with the blurbs on them

• No-one will know whether any of this has made any difference at all to your book’s sales

And that’s it.

In my opinion, the whole process is awkward and it sucks.

But it is what it is, and there doesn’t seem to be much chance of it changing any time soon.

Despite this excellent article in The Atlantic recently →

Download my FREE debut author’s survival guide →

Why author blurbs matter

What is the point of this painful process you may wonder?

Especially as, for the majority of authors, it tends to be mates blurbing each other’s books over and over again.

Well, the argument made to me was that the more authors blurb a book, the more enthusiasm the literary ecosystem will have for it.

It all helps contribute to that weird thing that is SO important in an industry that has no way to guarantee success: hype.

Publishing runs on hype →

And of course, securing a blurb from a big name author, or someone who has had a lot of recent success, can have an impact on… something. Maybe even just your publishers’ faith in the book?

It adds a little bit of reflected glory, I guess.

However, I am not wholly convinced that readers care much about author blurbs unless they are blurbs from the top-tier superstar authors.

I could be wrong though, and as ever I’m happy to hear counter arguments?

Please do share below - as a reader, do author blurbs make a difference to you?

My thoughts on author blurbs

I promised you my honest thoughts on author blurbs, so here we are.

The whole system stinks, and if we had a Room 101 for authors, it would be the first thing I’d fling in there.

The blurbing process itself is very awkward and uncomfortable for almost everyone involved, because:

• Most authors do not get enough time to read

• Most authors have huge TBRs, and also books that they need or want to read for their own writing career

• Some authors can’t read fiction while writing their own fiction (I am one such author!)

• BUT most authors desperately want to support other authors

• Most authors hate saying no to blurb requests. They will often accept a proof even if they know they won’t have time to read it (guilty!)

• Not getting a blurb from an author rarely says anything about the quality of your book, but it can be so crushing, ESPECIALLY to debuts

It is tough for everyone involved.

It is also much easier for authors who are well-connected to get blurbs (the same goes for press reviews, but I’ll rant about that another time).

As ever, the playing field is very uneven.

I have also heard authors describe the process of blurbing books as ‘free labour’ - because it does actually take time to read a book, digest it and come up with a description that both does the book justice and is original and thoughtful.

This is all work, whether or not it seems like it at first.

And it’s work authors are not paid for.

Not that I think we should be paid for it, because I think that would make the playing field even bumpier, but it is something that I wish more people talked about.

It is seen as being a good citizen of the literary world, but again, it is incumbent of authors to spend their time (which is not free) to help market a book, when really that should be the publishers’ job.

And there are so many awkward stories that abound when it comes to blurbing:

• Authors being rude or entitled in their approach, sending unsolicited proofs to authors they don’t know, along with a deadline to read and review (!!)

• ‘Smaller’ authors seeing their carefully worded quote being removed from the cover of a book in favour of one from a ‘bigger’ author (always good to be reminded by that lovely publishing hierarchy exactly where you stand!)

• Authors making up blurbs for books they haven’t actually read, to save time

• Authors blurbing books they didn’t actually enjoy, but that they think it might benefit them to support (ick ick ick)

• Big-name authors only blurbing other big-name authors (what’s the point guys? Your books are going to be bestsellers anyway!)

• Authors requesting proofs they have no intention of blurbing just to scope out the competition

• The chronic overuse use of the expression ‘whip-smart’, which SHOULD NEVER BE SEEN IN POLITE SOCIETY AGAIN 🤮 I DO NOT WANT MY WRITING TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH WHIPPING THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Ahem.

How not to be a dick when you get a book deal →

The whole system is awkward, and crap for everyone, and I wish it would STOP.

So yes, that’s my honest thoughts on author blurbs. Enough. Make them go away. I hate them 😆

How do we make this happen, publishing people? Help!

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• Why I hated writing full-time

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author

I recently finished the second draft of my latest novel - my eleventh novel that I’ve written (I read somewhere that to become a ‘master’ at writing you need to have written a million words and I reckon I’ve surpassed that now - can someone send me a certificate please *needy for validation*?!)

If you follow me on Instagram you might remember that I decided to write a very short shitty first draft of this book first. In around five weeks I wrote a 60k draft. (Really loved doing a short first draft by the way - highly recommend this technique!).

