Being an Author: Self-Published 2 Books

After having self-publishing Positive Thinking and Life, Randomness, & A Little Eroticism, I felt good. To hold your book in your hand is the most amazing feeling in the world. I couldn’t wait to publish more books. I knew there would be no more poetry, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to write a full-length novel. That is where Betrayed & Scorned comes into play, a compilation of shorts that all go together. This you will hear more about next week.

This was happening, and I had to figure out what path I was going down with my writing. Did I want to make a living off writing, or did I just want to have my books published to say they are published. I decided, both. If my books never sold, I would be fine just collecting my physical books on my shelf as an accomplishment for me. But there were things I did have to consider going forward.

I don’t work at a pace dictated by others, ask for permission, or deal with the middlemen. And I’ve never been happier about that. Here are steps that can help you figure out how you want to move forward in your writing career, and some steps I took.

Step 1: Decide if Self-Publishing is Right for You

Being an indie author isn’t for everyone. For some, it might be the biggest mistake they could make. Every writer is different. You should never follow someone else’s path without knowing where that person is planning to go.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How much control do I want over the content, editing, and cover design of my book?
• How well do I understand basic marketing and funnel design?
• How willing am I to learn?
• How fast am I able to go?
• Is writing a hobby or a business for me?

It’s a common misconception that I think indie publishing is the only way. I am all-in on indie publishing for Me. But for other authors — authors who want to write, write, write, going from one book to the next without worrying about any of the publishing minutiae — a traditional deal might make more sense. You must choose the path right for you. If this indie fiction thing still sounds intriguing, keep on reading.

Step 2: Decide What “Making a Living” Actually Means to You

The economics of self-publishing have flipped the traditional model. I’m not suggesting that you quit your job today and make writing your full-time profession because I have not even done that, and who knows if I ever will. My business runs well, and I plan on making it better as the years progress. So, me dropping this to become a full-time author is probably not going to happen. But yes, I do them side by side. But I can’t count the number of authors who already have. Some are making more than they were before – a few substantially. All are happier.

Step 3: Research the Fiction Market

So few writers do this, indie or otherwise, but those who do, and do it intelligently, are killing it. How are they doing this? They’re writing books that people want to read. That’s deceptively simple. You’re probably thinking, Well, of COURSE they write books people want to read. But for these authors that isn’t an accident, it’s research. They know exactly how their books will resonate with their audiences, because they took the time to discover.

“Writing to market” isn’t a bad thing. Writing to market means writing great books that people want to read. “Successful books should always be about the reader, not about you.” I don’t fully agree with this because you can do both. Find what people want to read and make sure you will be happy writing whatever that may be. You should not only write for the audience. YOU are the writer and the one who has to make it through writing the book. It can become mentally overwhelming if you are not 100% with it.

Step 4: Write (and Professionally Edit) the BEST Novel You Can

Indie publishing isn’t a gold rush. Unfortunately, some authors treat it like there’s gold in them hills. But this isn’t sustainable. Yes, you can hack Amazon. But this will always be a short-term solution to a problem you’re continuing to make for yourself. It’s like trying to build a business on black hat SEO tactics, hoping that Google won’t change the rules – when they always do.

So instead of looking for hacks, write books that resonate with your ideal reader. Write the book he or she wants to tell her friends about. Make him or her want to buy everything else you’ve ever written. THAT is how you build a sustainable career where you’re making more every month. Pay attention to your story, write relatable characters, and lean into your reader’s expectations while still finding ways to surprise them with your fresh, unique voice.

Think long term. Every book is an asset. When you build a strong catalog of quality work, you’re getting in early, buying high value stock at a ridiculously low price. There is no half-life to a well-told story.

Step 5: Build an Email List

We all know about the value of an email list for businesses or a non-fiction platform. But for fiction? Build a list before publishing the book? Yeah, sort of. You’re not building the list so much as preparing to build it. But that’s not the sort of thing you want to be behind on. Before your funnel is launched, prepare for your traffic. This is non-negotiable. Even if you’re selling thousands of books a day through digital retailers, that isn’t good enough if you’re not gathering your readers into your tribe.

