Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Authors are Small Business Owners

#AuthorToolboxBlogHop
Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop #AuthorToolboxBlogHop which meets every third Wednesday of the month. This is my first post in this group. Thanks to Raimey Gallant for spearheading this venture. Hop around cyberspace and pick up useful information from these helpful bloggers. The list of participants is at the bottom of the page.

Authors are Small Business Owners
Small businesses in Hebden Bridge, England
Authors are small business owners too. Did you ever look at it that way? Your book is your product. I know you didn't write a book thinking about selling it. I know the story swirled in your brain until you just had to write it down. But because you had a message or a desire to touch people's hearts, you shared it with the public. At the moment the book is published--indie or traditional--it becomes not just a heart work, but also hard work. You need to set aside the creative area of your personality in exchange for the practical reality of being a business owner. Your responsibilities include editor, publisher (indie), marketer, speaker, and bookkeeper.

I never realized there were so many "jobs" associated with being a published author until my first novella was published. The good news is there are many tools/resources to help you learn about running this small business- books and online websites, writing groups, and authors who are willing to share their experiences.
Blog series on Focused on Story
 featuring romance
and mystery authors

I hosted a blog series featuring romance and mystery authors who discussed their tips on writing, marketing, and publishing. Not only was it a wonderful opportunity to meet authors, but also a chance for writers to gain valuable information from the experienced authors. 
AUTHOR TIP: I collected the authors' blog posts into an ebook and published it on amazon. I gave a PDF copy to the contributing authors so they could use it as a giveaway/opt-in.

Today I'm sharing resources I use and websites suggested by my guest authors for use in their writing businesses. Click the highlighted resource to take you to the website.

Publishing

Marketing

Writers Groups
Insecure Writers Support Group 

Search on Facebook for Writers Groups

Do you have a favorite website for finding out information for writers? Please share in the comments section below so we can visit. Thanks.

Click here to visit the participants in the Author Toolbox Blog Hop!!

23 comments:

Raimey Gallant said...

Those look like some great resources. I know and use some of them regularly. :) I'm almost at the point where I have to start worrying about things like incorporating. Not looking forward to it, but it's gotta be done! Great post!

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

Oh, the many hats the indie author wears! Sometimes it takes a bit of juggling to get all the work done :-) Great resources -- I've added a few more to my existing ones, thanks!

Ronel visiting on Author Toolbox day How to Set Up Instagram to Grow Your Author Business

Louise said...

Welcome to the hop, and thanks for sharing this useful list :)
My current university module is covering marketing and publishing, so I have a feeling some of them will come in handy!

Meka James said...

I'm new to the hop as well. I'm just now learning to treat this as a business. It's hard word, and I've blogged about it before. Thank you for the resources.

Anonymous said...

I recently started looking at my author career as a small business. I'm in the process of opening another small business and it made me realize how I should be looking at my writing.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the list
I like Jane Friedman https://www.janefriedman.com/blog/
The book designer: https://www.thebookdesigner.com/

Erika Beebe said...

Thank you so much for the list of tips :)

J.Q. Rose said...

Thanks, Raimey. Worrying about incorporating is a good kind of worry--shows your business is growing!! Thanks for stopping in.

J.Q. Rose said...

Good Ronel. Glad you found the info helpful.

J.Q. Rose said...

Thank you, Louise. Delighted to be a participant in this hop. Sounds like an interesting class with a LOT to learn. Sounds like a great class to take.

J.Q. Rose said...

Hi Meka, you're welcome. Yes, I think authors think once the book is complete, they are done. But it's only the beginning of a lot of work!!

J.Q. Rose said...

Hi Allie, wow--you are going to be a busy gal. Best wishes for success in BOTH businesses!

J.Q. Rose said...

Hi M.L.--Thanks for leaving more resources. Joel Friedlander is associated with the book designer. He IS the book designer and I love his website. I'll check out Jane.

J.Q. Rose said...

You're welcome, Erika. Thanks for stopping in.

emaginette said...

A great collection. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Juneta key said...

Wow, lot of great resources.

Caroline Swan said...

Thanks for the resources. I just started listening to Joanna Penn and want to delve into that podcast a bit more. Thanks for extra resources!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

IWSG is my favorite site to check out and learn things. The part of the business I despise is the tax part. Yuch.
http://susangourley.blogspot.com/

Marsha said...

You always have such good things to share, JQ. I'll share this post. You did such a good job with the Tips book. I don't do the business end of the job nearly as well as I should. There's so much out there, it's a bit overwhelming. Have you or any of your friends worked with Nick Stephenson? I had a email from him that I can't find right now, but looked interesting about growing your newsletter list. Ah, well. Just keep on, keeping on. :)

Louise said...

It is, there's so much to read and do! The Creative Penn is actually on our recommended reading list :)

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