The idea for the book had come to me unbidden and I’d recently listened again to Big Magic. And even though the idea didn’t fit into any neat boxes / plans / commercial aspirations I had for my career, it wouldn’t leave me alone and so I figured it really, really wanted to be written.

So I wrote it and then I’ve spent the time since re-writing it, ending up with an 84k draft that’s pretty readable but definitely still needs a ton of work.

Now, midway through writing my second draft, I started to get a bit antsy.

There was a little voice in my head that wouldn’t leave me alone.

It kept saying things like:

This book is nothing like your other books. This book is too personal. No-one is going to want to buy this. Your main character is so unsympathetic. This is a really bad use of your time. It’s not going to make you any money. You should be spending this time marketing your web design business, woman. You’re going to write this and no one is going to buy it. If you must write another bloody book, you should be writing another thriller instead, and trying to re-contract. Or something that has more commercial appeal. Romantasy’s the thing at the moment. You need to write one of those or you’re never going to get another book deal! Why are you doing this!? Why are you WASTING YOUR TIME!? Time is the only resource you can’t get more of, IDIOT!

You know, all the normal stuff that you say to yourself when you’re writing a book 🙃 #we’reallmad

In order to alleviate my antsy-ness, I emailed my agent and we chatted about me potentially sending her a chunk of the book so that she could tell me whether or not it was worth continuing with.

We also briefly discussed her trying to sell it on a partial just so I could be sure that writing it would be ‘worth my while’ - even though the last time I did this it was a disaster (another long story that I will no doubt share soon!).

My agent is awesome and was more than happy to read it or not read it, depending on what I preferred.

But something held me back from sending it to her.

I was so torn by the decision. My heart was telling me to keep writing the book regardless, and my head was telling me that I shouldn’t continue without the stamp of approval from my agent.

There’s something so vulnerable about a work in progress, isn’t there? It’s like a pre-term baby, not yet ready to be exposed to the outside world.

So I asked people in my trusty writer group whether or not they shared their WIPs with their agents. And the replies were really interesting - it was probably a 50/50 split between people who did and people who didn’t.

I ummed and ahhed a bit more and in the end I decided not to send it over. I decided to listen to my heart for once.

To be honest, I was enjoying writing it too much and I didn’t want anyone to tell me to stop!

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

Writing out of contract vs writing under contract

This book is the first book I have written out of contract for more than three years, and it’s got me thinking a lot about the hugely different experience of writing under contract and writing without one.

All novelists start off writing out of contract. That first book you write is a secret project just for you and you alone, and the reason you write it is because you love writing and the story rattling around your head won’t leave you in peace and basically, you can’t resist.

The first novel you write is a bit like a clandestine love affair; full of heartache and longing and obsession.

Because let’s face it, no one is going to spend all those hours chained to their laptops without any promise of reward, financial or otherwise, unless they are truly obsessed.

(Can I reiterate here just how long books are? 😱 I mean, writing a book is a serious achievement.)

But once the unthinkable happens and you get a book deal or you decide to publish your book, everything about the experience of writing a book changes.

And I mean, EVERYTHING.

You now have stakeholders: readers, editors, retailers, agents to consider. Their opinions suddenly matter.

You need to start thinking strategically in every sense: about your author brand and your readership and your marketing and a million other things.

You also need to think long and hard about how you’ll feel when strangers read your words. Do you really want to bare your soul quite so much? In the editing process, you might find yourself trimming back some of the parts that feel a little too personal, a little too raw, cringing at the thought of people you know reading it.

Your book being published changes your relationship with it completely.

And if you get a two-book deal, the experience of writing your second book will be completely different again.

Now, you’ll find yourself worrying that the second book won’t live up to the first. You’re probably on a tighter deadline, and you’ll be doing edits for your first book at the same time. Edits that will open your eyes even wider to how your work is perceived by others, and have you second-guessing everything you write in the next book.

All of this stuff does, to some extent, sadly take the shine off the writing, which was the thing you loved in the first place, right?

But that’s the job. That’s the career path. That’s the DREAM, and everyone on the outside is looking at you in admiration.

