I’m hard at work on my next book, and to mark Noelle’s 1-year anniversary of working with me, I’ve turned the blog over to her today. Enjoy! Hugs, Elle
Elle and Noelle at the London Book Fair, 2015
So, you want to become an author assistant? Guest Post by Noelle Gaussens
How I met Elle
Readers often ask how I met Elle, and the answer is that it all started with a mutual love of books. Although we come from the same hometown in Western New York, Elle and I landed in small, neighboring villages in the South of France and didn’t meet until we were living here. Elle started an English-language book club, and I began attending the monthly meetings two years ago. The book club’s members have very different backgrounds, and come from several different countries—the United States, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Wales—but what we all have in common is that we speak and read in English and we’re all bookworms. This is a group of dedicated, committed readers with strong opinions and very unique worldviews who come together once a month to talk about books they might not otherwise pick up off the shelf, were it not for the club.
Discussing books with a published author
When one of the other bookclubbers casually mentioned that our founding member is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, I almost dropped out. I’ve always been a huge reader, but I’d never met an author before. The idea of chatting about books with a widely-published and successful writer was instantly intimidating. I decided right then and there that as tempting as it was, I wouldn’t google Elle. I didn’t want to know anything about her career because I was sure that learning about her success would make me act star-struck and feel awkward at our meetings. I just wanted to get to know her as a fellow reader and book-lover, and as an American living in France. Elle never, ever mentioned her “day job” at our meetings, and I found out later it was because she didn’t want to feel awkward herself! Talk about great minds thinking alike.
The job
Over time, Elle and I got to know each other, and sometimes attended events outside the club with other English speakers. It was during one of those group dinners that I mentioned that my job was part time and I was looking for other work. Elle sent me an email after, asking me if I might be interested in working for her. It turns out that publishing a book a month is a huge undertaking, and she’d realized that she simply didn’t have enough time to keep up with all the non-writing tasks her job as a self-published novelist requires. She’d thought about hiring a VA (virtual assistant), but it was important to her that she be able to train her assistant in person, and have regular face-to-face meetings with someone she could completely trust.
Tasks
To be honest, I knew NOTHING about the publishing industry when Elle first approached me, and I was floored that she’d consider me for the job. At our initial meeting, we were seated at my kitchen table, and my knees shook with excitement as she started in on the details. It sounded like the coolest job in the world for my book-obsessed self. Basically, Elle has a to-do list of approximately 100 items to accomplish every week, and first and foremost on that list is: Write The Next Book. Next up on that list is: Answer Reader Fan Mail. I learned that my job would be to accomplish the 98 other tasks. However, being that I had no experience in the publishing world, I had much to learn.
Research
I can spend hours and hours researching a topic, just because I find it interesting and want to satisfy my curiosity. As I started delving into the publishing world, I learned that there is a huge amount of information available at the click of a mouse. I had to be very discerning so as not to become overwhelmed. Like any field, there’s a lot written about best practices, and it’s essential to distinguish between what’s useful and relevant, and what’s just noise. Luckily, I was able to bounce a lot of ideas off Elle and Craig, Elle’s husband. Craig also plays an important role on her team and he’s constantly answering my seemingly unending questions and guiding me when I need direction.
Interaction with readers, or why I wrote this post
Since Elle introduced me to her readers, I’ve been getting questions via email and Facebook about how I got the job, what it entails, and how to find one. I’ve also met (virtually!) many other author assistants, and I’ve learned it’s a real up-and-coming career. Authors are publishing more frequently and there are more of them out there, and the amount of work they have to do in addition to writing the next book is mind-boggling. Authors need organized, reader-oriented people on their support teams to help them handle all of their publishing tasks. To manage the details of their careers and author brands, they’re on the lookout for people who “get” them and their genre (or genres), who understand their brands, who are able to work independently and are self-motivated, and who are passionate about reading and connecting with readers.
How to launch a career in author support.
