As an indie author/authorpreneur, there are a lot of things to keep in mind in order to successfully run your business. Here are some resources that address various aspects of being an indiepreneur:
- “9 Inexpensive Revenue Streams for Broke or Struggling Authors” on The Book Designers: Includes selling special reports, templates, subscription newsletters, classes, private Facebook groups, consulting, and speaking.
- “7 Publishing Insights Revealed By Last Year’s Top 100 Bestselling Books” on Forbes: Fiction bestsellers were mostly crime fiction, children’s books are pretty popular, food and science books were big in the UK, and sci-fi, fantasy, and romance were not popular in print, among other trends.
- “Why Indie Authors Need Literary Executors & How to Appoint One” on ALLi: “By having a person I trust to be the literary executor – someone who not only understands but is good at licensing and exploitation of rights and/or knows who to partner with to do that – I am confident that the IP I have will be well-tended.”
- “4 successful membership site examples to learn & borrow from” on Podia: “[…] a successful membership website is a website that delivers an amazing customer experience and has the health to show for it.”
- Creative Live: A site with live, on air free classes, covering design, money, maker, and more topics.
- “The Definitive Guide to Small Business Marketing” on Web.com: Includes creating a strategy, a website funnel, content, and investing in social media and paid advertising.
- “How many books can you expect to sell? The truth about book sales and the keys to generating income from publishing” on Nonfiction Authors Association: “Keep sales expectations low, and shift your focus to building a business around your book” (by targeting your audience, reaching ideal readers, and factoring in reading habits).
- “Notes from the Field: The Advantages of Having an Imprint” on BookWorks: “Having your own imprint legitimizes you as the author and gives the impression that your books are good enough to be published by a publishing house.”
- “Will your novel sell?” on Lisa Poisso: “How do you know if you’ve written a salable novel? You’ll find no handhold on that question until you can effectively describe what you’ve written. What other books is your book like? What sort of readers will be interested in reading your book? What are your book’s themes? What drives the characters? What is the primary story conflict?” (Use comparison titles/comps and figure out your publishing goals)
- “Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How to Build, Launch, and Grow a Profitable Online Store” on Shopify: Includes finding a product, doing your research, and having a launch plan.
- “The perils of publishing without a fact-checking net” on Columbia Journalism Review: “Despite the extra time and money it costs, journalists should feel obliged to have their books fact checked—whether that means hiring someone to do it, or doing it themselves.” This includes people who write books, news articles, and for magazines.
- “10 entrepreneurs share their top questions to ask a potential logo designer” on 99 Designs: “Hiring a freelancer requires the same process you would use if you were hiring a new internal employee—you want to find the most qualified individual for the job.”
- “Let’s talk about margins” on Medium: “A book with proper margins says a number of things. It says, we care about the page. It says, we care about the words. We care so much that we’re going to ensure the words and the page fall into harmony. We’re not going to squish the text to save money. Oh, no, we will not rush and tuck words too far into the gutter. A book with proper margins says, We respect you, Dear Reader, and also you, Dear Author, and you, too, Dear Book.”
- “Why Doesn’t America Love the Novella?” on Electric Lit: “Overseas, short novels are celebrated, but here authors are often pushed to expand.”
- “How to Come Up with Catchy and Creative Business Name Ideas” on Looka: “In this article, we’ll show you how to come up with some catchy business name ideas for your new venture by brainstorming and making sure it’s: Original, Future-proof, User-friendly, Available (in some form), Lovable””
