The Ins and Outs of Coauthoring as an Indie Author

By Cassie Alexander, @CassieY4

Part of The Indie Author Series

JH: Writing with another author can be a rewarding experience, but how exactly does it work? Cassie Alexander discusses how to handle a coauthorship.

Cassie Alexander is a registered nurse and author. Her most recent book is Dragon Called, cowritten with Kara Lockharte, and they also write together as Cassie Lockharte. Prior to that, she wrote the five-book Edie Spence urban fantasy series, out now through St. Martin's Press, and the Dark Ink Tattoo series, a sultry urban fantasy about vampires in Vegas. Join her mailing list for news about her latest releases.

Website (Cassie) | Website (Kara) | Website (Cassie Lockharte) | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Mailing List 

Take it away Cassie…

Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing: Invest in Your Team

By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: There's a lot to consider before taking the indie-publishing plunge. Laurisa White Reyes shares tips and thoughts on how to put together the right team for publishing success.

Laurisa White Reyes is the award-winning author of seventeen books, including 8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing. She is also the founder and senior editor of Skyrocket Press and teaches English composition at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Visit her website at www.SkyrocketPress.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Laurisa...

Why Query Letters Matter to Self-Published Authors, Too

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Part of the Indie Authors Series

If you’re self publishing, you might think your query-writing days are over—but they’re not (sorry!). The target of those query letters has simply changed.

A good query letter bears a striking resemblance to good cover copy. They’re both designed to entice a potential reader to pick up the book. The same skills that go into writing a strong query letter also apply to great cover copy, and you’ll need great cover copy for your self-published book. 

Think about it—a query for an agent or editor only needs to convince a handful of people to read the book. Cover copy has to convince every reader to read it. That’s a lot of pressure for a few paragraphs.

Luckily, some of the details that complicate a query letter don't apply to cover copy, which makes the process a little easier. 

How to Create a Free Book Trailer Using Adobe Spark

By Chrys Fey, @ChrysFey

Part of The Indie Author Series

JH: Creating a book trailer is a lot easier than you might think. Chrys Fey explains step by step how to bring your book to the "little screen" with Adobe Spark.

Chrys Fey is the author of the award-winning book Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog | Newsletter

Take it away Chrys…

Successful Self-Publishing: Write a Great Book (Part 2)

By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: Writing a great book takes work and dedication. Laurisa White Reyes shares a few tips on how to stick with it to get the book you want.

Laurisa White Reyes is the award-winning author of seventeen books, including 8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing. She is also the founder and senior editor of Skyrocket Press and teaches English composition at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Visit her website at www.SkyrocketPress.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Laurisa...

How to Set Up Your Sponsored Product Ads in Amazon

By Dave Chesson, @DaveChesson

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: Advertising your book on Amazon might seem like a challenge, but it's easier than you think. Dave Chesson shares a step-by-step process on setting up your sponsored ads. 

Dave Chesson is the founder of Kindlepreneur.com and creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors market their books more effectively.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Take it away Dave…

Amazon ads are an amazing marketing tool for authors who want to see more conversions--whether that means Kindle Unlimited borrows or just plain sales. For that reason, indie authors should probably be investing some of their marketing budget, no matter how small or big, into Amazon’s advertising platform.

Successful Self-Publishing: Write a Great Book (Part 1)

By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: In the end, it all comes down to the novel itself. Laurisa White Reyes shares why it's so important to start with a great book.

Laurisa White Reyes is the award-winning author of seventeen books, including 8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing. She is also the founder and senior editor of Skyrocket Press and teaches English composition at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Visit her website at www.SkyrocketPress.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Laurisa...

Successful Self-Publishing: Learn Your Craft

By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: Before you jump into publishing, learn how to write well. Laurisa White Reyes shares tips on things to do if you want a successful writing career.

Laurisa White Reyes is the award-winning author of seventeen books, including 8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing. She is also the founder and senior editor of Skyrocket Press and teaches English composition at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Visit her website at www.SkyrocketPress.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Laurisa...

