There are all kinds of authors – and I’m not talking about genre – all of whom look at their profession or business from different perspectives. There is the Self-Published author, the Indie Author, and least heard of but probably the description that most likely fits us is the Author-preneur. I know, you’ve probably not heard that term before, but stick with me and we’ll get there.

The Self-Published Author is usually someone who has one book in them. Just one. It could be their life story, their memoir, or it could be a business instruction book or manual. It isn’t about the book; it is about their other business. It may simply be the story that they want to pass on to future generations. They have no intention of writing another book. For this person, it is about writing the book and not building a publishing business with it. Their primary business is what they are trying to promote and grow. They had a story to tell and they did it so now it is time to do something else.

This author isn’t looking for perfection. If there is an error or two in the book, it is okay because their family will get the gist of it. They might choose a picture of themselves sitting at the piano, or working on their car, or standing on a mountain top. The creativity of the cover isn’t that big of a deal, it is about the story they had to tell – one time. They told it so now it is time to move on. 

The Indie-Author writes more than one book. This is someone that discovers that they love writing, it is in their blood. Stopping is not an option. You find yourself writing or thinking of story lines all the time. You live to write and you know that you have more than one book in you and you want to see your writing career grow. You also want creative control over the content of the book, the front and back cover and all that pertains to the book. You want your baby to look just the way you had envisioned it would all this time. 

The Indie-Author is someone who has done their research. They know what is selling, what the market looks like and they want their book to fit in but stand out with current trends. They want to have a say in everything from writing to the lay out to the cover and to the marketing of their book. They want to retain their rights to their work because they see writing as a calling and they are serious about it.

The Author-prenuer is the one who believes writing the book, publishing the book, and marketing the book are all equally important. They take responsibility for the success of their book(s). They know they have to invest time, talent, energy and even money into reaching their goals. They have the same sense of responsibility for their book that the Indie-Author enjoys, but they also want to be in control of making it happen. They want the right to say they are a published author and they want to promote that and be presented as such. 

Now the question is: Which one are you? What do you see yourself as? What do you see yourself doing to make your writing career a success? Where are you in these three arenas? 

Why is this important? When you define yourself as being one of these, then you know how to proceed and how to become successful with what you want to do, what your goals are for your writing career. Is it a one off or is it a gung-ho, let’s go?

We aren’t trying to make you feel guilty. We are trying to get you to look at yourself and your goals realistically. But most of all, we want to encourage you to do what you are called to do. Set your goal, know what you want to do and have a plan for how to do it. Success doesn’t just happen. It takes work and determination, but it also takes a practical plan. Have you made that plan?