As an award-winning self-published author with three books already on the market, I’ve always recognized the importance of reviews but struggled to convince my readers to post them.

However, I recently saw a direct correlation between reviews and free marketing opportunities on Amazon, so I wanted to take a moment and share my personal experience to demonstrate WHY book reviews matter so much. Taking the time to post a review is one of the easiest (and completely free) ways to let your favorite authors know how much you appreciate their hard work!

Why Are Book Reviews Important for Indie Authors?

Book reviews are important for any author, but especially independently published (aka “indie”) authors who have to wear many hats. Indie authors do so much more than write books; they also have to step into the role of publisher, agent, publicist, social media manager, event coordinator, etc.

Traditionally published authors are able to outsource some of these roles to help market their book after its release. Many indie authors don’t have those opportunities, so the only way to get that work done is to do it themselves.

Recommendations from nonbiased readers online carry much more clout than the author’s sales pitch, and accumulating a lot of positive reviews and a high rating average also bolsters my credibility.

After all, my goal is to sell books, so of course I’m going to recommend buying my novels if a potential customer engages with me! That’s how I make my living. However, I’m not the type of author whose only interest is making the sale. I do want to make sure my genre and writing style is a good fit for the right kind of reader. I don’t want to get bad reviews because I pushed a reader to buy a genre they don’t enjoy.

What does all of this mean? From the simplest perspective, book reviews help me convince new readers to take a chance on my novels.

Without those reviews, people naturally assume the author is an amateur and/or the book isn’t worth reading since it wasn’t worth reviewing.

The #1 Benefit of Gaining Book Reviews on Amazon

Any indie author knows that earning positive book reviews is essential to success. But did you know that building reviews also unlocks a huge marketing advantage?

(I didn’t until recently!)

Over the last couple of years, I’ve crossed paths with multiple customers who had either seen my book and recognized the cover or already purchased it. I like to ask people where they saw my book so I know how my marketing strategies are performing. Did they see it at a local shop? A library in the area that had it on display? Social media? A festival, market, convention, or other event where I had my booth?

To my surprise, many of these customers told me they’d seen it on Amazon. After further inquiry, I realized it was a recommended product based on other books they’d bought.

This was HUGE news because I don’t pay for Amazon ads (or digital marketing in general), so I was stunned to learn that Amazon seemed to be recommending my book to readers for FREE! No extra work, no paying for ads, no creating promotional graphics, no setting target audiences and keywords (other than what you’ve already listed for your book).

Naturally, the big question is… how many book reviews do you need for Amazon to start doing this?

According to another indie author who vended next to me at an event this summer, that minimum number is fifty. However, after some online searches to verify, the correct answer is… nobody actually knows. Some agree with the fifty mark. Others say twenty. Others say there is no magic number, and anyone who claims otherwise is spreading a rampant myth that just won’t die.

The consensus seems to be that Amazon’s algorithm is a closely guarded secret that operates on a lot of different variables, which means reviews are only a small part of the equation. All I can say for certain is that I didn’t regularly run into people who were already familiar with my book due to Amazon’s recommendation until I reached the fifty-review threshold, so that did indeed seem to trigger something with the algorithm.

At the very least, even if Amazon does start recommending your book to customers prior to achieving fifty reviews, hitting that goal seemed to give my book a jump start based on my own personal experience.

Tips to Get More Book Reviews

Book reviews are important to authors for many reasons, from building credibility with potential new readers to getting a boosted product recommendation from Amazon. But how can indie authors get more reviews?

(We’re talking genuine, unbiased reviews here. Not shady reviews that you paid for to try and hack the system.)

That’s the million-dollar question. I struggle with convincing people to write reviews, and many indie authors in my circle face the same problem. Here are some of the tips that I and other colleagues have implemented:

• List your ebook on NetGalley. If you aren’t already familiar with NetGalley, it’s a platform where authors and publishers list ebooks for free in exchange for reviews. I participated in a co-op program that drastically reduced the cost and labor of a NetGalley listing, so if you’re planning on using NetGalley for reviews, I highly recommend going this route, at least for your first time. Read more about my experience with a NetGalley co-op.
• Include a printed reminder with the book when customers purchase directly from you. I slip a handwritten note (along with other items) inside a sealed envelope that readers aren’t supposed to open until after they finish reading. Another author I know prints her message on vellum and tucks it between the last pages so readers find it as they near the end of the book. Yet another author told me about a friend who put a sticker on the inside cover with a QR code and found surprising success with that method. I also know several authors who include a custom bookmark that has their website, social media links, QR codes, and a reminder to post a review. You can get creative with your own unique way of encouraging readers to review your books.
• Post on social media. It’s a basic but simple way to remind your fans why reviews matter so much and ask them to write one if they haven’t already.
• Incentivize reviews with a drawing. I have occasionally encouraged reviews by using them as entries into a giveaway drawing on Discord and social media. People who want to enter the drawing send screenshots to prove that they’ve written a review on various platforms like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc. Each review for each book on each platform counts as an entry into the drawing. It doesn’t have to be a new review if they’ve already posted a while ago. I also use this method to encourage fan art submissions.
• Partner with #bookstagram and #booktok influencers. When I first started publishing, I was able to connect with several bookstagrammers who reviewed and featured my books for free. However, those days seem to be in the past. It’s hard to find influencers who don’t charge you for reviews, and in my humble opinion, it’s not worth shelling out the money for paid reviews unless they’re professional editorial reviews. Ideally, you want to rack up honest reviews from regular readers. Paid reviews are perceived as solicited and biased.

Reviews are an important yet challenging part of self-publishing. How will you incentivize your readers to help boost your Amazon recommendations and author clout?

I do occasionally get questions about how I choose my beta readers and how someone can become one, so with Lab Rat officially in the hands of my handpicked volunteers, it felt like a good time to write a blog post about it.

What is a Beta Reader?

Beta readers are the first group of readers to review a manuscript before it goes through the final editing phases. These early readers provide the author with overall feedback on the story, including:

• Correcting typos and grammatical/punctuation errors
• Marking plot holes and inconsistent details
• Sharing how they felt as they read (For example, did a scene make them sad? Angry? Confused?)
• Offering suggestions for improvement
• Giving the author insights into how the book will be received by readers and fans

Some people work as professional beta readers who charge authors for their time and feedback. Mine are volunteers who are either friends or family, professional acquaintances, or fans who are highly invested in the book series and want to take an active role in publishing the next novel.

When I publish a book, it goes through four editing phases:

• Phase 1: After finishing the rough draft, I print it out and mark it up with my own round of edits, then update the digital file with those changes.
• Phase 2: The beta readers provide general feedback, and I incorporate any necessary revisions based on their notes.
• Phase 3: The line editor goes through the manuscript for an extremely thorough edit, flagging any remaining errors and offering a professional critique.
• Phase 4: After I complete the interior layout, I receive a proof copy of the book and read through it as a final check for any formatting issues or typos that managed to slip through the various rounds of editing.

The beta readers have a crucial role as the very first readers to see the manuscript. They’re the ones I trust to tell me if something isn’t working in the story so I have a chance to fix it before publishing the book. This means I’m not looking for someone to read it and tell me it’s perfect; I want an honest critique. I would rather address criticisms in the editing phase rather than watch negative reviews roll in after it’s too late to make changes.

Criteria I Look For When Choosing My Beta Readers

I like to have a variety of readers providing a range of feedback. One of my regular beta readers happens to be my former English teacher, but most of them don’t have a professional writing, editing, or teaching background.

Having teachers and career editors are valuable, of course, but so are the beta readers who don’t have that kind of background since they’re able to give me insights into how regular readers will react to the book. After all, writing a fantasy story is very different than writing a college essay.

I’m always amazed by how each beta reader in the group has a tendency to catch different issues. Some have a keen eye for spotting typos that others might miss, while other readers provide insights into big-picture character development, dialogue syntax, story pacing, and plot holes. Others are extremely detail-oriented and catch tiny discrepancies that are easily overlooked. I don’t expect each beta reader to catch every error, but between all of them, they manage to cast a wide net and flag most of the issues.

Ideally, if I’m looking for one or two new beta readers, here are the factors I consider:

• Can you offer a unique perspective? The more variety I have, the better. The Chronicles of Avilésor has a hefty list of characters, and many of them have experiences that are vastly different than my own. Some of their experiences, such as having supernatural powers or escaping from a secret government laboratory, aren’t ones that anyone would know firsthand… although if you’re an avid reader, you might have some expertise on the subjects based on other works. But there are other character experiences grounded in reality that I can’t relate to. For example, I don’t know firsthand what it’s like to be a teenage boy, a middle-aged mom, or a doctor. Having people with those perspectives is valuable to help me ensure my characters are accurate, relatable, and realistic. I like adding beta readers who have different perspectives outside my own bubble, especially minorities from different demographics and cultures (to help keep me mindful and accountable about unintentional stereotypes) and people with relevant specialized career experience that would help me with specific details (especially medical or military).
• Do we have a personal relationship? I’m not saying we need to be best friends or meet up for dinner regularly, but are we at least on a first-name basis? I meet a TON of people doing events almost every weekend, so if we’ve met only a few times and never had a deep or memorable conversation, I probably won’t remember you. (Sorry!) Have we engaged in personal discussions beyond exchanging pleasantries? Do I know where you’re from, what you do for a living, et cetera? Would we recognize each other in public when I’m not in my booth? Since I share a pre-published manuscript with my beta readers, I need to make sure they are people I know and trust.
• Have you demonstrated that you’re a top fan who knows the books inside and out? Do you engage in conversations about the books on social media? Have you written reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and/or Goodreads? Asked me questions about characters? Created fan art? Done any outreach such as recommending the book to friends/family, asked your local library to carry the books, liked/shared/commented on my social media posts, subscribed on Patreon, et cetera? If I’m going to consider a new beta reader who is a fan rather than a longtime friend or professional acquaintance, I need to see active engagement so you stay at the forefront of my mind when I’m thinking about who (if anyone) I might want to onboard for the next book.
• Do you have the time and attention to dedicate to reading/editing? I don’t usually impose a hard deadline for my beta readers to finish, but ideally, I give them about a month to get through the manuscript and return it to me with notes. If you know you’ll be too busy to focus and provide genuine feedback in a timely manner, I don’t want to risk running behind schedule and delaying the book publication.
• Do you have a passion for reading/writing? Being a beta reader should be a privilege, not a chore. I don’t want beta readers who view the project as a homework assignment they won’t enjoy!

