Become a Successful Indie Author

by Craig Martelle

  None of that stuff happened by accident. I spent two years building my newsletter subscribers, gaining followers on Amazon, earning the trust of my readers. This business is hard and I always encourage people to work hard at the right things.

  "I'm down and don't feel like writing today." We all feel like that, but in this case, I would always encourage you to get a few words down. Write something. An author's safe place is their stories. It's where you can be yourself, if only for a few moments. You can't edit a blank page and you may delete your words later, but get something down, not because of others but because that's what professional authors do. They write the words. How many? That's up to you. Compare yourself to no one else.

  We can all be envious of someone else's success, but that is where moral relativism rears its ugly head. It's where those who believe that if you write a book a month, they must be low quality. BULLSHIT! Speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. Many authors can do it. Many others cannot. What matters is what you can do. No one runs a marathon the first day they strap on the sneakers.

  - Write every day and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

  - Get feedback on your craft from those in your genre, readers, because they are your target audience for sales.

  - Improve with every new word, but only you know where your goal is.

  - Listen, study, and put into practice those elements that will help you improve your sales.

  - Set your goals by what is in your control. ‘Make a million dollars’ is not in your control, but incrementally applying marketing lessons from the likes of Brian Meeks and Michael Cooper is in your control.

  - Most importantly, be the best version of yourself that you can be. It is far too bothersome trying to be someone else.

  Book Length

  See what I did there? Book is an undefined term. I publish lots of books, some are novels, others novellas, even some novelettes and short stories.

  SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, even though it's a worldwide organization) has defined the terms with set word counts.

  Novel - 40k plus words

  Novella - 17,500 to 40k

  Novelette - 7,500 to 17,499

  Short Story - up to 7,499 words

  What does this mean to you and the word count of your stories? I suggest that these limits are meaningless. What is the right word count for you and your story? What is the right business model to sell your product? (Remember: when you publish your book, it becomes a product.)

  Try to get the right word count to the best business model that you can handle. Some genres sell well at 50k words. If you write a 150k word tome and put it up, it may not sell well or you may have to work extra hard at marketing and you may not be able to charge three times what the 50k word books sell for. Does it take three times as long to write? Are the production costs three times as much? (There's only one cover, but editing costs are usually by the word.)

  Sometimes, you have to step outside of yourself and have that business conversation. I can't write a book under 100,000 words! That's fine, but understand the business impact. Maybe you need to write a 200k word book to fit into the epic fantasy genre, but your book is only 70k words. That's okay, too. Put on your business hat and determine how you will market it and what the test readers think of it. It's a product and not all products sell well, no matter how much we love them.

  The reason I'm posting this is because many people have been lamenting word counts and asking what people write. There is little value in that. What does your specific genre look like? (That goes to reader expectations, which is what writing to market means.) If you go outside normal boundaries (and we are all about hacking the process here), understand that you will face business challenges. If you don't have a firm grip on marketing and such, you may not want to tackle that obstacle out of the gate. Once established, you may be able to define your own market. JK Rowling did that and it was well worth it once the market responded, but she had a team of professionals on her side. We're indies and have to carry that load ourselves or share a great deal of our profits with someone else who may or may not come through for us.

  I published a post-apoc book (general genre length is 50k words) that was 117k words long. It did really well. It only took me an extra week to write the additional words (that was a great writing week), and the payout in KU page reads was tremendous. No lamentations here and the readers were stoked to get two books for the price of one, which was how we marketed it.

  You have to write the story first. It helps to have a target in mind that you can get close to through a good outline and an idea what the reader expectations are for your genre. You could be like me and simply call everything you publish a book.

  No fucking shortcuts!

  If you can’t tell, this might be a rant.

  Being an indie is hard work and you get to do it all. Don’t compare yourself to me and don’t tell me I can’t write good books because I write them too quickly. Just because you can’t do this (yet), it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I don’t give a flying goat fuck what Agatha Christie did in the 1930s. When it comes to writing, I care what Craig Martelle can do in 2018. Period.

  I share what I learn because in my past, I’ve hurt people. I have a lot to make up for. Have you ever killed anyone? Try to be a little more understanding on why someone might be fanatically driven, whether to help other people or to race up a mountain of publishing success. Or do both. Still, your journey is yours alone.

  Learn from me. That’s what wisdom is all about. I guarantee that I learned all these lessons the hard way. You don’t have to do it wrong it in the first place. If you know where the pitfalls are, they are easier to avoid.

  If you want to go on an epic nut roll, have at it. That’s your business. My tolerance for people trying to drag others down to their level is at an end. This one-finger salute is for you. Just because you can’t motherfucking do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. What separates the winners from everyone else? Digging in, doing the hard work after everyone else has gone home, learning. As you write and publish, you will find a thousand people willing to coach you, just like everyone in the stands at every sporting event. Just because they are yelling different stuff, it doesn’t make any of it wrong. Listen and learn.

  What did I do to get to this place? I worked a job for the first 21 years of my life so I could have health care for life and a retirement. Those gave me the foundation to do other things, like put myself through law school so I could make some real money in order to set myself up for enjoying life. Finally, at age 52, everything was in place for me to do what I wanted to do. I couldn’t have done it at 22, or 32, or even 42 (age 42—that’s when I started law school, graduating summa cum laude 2 ½ years later).

  Everyone’s path is different because everyone’s motivation is different because everyone’s goal is different. 20Booksto50k is about doing what needs to be done to make money. If you want to write the next literary masterpiece, I congratulate you for embracing that goal. It may take a number of tries, but if you want it badly enough, go after it. If you want to make money, it’ll be hard if you don’t enjoy writing the stories, like crawling through broken glass hard. People talk about writing to market. That is simply finding the balance between what you like to write and where people are buying the stories. You may be able to snag a bestseller in a small market, but will you be able to make a living? That’s your business to determine which is most important.

  I’m personally okay with a book ranked 200 overall on Amazon that isn’t a bestseller as opposed to one ranked 2000 that is. That’s my personal preference.

  You can make a good living writing two or four books a year, but you better embrace marketing, good ads, and business management. If you only want to write, then accept that you may not make a living wage. The vast majority of authors don’t. Once again, 20Booksto50k is about tips, hints, tricks, and lessons to help you sell more books, but you have to find what works best for yo
u.

  70-80 hours every fucking week. I have averaged 2664 words per day, every single day, for the past 876. Yes, I keep track to that level of fidelity because I embrace the business side as much as the storytelling side. I’m going to Iceland for a week in May and then Bali in January. Those are my vacations and if you’re up on things, you’ll know Bali is a conference, but it’ll be a total bash, authors sitting around and talking, enjoying adult beverages, maybe getting some sun on the beach, but most of all, meeting, greeting, and celebrating. That is my idea of a vacation because when it comes to the author biz, I’m all in.

  And that didn’t happen overnight. There’s no shortcut to stardom. There’s no shortcut to Hollywood. There’s no shortcut in writing a book. You and you alone have to do the work. Surrounding yourself with good people helps lighten the load, but you still have the heavy lifting.

  The bottom line of this rambling diatribe is that you need to temper your goals with what you are willing and capable of doing. Not everyone is going to get to be a full-time author and very few of those will reach atmospheric levels of success. I work hard at the right things and I am rewarded in multiple ways—meeting great people, having people talk about their success based on lessons from this group, selling more books, and getting incredibly supportive reviews and comments. Sure, I work really hard, not all of it pans out, but this is the best job I’ve ever had and it wouldn’t have been possible without all the other jobs that I’ve had.

  Rational Discourse (a RANT)

  I don't get angry on here often because I believe that most people are good people trying to do a little better for themselves and their families with each new day.

  20Books is something I wholeheartedly believe in. So much so that I've committed hundreds of hours of my time and nearly $10,000 of my money to put on two conferences, with the potential for annual shows going forward.

  That all depends on the base premise that people can share WHAT WORKS FOR THEM! Don't dictate to others what they should or shouldn't do. Everyone is at a different stage of their journey. Everyone needs a different tool to help them get over the next hump. That's what the 20Books conferences are trying to do—you sit back, take what you can from the presentations, network with people who you can relate to, and go back home to put those lessons into practice.

  Insisting that someone use the Oxford comma is FUCKING MORONIC! If you use it, fine! That's your business. Telling someone else to use it isn't what this group is all about.

  This group is about how to make money off what we love to do! If your books aren't selling, telling other people that their writing isn't good enough doesn't make readers buy your books. BUT THERE IS A SHITLOAD OF TIPS IN HERE THAT WILL HELP!

  Craft is one part of what we do. If you don't take that seriously, then there may be some long-term viability issues with your product. Make no mistake, your stories are a product to be sold. If you don't think so, then you shouldn't be in this group. You're not selling your baby! It's a story and you can love it, but when you publish it, it's a product.

  I am a huge fan of continuous improvement. Your first book can be total shit, but if people see the story within and want to read more, then you know you are onto something. Michael calls that the minimal viable product. Story trumps the Oxford fucking comma. Get better with each new book and the readers will take the journey with you.

