Guest Post – Eliza Green: Taking a risk as a debut author

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A little over a year ago I brought you an interview with Irish author Eliza Green and I believe she was the first unpublished author we interviewed. I am thrilled to tell you that we have a guest post from Eliza today as part of the Blog Tour she is embarking on to promote the release of her self-published debut novel Becoming Human.

Welcome back to Beauty and Lace Eliza, thanks for including us on your blog tour.

Taking a risk as a debut author

It’s tough out there as a new author. Nobody cares about your book, or you for that matter. I work full time, which means my ‘time off’ is spent sitting at my computer, either writing or tweaking my marketing plan to bring my book to a wide audience. Right now, the latter’s taking up my time.

Sounds exciting, I know.

You see, I’m a self-published author who’s just released BECOMING HUMAN, the first book in my new trilogy. I don’t have a big traditional publishing house behind me, nor do I have a small press publisher or agent to go to bat for me. It wasn’t for lack of trying but after some positive feedback from agents and still getting nowhere, I decided to try self-publishing.

A small publisher recently told me that after looking up my book on Amazon, it was a shame I hadn’t continued with the traditional publishing route instead of opting for self-publishing. She seemed to be viewing self-publishing as a step backwards for me. Indeed, some people get into it for the wrong reasons: to make money fast with a poorly written product. I told her I wasn’t taking a step backwards but a lateral one and exploring my options. It’s a heck of a lot of work doing it on your own, but I’m really enjoying the experience and I will only get back what effort I put in.

Then there’s the added pressure of being a self-published author. While the majority of readers don’t care, some still say anybody can publish and those who do shouldn’t. These comments can undermine the efforts of those who are not only doing it on their own, but care enough to put a decent product out there. These few opinions can damage an indie author’s reputation and all because they don’t like self published books. So, I’ve got to work double hard to convince the nay sayers that while they’re entitled to their opinion, they should keep an open mind when it comes to indie authors.

So far, what the process has taught me is that writing is a business and much more than just writing the story. There’s marketing and the four P’s: product, price, place and promotion. I have to learn where best to target my current work as well as to continue writing the next piece of the trilogy. I have the protection of a full time job behind me (although I can do the job in my sleep), so I can take my time and learn the business without pressure. I suppose the only pressure I’m feeling is that which I’m putting on myself.

I want to do something that interests me. I want to succeed. I want to write well. I want others to read what I’ve written and give me an honest review. I’m a book lover and I want others to love my books. Not everybody will, I accept that. But these are exciting times, and I have no idea where my adventure will take me.

Isn’t that what life’s all about, taking chances, seeing where the next journey will lead? We all need something to keep us interested. It doesn’t matter what it is and I hope you have it.

If not, there’s that old adage to think about, life’s too short.

Eliza Green Bio:

Eliza Green writes down-to-earth science fiction that has stemmed from her lifelong obsession with science fiction stories.

She has worked in many industries from fashion to sport to finance, but caught the writing bug several years ago and has now released her first novel, BECOMING HUMAN, part one of the Exilon 5 trilogy.

Since Eliza was young, she has always been a fan of science fiction television shows and films and is bringing that love to her new trilogy. She hopes to capture the imagination of readers who shy away from the genre with her new novel, set on Earth and Exilon 5.

She is currently working on ALTERED REALITY, book 2 in the Exilon 5 trilogy.

BECOMING HUMAN is available in print and Kindle ebook format (exclusively until mid March). Afterwards, it will be available in several other formats through Smashwords.

Where to buy: Amazon.com,   Amazon.co.uk,   Amazon.de

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