How to Get Started as a First-Time Author (and Keep Going)

Whether you dream of being traditionally published or plan to self-publish, every author begins in the same place: with a blank page and a decision to start. Writing a book can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to begin wisely, stay realistic, and keep moving forward even when the process gets hard. Here are practical tips to help you get started—and stay committed—on your journey as a first-time author.

1. Start Small and Write What’s Manageable

One of the biggest mistakes new authors make is aiming too big too soon. Writing a 500-page book may sound impressive, but it often leads to burnout before the manuscript is finished. Readers are also less likely to buy a massive book from an unknown author.

Don't attempt to write a 500-page work and expect the book to sell out overnight. Readers will not buy a tome (a large, lengthy book) from an unknown author. You will save yourself time and lots of money on printing if you keep it small, typically no more than 200 pages for a printed book, and even fewer for an e-book. Actually, it only takes fewer than 50 pages to launch your career as an author.

Instead, start with a smaller, focused project. A printed book of 150–200 pages is more than enough to introduce yourself as an author. In fact, an e-book or a short book of fewer than 50 well-written pages can launch your writing career. A brief, clear book that solves one problem or shares one strong message builds confidence, experience, and momentum.

Publish Your Book Now With MANA's Special Pre/Post New Year Publishing Plan!

If you’re waiting to self-publish your manuscript, then the wait is over! MANA is offering its Special Pre/Post New Year Publishing Plan from now through January 25, 2026.

With this plan, writers will receive:

• Consultation

• Color cover design, front and back

• Document layout

• E-commerce

Editing and proofreading

ISBN bar code provided

Marketing (digital) for a year

Printing of fifty (50) books

Web page on the MANA website

The cost? $2,495

Interested in taking advantage of this book publishing special? Then let’s get started. Contact MANA via email at info@marketingnewauthors.com or call 734-975-0028.

Listen To Excerpts From "Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Love Story"

To celebrate the Christmas season, Dr. Fairy will read excerpts from books that are on the MANA website.

In this post, Dr. Fairy reads excerpts from her newly released book, Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story.

To purchase Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Love Story, go HERE to visit MANA's website.

Now, enjoy an excerpt from Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Love Story (Part 1) by Fairy Hayes-Scott, Ph.D. by listening to the player below: 

Now, listen to Dr. Fairy reading Part 2 of Are There Black Angels in Heaven? Sharing A For-Real Love Story: 

Learn more about what happened with Dr. Fairy by listening to Part 3 of Are There Black Angels in Heaven? Sharing A For-Real Love Story: 

Listen To An Exerpt from "The Curse of Shadow Park" And Receive A Holiday Discount!

To celebrate the Christmas season, MANA's Dr. Fairy will read excerpts from books that are on the MANA website.

In this post, Dr. Fairy reads from The Curse of Shadow Park by F. P. LaRue.

As a special Christmas gift, you can receive a 25% discount on any children's book or religious publication on MANA's website. 

To get the discount:

1. Send an email to MANA with the code that Dr. Fairy gives at the end of this reading.

2. MANA's email address is info@marketingnewauthors.com.

To purchase The Curse of Shadow Park or other children's books, go HERE to visit MANA's website.

Enjoy an excerpt from The Curse of Shadow Park, (Part I) by F.P. LaRue by listening to the player below:

Now, listen to Part II of The Curse of Shadow Park:

Isn't this intriguing? Now, listen to the final excerpt from The Curse of Shadow Park.

Get 25% Off The Registration Fee For MANA's Motivational Weekend Writers' Retreat!

If you have a manuscript that has been sitting untouched for months, you may not feel motivated to finish your work. Maybe you're unsure you can write a book, but you know your dream has always been to become a published author. MANA can help your dream come true.

You are invited to attend MANA's Motivational Weekend Writers’ Retreat from Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12, 2026, at Weber’s Boutique Hotel in Ann Arbor, MI. 

Writers of all stages are encouraged to register.

Benefits of MANA’s Motivational Weekend Writers’ Retreat

There are several advantages for writers who register for the retreat. Among them are:

• Answering questions about the publishing process

• Interaction with published authors

• One-on-One assistance with your manuscript
 

• A chance to receive supportive input from fellow writers

• Guidance for promoting your book

• An opportunity to win 2 hours of free consultation, $500 cash rebate, or $2,000 MANA publishing plan

• An opportunity to win a scholarship that will defray the cost of the retreat

• A chance to earn a $100 referral fee for every person you recruit for the Retreat

• A delicious Sunday brunch

• An opportunity to help organizations: HASU, Forgotten Harvest, and Capuchin Soup Kitchen

If you choose MANA to be your self-publisher, you will receive $1,000 off any publishing plan you choose.

Also, if you register and refer someone to the retreat and that person registers, you will receive $200 off the retreat cost. And that's not all. The person who was referred receives $100 off the cost of the retreat. 

MANA is offering 25% off the registration Fee:

A Q&A With Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott On Her Book: "Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story"

MarketingNewAuthors is pleased to announce the publication of Are There Black Angels In Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story, by MANA's owner, Fairy Hayes-Scott, Ph.D.

Dr. Fairy has creatively used her diaries, which she kept over many decades, to write the book. The diary entries offer readers a way to feel the same emotions, passions, disappointments, and failed relationships that Dr. Fairy experienced. Her diary entries and reflective comments lead readers on a journey that ends with her finding her “for-real” black love with Robert M. Scott Jr. The couple was married for 44 years.