How to Become a CoA Beta Reader

In most cases, beta reading my books is by invitation only. However, I’ve had more people express interest as the series progresses, so if it’s something you really want to do for one of the future books, my recommendation is to:

1. Start by being an active, highly engaged social media follower so I keep seeing your name pop up in my notifications and know that you’re invested in the series.
2. Make a point to visit my booth at events and chat with me. Show me that you’ve read the books and know a lot of details about them. (Fyi… I love seeing fan art!!)
3. Demonstrate that you’re above and beyond the general fan base. My newest beta reader I just onboarded for Lab Rat is one of my most engaged members on Discord and Patreon. He’s written reviews for the books, regularly visited me at events, asked me in-depth questions about the worldbuilding of Avilésor, and even created a 3D rendering of Saros Manor and the Alpha ghosts in the Sims for fun. He’s almost always one of the first (and most consistent) to welcome new members when they join the Discord server.
4. Connect with me via direct messages to indicate your interest in beta reading around the time I’m in the first round of editing when I’m marking up the rough draft. When people reach out too soon while I’m still deep in the writing phase, I’m not likely to remember those brief inquiries by the time I get close to the beta reader phase. I also sometimes get people who verbally tell me at an event they’re interested, but I don’t have their contact information, and by the time I’m done with the event, my brain is preoccupied with a million other tasks to remember any kind of potential follow-up.

I really appreciate all of my beta readers, and I’m very selective about who participates in that role. Thank you for your interest in my book series… and maybe you’ll be part of the editing process for a future novel!

In fact, copies of Book IV in the Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series are printing as I’m typing this. Half of my beta readers have already received digital files so they can start editing. The other half prefer printed copies so they can mark up the manuscript by hand, and I’m putting those together to distribute within the next couple of days.

I’m excited to move into the next phase, although I’m admittedly a little nervous to get preliminary feedback and see how early readers react to the book. I kept nitpicking and going back to a handful of scenes that have caused me some issues until I finally forced myself to save the document and close it so I could send it off to the beta readers.

Lab Rat clocks in at 157,852 words and 34 chapters. For comparison, A Fallen Hero is approximately 154k words, Phantom’s Mask is around 194k, and Blood of the Enemy is about 204k. This puts Book IV slightly above Book I’s length, but it’s still being edited, so that word count isn’t final.

Depending on how long it takes the beta readers to get through the manuscript and how many revisions I need to make, this phase will have an impact on the projected publication timeline. My goal is still to offer preorders of Book IV on my website this winter for readers who would like to secure an autographed hardcover from the very first print run.

While the beta readers are editing the manuscript, I’ll be busy working on the pronunciation guide, character list, and book cover… and possibly a new map?!

To celebrate reaching this milestone, I thought I’d share the list of chapter titles with you! This list has changed slightly since I shared it on Patreon back in March now that the first round of editing is finished.

• Prologue 
• Induction
• Project Alpha
• Life of a Lab Rat
• The Arena
• Glitch
• Wires
• Welcome to Hell
• Broken
• The Death of Cato Jaxon Tarrow
• Acclimation
• Monster
• Son Without Wings
• Mirrors
• Cell Block Zero
• Medicine
• Student vs. Teacher
• Comatose
• Cats & Crows
• Mercy
• Limbo
• Somnambulism
• Fractured
• Awakening
• The Burden of Grief
• Black Birds & White Doors
• The Boy with Blue Eyes
• A Sinister Reflection
• The Mystery of Moorlins
• Finally Free
• Eclipsed
• The Power of Fear
• Memories
• The Origin
• Rise of the Seven
• Epilogue

My Patreon supporters have been getting a lot of updates this year, including sneak peeks at scenes and chapters, voting for names of new characters, and recently seeing the in-progress Book IV button designs along with a short video showing the evolution of the silver eye graphic that I’ll use on the book cover.

UPDATE: Level 2 and 3 subscribers just got the very first sneak peek at the cover art in progress!

Reminder: Patrons on all three paid tier levels will have their names in the book acknowledgments as a thank-you for their support! Even subscribing to the Level 1 tier at just $5/month helps me SO MUCH and qualifies you for this perk (and it’s not too late to join and have your name printed in the book).

Read more about I use subscriptions and donations to help cover costs of book publishing, vendor fees, and business expenses, and see all of the perks available on Patreon!

A surprisingly giant hurdle for many authors.

In theory, it seems like it should be easy. An “elevator pitch” is a concise yet impactful summary of your book. It got its name from the idea that your pitch should be short enough to deliver in the time it takes you to ride with someone in an elevator. Once they get off on their floor, your time is up.

Sounds like a simple feat, right? After all, you already summarized your novel in the book blurb printed on the back cover or inside jacket sleeve. Isn’t this basically the same thing?

Not exactly.

Selling your book face-to-face with a potential reader is a very different experience than silently waiting for them read the back of your book and hoping that’s enough to sway them into a commitment.

I’ve done more than 150 in-person book signings and events since releasing the first novel in my award-winning fantasy series in 2018. But it took me years to hone my elevator pitch until I was comfortable delivering it. In this post, I’ll share some tips that helped me finally nail my sales pitch down and achieve a high success rate.

Note: there are different types of elevator pitches. This post is intended for fiction authors who are pitching their book to a potential new reader, NOT pitching a manuscript to an industry professional such as a literary agent or book publisher. Some of these tips might transfer to various situations, but keep in mind the overall tone, goal, and recipient of the pitch.

Find Your Comfort Zone

My best piece of advice is to be yourself. If you’ve crafted an elevator pitch that you’re uncomfortable saying, that’s going to negatively affect your delivery. There’s more at stake than just feeling self-conscious. From a sales perspective, if you’re not confident in your own work, a reader isn’t going to be inclined to take a chance on your book.

Every author has their own self-defined comfort zone. Here’s an example: I was chatting with an author colleague in his booth at an event earlier this year when a customer approached. I’d never heard his elevator pitch, so I hung back to observe. He started his sales pitch by handing her one of his novels and saying, “I promise this will be the BEST book you’ve ever read in your entire life.”

I was stunned by his direct approach since he’s always softspoken and humble when talking to me as a colleague, so I wasn’t expecting his sales pitch to go in that direction. While that method wouldn’t have worked for me, it did for him — he made the sale.

My elevator pitch is very different than his. I would not be comfortable making such a bold claim right off the bat, especially without having a conversation with the potential reader first and knowing what kinds of books they like to read. Even if they told me they enjoyed my particular genre, I would still be extremely uncomfortable asserting such a level of arrogance that, of the hundreds of millions of books out there in the market, mine was the absolute best. That’s just not my style.

That experience incident clearly illuminated the stark differences in our sales methods and comfort levels. That doesn’t mean one of us is right and the other is wrong. We wrote very different books; naturally, we’d sell them differently, too. I understood that I had to find my own words, tone, and strategy. I couldn’t just copy another author’s successful elevator pitch and tweak it to fit my book; I had to explore my own limits and identify my comfort zone.

Learn to Speak Confidently

Confidence goes a LONG way. If you’re an introvert like me, that takes time and practice.

I didn’t have a background in sales when I started selling my books at events. I did have experience working in customer service, which didn’t exactly bring the right skillset to the role. My soft, sweet, apologetic voice wasn’t assertive enough to close the deal.

In my case, the best move I made was recruiting a longtime friend to assist me at events. She’s much more extroverted than I am, and she had the sales background that I was lacking, so I paid attention to the way she talked to people about my books. I noted certain word choices and phrases she used, and I started to incorporate that language into my elevator pitch.

The more I talked to people over time, the more comfortable I became. I was selling a LOT more books when I was confidently greeting people and engaging in conversations compared to my early days when I sat, quiet and shy, behind the table and passively waited for people to walk up and start talking to me (and then tripping over my words and rambling through an unplanned sales pitch).

Take Cues from Your Listener

In my experience, my elevator pitch is more effective when I start it as an open conversation instead of immediately pushing the customer to make a purchase.

When someone approaches my booth and is showing interest in my books lined up across the front of the table, I engage them by saying, “Hello. Do you like books?”

Most of the people who were drawn straight to the books (rather than my art displayed on my other table) reply, “Yes.” In some cases, they’ll say, “No, but my friend/family member does.”

My follow-up is: “Awesome! What genres do you like to read?”

How they answer that question determines how I tailor my elevator pitch. My series features elements of supernatural, paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy stories. If the person tells me they only read smut, I know I’m not going to sell them on my books, so there’s no need to waste their time (and mine) going through the pitch.

If they mention that they like thriller books, for example, I’ll lean into that and tell them that my first book is more suspense than thriller while focusing on the cat-and-mouse relationships and character viewpoints shifting between the primary fugitives and the people hunting them.

If they say they read a wide variety of fiction, then I’ll mention how my series blends several different genres by taking place in two different worlds — the Human Realm, which has dystopian undertones along with sci-fi and paranormal fantasy, and the Ghost Realm, which is a high fantasy setting that has more supernatural and mythological elements. That means, if they enjoy different genres, there’s a good chance they’ll appreciate the diversity of my series.

I let the potential customer lead the conversation so I know the best way to pique their interest. This is much more effective than jumping right into the rehearsed pitch and potentially missing the mark by failing to focus on the themes, genres, and elements the reader is most interested in.

And, by engaging in a back-and-forth discussion before pitching the book, the listener feels like they’re part of a conversation, not the recipient of a sales pitch.

Highlight the Genre & Stakes

The purpose of the elevator pitch is to explain your book in just a few sentences. You have a brief window of opportunity to snag a listener’s attention.

If you don’t provide enough details, they won’t know what your book is about and whether they should invest in reading it. But if you provide too much information, they’ll lose interest and tune you out.

Even if you fail to communicate anything else, make sure you mention two critical pieces: the genre and the stakes. These are your most important selling points.

Highlighting the genre helps readers with a more precise niche preference decide if they’ll be interested in your story. For some readers, this isn’t very important because they enjoy a wide variety of content. But other readers can be very particular about what they like and don’t like.

What are the stakes? What details (without revealing spoilers) draw your readers into the story and compel them to read to the last page? What will make them feel like they need to add your book to their collection?

Keep It Short & Snappy

Your primary elevator pitch should be only a few sentences. It’s okay to have more topics on the backburner for cases where you have a highly engaged listener who has time to spare, but you should plan to keep your pitch short to start.

It’s up to you to find that ideal sweet spot between providing enough information in an engaging, concise way without overdoing it. When you’re nervous and/or unprepared, it’s easy to start rambling, and that’s a slippery slope.

Figure out the primary key points that you want to hit and build your pitch around them. Remember to keep it simple. You’ll be delivering this pitch to a lot of different people with different backgrounds, experiences, and education levels that you don’t know about, so use basic language and genre-specific buzzwords that will resonate with your target audience. In most cases, less is more… as long as you’re strategic.

This can be trickier than you realize! From a personal standpoint, I acknowledge that I’m a wordy writer. Although I’m not as worried about word count as many authors are, keeping my books down to a manageable size is often a challenge for me, so paring down my elevator pitch wasn’t easy.

Delivering a short, snappy pitch isn’t going to happen by chance; you need to put some serious thought into the topics and words that deserve a spot in the limited space of your elevator pitch. What is worth saying, and what needs to be cut?

Lead into the Book Blurb (Without Paraphrasing It)

Your elevator pitch should NOT be a retelling of the blurb on the back of your novel. (By the way, if you’re struggling with your book blurb, I also have tips for that.)

The overview on the back of your book should be a standalone, plot-centered introduction that conveys important information about the story without necessarily saying it outright. For example, my book blurb doesn’t outright say that the novel is a paranormal YA sci-fi fantasy story, but the words I chose (half-ghost hybrid, Shadow Guards with supernatural abilities, young fugitives, Rip between Realms, lab-family, ghost hunter, etc.) clues readers in to what kind of book it is.