The stability of writing under contract

I know authors who have signed eight-book deals. They want the security and they want to see a long-term investment from their publisher. They want to build an author brand, and a readership. They want to hit the bestseller lists.

Why I prefer one-book deals →

I know authors who are very nervous about writing books out of contract. They see their writing as a job, their career as a business, and they don’t want to waste time writing something that won’t sell or make them any money.

And I completely get it.

Just because we can write books, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a Herculean task. Such a huge amount of work goes into writing a novel, and I for one am certainly guilty of not always appreciating that.

(for eg: I spent one day recently intensely editing this new draft - six hours of focus with no break, 8000 words pored over and written or re-written, and then I wondered why I felt so tired in the evening).

If we’re going to put all this work in, then surely we need to know that we’re going to get something back for it at the end.

And yet, and yet… there’s something so magical, and so freeing about writing a book out of contract.

While it will never be exactly the same as writing that very first novel, before you had an agent or a publishing deal or even a beta reader, it’s the closest thing to taking back control (sorry to anyone still suffering from Brexit PTSD) that you can get once you’ve opened Pandora’s Box and had a book published.

I have LOVED writing this book out of contract, with the door firmly closed to the world.

It has reminded me why I love writing, and it has given me the freedom to be creatively ambitious in a way I definitely wouldn’t have been if it’d felt like I was writing with my agent or editor sitting on my shoulder.

And the irony of my fears is that last time I wrote a book out of contract, I felt exactly the same way, and… that book landed me a six-figure deal in America.

Of course, correlation isn’t causation, but I do think it’s important to take the time to write the book that’s calling to you, even if it ISN’T in your ‘author career plan’.

Writing and money

Something else I have realised is that it’s so much better to be writing without financial pressure.

I’ve blogged before about my year of writing full-time and how it sent me mad, but again writing a novel you don’t want to write under contract because you desperately need the money is horrendous.

Why I hated writing full-time →

Forcing the words out to meet a deadline because you need the next slice of your advance to pay your bills is a miserable way to live and a miserable way to write, too.

There are much easier ways to make money.

I’m a professional person and I take my writing career seriously. But - without wanting to sound really wanky - writing fiction is an art not a business and it’s very difficult to force it.

If you can find a way to provide for yourself financially outside of your writing, then I promise you you will be a better writer for it.

(This is not to say I don’t agree that writers should be better paid!)

Remember: writing is its own reward

Finally, and I’m sorry to repeat myself again because I know I’ve said this a million times, but writing this book out of contract has once again reminded me that writing is its own reward.

I have loved writing this random, mad book. It’s reminded me why I write, why I always wanted to write, and it’s held my interest in a way that some of my other books just haven’t.

I have no idea if it will ever get published, but I do know that it was worth writing either way. It has satisfied my creative itch and allowed me to spread my wings a little and experiment with my writing. It’s also been good therapy (the topic is pretty personal).

It has added at least 100k words to my tally (hello mastery!) and it’s taught me things I didn’t expect - the way all books teach you something as you write them.

So even if it never gets read by anyone other than me and my agent, I know now that it was worth all the time it took me to write it.

If you have a book idea that’s calling you but that doesn’t fit into the mould you’ve developed for yourself as a ‘career’ author, please can I encourage you to find some time to write it?

I promise you it will be worth the effort 😊

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

It’s an experience unlike any other, finally being told that your novel is going to be published. And because of that, it’s quite hard to work out how you should feel.

First of all allow me to remind you of a few things:

1. you deserve this

2. no one has done you a favour

3. you are not going to be ‘found out’

Now, I’m by no means an expert on this, but, alongside my own experience, I’ve spoken to many debut authors over the years and here are a few things I’ve taken away:

It’s OK not to be ecstatic

It’s normal not to feel euphoria. It’s such an intangible thing, getting a book deal, and you’ve probably been through an insane rollercoaster ride to get here, resulting in you feeling a little, well, worn out. Overwhelmed. Relieved?

All of these feelings are totally normal, and if you don’t feel ecstatically happy right now, don’t worry, that feeling will sneak up on you when you least expect it. I promise!

Celebrate the small moments

If I could give you any advice about making the most of the time before your book is released it would be to celebrate the small moments.

