The Indie Author Strategy Guide: Author Level Up, #12
By M.L. Ronn
()
About this ebook
What's your author strategy?
Strategy is more than selling books. It's about the survival of your author career tomorrow, next year, 10 years from now, and beyond.
In this guide, prolific author M.L. Ronn will teach you how to cultivate the practice of long-term thinking and strategic planning. He draws on his experience of over a decade of self-publishing and extensive experience in the corporate world where strategic planning is his job.
In this guide, you'll learn:
* How to craft a winning author strategy that will make you look like an evil genius in retrospect
* How to think long-term
* What strategy is and what it isn't
* How to connect a bigger strategy to what you're doing every day to write and sell books
Few things are more important than a sound author strategy. Buy now to learn how to develop yours!
V1.0
M.L. Ronn
Science fiction and fantasy on the wild side! M.L. Ronn (Michael La Ronn) is the author of many science fiction and fantasy novels including the Modern Necromancy, The Last Dragon Lord, and Sword Bear Chronicle series. In 2012, a life-threatening illness made him realize that storytelling was his #1 passion. He’s devoted his life to writing ever since, making up whatever story makes him fall out of his chair laughing the hardest. Every day.
Read more from M.L. Ronn
Interactive Fiction Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to The Indie Author Strategy Guide
Titles in the series (21)
How to Write Your First Novel: The Stress-Free Guide to Writing Fiction for Beginners: Author Level Up, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Author Income Problem: Author Level Up, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe a Writing Machine: Author Level Up, #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reader's Bill of Rights: Author Level Up, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indie Author Bestiary: Author Level Up, #7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indie Author Atlas: Author Level Up, #8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Writing App Handbook: Author Level Up, #11 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self-Publishing Advice Compendium: Author Level Up, #9 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indie Author Strategy Guide: Author Level Up, #12 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeep Your Books Selling: Author Level Up, #16 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pocket Guide to Pantsing: Author Level Up, #13 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be a Writing Machine 2: Author Level Up, #19 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdvanced Author Editing: Author Level Up, #15 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Author Estate Handbook: Author Level Up, #17 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Dictate a Book: Author Level Up, #14 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Author Heir Handbook: Author Level Up, #18 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuthor Marketing Magic: Author Level Up, #21 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuthors, Steal This Book: Author Level Up Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Indie Author Bestiary II: Author Level Up, #20 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
The Author Life: A Collection of Essays on Craft, Marketing, and Mindset: The Author Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe a Writing Machine 2: Author Level Up, #19 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reader's Bill of Rights: Author Level Up, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indie Author Atlas: Author Level Up, #8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdvanced Author Editing: Author Level Up, #15 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Author Income Problem: Author Level Up, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeep Your Books Selling: Author Level Up, #16 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self-Publishing Advice Compendium: Author Level Up, #9 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pocket Guide to Pantsing: Author Level Up, #13 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Writing App Handbook: Author Level Up, #11 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving the Author Life: Things Thriving Authors Don’t Do: The Author Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlotting for Pantsers in 6 Easy Steps Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fiction Formula Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuthors, Steal This Book: Author Level Up Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Work with an Editor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Dictate a Book: Author Level Up, #14 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write Fiction Sales Copy: WMG Writer's Guides, #9 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/530-Day Author: Develop A Daily Writing Habit and Write Your Book In 30 Days (Or Less): Wordslinger, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pursuit of Perfection: WMG Writer's Guides, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Write a Novel in Ten Days: WMG Writer's Guides, #3 Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Writing a Novel in Seven Days: WMG Writer's Guides, #11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Fiction Secrets: How To Write And Sell Short Stories: Selling Writer Strategies, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First-Draft Novel in Thirty Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Creating Your Author Brand: WMG Writer's Guides, #15 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLessons from the Writing of the Fey: WMG Writer's Guides Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Writers' Yellow Pages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWriting a Novel in Five Days While Traveling: WMG Writer's Guides, #14 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook For Fiction Writers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Composition & Creative Writing For You
Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letters to a Young Poet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Style: The Original Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zen in the Art of Writing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lincoln Lawyer: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Writer's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emotion Thesaurus (Second Edition): A Writer's Guide to Character Expression Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Writing Series You'll Ever Need - Grant Writing: A Complete Resource for Proposal Writers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letters to a Young Poet (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Economical Writing, Third Edition: Thirty-Five Rules for Clear and Persuasive Prose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write Your First Novel: The Stress-Free Guide to Writing Fiction for Beginners: Author Level Up, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Writing Poetry Book: A Practical Guide To Style, Structure, Form, And Expression Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5THE EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Indie Author Strategy Guide
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Indie Author Strategy Guide - M.L. Ronn
THE INDIE AUTHOR STRATEGY GUIDE
CRAFT A WINNING LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR YOUR AUTHOR BUSINESS
M.L. RONN
Copyright 2021 © M.L. Ronn. All rights reserved.
