My “how-to” guide of being an indie author

I am creating this blog post in hopes of helping out new authors and perhaps even veteran authors if they haven’t dabbled too much in social media. I’ve made similar posts in the past, but this one is brand new and I’ll try to make it more step-by-step.

Create an author page

The first thing you’re going to want to do if you get into the business of being an indie author is to create an author page. This is very easy to do and you can find more instructions on creating a page HERE.

Invite other authors and readers to like your page

The first piece of advice I can give you –and it’s seriously heartfelt, I swear— please do not friend authors just to post this note to their wall: Hey! Come like my page please!  That will seriously ruin the moment. If you’re going to friend authors, be kind and courteous. Say hello. Ask how they are. Get to know them. Don’t bombard them with a request to like your page because some of them really don’t like that and feel a little used when it happens. Instead, find book blog pages and ask them to share your author link. I also recommend including what genre you write and if you have any books available.

Get people involved

I’m going back to the page thing here and messaging book blogs. A lot of book blogs will make posts asking for new-to-me authors. This is a great opportunity. Jump on it! Just leave a comment with your page link and what genre you write. The readers will find you. Also be sure to message another blog or two with your author page and kindly ask them to share it for you. Please and thank you go a long way in this business.

So you need to know how to create an event?

Here is another helpful link to check out. Once you’ve created your event, don’t be afraid to invite reader friends. If you’re too shy, bring on another host, someone you trust, and let them invite people. Friends will invite friends and it’ll go from there.

You’re ready to publish your book, or you already have. Now what?

Some authors say writing the book is the hardest part, or maybe it’s the editing, but to me the hardest part is promoting it. It can be difficult to get your book noticed, but please remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t expect the book sales to roll in over night. You’ll have to work for it. Message blogs (remember please and thank you) and give them your links with a teaser. My best advice is to have a C&P document pulled up so you can grab the links and share them when you need to. It’s SO MUCH easier. I promise.

If you need images for teasers, I recommend www.dollarphotoclub.com. It’s my favorite.

You want a street team, huh?

Street teams are amazing and so wonderful in my opinion.  They aren’t all nightmares. I love my girls.  If you want to make a street team then please have a look at this link.  There are many, many helpful links. Consult Google.  He is your best friend. Promise.

You’re interested in doing a takeover? Okay.

There are a lot of book blogs that offer for authors to do takeovers on their pages. You can message blogs and ask them if they do takeovers in which case this is what happens:

A date is scheduled in which you will go on their blog, maybe an hour, maybe an entire day, as an admin which means you can post under their blog name. This is great opportunity to tell people about you and what you write. Post your book links, teasers, and talk about YOU. Readers love getting to know authors. Play games with them, give away some prizes (ebooks, bookmarks, gift cards, etc). If you’re anything like me, money doesn’t grow on trees. It’s hard to offer a lot of things other than ebook copies most of the time. I would seriously suggest considering a mobi or epub file of your books to send directly to their kindle.

Learn how to create mobi or epub files HERE, and learn how to send directly to kindles HERE.

I sincerely hope I’ve helped a little, and if I missed anything please feel free to leave input in the comments.

Good luck, authors. Happy writing. xx