Master category for maintenance and site posts.
Jamie Ferguson interviewed me this week about The Indie Author Survival Guide, long-term career thinking, systems, sustainability, discoverability, and why modern indie publishing increasingly rewards adaptability over certainty.
Talking Shop with Blackbird Publishing Read More »
Daily sales are sinking. Organic reach has collapsed. AI-generated sludge is flooding storefronts while retailers tighten their grip on discoverability. Indie authors are being told to do more of everything — more books, more ads, more social media, more platforms — while the systems underneath us become increasingly unstable and hostile.
The Solar Sail Theory of Indie Publishing offers a different approach.
Instead of chasing endless “rocket launch” marketing spikes, authors can build long-term momentum by expanding their discoverable surface area across the internet and in real life, then channeling that attention into owned reader relationships through websites, email lists, and direct sales.
A solar sail doesn’t move through explosive force. It moves by capturing thousands of tiny forces over time.
So can an indie author career.
The Solar Sail Theory of Indie Publishing Read More »
Why It Matters and How You Can Help For over two decades, Writers’ Digest has celebrated the best resources available to writers with its 101 Best Websites for Writers award. This annual list highlights exceptional websites that support writers on their creative journey, whether they’re looking to improve their craft, market their work, or navigate
Writers’ Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers Read More »
Way back in February 2018, when this site was so new it still smelled of fresh paint, I wrote a post, “What to do when life tries to derail your plans“, which included lots of advice on hanging tough. But sometimes, hanging tough isn’t the smart thing to do. I’m currently in the middle of
Life has derailed me. (Just a bit) Read More »
Squeezing Reading Into Your Life And why you should try. All authors are told to read more. We’re told that frequently. Most of us came to writing because of a love of reading, so reading a lot was never the issue. As soon as the ambition to write fiction is born, and we start to
Squeezing Reading Into Your Life Read More »
I joined the Internet in 1994, only two years after it was opened to the public. One of the people I met online at that time was a (then) romance writer, Diana Stout. We have remained in contact ever since. Diana recently released a book: Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot: Discovering Your Why,
Tap Into Your Creative Core, with Dr. Diana Stout Read More »
Very rarely do I need to calculate the number of pages in an eBook. Most of the time, indie authors only care about the size of the file, and the number of words in the story itself (sans front and back matter). Besides, calculating pages in an eBook is an exercise in frustration; depending on
How To Calculate Pages in an Ebook Read More »
The interview I did with Joanna Penn is now live on The Creative Penn.
The Creative Penn podcast now live. Read More »
I recently completed an interview with Joanna Penn, for her Creative Penn podcast. At the time, we thought it would go live in November. This morning, I learned that the episode will go live this Monday, October 30th. I’ll be talking about The Productive Indie Fiction Writer book, and a lot of other things, too
Upcoming Appearance on The Creative Penn Read More »
Have you ever noticed that as soon as you determine that, yes, you are going to commit to completing whatever big or small project is in front of you, it is as if the world heard you, rubbed its hands in glee, and threw all sorts of roadblocks up to test if you’re really sincere
