How Many Hats Do You Wear?

We all wear many hats: parent, spouse, co-worker, employee, neighbor, etc. But as a self-publisher, we wear quite a few simply in pursuit of that one goal. We are a writer creating engaging fiction; we are a publisher putting together our finished work and ensuring that it is published in a professional manner; and we are a marketer trying to ensure that others know that our work is available to them.

Most authors would rather do the first and forget about the rest — after all, no one writes a book merely so they have something to market. But the sad truth of it is that as a self-published author, you’re it. And even if you have a publishing contract from a publisher, you are still responsible for the marketing of your own work. Very few publishers handle that for their authors (some smaller publishers might, but they are a rare breed).

So, we deal with all the rest and some authors do get some pleasure or, at least, satisfaction from seeing all the parts of this job well done.

But as it is the new year and a time for planning, can we pause and think of exactly all that we did last year and hope to accomplish this year? If you didn’t write it all down, this year you might want to track all that you do in each of these three areas.

Wearing Your Author Hat: