Expanding Your Author Business
I do not know how other Indie Authors do this, but I can tell you what I know
“Admin” work has buried me. My normal schedule is such that I do these things every Monday for a few hours, then I’m free to write for the week. The writing includes my weekend Substack writing used for stress relief, not just my novels. Everything has been on hold to get Malevolent Intent out the door, to ARC readers, and the ridiculous typos corrected before the end of the year and the formal publication date.
But there is more to the business of being a writer.
My admin duties included helping Marketing Genie shift the current website to a new Shopify website to sell my books to readers directly, without being under the big fat thumb of the Zon. Then I had to understand sales tax (my CPA firm was USELESS), determine shipping groups, and talk to large printers about storage and delivery options. I’d rather be writing, of course.
Think about it. I’m not afraid of research and “difficult” subjects like tax simply because I lived through law school and thirty years of practice. What about the typical writer who has never had to learn about these things, much less deal with tax returns for thirty-six subsidiaries every year. I learned quickly that a CPA doesn’t really know much about sales tax when it is applied to books, and definitely not when international sales are involved.
Then there’s TikTok, the big unknown for me in the world of “getting your book out there.” Social media keeps rapidly shifting, and I’m already very tired of it, longing for the day (that will never come, I know) where I can simply write, publish, and move on to the next book without having to place one finger into social media.
As a serial enterpreneur, I know this admin struggle is part of it. I’m used to it and the stress that accompanies it. But I do not see how other indie authors do this alone. And so many writers are very much alone. There is so much. At least I had a good business background to tell me what is reasonable and what was was not.
Yet just this morning I was caught up in a scam email (of the dozens I get every day), because I was still not quite awake. I have Marketing Genie to bounce everything off of. What do other solo indie writers do?
If you don’t have a group, a Marketing Genie, or anyone else you can bounce ideas off of, then ask me. If I don’t know, we can figure it out together or find someone who does.