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is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date.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
To be a successful indie author means wearing many different hats.
Indeed, to be successful at anything involves wearing many hats! But sometimes, we can look up from the mountainous To Do list and wonder what the hell is going on!
I have been feeling this way lately (again!) and two things have helped me to refocus.
a) The brilliant interview on strategy with Charlie Gilkey, when I asked about outsourcing and Charlie suggested elimination first, as well as focusing more on the primary goal
b) My game changing experiences at London Book Fair, where I recommitted to my growth as a fiction writer
I have also spent a lot of time writing in my journals with a strategic focus, trying to decide what I want to achieve over the next 5 years, both as a creative and a business-woman. I can't keep doing what I doing and expecting a different result. I have to change what I'm doing in order to reach my goals.
In this article, I explain what I am doing to refocus my workload. This list is not meant to be a recommendation for you, it's merely my own response to overwhelm, and it's based on where I am in the author journey. But I am keen to hear your thoughts in the comments section!
(1) Focus on writing more books and creating more products
I've talked about the magic of rights before, how one manuscript can be turned into multiple products and multiple streams of income. But at LBF 2014, I saw my potential future in the Indie Bestseller group. I've known how this process should work intellectually for a long time, but I don't think I have had the confidence in my own writing to think I could get to that point until now.
I've just written ‘Day of the Vikings,' (currently with my editor) and I loved writing it and surprisingly, it was much easier than previous books. The first draft was also a lot cleaner than usual, because I think the fundamentals of story may have become more embedded in my brain. I still do all my research, which is super fun, but the actual first draft writing is a quicker process. So I will be writing more books, and also focusing on turning those into multiple products – publishing direct on the main platforms in ebook and print, as well as focusing on audiobooks, foreign translations and other country markets.
To make time for this, I do have to eliminate certain things.
(2) No more guest posts on the blog
Guest posts take up a lot of my time in terms of coordination and scheduling, often rewriting articles as well as sharing. I have always done it in order to help out other authors with traffic to their projects, but the time it takes is too much these days. I also need to slow down my content production and the site is established enough to get away with that now.
When I started this blog, there were very few people talking about self-publishing and so this site was original. Nowadays, self-publishing is mainstream and there are so many blogs about it, that last year, I said I would be changing the focus to more graduate level posts on marketing and the author-entrepreneur side of things.
Now I need to go further, because the only thing that makes any of us original is our voice. We are all unique. I hope you come to this site primarily because you want to join me on my journey. So it's going to be MY voice you hear from now on, and maybe the occasional amazing guest article, but very rarely. Of course, I will be continuing to bring other people to you via the podcast and also my YouTube channel, as well as sharing people's work on Twitter and Google Plus, so it won't be all ‘me-me-me'! But it will be more me than it has been 🙂
(3) Reading more books and fewer RSS feeds
I took email off my phone months ago now and don't miss it at all. But I had replaced the email checking with RSS feed checking, which is just as disruptive!
I've been subscribed to ~400 blogs for the last 5 years, which have fuelled my twitterholism and my sharing, but the other day I went through and culled ~370 of them. It was interesting to visit the list as so many had just stopped months or years ago. Most blogs don't last long, because people lose interest or focus, or wonder why they are doing it. I've had 3 other blogs that didn't last, so I understand that impetus. I got rid of any without a strong voice and kept the best ones, with the focus on what I want to continue sharing online.
I want to write about books more on the blog. I read a lot and have notes I want to share with you, but because guest posts have been scheduled 3/4 months in advance, I just haven't been able to share what I want even on my own blog! That's crazy! I also want to read more books and fewer RSS feeds, so culling the masses was a good idea in general.
(4) Outsourcing specific jobs
Indie authors are control freaks!
That's partly why we love doing everything associated with our books, but I am getting to a point where I need help with things that aren't my core focus.
I have just started using a fantastic Virtual Assistant (who I will introduce at some point!) and she is doing author-related things e.g. researching for book reviews. I am also using PeoplePerHour.com for specific jobs, and using specialists per job, rather than trying to find one person to do everything.
I've had a new HTML newsletter designed, my ePub files for Nook fixed and a visual presentation for ‘How to Market a Book' which will go up on Slideshare soon. Because the tasks have to be clearly specified on PeoplePerHour, it helps me to write down exactly what I need, and several times I have read my own task and then deleted it. Elimination, rather than outsourcing, is sometimes the better option, as Charlie says in the strategy interview!
