Join me in my live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things I’ve Learned about how to make the most of your one opportunity to announce yourself to the world – and how to set the tone for the writing life you wish to have.

I’m Maurice Carlos Ruffin, a writer and a teacher.

My first book, We Cast a Shadow, was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize. It was longlisted for the 2021 DUBLIN Literary Award, the Center for Fiction Prize, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. The novel was also a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Since that first release, I’ve written two more: The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You and The American Daughters. I’m also a professor of Creative Writing at Louisiana State University, and the 2020-2021 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi.

Once, before all that, I was an unfulfilled lawyer. For many years, I dreamed of writing and selling my first book. I read books about publishing. I watched videos. I questioned established writers. But no amount of preparation prepared me for the experience of publishing my first book.

You see, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had no idea what questions to ask. And even the most helpful mentors couldn’t guess what would be most helpful to me as a debut author.

Frankly, I wish that I could hop in a time machine and tell myself a few things about what to expect. That’s why all I’ve learned since publishing my first book is what I wish most to share with you. I hope you’ll join me in my upcoming two-hour class, Five Things I Learned Too Late About Getting Your First Book Published.

What matters most? I learned too late that you only have one chance to debut. Yes, you may publish other books, but you only have one opportunity to announce yourself to the world and set the tone for the kind of writing life you wish to have.

Because you’ve only got that first chance, it’s essential to that you anticipate and make the most of five key elements that will shape the success of your first book – your own vision for your first release; the resulting book deal; the team you’ll assemble (and will be assigned) to bring your book to market; the related publicity and marketing plan that gets the word out; and, finally, the details of your book’s release strategy.

You see, publishing a book is a beautiful gift, but only if you have the right information and the correct attitude. Despite having a mostly pleasant book release, I found myself riddled with doubt soon after my book was out in the world. I kept asking myself whether I blew my best chance to make a good first impression as a debut author. My answer is “both yes and no.”

In our time together, I’ll walk you through the mostly invisible minefield of debut book publishing. I’ll discuss that although satisfaction comes from within, it also a function of putting the right pieces in place before your book hits the shelves.

Why is this so important? Because good writers often have bad debut experiences that they find demoralizing. Many a talented writer has gone “one and done.”

I don’t want that to happen to you.

I’ll tell you all my secrets.

– Maurice Carlos Ruffin