What Are Your Thoughts On This New Column?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The Indie Author Series launched in January 2014, and since then, we’ve had more than 200 in-depth articles about navigating the self publishing world. It’s been a fantastic info-packed run, but it’s getting more and more difficult for my contributing authors to come up with topics and share new information every week. There’s only so much to talk about. I think it’s time to start thinking about how to revamp this column for 2019 (or even sooner if my authors and guests are excited about the change).

One of the things I’ve always liked about the Indie Author Series, is that it focused on the business side of writing. It was a place for indie authors to turn to for tips and advice on how to handle their careers and author businesses. I’d like to continue with that concept, but expand it to more than just indie authors—especially since a lot of what’s been shared applies to both indie and traditionally published authors. For example, no matter how you publish these days, you’re still responsible for a significant part (if not all) of your marketing and promotion. Both publishing options build a reader audience and gather subscribers for a newsletter. The business side overlaps a lot.

I’d also like to start including the challenges of being a writer and an author, with tips such as how to manage your time, where to find critique groups and author co-ops, how to manage your career, how to deal with deadline pressures, etc., as well as dealing with the struggles a new writer goes through while writing that first novel or even sending out that first query letter.

I’m thinking something along the lines of “The Writers’ Life Series,” focusing on everything writing related but craft topics, since the rest of the site is dedicated to that (I’m open to better titles if you have any).

So for now, I’d love to hear some thoughts and ideas from you guys on:

• Do you like this idea?
• What types of things would you love to know more about?
• What are the non-craft things you have struggled with as a writer and author?
• What challenges do you face that you could use some help with?
• What author business problems do you face?
• What have you had trouble finding more information about?
• What type of column would you like to see?

I’m also curious how interested you are in personal journey stories and inspirational pieces. Do you enjoy the occasional pep talk? Does it motivate or resonate with you to hear about another writer’s struggle to get published?

I’ll use your comments and feedback to shape this new column and provide topic ideas and suggestions for guest authors and contributors. If you’re not comfortable sharing thoughts in the comments, feel free to email me at janice @ janicehardy . com (delete the spaces).

And if you think you’d like to contribute when it switches over, let me know.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book. It was also shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (2011), and The Truman Award (2011). She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series. 

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