I'm also using a transcriber for my podcasts and thriller author interviews, which saves me the need to write show notes and watch the video all over again, halving my time on a significant task. Thanks Liz at Libroediting!
(5) Saying ‘no' more
I get hundreds of emails a week asking for help with things, as well as people pitching me with publishing startups which seem to have proliferated recently. I used to reply to everything, but it is getting to the point of overwhelm, and some emails are clearly lazy in their approach. For example, I still get emails that ask “How do I self-publish?” or “How do I sell more books?” Clearly, I have answered that a gazillion times on this site, and also have links to the key resources here.
I love to hear from people who have spent the time searching the site for answers (see the Search bar on the right!) and who have a genuine question. I also love to hear success stories, so please do continue to contact me if you have sincere questions or queries about interviews and speaking opportunities:)
(6) Giving up Facebook (almost) and doubling down on Twitter and G+
Social media can be one of those time sucks if you don't utilize your time well, so I am a massive fan of incorporating marketing into real life. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it! Twitter is my real social network, as well as my ‘marketing,' and I am increasingly enjoying Google Plus.
BUT/ I haven't been enjoying Facebook for a long time, and the tipping point has really been their algorithm change so the reach of any post is so much smaller. Paying to Boost is the only way for people who have already opted in to see your updates, and I've spent ~$100 doing that since Nov with some good results – BUT I resent it, as do many disgruntled Page owners. I put a comment on Twitter about potentially leaving Facebook – here are a few of the results, and there were many more.
I love Twitter and G+, particularly the serendipity of connecting with people who are not already in your circle. Facebook increasingly feels like pain to me, and I don't like pain! I also hung out with my 17 year old god-daughter this week, and she said that her age group have left Facebook and use Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. She didn't even remember mySpace 🙂 Times change, social networks rise and fall, and we have to be nimble and adapt accordingly.
I still haven't made the big jump to leave Facebook entirely, but I am certainly pulling back, and focusing more on Twitter as well as G+, and my core ‘social' uses of blogging, podcasting and video through YouTube.
How do you manage your time? What steps are you taking to manage your overwhelm? Are there things you're considering eliminating? Any thoughts on leaving Facebook as a business tool? I'd love to know what you think about all this in the comments below.
Top image: Flickr Creative Commons hats by arbyreed
Wow, very interesting tips. I definitely wasn’t expecting some of them.
The biggest surprise was (almost) leaving Facebook. Facebook is my favourite social media platform for socialising. But I’ve been looking at author-related pages and groups, and the vast majority are just places for indie authors to blast their ‘ads’. Very sad.
But there are real discussions going on in LinkedIn, I noticed. And when I set up my new Twitter account last week, I found authors everywhere. 🙂
I haven’t tried G+ out properly, but you’ve motivated me to now.
Thanks Trisha, and I go back and forth on FB every day. I need some way to connect with my readers, but FB just isn’t fun anymore. Groups may be an option, but there’s no video like G+ Hangouts and I suspect that after FB have finished monetizing Pages, they will do the same with Groups since so many are moving to them … Twitter is indeed chock full of authors 🙂
Sure. Perhaps for nonfiction authors, Facebook may be useful to buy ads on that go to a landing page with a free chapter of your book. But maybe not so much for creating a community?
I think Facebook Boost is just reflecting the early days of Google Adwords, and basically, you need a higher priced product to justify the ad spend. Books have such low margins that advertising is expensive – but you’re right, non-fiction authors with a back end business like consulting or speaking may benefit more.
Yet another great article.
I’ve definitely left FB behind as I’ve made the decision to concentrate my efforts on G+ and Twitter.
Picking up on your comment about your god-daughter, my own (13 year old) daughter and her friends have also left FB and moved to more instant messaging (apps and online applications) – so the social media landscape is shifting again with each new generation.
Good luck with your strategy – I’m still digesting all the different mediums I can utilise for my stories/fantasy world!
