Craig Martelle I submit that there has never been a better time to be a writer. We have to highlight the change in the publishing landscape and the advances in opportunity between 2009 and 2017—most notably the windfalls that came with public acceptance of e-books and the viability of self-publishing thanks to Amazon.  Traditional publishers […]

2023 could have been better, but I’m a big fan of the continuous improvement mindset. What did I do right that sets me up for this year? What do I need to improve on?I take responsibility for my own actions. I got sick. I survived. I changed my forward trajectory. I focused on finishing stuff […]

Is the grind getting you down? The hustle of being an author? It’s understandable. In our business, there’s always so much to do. When you feel yourself sinking in too deeply, reach for the convenient vine hanging over the quicksand. What vine? It’s the one you put there yourself. It’s what got you excited about […]

Craig Martelle This career is a lesson in finding joy. How many write because they aren’t physically capable of other endeavors? It’s the best of all worlds. You get to make money doing what you dream. It’s an exceptional life, but not everyone makes it to the top. It’s a mountain, and the path narrows […]

I’ve been in this business for more than eight years now. I’ve studied it and watched my own ups and downs. January is coming, and if you are exclusive to Amazon, then your page-read payout is most likely going to drop rather significantly.  The biggest names in the publishing world, both traditional and indie, sell […]

If you’re an author, your success is growing, even if it’s only from one book and ten readers. This status vaults you into the public eye. Are you ready? The accolades from strangers about your storytelling prowess can be strangely invigorating. The growing number of five-star reviews is intoxicating. Authors tend to work alone. We’re […]

Remember how you went from grade school to middle school to high school and then to college? How you started a new job, then moved on to another new job? Starting over is a gift. It’s a new chance to do what you couldn’t before. Maybe you were a big fish, but it was a […]

I’ve been writing full time for nearly eight years and have over seven million words published—a lot more if you include collaborations. This job isn’t for those who aren’t committed to themselves. You wake up. You get your coffee or tea or Diet Coke, and you think of the words waiting to be written while […]

Someone we like or respect is doing a thing. We want to be like what we admire. So we do the thing too. Often, that isn’t healthy for us. If something you’re doing is causing you pain, then don’t do it. If it’s challenging you and making you uncomfortable, but it’s helping you toward your […]

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 […]

I’ve given this presentation a few times because it’s important for authors to stay grounded. When we start writing, the only person we have to compare ourselves against is our favorite authors—those people who have been writing for a while with a team of people making sure the stories are great.  We loved those stories, […]

I’m not a fan of this topic because it’s a heavy quagmire of technical lingo while also crossing over the legal threshold and getting the lawsuit treatment, which means fitting those square techno-pegs into round legal holes.  We’ll see how the lawsuits pan out, but the takeaway will give the AI producers better guidelines. And […]

Authoring is a lonely business. It’s just you and your computer, pad, phone, or dictation device telling the story that’s in your head. The good news is that there are a lot of authors. It’s better to be alone together.  How do you find other authors in your genre? Search for the type of books […]

The reader experience is both subjective and objective. You can measure it in your reader recidivism: What’s your read-through rate to the next title? Are you getting good numbers of reviews, more than each previous release? Is your book ranking better than it should based on sales?  Those are all signs of a positive reader […]

This past month, more than eighteen hundred independent authors gathered at Bally’s Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, to learn, to grow, and to celebrate their work as publishing professionals. We welcomed them with messages of inspiration and advice for finding success, however you define it. This month, I want to offer that same welcome […]

When you have no books published, what does a launch strategy look like? This is a question I have been asked at every stop so far on the epic 20Books Drive Across America and the profound train ride around the UK. From a strategic perspective, you don’t know how your book will be received. You […]

We have 20Books Vegas 2022 coming up soon, which means it’s time for a quick refresher on the value of in-person conferences. Motivation and positive vibes. Authors are happiest when they are around other authors. It brings most of us out of our shells because we find people with whom we don’t have to make […]

Consider How You’re Spending Your Most Valuable Currency Craig Martelle Time is the currency of our lives.  We invest it from the moment we’re born until our final day. Every moment is given to something that makes us who we are. Your time is the most valuable gift you can give to someone.  Invest in […]

Your Best Book Is Always Yet to Come Craig Martelle What is the best story you ever wrote?  My answer will always be the next one. I have those that are good, and those I consider the best so far, but better lies ahead.  Otherwise, this would be a tough business. It would be soul […]

It All Comes Back to Book Number One Everyone buys the first book in a series. When you run promotions, they’ll be for the first in the series. When readers ask you where to start, it’ll be with the first in the series. When you calculate the viability of a series based on read-through or […]

Backlist Riches Every single one of your old books is new to someone.  We struggle and fight endlessly to add readers to our newsletter lists. Beyond current and future titles, there is substantial opportunity in delivering your old titles to new fans. Introduce them to your backlist incrementally. I use sales and promotions of the […]

You didn’t write your book by accident, and your author career won’t take off by mistake.  It starts with you.  If you don’t believe in yourself, how will others believe in you? Flip that switch and know that you are doing the best you can, doing better today than yesterday. What is the value of […]

I work with self-published authors across the entire spectrum of success, but the main thing I see from those who head to five-figures a month and beyond is confident persistence. They will do what it takes, without compromising their principles. They write what they like, but with an eye toward what the readers want to read. It’s an overlap […]

Craig Martelle When you don’t feel it. When the world is conspiring against you. Falling asleep sitting up. That’s when your subconscious is at its best. You have the answer to your writing woes if you only listen to what you’re telling yourself. From the dark recesses of your mind. Inspiration. It’ll be gone as […]