The elevator pitch should be much more direct. You don’t need to adopt your third-person omniscient narrator voice; this is you as the author having a face-to-face conversation with your reader. You can talk openly about the genre, the acceptable age range for your target readers, popular works that are similar, sources of inspiration, and other topics that wouldn’t be appropriate to include in the book blurb.

If the listener seems to be interested and engaged after I’ve completed the elevator pitch, but they still haven’t committed to making a purchase, I’ll finish my pitch by handing them a paperback and saying, “This is the first book in my series if you would like to read the back.”

The book blurb and elevator pitch should complement each other but stand apart as separate pitches. If my elevator pitch was a rephrased version of my book blurb, then it would be a waste of time to encourage the customer to read the back of the book. Likewise, some people prefer to grab a book right away and read the back before they have a conversation with me, so it would be a waste of my time and theirs to summarize exactly what they had just read.

Let your two main selling tools — the blurb and the pitch — work together for maximum impact.

Don’t Be Afraid to Mention Relevant Achievements & Qualifications

This one is hard for me, but I’m getting a little more comfortable about mentioning my achievements when pitching the books.

All three of the novels published in my series so far have been recipients of the Literary Titan book award. When my assistant is pitching the books, she doesn’t hesitate to tout, “With only three books published so far, it’s already a three-time award-winning series!” Or she’ll introduce me as “three-time award-winning author Sara A. Noë.”

But when I talk like that about my own work, I feel like I’m being braggy. (I acknowledge that this is also very much a gender issue; when male authors bring up their accomplishments, it’s perceived as rightfully earned confidence, but when women do it, it’s sometimes perceived as arrogance.)

I’m working on overcoming that mindset, which has been drilled into me ever since I was a little girl. However, I still take a more passive stance than my assistant. Instead of boldly saying, “I won these awards,” I usually focus on the books and the readers instead of myself: “So far, the books have been very well received by readers, and all three of them have received awards from Literary Titan.”

Adopting passive voice helps me feel more comfortable when I point out the books’ (and by extension, my) accomplishments. Women have to walk a finer line in this regard than men due to societal perceptions. I like to think that things are changing for the better, but I still try to balance confidence and humility, which is hard when you’re selling your own work.

Still… if you have any awards, achievements, or relevant qualifications, don’t be afraid to bring them up in a way that feels natural. They’re selling points! They help to affirm that your books are worth reading and you were the best person to write them.

Have Comparable Works in Mind to Mention if Needed

I don’t recommend using the “if you like this book, you’ll love my book” method. I’ve seen many booktokers say that’s an instant turnoff for them, whether the author says it out loud or plasters that tagline on the cover.

But there will be instances when a potential reader specifically asks you to compare your work with something else that they’d recognize. In that case, it helps to have a prepared answer so you aren’t fumbling to think of a response.

Comparing your work to someone else’s can be difficult, and it has to be done carefully. This is especially true if your book follows a commonly repeated plot line and/or well-known genre tropes. After all, if you tell someone that your book is essentially a retelling of Peter Pan, why would they want to read your book if they already know Peter Pan? There needs to be a differential factor that helps your work stand apart while still echoing positive similarities.

My series is a mesh of inspiration from various sources, and I’ve found that connecting very different comparable works tends to be effective if this topic comes up in the elevator pitch so you can highlight the similarities as well as the differences. Instead of saying, “You’ll like my book if you enjoy Marvel stories,” I tell potential readers, “Imagine a mashup of Danny Phantom, The Darkest Minds, X-Men, and Stranger Things, but the Upside Down is more like Narnia.”

This usually results in raised eyebrows as the person recognizes one or more of those examples and ponders how such a combination could have occurred.

But I don’t start with that. I don’t like shoehorning my book into a box because it really doesn’t fit neatly into just one category. It blends multiple genres and doesn’t follow a standard plot line, so it’s not fair to unintentionally evoke preconceptions by comparing it to other works. I use this method only if the listener wants specific examples.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat!

Trust me when I say that the more you deliver your elevator pitch, the easier it will become. I stumbled and struggled for quite a while in the beginning while I played around with which information to highlight and how to deliver it with ease and confidence.

Even now, after several years of doing events, I can tell when I’m out of practice. I have a couple of months off in the winter where I don’t have any events after the holidays, and I definitely notice that the elevator pitch is a little rusty when event season starts up again.

If you’re not comfortable with your elevator pitch, keep practicing!

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• Patreon subscription (ranges from free to $15/month) — Fans of my books and art get exclusive behind-the-scenes content such as deleted scenes, sneak peeks, exclusive promotions, timelapse videos, event reminders, a place or minor character named after them in future books, and more, depending on their membership tier.

A LOT has changed in that time. When I started my blog, I was essentially creating a personal résumé website with the goal of establishing an online presence while I queried literary agents. I also wasn’t sure if I was ever going to succeed at becoming a published author, so my website was a way of sharing my writing instead of leaving it to sit, unread, in notebooks on my bookshelf.

But once I decided that independent publishing suited my needs and goals better than traditional publishing, my blog started to evolve with the publication of the first fantasy novel in my award-winning Chronicles of Avilésor series.

Then, in 2020 when I started to educate myself about website monetization and affiliate marketing, my blog evolved again and my web traffic increased dramatically. I currently see an average of 6k+ visitors finding my website through organic searches every month, plus another monthly 1k+ through direct links and referrals. When I first started, I was lucky to get more than a few hundred visitors per year.

You can see how much my website has grown once I began to understand content marketing, keywords, and my audience demographic and then apply that knowledge to my blog:

I publish at least two blog posts every month. Usually, I have plenty to say! I blog about my experiences as a self-published author, writing/editing/publishing advice, updates about my series, Q&As from fans, my personal art and photography, tips for authors, and more.

But these past few months, I’ve struggled to find good blog topics, and to my extreme disappointment, searching “blog post ideas for fiction authors” came up with shockingly bad results! I was frustrated to read through long lists of topic ideas that I knew wouldn’t generate any organic traffic to my website or even engage my most loyal fans. Many of the results didn’t actually seem to be geared toward fiction writers at all, and vapid suggestions such as “describe your perfect vacation day” or “list your favorite foods” felt like an absolute waste of my time and effort, let alone my readers’ valuable time and attention. I prioritize quality over quantity.

So… I decided to compile my own article for other fiction writers who might find themselves turning to the internet for ideas when writer’s block hits. These blog post topics are relevant for authors, and although this article is primarily for fiction writers, nonfiction writers will also be able to find good starting topics in these lists.

Blog Post Ideas Based On Your Unique Audience & Content Goals

First, it’s important to know your audience demographic. Who will be reading your blog post?

This was the key point of frustration for me when reading through lists of potential blog topics trying to find inspiration. It was clear that the writers who composed these lists (if they were even real people and not AI-generated articles) didn’t actually have real-world readers in mind.

The topics felt empty; those articles would be for no purpose other than publishing content for the sake of having a blog post online. Nobody would find it in a Google search. Nobody would be interested in reading it even if they knew it existed. They were doomed to be bland fluff with no substance.

I don’t publish content that doesn’t serve a purpose, and if you’re serious about growing your own blog and website, then you shouldn’t, either.

To ensure that you’re publishing high-quality content, it’s important to identify your target audience. My blog actually serves several different audiences depending on the post.

In some cases, I’m writing to fans of my book series. In others, I’m speaking to writers, artists, and authors when I share my tips and experiences. Sometimes, I’m publishing content for the general public while targeting people who share common interests. (Example: my #1 best-performing post is a compilation of literary holidays every year. Readers, writers, poets, teachers, and bibliophiles find my website through this article.)

I have different goals in mind when speaking to my different audiences. Some of those goals include:

• Attracting organic traffic to my website with articles targeting specific search keywords
• Networking with other authors and artists
• Building my authority to establish a strong online presence when people search my name, books, etc.
• Helping indie authors navigate the self-publishing steps and avoid mistakes that I made (and sometimes earning revenue through donations when aspiring authors find value in my articles and want to say thanks!)
• Introducing potential new readers to my sci-fi/fantasy series (and boosting book sales)
• Generating excitement for existing fans who are ready for the next book in the series
• Entertaining my followers with engaging, relevant content about my ideas, creative process, fantasy world, etc.
• Earning revenue from visitors who interact with ads and affiliate links
• Gaining new subscribers for my free monthly newsletter
• Encouraging top fans to join my Patreon community for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and membership perks
• Promoting additional educational content for creative entrepreneurs through my Substack subscription

Still not sure whether a blog could be beneficial for you as a fiction author? Read my recent article about the benefits of blogging.

Since the goal of your blog post should be to attract and engage a certain type of reader while seeking to inform, entertain, educate, or drive a specific action, I’ve divided my list of potential blog topics into relevant categories depending on your audience and goals.

Blog Post Ideas About Yourself (Build Online Authority)

Writing posts about yourself can feel a bit weird, but your blog is a great (and safe) space for you to introduce yourself to new readers who are just discovering you!

It’s easy to write introductory posts in the beginning when you’re first starting to establish yourself. But once you get past the phase of “Welcome to my blog, I’m Author Writes A. Lot, and this blog will be about my journey as a new author,” … then what? Readers will get bored if you keep rephrasing the same introduction, especially if your book has been out for a while and your blog is fairly well established.

Blogging about yourself not only gives readers a chance to know you on a more personal level, but it also serves to build your authority and online presence. When people type your name into the search bar, will your articles come up first? Think about how much more impressive it is to have your content dominating the search results as opposed to being interspersed with other people around the world who have the same or very similar name.

Here are some blog post ideas if you want to write about yourself:

• What inspired you to become an author?
• What purpose do you hope to accomplish with your books? Do you write to help people? Entertain? Educate? Inspire? Escape?
• What were your favorite books and stories growing up? How did they inspire you? Make sure you tie this topic into your own writing.
• What unique experiences can you share about your journey to publish your book? (Tip: be open. Don’t sugarcoat the process; if you made mistakes, own up to them and explain what you learned.)
• What was your inspiration for the story you chose to publish? Even though it’s fiction, are parts of it tied to your real life?
• Which character is your favorite and why? What does that character represent to you? Did you imbue them with any of your own personalities and traits? Do they represent something you have… something you want… something you’ve lost?
• How have you grown throughout the writing and/or publishing process?
• What is your ultimate goal with your book(s)? Do you dream of being a bestselling author someday? Do you strive to see your work transformed into a different medium such as an audiobook, television series, video game, movie, et cetera?
• Why do you write? What drives you? What inspires you to keep pushing forward?
• What research did you have to do for your book? Did you need to learn more about foreign places, different cultures, body anatomy, fighting styles, et cetera?
• How did you learn to explore different viewpoints through your characters? Did their experiences open your eyes to any real-world challenges you (or society) has faced?
• What are your qualifications for writing your book? Why are YOU the best person to tell the story? What skills, talents, and experiences do you have that directly contributed?
• What does your writing process look like? Are you a pantser or a plotter? Do you have a regular daily schedule, or do you squeeze writing time in wherever you can?
• What authors do you follow and why? Which ones inspired you the most? Did they have a direct influence on your unique writing style?
• Did you always want to be an author? If not, what career path did you think you wanted instead?

