Self Publishing on Amazon and Beyond with Publish and Thrive
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Self publishing on Amazon is a great goal, but as someone who’s tested publishing books strictly on Amazon as well as on all the other platforms, I recommend publishing wide. One of the first indie authors I heard use the term “publishing wide” was Sarra Cannon.
I talk about Sarra’s resources for authors in my book The Prosperous Authorpreneur because she has a lot of awesome information for authors who are self-publishing. Many of her resources are also free! (More on those resources below.)
What does it mean to publish wide?
In the self-publishing industry there is a long standing debate about whether authors should publish their books wide or stick to Amazon only so they can enroll their books in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription program.
Going wide means you have your books on all the platforms you want to publish on, not just Amazon. Kindle Unlimited can be a great way to let readers take a chance on your book, but to enroll your books in this program, you can’t publish them anywhere else.
I tested this with my books over the last year, and it didn’t work for me at all, so I am a wide author which means I have my books on multiple book distribution platforms. Just because Kindle Unlimited didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. There are tons of authors who publish exclusively on Amazon who claim to make a decent living.
Who is Sarra Cannon?
Sarra Cannon is a young adult fantasy author who also publishes amazing free content over on her Heart Breathings YouTube channel. I first discovered Sarra when I googled how to do something in Google Docs. This led me to her blog, which led me to YouTube. Her playlists on writing and editing are super helpful!
Sarra is the creator of Publish and Thrive and HB90, a productivity course. I have taken both courses and found them extremely valuable in furthering my author career.
Learn more about Sarra’s books here.
What is Publish and Thrive?
Publish and Thrive is a five-module course that will help you do exactly what it says: publish and thrive! Sounds amazing, right?! It really is. Sarra’s teaching style is wonderful. She always explains things clearly, gives you lots of ways to do things, then encourages you to choose the option that’s best for you. You will often hear her say, “You do you!” in her videos.
Her Heart Breathings YouTube channel is an excellent example of her teaching style. I think this is one thing that really sets Sarra’s course apart from other publishing courses I’ve taken. She doesn’t insist on you doing things one certain way, but rather, she encourages you to discover the path that’s a good fit for your goals.
Publish and Thrive Course Modules
Publish and Thrive is also a very thorough course. I went into it having already taken some self-publishing courses, but with the depth that Sarra covers things, I still finished the course knowing more than I had before. I also had a much better plan for earning money with my books.
Here’s what you can expect with Publish and Thrive:
Module 1: Gearing Up for Success
In Module 1, you’ll learn how to create your publishing strategy, write and edit your best novel, and choose a cover that’s appropriate for your genre. You’ll also learn what you need to set up (website, etc.) to start marketing yourself as an author.
Module 2: Publishing Your Books
In this module, Sarra goes into detail about wide distribution versus Kindle Unlimited. She also discusses very important meta data such as keywords, book descriptions, ISBNs, and categories. You’ll also learn whether you need to copyright your work and how to find advance readers and reviewers for your books.
Module 3: Running Your Writing Business
Since I have a background as an accountant, I believe strongly that authors should treat their careers like a business. Of course, this was one of my favourite modules. In Module 3 you’ll learn:
How to set up your business,
Tracking your sales,
Setting up a budget,
Organizing your time,
Managing your subsidiary rights, and more!
Module 4: Marketing Your Books
This was another favourite module of mine, because what’s the point of writing books if you can’t sell them? Well, I guess some people want to write books just for the fun of it, but I have more of an author-business mindset.
In Module 4, Sarra shares various ways to market your books (including sample marketing strategies), the power of a loss leader, box sets, and cross promotion. Sarra has created a career for herself without a heavy emphasis on Facebook ads or Amazon Marketing Services, so you won’t find those things covered in-depth in this module.
Module 5: Creating Success That Lasts
Some of the things Sarra touches on in this module are goal-setting, being professional, self-care, handling criticism, being professional, and setting up systems so you don’t burn out as an author.
After taking Sarra’s course in 2019, I truly believe she is committed to sharing how authors can have a successful long-term self-publishing career.
Publish and Thrive is currently $399 or six payments of $75.
I hope you join me in becoming an author who publishes and thrives! If you sign up for Publish and Thrive using any of the links in this blog post, I will receive a commission for helping to spread the word. I hope to see you in the Publish and Thrive Facebook group if you sign up!
Learn more about Publish and Thrive here.
