Tips to becoming an Indie Author

... and how I made every mistake possible!

So, you've seen my books and thought, "I could do that!"

Well, let me just say... Yes you can! Absolutely.

If you have the dream and passion to be an author, you can 100% do it. There are so many options available to you now that many writers in the past never had access to. It's an incredible time to be a person with stories in their head and the need to get them onto paper.

And yet, I don't want to paint this as some easy-peasy, lemon squeezy type of situation. It's a different kind of hard than what a lot of (what the industry calls) trad-published authors have to deal with.

I cannot speak as to what it is like to be a trad published author. I can't imagine and don't want to make assumptions. So I'm just going to tell you my experiences.

**I write romance books. Specifically, sports romance books. Baring that in mind, please know that I am severely generalizing the information I give so it can be applicable to writers in other genres. But, as always, take what I say and make it work for you!

Get started

Yes. That first step is the simplest one, but not the easiest. That's something I have to remind myself every time I start a book. Still. I have nine original books (and two omnibus collections) out in the world and I still have that little stutter of imposter syndrome with the start of each new one.

But Rosie: How do I get started?

There are a lot of opinions on this. What's mine? Get Microsoft Word. Yes. The tried and true, old faithful of word processing software. I have been at this for over two and a half years, and I still draft each book in Word.

I've read about (LivingWriter/Scrivener/Dabble/Atticus/Plotter...) Shouldn't I use one of those?

When you are just starting, that's not the time to throw cash all willy-nilly at this new adventure. There are a lot of places you are going to have to spend your money, so--for now--just know that Word is a great way to start. Most of us have access to the software and there are trial options available all the time.

Okay, so you have Word (or a writing program). Now what?

Well, this is when you have to think about the type of story you want to write. How are you going to format it? Did you even know there are standard formats for different genres?

I did the thing the past where I was convinced to try LivingWriter not realizing it was a monthly subscription. The only thing I got from that (aside from a MASSIVE formatting headache!) was the knowledge that there are different ways to set up your story.

I know that Victoria Aveyard studied film and uses that 3 Act process to draft every one of her stories. She's PHENOMENAL at her style, but it's not the one I gravitate to, personally.

I use 3x3x3 method initially to organize my story. Now, RARELY will my story end up following this to the letter, but it helps me to know that I want the bulk of my action to occur in the first 2/3 of the book. In the years of writing I've done so far, I've learned how I like to read and write my books and made changes--now my books are, on average, 32+ chapters, not 27; but that's taken years of tweaking my personal style. You'll find yours over time, so don't fret over this too much.

But definitely do some research on what is "typical formatting" for the style you want to write in. Romance fiction won't follow the same pacing and cadence as a space opera or memoir.

There's words on "paper." Oh Shitake!

Yeah. That's some scary -ish right there. I know. Multiple books in and it still has my heart doing weird stutter steps and my stomach rolling every time I get into the words part of it.

What do you do now?

Get Alpha Readers!!

These are the people you trust to read your words in their most basic, roughest stage. You'll want a minimum of two alphas but not really more than four. You want eyes on the words as they progress, but the flip side is: there is such a thing as too many chefs in the kitchen. So keep this group on the small side.

This group should be your hype people. Realistically speaking, they will talk you from the proverbial edge--that part where you want to CTRL + A + delete and burn everything. The words will feel like trash. The story isn't going where or how you thought. Those day'm characters seem to have a mind of their own even though they're from your imagination!

And yet... they have to feel comfortable giving you feedback. You have to trust that they will be like your readers, so the way they feel is likely how the population will take your work, too. I'm not saying these people have to be "in the literary world." In fact, none of my Alpha Readers were; one has since started writing her own book and I cannot wait to read it!

Draft... draft, draft, draft!

Yep. It's the grind of it. It's the sitting down and putting "pen to paper," getting the words down. Reading through them and making changes. It's listening to the input of your alphas. It's feeling like garbage until the lightning strikes, and then feeling a bit burnt afterwards. It's chaos and imposter syndrome...

And it's the part you forget about every time you go to write a new work.

Just remember that rarely (if ever!) will a piece be perfect. Even with numerous eyes on it, something will slip through. But definitely take your time here.

Proofreading... the ugliest part of this whole daym thing!

