Ruth Flynn was born and raised in Birmingham, England. She started her career in Law and is now in the Education sector supporting children with a visual impairment. Ruth’s passion for African and Black history has always been there. However; it was not until Ruth researched her family tree that she delved more into the Royal histories of the countries in Africa. She found out there was much more rich history than what was available to her as a child.
Ruth was educated in a Primary School with black teachers and had the opportunity to grow and be proud of her black heritage. Ruth would like the same for children in today’s society and is on a mission to get more positive African and black history into Schools.
Ruth published her first book ‘The Extraordinary Women of Destiny’ in June 2020. It is her hope that the stories in this picture book and the series will be an introductory biography for the children that read it. Ruth’s goal is to inspire more children to explore African history.
I want readers to know that royal families and dynasties do not start and end with the Royal families of Europe. There were royal families in all corners of Africa dating back to ancient times. They had established empires, armies and in my children’s book they are all women. Rulers, co-rulers, queen mothers and warriors princesses; all these women had an effect on the then known world and their existence can be still seen and evidenced today. One of the reasons I started this book series was to empower young children. They too can have role models that look like them and as a result it will promote a positive sense of pride and self-esteem in children.
What were the top three mistakes you made writing / publishing your book what did you learn from it?
When researching a non-fiction book, especially to write as an introductory biography for young children, the information you come across can sometimes be conflicting. This was an issue I came across when researching and even though I found limited resources for some of these women I had to make sure that I had a number of sources that matched confirming their accuracy. My research came from books and the internet and were mainly secondary sources. I had to correct some of the errors such as dates and sometimes there was more than one way of spelling a name and I would have to choose which one to go with.
Finding a decent editor was challenging. The first mistake I made along this road was thinking there was only one type of editor. Being new to the publishing world there are so many unknowns. Being part of an established writing forum such as those on Facebook where you can ask questions can help immensely. I wish I had found them at the start of my journey. In the end, I had to have my book edited more than once.
Another great mistake I made was starting the majority of my marketing after I had published the book. Marketing should start before you have even written the book! You need to engage an audience to take them along on your journey so that when you have a finalized book you have a readership that is ready to buy it. It was much harder to start as late as I did because it put more pressure on my already tight workload and less time to do anything else All my time after work in the evenings was taken up by marketing, whereas if I had started earlier my marketing campaign could have been spread out over a number of months which would leave me more time to concentrate on other writing. The great thing about this process is that you live and you learn, so the next book I produce I will know exactly what to do.
Set a budget, producing a book, especially a children’s book is more costly than you think. You will have to consider illustrators, editors, formatters, marketing, etc. Build relationships with the people who provide this service. If you want to stay in the author world it is great to have a dependable network of skilled people you can outsource to.
Get to grips with grammar and punctuation, it will save you a lot of editing in the long run. Have author companions, if it was not for another aspiring author I sometimes wonder whether I would have published my book in 2020. Having likeminded people around you who are aspiring for the same goal gives you that boost of confidence, especially when you hit problems, which inevitably you will. You will not only have someone to pour your heart out to when you have a bad day but you will also have someone who can share in your joys and achievements as only other authors can. If you don’t have anyone personally in mind who fits the bill join a writing group, writing forum or the writing community on goodreads.
Lastly, just write! Too many times I have picked up my pen and just scribbled notes, phrases, scenarios and not actually put pen to paper and finished a piece of writing. I have notebooks filled with unfinished stories and poems that are sitting in my home. I have published my first book at 37 but the journey could have started a long time ago if I set aside the time to just write. What you might first write might not turn out to be the masterpiece you had hoped for, but continuing down this path will soon get you to where you want and need to be.
What is the one thing you wished you knew before publishing your first book?
