In this post you’ll read about…

✨ What life is like after the book launch

✍️ The best marketing strategy for authors

⚡️ Navigating the ups and downs of author life

📖 3-Minute Story: Life After the Book Launch

My debut fiction book The Nomad Detective: Volume I launched right before I hopped on a plane to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where I doused myself into the world of independent theater.

So far at the festival, I’ve survived a plane crash in one immersive show (that featured real plane seats) and a werewolf attack in another. Today, I’m headed to see a double feature of musicals that chronicle the harrowing and absurd story of Gwyneth Paltrow’s skiing accident and court case.

It’s been a whirlwind of great theater, bad theater, and paper airplane competitions hosted by local pubs in Edinburgh. I’ve been wandering through the city with my partner Kyle as we continue our quest to uncover the best hot chocolate in the city (so far: Thomas J. Walls Coffee) and the best bookstore (Blackwell’s).

While I’ve been here, it’s been amazing to get messages from readers who have (already!) finished the book, and see the first reviews trickle in:

By the way — if you’ve read the book but haven’t had a chance to leave a review, you’d be helping me so much if you went over to Amazon and Goodreads and left your honest thoughts. Reviews help SO much when it comes to new readers finding my work, so thank you in advance!

As I write this, I’ve had my first quiet day since my book launched. It’s weird not to be barreling toward a looming publishing deadline, but I also feel the loss of that daily striving in my fiction life.

Even though it’s been less than three weeks since I officially locked the draft of The Nomad Detective: Volume I, I feel the tug back to my keyboard in a creative way.

That’s how you know you were meant to do something: even after scaling a huge mountain and spending months writing and rewriting — you’re itching to do it all over again.

It also helps to be receiving such an outpouring of support for my debut fiction work. This week I also received an honorable mention for another separate short story I wrote for the Writer’s Digest competition, which has also felt like another nudge from the world that I’m out here doing what I’m meant to be doing.

The one book marketing tip that I always hear repeated for fiction authors is a simple one.

The best way to market your first book is to write another.

It’s true: I’ve seen a huge uptick in sales for my first nonfiction book, Six-Figure Freelance Writer: A Holistic Guide on Finding Freedom in Freelancing, since I launched The Nomad Detective book series—despite my freelancing “how-to” book not having anything to do with my detective series.

During my book marketing research, I came across a guy who had built a million-dollar publishing business. His entire framework stemmed from the continuous addition to your “back catalog” of work as a writer. In other words? Just writing more books.

Once you’re known as a writer, your readers will want to see what else you’ve done. They may follow your Substack (hello if that’s you!) and support you by purchasing your past books. But if you’re a new author, it takes time for this flywheel to spin.

But every journey begins with that fated first step, and I’m so grateful to have my first fiction book out in the world.

Now? It’s time to write the next one 🙂

More posts of mine I think you’ll love…

✨ 2 Things I’ve Loved This Week…

* I finished the Flesh & Fire series by Jennifer L. Armentrout this week. It’s a prequel to Blood and Ash, which is another romantasy series I really enjoyed. I’d recommend this series to you as well, but only after you’ve gone through ACOTAR and Fourth Wing.

* Can a Newsletter Be a Job? By Emma Gannon. I loved this conversation with Emma Gannon and her guest Haley Nahman of the Maybe Baby Substack on whether or not newsletters can be a full-time job. (Spoiler alert: they can be!)

✍️ 1 Journal Prompt

* Flow State Finder. Set a timer for 15 minutes and write longhand for the entire time. Don’t pick up your pen for any reason, even if you end up repeating the same word over and over again!

Feel free to share anything that came up for you in the comments:

💻 New Blog Posts on AmySuto.com

* Working Remotely in Krakow, Poland (Digital Nomad Travel Guide)

* Working Remotely in Istanbul, Turkey (Digital Nomad Travel Guide)

* Best Travel Credit Cards for Digital Nomads

📸 Photo of the Week: More Edinburgh Architecture

This city is so unreal. More architecture to feast your eyes upon 🙂

Follow me on Substack Notes and Instagram for more!

Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,

-Amy

p.s. I create my newsletter voiceovers and my podcast episodes using the tool Wondercraft AI, a text-to-speech tool that speaks in YOUR voice. 🎙 Use my code SUTO50 or this link to get started on Wondercraft! (paid/affiliate link)

Get full access to From the Desk of Amy Suto: Make Writing Your Job at fromthedeskofamysuto.substack.com/subscribe