source: magnific
This is a guest post from a self-published fiction writer with several books on Amazon and other platforms. They asked to remain anonymous, which honestly tracks for someone who just told you writers need to get over being introverted. (They’re working on being more extroverted)
The days of the artsy introverted writer, hunched over a keyboard with a coffee-stained manuscript that may be read and likely discarded by a busy editor, are over. Sounds harsh, but it’s true.
The writer of today is first, a business owner before anything else. That means they must have a detailed knowledge of the market (readers). But that’s not all, they must also have spent time honing their skill to produce a great product (book) that is both marketable and difficult to put down. On top of all that, they are expected to never hesitate to talk about the book to anybody who is willing to listen. If you’re rolling your eyes at this list, so are we.
So, Is the Artsy Writer Completely Dead?
Of course, the artsy writer still exists. People still read both literary and commercial fiction. But writers have quickly learned that there’s no romanticising poverty.
Sure, you can be a writer and make a living, and that’s where treating self-publishing as a business comes in.
A self-publisher wears many hats. When looked at as a whole, the process of writing a great book and presenting it to a mass audience in the most appealing way may seem complicated, but it’s actually not.
It’s simply:
- Studying a market
- Writing a great book to satisfy the craving of that market.
How Do Authors That Self-Publish Pull It Off?
Self-publishers do this by doing the following:
- Writing the book. This is a no-brainer, writers write.
- Get the book beta read by readers familiar with the market you’re aiming at.
- Get ARC readers. Early reviews are social proof and play a key role in selling books. A percentage of these readers might end up loving the book so much that they become your hypemen on social media.
- Show up on social media. This is the toughest part for some writers because we just want to write. But it’s a necessary “evil.”
- Have a newsletter. It’s nearly impossible to find a writer without a newsletter. It helps keep your readers close to you.
- Publishing frequency: Most self-published authors put out four books on average yearly. With the increasing popularity of self-publishing and with AI slop flooding the market, it’s even more important to write a very good book as fast as you can.
Write more books for one market as frequently as you can, and maybe, just maybe, one day your writing will transcend the limits imposed by the market.
Or you want to become a trendsetter in a market? Whichever direction you want your career to tilt, the bottom line is the ability to make a living writing good books. Now go forth and conquer (or whatever it is that warriors say to get motivated). Seriously though, you got this.
Crows Publishing’s also got your back. DM us about your next book project.