Thank you for your question. Like you, when I started out, I felt overwhelmed as there appeared to be so much to do, and so many plates to keep spinning. The first thing I’ve learnt is not to panic, take your time and enjoy the journey. With each book I’ve released, I’ve become more “chilled” and less manic. It still gives me a buzz, but I’m not in a state of panic.
With regards to the website option, there are pro’s and cons on each, however, I’d start by registering your own domain name, that way you can have your own .com email addresses and you can take your website anywhere afterwards.
With regards the free vs paid WordPress options.
Free
1. It’s a lower cost for you
2. If you stop your blog or website, it’s not been a large cost for you
Cons
1. Your site will show paid adverts from others – This can put your audience off
2. You have less control over your site, if you want to take it to another provider and rebuild it, you don’t have the domain ownership
I went with the paid option as I didn’t want 3rd party adverts popping up on my site as I know it annoys me when I see it on other sites.
In terms of how I got through my process, it was to write a list and slowly work through it.
Overall top tips when starting out:
1. Don’t panic
2. Don’t make your own covers, get a cover designer to do this. Sad to say, many people do judge a book by its cover.
3. After you’ve finished your first book, don’t waste money and effort on advertising, instead, focus on writing your next book.
4. Start building your mailing list and engage with them via your newsletters – I write newsletters once a month, sometimes twice a month (if running a promotion I want to tell them about). In my newsletters I share with them what I’ve been doing over the last month, both on a personal and on a writing level. I use Mailerlite as it’s free for up to 2,000 unique subscribers and I find it easy to use. Their support teams have been excellent too. Which is important when something stuffs up and you can’t figure out why.
I hope my answers will help with your journey. If you have any more questions, either post here so others can benefit, or reach out to me at peter@peter-kozmar.com
Hi,
Thank you for your question. Like you, when I started out, I felt overwhelmed as there appeared to be so much to do, and so many plates to keep spinning. The first thing I’ve learnt is not to panic, take your time and enjoy the journey. With each book I’ve released, I’ve become more “chilled” and less manic. It still gives me a buzz, but I’m not in a state of panic.
With regards to the website option, there are pro’s and cons on each, however, I’d start by registering your own domain name, that way you can have your own .com email addresses and you can take your website anywhere afterwards.
With regards the free vs paid WordPress options.
Free
1. It’s a lower cost for you
2. If you stop your blog or website, it’s not been a large cost for you
Cons
1. Your site will show paid adverts from others – This can put your audience off
2. You have less control over your site, if you want to take it to another provider and rebuild it, you don’t have the domain ownership
I went with the paid option as I didn’t want 3rd party adverts popping up on my site as I know it annoys me when I see it on other sites.
In terms of how I got through my process, it was to write a list and slowly work through it.
Overall top tips when starting out:
1. Don’t panic
2. Don’t make your own covers, get a cover designer to do this. Sad to say, many people do judge a book by its cover.
3. After you’ve finished your first book, don’t waste money and effort on advertising, instead, focus on writing your next book.
4. Start building your mailing list and engage with them via your newsletters – I write newsletters once a month, sometimes twice a month (if running a promotion I want to tell them about). In my newsletters I share with them what I’ve been doing over the last month, both on a personal and on a writing level. I use Mailerlite as it’s free for up to 2,000 unique subscribers and I find it easy to use. Their support teams have been excellent too. Which is important when something stuffs up and you can’t figure out why.
I hope my answers will help with your journey. If you have any more questions, either post here so others can benefit, or reach out to me at peter@peter-kozmar.com
Cheers,
Peter