If you are a veteran writer who has been in the industry before the internet boom, you may already have known what it was like when writers had to struggle with writing and even more so trying to find a good publisher. This could be why the market stayed relatively small. At least for the talented ones with limited resources and had geographical challenges.
Fortunately, nowadays, with some knowledge and the willingness to labor for your niche and craft, you finally get the opportunity. That is the chance to be able to reach an audience base that would otherwise have taken you forever to find.
Let's look into some of our recommendations of the best sources on resources for Independent Authors.
Let's Get Digital: How to Self-Publish, And Why You Should (Fourth Edition) (Let's Get Publishing Book 1) by David Gaughran
About the author:
Apart from being an author of a practical guide such as "Let's Get Digital," David writes historical fiction and science-fiction books under a pen name. This particular book has undergone revisions to meet the needs of the self-publishing writer of today, And it includes bonus resources as well. His engaging writing style is simple enough to understand but not to the point of being too simplistic. He covers the essential basics such as:
Using tried and tested marketing strategies that work to increase sales of your book
Getting the best editors without spending a ton.
Attracting more readers by improving how your brand is presented.
Making your eBooks easy to find, and so much more.
Our Take:
This book will help the new writer who wants to do it right the first time. That is, getting discovered and earning well in the process. Remarkably, it doesn't only cater to newbies but will also be a helpful resource for the more experienced writer who needs updates to this ever-changing landscape of internet publishing.
Overall, this resource is as comprehensive and as informative as you can get. It is a complete go-to reference for both the new and veteran writers alike.
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market (Reedsy Marketing Guides Book 1) by Ricardo Fayet
Ricardo Fayet is an author/consultant and co-founder of Reedsy, an online marketplace that connects authors with editors, cover designers, translators, and publishers. The platform has been successfully helping hundreds in marketing, online ads, growing their mailing lists, and establishing news streams of income.
About the Book
The book itself is a comprehensive distillation of years of coaching and teaching writers to become full-time authors and eventually make a good living out of their writing skills. Just be aware that some points of view of this author are not of an independent publishing writer since he works as a marketer and concentrates on the publishing business.
Nevertheless, you will find everything you need in this book on how to maximize the tools of the internet to snag better revenue and increase readership. He even includes essential tips on logo design to make your book appear even more attractive.
Our take:
This book is all about finding your market and growing it-a practical way of looking at things to help you keep your passion by being profitable too.
Amazon Ads Unleashed: Advanced Publishing and Marketing Strategies for Indie Authors (Self-publishing Guide.) by Robert J Ryan
This book goes into reaching in and tapping into a buying audience and converting clicks into sales. It also talks about what types of ads to avoid and the best practices for optimization. It does a no-nonsense look at how Amazon Ads works. Most of the time, it challenges the effectiveness of Amazon ads and offers methods on how to maximize them and make them work for you.
It takes on a more rigid stance compared to the softer views of other books. Nevertheless, being on top in sales rank and being one of the best sellers in this category does make it a credible source. This is especially if the friend who recommends it to you has already doubled their revenue.
Our Take:
If this book is recommended and in itself has sold more than the others of the same category, then it should be a must-have. Never mind that it is hard to read, provided that it is rich in reference and is an expert in the subject matter at hand, it will profit the author both in the short and long term.
Amazon Selling Services from Helium 10
Helium 10 is an all-in-one Amazon software that will help you sell your self-published book. Assembly recently acquired this software in 2019, which was aimed at helping small businesses increase their revenue through the use of content, education, and community. This software makes use of state-of-the-art resources that contain optimization tools that are intuitive and useful to help you grow your business.
It focuses on research and boosting the visibility of your product in the Amazon search engine.
Our Take:
Helium 10 doesn't claim to produce great listings directly, nor does it promise to increase your revenue for you automatically. But with its advanced management tools puts you in a position that will give you all the opportunities to promote your product on the world's bestselling platform. Not to mention that, currently, Helium 10 is an industry leader in its category today.
With over 1+ million users and 4 billion+ in monthly Amazon GMV, it lets its numbers speak for themselves. And for writers who like real-time marketing leverage using technology, this software is precisely what you need.
The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn
A bestselling author of New York Times and USA Today, Joanna Penn is also a podcaster, speaker, and an awarded entrepreneur. Enough said about her credibility. Ms. Penn has authored over 30 books and sold more than 600,000 copies in 162 countries, translated into 5 languages.
She is offering her book for aspiring writers entitled: "Author 2.0 Blueprint".
She has her website "The Creative Penn."m where she aims to help writers learn the basics of building a "platform" to market a book. She shares her personal experience over the past few years, detailing how she effectively marketed her book and generated and still generates sales as a best-selling author.
Our Take:
Her book "Author 2.0" is now available for free of which can be downloaded directly from her site after you sign up. The book itself is not about writing your best but how to market after writing your masterwork. Learning the pros and cons of publishing with necessary apparatuses like advances, contacts, and royalties, all these coming from the pro herself, is definitely worth the read.
Conclusion
Today, the book publishing landscape for authors has been turned on its head, as it carries both opportunities and some risks. Even minute details like logo design may make or break your masterpiece Self-publishing has finally arrived. And investing in your education on how to do it ultimately pays well in the long run.
Writer: Kieran Fallon is the owner of Logo Design company Éire Graphic Design. We are here to help your organization become more memorable through designing striking logos, eye-grabbing flyers, posters that pop, exciting animated emails and dynamic lightweight digital advertising campaigns – always backed by flexible and insightful support.