Signing your contract. Being paid your first advance or royalty sum. Seeing your book listed on Amazon for the first time. Getting your first blurb quote from an author you admire.

All of these are milestones – small but not insignificant, and it’s well worth taking time to reflect as you experience them.

Anxiety is normal

That’s it really. It’s completely normal to feel anxious about every part of the publishing process.

Our agents and publishers can help alleviate some of the more practical worries, but as writers, we’re completely in control of our writing, our characters, their worlds and their stories, but once published, we have little-to- no control over the way our book is received. So of course you feel anxious.

Again, don’t beat yourself up about this.

Take the pressure off

And on that note – don’t beat yourself up about anything. So you don’t feel as happy as you’d hoped? That’s fine. Friends and family keep telling you you must be beside yourself with joy, but you’re not feeling it? Smile and let it go.

No one understands this experience but other authors. Which leads me neatly onto my next point...

Find an author buddy/buddies/tribe

I cannot emphasise this enough! It’s incredibly helpful to have other debut authors on speed-email for those moments when you feel lost or overwhelmed. Author friends truly are the best friends – my first year as an author would have been utterly miserable without them.

If you don’t know any other authors, you can ask your agent or editor if they can pair you up with someone – most authors would be more than happy to chat to you!

Alternatively, scroll down to the bottom of this blog post to find out about something new that I’m launching soon and that I’m SUPER excited about ❤️

Download my FREE Debut Author’s Survival Guide →

Remember the goalposts constantly shift

Fair warning – once you’ve been offered your book deal, you’ve achieved Your Dream. And what happens when you achieve your dream? You get a new dream. The goal posts shift. Suddenly it’s not enough to have a book deal. Now you want to be a lead title. And how come you’re not getting a hardback?

When you strive for something for so long and then achieve it, it leaves a hole that your cruel writerly brain has to fill. Don’t worry, just know that every author experiences this. Every author wants more. It’s what keeps us writing (and made us able to write a book in the first place).

Write your next book

Yes, really, the way through all this madness is to do what you do best – get your head down and get back to work. It’s so helpful to have at least a draft of your second book finished before your first one is published. The publication process can be incredibly distracting and make it really hard to concentrate on anything else.

I was so pleased to have written my second book before my first was released. It reassured me that I could do it more than once, and it meant I could take a bit of a breather during my publication month. It made my publisher pretty happy too!

Don’t compare yourself

Here’s a brutal truth: there will always be someone out there with a bigger book deal, bigger career, bigger advance, more translation rights... don’t even think about comparing yourself to them. You’re on your own journey (sorry to go all X Factor on you). Focus on that.

✨ Join The Debut Authors’ Club! ✨

Last but not least - if you’re a 2026 debut, please sign up to my new and exciting Debut Authors’ Club!

I’ve been thinking for a really long time about launching some kind of community for debut authors after realising that so much of the advice I offer on this blog involves finding your ‘author tribe’.

I truly believe that community is the most powerful thing we writers have, but it’s not always easy to find that community when you’re starting out.

It’s been more than nine years since I got my book deal, and throughout that time I have made so many incredible author friends who have all been such a support to me.

I’ve also built a wonderful community through this blog and my newsletter.

So I thought, why not harness the power of my own community to create one just for debut authors?

The club launches in January, and is specifically for debut authors with books coming out in 2026.

If that’s you, and you’d like to learn more, you can be the first to hear when the club launches by signing up on this page.

I have so many exciting plans for the club and really believe it will be something very special.

More info coming soon! ❤️

Find out more about The Debut Authors’ Club →

Hope these points have provided a little bit of reassurance and made you feel less alone.

I’m always on Insta if you want to chat more about this stuff, and don’t forget too to download The Debut Author’s Survival Guide for more tips and advice!

You might also like:

• Some honest thoughts on publicity for authors

• Some honest thoughts on social media for authors

• Some honest thoughts about success as an author

• Some honest thoughts about writing out of contract

• Some honest thoughts about writing as an identity

• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

• Some honest thoughts on author blurbs

• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

I know lots of people still think that authors don’t need websites (ye Gads!) but I’m here to politely - but vehemently - disagree.

