Blog - Business for Authors

04Dec 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

Diversifying Your Income Part 3: Book Merchandise

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One of the best ways to diversify your income without giving yourself a whole other job is to create merchandise for your books. Your books don’t have to already be successful for this to work either. In fact, high-quality book merchandise can attract new people to your work. In this article, I’ll explore: 12 book merchandise ideas + book merch I loveWhere to sell your book merch When you’re finished reading, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to start selling your own book merch. Book merchandise ideas The first thing most authors think of is custom bookmarks. This is a great start, but there are many other types of merch you can create: 1. Buttons/pins Buttons are a great way for your fans to display their love of your…

27Aug 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

Diversifying Your Income Part Two: Patreon for Fiction Authors

Marketing

In my last article, I shared the benefits of building multiple income streams, as well as some ideas for how to do it. Now I’m going to share one of the best ways to diversify your income: content subscriptions. Specifically, I’m going to take a look at Patreon for fiction authors, as well as some alternative ways to create content subscriptions. This guide will explore: What Patreon isPotential rewards you can offer as an authorHow to set up your Patreon pageTips for marketing your PatreonExamples of author Patreons By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be ready to start planning a content subscription of your own. What is Patreon? Patreon is a site that makes it easy to set up a paid content subscription. Over 200,000 creators use Patreon to…

20Aug 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

Announcing the Author Success Club

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Today marks the launch of my newest endeavor to help authors build successful long-term careers: the Author Success Club. The Author Success Club is a premium membership club hosted on Ko-fi. Every month, the Author Success Club provide new resources to help members improve one of the following areas of their careers: Marketing - Most resources will focus on digital marketing since that’s what my expertise is in, but there will also be resources to help you sell books at in-person events.Health - This might not seem career related, but when your health falls apart, so does everything else. The Author Success Club will share resources on how to make self care part of your routine in order to maintain the health of your brain and body.Writing craft - All…

10Aug 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

Diversify Your Income Part One: Explore Your Options

Marketing

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to explore how to diversify your income and future-proof your creative career. But first, why is this so important? I've attended a lot of writing groups in my life. In one session, I remember a guest author saying that she didn't know a single author who made a living solely off of their books. At the time, I was determined to be the exception. Sometimes I still daydream about living entirely off of book sales. But book sales are incredibly fickle. They can change wildly from one month to the next, and sometimes books fall out of favor entirely. Most authors don't make a living from book sales alone until they've got a backlist with five, ten, twenty books. Even then, sales can dry…

26Jul 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

Experts Speak: Tips to Tame Your Newsletter with Mary Kit Caelsto

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When it comes to marketing, nothing beats a newsletter. Sure, it sounds old school, and when you think about your own overflowing inbox, possibly a bit hard to believe that people use them to sell books. And yet, the direct connection with your readers puts your books in front of them and cultivates a relationship that you just don’t get through Amazon or other vendors. But newsletters also come with so many questions. What do you write in them?How often do you send them?What’s the best way to get subscribers?Why do I have to give Mailchimp (or any other newsletter provider) my address? I'll answer each of these questions today, giving you the tools you need to start growing your email list. Why do I have to give my newsletter…

10Jul 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

How to Use Twitter Chats for Writers as Networking Tools

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One of the most important things you can do for your author career is to connect with other writers, especially writers in your genre. Writer friends can help you keep perspective when publishing gets tough and celebrate when things are going well. Authors in your genre are also great people to run cross-promotions with. And you can connect with them by learning how to use Twitter chats for writers. In this article, I'll explore: What Twitter chats areCurrent Twitter chats for writers, with a focus on chats for fiction writers7 ways to get the most out of Twitter chats And soon enough, you'll be meeting new writer friends through Twitter chats! What are Twitter chats? Twitter chats are recurring events where people gather on Twitter at a specific time to…

24Jun 2021 by Sophia Beaumont No Comments

Editors Talk: How to Self-Evaluate Your Story Structure

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Editors Talk: How to Self-Evaluate Your Story Structure - July 3, 2021 at 5PM EST What do editors look for? How can you make sure your story is in the best shape possible before submitting to a publisher, magazine, contest, or other venue? This panel of editors and authors will share how to evaluate and refine your story structure before sending your work to an editor. They’ll also share some of the most common structure mistakes they see. Moderated by Nicole ZelnikerFeaturing: Emelyne Museaux, Hannah Van Vels, Jeni Chappelle, Crystal L. Kirkham, Stephi Cham Sign up here or check out the full event schedule! Nicole Zelniker is an author and a producer at The Nasiona. She graduated from the Columbia Journalism School in 2018. In 2015, Nicole worked with Triad City Beat as their investigative intern. She is the former editor-in-chief (2016-2017)…

22Jun 2021 by Sophia Beaumont No Comments

How to Plot a Series

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How to Plot a Series July 3, 2021 at 3:30PM EST Learn from four series-writing veterans as they discuss how to write long-form book series. They'll explore all kinds of series, from duologies to series with 4+ books, addressing the challenges of juggling plot, subplots, a growing cast of characters, all while keeping each individual book compelling for the reader. Moderated by Dianna Gunn Featuring: Dan Fitzgerald, Mary Kit Caelsto, Sagan Morrow, Samantha Kroese Sign up today or check out the full schedule! Dianna Gunn is a freelance SEO writer, digital marketing consultant, indie author, podcast producer, and about 18 other things. Her dark fantasy novel, Moonshadow’s Guardian, is available through her Ko-fi store and all major ebook retailers. When she isn’t working on her own books, Gunn helps other indie authors navigate the complex world of…

21Jun 2021 by businessforauthors_scaf56 No Comments

How to Host a Virtual Book Launch Party

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As COVID-19 vaccination numbers rise in some parts of the world, in-person events are slowly becoming a reality again. Depending on where you live, you might even be planning an in-person book launch party this fall. However, there are still several reasons to learn how to host a virtual book launch party: People from all over the world can attend your eventYour event is more accessible to many disabled peopleLess preparation is required; you don't have to secure a space or organize snacksYou can run the event from the comfort of your own homeThese events are generally free to host All in all, a virtual launch party is a great way to celebrate a book release, and can even serve as a companion event to an in-person release party. In…

16Jun 2021 by Jade No Comments

Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Alternative Story Structures

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Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Alternative Story Structures - July 3, 2021 at 2PM EST The Heroic Quest or Hero’s Journey -- also known as the Archplot or Three Act method -- is foundational to fiction writing, yet only scratches the surface of story structure tools! While the traditional model is classic for many reasons, not all stories are best told through this structure. Alternative structures can offer options to writers feeling limited by the constraints of the Hero's Arc or struggling to organize story flow.How scenes are organized and which arcs are highlighted focuses attention and pulls readers through the narrative, directing the story's impact. Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Alternative Story Structures will discuss how story structure works with plot to shape a story’s energy. Discover how using alternative story…