If you want to give someone the heebie-jeebies, pull out a camera and ask if you can take their picture. If you want to see them collapse in a sweat, tell them this will go on the back of their book. In fact, there’s nothing that’ll force you out of your comfort zone more than […]
While you’re setting up your company, you should think about the need for an author pen name. A name conveys an image or meaning. It tells the reader something about you that may not be accurate: your nationality, gender, intellectual level, even suggest the type of books you write. Would you expect “Brad Thor” (his […]
August is coming up, and that means it’s time for the Murder as You Like It conference! It’s a great fun day to spend with mystery readers and authors. This will be my fourth year at the show, and I’ve always had a great time. There’s something about meeting people who like to read, who […]
Remember the Far Side “Cow Tools” cartoon? It showed a cow, standing up before her display table that showed a bunch of sticks and lumps. In his book, Gary Larson wrote that the panel caused a lot of confusion among his readers. They thought the tools had a purpose, and they couldn’t figure it out. […]
This is a Career Indie Author post that won’t go into the book, because it’s about basic story editing. This came about after reading a genre novel that was by someone who’s written a half-dozen of them. I hadn’t read anything by him before, but the description snagged my interest so I threw a couple […]
I’ve been exercising to The Author Biz podcasts, and heard about an author who I wanted to check out. I listened for her name, and her character, and when I was done I hit the Google. Forty-five minutes later, I had this column on author website mistakes for the Career Indie Author. Because this author’s […]
Writing and designing a book ad is intimidating, but it might not be as hard as you think. After all, you write stories, right? You use your imagination to invent characters and situations. You have the ability to revise your story, to eliminate ineffective and useless words and make the rest more effective. You even […]
We all need Hemingway’s shockproof bullshit detector, but it’s vital when you’re running your own business. Career indie authors have so many options to promote themselves and their books that they have to develop the skills to determine if the poke they’re being sold really contains the pig, or a bag of busted balloon. Today’s […]
As mentioned before, there are three ways to reach customers: through marketing, publicity, and advertising. Marketing is anything you do to spread the word, such as blogging on a website, soliciting reviews, passing out leaflets in the street. Publicity is what you can get someone else to write about you. Author advertising is anything you […]
Probably the most effective way of staying in touch with your dedicated readers is through an author newsletter. It’s the perfect match: you have something you want to sell, and they are there to hear your message. They want to hear from you ; if they didn’t, that’s what the “unsubscribe” link is for. Best […]