Writing and publishing your first book, is exciting! And if you’re like me, there’s a mixture of fear and worry added in with the excitement as our book goes into the hands of readers.
Do you wonder what are next steps for you to take along the Storyteller’s Roadmap? If that’s you, then read on…
If your goal is to to make a living around your writing – if you find you love telling stories and putting them into the hands of excited readers – then at some point you’ll need to create a plan of how to build your author business.
Honestly, for me this process was really intimidating. Sure I was learning how to write books and had been learning how to build my website and how to blog, but that’s it.
I’d never built a business other than the piano and singing lessons I had given for years. I worried I would make many mistakes and fail…
If you’ve been worried or scared of your next steps like I was, don’t be. Just continue to take the next step, and the next step after that. We are all learning as we go 😉
Here’s the steps I’ve been walking through on my own indie author journey. I hope you find it helpful and that it gives you ideas on where you’re at in your own author journey.
Step 1: You’ve decided to write a book.
Maybe you started writing when you were younger and have been dabbling – writing stories along the way – or maybe this is the first time you’ve been inspired to write a book.
Either way, you’ve decided it’s time to write that book you’ve dreamed of writing.
It could be that up to this point you’ve done a lot of reading and lately you’ve been devouring a bunch of books on the craft of writing. That’s great! I remember doing the same thing when I was first inspired to write my first novel.
If you’re anything like me – and other first-time writers that I’ve talked to – you’re scared that your writing won’t be good enough; that what you write will be horrible or you’re worried that there won’t be any readers who will want to read your book.
It’s possible that self doubt about your writing, has held you back from writing your first book.
But, you know you want to begin. It’s time to write your book. And even though you have a huge learning curve ahead of you – you know you must stick to your guns and finish writing your book.
The challenge at this stage of the author journey…
To write, edit and self-publish your book. The real challenge is to write and finish your book. After you’ve read a bunch of blogposts and books on the ‘how-to’ of writing, it’s time to actually sit at your keyboard and fill up that blank page with words. Your words.
Some tips on how to conquer this challenge:
- Write with joy. Let it be okay if your first draft is imperfect. When you accept that the very first time you tell your story won’t be the masterpiece you want it to be, it’s freeing in way. You feel more freedom to let go and to write whatever comes to mind – which really helps you to chip away at characters motivations, goals and the overall story arc until you finally uncover the story you actually want to write. This is a very rewarding, but it is a ton of work.
- Write with a timer. I use this timer I found on google, and set it for 25 minutes. I find that’s enough time to get between 300 – 500 words written. Then I take a 5 – 10 minute break – get a cup of tea – come back and begin writing again. It seems to work well for me. Another app that blocks the internet while I’m writing, is Freedom software. If you find you are too distracted by wanting to check your email or social media while you’re writing, then use something that will take away that temptation 😉 Do whatever it takes to get your first draft written. There are so many distractions – social media, family, friends – that will try to take away from your writing time. Make a habit of being ruthless with the few hours you have to write your book each day.
- Learn about writing, editing and self-publishing as you go along. So if you are in the first draft stage of your book, don’t jump to learning material on how to format. When you are actually ready to format your book, then read material to help you format.
- Listen to podcasts and read self-help books to inspire you. Listening to podcasts on writing and self-publishing has been one of the biggest investments that I’ve made in my learning curve. Between the podcasts, blogs and books by other indie authors on the craft of writing and self-publishing, I’ve learned so much. I really encourage you to find all the ‘how-to’ tips and inspiration you can… it’ll help you shift your mindset to that of a successful self-published author.
Step 2: Your book is published. Now what?
You’ve written, edited, formatted and published your first book… how exciting! That was a ton of work… so a big congratulations to you. You’ve done something that many people say they would like to do, but never have. That’s so great!
So what’s next? Well, now it’s time to get your book noticed. But you don’t want just anyone to notice your book, you want to attract readers for your specific niche.
The challenge at this stage of the author journey…
Now that your book is published, you might have only had a handful of people buy it. It’s difficult to realize that most people don’t really care that you’ve written a book. But, the good news is that more than likely, your target readers just don’t know your book exists. So you need to learn how to get your book into their hands – so learning how to market your book to your unique readers is the next step.
Some tips on how to conquer this challenge:
- Choose whether you want to write another book. Did you find writing your first book rewarding? Do you have ideas for more books, floating around in your head? Are you excited about learning more details on how to write, edit, publish and market your books? If you answered yes to those questions, then you will definitely be able conquer this challenge.
