A writer these days needs more than Virginia Woolf’s “money and a room of one’s own.” She would probably add “and tools for distraction free writing so I can stop spending the day on Twitter and Facebook.” Coping with distractions is an important part of the writer’s job. The same inventions that have allowed us […]
The most important story that you can write is the one that’s read after you die: your will. An author’s estate leaves behind something potentially more valuable than money, insurance policies, collectible Beanie Babies, and other valuables. We have intellectual property: books, unpublished works, and personal papers. Complete works that can be republished; incomplete works […]
[Blog Post by Anonymous Author] Have you seen what the politician leading Australia just said? What a load of rubbish! How can any right-thinking Aussie support such a menace is beyond me. This waste of a carbon-based life form is a Foster’s-swilling, boomerang-cracking, digeridoo-thumping, wallaby-eating wanker of the first water, and if you agree with […]
In his novel David Copperfield, Charles Dickens defined happiness as having an annual income of twenty pounds and annual expenses of nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings, and six pence. While it’s debatable whether that can be the sole source of happiness—there’s a lot to be said for a loving companion, a secure belief system, and quenching […]
To make a career out of writing, it’s important to be a healthy writer. But why is it more important than you think? Chapter II. Taking Care of Yourself There is a big difference between working for anyone and working for yourself. It’s such a huge difference that it can send some people who thought […]
Keeping records is an important part of your business. There are two reasons why: one that’s important for the business and another that’s important for you. It’s important for you to do this because it’s another tangible way to reinforce that you are operating a business. That there is an entity outside yourself that you […]
(This is a continuation of a post about author appearances. Read Part One covering book-signings.) 2. Speeches and Presentations The one disadvantage of doing a book-signing is that it relies on people knowing who you are to come out and buy a book. If you’re just starting out, the number of people in that class […]
Sometimes, I really am slow on the uptake. That’s part of the reason why I’m writing The Career Indie Author. Sure, I’d like to help you learn how to become a better-selling author, how to get your message out about your books, and how to conduct yourself so that you can attract the fans you […]
When my newspaper career left me back in 2012, I thought I would become a full-time writer. For the previous 22 years, I would write in the morning, go to work on the copy desk, stay until midnight or 1 a.m., come home, and get up the next day and start over again. I wrote […]
As you keep on publishing books, the inevitable will happen: You’ll be asked to make a public appearance. It could be to hold a signing at your local bookstore, to give a talk before a group, to join a panel of other writers at a convention. Should you accept? Maybe. For our purposes, let’s assume […]