One Honest Indie

“Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself.” ― Seth Godin, Poke the Box

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • What is Dystonia?
  • My Novels and Short Fiction
    • The Sam McRae Mystery Series
      • Identity Crisis
      • Least Wanted
      • Riptide
      • Deep Six
      • Law Can Be Murder
    • The Erica Jensen Mysteries
    • My Other Novels
      • Invisible Me
      • The Planck Factor
    • Short Stories
  • For Writers
    • Indie Publishing
    • Blogging
    • Screenwriting
    • Writing Advice
    • Marketing
  • Podcasting
  • Hang Onto Your Work-Life
    • Frugal Living
    • Health and Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Organizing
    • Photography
    • Travel
  • Online Courses
    • Learning for Life
  • Book Reviews
  • Food for Thought
    • Bits and Bobs
  • Videography
    • My Videos
  • Contact Me

Three Ways I Failed as an Author

01/30/2018 by Debbi

Tweet
Share
Pin
Photo by Myles Tan on Unsplash

The biggest ways I failed as an author trying to make a living from my writing was to depend solely on algorithms and price points to succeed. Not that these things aren’t important, but they have to be balanced with other ways of reaching one’s readership and connecting with them.

My first mistake was not to build a mailing list and send out a regular newsletter. When you develop a mailing list, it is something that you yourself have control over. Depending on how you communicate with your readers, it can be one of your most effective tools for staying in touch with them. It gives you a way of actually connecting with other people who enjoy your work and should be excited when you tell them about your next release or other book-related news.

My second mistake was the way that I was blogging. I failed to provide content for readers. My author blog initially focused on my life as a writer, which was fine for connecting with other writers. And there’s nothing wrong with that either. But unless you provide content that interests readers, why would they want to read your blog?

Finally, I didn’t focus on a particular niche. Finding your niche (and narrowing it down as much as possible) will appeal to your most devoted readership. You can’t be all things to all people. That’s a losing proposition.

In my next post, I’ll go over a list of do’s and don’ts for the mindful author.

PS: If you’re interested in getting to know my work, I’m re-launching the Sam McRae mystery series starting with Book 1, Identity Crisis. Click here for a free copy!

A new, but similar cover is in the works! 🙂

 

Tweet
Share
Pin

Filed Under: For Writers Tagged With: Amwriting, Blogging, Branding, Indie Authors, Mailing Lists, Marketing, Platform, Readership, Writing Tips

Meet Debbi

Welcome to my writers' corner of the Internet. I'm a novelist, who also writes short stories and screenplays. I hope to share the benefit of my experiences as an indie author with dystonia since 2009. I also post a lot of book reviews, because I love to read and learn new things. I hope to share that knowledge with you.

Click on the cover for a free copy!

Beginner’s Guide to Mystery Writing

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow

Categories

  • Accountability
  • Accountability
  • Announcement
  • Bits and Bobs
  • Blogging
  • Book Reviews
  • Commentary
  • Creative Entrepreneurship
  • Curated Links
  • Film Review
  • Food for Thought
  • For Writers
  • Frugal Living
  • Fundraising
  • Hang Onto Your Work-Life
  • Health and Wellness
  • Indie Author Guide
  • Indie Publishing
  • Law for Writers
  • Learning for Life
  • Life Update
  • Marketing
  • Memoirs
  • My Story
  • My Videos
  • Online Courses
  • Online Marketing
  • Organizing
  • Photography
  • Podcasting
  • Poetry
  • Print Publishing
  • Producing
  • Random Thoughts
  • Recipes
  • Screenwriting
  • Serialized content
  • Social Media
  • Summaries
  • Tech Talk
  • Towel Day
  • Travel
  • Videography
  • Vlog
  • Writing Advice

Tags

Amwriting Authorpreneurs Blogging Book Publishing Book Review Book Reviews BookTube Branding Business Content Marketing Crime Fiction Dystonia Entrepreneurship Fiction Filmmaking Health History How-To Indie Authors Indie Publishing Marketing Memoirs Mindfulness Nonfiction Online Marketing Organizing Productivity Productivity Random Crap Random Thoughts Recommended Reading Self-Care Self-Publishing Self-Publishing Guide Seth Godin Social Media Travel Video Videos Vlog Wellness Work-Life Balance Writing Writing Tips YouTube

Grow Your Readership with BookSweeps

Support Indie Bookstores

indiebound

Recent Posts

  • Things I Find on the Internet
  • My Book Review of ‘Organized Enough’
  • Quiet on the Set!
  • You Can Write Anywhere
  • You Don’t Need a Computer to Write

Recommended Web Services

Build Your Website with Namecheap - Get Privacy Protection Free Forever

Web Hosting

Monthly Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in