  With over 10,000 members in 20Booksto50k, it would be easy to destroy what this group is about through petty dictates. Don't fall into that trap. If you share, share what works for you. If you comment, comment what works for you—a little educated rhetoric goes a long way. Name-calling does not. Denigration does not. This group is about support in a shark-filled publishing world with indies out there on their own, fighting against the big money of trad pub.

  A rising tide lifts all boats. Continue on your PERSONAL journey up the mountain to more and more profitability as an author. Fill your toolbox as you go with tips as you find them, and for FUCK'S SAKE PEOPLE, be decent human beings.

  And this wasn’t about the Oxford comma, for fuck’s sake. The comments were out of control on this rant, which only solidified my point, but not to those who needed to hear it.

  Bibliography

  As books from these good people change over time, I’m going to list just the main ones that I have. Check out their Amazon author page to see what else they have in their bag of supporting tricks.

  Brian Meeks

  Mastering Amazon Ads, @2017. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072SNXYMY/

  Brian’s Author Page on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Brian-D.-Meeks/e/B0073XZH78/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  David Gaughran

  Let’s Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should, @2018

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078ZNWD61/

  From Strangers to Superfans, @2018

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798PH9QT/

  David’s Author Page on Amazon

  https://www.amazon.com/David-Gaughran/e/B004YWUS6Q/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Honoree Corder with Ben Hale

  Write Like a Boss

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0765MGBHF/

  Publish Like a Boss

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0785L1X2R/

  Market Like a Boss

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079KX7S9K/

  Honoree’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Honoree-Corder/e/B005DO6BPQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Michael Cooper

  Help! My Facebook Ads Suck

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078NBW3M3/

  Michael Cooper’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Cooper/e/B071FJHK9K/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Chris Fox

  5000 Words Per Hour

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XIQKBT8/

  Write to Market

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AX23B4Q/

  Six Figure Author

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZEM7SB/

  Relaunch Your Novel

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HVZD1G/

  Chris’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Fox/e/B00OXCKD2G/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Chris Syme

  Sell More Books with Less Marketing

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P7VG7S/

  Chris Syme’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Syme/e/B0084PYSYW

  Bryan Cohen

  How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HYBWOF6/

  Bryan’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Cohen/e/B004I9WJTY/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Dave Chesson, Kindlepreneur

  Book Marketing 101 & KDP Rocket

  https://kindlepreneur.com/book-marketing-101/

  Amazon Book Description Generator Tool

  https://kindlepreneur.com/amazon-book-description-generator/

  Mark Dawson

  Learn Amazon Ads

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y6BSRLR/

  Mark’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Dawson/e/B0034Q9BO8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1521462397&sr=1-2-ent

  Mark’s outstanding Self-Publishing Formula course - https://selfpublishingformula.com/

  Maxwell Alexander Drake

  Dynamic Story Creation in Plain English: Drake’s Brutal Writing Advice

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IGSWNIO/

  Point of View – Better Writing through Stronger Narrative

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073NRJKPT/

  Drake’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_eBooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Maxwell+Alexander+Drake&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Maxwell+Alexander+Drake&sort=relevancerank

  Shawn Coyne

  The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know @2015

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WT7TP8A/

  Tim Grahl

  Your First 1000 Copies

&nbs
p; https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMIWAIC/

  Tim’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Grahl/e/B00DN6ZH38/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Rachel Aaron

  2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NKXAWS/

  Rachel’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Aaron/e/B004FRLQXE/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  Joe Solari

  Business Owner's Compendium: A practical guide to the theory of starting, owning and operating a business

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728G3T7N/

  Joe’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Solari/e/B01MZ4KOPM/ref=dp_byline_cont_eBooks_1

  James Baldwin

  Fix Your Damn Book! A self-editing guide for authors – how to painlessly self-edit your novels and stories

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FQOI1P0/

  James’ Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/James-Osiris-Baldwin/e/B00J4OHNGC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

  Scott King

  The Five Day Novel

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDN3015

  Outline Your Novel

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QN8FGK

  Scott’s Author Page

  https://www.amazon.com/Scott-King/e/B002BMAE9C/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

  Rhett C. Bruno & Steve Beaulieu

  Two Authors, One Book: Co-Writing

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BMKLKC4

  Appendix A – Acronyms used in Become a Successful Indie Author

  ACX – Audiobooks on Amazon

  AMS – Amazon Marketing Services (Amazon ads)