If Only I'd Known, Writing Lesson by Anna Lores

Every author learns things after a few books. Authors often say that they wish they’d known “that” at the beginning of their career.

I think the best thing we can do as authors is to pass along the lessons we’ve learned.

With that thought, I’ve asked author friends to share these lessons with those who are at the threshold of a writing career.

My friend Anna Lores, author of the erotic romance, Ella’s Triple Pleasure, has taken on that challenge.

Anna has learned a lot since her first book, and she’s here to tell you what she wishes she’d known when she started.

About Anna Lores

Anna started writing romance as a by-product of insomnia. After a year of late night reading, she borrowed her son’s laptop and set about breathing life to her very own characters. A month later, she was surprised with a new laptop of her own to pursue her dreams.

With a B.A. in English Literature and a desire to fill her world with wonderful stories she and her close friends could not just talk about, but gush over, Anna shed the job as mom of three in the late night hours and assumed her alter ego of Dirty Girl.

Visit Anna Online: Website * Twitter * Facebook * The Wild Rose Press.

If Only I’d Known
by Anna Lores

Colleges and high schools around the country are all celebrating graduations, each of them featuring a speaker who imparts their personal wisdom for the newly minted graduates. Each speaker has unique experiences that have shaped their world and can help the young minds of the graduates avoid some of the same mistakes they’ve made along the way.

Many of us, when we get to certain points in our lives, look back at our beginning and, inevitably, think about what we thought something was going to be and compare it with what it really turned out to be. Writing is no different. What is the one thing I wish I’d known when I started?

The One Thing I Wish I’d Known

While I’m by no means a commencement speaker, but as I celebrate the publishing of my fifth romance novel, Ella’s Triple Pleasure, I can tell you what I wish I’d known. I wish I’d known about the importance of self-marketing myself as a traditionally published author.

When I first decided to actually BE an author six years ago, I had this grand vision in my mind… I would write a great story that I was passionate about. I would pitch it to a publisher who would love it. They would make some acceptable edits to my masterpiece and then they would blast it across Amazon, Barnes and Noble and every other place that books are sold.

Be Passionate

The first part of that is very important. You must be passionate about your stories. If you’re not, you will have a hard time convincing a publisher to be passionate about it. When you do convince them, you will get to work with an editor to make your great story even better. Listen to your editor. They know what they’re talking about. But the reality of the publishing industry is that you are your stories best salesperson.

The business landscape doesn’t allow publishers of any size to market your first book at a level that is really going to break through to the billions of readers out there who are ready to read a great story. Much of that foundation of marketing is on you, the author.

So my advice to you is to passionately write the stories you have in your heart and mind. But also recognize you will have to educate yourself on how to best share your story with your future readers. Your publisher will do what they can, and will be as encouraging and helpful as they can, but you are the most responsible for ensuring the world reads your story.

So today, as you commence on your writing-to-publish journey, I encourage you to not just focus on your writing, but those other skills, social marketing and reader platforms, that make you the most well-rounded authors. Whether you choose to publish as an indie, traditional, or hybrid, that investment in yourself and your work is vital for your future success.

About My Latest Book: Ella’s Triple Pleasure

It takes three men to satisfy one woman’s needs…

Single mom and massage therapist Ella Winthrop isn’t looking for a relationship. She has enough problems without risking a business that barely meets her needs.

Then her world is turned upside down by three men, each offering something she isn’t prepared for—love so deep it hurts, sex so hot she’s afraid she’ll melt from the pleasure, and a future beyond her wildest dreams.

Steamy businessman Cade Jackson has it all—money, looks, a giving heart, and a dominant nature—but Ella refuses to date a client even if she’s lusted after him for a year. After his brother’s death, Garrett Winthrop moves back to town opening old wounds and even darker fantasies. Dr. Derek McGregor gives her balance and understanding that speaks to her soul. All three men force Ella to question the limits of a traditional relationship.

Add This Erotic Romance to Your Library: Amazon US * Amazon UK.

Takeaway Truth

Learn from those who have created a writing career, and maybe your journey to success will be faster and smoother.