June marks the one-year anniversary of Cascade’s publication. It’s a novel about magic, climate catastrophe, and Canadian politics, about the compromises we make with power, and about how to keep fighting when the struggle is lost. You should definitely read it, if you haven’t already. It’s a lot funnier than that description makes it sound. In that year, I’ve used the patented FAFO Method to learn all about what it takes for an unknown author to launch a weird book into the world (and maybe make some money along the way).

A rather unscientific survey by the Bookseller indicated that more than half of debut authors found that being published negatively affected their mental health. While I am relieved to say that on most days, I don’t share their sense of crushing disappointment, it hasn’t always been an easy path. Here’s what I learned in a year of being An Official Published Author, Like For Real, It’s Sitting On My Bookshelf With My Name On the Cover(TM).

1. You are going to do more marketing than you think.

Unless you are one of the tiny minority of authors who get the full and enthusiastic backing of a major publishing company, you are going to end up doing the bulk of your own marketing. Yes, even in trad pub. You will make appearances in any place that will have you. You will bombard your social media feed with Bookbrush graphics. You will struggle to condense your great work of art to a listicle of tropes. You will start conversations with friends, family, neighbours, and strangers about your book. Very few of them will find it as exciting as you do.

This is patently unfair to the less comely among us who would prefer not to be perceived, and to those of us who can’t summarize our cross-genre weird fiction in a snappy sentence. I long for a world in which the author’s personality and brand didn’t influence my reading choices, but unless you’re getting reviewed by major publications, it’s the only way your book will get out there. So while you’re working on your masterpiece, I highly recommend working on your charm offensive and screen presence. Also, the person who invents a way to crosspost book announcements to Instagram, Facebook, what’s left of Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr, Goodreads, Amazon reviews, and a blog or two can take all of my money as far as I’m concerned.

2. Don’t go into the woods alone.

I can’t overstate the importance of a community. Without the Night Beats crew, I’d be lost in the woods. I’m terribly antisocial and I hate putting myself out there, and it’s having a team of other creatives around me that make the whole process manageable. The main people who buy books are other authors looking for comps, so it’s time to put on your best extrovert hat and make some new writer friends. Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased, and the company of other eccentrics is a gift in itself.

3. Scams and scammers abound.

This one I could have guessed at, in retrospect. The publishing industry is not a particularly lucrative one, and the most profitable corner of it is separating naïve authors from their hard earned cash. Post about writing, and you’ll have vanity presses beating down your door to “sign” you. Post your book, and you’ll be flooded with strange people claiming they’ll promote you. Get to know Writer Beware and similar resources and approach every offer with caution and cynicism.

4. Shoot your shot.

Be ambitious. With your writing, because the world has more than enough mediocre books, but also with your promotional strategies. You’d be surprised at who will take you seriously. The tiny blog with 100 readers might want money to review your work (do not give it to them), while the author you’ve admired for years will blurb you and champion your work to their followers. You never know. The worst anyone can do is say no and laugh at you, and you’ve already done the silliest thing imaginable by trying to make money in book publishing. You no longer possess shame, so ask away.

5. Advice given to new authors is heavily padded to make it to five points.

Much advice given to new writers boils down to “research social media and build your following,” but let’s face it. If you were any good at all with social media, you wouldn’t have had the time to write a whole novel. You probably hate social media almost as much as you hate Daddy Bezos. It’s responsible for decreasing attention spans, the occasional war crime, and burying your book so deep in the algorithmic morass that readers will never find it. You have to do it anyway. No amount of raging against the fates that have caused you to be born in this century and not one in which you could unleash your bon mots in a broadside will save you from having to engage with whatever corporate-owned monstrosity is demanding your content.

Other good advice includes “don’t make your first book a sprawling cross-genre trilogy with messy, difficult characters, a dark cliffhanger ending and literary pretensions.” But, of course, that’s what I did. And there’s no money in writing, so you might as well write the book of your heart. I did, and I love it, and I’m excited to bring you the sequel soon. You can find it at The BumblePuppy Press, your favourite online book shop, or maybe even at your local indie bookseller or public library!