Blog Post Ideas for the Writing Community

My website traffic experienced tremendous growth when I shifted my focus away from sharing my own poems, short stories, personal musings, etc. and started speaking directly to aspiring authors who were seeking advice and information about the publishing process.

Once I realized that I was making a genuine connection with aspiring authors (even though that wasn’t translating directly into book sales since the writers who were reading my posts were much more interested in publishing their own books, not reading or buying mine), I steered into that topic because it was pulling a lot of visitors to my website and putting my articles near the top of search results. I had stumbled into a micro niche, which is incredibly valuable for content marketing, affiliate marketing, and general ad revenue.

Gaining organic website traffic is the first step. From there, you can evaluate your strategies and decide how to leverage that traffic to start earning revenue from visitors.

Networking is also valuable, even if it doesn’t directly translate into sales, subscriptions, or donations. You never know when the right connection can open a door to a new opportunity! What goes around comes around, so share your knowledge with the writing community. Somehow, some way, it’ll pay off.

Here are some blog post ideas if you want to write for aspiring authors and the writing community in general:

• As a published author, what general advice do you have for other writers?
• What is the biggest mistake you made when you published your first book?
• What do you wish you knew before you published?
• How was your experience with working with your editor, cover designer, ebook formatter, printer/distributor, or any other professional who helped you along the way? Would you recommend any of these professionals to writers who are searching for freelancers? How did you find them?
• How do you go about finding and booking events to sell your books?
• What strategies do you use to increase book sales?
• How do you cope with bad book reviews?
• Do you do any writing exercises or prompts to hone your skills?
• What tips do you have for writing dialogue that sounds realistic?
• Do you have any advice for developing characters? How do you make readers care about your characters? What details are important for establishing character empathy?
• What activities help you overcome writer’s block?
• How do you deal with imposter syndrome?
• What steps did you take to get published?
• Why did you choose to publish traditionally or independently? Since there are pros and cons to both methods, what pushed you to make your decision? Are you happy with your choice, or do you wish you had chosen differently?
• If you published traditionally, how did you successfully pitch your book to an agent?
• What advice do you have for adding descriptions and sensory details into your writing?
• How did you find beta readers? How did your beta readers impact the final manuscript?
• If you could go back and publish your first book again, what would you do differently?
• How do you market your book?
• If you’re a plotter, share your general outline template or tips to successfully plan a story.
• What are your thoughts about a global distribution strategy vs. Amazon exclusivity?
• How do you “ground” readers into your story and pull them in?
• Explain the different stages of writing and editing that your manuscript goes through before it’s finally published.

Blog Post Ideas for Your Fandom

Your blog has the potential to turn regular readers into super fans by showing them unique perspectives and taking them behind the scenes of your creative process.

I give my fans some glances at my creative process here on my blog, but my Patreon subscribers get to take a much deeper dive. This method allowed me to not only earn subscriptions (which all go straight back into my business to help me publish the next book in the series), but it also gave me the opportunity to differentiate between casual fans and my most supportive fans who can’t get enough bonus content.

(I explored some of the biggest pros and cons with subscription-based content in an earlier post.)

Remember that writing blog posts for your fans likely isn’t going to attract many new followers. Chances are, these articles won’t be targeting broad keywords for organic searches, and people who haven’t read your book(s) yet aren’t going to care very much about your worldbuilding and characters.

These articles are meant to engage and excite your existing fan base (which you are hopefully growing over time as you move forward with your other marketing strategies). They help to cement deeper connections so readers are more likely to support your career, write book reviews, recommend your book to other people, and buy future books, especially if you’re working on a series.

Here are some blog post ideas if you want to write articles for your fans:

• How do you come up with character names? Do you have a special process? Do their names have hidden meanings?
• Share a deleted scene that didn’t make the final cut.
• Were your characters inspired by real people? If so, talk about them. Were they historical figures, celebrities, fictional characters you loved as a kid, personal acquaintances, family members?
• Invite fans to submit questions for you or a character to answer.
• What details didn’t make it into the book?
• What inspired your setting(s)? Were they based on real places you’ve been?
• What would your protagonist say if they met you? What would you say to them?
• What interesting information did you find during the research phase when exploring relevant geography, cultures, animals, magic systems, et cetera for your story?
• Share unpublished worldbuilding details about the landscape, history, language, clothing, social hierarchy, et cetera that you developed for the story… especially information didn’t make it into the final manuscript.
• Are there any unique legends or fairy tales in your world?
• Compare your protagonist and antagonist. What do they have in common? What separates them?
• Engage your fans and bring them into the process by asking for their opinions, posting polls, and participating in Q&As. You’ll always have the final say in any creative decisions, of course, but readers can turn into super-fans when they feel like they’re co-creators rather than passive consumers.
• What challenges temporarily stumped you when you were working out unique worldbuilding elements?
• Do you have any sketches, drawings, maps, graphic designs, et cetera that you can share?
• Do you have any regrets about a character? Did you kill them off and wish that you hadn’t? Do they have a trait that ended up being troublesome? Would you change something about their appearance? Do you wish that you had paired your protagonist with a different love interest?
• How would you have reacted differently than your character if you found yourself in their shoes?

Blog Post Ideas to Boost Organic Traffic & Website Revenue

Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula to find all of the perfect keywords and start siphoning internet users around the world to your website. But there are some tools and tricks you can use.

I’ve already talked about this topic in other articles (and this post is getting to be pretty long), so if you want tips about search engine optimization and searching for good keywords to target, check out this earlier post I wrote on that subject.

If you aren’t already familiar with affiliate programs, they’re definitely worth checking out. Here’s how they work:

1. You sign up to be an affiliate with a company. (For example, you become an Amazon affiliate, which is a good move if you’re an author because it enables you to earn extra commissions on your own book sales.)
2. You write an article on your blog that mentions a product that people can buy on Amazon. Instead of using a regular URL, you generate an affiliate link that directs people to that product listing on Amazon.
3. If someone clicks on that link and completes the purchase, Amazon gives you a small commission as a reward for sending the customer through your unique affiliate link and initiating the sale. If that customer adds other items to their cart before checking out, you get commission on those products, too. (This varies per company.)
4. Amazon tracks these small commission amounts until they add up to a large enough payout, and then they send you a direct deposit. This is usually done monthly unless you fail to hit the minimum threshold, in which case, your earnings roll over to the next period until you reach the required amount and receive your payment.

If you’re an author, check out my previous blog post where I go into a lot more detail about how you can leverage Amazon affiliate links to get extra commission on your own Amazon book sales.

Even if you aren’t part of an affiliate program, higher website traffic means more ad views, which also translate into slow but steady revenue.

The goal with these types of posts is to elevate your articles to the top of search results, which means you need to choose broader (yet still relevant) topics that prioritize strong keywords. Did you know that only .044% of Google search users make it to the second page of the search results? If you want people to discover your website, your articles need to make it onto the first page, which means you need to be strategic about your topics.

Here are some blog post ideas if you want to target general writing/reading topics and keywords to increase your organic website traffic:

• Discuss the writing style, worldbuilding methods, or other craft techniques of famous authors. For example, I have articles about Hemingway and Tolkien that are still among my top-performing posts even though I published them years ago.
• Write reviews for recent, relevant novels in your genre. Choosing popular bestsellers will boost your traffic if there’s already a lot of online buzz, although highlighting indie books and hidden gems could open doors for paid book reviews if that’s something you’re interested in pursuing. Having a well-rounded portfolio of reviews is beneficial. After all, there are a lot of great books out there even if they aren’t at the top of the bestsellers list. Bonus: choose books that are similar to yours so you have a natural tie-in to pitch your novel to readers who enjoyed the book you just reviewed.
• Review products and services that are relevant to your audience. If possible, choose products/services that have an affiliate program so you can earn commission from clicks, purchases, and/or sign-ups resulting from your article.
• Post tutorials and how-to articles that solve common problems. My advice: choose a solution for a problem that you have personally struggled to overcome. For example, one of my top posts teaches people how to glue a cabochon into a bezel setting. I wrote this article after trying multiple products/techniques and failing several times until I finally found the right solution. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only person who ran into this problem (which is usually the case—somebody out there hit the same roadblock you did and is looking for a solution). My article included several Amazon affiliate links to the products that I mentioned in the article, and clicks from that post regularly generate revenue for me every month. But the key is to genuinely try to help people, not sell them products. When the advice is organic, the sales come secondary.
• Publish a holiday shopping guide (with affiliate links to products).
• Compare X vs Y products/services/businesses that your audience might use. Some of my top posts compare IngramSpark vs. B&N Press for self-publishing, Spring vs. RedBubble for print-on-demand merchandise, ACT vs. Next for small business insurance, et cetera. It’s always best if you have personal experience with the products or businesses you’re reviewing.
• Discuss current events and major news going on in the writing/publishing community.
• Create list articles targeting relevant keywords. For example… a list of blog post ideas for fiction writers who are stumped by writer’s block. (See what I did there?) If you want another example, check out my post of 162 different writing genres & subgenres for fiction authors, which currently ranks #11 in my top posts. For that article, I was targeting the keyword phrase “different writing genres.”

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more of my content, check out:

• My FREE monthly newsletter — Get updates about my event schedule, progress on books and other projects, featured art every month, links to the latest blog posts, and more.
• Substack subscription ($5/month) — I candidly share my advice and personal experience to help authors, artists, and other creative solopreneurs who are looking to network with similar entrepreneurs and strategically improve their event strategy for in-person sales.
• Patreon subscription (ranges from free to $15/month) — Fans of my books and art get exclusive behind-the-scenes content such as deleted scenes, sneak peeks, exclusive promotions, timelapse videos, event reminders, a place or minor character named after them in future books, and more, depending on their membership tier.

Recently, an interaction with a fan caught me off guard. The fan had asked me about the release of the next book in my series. As I was explaining that the rough draft and first round of editing were finished but the manuscript still had to go through my beta readers and line editor before it was ready to publish, she asked, “Why? Can’t you just use Grammarly?”

It took me a moment to process the comment before I was able to reply. I’ve already been transparent about my feelings regarding AI (read my earlier post on that topic). Long story short, I’m excited about the prospects of AI being a useful tool to help writers, editors, artists… not replace them. Unfortunately, we seem to be trending in the wrong direction, which makes me even more resistant to using AI any more than necessary.

The thought of replacing my human editors with a computer program was stunning… but what struck me even more was the casualness behind the question.

That solution seemed like a no-brainer to the fan, who was eager for the next book to be released. From her perspective, why was I wasting so much time going through multiple rounds of editing and getting feedback from people when I could just run the document through a program for instant results instead? I would save a lot of money by not having to pay a line editor, and fans could get the book in their hands much faster. Shortening my turnaround time between books would be profitable for me. Sounds like a win-win, right?

Let me be clear: that is NEVER going to happen.

I can’t speak for all authors, but I have absolutely NO intention of ever replacing my human beta readers and editors.

