Indie author diaries

Most successful authors will attribute their success to being consistent. In this episode Lisa and Sarah discuss what 'keeping consistent' means to them, and they share the strategies they've used.

they discuss:

*being consistent in appearance (author branding)

*being consistent in actions (e.g. newsletters, social media etc.)

They discuss:

*challenges with changing habits and some strategies to help make it easier to form new habits.

*setting business/ writing hours

*setting goals that are achievable in the time you have, so that it is easier to keep showing up and be more consistent

*reducing barriers to showing up and reducing interruptions and distractions

*having a buddy to help keep you motivated and showing up

Decision fatigue is the reducing ability to make good decisions after you've been making a lot of decisions.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed as an indie author because of the sheer amount of decisions you need to make to put your book into the world.

In this episode Lisa & Sarah look at a detailed list of 60 different decisions indie authors need to make in the following areas when releasing a book and getting started as an indie author:

*writing the book/ story

*everyday writer life

*publishing the book

*creating the book, design, layout and interior

*business decisions

*website decisions (including the pages an author website needs)

*newsletter decisions

*marketing decisions and choosing ad platforms (including releasing the book)

Sarah and Lisa also discuss some strategies to reduce overwhelm and they also share some of the decisions they've made along the way to help reduce decision fatigue and overwhelm in their day-to-day author life.

In this episode Sarah & Lisa review their past book launches.

They share:

*what they spent

*what they did to advertise the release of the book at the time including: blog tours, ads, PR campaigns and live events

*how the different launch activity worked

*a chat about why Sarah feels launching is harder now

*why Lisa prefers to think of it as a 'book release' rather than a 'book launch'

*how they've learned to manage their expectations around book launches and the importance of having a budget for launches (especially when things aren't going viral)

Sarah has 14 titles (16 by the end of 2018) across 3 main genres including, plus size rom com, contemporary romance, Christian fantasy and short stories including a romantic thriller).

Lisa has 14 titles in two genres (13 non-fiction cookbooks and 1 contemporary fantasy novella).

It's easy to let costs get out of hand when you're an indie author.

In this episode Sarah & Lisa share:

* Their indie author costs and they compare what they were spending per year when they first began publishing, to what they are spending now.

*How (and why) they reduced their ongoing costs so they could continue writing.

*Why having a budget is important.

*How much they spend on producing and publishing books.

This is a great episode for beginner writers.

In this diary Sarah & Lisa discuss:

*How people have a habit of using clutter to keep them from doing the things they love (e.g. finishing the book)

*Choosing social media platforms and assessing honestly what you can do with the time you have (so you're not trying to do everything)

*Simplifying processes so there's more time for writing and the other things you love

*Talking into the void, and how it's easier to share when you have an engaged audience

*Making changes in business and changing buying behaviour

*Pruning followers, and

*Pen names - the agony and joy of creating a new one

Sarah and Lisa also chat about their progress from last weeks goals, their goals for the new week and what they've been reading through the week.

This week:

*Sarah's discusses how many words (and the unexpected place) she was writing to make progress toward her upcoming books Juniper & Aphrodite's Letters.

*Lisa discusses her progress with the Werewolf series and how close she's getting to that first royalty payment.

*They discuss the current view of what it takes to be an indie author (and what it means to your income and health if you're a rebel and don't want to follow that advice).

*They discuss how important it is to know yourself so that you don't create an indie author 'lifestyle' that you dread.

*They discuss the fear of 'being visible' and 'self doubt'.

*They talk about their current favourite TV shows, books they're reading (text and audio) and podcasts they're listening to.

*They discuss their goals (word counts), every day writer tasks, diaries and creating a tally of words written for the year.

This is the first diary entry. Sarah and Lisa chat about:

*what they have done over the last week (and previously) as indie authors

*what their goals are for the next week and next year

*what they have earned/ are currently earning from their books

*what they're reading, watching and listening to at the moment

*their current writing process