I’m always reading and listening to content about publishing – both indie and traditional. I’ll keep this page updated with resources you might find helpful as you find your own way within the publishing landscape.
Books About Publishing
These books are from hybrid authors who have worked inside and outside traditional publishing and I find that perspective very insightful. Both pull back the curtain to how it all works.
Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum
The title alone is a master class in SEO! From an author who has both self published and been traditionally published.
So You Want to Publish a Book? by Anne Trubek
From an independent publisher who is also a traditionally published author.
I don’t agree with everything Trubek writes – specifically her views about which books are “worth” being published (it’s a capitalist lens) so if you’re feeling imposter syndrome maybe don’t dig into this one yet. But I learned a lot about the nuts and bolts of how publishing and bookshops work from this book.
Editing Process
The Art of Proofreading by Anne Trubek
Self Publishing
Here’s a collection of resources specific to self publishing.
Podcasts
Writing Excuses Season 18, Episode 40 How to Make Money from Your Hobby
A masterclass in how Howard and Sandra Tayler turned a web comic into a self published book series.
Cover & Book Design
The best book covers of 2023 are the ones you’ll never see (Fast Company)
Butterick’s Practical Typography
Diversifying Income Streams as a Writer
Funding the Writing Life (Writing Excuses Season 18, Episode 53)
Authors as multi-hyphenates (Writing Excuses Podcast Season 18, Episode 26)
Marketing
This post has some great ideas and examples of how to market your book right here on Substack.
How to sell a book on Substack
The following post has a paywall, but it’s a good resource if you want to know how blurbs work in the professional publishing world.
Blurb writing etiquette by Courtney Maum
If you want more strategic support for marketing I’d highly recommend taking a course from Leonie Dawson.
Her course 40 Days to a Finished Book (affiliate link) includes practical tips on how to become an Amazon Bestseller. And her Marketing without Social Media workshop (affiliate link) is full of creative ideas to market your work outside the algorithm. Leonie is an autistic and nonbinary multi passionate and has a very accessible and colorful teaching style. You can also join their Brilliant Bit & Life Academy to get access to both courses and everything else they has to offer.
Hybrid Publishing
Catherynne Valente has been traditionally published, self published through a wildly successful Kickstarter, and then that self pub book was picked up and traditionally published. She is a great example of how authors can move between worlds.
Twenty Years Ago Today, My Life Began by Catherynne M. Valente
It’s also worth listening to Catherynne Valente talk about her publishing journey on these podcasts. She wrote and published The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making as a marketing material for another book. Because it won awards before it was traditionally published it was never edited. 🤯
How Bestselling Fantasy & Sci-Fi Author Catherynne M. Valente Writes (The Writer Files May 16, 2017)
Interview: Author Cat Valente! (Felicitations, April 19, 2022)
Do you have any resources you’d like to share? Drop them in comments below.