Happy Indie Author Week!
It’s that time of year when we celebrate indie authors, their work and their contribution to the writing community.
Whatever genre they write in, the life of an indie author can be tough.
There are many hats to wear and responsibilities to carry. Not only are you head of product development (the actual book writing), you’re also head of marketing and publicity, head of finance (the business bit) and head of production. Add into that the role of CEO, overseeing all aspects of the business and making sure you’re following your business plan. It’s starting to sound busy, isn’t it?
I’ve struggled with the weight of all this recently and decided to take a few months off to recharge my batteries. I know that I need to find a better way of working otherwise I disappear under the mountain of things I should be doing (more on that later).
But my time off has led me to reflect on what it is you need to be an indie author.
Here’s what I observed:
Tenacity and the ability to push yourself
When you’re a one-person band, there’s no accountability, no one standing over your shoulder tapping their watch and reminding you that you’re on deadline. You have to be accountable to yourself, or find someone who will make you work. At the end of the day, it’s you that gets your bottom in that chair and puts words on the page. It’s helpful, when the going gets tough, to remember that you do have a choice about whether to do the work or not. If you’re determined to be a writer, then you’ll keep going. I want to be a writer and that’s why I’ll be back in the chair soon.
Organisation skills
Oh my, this is a tough one for me. I’m not a naturally organised/tidy person so this takes a lot of work, but it has to be done. Writing deadlines don’t work for me as life always seems to get in the way and wreck them, but once I get into the production phase, working with my editor, proofreader, cover designer, formatter, narrator etc etc, then the diary comes out and a schedule is set. I always build in some contingency but the schedule has to be followed or things get out of hand.
Marketing skills
No one starts out knowing how to do marketing. We all have to learn what to do and how to do it. I find this somewhat overwhelming because there always seems to be so much to do, so much that you should be doing. I hate the word should and have tried to excise it from my vocabulary. Translate it into ‘want’ – ‘I want to sit down and write 2,000 words today’, ‘I want to spend time on Twitter marketing my book’ etc etc. It’s much more positive and doesn’t pile the guilt onto your shoulders.
The ability to shrug your shoulders and say ‘ah well’
This is a big one. Not everything will go your way and you have to accept that. Whether it’s a bad book review, an advert that didn’t fly or a newsletter that goes unopened, you need to be able to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and sit down to work out where you went wrong. If it’s something that doesn’t work for you and your audience, you need to be able to let it go, move on and try something different. Don’t get bogged down in what everyone says you should do. It’s your life and your career.
So, that’s my take.
I might moan a lot, but I love being an indie author. I love the process of writing a book and I’m learning all the time about how (not) to do it. I’m not so keen on the marketing side – I find shouting about my own work to be a challenge – but my aim going forward is to get back to learning about marketing methods with enjoyment. They will benefit me in the long run and I want to get better at it.
So, happy Indie Author Week! I hope you buy, read and enjoy lots of indie books this week. Get out there and support us – we’re a fab group!