As an indie author it’s easy to get go into overdrive and work 24/7. The days stretch as you work well past sunset, burning the midnight oil, and giving your family reason to call for help.

Being an independent author is hard work. It’s even harder if you want to sell books and make a living.

I don’t believe in the overnight success story. It doesn’t exist.

We don’t see the gruelling hours, the lost sleep, the tears, the small wins and bigger setbacks that happen before we make it. What does ‘make it’ even mean these days?

Is it to be published? To sell 100 books per month? To earn $100,000 per year from your novels?

Making it, means something different to all of us.

Last year, I would have said publishing my debut novel, Lethal Disposal, was making it. I made it. I officially became an author. I guess that can be classified as a success. After twenty years of dreaming and hiding, I finally took the plunge.

My biggest worry was that I would stop. That once the book was published I’d be over it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it depends on your perspective, I want to keep on writing. I want to keep on publishing.

But it’s hard work.

So while it took me twenty years to publish my first novel, I’ve set a goal to publish six in 2016. I want this to be my business and the only way to do that is to write fast, write well, and publish frequently.

The good news is that I found that the faster I write, the better I write. Because I’m writing faster, I’m writing more which leads to improvements. As a writer, you want to continue improving for as long as you write. The moment you think you’ve got nothing to learn, nothing to improve on, is the moment you stop caring and start losing the passion.

Now here’s the bad news. Writing isn’t the only role of the independent author. Not if you want to be successful for the long haul.

You have to be a business person as well. Your books are your business and so you have to put on numerous hats. You are a writer, editor, proofreader, creative designer, logistics director, event coordinator, marketer, cheerleader, accountant – have I missed anyone?

Being an independent author-entrepreneur is hard work. If you’re not up for long hours, sweat, tears, head-scratching-wondering-in-the-middle-of-the-night why the hell you’re doing this? Well, you might want to reconsider what you really want.

Being a successful independent author is not for the faint of heart or for the lazy.

Being successful at anything requires hard work, time, passion, constant motivation when everything around is against you, perseverance and tough skin. If you want it, you will get it done.

Having a team in place can make the author’s life easier. But finding the right team isn’t a simple process. It takes time, trial and elimination.

Just as there are millions of authors out there, the market is also saturated with editors, proofreaders, designers and formatters who want to help you, but at a price. Nothing in life is free and you shouldn’t expect anyone’s service for free, but if you’re spending money you want to get quality service.

Cover Designer

A cover will help sell your book. While we should judge a book by its cover we tend to do it often. What makes a great cover from a mediocre one? It depends on your tastes. Some like simplicity, some business. Some prefer texts on colour, others want pictures to tell a story. You’re never going to please everyone but you want to please your target audience.

I’m happy with the cover designers I have used. I’ve used two and both do an excellent job although one is slightly outside my budget. The other I was surprised that I had to source my own images, but I guess that’s the price of wanting to spend less.

I recommend:
Ebook Launch 
Robin Ludwig Design

Editors

Editing wise, I’m still looking for the one. I’ve used an editor in Australia and a proofreader in the UK. Both at completely different price spectrums.

Finding an editor that meets your budget, has the right experience, and enjoys your genre isn’t easy. Editors are very valuable and necessary for an authors success. But does a higher price put a higher value on an editor? Will the editor you pay $2000 do a better job than the one asking for $500?

Not necessarily.

It’s all about word of mouth and trial and error in self-publishing. Each book is a new lesson learnt.

The process will seem frustrating when you do it the first time, but much easier once the second book roles around, and even easier when you’re on your third. That doesn’t mean the writing or selling gets any easier.

It’s still damn hard work. But if it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it.

I’ve used:

Jewel See Editing (AUS)
Helen Baggott (UK)

Cheerleaders

You need a cheerleader too. Someone in your life who will push you through the tough moments. It can be a partner, a best friend, a parent. A person who supports you and believes in your dream.

If you have a family, you’re going to need a person to do more than their share of the house chores. Just because you’re at home writing your novel doesn’t mean you’re not working.

I’m fortunate to have three main cheerleaders in my squad and they know who they are. It’s nice to know someone is anticipating my new book and will definitely read it. They also tend to give me feedback that I trust.

Readers

You need readers. Without them, you’re not going to make any money or get any feedback. But finding readers isn’t easy. Nothing seems to be in this field. But it’s not impossible either.

Start with your immediate circle of family or friends. Can you find 20, 50 or 100 potential readers? They might buy your first book. The second time around only half will. By the third, you’ll find that maybe 10-20% of your family and friends will buy the book – you can’t rely on them forever. Hopefully if they’ve enjoyed your book they will pass it on to family and friends of their own.

Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool.

Then you need to start promoting on social media through word of mouth, anywhere and everywhere you can. It’s hard work but it’s worth it once the sales start trickling in.

Writing itself is a lone activity but there’s a lot going on in the background that requires a team of awesome individuals to make the writer shine. Each one plays their role, each one is a piece of the puzzle in the writer’s life.

The Optional Extras

As you progress in your business you’ll find that you need to outsource some of your activities – unless you’re super pedantic, organised, and a control freak and need to do everything yourself. You might find yourself looking for reliable contractors for website management, accounting, and marketing among other things.

These people can help make or break your business. Be sure to find people that you can rely on. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Talk to family and friends. Check out other authors websites. Ask around on social media. Build a team that will help you create an awesome writing business with your books.

Writing itself may be a solitary activity. Once you make the decision to go public and publish, you need to start building your team. Remember, this is your business, your future, your image. Make it the best it can be.

Who makes up your writing and publishing team?