The Indie Author's Portfolio

It might be asked, "What does a successful indie author look like?" That is to say, what should our expectations be for what constitutes success as an author in this digital age?

Different authors might, of course, have different expectations for what their personal definition of "success" should look like. There are of course those who will claim they are purists and that they "really don't care" whether anyone reads their writing or not. While there may certainly be a few who truly subscribe to this belief, they are part of an exceedingly fringe minority. If a writer truly didn't care if anyone read their work or not - then why publish at all? At a minimum, we publish because, as artists, we would like to see our work appreciated by as wide of an audience as possible. And while we're at it, it wouldn't hurt if we were somehow indemnified for our effort.

On the other extreme are those authors who dream of writing an international best-seller: a book that sells millions of copies and eventually is made into a movie or television series. Certainly, a lofty goal to aspire to. But this is not a realistic expectation for most of us. Very few athletes become professionals at the national level. Very few aspiring actors become Hollywood stars. And very few writers write a single book that generates millions in sales.

So what does a "successful" indie author look like? Whether we are writing as a hobby, or hoping to find an additional source of income, or even if we hope to make a living from writing novels, there are a few things that every indie author should know and understand.

The "average" printed book on the market today, by all accounts, will sell fewer than 250 copies over the lifetime of that book.[1][2] Many print-on-demand books sell far less.[3] Examples of "failure" therefore litter the marketplace. This does not mean that indie authors should lose hope. There are indie authors who actually make a living as writers, and their example should inform our expectations for what "success" in today's market should look like.

The first reality is that even the successful indie authors - those who actually make a living or substantial portion of their livelihood from writing - do not rely on a single book from which to earn their income. It is unrealistic to expect to be the next Harper Lee. For most of us, one novel will not be enough. Those authors who stay in the business rely on having a portfolio of multiple titles.

Those indie authors who have "gone pro" (and expect to make a living at writing), will typically have a roster of fifteen to thirty titles, which collectively generate sales and income. This is why a book series becomes so essential to the success of today's indie authors. By itself, each "successful" title might generate hundreds of sales per month. Collectively, however, they can generate thousands, even tens of thousands.

For the new indie author, this becomes a vital reality. Much like the writing process, success as an author is a marathon effort - not a sprint.

Even for those of us who have no expectation of ever giving up our day job, we need to be thinking about the long term. About connecting with our readers. And generating a following. We need to be writing multiple books or a series of books which attract readers who will come back for more. Expecting to be "discovered" after publishing one title just isn't realistic.

Success as an indie author does happen. Understanding that it does not come from having published a single book is part of the road to that success.


References:

[1] Gallagher, BJ. “The Ten Awful Truths -- and the Ten Wonderful Truths -- About Book Publishing.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/book-publishing_b_1394159.
[2] Strauss, Victoria. “Self-Publishing.” SFWA, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, 8 Apr. 2019, https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/pod/.
[3] “Print-on-Demand Self-Publishing Statistics.” SFWA, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, http://www.sfwa.org/print-on-demand/.

Maintaining Momentum

With demands from school, and applications for college to complete, my beta-reader's time has become more scarce these past few weeks.

To maintain momentum, I have therefore returned to the beginning of Book 2 of the Stormfall Chronicles for another round of proof-reading and edits. As of now, I have completed the seventh round of edits on Chapters 1 through 3. Most of the changes that I am making at this point have been to fine-tune the prose: eliminating unnecessary words, replacing some word choices here and there, or adding a sentence or two where appropriate. Many pages have required no editing - so the text was already very close to its final form.

I've also been gradually adding to the first draft of Chapter 1 for Book 3.

Status Update - Book 2 - Cover Art Complete - Second Beta-Read Drawing to a Close

This past week, I incorporated the second round of beta-reader edits into Chapter 7 - leaving only Chapter 8 still to go through the final edit process. It's taking longer than I would have liked it, now that my daughters' school year is back in full swing, but we're almost done.

For those who haven't worked with a beta-reviewer before, I thought I'd describe a little of the feedback that I, as an author, look forward to receiving.

The beta-reader process is not really about identifying spelling or punctuation errors - although that can happen too. It's more about getting a different perspective on things, from a reader who's willing to be candid and critical where need be. This means identifying scenes which need to be re-written, paragraphs which needed to be combined, word choices or descriptions which missed the desired effect, and so forth.

I also look forward, of course, to the occasional word of encouragement for scenes which had the desired effect. I will share a few of those from my latest novel here:

"I love every scene about Elise. And scenes between Sybille and Elise are nice."

"I like this comparison/description."

"I like how this little detail says a lot to the readers because they know the reasons and feelings behind it. This is a great example of saying only a little (in terms of word count) to actually say quite a lot, specifically to reveal how a character is feeling."

"I liked that scene a lot."

"The descriptions in this part were really nice and added to the tone/mood of the scene."

And of course, no beta-review of Book 2 would be complete without at least one tongue-in-cheek reference to one of their favorite characters from Book 1:

"Needs more Barg."

Status Update - Book 2 - Cover Art Complete

The cover for the second book in the Stormfall Chronicles is now complete. I'm still holding off until the blurb has been thoroughly polished and through the beta-reader process before I have the cover reveal, however.

For those who didn't already know, my cover designs are done by my middle daughter, using her sisters as models and adjusting or combining scene elements as needed. I usually sketch out the concept for what I'm looking for in the cover art, but it's my middle daughter who executes it.

First Scene for Book 3 Written

Today I celebrated a writing milestone of a different sort.

While waiting for my second round of beta-reading edits for Book 2 to be submitted, I completed writing the first scene for Book 3. Can hardly wait for Book 2 to be released so I can begin focusing on the next book in the series.

New Banner Design

As I approach the launch of the second book in the Stormfall Chronicles, I've also been working up my marketing campaign for this next novel. The first part of that campaign - is actually to attract more readers to Book 1.

I therefore decided as part of this effort, that it was time to update my banner design for both my Blog and my Facebook page. It will be nice to see Book 1 in the banner for a little while - at least until Book 2 is rolled out for Pre-Order later this month.

Status Update - Book 2 - Beta Reader Edits Through Chapter 6

As some of my regular followers are aware, my daughters have been the beta-readers for my novels - with my middle daughter being my first beta reader and my oldest daughter serving as my second. With the start of her senior year in high school, and college entrance essays to write, my oldest daughter's attention has, of necessity, been divided between multiple demands. The entire process takes time to get it right.

I have, however, completed the updates recommended by my oldest daughter for Chapters 5 and 6. She is now immersed in Chapter 7 - the longest chapter in the second book. We're all looking forward to its release in the coming weeks.