In my humble opinion, paying for a line editor is absolutely essential for indie authors. Even if you’re on a tight budget (like me) — even if you’re trying to cut as many corners as possible — hiring a professional editor is one corner you should NOT cut if you care about producing a high-quality book.

You can design your own cover and do your own interior layout if you want to save money. But no matter how many times you, your friends, and your family read your manuscript, I can guarantee that a good line editor will make your story 1000% better and catch errors you didn’t even know you made.

AI isn’t really artificial intelligence because it doesn’t actually think; it’s just a complex series of algorithms. It has no creativity of its own. It has to be “trained” by inputting tons of existing data (and much of its “training” was used illegally without the permission of the original creators, whether it’s art, writing, etc.)

AI is a great tool for flagging typos, listing synonyms, and making prose suggestions. And it’s a perfectly fine tool for composing emails, doing homework, and drafting small writing projects like website copy. But it’s no substitute for humans. Here’s why I will never replace my human editors with AI:

Writers are at risk of losing their “voice.”

As I mentioned, AI has to be trained with a lot of content. It can write in different styles based on what it “learned” from other writers… but can it write in your style?

It takes years for writers to develop their own voice. I generally don’t use AI programs that use predictive text or offer rephrasing suggestions as I type. At least, not for any creative writing projects. It’s fine for quick email responses or Facebook posts, but AI’s goal of constantly seeking the most precise, cut-and-dry speech will wash out a writer’s natural voice if they lean too heavily on those tools.

I sometimes use sentence fragments. Or I’ll repeat words for emphasis, which means my sentences intentionally start the same way (and editing tools love to flag that as an issue to fix). Or I’ll use other little quirks that, as far as AI is concerned, are incorrect.

That’s where I trust a human editor to sift through my prose and find the actual errors that aren’t stylistic choices. AI is better suited for English homework than creative writing. My voice is important. I don’t need to whittle down my words to the shortest, technical choices every time. It strips away the variety and creativity.

Sometimes, I need to be wordy, especially if I’m channeling a character’s emotions in my sentence structure. I want them to ramble. I want them to keep interrupting their own train of thought and trailing off. I want them to explain something poorly.

That’s how humans operate. We’re not perfect, and don’t choose the most ideal words every time we communicate, and it’s the writer’s job to capture that experience in their own unique voice as well as their characters’ individual voices.

There’s more to editing than just spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Writing a good book goes far beyond technical accuracy. AI is a long way away from being able to replicate human creativity, if it ever comes close at all.

I’m not the kind of author who recycles the same tired plot formulas over and over again. I let the story flow as it comes to me, and I love psychologically complex characters and in-depth worldbuilding. I rely on my editors to give me honest, thoughtful feedback on those aspects.

They alert me to potential plot holes, inconsistent details, flawed explanations, poor character development, and more. For example, my line editor noticed that I’d accidentally put a scar on the wrong side of a character’s face in one of the books. A beta reader gave me the simple yet valuable feedback that my word choice wasn’t right for a seventeen-year-old boy to use and I should phrase the description differently.

I encourage all of my editors to not only mark the issues that need to be fixed, but to also make notes about how they feel when reading scenes so I can make sure my audience is reacting the way I intended. If a joke lands wrong or a reader isn’t connecting with a character they’re supposed to like, those are problems I need to fix.

I can’t get that broad range of feedback by simply running my manuscript through an AI program.

A professional editor knows the traditional publishing industry’s preferred formatting styles.

When I was working on my first novel, my line editor provided valuable insights into how traditional publishers are formatting their books. She flagged parts of my manuscript that were not technically incorrect, but if I wanted my style to align with the books coming out of the Big Five publishing houses, I needed to make some tweaks.

Should there be a space after an em dash? Should your ellipses be (…) or (. . .)? Trends change, and a good editor should know the current industry preferences so your self-published book isn’t out of place among the traditionally published ones.

I use Microsoft Word, which can be notorious for tiny formatting issues. My line editor noticed that my quotation marks weren’t always consistent in my first manuscript. That wasn’t an error on my part; for some reason, Word automatically made quotation marks two straight lines instead of two curved lines if I ended a quote with a question mark or exclamation point rather than a period. I had to fix those inconsistencies, then get into the habit of watching for them as I typed.

AI would not have caught that problem or been able to educate me about formatting from traditional publishers.

Hiring a skilled, reputable line editor is the best investment you can make in your book.

I’ve had a lot of writers ask me for advice. It can be hard to give guidance, especially if a writer is a long way from having a manuscript completed, because there’s no “right way” to publish a book (despite what anyone else might tell you).

I thought I was going to publish traditionally until I learned more about self-publishing and realized that was the best avenue for me. But just because that worked for me doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for other authors.

Even among indie authors, we don’t all walk the same publishing path. I chose to not be Amazon-exclusive and opted for the wide distribution model instead so my books would be available to bookstores, libraries, and readers on other platforms around the globe. Other authors prefer to grant Amazon exclusivity to their books and take advantage of the corporation’s inside marketing tools.

Regardless of distribution preferences, I always, always advise writers to invest in a professional editor. I promise, if you can find a good editor who does a thorough job and understands your vision and your voice, it’s worth every penny. There is a CLEAR difference between an edited vs. unedited book, even if you think you caught all of the typos yourself.

Yes, it can be expensive. Save up for it if you have to. Create a Kickstarter. Communicate with your editor and see if they can work out a payment plan with you. Whatever you have to do, this is the single most important investment for your book that you should make.

Trust me, AI is no substitute for a human editor.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more of my content, check out:

• My FREE monthly newsletter — Get updates about my event schedule, progress on books and other projects, featured art every month, links to the latest blog posts, and more.
• Substack subscription ($5/month) — I candidly share my advice and personal experience to help authors, artists, and other creative solopreneurs who are looking to network with similar entrepreneurs and strategically improve their event strategy for in-person sales.
• Patreon subscription (ranges from free to $15/month) — Fans of my books and art get exclusive behind-the-scenes content such as deleted scenes, sneak peeks, exclusive promotions, timelapse videos, event reminders, a place or minor character named after them in future books, and more, depending on their membership tier.

The longer answer is there are other pros and cons involved… which I’ll discuss in greater detail here in this post.

If we haven’t already met, hi! I’m Sara, a three-time award-winning fantasy author preparing to publish the fourth book in my series. My blog has become a resource for indie authors where I candidly share my experiences to help educate other writers and hopefully help them avoid some of the pitfalls I fell into early in my writing career.

But this post is also for readers, not just writers. Honestly, I wish more readers would ask authors about this topic because there’s a lot to unpack here depending on what kind of support is more important to the author at a given stage in their career.

So, let’s chat about it!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I’m sharing my perspective as an indie (aka self-published) author. This means that I own 100% of the creative rights to my work, but I don’t have the resources and financial support of a big publishing house behind me. All marketing efforts fall on my shoulders (and those costs come out of my pocket, too).

Supporting a traditionally published author probably looks a little different because the publishing house is the one who fronted the investment into the book and then reaps the most financial rewards from book sales after it’s published. (If you’re interested in that topic, check out my article exploring the pros and cons of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing.)

In this article, I’ll share an indie author’s perspective on three key factors we have to consider when it comes to book sales and marketing:

**This article contains affiliate links.

Revenue

From the most basic standpoint of financial benefits, an indie author will make more money if you purchase directly from the author (in person or through their website) than if you buy the book from a retailer.

That’s really just common-sense economics. Bookstores have overhead costs to cover; of course they need to make a profit from the books they sell, which means less money going back to the author. And let’s face it… you know corporate giants like Amazon are going to take every penny they possibly can to line their pockets.

But even if you think you’re supporting the author and buying from them directly, the location matters. When I did book signings at Barnes & Noble, even though I supplied my own inventory of books to sell (meaning I paid all of the upfront costs to have them produced and shipped to my house so I could then transport them to the store for the signing), B&N still took 40% of every sale I made.

That might seem outrageous, but it’s common practice for bookstores to take a hefty commission even though they have zero financial risks involved when hosting an author. This is one of several reasons why I rarely do bookstore signings anymore. I’m trying to run a sustainable business, and losing those big margins isn’t profitable.

Keep in mind that the base cost of each book is already subtracted from an indie author’s revenue. If the author is charging you $20 for a book that costs them $8 to produce/ship, their profit is already reduced to 60% of the sticker price. Then, the bookstore takes another 40% of that $20 (we’re not even factoring other costs like sales tax).

At the end of the day, the bookstore, which did nothing except set up a table, advertise the signing on social media, and maybe print up a sign (I’ve even had bookstores spell my name INCORRECTLY on the sign), takes home double what the author gets to keep in their pocket.

Let’s look at that math. $20 from the customer minus an $8 base production cost minus another $8 to the bookstore leaves only $4 left for the author for each book they sell at a bookstore signing.

It’s hard to make a living with those margins. And, to be blunt, this system isn’t fair to the author who already put a lot of time, hard work, and money into publishing the book, just to lose the majority of their profit margin to a bookstore that hosted them for a few hours.

On the other hand, if you see an author selling books at a festival, convention, market, or other type of event that has other vendors, they most likely paid a flat fee to set up their booth while keeping 100% of the profits. Depending on how big the event is and how much the booth space cost, this is usually a much better deal for the author!

If you want to support an indie author by giving them the biggest profit margin on a book sale:

• Order directly from their website (where there isn’t a third party siphoning away commission)
• Visit the author’s booth at a local event
• Contact them and ask how to buy from them directly if you aren’t sure about the best method

Visibility

Understandably, revenue and profit margins are the most obvious ways to directly measure a positive impact. But there are other factors to consider when it comes to success for an author.

The greatest challenge is not actually writing, editing, or publishing the book (although each of those phases is, of course, a monstrous feat on its own). The hardest part about self-publishing is getting your book beyond your circle of friends and family and into the hands of new readers.

When a reader goes to a bookstore and requests an author’s book, there’s a trade-off for that kind of sale scenario. On the one hand, the author’s profit margin decreases when a bookstore (or other third-party retailer) gets involved. But on the other, the exposure and visibility is an asset.

Most bookstores aren’t aware of self-published books on the market unless they’re advertised or requested. So, when consumers indicate demand for a book, the bookstore is more likely to order additional copies for their shelf, which increases the chances that other readers will discover and buy the book when browsing, which potentially leads to additional orders if the bookstore chooses to restock.

The same goes for libraries. When someone goes to their local library and asks if the library can order a book, the author doesn’t make a ton of money on that sale. BUT they now have the opportunity for a lot more exposure with their book in the library’s circulation, and some readers like to check out a book for free and then later buy a copy for their personal library at home if they like the book.

However it happens, getting a book on the shelf is a win. In many cases, bookstores and libraries don’t carry self-published books unless the author or a local reader sends a personal request. For many indie authors, that level of necessary outreach is overwhelming, and we simply don’t have time to research potential bookstores and handle messaging each one individually while juggling so many other writing/editing/publishing/marketing tasks. Not to mention it’s much more impactful to have a reader ask a bookstore to carry a book than it is to have the author make the request.

