{"id":2218,"date":"2019-11-05T11:29:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T16:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/?page_id=2218"},"modified":"2020-12-25T21:59:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-26T02:59:09","slug":"business","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/business\/","title":{"rendered":"Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Here’s how to write a query and a synopsis, how to find an agent, and everything else that goes along with traditional publishing.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5 Reasons Why You (Probably) Shouldn’t Query Literary Agents…And What You Should Do Instead<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A few posts back, I answered the question of \u201cShould I hire a professional editor before I self-publish my novel?<\/a>\u201d (TL;DR answer: probably not). In that post, I mentioned I was on the cusp of recommending writers not bother querying literary agents at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of personal experience in the self-publishing and traditional publishing worlds, and after hearing about other authors\u2019 experiences, I\u2019ve now officially reached that conclusion\u2014don\u2019t query literary agents. It\u2019ll almost certainly be a negative return on your investment…[keep reading<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prefer to self-publish…or perhaps it’s your only option? Here’s how to succeed when you’re on your own!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do You Need A Professional Editor?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Say you\u2019re finished writing a book\u2014congrats! You\u2019ve made a few editing passes through it, roped a few of your friends and relatives into reading it, gotten their feedback, and tweaked it into what you think is an acceptable form to show to the world at large. Maybe you\u2019ve even queried a handful of literary agents and received either \u201cThanks but no thanks\u201d rejections or (more likely) radio silence…[keep reading<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to Self-Publish a Book<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Greetings my dozens of fans! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(\u2026Is it presumptuous of me to assume I have fans in the double digits?? Probably, but I feel like indulging my massive ego today!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t posted in a while because I\u2019ve been hard at work getting my next novel, The Colonel and Her Sergeant,<\/em> ready for publication on June 14th. I\u2019ll post more about my future Pulitzer Prize winner later…[keep reading<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Easily the worst part of publishing, I’m not gonna lie. Here are some tips on how to make it less of a chore.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

13 Nuggets of Advice on Marketing Your Novel<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m\ngonna be honest up front: I have yet to find a marketing strategy that\u2019s worked\nwell for me. I\u2019ve published six novels so far, traditional and self-published,\nand hustled to market each one. I\u2019ve read a bunch of books and blogs about\nmarketing and tried lots of different tactics. Money was never a limiting\nfactor for me (I make decent dough at my day job, though I\u2019m not\nrich\u2014#middleclassbabe), so lack of spending was definitely not the problem. I\neven tried hiring a company to do it for me, and the results were the same: somehow,\nI\u2019m still not a bestselling author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I can\u2019t offer steps to success like my other blogs\u2026BUT I can offer some hard-earned wisdom and advice. [keep reading<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…Oh, you want people to actually READ your book after you publish it? In that case, people need to know that you exist. Find out how to launch yourself into the public consciousness right here.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author Newsletters: All Your Burning Questions Answered!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Author\nnewsletters are one of those things that used to be super-hot when the first\nauthor stumbled upon one like the ape in 2001:\nA Space Odyssey<\/em> found the black monolith of human evolution. But now that\neveryone\u2019s got one, they\u2019re less potent than they used to be. Who doesn\u2019t have\na black monolith they keep in their basement but now mostly use as a clothes\nrack, amiright? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you might be wondering: do I need one or what? And what the hell am I supposed to do with it? [keep reading<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Author Websites: The Essentials<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every\nauthor needs a website, it\u2019s a simple as that. It\u2019s your central hub for\neverything, like your online house. Luckily for you, what\u2019s actually on your\nwebsite is pretty simple. The basics are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n