Issue #43 - November 2024

Business expert Joe Solari has been a boon to countless indie authors, applying business-first advice to help skyrocket careers long before he was named managing director of Author Nation. His stout guidance can be found on podcasts, in his course on author careers and business, and in published articles. Now,

Summer on a college campus is much quieter than any other time of the year. Students have returned home for a few months between semesters or have taken a break from coursework for internships, summer jobs, or just to travel. But for fifteen graduate students each year on the Western

From beginning to end in the publishing process, being an indie author can often feel overwhelming. But what if the key to success wasn’t working harder or stressing more but instead cultivating happiness? In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shows that happiness is a critical factor in unlocking creativity,

“Pay to play” has become a common phrase in today’s digital world. Where we once relied on creativity, engagement, and consistency in our posting on platforms like Facebook in the hopes of capturing readers’ attention, more and more sites now demand money for visibility. This includes major players like

A few months ago, IAM publisher Chelle Honiker shared on Facebook a lesson that she’d presented at the Future of Publishing Mastermind: that of the “suck list,” a prioritized list of tasks you don’t want to do or that eat up your time. Create the list, she wrote,

Book Brush Offers Simple Graphic Creation Software Tailored to Authors’ Needs Ready to launch your next book but not sure how to create the picture that’s worth your 50,000-plus words? Authors looking to create professional ads and social media images have many options for creating graphics. Canva, Adobe

If you’ve checked in at Indie Author Training this month, you may have noticed we’ve made some changes to the site. We’re really excited to share them and hope they’ll make it even easier for you to find the tech tools, lessons, and writerly advice you

Dear Indie Annie, I know it’s something every author deals with, but I’m heartbroken over my first one-star rating. What do I do? Bad Review Blues Darling Bad Review Blues, Oh, honey, grab yourself a refreshing mint julep, and pull up a chaise longue. We’re about to

Indie authors often rely heavily on digital marketing and promoting their books on e-retailer platforms. But millions of readers still get their books from libraries and bookstores. In 2023, U.S. bookstore sales hit $8.3 billion, and Gen Z and millennials are visiting libraries far more than previous generations,

My first novel started with a character rather than a story. Although I had attempted to start a novel now and then, I had never gotten very far. Yet this character kept speaking to me. He told me of his fears, of his skills, and of a love he feared

Ever felt overwhelmed by the sea of faces at an author conference, unsure of where to start? Author conferences offer a wealth of opportunities to connect, learn, and grow, but navigating the throngs of people, packed schedules, and hosts of optional networking opportunities between panels can be daunting. With the

The holidays often come with a long to-do list and unrealistic expectations. Attempts to recreate the holiday bliss depicted on television and maybe even in your stories may leave you feeling mentally depleted. And sometimes, one casualty of the holiday chaos is the mental space typically reserved for creativity. Deep-cleaning