Most indie authors grapple with the all-consuming issue of how to stand out from the crowd by creating memorable content and sufficient “buzz” for their self-published novels. Of one million books published a year, some 700,000 are self-published. Very few indie authors reach sales in the thousands, and fewer still break even after costs for giveaways and promotions and advertising are taken into account. A recent article by author Nicole Dieker (on the website of publishing industry expert, Jane Friedman) attested to just how disheartening statistics for self-published authors can be. Continue reading “Before You Hit The “Publish” Button: An Indie Author’s Checklist”
Author: joanna
How To Stand Out From The Crowd: An Indie Author’s Success Story
I just spent an hour on the phone with the man who, a couple of weeks ago, kept me up all night — turning the pages of his latest thriller. His name is J.D. Barker, and he’s an author who self-published his first novel, Forsaken, in 2014. Since then Forsaken, a supernatural thriller, has sold approximately 250,000 copies. As an audio book, Forsaken made $30,000 for J.D. in the first month of its release. After the book sold 13,000 copies in one week of 2015, it was scheduled for the New York Times bestseller lists — until the NYT discovered the novel was self-published. So far, Forsaken has earned between $250-300,000. Continue reading “How To Stand Out From The Crowd: An Indie Author’s Success Story”
Cheers! Celebrating The Best News Of The Week
A medical study out of Denmark provided the best news of the week for me. Yes, you read that right. A medical study made the top spot — even though there was a lot of good news from which to choose (think: failure of Republicans’ grotesque efforts to pass a bill depriving 22 million Americans of health insurance; also the revelation by the new White House Communications Director, in profanity-strewn language, that “back (and front) -stabbing” is alive and well in the Trump White House.) Continue reading “Cheers! Celebrating The Best News Of The Week”
When A Writer Has “All The Time In The World”
When you’re retired, or no longer have, or need the day job that was standing in your way of “writing the novel” you wake up each morning knowing you have “all the time in the world” to get to your laptop or yellow legal pad.
That’s the first mistake you make because of course other things get in the way, and suddenly it’s 6 p.m. And you don’t have all the time in the world because now it’s time for cocktails, and another day has flown by and you didn’t write a single word! Continue reading “When A Writer Has “All The Time In The World””
How To Stick To A Writing Routine When You’re NOT A Famous Author
Literary gossip has it that William Faulkner chopped off the bottom of his study door and had all his meals passed to him under the door when he was writing; poet and playwright, Edna Vincent Millay wrote in a cottage on her property, and hung a white flag out of the window to get her husband’s attention whenever she needed something. Continue reading “How To Stick To A Writing Routine When You’re NOT A Famous Author”