Nick Spalding is the bestselling self-published author in the UK. He recently signed a six-figure book deal.
His romantic comedies Love… From Both Sides and Love… And Sleepless Nights were the first and third-best-selling self-published e-books in 2012.
With Amazon saying 15% of Kindle sales come from authors with no book deal, here are his top 10 tips to succeeding in a crowded field.
1. Don’t give up the day job
I was a media officer for the police. It did help a bit – knowing how to write a press release, but it didn’t help so much with writing the book! I didn’t give up my day job until I’d signed a contract with Hodder & Stoughton.
It is such an up and down industry – you can be the flavor of the month one minute and nothing the next, even when you have had a certain level of success. Until you’ve got enough money coming in to be able to justify it to yourself, don’t give up the day job.
Everyone wants to live the dream and write full time, but it is a very difficult industry to get into and a very difficult industry to stay in. Learn to write around your day job in the beginning, that’s what I did. Frankly, it’s what almost every successful author in history had to do with only a few exceptions.
2. Be yourself
You have to be yourself in your writing. You have to pick a genre that suits you as a person and you as a writer. If you are a happy go lucky person it might not be best to write about a serial killer or vice versa.
There are enough obstacles for a new author, don’t create more for yourself, write in a style you are comfortable with. If you are not enjoying writing it, if you are not comfortable writing it, nobody is going to enjoy reading it.
3. Find a muse
3. Find a museMy partner is my first reader, she reads everything. She has encouraged me and is the inspiration for some of the stories I write. I think everyone needs that, it doesn’t have to be a partner, it can be a relative or a friend but you’ve got to have that one person in mind.
When I’m writing, I’m always thinking about which things she will laugh at, so she is my muse in that manner. It’s important to have someone you can give your manuscript to first because it is still quite an intimate thing at that stage.
It’s probably a bit clunky and awkward and wrong and it is not ready to be shown to an agent or the world at large. That’s when you need your first reader because you know each other so well and their feedback is what helps you to create a better product that you can then show to others.
4. Read On Writing by Stephen King
On Writing by Stephen King is, for me at least, the best book there is on writing. He gives lots of advice. The tone of it, the style of it, the things he says about how much he writes every day and his attitude towards the job are great. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be a writer.
5. Promote your work
I have never been called on to sign copies of my book in a shop. If the opportunity arises, I say take it. I don’t think you are going to do any harm by going along to your local Waterstones and signing a few copies. Well, unless nobody turns up – then you will feel terrible about yourself and probably never write again.
You should certainly have a social media presence, you should tweet, blog and Facebook, but you don’t want to irritate readers.
Nobody wants to see “buy my book, buy my book” over and over again. Tweet about your life, tweet about things you find interesting and mix it up.
6. Remember that books aren’t burgers
6. Remember that books aren’t burgersSelf-publishing has given lots of people the ability to write lots of books and get them out there. People need to remember that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
The most important thing to remember when you write a book and release it, that you are entering into a relationship with the reader and you owe it to them to provide a product that is as professional as possible.
Books aren’t burgers – they are not instantly consumable things and they shouldn’t be rushed. Always respect your reader and put 100% into every book that you write.
7. Try every possible avenue
I’ve got a great agent now. He’s got me some great deals and, in that respect, I think an agent is still a good commodity to have. I’ve got a traditional publishing contract now, too, but it doesn’t stop me from self-publishing.
I love that because it’s how I started and it’s not something I’m ashamed of. What the self-publishing thing does is give you another avenue. There is no need to go down one avenue and not the other these days, you can do both.
Every writer wants their book to be read. It doesn’t really matter anymore how you go about achieving that as long as two things happen: You get your book read by as many people as possible and you get paid for writing it. Whatever avenues get you that result should be explored.
8. Don’t get bummed out by bad reviews
I do read the bad reviews, I sort of sit there reading them and rock back and forth. Try and remember the old cliches – ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’ and ‘you’re never going to please all of the people all of the time’.
It’s what you get on average that really counts. If you put a book out there and six months later you’ve got a hundred one-star reviews, chances are you might be doing something wrong.
That said, one five star review does not mean you are the next big thing. Stay on a level, don’t get bummed out by one bad review… and certainly don’t reply to the people who write them!
9. Don’t take it all too seriously
9. Don’t take it all too seriouslyI tend to write in the mornings and I generally do at least 2,000 words a day. Sometimes that takes hours, sometimes it takes an hour depending on what kind of mood I’m in.