4 Mistakes Amateur Self-Publishers Make That the Pros Don’t

By Dave Chesson, @DaveChesson

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: It's easy to make mistakes when venturing into self publishing. Dave Chesson shares four mistakes new authors make when they go indie, and shows us how to fix them. 

Dave Chesson is the founder of Kindlepreneur.com and creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors market their books more effectively.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Take it away Dave…

Self-publishing can be pretty intimidating for new authors. It’s easy to make mistakes without knowing you’re making them, and with competition stiff nowadays, being on top of your game has never been more important.

Indie Author Reality Check: Are You Ready to Go Indie?

By Ray Flynt

Part of The Indie Author Series

JH: The decision to go indie or not is a choice authors have to make for themselves. Ray Flynt returns to the lecture hall today to share a fun quiz and thoughts on the "indie or traditional?" publishing path choice. 

Why would you want to be an Indie Published author? Is it right for you? Are there any downsides? (Spoiler alert: Yes.) Isn’t it better to become traditionally published? (Ummm… stay tuned).

We’re going to begin with a quiz. It’s okay, I’m not looking over your shoulder as you mark your paper.

Get ready...set...go!

4 Ways Publisher Rocket Helps Indie Authors Thrive on Amazon

By Dave Chesson, @DaveChesson

Part of The Indie Authors Series

JH: Traveling the publishing path alone requires indie authors to wear a lot of hats and do a lot of tasks. One of the more daunting tasks is marketing. Dave Chesson visits the lecture hall today to share some tips on making that easier. 

Dave Chesson is the founder of Kindlepreneur.com and creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors market their books more effectively.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Take it away Dave…

Give Your Self-Published Book Its Best Shot

By Laurisa Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of the Indie Authors Series 

JH: Laurisa Reyes is back this month on the other side of the publishing desk, sharing tips on how to give your self-published books its best chance.

Publishing today is easier than ever. Once a book is written, it is pretty simple to format and upload it to KDP and present it to the world, but the ease of the process can be deceptive. Just like it is easy to publish your own book, it is even easier to fail. What I mean by fail is this…

You’ve spent months, maybe years, writing your book. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it. You want people to read it. You want people to buy it. But here is where too many authors sell themselves, and their books, short. The fact is they often don’t want to spend the time or the money to “do it right.” The result is a poorly crafted book that fails to attract readers.

What to Do if Your Book Cover Sucks

By Karen Amanda Hooper, @Karen_Hooper

Part of The Indie Authors Series

JH: A terrible book cover can not only break an author's heart, but hurt the sales of that book. While traditionally published authors have little say (usually) in what their covers look like, indie authors have full control--but that doesn't mean they always get it right, either. Please help me welcome Karen Hooper to the lecture hall today, to share her experience with redesigning her covers and why.

An Amazon bestselling author, Karen Amanda Hooper writes magical romances for all ages. Her books range from the sea to the stars and beyond, including: The Kindrily series (YA paranormal), The Sea Monster Memoirs (YA fantasy), and Virtual Arcana (YA science-fiction).

Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple years, and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her beloved rescued bulldog. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate, and complicated happily-ever-afters.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads |

Take it away Karen...

3 Things to Consider When Designing Your Novel's Cover

By Ray Flynt

Part of the Indie Author Series

Cover design needs to hit some specific targets to catch a reader's eye.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolution yet? I gave up on the usual “lose weight” resolution about 35 pounds ago. I hope you’re planning on sharpening skills on the business side of being an indie author. Columns in Fiction University’s Indie Author Series are designed to share best practices and stimulate your thinking on HOW you can do just that.

As you read, please consider topics for Indie Author’s that you’d like to see covered in the coming year. Share them in the comments section below.

Last month, we discussed book covers. This month, let's look at three things to consider when designing your novel's cover.

5 Tips for Success from an Indie Author

By Shaz Kahng

Part of the Indie Authors Series

JH: Writers have multiple options for publishing, and going indie is a viable path many authors choose. Please help me welcome Shaz Kahng to the lecture hall today, to share her tips on successfully self publishing. 

Shaz Kahng writes from her own experience, having led teams in a few male-dominated industries. She is a retail/apparel chief executive who has previously worked as a research scientist, a global consulting partner, a builder of e-businesses, and a brand strategist. Shaz was one of a handful of female senior executives at Nike. She was also the chief executive of Lucy Activewear and worked with her team to make the company profitable for the first time in history. She graduated from Cornell University and has an MBA from the Wharton School. Shaz lives in San Francisco with her husband and twin daughters.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter |

Take it away Shaz...

5 Tips to Improve Your Next Novel Cover

By J. Kathleen Cheney, @jkcheney

Part of the Indie Authors Series

One of the things I’ve been working on recently is getting my cover-making work started up. I’ve been making covers for myself since 2011, but only recently started looking at it as a sideline, and thus have been honing my Photoshop skills and trying to practice every day. Not unexpectedly, this has been an eye-opening experience for me, not only as to the limits of the PS program, but also how the parameters I’m given make the possibilities for covers better or worse.

So my cover artist self has some tips to pass on to my writer self that will help make my next cover better.

Tip #1: Short words are better for titles

You CAN Judge a Book by Its Cover

By Ray Flynt

Part of the Indie Author Series

As difficult as it is to write a book, choosing an indie author path requires attending to so many more aspects of the entire publishing experience. Among the most important is creating a book’s cover.

First, I want to recommend a post by J. Kathleen Cheney from this Indie Author’s Series back in February. She addresses various cover design resources.

A few of my thoughts might overlap, but that’s okay since it never hurts to reinforce good ideas.

We caution against clichés in fiction writing, but in forums like this one, their use can be a shorthand way of making a point. You’ve heard the expression: You can’t judge a book by its cover. True, somewhat. But a cover provides a prospective reader with a sense of what the book might be about. It sets a mood. It reflects your degree of professionalism.

The Long Con – Author Lessons Learned from a Year on the Convention Circuit

By John G. Hartness, @johnhartness

Part of the Indie Author Series

I might have mentioned that I do a lot of conventions. 36 so far in 2018, with a couple still to go. That’s up from 29 in 2017, and way more than I intend to do in 2018, so let’s take a look at some of the sales numbers, expenses, and lessons I’ve learned across the last two years of selling paperbacks at conventions all across the Southeastern United States.

One caveat before we start: I have excluded Dragon Con from these numbers. I don’t sell books at Dragon Con, because that’s not what I go to that convention for. Plus, it’s so much more expensive than any other con I do that it would skew the numbers.

First, the raw numbers. In 2018 I sold $15,240 in books at conventions. That’s a pretty good increase from the $11,953 I did in 2017, around 27% from 2017 numbers. Not bad, right?

Simple Steps to an Author Auto-Responder

By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedy

Part of the Indie Author Series

One of the topics I’d heard other independent authors talk about a lot was auto-responders, but for years, I put off actually setting up one of my own.

Being an indie author means we’re constantly juggling demands and having to prioritize. I didn’t understand how valuable an auto-responder could be, so it never seemed to jump to the top of my list.

I was also intimidated. I didn’t know what to write in my auto-responder.

This year, I tackled it.

The Indie Publisher’s Toolbox – Part 3: Social Media

By Ray Flynt

Part of the Indie Author Series

Thus far we’ve examined an author’s website, blogs, and an author’s newsletter.

The toolbox analogy is apt because, although you may think of yourself as a writer, you still need to build your audience. To be cliché, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither will you reach your full sales potential overnight. It’s a process. At times, it may seem like two steps forward and one backward.

My first published book (before becoming an indie author) was a hardcover priced at $25.95. I joked that you couldn’t get relatives to pay that much for a book. Readers who willingly shell out nearly $30 for the latest Danielle Steele or James Patterson, might be less likely to take a chance on an unknown author.