Dr Fairy says this book is for all men and women who want to develop and maintain a loving relationship.  

MANA: What inspired you to write Are There Black Angels In Heaven? Sharing A For Real Black Love Story?

Fairy Hayes-Scott (FHS): Now, let me give some background info. I grew up attending Catholic schools; thus, I was made very aware that there was a guardian angel for every individual. Thus, whenever something happened in my life, significant or not, I would talk to my guardian angel about it. Since I was an only child, my guardian angel became a very close friend whom I could talk to, and it was through my conversations with him that I also talked to God.

When I was thirteen, I received a gift, a diary. And from then up until now, I have written in a diary. I have volumes of diaries. As I became older, I knew that I wanted to do something with these entries. Then, about ten or fifteen years ago, I decided that I wanted to develop a book from these entries in which I would reflect on different entries.

Now, that brings us up to today—this book, Are There Black Angels in Heaven?: Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story. I had the title in mind, but I was not quite sure how I would develop the book. Then, during the first of this year, my husband passed, bingo! He must have inspired me to take this path of development.

I recalled that for years I had read articles discussing the gloom and doom for professional women, especially professional Black women, on their prospects of being involved in a meaningful relationship. I remembered, when I was a young professional hoping to meet a good man to be part of my life, the articles were spewing less than positive love results. And my experiences were not always positive. Even more irritating to me was that some people giving advice did not have a good track record in their own romance department. Then, I met my husband, a Black man. And that is why I have the subtitle.

Don't Wait For Confidence—Write Without It

If there’s one thing that countless writers share, it’s a lack of confidence. As they begin writing, they start to doubt their own abilities. The more they write, the worse it gets. They start thinking of all the reasons why they should not finish their manuscripts.

What these writers fail to realize is that confidence isn’t the starting point; it’s the result. And if you wait to gain confidence before you finish your book, you’ll be waiting for a long time.

The Myth of Confidence Before Action

Too many aspiring authors stop themselves at the threshold of possibility because they believe they must feel ready before they act. This myth robs writers of opportunity, progress, and the joy of seeing their words in print.

Confidence isn’t a prerequisite for authorship — it’s a result of doing the work. Every paragraph you finish, every chapter you complete, becomes proof to yourself that you can write. Evidence creates confidence.

Imagine a first-time speaker stepping onto a stage before a large audience. The speaker’s voice will probably tremble, the person’s knees may knock, and his or her palms may sweat. When the speech is over, the speaker breathes a sigh of relief for surviving the ordeal.

If asked to speak next time, however, the person will know what to expect. In this instance, the speaker will stand taller and speak with more confidence. Remember that confidence follows action, not the other way around. Writing works the same way.

Small Wins Turn Fear Into Momentum

Manuscripts aren’t written in a sudden burst of inspiration; they’re finished word by word, day by day. Every sentence you type and every scene you create is a small victory. Those small wins build momentum.

MANA Announces New Book Release: "Are There Black Angels In Heaven? Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story"

We’re excited to announce that the new book by Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott, owner of MarketingNewAuthors.com (MANA) and its parent company Robbie Dean Press, has been released.

Dr. Fairy made the first public presentation of her book, Are There Black Angels In Heaven? Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story, at the Women Who Write & Create Event on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Grand Rapids, MI. 

Dr. Fairy has creatively used her diaries, which she has kept over many years, to write the book. The diary entries offer readers a unique way to feel the same emotions, passions, hurts, and disappointments that Dr. Fairy experienced in her various relationships, until she found her “for-real” black love with Robert M. Scott Jr. The couple was married for 44 years.

The diary entries, which are addressed to Dr. Fairy’s guardian angel, whom she envisioned as black and male, begin at the close of 1977. For every entry, Dr. Fairy shares her perspective and reflections in 2025.

Readers, regardless of ethnicity, are sure to enjoy this book that offers advice, wisdom, and hope for those seeking their own “for-real” love.

Click on the title to purchase the book, Are There Black Angels In Heaven? Sharing A For-Real Black Love Story. 

Rekindling Your Creative Core to Fuel Growth

BY CHRISTOPHER HAYMON
of ADULTING DIGEST
GUEST WRITER

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom at Pexels

Creativity doesn’t vanish. It clogs, retreats, and buries itself under layers of routine and overstimulation. But whether you’re launching a project or rethinking your next move, the ability to spark fresh thinking is essential. 

You don’t need an artist’s temperament or a sabbatical to recover it. You need simple tools, deliberate shifts, and daily friction with your own mind. Let’s talk about how to make that happen without burning everything down to start over.

1. Create space for reflection

Your creativity doesn’t emerge fully formed. It has to be exercised, nudged into the open, and sometimes coaxed like a reluctant friend. One of the most effective ways to build that muscle is journaling. But not the passive kind. We're talking about short, directed bursts—a question in the morning, a reflection at night, a prompt like “What haven’t I noticed today?” The act of journaling trains you to be observant, to notice odd pairings, to question your own assumptions—and all of that spills into your professional instinct.

2. Let ideas surface without judgment

Trying to create something perfect is one of the fastest ways to stall out. That’s why freewriting isn’t just for novelists. Give yourself ten minutes with no constraints, no structure, no delete key. Get messy. Let the sentences fragment. There’s something almost alchemical in those moments when your brain outruns your filter—and often, buried in the fourth or fifth paragraph of nonsense is the line you didn’t know you needed. Professional breakthroughs often begin with deeply unpolished drafts. Let them be ugly.