In lieu of the higher royalties, improving an author’s visibility by getting their novel on bookshelves is a subtle way to support them even if it’s a much harder metric to measure.

Online Rankings

When I talk about online rankings, I’m mostly talking about the Goliath of the digital marketplace: Amazon.

Indie authors like me who don’t sell their books exclusively on Amazon tend to have a love-hate relationship with the retailer giant. My biggest headache comes from the fact that Amazon frequently undercuts my retail price in an attempt to beat out other book sellers for the sale… including me.

They are 100% within their rights to do that. I set a recommended retail price based on the print cost plus the retailer discount that I decide for each book (anywhere between 35-55%), giving myself enough wiggle room to avoid being in the red after factoring in potential commission losses (like the 40% that Barnes & Noble takes from in-store signings).

But that retail price is only a recommendation. Once Amazon buys the books from IngramSpark, my distributor, they can then sell the book at whatever cost they want. It doesn’t affect me because Amazon has already paid for the books at the wholesale rate. If they wanted to, they could give away my books for free and eat their losses.

Obviously, I can’t afford to do that. If I tried to outmatch Amazon, I’d lose money.

It’s frustrating for me to be in my booth watching people on their phones clearly pulling up the book on Amazon to see if they can find it at a lower price. And yes, it’s usually going to be cheaper. But is it worth saving $3 to order an unsigned copy from Amazon when you could meet the author and get a personalized, autographed book? I also include a few extra goodies with purchases… which you won’t get on Amazon. And I offer bundle discounts at shows when people buy multiple books from me.

I digress. Amazon is a major contender for book sales, and some people prefer to save a few bucks by ordering online. While I’d prefer to make those sales myself, there’s still a silver lining: the best seller rankings.

As you can see in the screenshot from my first book’s Amazon listing, if you scroll down to the product details, you’ll find its stats for the best sellers rank in a few relevant categories.

Keep in mind that Amazon has over 20 million book titles listed as of July 2024! Scoring within 10k for popular categories is a surprisingly good ranking (especially considering that I don’t run any ads on Amazon or really do much in the way of online marketing in general).

Although I make less money when people buy my books on Amazon, those sales do impact my overall rankings, which in turn boost my online visibility and overall credibility as an author when people search for my titles. Fans have told me that they found my books online after Amazon recommended my series based on other books they’ve bought and reviewed (even though, again, I’m not paying Amazon to advertise my books, so this reach is organic).

If you intend to purchase a book on Amazon, I still recommend checking the author’s website or social media bio because they might have an affiliate link to the product page.

Affiliate links are uniquely generated outbound links to a specific product or website with the affiliate’s referral ID embedded in the link.

For you as the consumer, this doesn’t impact you at all. The product will be the exact same price whether you pull up the listing via an affiliate link or by going directly to Amazon and typing in the search bar.

But for the affiliate (in this case, the author), Amazon tracks the inbound traffic and pays them an extra commission for any purchases that come from someone accessing Amazon through that affiliate link. It’s basically a referral commission the author receives from sending a customer to Amazon.

In a nutshell, if you go straight to Amazon to buy the book, the author will get their normal royalty cut. But if you get to the Amazon product page via the author’s affiliate link, then Amazon will give them a small commission (usually <10%) on top of the royalty payment, so they get a little extra while you still pay the same price. It’s not a lot, but it does add up over time if more people support authors by shopping this way!

Unfortunately, there’s usually no way to know for sure if the link an author provides is an affiliate link or a regular link. On my website, for example, if you click on my shop page for links to the books, I simply list the retailers:

This is pretty typical. Most people don’t advertise “THIS IS AN AFFILIATE LINK!!” (especially since many visitors don’t even know what an affiliate link is, so it’s better to keep everything simple).

It’s not until you actually click on the affiliate link and get redirected to Amazon’s website that you’ll be able to see the URL has extra tracking IDs tacked onto the end of the product number:

I know people aren’t wild about the idea of being tracked on the internet, so let me reiterate that affiliate links aren’t tracking YOUR information (at least… not any more than you’re already being tracked online). They’re just telling Amazon that the author sent you to their site. Those tags are sending Amazon MY information so they know how much commission I’m owed based on the number of clicks and purchases that came from my link.

Here is the exact same product listing on Amazon without any of the affiliate tracking information in the URL:

As you can see, the prices of the ebook, audiobook, hardcover, and paperback are exactly the same. The only difference is that Amazon isn’t registering any affiliate information to credit me with the referral.

Many authors don’t realize they can earn this extra commission. They have to sign up for Amazon’s affiliate program and go through the approval process first (and Amazon might reject their application if their web traffic doesn’t meet their requirements), so just because they have an Amazon link on their website doesn’t mean that it’s an affiliate link.

Still, it’s always better to give it a shot, just in case! All it costs you is a few extra clicks to seek out the author’s website or social media bio first instead of going straight to Amazon.

Another bonus: if you access Amazon through an author’s affiliate link, then other items you purchase in that session are also eligible for commission. So, if you’re buying additional books or products, the author gets an extra little bonus on those items, too!

I hope this information was helpful! Thank you for visiting my website and supporting authors in various ways. If you want to do even more, check out my article for five FREE ways to support your favorite indie authors.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more of my content, check out:

• My monthly newsletter (free) — Get updates about my event schedule, progress on books and other projects, featured art every month, links to the latest blog posts, and more.
• Substack subscription ($5/month) — I share my advice and personal experience to help authors, artists, and other creative solopreneurs who are looking to network with similar entrepreneurs and strategically improve their event strategy for in-person sales.
• Patreon subscription (ranges from free to $15/month) — Fans of my books and art get exclusive behind-the-scenes content such as deleted scenes, sneak peeks, exclusive promotions, timelapse videos, event reminders, a place or minor character named after them in future books, and more, depending on their membership tier.

But long before the first book was released, I’d been getting consistent advice to prepare for querying literary agents and publishing books — build your platform; build your fan base; build your authority.

I knew going into the querying phase that the odds were against me because most literary agents overlook brand-new authors who don’t already have a strong online presence with a built-in base of followers. The publishing landscape is very different now than it was twenty years ago. Nowadays, the majority of the marketing falls on the author rather than the agent or publisher.

I ended up going in a different direction and publishing independently. This route was the best alignment for my goals and vision, as self-publishing allowed me to maintain my full creative rights. But, whether you want to publish traditionally or independently, the advice is still the same — you need to build your platform, fan base, and authority if you want to catch an agent’s attention or push your indie book to success.

Here are some of the biggest benefits of having a blog if you’re a fiction writer:

1. Online Presence

When you search your name on Google, what comes up?

When I search my name in an incognito window, the first results are my branded social media pages and my websites. But it took a long time to make that happen. It took years of consistently publishing posts and articles.

The same goes with photos. In 2018 when I was a brand-new author, if I googled my name, I was lucky to see my LinkedIn profile picture near the top of the mix. Now, my photos, book, and logo dominate eleven of the first fourteen photos that populate in the search. Not too shabby!

And look at the categories above the thumbnails! All but one of those related categories circle back to me: Shutterstock, Literary Titan (the award my books received), [A] Fallen Hero (my first novel), Chronicles [of Avilésor], author photographer, Facebook (with a photo of my book), award, artist.

Again, that took a lot of work. A lot of publishing and using alt text so search engines could properly recognize and categorize my photos. The Amazon listing of my first book is right there in the second row. Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, one of my audiobook narrators, is even there in the top row in a TikTok duet!

The point is, when a potential reader, literary agent, or publisher searches for me now, they’ll find a LOT of content because I’ve built up a strong online presence over the years. This is invaluable. It immediately builds a sense of confidence among readers and professionals when they can see that I’m a professional with a ton of content to back up my online authority.

(I haven’t googled my name in a long time until I started writing this post… so I have to admit that I’m pleasantly surprised by how much the search results have changed!)

2. Organic Traffic

Have you ever heard the term “content marketing”?

I started to understand and appreciate the value of this marketing practice back in 2021 when I started working as a freelancer for a writing agency and a ghostwriter for the company’s founder.

Content marketing is a deliberate marketing approach that strategically focuses on producing high-quality, engaging, relevant content designed to target a clearly defined audience with the ultimate goal of driving an action from the consumer.

Essentially, content marketing is the inverse of an upfront sales pitch or advertisement because you are offering something valuable instead of pushing someone to buy, subscribe, or commit to something. It’s more like having a casual conversation with an acquaintance as opposed to a pushy car salesman making someone uncomfortable.

This is what blogging can accomplish when you recognize your target audience and write valuable articles using strong keywords. You can see how much my website traffic grew in the last four years compared to the first four:

What happened to cause that growth? Well, in 2020, I joined an affiliate program and learned how to target a specific niche. The next year, I started working with the founder of the writing agency, who was a pioneer of content marketing before the practice even had a name. I refined my writing approach, and this blog, which had started as a personal résumé website, became a valuable resource for other writers and authors, not to mention a connection point for my fans.

Some of my content is centered around my book series to share updates with fans. Other posts discuss the business side of writing and publishing, and those are the posts that populate in organic searches as aspiring authors search for information to help them on their own journies. That, in turn, drives people to my website, where I have a chance to introduce myself and my work to them.

Even if that doesn’t translate directly into book sales, it does result in exposure (and I didn’t have to pay for a single ad).

There’s more to the equation than just book sales. Perhaps one of blog posts inspires a writer to subscribe to my Substack where I regularly discuss entrepreneurial tips for authors and artists. Or a follower signs up for my free newsletter to get periodic updates. Or a fan decides to join my Patreon community. Or my advice helped a new author so much that they buy me a drink to say thank you. Or I gain new social media followers.

Like I said, there are many ways to measure growth beyond simply focusing on book sales. Maybe I don’t get any new followers, subscribers, or donations, but my website traffic is so high that I earn money from ad revenue. Organic traffic comes with a ton of potential opportunities.

3. Authority

Aspiring and newly published authors both face the challenge of proving that they are capable writers. If there’s any doubt, why would a reader pick up your book? Why would an agent agree to represent you?

Regularly publishing on your blog is a way to build up your résumé and demonstrate your skills to potential customers, fans, and business partners.

What you have to say is just as important as how you say it. I know… it can be hard to sound confident when you’re just getting started and have a lot to learn. But think about the experience you do have under your belt already. Research relevant topics that interest you and compile that information into an article told in your own voice. Share the lessons you’ve learned so far.

Above all else, be AUTHENTICALLY YOU. That’s the most important part. “Fake it ’til you make it” will only get you so far. Build your authority, but do it genuinely by speaking from the heart.

4. Fandom Base

A lot of fandoms are built on social media, but remember that you don’t own those websites, which means you have no control over what happens to them. Imagine if you built your fandom on Myspace and concentrated all of your content on that single platform. Who would be reading that content now? Anyone?

What happens if your chosen social media site crashes and all of your content is gone? Or you’re locked out of your account? Or someone buys the platform and changes everything?

Having a blog means that you have control over your own website and domain (if you purchase a domain). You have your own space to develop a fandom, communicate with readers, share updates, encourage conversations with fans, get feedback, find beta readers, and so much more.

