In a Sometimes Lonely Career, Indie Authors Find Creative Ways to Connect As writers, our path is primarily a solo endeavor. Some authors have an easier time combating loneliness, but others find it difficult to get past the isolation hump. When the need for companionship strikes, online writing sprints and smaller in-person writing retreats can […]
Developmental Editor or Beta Readers—Which Path Is Right for Your Story? After several months or even years of research, interviews, and mastering the art of adept wordsmithery, you’ve finally finished your manuscript. You have cleared the skillful craft and creation hurdles and now face the challenge of polishing your masterpiece and introducing it to the […]
Whether it’s your alpha or beta readers, your advance review copy (ARC) readers, or your editor, there are plenty of situations in which authors need to share their work with others before it’s published. Doing so securely and easily can be daunting, especially if the person you need to share with uses a different program […]
Once you’ve written “The End,” how do you prepare for your manuscript to go in front of new eyes? By “new eyes,” I mean those of your editor, beta readers, or ARC team—that special selection of people who get to see your “book” before it’s truly a book. Putting your published book out into the […]
Writing Realistic Stories about Siblings The author Leo Tolstoy famously wrote in his book Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I would change this to add that, whether happy or unhappy, all children are unique in their own way—but for children who grow up in […]
On April 14, I moved my favorite houseplant to the edge of my desk and clamped my backdrop behind my office chair, adjusting my lights and setting up my webcam. I was not the only one. Writers, podcasters, and artists across the world were doing the same, preparing to appear at the annual online Science-Fiction […]
A Year after TikTok Users Exploited Amazon’s E-Book Returns Policy, What’s Been Done to Protect Indie Authors? In June of last year, a TikTok trend that showed viewers a “life hack” for getting free books from Amazon caused a major stir in the indie author world. The impact and response were equally quick, with indie […]
A Literary Dichotomy: Simple Words, Not Simple Stories There are those who write as a cerebral exercise, and then there are those authors who make money. Here’s an axiom that you should apply to all facets of life. People don’t like getting talked down to. Simple words don’t have to be conveyed simply. Words are […]
There’s no feeling quite like the elation of delivering your manuscript to someone excited to read it. You’ve poured hours, months, and sometimes years into your work, and now it’s ready for the eyes of your beta, advanced reader copy (ARC), or review crew. Unfortunately, plenty of authors also understand the dread and disappointment of […]
The Prospective Power of Your Advance Reader Team There are several schools of thought when it comes to engaging advance readers. Some authors don’t like to share their books in advance of publication for fear of losing out on book sales. Some authors use a limited number of advance readers solely to catch mistakes and […]
Award-nominated author, podcaster, and creative entrepreneur Joanna Penn is a force to be reckoned with in the world of writing and publishing. Writing under the name J. F. Penn, she’s a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Thrillers, Dark Fantasy, and Crime. Her popular ARKANE Action-Adventure Thrillers, Brooke & Daniel Psychological Thrillers, […]
The Independent Book Publisher Association (IBPA), which recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary, chose a resort and spa nestled on beautiful Coronado Island, located just across the bay from downtown San Diego, as the landscape for its 2023 Publishing University conference. With catered meals, complimentary drinks, and first-class hospitality, the resort was the perfect location for […]
Unlock a world of creativity and communication with the integrated tools of Google Workspace. Once a free platform for writers on a budget and not thought to be useful, Google’s ecosystem has matured. More and more writers are turning to it as their platform of choice. Anywhere you need to go, Google is there with […]
As we’ve explored the ins and outs of making Facebook Ads work for you, I’ve explained how to set up ads that will reach the highest number of interested readers and how to choose images that will grab their attention as they scroll. This time, we need to examine the copy and headline. Figure 1 […]
Dear Indie Annie, I’ve hired personal assistants (PAs) and virtual assistants (VAs) in the past with varying degrees of horrible experiences. But I know myself, and I keep burning myself out trying to wear all the hats. I could put out more books a year if I didn’t have to do the things that slow […]
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