Why did I ever think I had to go it alone?
Welcome to the first edition of my author’s toolbox.
Today I want to start where I began. Not really. I began by flailing, and failing, miserably. This is where I started turning things around.It’s where I like to believe I began. I published my first book, Bedazzled in 2014, but I republished it after I discovered a world of experts—cover artists, marketers, editors and so many more.
You see, when I started writing, I thought I was alone out here. I didn’t have a clue how much help was available to me as a new writer, as a romance writer, as an indie writer. There are hundreds of writers who came before me, succeeded and wrote books, blogs, offered webinars on how to do it without tripping over myself. I just needed to know where to look.
But I wasn’t looking.
So today, I am going to tell you where to look first, because as you write you will find people to help you with your specific problems, in your specific niche or genre. You will find authors to whom you relate better than others and that is fine.
MY FIVE FAVORITE EXPERTS
But if you need a place to start, or a place to return, a person that almost every author will tell you gives sound advice, these are five repeatedly, reliable sources. They all offer plenty of free advice, which is important when you are not yet making money as an author, and they all treat writing as a business, not a hobby.
All of them have been around long enough to have a proven track record in the writing and publishing business, and all of them offer general, broad advice, which is why, if you need a place to start —or return—this is where I suggest you begin.
JOANNA PENN —THE CREATIVE PENN
I discovered Joanna early in my journey as an author, mainly because of her books advocating authoring as a business. I am not sure if she coined the phrase authorpreneur, but I attribute it to her. A success writer of both fiction and non-fiction, Joanna is a leading voice in the indie-publishing movement, which she supports with her Creative Penn podcasts and her series of books on the business side of writing.
Joanna offers writers advice from taxation to marketing, from creating alternative income streams to working with influencers, with an eye toward creating a sustainable career as a writer. I consider her one of the most successful online mentors for writers especially with the addition of her podcast. She does numerous speaking engagements, pops up on webinars hosted by everyone in the publishing business and is really an authority in this space.
Follow her for expertise on mindset, money, craft, and access to a wealth of free and paid resources as well as for access to her wide range of friends in the business. She engages regularly with a broad community, offering practical advice and strategies for business and creative success, for beginners and experienced writers.
If you follow only one person in this business, Joanna would be my choice, for her encouragement, her breadth of knowledge and her willingness to share it.
NICK STEPHENSON—YOUR FIRST 10K READERS
Early in my writing career I discovered Nick Stephenson and his Your First 10K Readers Class, and I was hooked. A best-selling author in his own right, Nick built a successful brand around an comprehensive roadmap course on everything an author needed to know to self-publish and market their books. With constant updates and real-world success stories, it’s difficult to resist Nick’s ever-growing family of courses and tools.
What I love about Nick’s multi-module Your First 10K Readers education package (this is an affiliate link) is that his advice is practical, actionable, and effective. Although he starts at the beginning for those who need the guidance, he doesn’t start slowly. On the contrary, Nick dives in so you can get results, building a website, an email list, providing the tools to make sales in the competitive world of book marketing.
I bought Nick’s course when I was writing my first book, but I am still referring to the modules (most recently on advertising) as I get ready to publish my fourteenth novel. I am living proof his advice has staying power. That’s because Nick puts his emphasis on long-term success and short-term wins. The goal is sustainable growth, skills and tools you can build upon, designed to help you grow your fanbase, and ultimately your sales. And he’s been around long enough that the system is proven regardless of your genre, or whether this is your first or your fiftieth book.
Why? Because Nick believes if you build a relationship with your readers it will lead to more sales, more long-term growth and that this is a sustainable model for an author. With his deep understanding of the publishing landscape, he adds new tools as required and new modules to his courses to assure they stay relevant. The man really knows what he’s doing.
JANE FRIEDMAN — PUBLISHING WIZARD
Since I started subscribing to Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet, I have come to see Jane Friedman as a gifted and generous publishing expert and educator. I have enjoyed several of her classes, but especially her newsletter, the Hot Sheet, full of trends, resources and upcoming classes.
A highly respected author and publishing expert, Jane Friedman has been helping authors navigate the traditional and indie publishing worlds for years. She brings a wealth of experience to her work and tries to present a balanced perspective in advising authors down either path,
Her book The Business of Being a Writer covers everything, and I mean everything, as do her classes—from contracts and taxes to self-editing, marketing and career guidance. She brings in experts on a multitude of topics to help teach authors everything they need to understand to build a sustainable career as a writer.
As publisher of The Hot Sheet, she takes that a step farther, following up on the latest trends and keeping authors up to date on publishing, marketing changes, digital demands, and the world of literary agents and getting your book published.
