Lessons Learned
Pamela Samuels-Young

With the release of my first novel, Every Reasonable Doubt, just four months behind me, I’m amazed at all I have learned since achieving my goal of being a published author. Here are my top three lessons learned.

1. Authors have to be self-promoters. I didn’t think much about the marketing aspect of the book business. I simply figured that my novel would hit stores and fly off the shelves. I now know that many good books can flounder without the right push.

2. People are amazing. I have met incredibly supportive individuals who have encouraged me, publicized my books to their family and friends, set up book signing appearances for me and served as my personal cheerleaders. These strangers-turned-friends have made this journey more than worth it.

3. Finding time to write is much, much harder. All the legwork that is required to promote a book can tremendously interfere with your writing time. I try not to gripe about this too much since I would much rather be a published author with little time to write than an unpublished author with lots of time to write.