Look, I get it. Everyone who writes wants to believe they'll be able to turn out a project with no edits. The sad truth is, no matter how incredible an author you are, there will be edits. And they can get BRUTAL! But they're necessary.

Personal Example: While writing Playing Hooky, I had the FMC wearing a beautiful green dress. Stunning. Head turning. The MMC is drawn to her. He slips his hand... under her shirt? 😖😵 Yep. Within the scope of a single page, my main female character went from wearing a dress to a blouse/pants combo.

Another example? Well, I didn't research when the trade deadlines were when I started writing Called Up. It was only at the end that I realized I had to rewrite a lot of the beginning so the story would make sense and age correctly.

If you're looking to do a series, sometimes details get lost along the way. Eagle-eyed readers will be the first to point this out to you! So make sure you find a proofreader to comb through the story after the first draft is finished. They can be there along the way, but usually it makes more sense to bring them on towards the end of your rough drafting stage.

Edits are "done" (for now)

You've spent literal MONTHS with this work. Drafting, editing, revising... you've fallen in love with the words as they are. And now you need to figure out what to do next.

This is where you have to make personal choices.

What I recommend first for brand new authors? Get an email address that will just be for your writing. You will end up needing a lot of services along the way. Also, any correspondence between you and readers (Alpha, Beta & ARC Readers) will need to go through that channel. It makes it easier to track spending, literature, education, etc when those things are boxed into one place. A place you don't have to sort through personal stuff.

Trust me. I didn't do this, and now I am struggling between my author email and my personal email. This is a "learn from my mistake moment!"

For now, you can do a Google or Yahoo situation, but this is where you need to start preparing to spend some money.

Google and Yahoo recently changed their policies so any communications from groups with large recipients base CANNOT use a "free email domain." AKA: You need to have a website and then an email associated with that website. Which you will need to authenticate.

That sounds... daunting. It is. Not just because it's tech-y and I'm not a tech-y person, but because the options are abundant!

Time to Publish...

Look, this step feels like the hardest thing in the world to do. I get it.

As a mom of two that I made from scratch, I can honestly say that-- For me!-- the process is really akin to pregnancy. For months, this has been mine and mine alone. Sure, I reached out and got the opinions of others. I may have even taken their suggestions! lol But ultimately, this was mine. I wrote every word. I heard the characters in my head. I developed them and their story.

And now? Now I'm about to share this with the world. A world where it will never be just mine again. It will live in other people's lives, be a part of them for good or for bad.

But that can't happen until you publish.

There are a few ways to go about doing this.

• Instant release. Also known as a surprise release. This is when you don't really give any heads up, you just set everything up in the KDP system and then hit "Publish Now!"

  • KDP does take up to 72 hours to fully release your work into their ether, but technically this is an instant release since you aren't allowing for preorders or a whole lot of heads up.

• Short pre-order time. Maybe you finished the book and have about two weeks of wiggle room, so you decide to create a pre-order option for your book. You would go through the KDP process of creating your book, filling everything out just like an instant release. Only, this time, you choose a date in the future. With this option, you are giving readers a chance to buy your book early.

  • Biggest thing to remember here is that you MUST have your manuscript uploaded by their deadline. It's usually 3-5 days prior to your release date, but it can sneak up on you. Especially if you have the final release date stuck in your mind... completely forgetting up the upload submission deadline. Don't do that. Trust me! KDP/Amazon takes away your option of ever doing a pre-order in the future if you muck this up!

• Long Pre-order time. Sometimes you want your readers to know there's more on the horizon. Get them excited about what's to come. Emma Slate gets me every time this way! As soon as I finish on of her Tarnished Angels books, there's the pre-order option for the next one. It's not coming out for a few months, but I still get excited.

I'm literally done each of these. In the beginning I did the long pre-order for Summer Heat. It was fun to see that "Pre-Orders" number increase before the launch. But it was also eh...

I did an instant release for Coach's Call. This was because I missed my original deadline due to my stepdad and husband's grandmother taking serious turns for the worse unexpectedly right as I was trying to finalize the book. I don't know if I'll do an instant release again, but it wasn't the worst situation.

My bread and butter preference seems to be short pre-order. Ranging around a month to 6 weeks of lead up.

Take your time. Try things out. Figure out what works best for you.

