Day 25: Specialization is for insects

What Robert A. Heinlein said:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations,
analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer,
cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.”

Buyers are waiting to discover my books. Because they’re a great read!Photo: brewbooks (Creative Commons Flickr)

An author should be able to do all that–and sell books too. This means that I am more than a writer. I am a businesswoman.

My books are my business. It’s taken a while for this to sink in. I remember watching episodes of Shark Tank with my son–ha, in the School of Business at Portland State this show has a huge following!–and realizing that I was an entrepreneur.

“Little Cousin Laura,” stepping up at last to join the ranks of her prosperous family! Ah, but will books make me a millionaire? *smile*

The shift from hobby to profession is significant and subtle.  I put in effort to promote my first series: writing blog articles, requesting reviews, giving away books. This new indie book release challenges me to do more.

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. ~Gilbert Highet

When I began forking over significant money, the business aspect of writing became real. I purchased a software license for book formatting, and I invested in that beautiful Damonza cover–worth every cent!  Now I’ve got to earn back these investments.

I’ve been blogging more consistently, too. Learning to share my life experiences with the wide world. Putting my name out there for search engines to catalog. And writing every single day.

“…not lumps of lifeless paper…” Photo: Ginny (Creative Commons Flickr)

Indie author groups (outside the Austen realm) have been a bonanza of information. How to run a promotion, and on which sites. How to price books and cross-promote and use Twitter effectively. How writing a series is an excellent career-builder. Right before my eyes I’ve seen an indie “Twitter Army” catapult books into the public eye.

The real change is that with the Darcy book I’ll be purchasing ads. Okay, inexpensive ads, but still!  Not to annoy potential readers, but to share with them a really good read.

That’s all for today–it’s time to open the door for students. Thanks for reading! You can check out what other challenge participants’ are blogging about here.