5. Content & Engagement

Writing, editing, and publishing a book takes time. Some people are rapid-release authors capable of publishing every two or three months, but most writers (myself included) need at least a year or two, sometimes even longer.

Don’t stay silent after your novel is published! You need to keep your audience engaged in between book releases. Having a blog is an excellent way to keep publishing content during your “down time” so your fans don’t forget about you.

Blog posts also open the door for behind-the-scenes content and exclusive updates that build hype around the next book as you get closer to its release. Pull back the curtain and let your fans have a glimpse into your creative process. Tell them what inspires you. Engaging with your audience on a personal, authentic level can turn casual readers into true fans.

I also recommend using your blog to post your event schedule and links to social media pages, book listings, editorial reviews, etc. so you can keep your fans updated and diversify your reach with outbound links to relevant articles and websites.

Conclusion

There are many benefits to blogging if you’re a writer, regardless of whether your focus is on fiction or nonfiction. Not only does it build your online presence, demonstrate your skills, bolster your authority as an author, expand your reach with organic web traffic, serve as a key building block for your fandom, engage your audience, and provide filler content between book releases, but it also helps you hone your writing skills and develop your voice.

You can write for more than one audience on your blog. Just make sure that each post has a clearly defined target reader. In my experience, I’ve found that my articles for writers, authors, and creative solopreneurs attract a lot of organic traffic to my website but generally perform poorly on social media, whereas articles written about my book series for fans tend to have higher social media engagement.

Remember, it’s okay to experiment! Over time, analytical data can shed light on which posts are performing well and which ones landed flat so you can adapt your strategy.

Blog away, dear writer…

Creative individuals across many disciplines — writing, painting, sculpting, dancing, songwriting, etc. — came together to learn, network, encourage each other, and discuss business strategies. Some of the artists strongly encouraged me to build a Patreon community.

I had heard of Patreon before, but I’d never considered it a viable option for me. Subscription-based content was intriguing as a source of passive income… but would people actually pay to read my posts?

I’ve now been on Patreon for three years, and I recently started a Substack subscription as well. Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons when it comes to publishing subscription-based content as part of your business model.

What are Patreon & Substack?

Patreon and Substack perform similar functions. Both platforms give creatives the opportunity to publish their work online and have subscribers pay a monthly fee to access it.

Substack prioritizes written content with minimal design options. It can also host podcasts and videos, but it doesn’t have a lot of customization options. You can publish your content for free, which is how I share my monthly newsletter now that I’ve migrated it over from MailChimp. You can also set up a monthly subscription for fans who pay for your premium content. Substack allows you to set prices for monthly/annual subscriptions, group subscriptions, or the “founding member” plan. You can also do a half-and-half option by inserting a paywall into your content that allows people to read for free up to a certain point, and then they have to upgrade if they want to continue reading.

Patreon supports text, audio, video, polls, livestreams, and more. For subscription plans, Patreon offers more versatility by allowing creators to set various membership tiers at different price points with different perks. You can also publish free posts for the general public.

I started Patreon for my fans by offering three membership tiers with perks ranging from a handwritten thank-you note, to timelapse videos to watch me sketch a new drawing every month, to sneak peeks and deleted scenes from my book series, to having a place or minor character named after you in an upcoming book.

Substack was intended to host my free monthly newsletter and nothing more. However, a local artist reached out to me and suggested that I create a new Patreon tier for artists and other creatives who might be interested in my advice for finding and applying for events, being a successful vendor, marketing, branding, et cetera. I considered her proposal but decided that rather than expand Patreon to add a new demographic, I would create a separate Substack community that focused on business topics for creative solopreneurs.

Pros of Subscription Content

Monetized Publications

Subscriptions enable creators to monetize their work and earn compensation for their time, skills, expertise, and unique perspectives.

I publish a lot of free content on social media, my monthly newsletter, and this blog. Free content serves important roles in my business. It’s how I connect with new fans, reach new readers, communicate my schedule and important announcements, build hype around my book series, share my art, and more. Free is great… but it doesn’t pay the bills.

That’s where monetization comes in to fill the gap when I publish content that goes beyond my basic posts and articles. As you can imagine, finding additional ways to earn money in between events and book releases is critical to building my business so I can not only survive, but also invest money back into the business.

Recurring Revenue

The biggest advantage of having subscription-based content is knowing that I have a steady (albeit small) stream of income at the beginning of each month.

Most of my revenue comes from sales at events, but that’s not always consistent. Inclement weather, low foot traffic, illness, and other unforeseen circumstances can result in cancelations or poor sales, and one poorly timed bad event can completely mess up my financial stability.

The recurring monthly revenue that comes from subscription content is a little extra padding to help protect me from those mishaps. In an emergency, that income can help me cover bills. When everything is running smoothly, it goes straight back into the business by covering costs such as website hosting and domains, editing and publishing costs, liability insurance payments, inventory orders, vendor fees, and more.

Highly Engaged Niche Audience

When fans subscribe to your content, it’s safe to assume that they’re genuinely interested in what you’re publishing. In comparison, when I post on my blog or social media, I’m sending content out to a potentially wide range of readers on the internet. It’s hard to know how engaged those readers are or what type of content they prefer since I write for different audiences, depending on the topic and post.

But the casual readers aren’t the ones who are likely to pay for premium content. Subscribers open the door for much more interesting conversations and topics since they’re highly invested in the subject matter. On Patreon, I know these are fans of my books and/or art, so I can go into much more detail. On Substack, I’m dealing with creative professionals who are interested in the business side of art and writing. These highly engaged niche audiences enable me to tailor my publications and speak to them in depth on the subject matter.

Exclusive Content

Subscribers expect premium content, giving creators a prime opportunity to share exclusive information, sneak peeks at the creative process, glimpses behind the scenes, early access to releases before they’re made public, and more. Subscription content raises publications up to the next level, which is not only fun for the creator, but also for the fans who get to see behind the curtain.

I like to describe Patreon as getting a VIP pass at a concert. I’ll share my finished art for free online, but patrons get to go backstage and actually watch me draw it, which is an entirely different experience for true fans.

Support Individual Creators Instead of Corporations

From an integrity standpoint, it’s much more satisfying to know that your subscriptions are supporting a hardworking, creative individual whose work you appreciate rather than going to a big corporation that’s taking advantage of its customers while the CEO and stockholders pad their pockets.

There’s currently a grassroots push to support small local businesses, artists, authors, musicians, and other creatives who are struggling to stay afloat. I feel optimistic that in the wake of the pandemic, the public will continue to follow this trend as people become more and more frustrated by the corporate greed that’s been price-gouging us for a long time. That’s my hope, anyway.

Cons of Subscription Content

Getting Subscribers

My greatest challenge has been getting people to actually subscribe. For the On-Ramp artist who initially pushed me to join Patreon, attracting subscribers was easy. She had an incredibly supportive fan base that was eager to support her.

I didn’t have that. I also have a history of struggling to market myself, especially when it comes to seeking money for donations, fundraising, flash sales, or even general sales. My short list of subscribers has fluctuated over the few years I’ve had Patreon, and my growth has been slow and incredibly frustrating. Simply put, I’m not good at asking people for money, so I struggle to push my subscriptions.

Competition for Subscribers

Unfortunately, we live in a subscription world now. It seems like almost everything is a subscription. (I’m still mad at Adobe for eliminating the single-purchase option for their programs… I’ll continue using Photoshop CS6, which stopped receiving support in 2014, until the bugs make it unusable and I’m forced to start paying for the subscription.)

Netflix, Prime, Disney+, utilities, rent, apps, games, meal kits, Spotify, news publications, Microsoft, Adobe, internet, phone… So many subscriptions. I get it. I’m on a tight budget myself. It’s hard to compete with all of those big corporations sucking up everyone’s money every month. Why should people sign up for yet another subscription to add when many people are trying to cut back on their monthly spending?

Burnout

When subscribers are paying monthly, there’s constant pressure to publish, publish, publish. If you stop publishing, they’ll either stop paying, or you’ll feel guilty because they’re not getting what they paid for.

This nonstop pressure to create and publish new content on such a regular basis opens the door for creative burnout. What if you run out of topics? What if life gets hectic and you don’t have enough time to gather your own thoughts, let alone organize them and publish a post? What if you want to take a long vacation?

Fees

Patreon and Substack are both free to use. However, they have to make their money somehow, and they do that by taking out fees from the pledges your subscribers make. Patreon takes 8% plus processing fees, which altogether add up to just under 14%. Substack’s cut is even steeper at 10% plus Stripe’s processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Yes, you’re making money, but as your subscriber list grows, you end up losing a chunk of your revenue. However, you’re also using the platform, tools, domain, and host for free, so some fees are to be expected.

Some creators have become frustrated and opted to leave these platforms in favor of using their own websites instead. But, if you have a WordPress website like I do, you’d have to pay for a plugin to collect those monthly or annual fees. If you have a lot of subscribers, that avenue might be worth it. If you don’t, that option would be more expensive for you. It’s a growing pain you’ll have to consider if your following expands.

Conclusion

Is subscription content the right move for you as a content creator?

As long as you’re willing to stick with it, I say go for it! It doesn’t cost you anything except time if you’re using a platform like Patreon or Substack. They take a percentage of your revenue; they don’t charge you upfront for anything (unlike a WordPress plugin, which would charge you a monthly or annual fee).

Just remember that it can take a long time to get established and build your subscriber list, so try not to get too frustrated. Competition against other subscriptions is steep, and people are frugal about where they spend their money.

There’s also the risk of burnout, so it might be beneficial to follow other creators, brainstorm a list of content ideas, establish a publication schedule, and take other measures to prepare.

The benefits are definitely worthwhile if you have exclusive content worth sharing with a select niche of engaged fans. Until you get established, subscriptions will most likely serve as a small supplemental source of revenue rather than your primary income, but it has the potential to grow into a much bigger stream over time. Some creators have successfully amplified their subscriptions enough to make up half or more of their total revenue. I’m not there yet, but I’ll continue to publish exclusive content for my biggest fans and followers as my business keeps growing.

I fall into the latter category. Does AI have the capability of being an incredible tool? Yes. But until laws catch up with technology, many artists across many mediums on edge, and for good reason.

AI has been “trained” using art, photographs, images, and written content created (and copyrighted) by human artists, photographers, and writers… in almost all cases, without their consent. Essentially, from an artistic perspective, AI was built upon a massive case of intellectual property theft that violated copyrights.

Now, one could argue that artists have been using the work of other artists throughout our entire history. Art inspires art. Nothing is truly original.

And to that, I would agree. I pulled inspiration from my favorite books, movies, and television shows when I wrote my fantasy novels and combined all of the elements I loved the most (found families, fugitives, supernatural powers, fight scenes, cat-and-mouse POV shifts, tortured characters that are morally gray and psychologically complex). I can tell you that my writing frequently utilizes em dashes thanks to the impact of reading Emily Dickinson when I was in high school, and my fondness for worldbuilding undoubtedly came from reading Tolkien in middle school. When I’m drawing a new art piece, the very first thing I do is scroll through Google images and screenshot relevant photos that I can study for proportions, shadows, textures, etc.