Thanks Steven, good to hear another positive towards leaving Facebook 🙂
I’m still hanging out on Facebook, because Twitter has become a sea of advertising for me. Maybe it’s time to cull who I follow and see if I can get some real interaction. I have G+, but it feels artificial. My friends are still on FB, but I really dislike the way FB is handling everything. It changes so fast, it’s tough to keep up. I definitely think that they don’t understand what keeps them afloat (the little guys) and when the plug gets pulled they will be asking why. G+ is poised to take on all the customers, just like it has with everything else. I hear Instagram is the place to be, but I’m wondering about Wattpad. Maybe that is the social media spot for authors to hang out. What do you think?
Hi Jessica – for twitter, you just make a list of people whose feed you want to see regularly, and steer away from uncurated feeds 🙂 I have about 200 in my main watchlist.
Instagram is popular for image sharing but I find Pinterest better as an author for my collated images around books, but then I barely use it socially 🙂
Wattpad is for readers and reading, and it’s about reading work and commenting on it, plus writing some if you like. It’s a great community, skews younger and international, so YA authors would definitely benefit.
BTW, my caveat on that response is that I write it in April 2014 – it will no doubt be obsolete by July 2014 🙂
LOL on the caveat. This world is always changing. 🙂
I’m with you, Joanna. I love and hate Facebook every day. I usually scroll through my newsfeed twice a day, get bored and wonder why I bothered. I’m also not getting enough out of my author page to make it worth the time of maintaining it. With FB gods throttling what people actually see, conversations have dwindled and made it not as fun. And since I write young adult and based on what your god-daughter and my 14-year-old daughter say, FB is not the place to chat with my readers.
Like you, I’ve been analyzing where my time is better spent these days. And my decisions need to be based on making sure I give myself more time to write, not less. I’m concentrating on developing my newsletter list (which I use mainly to release book-related news). As far as social media, I’m present on almost all popular platforms, but I’m ready to make bold decisions and narrow that list down to what’s reaching readers and doesn’t take so much time that I forget that my real priority needs to be the writing.
I will add… I sent out a title reveal newsletter this past Monday, and I had more conversations with actual readers via email in two days than I’ve had on FB or other social media in a month or more.
Hi Heather – I totally know what you mean with email – and I might focus on that too 🙂 Do we all really need communities for our readers?
As a reader myself, I hardly ever want to converse with the author after a book. I just want another book from them. I don’t need to go on Facebook with Stephen King 🙂
(he’s my idol!)
We all just need to make the bold moves and go with gut feel = write more, build email list and email people who care 🙂
I think the goals of all social media interactions should be:
1. Meet people and build relationships with them
2. Build your email list readership with people in your niche
I quit my business Facebook page a few months ago and the response was fascinating. There are so many people plugging away with minimal results but feel like they “have to” have a Facebook page. So getting the “permission” to quit something they hate was cathartic for a lot of people.
On the other hand, I love my personal Facebook page, and have actually gotten a lot of business from it (book sales, client work, speaking opportunities), because the people I’m connected with there are people I actually know and have relationships with.
Congratulations on your decision to refocus, Joanna. In the past year I’ve seen blogger after blogger take steps to make the process more manageable and strategic.
Thanks Rob – I find my personal page less and less useful as it is divorced from business, and I just prefer Twitter. Thanks for sharing that you quit the page. I don’t think I will be doing it for much longer 🙂
I’ve missed your ‘voice’ in blog posts, so I will be looking forward to hearing from you more often! After all, people do return to blogs because they like the voice of the blogger.
I’m also surprised you respond to emails like that. All they have to do is look through your archives…
It’s always good to revaluate what you’re doing to make sure it’s up to date with current goals.
Thanks Cassandra – I appreciate that 🙂 and thanks for saying that it’s obvious to find info on the site. I do try to make it easy! I’ll definitely answer your emails … 🙂
The absolute best thing I do to manage my writing time?
I use Freedom to lock me out of the Internet for X-number of hours. If I hit a point in the story where I need to look something up, I use the old journalists’ “tk” to mark the place, then keep writing. Sometime later, I go through, searching for all the tk’s, and fixing them appropriately.
“tk,” by the way, is NEVER found in any English word … so you can find all your uses immediately without having to modify your search results.
Good tip Jeff – for me, I love to research as I write, so I will use Freedom to block twitter.com and gmail.com but leave the rest 🙂
I think this paring back is a mature move on your part. Being a writer is primarily about writing! As a reader I’d rather see one concise and pithy post a week with one actionable piece of advice than a flurry of guest posts and long tip lists articles. But that’s me. In addition to writing fiction I’m a marketer and taking one action a week is a prime piece of advice I offer my often overwhelmed clients. And it adds up fast.