Reiterating: I am a solely-Amazon indie author. Other processes will be different! I cannot speak to those since I've never once interacted with other publishing processes.

Alpha, Beta, ARC... WTHail?

There's a lot of jargon in the writing world, unsurprising being as this is a job and profession. If you think about the fact that a group of accountants would have their slang, service techs have their own within each sub-field... hell, even the sports world has acronyms and phrases that don't make a lick of sense out of context. So just know that there might be some lingo thrown about here that you need to look up.

Do it.

If this were any other profession, most wouldn't hesitate to do their research on what is common verbiage. Treat this like a job in the sense that you show it respect.

• Alpha Readers are the people who see the process start to finish. They are your hype people, first set(s) of eyes, common thread throughout a series... They are the OGs and we love them.

• Betas are the people who read the book and offer more insight. They find things the Alphas missed, typos and discrepancies that can be overlooked. They aren't the people who leave reviews, but they also aren't the first round of edits. This was something I didn't know in the beginning and my poor Betas got a REALLY ROUGH version of Summer Heat. I'm so grateful that all but one reader were incredibly kind. They acted as Alphas when that wasn't what they signed up for.

• ARC Readers: Advanced Reader Copies Readers. These are your reviewers. The ones who get the story on average 2 weeks prior to release day

Where do I spend my own money?

I will tell you what I use, but you do not need to feel like you have to use them. I know a lot of authors who have other options they love.

• Website/Email(s): I use Wix. It's not cheap, but I love the easy to use formatting. I have my business emails through them. I opted for two: one for general readers and correspondences; one for specific groups like my ARC readers. This just makes it easier for me to sort through when I'm going through edits, for example. I don't really want to have to scan through newsletter subscriptions or website analytics when what I'm looking for edits and suggestions and reviews.

  • There are a lot of functions that are inclusive to Wix that I love and use daily. My blog is through them, meaning one less source to work with when I changed over a portion of my business to reviewing books from authors I ARC read for myself.

  • They also had a multi-year deal option that made each year a bit cheaper.

• Newsletters: I use Mailerlite. Again, it's not the cheapest option. They do have a free option which I used for (over a year!) as I built up my recipients' base. But, in the end, I upgraded so I would have access to help when I need it as I am really not great with technology. That was a personal choice, and one I'm really glad I made when Google/Yahoo made their changes in policy. I was able to chat with their help and make sure I was compliant. Call it the "lazy tax," if you will.

• Canva: I have the premium version and it runs me about $13/month. I use it for literally EVERYTHING! I make my book covers in there. All my social media posts. Promos and specials. I even designed my merch, which is still sitting in a cabinet as I figure out how to open the store part of my WIX website. (This is not an issue with them; but I just don't know the best practices for cost-effective shipping, so I'm not dipping my toe there yet).

• BookSprout: This service is actually really great when you are starting out. It is only about $7 a month and when you don't have a large following that can ARC Read for you, posting reviews, sharing your books... than BookSprout is a GREAT option.

  • Once I built up my ARC readers list, I decided to let it go. I wanted to focus more on the people that really want to read MY books and not so much readers looking to read nearly anything. I will say, I scrolled through the list of people who had requested my books and personally emailed anyone who had requested 2+ books. I offered them a chance to join my ARC readers list, sharing the link I'd created in StoryOrigin & BookFunnel. Those who were interested joined and those who weren't didn't. It was perfect for everyone.

• StoryOrigin/BookFunnel: Do you need both? 🤷‍♀️ I believe I do, personally, so I have both. What are they? Well...

  • StoryOrigin is (I feel) a bit more comprehensive in what it allows you do.

    • You can develop your newsletter by joining Promos and Newsletter Swaps (where you share their book and they'll share yours).

    • You can create Universal links for your books. Why is this important? Well, when you go to share your link, it can get kicked back for being too long, especially when sharing in like an Insta-story. It also helps elevate your professional look when you have clear links for your books.

    • Those Beta Readers I was talking about? You can find them through StoryOrigin as well. (This is the reason I ended up opting out of BookSprout; I was already paying for a similar service with my SO subscription.)

    • If/When you decide to dip your toes into audiobooks, the process for promoting is the same. So you'd already be familiar with it. Again, Beta Readers + links... it's all right there for you.