As an author, your website is more than just a fancy Linkedin page or an ego-exercise - it’s your online ‘home’, a hub for your writing career, and one of the most important tools you have for engaging with readers, building your audience, and selling your books.

Do authors REALLY need websites? →

Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting out, having a professional author website is crucial in today’s digital age. And it’s never too late to set one up!

The homepage of my own author website →

Many authors avoid setting up a website because they aren’t huge fans of technology, but putting one together doesn’t have to be a totally stressful experience - I promise!

In this post, I’ve compiled some of my expert tips to help you create and maintain an author website that not only looks great but also helps support your writing career.

Let’s get started shall we?

Author website tip 1: Define the purpose of your website

Before diving into the techy stuff about building a website, it’s crucial to understand its purpose and who your target audience is.

Ask yourself:

• What do you want your website to achieve?

• Are you focusing on book sales, reader engagement, or establishing a blog for content marketing? Or do you want to build your mailing list? (hint: this would be my main aim!)

• Who are your readers? What do you think they expect from an author’s website? If they google you, what do you think they’re hoping to find?

Make some notes and keep these in the forefront of your mind as you begin to work on your website. Make sure that everything you put on your website is helping to serve these goals.

Expert tip: create reader personas

Building reader personas - or ideal reader avatars - can help you better understand your audience’s needs.

A reader persona is a semi-fictional character that represents your ideal reader.

You want to think about factors such as age, gender, interests, reading habits, and the type of content they enjoy. Tailor your website to these personas to make it more appealing and engaging.

Author website tip 2: Choose the right platform

The platform you choose for your website will influence its functionality, flexibility, and - most importantly of all: ease of use.

Popular options for authors include WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix.

I’ve written at length about all the various website platforms that are available, but if you’ve been here before, you probably won’t be TOO surprised to hear that my number one choice is Squarespace.

Why Squarespace is the perfect web platform for authors →

Here are a few headline thoughts on each platform:

• WordPress: Offers the most flexibility and customisation. It’s ideal for those who want to scale their website with various plugins and features. However I don’t recommend it to authors who aren’t confident with technology.

• Squarespace: Known for its beautiful templates and ease of use, it’s perfect for authors who want a professional-looking site without much technical hassle.

• Wix: User-friendly and ideal for beginners, but might be limiting if you plan to expand your site’s functionality in the future.

What’s the best website platform for authors? →

Expert tip: prioritise mobile responsiveness

More than 50% off all website traffic now takes place on mobile phones. So making sure that your author website is mobile-friendly is non-negotiable!

You will be shocked how many author websites I see that don’t function well on mobile - it’s incredibly off-putting to visitors and will make your website (and you! 😆) look really out of date.

Most platforms these days do offer mobile-responsive templates, but it’s still always worth testing how your site looks and functions on mobile devices.

Sign up to watch my FREE training on how to build your own author website →

Author website tip 3: Design with your author brand in mind

I have a WHOLE lot to say about author website design.

But let’s just start here:

Your website’s design should reflect your brand as an author.

Do not attempt to go off-piste - your author website’s design should never fight with your book cover designs.

So carefully choose colour schemes, fonts, and images that resonate with your genre and style. If you write cosy mysteries, your site might use warm, inviting colors and whimsical fonts. For a thriller author, a darker, more suspenseful theme might be appropriate.

And if you write children’s fiction, then be sure to be playful in both the site’s design and content.

Expert tip: consistency is key

Ensure that your branding is consistent across all platforms, including your website, social media, and book covers. Consistency builds recognition and trust with your readers.

Author website tip 4: Craft a compelling homepage

Your homepage is the most important page on your author website - it is usually the first page people visit, and will give the first impression visitors will have of you and your writing.

It should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and provide an instant picture of who you are and what you write.

Key elements for your homepage:

• Header: Include your name and a tagline that succinctly describes what you write.

• Hero image/video: A high-quality image or video that represents your latest book or overall brand.

• Book showcase: Feature your latest book or a collection of your works prominently, with links to buy directly from the homepage.

• Call to action (CTA): Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, buying a book, or downloading a freebie, make sure there’s a clear next step for visitors.

• Navigation menu: Simple, intuitive, and easy to use. Include links to your bio, books, blog, and contact page.

