My second book, “Life Between Moments,” took 11 months to write while working full-time as a reporter at Insider.
“Life Between Moments: New York Stories” by Phil Rosen.
Phil Rosen/Insider
Last August, when I turned 25, I started writing about two fiction stories a month for almost a year. I did this alongside my job as a senior markets reporter at Insider.
I was much more disciplined with my writing schedule compared to my first book, which was a #1 bestseller on Amazon, but took almost two years to write.
After work every day, I would write fiction for 30 minutes. Doing this for 44 consecutive weeks helped me accumulate 19 short stories, or roughly 50,000 words.
“Life between moments” includes 12 of these stories. It’s a collection of stories about everyday people navigating work and relationships in New York, framed as slice-of-life vignettes.
For me, the key to writing a book is to show up every day without missing a beat. The words add up faster than you think, as long as you don’t skip days.
After I finished writing and editing my book, I made marketing my priority.
I used Canva to make graphics and marketing material for my book.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I kept mine previous book a surprise until the day of publication.
Fortunately, it still topped the Amazon charts and found an audience, but he knew he couldn’t rely on the same tactics twice.
This timeI wanted to make sure there was a lot of material online to drive SEO, which is what helps something appear in Google search results.
Similar to my first book, I was my own editor, publisher, marketing director, design team and business advisor. But I had a few extra things I wanted to do differently.
My goal was to create an online conversation about my book before launch day.
The Goodreads page for “Life Between Moments: New York Stories”.
Phil Rosen/Insider
About a month before publication, I uploaded my book Goodreads, which is like social media for book lovers. There, readers review books and add them to reading lists.
This platform has millions of users who are passionate about books. Also, I knew that adding the book here would help it reach more readers and Google search results.
I wrote a series of blog posts talking about my book before I published it.
This is what some of my blog posts looked like before launch day.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I started my own web site in 2018 and I write about culture, books and personal development. And before my book came out, I started writing a lot articles about it and my writing process.
By publishing posts that tangentially mention my book while focusing on writing habits, time management, and goal setting for authors, I wanted to share my own experience while building momentum for my book.
This generated better Google search rankings for my book and doubled as marketing. Readers who stumbled upon my blog also found my book.
This time I shared more of the first steps of publishing.
A proud author moment when I received my first drafts.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I unveiled the cover in Instagram stories and posts, gave a sneak peek at the publishing process, and reiterated when the book would be available and where to buy it.
I’ve been writing my blog’s monthly newsletter since 2019, but for the past year I’ve been sharing work weekly. I wanted to improve as a writer, develop my voice, and build a closer relationship with readers.
For years, I’ve used WordPress for my blogging platform and my newsletter is based on the MailChimp email application.
I also made graphics a priority six months before my book was released.
I made dozens of designs before settling on my final cover.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I’ve never had formal training as a graphic designer and I don’t have anyone to help me with marketing, so my tool of choice has long been Canva.
I use this design tool along with Adobe Photoshop, but I prefer Canva because it is much easier to use. I used it to design my book covers as well as dozens of other graphics.
I especially love Canva’s Smartmockup feature, which allows you to make digital renderings of your book, placed in real-life settings.
I also made my own social media banners and graphics LinkedIn i Twitter.
I also did a lot of physical marketing items.
I gave people personalized bookmarks and key chains.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I used my Canva designs to print my own bookmarks and keychains for in-person marketing.
I treat these items as more interesting and memorable business cards because they are so easy to share. I have distributed them in coffee shops and among my professional and personal circles.
I didn’t do any of that for my first book.
The self-publishing route has twice worked well for my writing.
The author with a first book draft of “Life Between Moments”.
Phil Rosen/Insider
I chose to self-publish my books with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for speed and accessibility. There really are no barriers to entry, other than doing the work.
While in some ways self-publishing lacks the prestige of traditional publishing, it offers a higher royalty payment around 60% to 70%, versus 5% to 15% with a traditional publisher.
Plus, self-publishing lets you work with your own timeline.
I’ve heard of publishers sitting on books for more than one, two, or three years before going to print.
Seeing a final product that I created entirely on my own is a feeling like nothing else.
A happy author with many, many book drafts.
Phil Rosen/Insider
Thanks to my efforts before posting, “Life between moments” it ranked as the #1 new release on launch day and achieved multiple bestseller rankings in different categories on Amazon.
After two books in two years, I’m very confident in my own graphic design and marketing skills, as well as my knowledge of editing.
At 25, I’ve taught myself the skills of every step of book editing, which makes me feel more confident as a writer than ever.
“Life Between Moments: New York Stories” is my second book, but it won’t be my last.
Phil Rosen/Insider
The skills I have acquired in producing my books translate into my work as a journalist and give me a unique insight into the landscape of contemporary writing.
If I do eventually go back to traditional publishing, I know I’d miss some of the creative freedom I have when pursuing my own productions.
“Life Between Moments: New York Stories” is now available.
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