  • BookFunnel is less "inclusive" but very necessary... again- In My Opinion. Almost all distribution providers use BookFunnel when sharing books. If you've ever clicked on another author's newsletter link for a free or discounted book, you've probably encountered BF.

    • I use this service to distribute my ARC and Beta copies.

    • Storing and distributing Samples & Reader Magnets is easy to do in here.

    • I also use it to help me generate the other formats that I need to import into StoryOrigin.

      • *Recently I've had some issues with populating the Mobi version--the version you need for Kindle books--so I've just found a free conversion option. No Gatekeeping here: I use CloudConvert.

• Vellum/Atticus. There are really just two programs you can choose from when it comes time to actually format your book. Atticus or Vellum.

  • Vellum is ONLY for Mac users, so I can't speak for it (I've heard GREAT things though!).

  • Atticus is what I use. It is compatible with Mac or PC. It's a one time price of $140 which is great in a time where everything is monthly or even annual subscriptions.

    • Pros:

      • uploading a completed book from Word or whatever is super easy. You literally just click "Upload."

      • From there you choose from a large variety of formatting templates. You pick the size book you want and it does all the bleed margins, etc for you. So nice. It will save your used templates for future use with the name of the book so you can find it easily later.

      • You can upload multiple versions of the same book. Why would you do that? Well, you can mark which version you sent to ARC/Beta readers. You can create Samples or Reader Magnets that will be part of your book. A sample is typically the first three chapters so a cover that shows it is a SAMPLE helps (and is necessary when sharing through Book Funnel). And when you create these, you just choose the same format style that was saved for you in the templates!

      • You can create box sets/omnibus collections SO EASILY! Literally, just click the option for Boxed Sets on the home page, choose the books you want included, and then choose the format/style. Again, it will be saved for you!

      • There are great new add-ons like text bubbles and quote formatting to elevate your story. You can add images to your chapter titles. You can opt to have a Table of Contents in your ebook but not have one in your physical book.

    • Cons:

      • She can be temperamental. Not gonna lie. Sometimes you'll click on that link or saved bookmark and get the white screen. No clue why this happens, but you just need to go to Google search and type "atticus.io login." That's all I've ever needed to do to get into the program when she's white-screened me.

      • You cannot copy/paste from your document outside of the program. You can upload without any issues. But if you make changes in the original doc, you have to manually make those changes in Atticus. Copy/pasting from outside makes her cranky!

Where do I say "skip it" financially?

Again, these are my preferences. Some of these are things I have spent my own money one and ended up cancelling or just eating the cost.

• Adobe. Literally anything to do with Adobe in regards to my writing, I've just stopped using. I was paying $30 a month in an annual subscription (that they don't let you out of without financial penalty!) so I could buy image use rights. I found a lot more options were available to me through Canva. Also, Adobe is allowing a LOT of AI images in there catalog of options which is a huge issue. They do indicate which are AI, but you can't really filter them out when searching for specific images.

• Living Writer/Scrivener. These are the two options I tried and let me tell you, I did not see the value.

  • Converting out of LW was a NIGHTMARE! and I was not prepared for the pushback from my Beta Readers when they received a poorly formatted version of Summer Heat that they'd graciously agreed to read for me. I felt TERRIBLE but wasn't sure what happened. The fact that I never figured it out after spending HOURS trying to fix everything... Yeah. No. It's not terribly expensive if you want to give it a go, just to see what cool add-ons there are that might help, but as a writing tool, I just not here for them.

  • Scrivener. This is another monthly subscription. This one allows you to organize characters, settings, plots, etc throughout not just your active book but the whole series. It's nice, but my brain fritzed on all the back and forth. I am definitely a "pen and paper" kind of person, so keep that in mind too.

• ISBNs. These are the barcodes at the back of the book that gets scanned. They are the identifiers for things like GoodReads and distributers to know which version of which book the reader is getting. Why then would I say these aren't worth paying for? Well, my reason is simple: I only distribute through Amazon. I am solely a Kindle & Audible author. Because of that, all of my books automatically receive free ISBNs. If you are wanting to go wide, then you will HAVE to purchase these. Every version of every book gets a separate ISBN, remember that. So if you have an eBook, a paperback, a hardcover and an audiobook, that's 4 ISBNs for that one book. It adds up quick!

