Other Stuff

Adding a custom author box, using a photo or your gravatar, at the bottom of your wordpress posts should be a snap. Links to your social profiles, a short bio, a picture, a reminder to subscribe: these are very basic and powerful features that you should be using on the bottom of every post to turn readers into fans. But …

  Recently some authors I’m working with needed a fantasy map to put in the beginning of their book, Legend of the Chosen. Sometimes it’s helpful to put a map in the beginning of your book, so that readers can have an idea of where everything is. But how do you make one? It’s not as easy as it may …

Like many self publishing authors, when I was getting my first book ready to birth into the world, I realized that I had no platform, no support and very little marketing ability. How could I get people to find my book, like it and buy it? What tools could I use to self-publish – should I use Lulu, Createspace, Lightning …

I like Jeff Goins. Although he only came into my radar recently and I don’t know much about him, he makes me feel like I’m taking a calm stroll through the woods, next to a stream. I can hear acoustic guitar playing in the background. Unlike bloggers who stand out for being edgy, tough, or hard-core, Jeff is nice; an …

I’m thrilled to see a new book out by Chris Guillebeau called “The $100 Dollar Startup.” I’ve followed Chris with a lot of interest, being a fellow globe-trotting Portlander, and have enjoyed many of his books and products. This one in particular looks like it will focus on precisely the topics that I’m developing Creativindie around: supporting yourself entirely through …

Update: this is an old post that still gets a lot of traffic, so I made a video in 2018 on some critically important pen name tips that will help you sell more books. Watch the video to learn more. For a long time I thought using an author pen name was disingenuous. Plus it gets confusing to readers if …

How to advertise your book and why you should. There’s a self-published book being advertised on Facebook called “Replenish the Earth”. The cover is ho-hum. The first time I saw it I smirked, thinking the author was throwing their money away. The 10th time I saw it, I bought the book. Why? Exposure creates interest and curiosity. Who is this …

SELL MORE BOOKS (without spam). I wrote a free book with all my best book launch and marketing tips - if your book isn't selling and you're not sure why, this will definitely boost your sales. There's even a free video series walking you through the 3 secrets, and a haunted castle tour. Totally free. Get it here.

Welcome to Creativindie, a home for indie writers, artists, and any one else committed to achieving financial freedom through creative production. I’m glad you’re here. Creativindie (pronounced like “creativity”) was designed to share the decade of knowledge I’ve gained in marketing, promotion, productivity and life improvement tips as a professional (independent) writer and artist. It’s also a place where I …

When I was a teenager, I used to argue with my mom about having a fall-back plan. “Making a plan for when you fail,” I would say, “is planning to fail. To be successful, you can’t allow failure to be a possibility.” I kept that mentality for a long time. For nearly the past decade, I’ve scraped by on as …