Here are some tidbits I’ve picked up along the way to help you get started:
- Review the books you read. It sounds simple, but it’s so important. Books get noticed thanks to the number and quality of reviews they receive. Make sure you review all the books you read. It only takes a few minutes, and you might be surprised how quickly you build up a reputation. Authors may even seek you out and give you a free copy of their work in exchange for an honest review. You don’t have to give 5-star reviews to get noticed, but authors are seeking readers who connect with and appreciate their writing style and voice. Your reviews should be consistent, honest, polished, and as kind as possible. Leaving reviews like these will show an author that you’re someone who understands the value of reviews, that you support authors’ efforts, and that you’re fair and professional. Consider making your reviews all available in one place by compiling them on a blog.
- Become an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) reader. Many authors, Elle included, invite readers to receive ARCs. The goal is to get honest reviews for a book before it goes live, but authors also appreciate any direct feedback you might give privately. Getting reviews up on retailers’ sites on release day helps a book gain exposure and traction from day one. It’s an essential step to enabling new readers to discover an author’s work.
- Become a reviewer on NetGalley. NetGalley is a site dedicated to connecting authors and reader-reviewers. This is the place to go if you like giving authors direct feedback on their covers, blurbs, and manuscripts before publication. This is also a great way to build your reputation as a reviewer. Elle’s books published through Montlake Romance (The Bourbon Street Boys series, Shine Not Burn and MacKenzie Fire) were all available on NetGalley prior to publication. In exchange for having the opportunity to read the book before publication, NetGalley members are asked to post their reviews on release day.
- Join the Street Team of an author you love. Authors rely heavily on Street Teams to help spread the word via social media when they have a new release, a promotion, or any news in general. Authors reach out to their street teams with scoops, and seek out their support when they’re looking for ARC readers or beta readers (first readers of a book, usually before it’s published for help fine tune the plot, characters, or other issues). This is also a place where an author might announce that they’re looking for an assistant or any other kind of support. I know of more than one assistant who was a fan before she/he became an author’s right-hand person. Elle’s Street Team, aka The Ellementals, is a private Facebook group where we chat first and foremost about our book obsession, get scoops from Elle about what she’s working on, have giveaways, contests, polls, and lots of fun. Come join us!
- Work (maybe for free) as a Podcast Assistant. There are several podcasts that feature episodes exclusively about the publishing world, and more specifically self-publishing, editing, and proofreading. Offer to work as an assistant (this might be for free, at first), of a podcast you love. Your work could include transcribing each episode of the podcast, making graphics for the website it’s on, doing research for the host, or finding topics for the host to talk about. This is a great way to learn about the industry, to connect with an influential or up-and-coming podcaster and his/her author guests, and to get exposure and practice. Simon Whistler, the host I listen to regularly on the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast, recently threw out there, half-jokingly, that he needed a podcasting assistant. Angela McConnell, an aspiring writer and avid listener, took him up on it. From what I hear, this experience has been amazing for both Angela and Simon; it has allowed her to learn a ton about self-publishing, and Simon has gotten the support he needs. In exchange for her efforts, he’s had her on as a guest of his show more than once, which has allowed her to connect with his audience and build her author brand. I recommend listening to an episode they did together (and special bonus–Simon has a to-die-for British accent!). Elle was also a guest on the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast, twice: in 2015 on Episode 102, and a few years back on Episode 16.
Writer? Or Reader?
Many people ask me when I’m going to pen a novel and launch my own writing career, assuming that working for an author would naturally lead to becoming one myself. For me, that’s like asking a lion keeper when she’s going to become a lion tamer. I know I should never say never, but deep down I’m a READER, first and foremost, and I have every intention of staying true to that. Just writing this blog post took a lot of effort that I’m not sure I could or would want to turn into an everyday thing. I honestly have no idea how Elle writes a full-length book every month! Elle asks me this question too, and for now, I’m telling her that I have enough on my plate with managing her portfolio. But one day, maybe I’ll walk into that lion cage with a whip and see where it gets me.
Know of any other ways writers and readers can make meaningful connections that might lead to further collaboration? Please comment below, or feel free to email me at noelle@ellecasey.com with any questions or comments.