5 Things I’ve Learned as an Indie Author

During my 11-year career, I’ve learned 5 things that will help you become a successful Indie Author

In the past decade, the publishing world has substantially changed.

For so long, the only path to publication and earning the title of authorship was done through traditional publishing. However, around a decade ago, the path of self-publishing grew its legs and began offering authors another option. A way to get their work in front of readers.

The path wasn’t easy as some writers rushed to publish without following the proper steps and channels to ensure they were releasing quality work.

However, over time, multiple avenues for self-publishing opened up for authors. And so did various sources for learning and knowledge in the publishing industry. Allowing self-publishing to slowly crawl to the popular option for publishing to date.

When I began my career as an author in 2014, I knew nothing about publishing.

But, flash forward to 2025, I have 18 books published under my name, nearly 40k followers across my authors platform, and a ton of experience in the realms of writing, publishing and audience building. However, I didn’t get to where I am without a few bumps in the road.

Here is what I learned during my career as a multi-genre indie author.

Learn the Industry to Be Successful

I was in this boat. Heck, I rowed this boat through the 3k I spent to publish my first book.

As wonderful as it is to have a finished story ready to release to the masses, be sure you know what you’re doing and how to get it where it needs to be.

By this, I mean:

Research the self-publishing platforms and see what fits best for you
Have an established budget for cover creation, editing, or any other tools you think you’ll need to help you publish that book
Create a target audience profile so you know how to get your book in front of your reader
Know what books compare to yours to learn pricing, fonts, styles, keywords, and more to ensure you can compete

I jumped into publishing without knowing anything about the industry. And although I somehow managed to sell 250 copies by word of mouth, the chance I could have done better would have been greater had I known a thing or two in the beginning.

Market Your Book From the Beginning

Too many times have I heard the common worries about marketing your book as soon as you start writing it:

What if someone steals my idea?
What if my book doesn’t pan out and I never publish it?
I don’t have a huge following, so no one will see my posts anyway

Guess what? No one will know about your book unless you talk about it. Plus, the earlier you talk about it publicly, the better the chance is that you are able to gain momentum for it before it’s published.

As for someone stealing your idea, that is just a chance you are going to have to take. The chances of someone having the exact same elements and details are slim. Take the leap.

Create Opportunities for Yourself

No one is going to magically find you unless you have a huge following online or are selling tons of books.

This is why you need to create opportunities for yourself as an author. By this, I mean:

Reach out to local bookstores and libraries and see what the process is to get your book stocked there
Research and keep an eye out for festivals and events that allow local artisans to be vendors
Make friends with other authors
Research author events in your area that are looking for authors to attend
Consider Comic-Con events if you have a book that aligns with the themes
See if local businesses that pair well with your book topic will allow you to sell your book there
Place your book in Free Little Libraries to help readers find you

Thinking outside the box, making connections with businesses in your community, and networking can go a long way and help spread the word about your platform.

Build Yourself a Strong Author Platform

What many authors don’t know is that you need four components to have a strong author platform.

An author website
Books
Social media
Newsletter

Author Website

An author’s website is basically your home base. This is where readers can find everything about you, and something you can control and regularly update.

Your website should have:

Your books with links to where they are sold
An about author section
A contact section
A media kit (for people who should want to interview you)
A blog (a great way to keep people coming back if you keep posting on it)
A way to subscribe to your newsletter

Make sure the website is easy to navigate, or you can end up losing anyone who visits.

Books

This one should be obvious, but it can be overlooked in terms of what you should have.

Your book section should have a decent-sized image of your cover, a description, a review or two if you have any, and a clickable link to where it is sold.

Social Media

Social media is a free tool that every author should be using. Why? Because it allows you to connect with readers all over the world.

And if done correctly, you can create a following for yourself and your books.

Be sure to:

Have a professional photo of yourself and use the same photo across social media platforms
Post 3 to 4 times a day to increase your visibility
Make sure you are sharing, commenting, or interacting with other people on the platform

Just remember that it takes time to build a following on social media. It also takes planning and regular upkeep, but in the end is well worth it.

Newsletter

Having a newsletter as an author is like having an exclusive club.

People who sign up with their email allow you to send or sell things directly to them, allowing you to avoid jumping through the hoops of the middlemen like social media or the selling platform your book is on.

There are numerous places that you can host your newsletter, like:

Drip
Convert Kit
Substack
Brevo
MailerLife

And that’s just to list a few.

It is important to know that people don’t enjoy being sold to 24/7. So, when planning out your newsletter, put yourself in your subscribers shoes and see what you have to offer them. And, be upfront up what subscribers are signing up for when they subscribe.

Tell them:

How often they can expect a newsletter from you
What types of content/ information will be in your newsletter?

And to top it all off, offering a reader magnet when they sign up is a great way to pull them in. If you aren’t sure what a reader magnet is, it’s a free story, short story, or product they get upon subscribing.

Being Patient and Dedicated is Key

Did you know it takes 3 to 5 books to develop a reader base?

Too many authors publish their first book and feel let down when they aren’t an instant success. But the truth is, you need to keep writing and publishing to grow any sort of audience.

The reason it takes 3 to 5 books to grow a reader base is because it’s much easier for a reader to jump from one of your books to another than it is to read your one book and remember to come back when you release another.

The key is to be patient and dedicate yourself to creating new stories and telling readers about them.

Over my nearly 11-year author career, I’ve learned that:

Consistency is key to building a stable and successful author platform
You need to create opportunities for yourself if you want things to happen
Success doesn’t happen overnight. It happens slowly
You don’t have to spend thousands to create the perfect book. You can spend wisely, cutting costs without losing quality

If you decide to choose the route of self-publicizing, it can be more rewarding than you can imagine.