Master category for maintenance and site posts.
Indie publishing has changed dramatically—and the strategies that once worked reliably are no longer enough. The Indie Author Survival Guide is out now, with a practical look at what changed, what authors can still control, and how to build a writing career sturdy enough to survive whatever the industry throws at us next.
The Indie Author Survival Guide Is Here Read More »
What if the definition of an indie author hasn’t kept pace with the publishing industry? The principles that built the indie revolution still matter—but the world around them has changed dramatically. It’s time to rethink what independence really means in today’s publishing landscape.
The New Indie Author Read More »
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 »
