Friday, March 28, 2014

[Link] 5 Tough Love Rules for Indie Publishing Success

by James Palmer

I’ve already been working on this for a couple of days, and I have a couple of deadlines, so without further ado here are the rules. Feel free to add to, discuss, or just plain ignore these rules as you see fit. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to writing or self-publishing, your mileage may vary.

The Rules

Rule #1: There Are No Rules. Except these rules:

1. Write good books
2. Make sure they are professionally edited
3. Make sure they have good covers
4. Write more books

No two writers are alike, and no two paths to success are paved with the same color bricks. Every writer who you’ve heard of went a slightly different way, but they all did the above four things.

Rule #2: Define Your Own Success

You probably won’t get rich doing this thing. But what I’ve learned is you don’t have to in order to make a nice living doing what you love. I’ve heard of authors who, while not making six figures a month like Joe Konrath, have been able to leave their crappy jobs. They’re not rolling in dough, but they’re not starving in the streets either. Author Holly Lisle confessed on a recent podcast that she is now comfortably middle class since self-publishing, something she was never able to claim as a traditionally published author. What does success mean to you? Maybe money never enters the equation. Maybe your version of success is not having to go to a job you hate for people you don’t like.

Now I don’t exactly live within my means, because if I did I’d be living under an overpass, but I think I can make it work. And if I can, so can you.

Rule #3: You Still Have to Be Lucky

But here’s the thing about luck: We make our own.

Read more: http://jamespalmerbooks.com/2014/03/02/5-tough-love-rules-for-indie-publishing-success/

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