The Business Side of Indie Life

I love being an Indie Author. I really, sincerely do.

I love being able to control my own release schedule. I love not having my hands tied when it comes to how my books are marketed. I love getting to participate in awesome author events without having to worry about if my publisher will back me up.

But the straight business side of being an Indie Author can be super overwhelming. I mean, I basically went from being a storyteller to being a small business owner overnight.

The plus side is the overhead on Indie publishing is fairly low. I have to pay for covers, edits, ISBN, promo slots. I don’t have to pay for rent on an office, salary for staff, there isn’t a ton of super expensive equipment or insurance to deal with. If I had needed to purchase a building to start my Indie life, it would have been a no go.

But as things are, I can roll money into covers and newsletter placement, slowly reinvesting my income without having to stress about giant expenses.

However—and this is a huge however—the time has come for me to start working on my CPC ads. Amazon, Facebook, BookBub—I need to learn them all. And it’s a mind-numbingly huge endeavor. There are super expensive online courses you can take, but I’ve (stubbornly) chosen to go the choose your own adventure route to learning how to create ads that actually sell books.

I’ve started small with a few video courses, and a book or two. I’ve started running AMS (Amazon) ads with tiny daily budgets so I can play around.

Part of me hates it. It feels icky to smash your book into people’s feeds. But the way Amazon has shaped the market, Cost Per Click ads have become a necessity for Indie success.

So, I will learn all about ads and find a way to master them, because that’s who I am as a person.

If I find an amazing resource, I will share it with you all on this blog for the writers out there.

For the readers who are very confused as to why CPC is a make or break concept for people who write books, just know that if you see an Indie Author, treat them with kindness. Give them coffee and good reviews on their books. Because it’s not just writing stories, editing, and making friends with readers. There are algorithms involved in making a living from writing, and Indies need all the love you can give.