What Authors Think About Running A Book Business

by Hank Quense, @hanque99

Years ago, when I had two books published by a small indie press house I learned, to my amazement, that I now owned a business.  The purpose of the business was to market and sell copies of my book.  At the time, I had no idea how to do this stuff, despite years in sales.  Book marketing and selling was radically different than selling high-tech telecommunications systems.

Eventually, I got a grip on my new business.  Since then, I’ve been advocating newbie authors to grasp the idea of running of a business.

But don’t take my word about the author business.  When I revised my book, Business Basics for Authors, I decided to ask other authors about this idea of a business.  I got over a dozen answers.  Some of the authors write fiction, others write non-fiction.  Some have publishers, some are self-published.

Here are their responses to the question:  What is the most difficult part of managing your book business?

Elizabeth Craig:  I find reaching new readers to be the most difficult and time-consuming part of my book business. However, I spend time every week to do so: through advertising like Freebooksy, giveaways like Goodreads, translations through platforms like Babelcube, and outreach through Wattpad.

Mark Cain:  a successful marketing strategy, both for individual titles and for the more general author brand.

Elaine Durbach: The most difficult part for me is distribution, starting with getting the book into bookstores.  While readers can order online, many want to see a book in their local store.

Anna Faversham:  Finding the time to manage the marketing. As an Indie I need to do this myself. For each book I draw up a marketing plan to be implemented as soon as it is published.  The reality is that I baulk at the idea of drawing up a press release or contacting libraries and much of the list for each of my books has never been done but perhaps you can do better? And one fine day, I shall tackle all that is left undone. Yes, really.

Mark Henderson:  The most difficult part is negotiating production with publishers who’ve accepted a manuscript. I find my powers of diplomacy much exercised when I have to reject editorial suggestions that would harm the story and persuade the design team to change the cover and the jacket blurb… in which I’m by no means always successful! (I have to accept that publishers know better than I do what will sell best, but I can still express my reservations.)

Joylene Butler:  I have failed miserably at keeping my filing up. I’m an author. I’d rather write then worry about the paper end of my career. If I reach the best seller’s list, I’ll hire an accountant.

Dale Lehman: Marketing is the most difficult part. Writing can be hard, but anyone who doesn’t enjoy writing probably shouldn’t be doing it. Editing can be costly, but you have to have someone else do that anyway. (Or you should. It’s generally a bad idea to try to edit your own work!) Book creation is easy these days, with all the software and low-cost options that are available. But selling is not something most of us writers are good at. It involves an entirely different set of skills from writing and producing books.

Rick Gualtieri: Dealing with the mundane legalities. These are the things a lot of people don’t think about when they start a business such as this – getting an EIN, determining sole proprietorship, LLC, or S-corp, obtaining a business license with their state, maintaining good standing, taxes, etc.  It’s not fun, it’s not glamorous, but it needs to be done and done right. These are the things that distract from our writing, yes, but they can’t be ignored. Too many enter the world of publishing and assume that writing is all they have to worry about, and they’re wrong. Being a small business means wearing a lot of different hats.

Donna Baier Stein: selling many books

Stuart Aken: The entirety of the task of ‘selling’ my work is anathema to me. I am a creator, an imaginative storyteller. The whole idea of trying to convince others what I write is worth their hard-earned cash fills me with despair.

Sarajane Giere: The most difficult part in managing my book business is realizing that publishing the book was like having a new birth in the household that must be nurtured in order to survive. It’s not just up to the publisher from now on. Caring and promoting this baby is now MY JOB. Expanding my office space, keeping better track of my e-mails, and spending more time to follow up on contacts and appearances are all part of the process. Reordering my work day to accommodate all this is sometimes daunting.

Stephanie Auteri:  Actively keeping my book at the forefront of people’s minds, especially when a.) more recent projects seem more pressing and b.) it seems so spammy to keep plugging a book that pubbed over two years ago… even though I know I gather new followers online every day.

L. Diane Wolfe: Marketing is always the most difficult. What works for one book doesn’t work for the next, or situations in the world change, or the authors’ abilities vary from one to the next, etc. It’s also incredibly expensive. The Big 5 can throw a lot of money at marketing, whereas a smaller publisher like us has to be very frugal.

Peadar Ó Guilín: Quality control. Editors are expensive and deserve to be too.

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Business Basics for Authors has a wealth of information you can use to develop and manage your book business.

You may find more valuable information on my Writers and Authors Resource Center.

Hank Quense writes satirical fantasy and sci-fi. Early in his writing career,
he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank
has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from
Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in
Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom
live nearby.

Photo credit: Simon Starr on VisualHunt