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 […]
The website is the one of the few requirements for the career indie author. It acts as your online headquarters, where everyone can reach you. This post will outline what you need for your first author website. After all, not everyone is on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media site that’s popular today. Having […]
When I sat down to write a CIA post, I knew what I wanted to do. I had an outline for an article full of book marketing advice, specifically online advertising. Most of the research was done, I just needed to write a draft. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the types of book marketers […]
Part of the reason why I’m writing The Career Indie Author is to educate myself about the business. I’ve been writing and publishing – in books and newspapers and other publications – for a couple decades. I’ll be the first to admit that at times I’m not very good at it, whereas there are some […]
This episode of the Career Indie Author is overdue. This week has been full of editing my wife’s first book, “Suburban Stockade.” It’s in the hands of CreateSpace, and if everything goes well, we’ll have copies available at the Downtown Hershey Association’s “Art on Chocolate” in Hershey on Saturday, May 13. Yay! Instead, I’ll put […]
Author’s Note: I confess, this draft on your new book launch is a bit of a mess. As a longtime observer of the publishing scene, and a longtime website owner (since about 1997), it was easy to blast through writing most of the book. I have had a lot of experience in those areas. Now, […]
So you’ve got your books up on Amazon. You put some of them in the Kindle Unlimited program, so you’ll get paid if someone reads them. Great! Now all you need to do is sit back and earn that promised five-figure income. Until you get an email from Amazon saying you’re toast. Your books have […]
The indie author world has a unique vocabulary. Words are drawn from traditional publishing, These are commonly used terms in the online world used by indie authors. Many of them have to do with advertising and marketing, but some of these will show up in blog posts, in forums, and social media posts. Also included […]