Expert tip: use above-the-fold space wisely

The content that appears on the screen before users scroll down is the most important content on your entire website, so don’t waste it!

Use this space to highlight your most important information, such as a new book release or an email signup form.

Author website tip 5: Create an engaging About page

Your About page doesn’t have to be boring!

Readers are often interested in the person behind the books they love. Your About page is an opportunity to share your story, writing journey, and what inspires your work.

I always recommend having an ‘official’ bio that media can copy and paste into articles about you, but don’t be afraid to have an informal one too, or any other fun facts you think readers might enjoy.

Some ideas on what to include on your About page:

• Author bio: Write a brief, engaging bio that highlights your background, achievements, and what makes your work unique.

• Professional headshot: A high-quality photo that reflects your personality and brand. -

• Personal touches: Share interesting facts about yourself, your hobbies, or your writing process. This helps to create a connection with your readers.

• Achievements and awards: If you’ve won any awards or have significant accomplishments, mention them here.

Top tips for taking your own author headshot →

Expert tip: add a video introduction

You could add a short video to your About page, where you introduce yourself and talk about your books. Videos are highly engaging and can help readers feel a more personal connection with you.

If you have a video on your Instagram page where you talk a bit about yourself and your writing, you can embed this into your About page - this will help drive traffic to your Insta too!

Psst! Want some expert help building your author website? My DIY Author Website Course is just for you! →

Author website tip 6: Showcase your books effectively

Your books are the star of the show, so give them the spotlight they deserve!

Make sure it’s easy and simple for visitors to browse and - most importantly - buy your books.

How to organise books on your author website →

Book page essentials:

• Book cover images: Display the covers for your books prominently. Make sure these are high-quality - tiny pixellated covers will not cut it!

• Synopsis: Provide a brief, enticing synopsis that encourages visitors to read more.

• Retailer links: Include links so that readers can quickly click to buy your books. Use buttons that stand out.

• Reviews and endorsements: Share positive reviews or quotes from other authors to build credibility.

• Extra content: Consider adding sample chapters, book trailers, or a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process.

Expert tip: offer free content

If you have short stories, excerpts, or even a free eBook, offer these as downloadable content in exchange for an email address. This not only provides value to your readers but also helps build your email list.

Author website tip 7: Build an author mailing list

And on that note…

an email list is one of the most valuable assets any author can have. I am EVANGELICAL about them!

It allows you to directly reach your readers with updates, new releases, and exclusive content, but it also means if you move publishers or change direction in the future, you have direct contact with your readers.

Why every author should set up a mailing list →

Some top tips on how to build your email list:

• Offer a freebie: As mentioned earlier, a free book or exclusive content in exchange for an email address is a great way to attract subscribers.

• Use pop-up forms: I know they are annoying but they work! Use pop-up forms sparingly to encourage sign-ups without overwhelming them.

• Make a landing page: Create a dedicated landing page that explains the benefits of joining your mailing list. This is super useful when you want to post about your newsletter on social media too.

Expert tip: put sign-up boxes on every page

Make sure your newsletter sign-up box is on every single page of your author website, to maximise the chance of visitors subscribing. A good place to put this is in your author website’s footer.

Author website tip 8: Optimise your author website for Search Engines (SEO)

SEO is important for driving organic traffic to your website.

While it can seem daunting, some basic practices can help improve your site’s visibility in search engine results.

Basic SEO practices:

• Keyword research: Identify keywords related to your books and writing and incorporate them naturally into your content.

• Meta descriptions: Write compelling meta descriptions for each page that include your target keywords.

• Alt Text for images: Use descriptive alt text for all images, which helps with image search rankings and accessibility.

• Internal linking: Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve navigation and keep readers engaged and moving through your website.

Expert tip: rename images before uploading them

Make sure you give every image on your author website an SEO-friendly file name before you upload it to your author website, alongside making sure the alt text you add when you upload the image also includes keywords.

How to add alt text to images in Squarespace →

Author website tip 9: Make it easy to contact you

Your website should include a clear and easy way for readers, journalists, and potential collaborators to get in touch with you.

