Self-Pub 101: Online Resources for Indie Authors

I read a lot of blogs. Fortunately a lot of those blogs are things I first stumbled on in the course of my day jobs (which involve lots of social media marketing), and I can still make a good case for reading them at work. I use Feedly to aggregate all my blog feeds into one easily-checked list, which is a huge time-saver.

For today’s post, I wanted to share some of the experts I pay attention to online on a regular basis.

Agents

I read agent blogs partly because I’m still open to being a hybrid author instead of straight-up indie. I also read them because agents know a lot about marketing and how to make a story stronger and what pulls readers in.

• Books & Such Literary Management – Several agents blog here with lots of great info on all kinds of topics, from writing to branding and marketing and more.
• Confessions of a Wandering Heart
• Dystel & Goderich Literary Managment
• Glass Cases
• Guide to Literary Agents
• Janet Reid, Literary Agent – Janet Reid maintains the amazing QueryShark website, but she also blogs here. Both are worth following!
• Jennifer Represents… – She’s only seeking YA and Middle Grade, but her blog has lots of tips and insight.

Book Bloggers

If you’re not reading book blogs in your chosen genre, you’re making a big mistake. This is a great place to keep up on what’s popular now, what isn’t on the market, what book bloggers like or don’t like. The ones I’m listing are my favorite fantasy book bloggers, but there are lots of bloggers in every genre.

• All Things Urban Fantasy – Love their reviews, but particularly valuable for the indie author is their Cover Art Coverage column, wherein they discuss what works and what doesn’t on a book cover.
• The Book Smugglers
• Parajunkee’s View

Business Advice & Info

• Creativindie – Later in this series, I’ll also be reviewing CreativIndie’s book
• The Savvy Book Marketer

Publishing

• Jane Friedman – Jane has all kinds of great information for writers, whether they’re self-publishing or pursuing traditional publication.
• Nathan Bransford – Nathan used to be a literary agent. Then he started writing Middle Grade fiction. He still blogs about the publishing industry and writing.
• Query Shark – If you want to be traditionally published, you should be reading this. If you’re interested in self-publishing, you should still read it. Good queries make good back cover copy.

Social Media Marketing

• by Regina [for bloggers // creative businesses // and you] – Great resources if you are blogging or want to start blogging
• Constant Contact Blogs – Not just for Constant Contact users, this has lots of great marketing advice.
• MariSmith.com
• OutThink – Not a blog, but Tim Grahl of OutThink has written a book about book marketing (Your First 1000 Copies), and these are some resources he offers free on his website. I’ll be reviewing the book later (Spoiler: It’s worth buying.)
• SocialTimes – Your Social Media Source – Social media isn’t the only place you should be marketing your books, but if you’re interested in using social media, it’s worth at least checking the headlines at SocialTimes a couple times a week.
• WHITFIELD CONSULTING

Writers – Indie

• CJ Lyons No Rules, Just WRITE! – Probably the top blog that Indie Authors should be reading.
• David Gaughran – Another very rabidly anti-legacy publishing blogger, Gaughran nevertheless has a lot of good information for the self-pubbed.
• Kristen Lamb’s Blog – Kristen Lamb has also written books, which I’m planning to review later on in this series.
• Laura VanArendonk Baugh
• Lindsay Buroker – Lindsay blogs about all kinds of great information for indie authors. She recently posted about pricing for e-books, and she talks a lot about financial and business stuff.
• Must Use Bigger Elephants – Patty Jansen posts a little bit of everything, including some amazing photography of Australian landscapes. Just last week she posted “Why I self-published in 2011 and why in 2014 I’m still glad that I did.”
• A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing – J.A. Konrath’s blog is the reason I’m an Indie Author today. He’s very rabidly anti-legacy publishing, though, so take him with a grain of salt. :)

Writers – Traditionally Published

• Elizabeth Spann Craig
• Mary Robinette Kowal

Writing – General

• Jennifer Blanchard – She used to write at Procrastinating Writers, which is no longer posting, but a valuable archive. Now she has a lot of that content at the website I’ve linked, along with new content about writing.
• QueryTracker.net – Another favorite, this isn’t just for people who are querying. It covers a lot of the industry.
• Write It Sideways
• Writers Write — Writer’s Blog and Books, Writing and Publishing …
• Writers In The Storm – One of my favorites

 

Add to my list

What about you? Do you have favorite blogs or websites to read? Podcasts? I don’t listen to podcasts myself (very little of what I do allows me to listen while working, and I can’t afford the time to only listen and not multitask), but I’d love to add some to my list.

Comment and let me know!