Author Lyn Cote Interview --and a free book for EVERYONE!

Roxanne here, delighted to tell you that we are so fortunate to have award-winning author Lyn Cote with us today! She has published over 45 contemporary romance, contemporary suspense, and historical novels—for the traditional series, trade and indie markets. Today, rather than our usual question/answer interview format, she is going to share some thoughts on the process of becoming an author during this era of such changes in publishing. Read on, and findout how you can receive your free book.

In the past, there were only print (traditional) publishers. It was very hard to break in—the competition was fierce, and finding an effective, reputable agent to help in that process was extremely difficult.  Just to illustrate, my own agent receives an average of five-hundred submissions a day.

The traditional route to being published is still difficult. Many of the independent and chain bookstores have closed, leaving fewer places to sell books, and those slots on the store shelves are mostly taken up by the bestsellers, leaving little space for new authors.

Worse, many publishers give new authors just one shot at success, instead of letting them grow their readership. If a new author doesn’t sell well right off the bat, they might be dropped.  Given the expense of various editorial stages, cover art, promotion and distribution, a book may cost some print publishers upwards of $100,000, so they might choose to cut their losses rather try to build an author’s career.

Now, with the choice to self publish, authors have another, exciting option to distribute and promote their books, and to build their readership over time.  An indie author can easily produce e-books and hard copy “print on demand” at a tiny fraction of the costs a traditional publisher incurs, and the author can  earn a much higher percentage of the book’s income.  There’s no agent to pay, either. But, without formal deadlines to meet, an author needs to develop the ability to stay on course with a regular writing schedule, to be productive.

Editing is key.  Anyone can write a book quickly and put it up on Amazon, but without top quality editing, the flaws will show. The results?  Even a few small errors can result in terrible reviews on Amazon which will follow that book and its author forever, and discourage potential buyers in the future. Besides finding an outside editor, the author needs to consider her budget and then research cover artists, to find one who can do the best possible job.  Amateur, poorly done cover art, and images that don’t show up well in thumbnail size, will turn away readers.

These days, it’s important to have a website, an email newsletter so readers can subscribe, and also have a strong online presence. There are lots of online promotion sites as well, which for a fee will let readers know about your book.

About Lyn Cote:

USA Today bestselling author, Lyn Cote has written over 45 books. A Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and an American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, Lyn writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and historical novels. No matter which kind of story, her brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories” comes through. Her most recent achievement is being added to Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll for bestselling authors. She lives in a lakeside cottage the northwoods of Wisconsin with her comfy husband and two adorable cats. Visit her website/blog at http://www.LynCote.com and find her on Facebook, GoodReads and Twitter.

Website https://www.BooksbyLynCote.com/SWBS
Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/LynCoteAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynCoteWriter
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lyncote/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/101121.Lyn_Cote
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Lyn-Cote/e/B001ITROW4/
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/search/authors?search=Lyn%20Cote

Here is one of Lyn's books, which you can download for free by clicking this link! You can then obtain it for free, in whatever ebook format you desire.

https://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/books-by-lyn/winters-secret ‎