Your writing business is your own, and that means your process should be, too. This week, IAM turned its focus to other authors to learn more about how they work best. In our Monday Close-Up, Wendy Van Camp spoke to three neurodivergent authors to learn about how they’ve adapted their publishing strategies and writing routines to fit their needs. Today’s Health & Wellness article from Audrey Hughey, meanwhile, explored how making use of “third spaces” in your community can help your productivity and your overall mental health.
How does your writing mind work best? We’d love to hear the processes, strategies, and routines you’ve developed in your author career—whether it’s creating a certain environment to get the words flowing, writing at a certain time of day, or building a schedule to make time for admin tasks around your writing goals. Reach out to us on Substack, our social media channels, or on the Wide for the Win and Indie Author Training campuses. There’s no universal “best practice” in indie publishing, but sharing what works for you may just help another author discover what’s best for them as well.
This Week's Indie Author Magazine Articles
Independent authors manage a host of complex tasks and systems within their day-to-day work, juggling everything from administrative responsibilities to creative decisions to grow their businesses. But not every strategy or suggestion made by those at the top of the industry will work for every author.
Many authors who are neurodivergent ultimately create their own processes for managing their businesses, forgoing the more popular writing and publishing advice for an approach that reflects their needs better. For this week’s Close-Up, IAM staff writer Wendy Van Camp interviewed three such authors to learn how they’ve adapted their businesses to what they need, as well as to ask their advice for other authors on balancing an author business and their own mental well-being.
Wendy Van Camp
As authors, we can work from practically anywhere. But sometimes it’s better for our mental health to go somewhere new. A growing body of research shows that finding “third spaces”—places other than home and work that are relatively accessible—can improve your mental well-being, focus, and productivity. This week, IAM’s Audrey Hughey asks other authors about their experiences writing from third spaces and gives you a few ideas of places to try in your own community the next time you want to add some adventure to your writing routine.
Audrey Hughey
Teachings from Indie Author Training This Week
Webinar: “The 2-Hour Content Fix for Busy Authors”
Drowning in content chaos? How does no more scrambling for ideas or staring at a blank calendar sound? If you’re an author feeling overwhelmed by social media and email marketing, this hands-on webinar is your lifeline.
Join Sarah Oldman of Author Services by Sarah as she walks you through a simple, repeatable process to plan 3–12 months of content in just 1–2 hours. With a powerful handout, live walkthrough, and easy strategies for balance and repurposing, you’ll walk away with a ready-to-use content plan—and your sanity.
You can access the replay here: https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/talks/the-2hour-content-fix-for-busy-authors/
Let us know if there's a product or tool you'd like to see in action before you hit the “buy” button, and we'll do our best to feature it.
More Indie Publishing News
Here’s a look beyond our pages at the latest headlines and happenings in the publishing world.
- Some of the biggest publishing headlines this week centered around Shy Girl, a Horror novel by Mia Ballard that was originally self-published and was set to release with Hachette later this year but was canceled after readers alleged that Ballard may have used AI to write the book, leading to a headline in the New York Times. Ballard has denied that she used AI but says an editor may have used AI as part of the revision process before the book was self-published. The incident has sparked controversy once again about the threat AI accusations can pose to writers’ reputations, as well as the trustworthiness of AI detection programs, which claimed Ballard’s writing was 78% AI generated; such programs have proven repeatedly to be inaccurate. Headlines and opinion pieces abound, but you can read about the chain of events here: https://www.fastcompany.com/91512976/shy-girl-ai-controversy-detection-debate-book-publishing.
Anything we’ve missed that you think we should cover? Any topics or questions you’d like our team to explore? Let us know at feedback@indieauthormagazine.com. Your suggestion may just make it into an upcoming article.
