The lesson on templates has been updated at WeCanPub.com.
Each of the 27 lessons on the site are available at no charge. These are text-based lessons that guide you step-by-step on how to complete each aspect of the indie book development and publication process.
BOOK PLANNING LESSONS
1. Brain Boards: How to get your head full of ideas down on paper.
2. Templates: How to start organizing your ideas in a way that will make your book more satisfying for your readers and easier to write.
3. Person: The first of the Five Ps of Premise Prep.
4. Pain: The second P.
5. Prize: The third P.
6. Pitfalls: The fourth P.
7. Promise: The fifth P.
8. Premise: How to bring the five Ps together into a coherent premise that you can use to refine your book idea.
9. Blurbs: How to summarize the crux of your content in a way that entices readers into wanting to buy.
10 .Outlining: Creating a custom framework for your project.
11. Breaks: The critical pauses in the process that help enhance your ability to revise your work.
12. Marketing: The basics of setting up and authorship to sell your books more quickly and easily.
BOOK WRITING LESSONS
13. Writing: Strategies for getting to "The End."
BOOK EDITING LESSONS
14. Self-Revisions: Effectively revising your own work.
15. Alpha Readers: Managing the process of early-process volunteer feedback collection.
16. Critique Groups: How to leverage your writing community for your project's benefit.
17. Manuscript Evaluation: Professional review and guidance for your project.
18. Developmental Editing: Partnering with an structural editorial professional to improve the bones of your book.
19. Research: Gathering needed scientific information to insert int your piece.
20. Beta Readers: Managing the process of late-stage volunteer feedback collection.
21. Copyediting: Hiring a professional to clean up your book's grammar.
BOOK DESIGN LESSONS
22. Illustrations: Hiring an illustrator to provide you with eye-catching, properly formatted images that your publishing platform will accept.
23. Book Design: How your book looks on a printed page or on the screen of a device.
24. Cover Design: Creating a cover that reflects the content of your book.
BOOK PUBLISHING LESSONS
25. Advertising: Using promotional strategies to sell your book.
26. Proofreading: Hiring a professional to review the final iteration of your book a last time prior to publication.
27. Publishing: Release your book for sale to the public.
AUTHORSHIP LESSONS [For Apprentices Only]
28. Digital Presence: Building your author brand online.
29. Audiobooks: Creating audiobooks yourself or with a narrator.
30. Series (duology, trilogy, etc.): Breaking longer ideas up into palatable pieces.
31. Serialization (Wattpad, Inkitt, etc.): Creating episodic content to engage paying audiences on a regular schedule.
32. Subscriptions (Patreon, Instagram, etc.): Using subscription services to gather a core audience of dedicated readers.
33. Selling Services: Leveraging skills you've learned along your authorship journey to generate additional revenue lines.
34. Merch: Creating products to increase your earning potential.
35. Networking: Nurturing and leverage relationships to grow your professional opportunities and resources.
A few quick notes that might help you along in your indie authorship!
- There is no such thing as a perfect book. Yes, YOU may like a book, but that doesn't mean other people do. Perfection would mean every person who ever read a particular book thought it was perfect. Since we're all so diverse, there is no way to create a book that appeals to every single person who comes across it. If you keep striving for perfection, you'll never publish simply because perfection isn't attainable. The most successful authors who regularly meet their own literary goals are those who accept this and focus instead of creating art that they like and that at least some of their target audience may like as well. Need proof? Think of your favorite book. One that you believe to be perfect. Go to that book's product page on sites like Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes &Noble. Look at the reviews. Is every single one five stars? Probably not. So, if a book you believe to be perfect (meaning that's the kind of book you're striving to write) isn't perfect, why do you think yours will be? There's nothing wrong with not appealing to everyone. That's part of what makes you a multi-faceted human being with beautiful parts of your creativity that only certain groups of people will appreciate.
- You do not need a publisher to publish a book. If you decide to go the old school route and attempt to get picked up by a major publisher, awesome! Best of luck to you on that. Just remember that this isn't the only way to publish a book. And, increasingly, indie publication is a faster, more lucrative route, which is why authors are considering indie publication more often. Being an indie author simply means that you're in charge of all aspects of producing the book (grooming the manuscript, selecting the professionals you'll hire, commissioning illustrations, etc.). Getting a traditional publishing deal can sometimes mean giving up control over things like the content of the book, the design of the cover, or even the title of the book. Traditional publishers generally put profits over the comfort and preferences of the author, so if they think a particular change is going to result in selling more books, your opinion isn't of much consequence.
- You don't have to wait. There is no "right" time to start your authorship. People do it while they are going to school and working full-time. People do it when they are unemployed and living with their parents. People do it when they are raising a family and caring for ailing loved ones. People do it at their local library when they are homeless. Be careful about making excuses that just end up sabotaging your authorship. Five minutes per day, an hour one day each week, a single weekend each month—it doesn't matter. Whatever time you decide to carve out of your schedule, use it consistently and you're much more likely to reach your literary goals. But there is no reason to wait. Start with the first lesson right now. If you've had time to read this post, you have at least a few minutes in your schedule when you could be working on your authorship. Take advantage of that fact!
Get help with starting, growing, or maintaining your authorship by submitting an author support request or scheduling a project meeting.