How much I would develop as not only a writer but as a publisher. When I set out on my journey to write I didn’t know as much as I know now about the publishing world. I didn’t even know that I would be illustrating my own books! I discovered how to do many things and gained new skills in the process. It would have been helpful to know that no matter what the situation was there would always be someone, some website, or Youtube channel that you could access that would have the answer. Not doubting your capabilities or getting in a rut when you have hit a brick wall is why I mention this. In these situations, I always found the solution or found someone who had the solution and it helps to know that you do not have to know it all or you do not have to have all the skills it takes to be an author because you can build on them along the way.
So if there is anyone who is reading this that has doubts about whether they can do this, don’t. Your author journey is one that many people have taken before you. There is a big community out there that is willing and able to assist if you are unsure of what you are doing or what you should do next. I wish I had tapped into this community earlier. It saves a lot of stress!
For your book to sell you have to get your name out there. People are not just buying your book they are trusting you to bring them what they are looking for in a book. That means getting to know you also. This maybe more difficult for introverts like myself but even though 2020 has dealt many a rough blow it has given the opportunity of doing everything online which means reaching more people than your local community.
My book launch instead of being in a building with a limited amount of people was set up on Facebook and I was able to share it globally. This was one of my first marketing techniques, which has helped to build up my audience over time.
I pre-recorded my videos and placed them on social media so that those who had missed it when it went live could catch the different segments when they wanted to. Also because I prerecorded it, I can put it on more than one platform. So when opportunities come I can post it again.
Organically building followers on social media and offline has been another technique. I have done this through competitions, sharing like-minded posts to do with my subject and commenting on other posts. Following everyone in your field of writing has been most helpful. That way you are able to find out who your target audience is and focus your posts. Doing paid promotions has also provided good results.
I did this for every milestone I reached that needed promoting. You have to pick and choose which promotions you decide to pay for. A friend told me, which is true, the best promotions are usually free. But until you reach the position where you feel comfortable to approach TV stations, newspapers and the radio. Paid promotions get your work out there.
If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
I started in Law, then went into Education and now I am writing part-time. All these sectors have provided skills that are assisting me now. I started writing when I was in Primary School. I entered poetry competitions in Secondary School but always took my writing as a hobby and it was left on the sidelines. I have always thought growing up that there was only one avenue open to you in terms of career and my first passion was Law. With the knowledge I know now I would have mapped out my life as an entrepreneur so my destiny could be more in my own hands. I would have learned to be financially intelligent (which should be taught in Schools), read a lot more inspirational business and finance books instead of fiction, and networked with the people and organizations that could get me to where I needed to flourish.
The first book I would like to recommend for entrepreneurs, as well as authors, is The success principles: How to get from where you are to where you want to be by Jack Canfield. This book gave so much inspiration and motivation from other successful people who had accomplished their dreams and it was the first book that I brought that encouraged me to buy more books in the entrepreneurial field.
There are many courses out there for authors free as well as paid. However, for a rounded experience of writing, I took the writer’s bureau course, which teaches you how to write for newspapers, radio, and magazines to writing your own stories, poetry, etc. This course not only has established writers and authors who mark your work, but the modules are set out that if you choose to you can apply to organizations to publish your work straight away. The very good thing about this course is that it is a lifelong course. There is no expiration date so you can have the modules fit around you and your life commitments, which I have taken full advantage of!
A book that I am reading at present is make time by Jake Knapp and John Zerfatsky. I believe that anyone reading this can account to not having enough time and feeling rushed off your feet. Well by the time I brought this book it was happening too much. This book has given and reminded me of skills that has helped structure my time better. Time management is everything, you cannot be a successful entrepreneur or author without it. In an age with social media taking over your life and marketing, the techniques I have learned in this book have been very helpful.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can learn more about my book, make a purchase and keep up to date with my author journey by following me at Women of Destiny Ruth Flynn
- I have a Facebook page for my book series @thechildrensdynastyseries
- I also have an Instagram account with the name handle @thedynastyseries
- My Twitter is called @thedynastyseri1
- My Pinterest page displays many subjects and topics to do with African and black history which can be found here:
- If you would like to contact me directly you can do so through direct messages on my social media or at thedynastyseries at gmail.com.