Published by Author Level Up LLC.
Version 3.0
Cover Design by Pixelstudio.
Covert Art © awesomedwarf / Depositphotos.
Editing by BZ Hercules.
Special thank you to the following people on Patreon who supported this book: Zhade Barnet, Stephen Frans, Michael Guishard, Jon Howard, Beth Jackson, Megan Mong, Lynda Washington, and Etta Welk.
Some links in this book contain affiliate links. If you purchase books and services through these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. You are under no obligation to use these links, but thank you if you do!
For more helpful writing tips and advice, subscribe to the Author Level Up YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/authorlevelup.
CONTENTS
Introduction
The Foundation of Your Strategy
Your Why
Who Do You Serve?
Your Mission and Vision Statements
Crafting Your Strategic and Tactical Priorities
Determining Your Key Performance Indicators
How to Be Efficient and Effective
How to Cultivate Long-Term Thinking
Contingency Planning
Branding and Messaging
Parting Words
Read Next: The Pocket Guide to Pantsing
Meet M.L. Ronn
More Books by M.L. Ronn
INTRODUCTION
This book is a guide on how to think about your author strategy. It won’t tell you what your strategy should be. Instead, it will help you craft your strategy on your terms.
If you're looking for the silver bullet
or the lazy person's guide
to author success, do me a favor and put this book down. I wrote this to help people think long term, not get rich quickly. If you think that writing will make you insanely rich overnight or that you can find a paint-by-numbers answer to all your problems in the pages of a book, then you're going to be sorely disappointed.
If you're still reading, let's talk about a topic that I find endlessly fun and fascinating.
YOUR STRATEGY: AN ANALOGY
There is no such thing as a done-for-you author strategy. There is plenty of content online about how to build a business, but I've found that most of it doesn't quite fit the author business model.
Go to any entrepreneur blog, website, podcast, or YouTube channel. You'll undoubtedly hear things like You've got to find a market need
or You've got to understand your target audience
or You've got to do a minimum viable product and grow from there.
Okay…but how does that apply to fiction writing? Nonfiction writing? The advice sounds great, but when you apply it, it doesn't make practical sense. The result is that authors find themselves surfing all over the web trying to get help on creating a winning strategy, often with varying results. I was one of those authors.
The author business model is unique. Entrepreneurs build products that fill a market need. Authors turn their imagination into profit. There's a huge difference. The author's imagination is the best part of the business model, but traditional business models don't know how to treat it. How does one account for fun
and imagination
in the world of business? It's next to impossible, which is why so much traditional business strategy is lousy for authors.
The best way I've learned to think about strategy is to think about it like cooking.
Here's what you need to cook a good meal:
Ingredients
Proper cooking technique
Intuition
Without the proper ingredients, you can't cook at all. Sometimes, you don't have all the ingredients you need, so you have to improvise.
Without the proper cooking technique, you'll undercook, overcook, under season, or over season your food, and that won't do. The tools and equipment aren't that important—a skillet is a skillet is a skillet regardless of how much it costs. A chef can make a better meal with old cookware than a nonskilled cook with ultramodern, expensive cookware. Skill is everything.
Without intuition, you won't know what your dish needs. Sure, you might have a recipe, but a recipe isn't heart and soul. A recipe might call for a certain amount of turmeric, but upon tasting it, you'll sense that it needs more. Or you may add another spice that the recipe didn't call for because your tastebuds tell you to do it.
You’ll create an amazing dish, mix amazing ingredients, cook them just right, and use your intuition to tell you what the food needs. And, of course, it'll taste good.
Strategy is no different.
You need the right strategic ingredients.
You need proper execution of those ingredients.
You need strong intuition to tell you where to go, what to look for, and how to adjust your strategy accordingly.
It's that simple, and that hard.
If you know how to cook, then you already know everything you need to craft a clear and compelling author strategy. Follow the exercises in this book, season to taste, and you'll be surprised at what you can do.
WHY I'M QUALIFIED TO WRITE THIS BOOK
In my real world
career in insurance, I am currently an executive at a global insurance company. My job is to set a strategy for my department and execute it. My job performance is based on how well I do. It's high pressure, high risk, and high reward. The possibility of failure is ever-present. The truth is that every plan