Contact page essentials:

• Email address OR a contact form: Provide a professional email address. If you’re concerned about spam, use a contact form instead.

• Social media links: Include links to your active social media profiles.

• Newsletter signup: Another opportunity to grow your email list.

Expert tip: add a media kit

If you’re promoting your book or seeking speaking engagements, include a media kit on your contact page. This can consist of your bio, headshots, book covers, press releases, and any relevant media contacts, such as your publicist or agent.

Author website tip 10: Keep your website updated

An outdated author website can be really off-putting to visitors.

Make sure you keep the content up-to-date, add new books as soon as they are up for pre-order, periodically check for broken links, and ensure that all the information on your author website is current.

Expert tip: schedule regular checkups

Set a reminder to audit your website every few months. Check for updates needed in your bio, and make sure you add new book releases as soon as they’re available for pre-order.

One simple tweak to make to your author website today →

I hope this post has persuaded you that…

… you CAN build your own author website!

I promise! Creating an effective author website is a blend of creativity and strategy.

By understanding your readers, crafting compelling content that will appeal to them, and making sure your site’s design and functionality all align, you can build a website that not only showcases your work but also actively contributes to your success as an author.

I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but try to think of your website as a living entity - nurture it, update it regularly, and watch it grow alongside your writing career!

You never know, you might even have fun while you’re doing it… 😉

Earlier this year, I logged into Linkedin for the first time in months - possibly in over a year.

I had been invited to a dinner in London by Squarespace - a meet up of their professional UK-based designers, hosted by the company itself.

I was so confused when I got the invite and saw the list of the other attendees - why had they asked me?

Our old friend imposter syndrome.

But then I thought: well, I guess I have been a Squarespace Circle member for more than five years now, and I have built at least 40 websites on Squarespace in that time (probably more - I did 18 last year alone).

After the dinner, a few people I’d met added me as a connection on Linkedin.

That’s when I realised:

a) people do actually use Linkedin 😱;

and

b) it was probably quite weird for them to meet me at an industry dinner for web designers and then go onto my Linkedin page to discover that writing novels was actually my ‘career’

So I added ‘web designer’ to my profile.

I also put it on my Instagram bio.

But in doing so, I felt a tinge of… something.

I don’t know.

Failure? Shame? Disappointment?

I am a writer.

That’s an intrinsic, inherent part of my identity. It’s one of the things that makes me me. It’s something that I’ve carried with me as a marker of who I am - like: blonde hair, blue eyes, chocolate addiction, allergic to organised fun - for as long as I could read and write.

I have always written. I have always wanted to be a writer. It’s all I’ve ever done. All the money I ever earned before I did web design was from writing - first as a journalist, then as a content marketer, then as a novelist.

But I sat at this dinner and listened to the interesting chat about SEO and ChatGPT (yes, I genuinely do find this interesting 😉) and even though I felt massive imposter syndrome and super shy, I also felt SO happy to be around all these people who knew more about this stuff than me and I thought, oh, yeah, I guess I am a web designer too.

Then it struck me: I have been running my web design business for longer than ANY of the other ‘normal’ jobs I’ve ever had.

Even the content marketing agency I ran with a business partner, which had an office and staff and turned over a quarter of a million a year.

And yet, I had been reluctant to add ‘web designer’ as my job on Linkedin.

It felt like some kind of failure, a betrayal of my own identity.

The stupid thing is I love being a web designer. I genuinely, absolutely love it.

When I got my life-changing American book deal (that did change my life but not in the way I was expecting), and I had two books to write in one year, I realised I was going to have to park my web design business for a bit.

Of course, at first, I actually thought: hey, this is it! I’ve done it! I’ve got the hallowed six-figure book deal from a NY Big 5 publisher, now I can be an author full-time - I’ve ARRIVED! Finally, THANK BLOODY GOD I’m not completely delusional after all.

But I also thought: oh my god I’ve put so much work into my web design business, what a waste, and I felt monumentally sad at the thought of just letting it all go.

Like heartbreakingly sad.

I didn’t want to stop building what I had been building. I loved it. I loved my clients. I loved the work. I loved everything about it.

I felt really conflicted.