- If you’ve decided you want to keep writing, then begin writing the next book. If you’ve discovered that you love writing and telling stories, then you’ll have a bunch of ideas. So go ahead and start fleshing out and writing your next story.
- Learn how to market your book(s). Most authors – whether self-published or traditionally published – have to learn how to market their own books nowadays. This is something that I’m still working on getting better at, but I’ve discovered a few tips which have helped me. One of tip is to create a landing page for each book. When you’ve done that, here are 6 ways to market your book that I hope you find useful 😉
Step 3: You have a few books published.
After you’ve published a few books, you start to have a better idea of what you’re doing. The huge learning curve begins to feel like it’s not so overwhelming and you begin to get more clarity on what you love to write.
If you choose to self-publish, then you have learned how little time it takes to actually upload your book onto a digital retailer.
At this point too, you have a author website, an email list for readers and you’ve learned a few tips on how to market your books.
You might still have a day job and you’re trying to juggle writing and marketing your books on the side. At this point, you might be wondering how to increase your side business or maybe you’re wondering to figure out how to make a full-time living with your writing.
The challenge at this stage of the author journey…
At this point, you might be wondering how to juggle the writing, self-publishing and marketing your books as well as working a day job.
Balancing the 24 hours each day between writing, marketing your books, life with friends and family as well as your job, is the challenge. You’re making some money at this point, but it might not be enough to cover what you are earning at your day job. Also, when you’re ready, you’ll be having a conversation with your family around when to give up your day job to write full-time – sometimes that conversation has the potential for conflict.
Some tips on how to conquer this challenge:
Plan your writing time. Using a schedule to plan your writing time, is super
helpful. I just print out printable calendars and then put them up near my writing desk. Normally I print out 3 months in advance… to help keep me organized with everything. Use whatever works best for you – an app on your smartphone, a calendar, a diary – whatever will help you stay focussed. A great book that helps writers to understand a pro mindset, is Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield. It’s still one of the books I reread every year.
- Focus on what you write and create for readers. When you begin to get clarity on the type of books you write and put into readers hands, you also get a clearer vision for your brand as an author.
- Decide on a measuring stick for when you will go full-time with your writing. First put money in savings for a few months so you lower your risk, then decide on what income level($1500, $2000, etc.) you’ll need to see every month before you quit your job.
Step 4: Go from simply writing to running a business as an author.
After you’ve written a few books, there comes a point when you make the shift mentally from just writing books, to understanding that you are the CEO of your own author business.
This is the point where you are writing for a living and you’ve started to take running your own business as an author, seriously. There are so many opportunities for authors right now. It’s incredible that one manuscript can turn into an ebook, a print book, and audio book and that same book can be published in many countries and it also be translated into many different languages.
It’s amazing when you start to realize how much value you bring as an author.
When you decide to write for a living, means a mindset shift to that of a serious author-entrepreneur. Honestly, this is the stage I’m entering right now and it’s taking me a little bit of time to understand the learning curve which is part of running your own author business.
The challenge at this stage of the author journey…
If you’re like me, it’ll be a learning curve for you too to learn business skills so you can juggle the writing, marketing and production side of your business. Then on top of that, trying to figure out what your overall strategy will be for when you want to release new books and what kind of books they’ll be. It takes time and some grit to manage multiple projects, to keep your eyes open for new opportunities as well as organize all the freelance contractors who work for you on each separate project.
Some tips on how to conquer this challenge:
- Have a clear vision on what you want for your business as well as for your life in general. It’s important to know what you really want, so you can say ‘no’ to those opportunities that aren’t in line with your core vision. Also it frees you up so you don’t take on extra projects, that suck the energy out of you.
Choose who you will work with on a regular basis. As you begin to make more money in your business, you can start to hire out those details that drain your energy. So, if you need a VA for a few hours every week to help manage things, that’ll probably free you up to write. Also, getting a bookkeeper is a good idea, so your taxes are done properly and in good time.
- Put a production plan in place. When you know in advance what books you’ll be writing for that year, you can book your cover designers and editor ahead of time, so they are ready to go when your book is finished. This way, you can also let your readers know when they can expect the next book.
- Learn skills around business. This has been a bigger learning curve for me, to understand how to run my own business. Books that have helped me get my head around the business side of things are How to Make a Living as a Writer, by James Scott Bell and Business for Authors, by Joanna Penn.
So, take a day and go somewhere by yourself, where you can really think about what your vision is as an author. And then plan out your strategy and set realistic goals of what you want to accomplish in the next few years.
