Want to be a full-time indie author? Besides loving to write, here are some great traits to have:
- Being a voracious reader. The strongest writers tend to be strong readers. Spending a lot of time reading the kinds of books you want to write can be a huge benefit to your career.
- Loving to learn. Most newbie self-publishers don’t have a lot of funds to put toward book development and promotional services. This means you’ll have to learn how to do whatever you can’t afford hiring professionals to do. Time to hit the books! Well, the YouTube videos, anyway.
- Staying organized. Running a business can mean managing a lot of moving parts, even when you’re the only employee. Having a system in place to keep track of tax considerations, appointments, inventory, and analytics is going to be crucial.
- Having solid people skills. You don’t have to be a social butterfly to be a successful indie author, but not being afraid to do interviews, speak at events, or sell at trade shows and conferences is a plus.
- Hating micromanagement. As an indie author, you’ll answer to yourself and work for yourself, (generally) by yourself. This gives you a massive amount of control over how your day looks. This includes how long you work, where, and on which projects. But with all that power comes a lot of responsibility. Declaring an official Day of Napping is great a couple of times a year, but if you make it a habit, your indie authorship probably won’t be as lucrative as you’d hoped.
Does this sound like you?
What would you add?