Anyway, we all know how the story ends - the US book deal did change my life in that we got to move to a new house which I love and am grateful for every day, but the book - like so many, alas - has not yet changed the world and eighteen months after it came out, things have pretty much gone back to how they were before I got that exciting email from my agent.

But the weird thing was that, rather than being upset, a big part of me was SO pleased to be able to pick up the reins of my web design business yet again.

I looked over all the content I had created - all the hours of blog posts and free training videos and advice - and I read all the testimonials from my happy clients - and I thought: wow, I did this all by myself. And this is good stuff.

(And then I thought about all the hours I’d spent writing and wondered how much more successful my web design business would have been if I’d channelled all that time into it instead of writing books that only a handful of people read 😆)

30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published →

But anyway.

That longwinded intro was really there because it got me thinking about writing, and how if you are a writer, it’s such a huge part of your identity.

However, there’s this other thing that gets added into the mix, and if you’re not careful, it can truly mess with your head.

You know what this other thing is called, right?

PUBLISHING.

It is SO important to separate the two in your mind.

I recently received a rejection of my writing (not from a publisher, but for something else).

And it hurt SO MUCH.

It was like someone was saying:

Sorry, your work isn’t important. Your work isn’t interesting. We don’t think you deserve to be in the room where it happens. Who exactly do you think you are, to call yourself a writer?

Now, I’ve had a million rejections in myriad forms in my time as an author. I can take the bad reviews because there are always good reviews and no book is for everyone; I can take ‘sorry but this isn’t a good fit for our list’ because it’s probably true and editors can’t buy every book that’s submitted to them; I can take my agent or editor telling me that the book doesn’t work because I can work on it until it does.

But this was different.

This made me feel like a fraud. It made me feel humiliated, small, insignificant.

Deluded, again.

In truth, it felt like a rejection of me and my identity. Like someone was telling me I was wrong about myself my whole life.

But I took some deep breaths, and I thought about it a bit more.

And I reminded myself of the most important lesson I had learnt on this journey: that the publishing industry and writing are two separate things.

Here’s what I’ve learnt about the publishing industry:

• Publishing will pull you down, but writing lifts you up.

• Writing is the antidote to publishing. Writing is ALWAYS worthwhile. It is its own reward.

• Publishing is a club, run by fallible people like any other - people with their own foibles and prejudices and networks and preferences - and sometimes your face doesn’t fit or you don’t look right and you won’t get in.

• I am still a writer whether or not my book gets published. You are still a writer whether or not your book gets published.

• You are still a writer even if your book gets published and is then a great big massive flop (you can borrow my t-shirt!).

• You are still a writer even if your book gets published and everyone hates it.

• The process of writing is a million times more enjoyable when you are not thinking about publishing (as borne out by my friends who are out of contract extolling how much happier they feel to be writing just for themselves again).

• Writing what you want to write is the most important thing you can do for yourself. It is therapy, an act of self-love, a healing practice. ITS OWN REWARD! 😂

• I am more of a truthful writer if my books don’t get published. Some of the rawness and honesty of my books is edited away in the publishing process to make them more palatable to a wider audience, and that is a shame.

• And on that note - to be a successful commercial author, you might have to write something that’s not 100% authentic. Is it selling out? Yes, but publishing is a business.

• Publishing is a business. And businesses aren’t really in the business of caring about your soul, or your sense of self, or your authenticity or your artistic expression. But that doesn’t make your writing bad, or wrong, or unworthy.

• On some level, I might feel like I’ve failed as a writer to have another job on my Linkedin profile but there’s so much richness to find in your experiences outside of writing. Experiences that teach you things. And most importantly of all, experiences that put publishing into perspective.

• The bit that matters and touches my soul and makes me feel good about myself is the writing itself - when I know I am being honest and I have tapped into something pure and authentic.

I am still a writer, no matter what external things happen to me. I am still a writer, no matter that my ‘big’ book didn’t become a global bestseller. I am still a writer, no matter how the publishing industry judges the significance of my output.

And I am still a writer, no matter that I love designing websites as much as I love writing.

I am still a writer, and I always will be.

And you will too ❤️

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• Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career

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• Some honest thoughts on publication days

• Some honest thoughts about the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

• The truth about most traditionally published novels

• My number one tip for coping with life as a published author