It’s already 2017. I didn’t do a “yearly wrapup” for 2016 like I do sometimes. The last month of 2016 flew by and I still feel overwhelmed with projects. I felt like 2016 was a lot of waiting and working, without seeing major results. My income went way down, as I spent most of the year The 3 secrets to book...
I just learned something new from Ryan Deiss and I’m putting it here in case I forget it. It’s a simple rule to online business that rings true for me. “You don’t have a traffic problem.” What you really have is a problem with motivation and conversion. If you knew that you’d get $10 per visitor The 3...
This is a follow up post to an article I just wrote about hiring a VA or getting and author assistant. Getting a job as a virtual assistant seems like an easy, low level thing: you can do basic internet stuff, you can write well, some people are making money but are too busy, why The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour...
I see a lot of inexperienced authors saying things like, “If that crappy book can sell a million copies, mine will do way better.” This post will break down all the errors in that statement. First, it’s good to know your competition. But you also need to respect it. Authors who make statements like that often haven’t...
UPDATE: I made a video talking about this stuff but it’s down at the bottom of this post. Scroll down to see it. I’ve been self-publishing for about a decade, and have sold about 50,000 books. I haven’t made a living (yet), and like most self-publishing gurus and experts, I make my living in services The 3 secrets to book...
One of the things authors always ask is “How can I find more time for my writing?” But what they mean is, “How can I just write all the time, write what I want, and not do any marketing?” The question usually comes up from either a long-term inability to finish their book; insecurity about The 3 secrets to book...
Since finishing my PhD in literature, my wife and I are truly location independent and write full-time. One of the biggest productivity hacks I’ve found is to put myself in beautiful and inspiring environments (that are mostly distraction free). While some argue they can “write from anywhere” – I’m a firm...
This week a bunch of projects came together quickly, including this one, which I started last November. I had the story, courtesy of Suzanne Gochenouer and the art is by Donovan Scherer It took a few hours to format, then design the book covers, and then upload to Amazon. 24 hours later it’s published. I really think this The 3 secrets...
For awhile I’ve been feeling really bad about procrastinating and wasting time. It makes me feel guilty. And you have no idea – I’ll watch TV and movies for 16 straight hours to procrastinate from doing any work. I feel almost OCD about it. The reluctance I have towards something I know I have to The 3 secrets to book...
Update: these goals I set were a bit big… I’ll go permafree later but haven’t yet because I’m using KDP/KU, so I may not hit the big numbers this year. Still, my books are doing well. I’m going to stop everything for several months to focus on finishing my PHD, so some of these goals The 3 secrets to book...
Last year I started on online controversy with an article suggesting that indie authors shouldn’t pay for editing. What I mean in the post, which you should read (the comments too!), is that paying a lot of money to get a book edited may not be a smart business decision if your book isn’t going to The 3 secrets to book marketing...
I can always tell when I’m speaking to a life coach. They ask a lot of questions. They are very focused on what I’m actually saying, and what’s behind what I’m saying. They are looking for negative thought patterns, unrealistic expectations, too much energy or worry being focused on the wrong projects… so that they...