Thx!
Thanks Martin – I used to allow guest articles in order to help other authors reach an audience, but I think the efficacy of guest posts has really tailed off in the glut of content. However, the number of posts has helped my own Google ranking over the years, and now I feel I can slack off a bit!
The increase in the number of podcasts is interesting, as I think that will be the next big rush – I love my podcast and will keep doing that, for sure 🙂
Hi Joanna,
Coming back to the self. That’s good for everyone!
G+ groups are interesting, but a time sink thus far. How do you use G+? Perhaps the video hangouts?
I find G+ very good for SEO, and also good for connecting with people who are overwhelmed elsewhere, and the Hangouts are great 🙂
I agree 100% about guest posts, Joanna. I originally accepted them because I thought it would free more time up to write my own posts, but found the opposite! And Facebook just feels icky these days. One place I’ve never gotten that active is Goodreads. I don’t have a feel for what the Amazon buyout accomplished. Do you have a take?
Hi Debra, on Goodreads, I think it is a data play, so Amazon is probably just taking all the data points and incorporating them somehow. You can also now integrate directly with Goodreads from the Kindle Paperwhite in the US (not in the UK though), so Goodreads users who have Amazon accounts have a seamless review experience. There’s nothing official on how it is all used, but it’s got to be in some algorithm somewhere 🙂 otherwise, why bother buying the company!
Authors do have to be very wary on Goodreads though – as you can’t be promotional on the platform.
Thanks for the shout-out – I’m enjoying transcribing for your podcasts and author interviews and learning a lot myself, too. I have a Facebook page for my business but just auto post from my blog on there and answer any questions people leave, I don’t devote more time than that. I must get more engaged with Google+. I have found LinkedIn has gone rubbish, too – all the groups just get full of spammy links and no conversations!
Keep up the good work and the fab writing – and having fewer posts on the blog won’t harm you at this point, I’m sure – I get many more hits on some of my old posts so choose my new ones very carefully now to capitalise on that readership!
Thanks Liz – and I may succumb to autoposting just to keep things populating over to FB. We’ll see 🙂
Great post, Joanna. Writing has to come first, and I think it is great you are making the changes to further your already amazing success.
As for FB, same here. I love it because it is an easy format, but they have really ruined it. G+ is interesting, but I still don’t fully understand how it works. I assume the more people who “plus” you see your posts?
Thanks!
Thanks Stacy – definition of success is a personal thing, and I don’t feel particularly successful yet 🙂 When I eventually make it back to the level of income I used to earn at my day job, I think I will feel successful 🙂
In terms of G+, it is much more visual, and the big difference is that the audience can be anyone, rather than just friends or people who have Liked you, which means your reach is larger. Plus, all YouTube comments are now G+ so if you’re into video, it’s a must.
Hi, Joanna:
I would love to reblog this post. Can you send me the original version and the pics? Would love it to appear on my blog.
Cheers,
Jeanette Vaughan
Indie author!
Hi Jeanette,
Thanks for your enthusiasm, and thanks for asking permission to reblog. But just so you know – Google doesn’t like duplicate content, so it’s always best to NOT use people’s content exactly, but use excerpts and a commentary – e.g. in the style of Passive Voice blog http://www.thepassivevoice.com/
But it’s even better to write your own content, with your voice!
Thanks again, Joanna
Thanks for everything, Joanna. I appreciate it.
Facebook shows us no respect nor common courtesy. If not for some family members, I wouldn’t be there at all.
I see all social media as a dangerous addiction. You can get sucked into an interesting -but way outside the daily work load- posts on any of them. I think there will be 12-step programs cropping up soon.
I look for reader forums as opposed to writer forums. They’re harder to find and one must be careful about saying the wrong thing, but they tend to make longer lasting fans and prevent me from wasting too much time on LOL-cats (I hate cats, sorry).
Joanna, your backlist of blogs and podcasts will secure a place for you in the Indie Authors’ Hall of Fame one day. We are all in your debt.
Peace, Seeley
Thanks Seeley – that’s sweet 🙂 I’m not giving up blogging or podcasting, but yes, cutting back is the best way to get more writing done.
