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

For the past few months, this site (which gets around 1500 visitors a day) has been averaging 10 optins a day for my “Guerrilla Publishing” free book offer. That’s mostly from an optin form on the sidebar, and a few content upgrades on relevant blog posts. But since I’m getting ready to rewrite my autoresponder series and launch an evergreen …

Most of my author friends have spent the last 2 months freaking out about GDPR. I haven’t commented, because I’m not an expert and I’m not personally concerned. But since I encourage book giveaways to help authors build email lists of targeted readers, a lot of people have been asking specifically whether or not giveaways are still a good idea …

Tonight I made an hour long video, under the alleged topic “how much does publishing really cost” – however, the main focus of the video turned into a rant about certain publishing gurus or writing coaches who charge an extraordinary amount of money to help you write and publish your book. My own opinions are confused because, while I have …

This post has taken me six years to write. If I sound defensive, it’s because people keep calling me names. I get attacked because I write books that sell, and I do it on purpose. Writing is one of the only professions where people think if you consistently produce high quality work that readers love – and make a living from …

I’m sharing this because I enjoy it: the struggle of putting down feelings into words. Hugo von Hofmannsthal The Letter of Lord Chandos THIS is the letter Philip, Lord Chandos, younger son of the Earl of Bath, wrote to Francis Bacon, later Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, apologizing for his complete abandonment of literary ac­tivity.     For it is, …

I was taking a look on my blog for early posts and discovered I have HUNDREDS of saved drafts for post ideas I began but never finished… I started this blog in 2011 and didn’t actively start using it until 2014 – what’s interesting is that my focus and ideas haven’t changed much, but I was surprised to have 90% …

I’m editing a non-fiction book today and making notes on what went wrong. Unfortunately, some of the things missing are things I also don’t do in my own non-fiction books, so here’s a short list. #1 – make it a community effort The easy way to publish a bestseller is to include stories by other people. The more people you …

I didn’t start speaking until I was ready for full sentences. I don’t like making mistakes and hate being laughed at. Like most people, when I got into art or writing, I wanted my work to be “finished” before sharing it. Even though I’ve learned to share work earlier to get feedback before committing to something, I still feel like most …

Picture it like this: you’re a poor orphan on a ship with a spoiled princess. Lightning strikes, the ship is going down. You spot another ship not far away. You have to convince the princess to trust you and jump together off the boat. YOU know this is the only way to save her, but she’s not convinced. That’s email …

From page 7, to page 3 in one hour… When I review other authors books on Amazon, I usually point out they need more keywords in their description, title, and even author bio. Why?  Because Amazon is a search engine. If you don’t have any WORDS in your description letting Amazon know what kind of book it is, it won’t …