I write in the spare room. It’s not a study, it’s a room with a desk, a bog standard PC and a clothes airer. My routine is basically to make myself a cup of coffee, sit down and try to churn out 2,000 words.
It’s also important to be comfortable when you write. I’ve got a great pair of Batman lounge pants.
10. Read comic books
I’d like to say I have a great diet and that my body is a temple but that would be a complete lie. I do go for lots of walks though, they help me think about storylines and stop my rapidly expanding waist getting any bigger. We want to get a dog at some point.
Exercise is important when you are a writer otherwise give it two years and you’ll just be a potato.
Make sure you have a good social circle around you too, people you see on a regular basis, otherwise you will just stay indoors all day every day and become weird. And if you don’t like Batman you won’t get anywhere. Liking Batman is absolutely vital to being a successful author.
Over To You
What’s your favorite tip? Do you have any other tips? Let us know, in the comments below!
This article about how to write a book is exactly what I needed. I have never heard of Nick Spalding before but he does give some great tips on how to be a successful self-published author. I might get the book by Stephen King on how to write since this seems to be a popular book. My personal dream is to be a published author so it is great to see some tips on how to get there and achieve your dream.
Hey Alexandra,
These tips are very valuable indeed. If you want some more guidance, you can check my 10-part guide on How to self-publish a book – Part 1
Thanks for stopping by!
Marios
Hi Nick, I am getting into writing and I am liking it. I started out writing articles and got good feedback and this encouraged me to go for the book. I have written a non fiction, got it edited and am yet to publish. My motivation comes from people asking if I am writing anything new. I published a book several years ago called The Joy of Knowing. Your article is pushing me to get back into my writing project and get that book out. Thank you
Hey there JJ,
I am glad you liked the post on Nick’s tips. I loved it too 😉
If you need anything else, please let me know!
Marios
I found the first point of your article very interesting from a ‘creative worker’ point of view – not giving up your day job until you are sure you are on your way with your chosen project.
I’m a musician by trade and I was guilty of throwing everything at the first solo album I released ( I was that confident!). I made some money off it…but nowhere near the amount I thought I would…and I had no job to fall back on by this point. I did finally get to the point where I could relax more and work creatively for a living…but that was three albums later!
When creativity is concerned – definitely hold onto the day job as long as you need to!
Great article by the way, very interesting read.
My favourite tips is “find your muse”, my mom is my muse, she is the first to know of any event that takes place in my life and she has been a source of joy to me and she encourages me often. I would say my the tip I want you guys to know is the believing/appreciating yourself tips, as a writer you need to believe in yourself and appreciate your work before others do and so I tell people to appreciate their self so they can be appreciated. Thanks for this article.
Thanks for these self-publishing tips. I think they are important in our writing skills as affiliate marketers not only to those who writers and authors of books.
I was struck by two, the find a muse and promote your work. I think this is one way of convincing my wife or my relatives in the venture of online affiliate marketing. I did never let my wife read one of my posts before I posted them. It’s good to have somebody read so whatever misspellings, wrong grammar could be corrected.
On the promotion, I seldom promote my work or my website I do have some attempts but I think I lack this thing.
The world of internet marketing is indeed a crowded field. If one doesn’t have the confidence in himself to make it, it might not work for the person. I have pondered on how to get my first article written and published but it has not been easy because I lacked the confidence in writing skills. I’m glad I came across this article and there are two great tips in this article which are of optimum value to me. First is be yourself. This tip was referring to me directly and I found it so helpful. The second tip which I value so much is to find a muse. This tip is going to go a long way in helping me out. I’m definitely going to find a mue and with this, writing will be a great pleasure and fun to me. Thanks a bunch.
As a new self-published author I found this so incredibly helpful. I’ve made a little but definitely not anywhere near quit your day job money. I think there tends to be a romanticized view of a writer’s life but honestly it’s a lot of hard work and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it so much. I also like what you said about being yourself. I write in a funny, light-hearted way so when I tried to write a story about a group of kids in a tragic bus accident I became depressed and couldn’t continue (I’m also a Mom so there is that). A tip I would add is get plenty of sleep! I also like to write in the mornings but if I didn’t get a good, full nights sleep I just sit there staring at a blank screen and even coffee doesn’t help.