Buyers aren’t enough. You want FANS. And it’s much easier to turn buyers into fans when you can communicate with them on your terms. If you’re only selling on platforms that don’t belong to you, then you’re digital sharecropping. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. Don’t overthink this. Your website needs to do a LOT less than you’re probably thinking, or than most authors realize. Your website needs three things:

• A simple landing page with a single job: to present a potential reader with your offer. You can see what we do here: https://sterlingandstone.net/rsfb
• Your offer. Just make sure it screams value. Put as much effort into your cover and description as you would anything you’d expect them to buy. Maybe more.
• A welcome sequence. Don’t invite your reader into your house and then ignore them. Send a welcome email and a simple autoresponder that welcomes this new reader into your world.

Step 6: PUBLISH

You’ve got your funnel built. You are ready to start the engine. But there are three things you need to invest in before you hit the Publish button, things that will pay you back exponentially. If you skip these, you’ll be wrapping shackles around your books’ ankles, tying them into a chain gang, and then telling them to run. Don’t do that.

• Invest in your cover. Don’t be cheap. Your book’s cover is its number one conversion element. Spending $5 on a cover at Fiverr instead of more from a designer will be a big mistake. 
• Write a bomb description. Drop tantalizing highlights so the right reader is ready to click BUY without even thinking.
• Include super-compelling CTAs at the beginning and end of each book. Your CTAs should include the one, single, next step you want your reader to take. Be intriguing.

Step 7: Do it Again

This is the fun part. Your books are finally live. Real people who aren’t your mom are reading and reviewing what you wrote. You’re making money as a self-published author. Great. Keep going. Many authors mistakenly see publishing their book as a finish line. You’ll fly past them, if you see it as the starting gate for whatever’s coming next instead.

By now you should have rhythm in your writing, and you’re building a small but growing group of loyal readers to please. Keep going — writing, publishing, and repeating; producing a stream of quality books built on each other. If you’ve been smart with the above points, as your catalog grows you can experiment with switching tone or genre — if you really can’t stay in one place. Which is me, haha. I choose not to put myself in a box of what I will write.

Step 9: Iterate

Constantly Promote Without Constant Promotion

Now that you’re putting new work into the world, you should be gaining readers with every new release. And that’s great. But you want as much of your marketing to be done on autopilot as possible. Have smart funnels set up so readers can constantly find you and read through your catalog without you having to tweet your book 387 times on Twitter.

Keep Learning

Things are constantly changing. You not only need to keep up with those changes, you need to understand. We never stop learning, doing, experimenting, or pushing things as far as we can so we better understand our potential.

Your Catalog is Your Portfolio

Manage it well. Don’t mistakenly focus on your new content at the expense of your older titles.

Paid Traffic

Facebook ads are great, but they take work to figure out and get right. Amazon has their own in-house advertising platform, and it’s now open to all indie authors, not just those exclusive to Amazon. Over time, the specific paid traffic that work best will shift and change. Still, there will always be well-converting ways to advertise your funnel-starter book directly to the person most likely to love it and then read through your catalogue..

Outsource

Chances are you’ve already done this. Fantastic. Your most important asset is time, and no one can ever make the things you do. So, hire people to buy you more of those minutes. You probably shouldn’t be working on your website, designing your own covers or promo images, doing your bookkeeping, figuring out Facebook advertising, or anything else that is subtracting from the momentum that matters most. If your work is a pleasure, then every day is amazing. You can make that happen by trusting people to help you grow your business and yourself.

Finding New Ways to Connect with Your Ideal Reader

You have an audience. Show them how much you appreciate them by giving them new things to love. Every audience is different, and yours will love you for some very specific reasons. Discover those reasons, then bond with your readers on their terms in a way that makes you happy and is relatively easy to execute.

Challenge Yourself

If you stay comfortable too long, your art and ideas will die. Even worse, your passion might follow. So keep pushing yourself. You can always learn by doing.

Step 10: Appreciate All of it

Appreciate and learn from all the valuable mistakes you make along the way. Those are the gold, so please don’t leave them in the mine. Appreciate your readers and fans. Without them you wouldn’t have the things you have. Appreciate the people who help you to get where you are. Gratitude shouldn’t remain silent. Take the time to say “thank you” to the people who make your life possible. When you appreciate the good things, it will always feel like there’s plenty.