Course Outline

Becoming a published author isn't just about writing a good book. A modern author also needs to be their own publicist, a marketer, and a social media manager. They must be able to plan book events and social media campaigns to grow their author profile and their readership.

A lot of people start their author journey without the information that will help them optimise their experience, both financially and emotionally. But if an author starts to develop the tools they need to encourage success at the same time as writing their story, they are leaps ahead when it comes time to publish.

Becoming an Author: Beyond the Writing will get the writer thinking beyond the words on the page. To the world their book will inhabit and to the reader they are hoping to connect with. We will discuss the tools needed to catch a publishers eye, and ways to build an author CV. The course will get the writer thinking about the place their book will sit on the bookseller shelves and will help them better understand the publishing landscape in relation to their goals.

Session 1:

Explore what authors should be considering as they write their story and move through their journey towards publication. The following topics will be covered.

-Knowing your story and its place in the market.
Defining the essence and theme of your story and where it fits with readers. Understanding your book genre and your reader demographic.
Students will need to bring a prepared Elevator Pitch with them for the first session.

-Finding your community - You don’t have to write alone!
We will discuss the importance of writing groups & writing organisations, critique partners and beta readers to authors.

-Competitions and what opportunities are afforded by entering them.
Should writers enter competitions? We'll discuss writing competitions, what your should expect, and the pros and cons.

Your Author brand – How do you represent yourself and make your brand recognisable and relatable to the reader.
Students will discuss their author brand and create an author brand Elevator Pitch. We will explore positioning yourself as an expert or an enthusiast in the area of your book, 
finding shared traits with your reader, and your unique positioning. 
We'll also discuss does social media, author websites and newsletters and where they fit into an author brand.

Session 2:

Cover the road to book publication and post publication. The following topics will be covered.

-Traditional vs Independent/Self-publishing - Which road to take?
We will compare traditional v Indie publishing, explore the differences between the two - the benefits and challenges. We will look at who the traditional publishers and where your story/genre
best fit in the publishing landscape.

Pitching You Book - Traditional Publishing - How to get that publishing contract!
We will explore how to polish your manuscript - discussing manuscript appraisals, self-editing and professional editing. Writing synopsis, blurbs and query letters. 
Students will explore whether they want and agent and why. We'll look at pitching opportunities - where to pitch and how to pitch. Understanding submission guidelines and the importance of comparable titles.

Launching and Marketing Your Book - Time to sell your book and promote yourself!
We will discuss planning launch and book events, planning a social media launch campaigns, using virtual assistants and freelance publicists, and creating promotional and marketing assets, 
attending book signings and other author events.

Expectations - looking at the realities of publishing and getting published.

Q&A - final question and answer session

Handouts will be emailed to participants at the end of the course.

What to Bring:

• Prepare a two line description of their book - an 'Elevator Pitch' - for discussion in the first session.
• Pen & notebook.

About the tutor:

Amy Hutton is a television professional and an author with Simon & Schuster Australia. My debut rom-com Sit, Stay, Love was released last August, my second book Love from Scratch will be released on June 5 and I have a third book with Simon & Schuster Australia due out in 2025. When I became a published author, one of the things that I quickly discovered is that there's so much more to being a modern author than writing a captivating story. You need to know how to position and market your book, build a reader audience and understand the publishing and bookseller landscape.