Creativindie Experiments in self-publishing, productivity and building a creative empire

  I see a lot of indie authors begging for reviews (and feeling stupid for it). I hate begging for stuff. I hate asking friends and families for reviews, giving out ARC copies, and then knowing specifically who should be but isn’t reviewing my books. Trust me, I’ve been there. But I stopped that nonsense years ago, after my first book. …

When I talk about what authors or artists need to do to sell their work and earn more money, a common response is “It’s not about the money for me. I’m in it for the joy of creating.” This is what I hear: “I don’t care if anyone likes my work.” A lot of creative people will say they agree …

Most authors (and lots of small business owners) spam. They kind of know they shouldn’t, but they do it anyway because they’re desperate for sales, and they might convince themselves that they’re NOT spamming, so here’s a short guide. If someone asks for your opinion or advice, or they put out a general call for advice or comments, then you’re …

A common question I see on Facebook or in writing groups from newbie authors is, “How much can I expect to earn publishing my book?” This is a pretty easy question to answer, but it might discourage you. Further, the way that some authors overcome this discouragement is fascinating – almost to the point of willful insanity. If you’re hoping …

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 is a great project though… …

About a month ago I became obsessed with making some adult coloring books. The first few are nearly done (will be one Amazon in a few days), so I can start talking about them. This one is a memorial coloring book for the 2016 presidential election.     I’m still thinking of putting it on Kickstarter, except I don’t really …

This week I wrote and published 3 adult coloring books, with several more in the works. This is one of my favorites. It’s a very different kind of adult coloring book. There are no lines. It’s more like a guided set of self-actualization exercises, which asks you to imagine and draw specific scenarios. I’m giving 5 copies away – you can …

Since I started writing fiction, I learned my design skills and art background make me really good at visualizing scenes. I even developed some mental tricks for creating powerful, resonant scenes that stick in people’s minds. I started thinking of each scene as one perfect picture, with a flash of color to draw the eye – an object representing the …

I got a negative review today. It’s not bad; actually it’s pretty good for a negative review… because it’s complaining about how I’m choosing to publish, while admitting the writing is good and she’ll probably buy the next book. Negative reviews like that are probably better than positive reviews. People don’t really trust 5 star reviews and most people will …

Yesterday I sent out an email about how I published 4 books in 3 months. I didn’t write them all in 3 months, they were all half written already and I finished them. Still, I got some skeptical comments, for example about how I skipped the editing process (oh the horror!). But I also got an email saying I was …