I particularly love using Jane’s advice on increasing the number of reviews you get for your books (using her handy form) or her advice on mailing lists, social media, brand platforms and web presence. She puts a strong emphasis on understanding contracts, intellectual property rights and legal issues too. Jane offers constant education in all of these areas to help new authors learn and experienced authors grow.
Jane’s emphasis on authors as entrepreneurs who focus on long-term relationships with readers and develop a solid marketing strategy drives the content for her online courses, webinars, and workshops. All of her contest is designed to help writers improve their craft and business skills. Her website, JaneFriedman.com, features a wealth of free resources on writing, publishing, marketing, and more. She also runs a popular blog where she provides expert advice, including guest posts from industry professionals, making her website an essential stop for new authors seeking guidance.
Jane wants authors to see writing as their long-term career and she teams with them to make that happen, emphasizing the importance of planning for the future, setting goals, and taking consistent steps to grow as a writer. Her advice helps authors prepare for the reality of the publishing world and build careers that can sustain them for years.
DAVID GAUGHRAN — MARKETING GURU
What I love about David, besides his lovely accent, is his willingness, even eagerness to share everything he knows about marketing books with authors.
Gaughran is the author of several books chock full of practical steps writers can take to succeed. His most popular books include Let’s Get Digital and Let’s Get Visible, focusing on marketing strategies, building an author platform, and understanding how to succeed in the digital age.
A well-respected author and coach, David has a wonderful no-nonsense approach to the business of writing and publishing including a totally free course on book marketing that I cannot recommend enough for new authors.
David is a true advocate for authors, giving them resources they need to take control of their careers. He teaches authors how to navigate the complexities of the industry, emphasizing that writers can—and should—be in charge of their creative and business decisions. Focusing on indie authors, David stresses that they can achieve financial and creative freedom by embracing self-publishing, and he provides practical, actionable advice to help making that happen.
One of David’s key messages is that successful self-publishing isn’t just about writing great books—it’s about marketing them effectively. If you have written a book and then watched it languish on Amazon, you know he’s right. Instead, he advises authors to build a strong marketing strategy beginning on day one using Amazon KDP, email, social media and more. Following his guidance builds long-term marketing strategies versus quick-fix solutions helping authors increase their visibility and sales.
David relies on data. He has an deep understanding of how Amazon’s algorithms work and how to leverage pricing strategies. He offers recommendations and teachings around pricing books correctly, using Kindle and other Free Book Promotions, and understanding how Amazon’s ranking system rewards authors who regularly engage with the platform.
Unlike Dave Chesson (see below) David advocates wide distribution along with building a strong author platform, engaging email and social media and other foundational activities to build a long-term loyal following.
David’s teachings are incredibly valuable because they are rooted in data, offer practical advice and actionable steps, and serve as great guides for anyone looking to build a career in indie publishing. Whether it’s marketing, pricing, distribution, or platform building, David offers strategies that create a roadmap for success.
DAVE CHESSON — AMAZON EXPERT
When I need an Amazon or Kindle expert, and I mean expert, I lean heavily on Dave Chesson and his Kindlepreneur website, his Publisher Rocket and other author tools. Dave’s understanding of Amazon’s algorithms, book ranking strategies and keyword optimization has helped me, and thousands of other authors strategize and improve our ranking, visibility and sales on KDP.
The kindlepreneur website is bursting with resources, guides, step-by-step roadmaps and more to help authors navigate everything marketing. I learned to write book descriptions from Dave and how to format books (using his tool I might add).
For keywords and metadata optimization on Amazon, I purchased Publisher Rocket, a powerful tool Dave designed to help authors find profitable keywords, understand the competition, and optimize Amazon listings. It’s one of the most popular tools among self-published authors for boosting book discoverability for a reason. It takes most of the guesswork out of keyword searching and it’s really easy to master.
Not content to share his expertise on Amazon, Dave also provides his list of the best book promotion sites, teaches how to plan launch activities, build email lists, and anything and everything else he can imagine an author might need to know. Dave is incredibly generous in sharing information, in detail.
He provides free tutorials, blog posts, and even online courses, all geared toward helping authors understand the best strategies for marketing, promoting, and selling their books advocating a data-driven approach, making decisions based on market research. He encourages authors to analyze sales data, use tools like Amazon’s sales rank to predict trends, and conduct proper keyword research to make sure their books are reaching the right audience.
Dave’s approach is results oriented and rooted in understanding the tools and algorithms that drive book sales. His expertise in Amazon marketing, keyword strategy, and book promotion provides new authors with the knowledge they need to thrive and he is generous is sharing it.
So these are my five favorite experts. I have fifty more, give or take a few, but most of them are specialists where as these five have wide ranging expertise valuable to beginning author and experience novelist alike. Some of these advisors may resonate with you more than others, but I recommend you dig into the work of all of them and discover for yourself what they have to offer you in your current place in your author career.
Do you have a favorite resource?