I think I have also found a confidence in my writing voice that I didn’t have before – it all takes time for us to learn.
Hi Joanna,
I’ll always appreciate the fact that you took time out of your busy schedule to answer a question of mine. We didn’t know each other – I was just a reader who had finished reading your marketing book – but that kindness and your quick email reply turned me into a fan. Since then, I’ve listened to a ton of podcasts, and I eagerly await new ones. I look forward to “more graduate level posts on marketing and the author-entrepreneur side of things.” I’m well beyond most of the “how to self-publish an ebook and why you should” side of things, as I’m sure many authors are. Because of this, I think you may have a bestseller when your new book author-entrepreneur book comes out. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Thanks so much Sophie, and I will, of course, still answer emails from people who ask intelligent questions 🙂
I am just over the ones that say
‘will u help me selfpub mi book’ and stuff like that. It is unbelievable 🙂
Or perhaps it just makes me understand why agents run away from authors at conventions and why there is a slush pile. I think our job as pro indie authors is to make sure we rise above all that!
Thanks so much for listening to the podcast, new one coming soon 🙂 and I’m thrilled you want that business book. It will probably take most of the year, as I am working through my own processes as I write it, but it should be useful 🙂 Thanks.
Joanna, I think you are on the right track in cutting back guest posts at your site. I’ve been a loyal follower for many years now, but of you not necessarily those you pass the microphone to. Occasional guest posts are desirable, but I was missing the simplicity of earlier.
I’m with you on cutting back my involvement with Facebook and focusing more on Twitter and Google Plus. Since the platform I’m building is two-fold, much like yours, I’m interested in how you are using these sites. I recall you focused on writers at Twitter. Are you thinking Google Plus will help you connect with readers?
Janalyn
Hi Janalyn,
Thanks for saying that – and I think guest posting is possibly exhausted as a mechanism of promotion. Podcast interviews are the next big thing, it seems!
On Twitter, I am being more ‘me,’ which includes sharing stuff I find in my research – death related sometimes 🙂 so I think I have a mix of followers, I may be morphing that into more JFPenn over time. For G+, it’s also a hybrid mix, and I +1 lots of random fiction stuff. I find both networks are about serendipity, and meeting strangers, whereas FB is about people who already know you.
Of all the sane things you wrote here, the thing which resonates with me is the focus on my VOICE. I’ve been telling folks this is one of my first bits of advice to would-be writers who ask for a tidbit.
On giving up Facebook, I have to say that it might have been great until everyone started climbing on. I read one post from a distressed author who wrote several books in a series, got on Twitter and LinkedIn and joined a bunch of Facebook groups but wasn’t selling anything. It’s clear to me that so many writers do these things because some trusted source said “do this if you want to be successful.” So they just mechanically do those things and sit back expecting the world to best down their doors.
Her conclusion wasn’t trying to stand out, but to give up. Is this what we’be come to?
Thank you for all your posts here. They are sane and enjoyable.
Thanks David – and I think finding your voice is a good tip, but it’s also incredibly difficult. I think I only found my fiction voice with Desecration, my last novel, which was book #6, and this blog has helped me find that voice over the years. I have finally stopped self-censoring 🙂
Joanna, I love that you’re making these changes. I feel they’re going to work out really well for you. Put more of your time into writing!
I need to take your example on the culling. I don’t follow as many RSS feeds as you did, but there are definitely some on my list I don’t care for. I may go through it in the morning now that you spurred the thought in my mind. I try to go through my Twitter followers regularly though and weed out those I no longer care for updates from.
Refocusing on Twitter and Google+ is a great idea. Along with Instagram, they’re my main social networks. I use Twitter for everything, but the communities are my favourite part of Google+. There are some fantastic active writers’ communities there. I still have a Facebook profile, but I’m itching to delete it. I just need to find an easy way to keep in touch with people I’ve met on my travels, then it’ll be gone!
Looking forward to seeing where The Creative Penn goes from here!
Thanks Paris, and you’re one of the younger generation, so interesting that you want to ditch FB as well 🙂
My next task will be to cull my email newsletter subscriber list – I think in general these days, it’s about focusing on the 1000 true fans who really love your niche as opposed to the masses.
This post inspired me. Instead of putting it off, I finally went ahead and deleted Facebook. It will be interesting to see how changes without it.