Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Next Step?

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

For nearly two years in this Indie Publishing Paths series, we’ve been exploring our options—and the pros and cons of those options—for many of the decisions we face as indie authors. That’s a lot of posts.

So before I wind down this series for good, I wanted to offer one last post to serve as a Table of Contents to help us through the learning and decision-making process. Consider this post a To-Do List for our indie publishing choices. *smile*

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Master Publishing Plan?

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

After almost two years of posts, we’re finally winding down this Indie Publishing Paths series. Over the course of the series, we’ve covered a lot of information, focusing especially on the pros and cons for many of the decisions we face as indie authors.

As I’ve emphasized throughout this series, there’s no one right way to be successful as an indie author. Just because our favorite virtual mentor chooses one method to reach success doesn’t mean that method will work for us.

• Our role models might have different goals or definitions of success from our own.
• The publishing landscape constantly changes—from Amazon’s rules to reader expectations—so what worked six months ago might not work anymore.

It does us no good to blindly follow someone else’s strategy if we don’t understand it or know if it will help us reach our goals. We need those pros and cons to translate their methods to the current market or to something that might be a better match for what we want out of our publishing career.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Master Plan? Part Three

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

After taking a month off for me to deal with health issues and so Janice could offer her wonderful Revision Workshop, we’re back with the next installment of the Indie Publishing Paths series. Over the course of this series, we’ve covered a lot of information. Indie authors can understandably feel overwhelmed by all the decisions we have to make, especially as each of those decisions comes with pros and cons for us to consider.

In this series where we’ve been covering our options, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities and walked through our options for the where, when, and how much of putting our book up for sale.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Master Plan? Part Two

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Over the course of this Indie Publishing Paths series, we’ve covered a lot of information. Indie authors can understandably feel overwhelmed by all the decisions we have to make, especially as each of those decisions comes with pros and cons for us to consider.

In this series where we’ve been covering our options, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities and walked through our options for the where, when, and how much of putting our book up for sale.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Master Plan? Part One

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Over the course of this Indie Publishing Paths series, we’ve covered a lot of information. Indie authors have to make far more decisions than we might think, and each of those decisions comes with pros and cons for us to consider. There’s no one right way to be successful as an indie author.

In this series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities and walked through our options for the where, when, and how much of putting our book up for sale.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Newsletter Plan? Part Five

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

So far in this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities so that when we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we could decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and 
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Newsletter Plan? Part Four

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

So far in this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities so that when we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we could decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Newsletter Plan? Part Three

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

So far in this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities so that when we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we could decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Newsletter Plan? Part Two

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

So far in this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. We figured out our goals and priorities so that when we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we could decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Newsletter Plan? Part One

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

We’ve covered a lot of information in this Indie Publishing Paths series so far. In the first section, we focused on how to decide which path will work best for us.

Once we know our goals and priorities and are ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Reader Retention Plan? Part Five

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

In this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. Once we know our goals and priorities and are ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select), 
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and 
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Reader Retention Plan? Part Four

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

In this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. Once we know our goals and priorities and are ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

The second phase of our indie publishing journey is to figure out how best to increase our chances for success along our chosen path. Whatever our goal, we’ll have a better chance of success if we can hold onto our readers from book to book.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Reader Retention Plan? Part Three

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

In this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first focused on how to decide which path will work best for us. Once we know our goals and priorities and are ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Reader Retention Plan? Part Two

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

In this Indie Publishing Paths series, we first discussed many of the main questions to consider as we figure out which path will work best for us. Those posts covered the steps we should go through to understand our options.

Once we know our goals and priorities and are ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Reader Retention Plan? Part One

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

In this Indie Publishing Paths series, we’ve covered many of the main questions to consider as we explore our self-publishing options. There’s no “one right way” to self-publish and be successful, so we get to decide which path will work best for us.

The previous posts in this series have covered the steps we should go through to understand our options. We first need to figure out our goals and priorities. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on:

• the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select),
• the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and
• the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low, whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish, and whether a freebie is a good idea for our situation).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Pricing Plan? Part Three (The Freebie Option)

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

For the last several months, this Indie Publishing Paths series has explored how there’s no “one right way” to self-publish and be successful. The successful indie authors have all made different choices, so rather than worrying about finding the “right” way, we simply want to make the right decision for us.

The previous posts in this series have covered the steps we should go through to understand our options. We first need to figure out our goals and priorities. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select), the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low and whether our pricing strategy is a good match for what we want to accomplish).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Pricing Plan? Part Two

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Hopefully, we all know by now that there’s not one single path to success for an indie author. We’ve seen other self-published authors try different approaches and find success. So while there might be wrong choices (publishing unedited work, for example), we can choose from many right options.

Previous posts in this Indie Publishing Paths series have covered the steps we should go through to decide on the options that will best work for us. We first need to figure out our goals and priorities. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select), the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and the how much (whether we price high, in the middle, or low).

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Pricing Plan? Part One

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

If you’ve been following this Indie Publishing Paths series, you know there’s no “one right way” to self-publish and be successful. The many successful indie authors have all made different choices, so it’s not about making the “right” or “wrong” decision. It’s about making the right decision for us.

As we’ve explored in the previous posts in this series, we first need to figure out our goals and priorities. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select), the when (whether we delay, use a preorder, or go for immediate sales), and the how much.

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Release Plan?

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

As my previous posts in this series have made clear, there’s no “one right way” to be successful as an indie author. The many options we need to consider won’t necessarily lead us to make “right” vs. “wrong” choices, as several of the paths can lead us to success.

To find the right path for us, we need to figure out our goals and priorities. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to decide on the where (such as whether we use a distributor or we sell direct through a retailer or go exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select), the when, and the how much.

Today, let’s talk about our options for when:

• Option 1: Will we put our book up for sale right away?
• Option 2: Will we delay publication of our book?
• Option 3: Should we use preorders?

Indie Publishing Paths: What’s Your Distribution Plan? Part Two

By Jami Gold, @JamiGold

Part of the Indie Authors Series

As we’ve been discussing over the past couple of months, there’s no “one right way” to be successful as an indie author. We have many options to consider as we indie publish, and many of those paths can lead us to success.

So how do we find the right path for us? Like we explored at the beginning of this series, we need to figure out what our goals and priorities are. Then once we’re ready to put our book up for sale, we need to think like a business person and decide on the where, the when, and the how much.