For/From Indie Authors: Helen Smith

Helen Smith is a critically-acclaimed novelist and playwright who lives in London. Her novels have been optioned by the BBC, and her work has been favorably reviewed in The Times, The Guardian, The Observer and The Times Literary Supplement. She is the author of Alison Wonderland, Being Light, The Miracle Inspector and the Emily Castles mystery series, as well as children's books, and plays. She has a blog at http://helensmithblog.blogspot.com

Advice:

•     Before you publish, make sure your work is finished, and as polished as it can be. When you think it’s finished, it probably isn’t. So put it away and go and do something else for two weeks while you ask one or two friends to read it for sense. When you look at the manuscript again, any errors should jump out at you. You don’t have to change things just because your friends don’t like them, but if they can't follow what you have written, how can a stranger? 
•     Once your book is published, don’t be impatient for feedback. It will take a while for  readers to discover your work, and for reviewers to review it.
•    When you finish this book, pat yourself on the back and take a short break. Then start writing the next one.