By now, I think that even the cat in my front garden knows that being a self-published author is so much more than writing a good book.  I don’t know who owns that tabby, but he’s seen enough of what goes on here to understand that selling a book requires a completely different set of skills.  Self-publishing is an all-encompassing business, requiring the right balance of thoughtful introvert and hustling extrovert – all in the one body.  It demands the fierce commitment and creativity of a tortured artist to produce the work,  nestled uncomfortably alongside the patter and schmooze of a street vendor to sell it.  Not an easy combination to pull off.

All writers reach this point after publishing their first book, when the cold realisation sets in that nobody’s really bothered that you spent the guts of two years researching and writing your book.  What’s more, they probably expect to download it for free!  The humanity!!  Because you see Amazon is a business – as well as being an opportunity and the sooner we learn to treat it as such, the sooner we will achieve our own idea of publishing success.  You have to learn to ride the wave, so to speak, in order to give your book the best chance of being noticed in a sea of self-published authors.  And at the end of the day, that is what we are all striving for, to have our stories read by more than a handful of people.

So now is the perfect time to pick up on all of the hints and tips shared by some of the best ‘Authorpreneurs’ in the business, as following on from the London Book Fair, lots of self-published authors are out and about discussing success in Self-Publishing, Book Marketing and Running A Business As An Author/Entrepreneur.  Check out author Joanna Penn‘s article for The Alliance of Independent Authors, written prior to IndieReCon, a global conference focussing on all stages and levels of self-publishing and featuring authors such as Mark Dawson and Rachel Abbott.

How They Do It: Preview of Success Tips from IndieRecon Speakers.