Something about forward planning…and an off-site.

I took the executives of my publishing empire on an offsite last weekend.

Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration- it’s not a publishing empire just yet and my business partner and creative director (Kali the wonder spaniel) had to hold the fort in the office at home- although I suspect she managed to sneak out for some downtime of her own.

In fact, it’s probably more accurate to say that I had a business meeting with my marketing consultant at a location that wasn’t my home. We discussed future proofing, go forward strategies, and I came away with a list of action items.

The thing is, unless you really are doing everything yourself (and seriously, you should at least invest in a good editor), there’s no such thing as self-publishing. Independent, or indie publishing, is really a team effort.

In that team will probably be an editor, a cover designer, someone to do your file conversions, and a marketing consultant- just like there would be in a traditional publishing environment. You see, as blunt as this sounds, unless you’re writing for the sheer pleasure of it, publishing is a business- and needs to be treated as such.

Aside from making money, one of the more difficult parts of this business is finding people that you can work easily with- and who get what you’re trying to say, the stories you’re telling, and the goals you’re setting. The best part is, when you’re an indie- although you’re wholly responsible for your end product- you get to pick the people you want to work with. As such, it’s important that the people you choose are those whose opinions and work you respect- and that means following through on the actions you’ve committed to. After all, if you don’t, yours is the only money you’re wasting, and yours are the only results you’re risking.

One the actions I took was to develop a dedicated author page- a website with a proper landing page, where my books are front and centre, and where posts relate only to my books, my writing and other peoples books and writing.

So, being the diligent executive that I am, I spent most of Sunday developing one. You’ll find it here. I still have more to do- namely find a pop up to my mailchimp mailing list that doesn’t annoy the living daylights out of me and, I’m sure, anyone else who ventures across here. Having said that, I’m pretty chuffed with my efforts.

What does this change mean for and anyways? Essentially, if you want to keep up with my writing and book stuff, I’ll look forward to seeing you (virtually speaking) over at joannetracey.com. Other than that? Well, it’s business as usual here.

Who else is on my team? I’m glad you asked…

Nicola O’ Shea: Editor, Ebookedit

Keith Stevenson: File Conversion, Ebookedit

Cover Design: Jacinda May

Marketing and Social Media Strategy: Mel Kettle Consulting

Creative Snoring and General Inspiration: Kali the Wonder Spaniel