OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
In this post I interview April L. Hamilton, author of ‘The Indie Author Guide' and editor of Publetariat. She outlines how indie authorship has exploded in 2010 as well as giving some top tips for people who want to indie publish in 2011. (Indie stands for independent, and is self-publishing).
In this video, you will learn:
- About ‘The Indie Author Guide' and who it's aimed at. The companion site, with loads of resources is at IndieAuthorGuide.com
- What is an indie author anyway?
- How April was picked up by Writer's Digest for a traditional book deal, after self-publishing for so long. The importance of self-promotion as an indie author.
- Indie authors are generally into all kinds of publishing. Consider the goals for your book and sometimes the right decision is to partner with a larger publisher if you want to reach a larger audience.
- How indie authorship has exploded in 2010. The tipping point of Seth Godin announcing that he was leaving his publisher to publish on his own. Going indie is a business decision, it's not about stigma anymore.
- Ebook explosion has also played a part in the rise of indie authors. Joe Konrath is an example of an author using ebooks to make a living as an indie author.
- Top tips for going indie. (1) Treat the venture as a business. You are acting as a publisher.
(2) Don't be afraid to outsource some of your project but do be a careful shopper.
(3) You do need to be able to get yourself out there and promote your book and yourself. Develop your platform before the book comes out. Think about engaging, rather than hard selling.
You can find April and her books and services at AprilLHamilton.com , as well as IndieAuthorGuide.com
I now offer a multi-media online short course on how to publish your book on the Kindle, iPad, Nook and other e-readers as well as answers to all your ebook publishing questions. Featuring video, audio and PDF information for only $39.99.
Click here for all the details.
Thank you, Joanna, for this interesting interview.
As a indi author who is recently working with Decadent Publishing, I found April’s comments very helpful and I plan to check out the links she mentioned.
All the best