The difference is I am using these for reference and inspiration, then building my own unique style around the echoes of the pieces that touched my soul so deeply they became ingrained in me as artist.

AI essentially absorbs this content without permission and then dissects, combines, and regurgitates it. Despite the name “artificial intelligence,” it is not intelligent, and it cannot be inspired by existing works. It’s nothing more than a complex series of algorithms. There’s no thought or emotion behind it.

My thoughts about AI are not all doom and gloom. I’m excited about the prospect of harnessing AI as a powerful tool that can help automate menial tasks, improve analytics, and make our jobs faster and easier so we can spend less time working and more time enjoying life.

But sadly, capitalism requires laborers, and we’ve built a society that has linked self-worth with employment. AI should have freed us to spend less time working and more time making art, but it went in the wrong direction. Now, AI is encroaching on artists’ livelihoods.

Author’s Perspective

Am I worried about AI eliminating my job as an author? No. AI is improving at a rapid pace, but it’s nowhere near ready for that level of creative writing.

I’ve talked before about what it means to “write to market.” To some authors, it means identifying your target reader base and writing/marketing specifically to that niche. But to other authors, it means identifying bestsellers and essentially copying that exact same plot formula with all the usual tropes but tweaking it into a “new” story with slightly different characters. (The romance genre is especially notorious for that because readers like the familiarity and nostalgia, but romance isn’t the only one; there are culprits in every genre.)

Personally, I don’t support the second example, but I will acknowledge that it has proven to be lucrative and successful for many authors. It doesn’t require much thought or creativity. And that type of “write to market” style is a prime opportunity for AI because the algorithm essentially does exactly what those authors do.

Can I foresee lazy “authors” using AI to churn out unimaginative copy-and-paste formula novels? Absolutely. AI will just save them a lot of time. But I don’t think those unoriginal books will be successful. If a human couldn’t be bothered to write it, why should one be bothered to read it?

I’ll be perfectly honest — I didn’t write to market. I wrote the story that had been exploding in my imagination for many years before I finally felt compelled to get it out of my head and into a tangible form. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to find a niche that enjoyed my work after I published, even if I hadn’t written the story specifically for them. My novels are truly a heartfelt passion project. I just can’t see AI being able to successfully capture the emotions, human experiences, relatable characters with complex psychology, unexpected twists, and overall creativity with any kind of story that veers away from a boring and predictable plot formula.

I can, however, potentially see AI encroaching on ghost writers. I’ve never approved of ghost writing (even though, as a freelance writer, I was technically a ghost writer myself). Ghost writing is when a client hires someone to write content, but the credit for that content goes to the client, not the actual writer. Personally, I find ghost writing to be deceitful. You might think you’re reading a book or article written by a celebrity, world leader, or high-profile entrepreneur with decades of success and expertise when the real writer actually had NONE of those credentials.

When I became a freelance writer, I didn’t realize that freelance writing was really ghost writing at first. The articles I wrote for clients were published under someone else’s byline and professional credentials.

In my humble opinion, ghost writing is disrespectful not only for the writer, who did all of the work and receives zero credit, but also to the reader, who incorrectly attributes the work to someone who simply slapped their name on the content like the slacker who didn’t contribute to the group project in school and then gleefully claimed the good grade.

Ghost writers don’t just write blog posts and short articles. People also hire them to write entire books. I think the practice is essentially false advertising, but it’s legal, and it’s common. If people want to publish a book but don’t have the time or skills to write it themselves, then I can certainly see an open niche for AI to fill.

Writer’s Perspective

As far as AI eliminating jobs for writers… that is a much more pessimistic topic.

After I left my full-time office job in 2021, I went on to work as a freelance writer with a few different employers. The first one involved writing job-related articles such as interview and résumé tips. I later moved on to work with a writing agency that sent client-submitted projects out to their network of contracted writers. I wrote website content ranging from articles about backyard stone pizza ovens, to beverage innovations, to sales marketing software, to “About Us” pages for businesses.

I also ended up working for the founder of that writing agency and creating content that was featured on prominent entrepreneurship websites and her own blog. After my contract with the agency was terminated early in 2022, I stayed on with the original founder (who had sold the agency a few months prior to my departure) and continued working as a freelancer creating web content for clients who hired our small team to build their website for them.

Imagine my surprise (and alarm) when the founder sent an email campaign just a few weeks ago with the subject: “Why I quit before AI could take my job.”

This was coming from an industry-revolutionizing content marketer who built a six-figure writing agency that had seen tremendous growth and success for over a decade. She was an expert at reading the market and predicting trends, demands, and opportunities… and she chose to pivot away from human writers to prioritize AI content instead.

For the most part, I’ve kept quiet about AI. I’ve been watching, observing, waiting to see how everything plays out… feeling a pit in my stomach the whole time. But seeing that email subject in my inbox was an eye-opener. The writing world is evolving rapidly, and as much as it pains me to say this, the future of freelance writing has become bleak.

A year ago, AI was positioned to be a tool for writers rather than a replacement. It was helpful in generating suggestions for topics, but it was rife with awkward sentences, incorrect facts, and sometimes even plagiarized content that needed a human writer’s expertise for guidance and major revisions. The content that AI generated was not ready to publish right out of the gate.

But the technology has improved drastically. When a client submits a project request to a freelance writer, they have to provide us with information about their business so we know the services they offer, the desired tone of their brand, and relevant information necessary to accurately represent their business on their website. Now, why would a client pay a human writer to spend several hours researching and writing an article when they can simply input that exact same information they had to provide anyway into an AI prompt and get that content at a fraction of that time and cost?

Creative writing is my passion. Freelance writing was better for me than working in customer service or suffering through a 40-hour work week in an office, but I could never say that I was passionate about it. Even though it was a writing job, it was still mundane work at its core… and that’s exactly what AI was designed to do. I had to research topics, verify and cite sources, and put together articles or web pages with the information I’d compiled. AI can do all of that.

As much as it breaks my heart, I don’t see a future for freelance writers anymore. Not for the types of freelance roles that I’ve worked in, anyway. The people who don’t have the time or skills to write content themselves will look for the fastest, cheapest way to generate content. Outsourcing those needs to AI is a practical solution.

Artist’s Perspective

Most of the conversations I’ve seen online about AI are centered around the problem of AI-generated art. The primary root of this issue lies in the fact that AI algorithms were “trained” with art that was used in blatant copyright violation and without the permission of the original artists, who also received no compensation.

Artists do NOT have to register with the U.S. Copyright Office to protect their work. Technically speaking, artwork is protected by copyright as soon as the art is fixed in a tangible form. (This also applies to written works.) Basically, once you finish your art, it’s automatically copyrighted. The only reason an artist would need to register with the U.S. Copyright Office is if they want to be able to take legal action against infringers in court.

My heart goes out to digital artists because this is the primary style that AI is replicating. I dabble in digital art, but I mostly draw by hand using pencil or charcoal. From my perspective, it feels like digital artists are on the front lines combatting the ethics (or lack thereof) of AI while the artists still using hand-drawn methods watch from the sidelines with bated breath, waiting to see how the battle unfolds.

At the moment, I don’t personally feel the AI threat around my throat because my particular style of art is not in demand. Yet.

I think this is going to boil down to two types of consumers — the ones who have a true appreciation for art and respect the time, skills, practice, and training that real artists have vs. the ones who care more about being able to obtain cheap, mass-produced art.

This face-off is already a familiar one. I frequently encounter it when I set up a booth at events. Some customers love my art; they’re excited to meet and support a local artist. Some don’t buy art unless it’s an original or limited-edition print, so they move on when they see that I don’t have originals for sale at events. Some compliment me but make it clear that they think my work is overpriced (even if I’m charging only $25 for a piece that took me five days to draw) and they would rather buy cheaper wall art from Amazon.

Like I said, this is the same face-off, just with different technology. There will continue to be people who treasure real art in contrast to those who want something pretty and cheap, even if it’s mass-produced and/or made by an algorithm instead of a real person.

I also think this legal battle over copyright infringement is going to come down to monetization power rather than ethics and respect for artists. It’s the sad but true state of capitalism. People in a position to create AI regulations are going to care more about the businesses that are upset about the inability to copyright and properly monetize AI art (and therefore unable to penalize other people for “stealing” that “intellectual” property). The integrity of artists likely won’t be what drives regulatory change. It’s all about the money and the ways intellectual property can be claimed, monetized, and enforced.

On a slightly more positive note, I’m pleased to see that many conventions have updated their vendor rules and outright banned AI art. I haven’t seen that firm stance as much with smaller festivals and markets, but hopefully, event coordinators will start to recognize the issue of AI and amend their requirements to ensure they’re protecting real artists and maintaining the integrity of their vendors.

I really don’t know what the future holds for artists fighting against AI. Being a full-time artist is already an incredible challenge. Way too many people say they appreciate art but grossly underestimate the level of time, dedication, talent, patience, and practice artists have to endure to hone their skills. Artists are frequently underappreciated and undervalued. People want artists’ skills but don’t want to pay for them… and that’s a prime opportunity for AI to undercut artists.

Digital art is on front line of that battle. I don’t know if my style of hand-drawn art will be next, but I’m uneasy about the direction AI is heading in the art space.

Photographer’s Perspective

As far as my business goes, photography has taken a backseat. My primary focus continues to be on my sci-fi fantasy book series. When I started branching out with my inventory and display, I added prints of my artwork and photography on various products at events, but I quickly noticed that there was a much higher demand for the art than the photography, so I scaled back on the photos in favor of the art instead.

Once again, I think the debate about AI and photography is really just the latest rendition of a fight that’s been raging for quite a while when digital editing tools like Photoshop came onto the scene. AI is just stepping it up to a new level.

Where should the line be drawn? Does a photograph need to be “pure” and unedited? What about adjusting the exposure or contrast levels? Or manually manipulating elements, such as removing an unsightly telephone pole or a distracting shadow? Or making artistic edits like leaving one spot of color in an otherwise black-and-white photo? Are edits okay if a human makes them manually using digital tools?

I don’t know the answer here. We already live in a world where it’s hard to tell if images are fake. AI is blurring that line even more, but this isn’t a new conversation.

Photographers are facing similar intellectual property challenges as artists. AI developers used their copyrighted work without seeking permission or offering compensation. Obviously, people will still need photographers for special events like senior portraits, family photos, and weddings… but what will happen to the more artistic side of photography?

I only recently started offering my photography as stock images available for licensing through Shutterstock. I can’t help but think, Too late. You missed that window of opportunity. People aren’t going to need stock images now that they can create what they need with AI.

The big factor here again falls back on copyright issues. AI imagery cannot be copyrighted. Companies don’t like not being able to own the images they use to represent their brand. So, with that in mind, it’s possible that stock imagery licensing isn’t dead (yet). But until lawmakers catch up with technology and hammer out regulations, the future of art, photography, and writing is uncertain… and it’s making a lot of people, including me, very nervous on multiple fronts. AI was supposed to make life easier so humans could spend more time making art. Instead, it’s taking away opportunities for writers and artists. We seem to be speeding ahead on the wrong track.