  • This also means that I cannot legally sell my own books on say, my website. It's not something I'm willing to mess with just yet, so I'm fine with that. Should I decide to ever go wide, I will have to purchase ISBNs for every version of every book. But that's something for "later Rosie."

Is anything Free?

Thankfully, yes.

There are a lot of free options out there that you as an newbie, indie author can use.

• Social Media. This is the biggest one. Get an account on IG. Create a business/author page on FB. I personally don't have the clock app, but that's another way to build your audience.

  • You will need to post on there. That can be really scary, sharing about your work. But there are lots of ways to make your account feel like a safe space. I know in the beginning I started off posting reels, doing the trending audios, showing my face. Now most of what I share are posts with my books. Any reels I do are about my books using Canva (they do have a free option!) to create those reels. I don't show my face as much which allows me to post more often. I don't feel the need to be "made up" all the time, leaving me comfortable to share more often.

• Google Docs/Drive. Look, if you don't want to pay for Word, Google docs is an option. I personally don't write in there because I'm terrified of somehow losing a doc, accidentally sharing the wrong version, etc. But Google Docs is great for sharing the drafts as you go with your Alphas!

• BookBrush. This is a company that allows you to create the flatlays of your book cover onto a book or eReader without having to actually have the book in your hand. Plus, eReaders don't always have color options and you spent a lot of time (and possibly money!) on that cover! Show it off!

• KDP. This is how I go about publishing my books. Even if you want to go wide, you will need to set up an Author Central Page. It is totally free to do, but make sure you read the instructions thoroughly. If you are using a Pen Name, you will want to make sure it is clear. I've had some issues where my books aren't coverting to GoodReads because they show up on Amazon under Rosie P Burke and my Goodreads author page is Rosie P. Burke. Technology is great until it isn't so take your time and get this done.

  • Again, I am EXCLUSIVELY through Amazon, so what I have to do is different than if you want to go wide.

• GoodReads.com You may already use GoodReads as a reader. What I recommend in hindsight is setting up an author profile using your author email. Again, all correspondence I have with GR is being sent to my personal email and it just gets frustrating not having everything all together.

• BookBub.com This is sort of like GoodReads in that your books will all be listed under you as the author. People can leave reviews, follow you, like your books, etc. And it doesn't cost you anything.

• Images. This one is a mixed bag. See, I feel strongly that artists should be paid for their work, which is why I made the mistake of using Adobe Stock for so long. But there are free options if you just can't afford it right now.

  • Unsplash.com This site has free images. People, places, things... you can easily find what you are looking for.

  • Depositphotos.com Most of the images on here are paid licensing. But you can search specifically for FREE IMAGES. Want a floral image... maybe specifically some lavender? They've got you!

    • You have the choice to pay per image if you want to.

    • They also are ALWAYS running some sort of promo where you can get like 80 licensed images for a discounted rate.

  • Canva.com Canva is great to start with. There are a lot of options available to you in the free version. I used it exclusively for over a year before I upgraded to the Premium.

ACX. This may not be an "immediate" thing you want to worry about, but ACX is how your book will be distributed when you make it an audiobook. The process is fairly simple. They give you access to thousands of narrators so you can find the right sound for your book. You can choose how you want to proceed with the narrator; options from "split royalties + no $ up front," "split royalties + some $ up front (Pay Per Finish Hour)," or solely "Pay Per Finished Hour" rate. It is up to you, but can determine who submits auditions. Regardless of when you decide to, if you decide to, release in audio; you will absolutely!!! want to go in there and claim your books. It doesn't happen often, but there are shady people who will claim your work as their own and then you won't be able to do anything with your own work without a massive fight and headache.

Final Bit(s) of advice:

Look. I love what I do. I've made incredible friends literally the world over since I started writing. It's one of the most fulfilling things I've done outside of my family.

And yet. It will never feel "normal." I will never not have a bout of imposter syndrome at some point in the process. I will never look at the finished product and think "Perfect!" I will never truly get over it when someone doesn't love my story the way I do.

I've learned from smarter women than me, that you have to move on from those moments. Don't settle there.

Also--find people smarter than you! I legitimately dip into my favorite author's DMs on occasion and ask questions. I've developed true relationships with those authors that extend beyond just the "work" parts.