If you’re an indie author with ambitions of turning your writing into a sustainable career, it’s essential to approach it like any other business.
However, unlike a conventional business, your product is deeply personal—your words, your stories, your ideas.
While the creative process is crucial, strategic planning can’t be overlooked.
This guide will walk you through creating a robust business plan for your writing career.
The Business of Writing
If you’re an indie author with ambitions of turning your writing into a sustainable career, it’s essential to approach it like any other business.
However, unlike a conventional business, your product is deeply personal—your words, your stories, your ideas.
While the creative process is crucial, strategic planning can’t be overlooked.
This guide will walk you through creating a robust business plan for your writing career.
The same principles that apply to businesses—such as planning, budgeting, and marketing—apply to you as an indie author.
Having a business plan helps you navigate the complexities of the publishing world, from understanding your target market to budgeting for cover designs and promotional campaigns.
Setting Goals and Objectives
Your business plan should start with your goals and objectives.
Are you planning to write a one-off novel or a series?
What income do you expect to generate?
By when?
Defining clear, achievable milestones helps you build a roadmap to success.
Understanding Your Market
In any business plan, understanding your target audience is crucial.
For an indie author, this means diving deep into genres, sub-genres, and the reading habits of your prospective readers.
The more you know about who reads your genre—their age, preferences, where they hang out online—the better you can tailor your marketing efforts.
Financial Planning
Budgeting is a cornerstone of any business plan, and it’s equally vital for indie authors.
How much will it cost to hire an editor, a cover designer, or run a mailing list?
Will you opt for paid advertising?
How will you price your books?
A comprehensive business plan provides answers to these questions and more, helping you allocate resources effectively.
Marketing and Sales Strategies
Without a corporate publisher’s marketing muscle, indie authors need a robust marketing and sales strategy.
Your business plan should include details about promotional activities, from social media advertising to newsletter marketing, and partnerships with influencers, reviewers, or other authors in your genre.
Monitoring and Revising
The business world is ever-changing, and your business plan should be a living document.
Monthly or quarterly reviews will help you adjust your strategies and tactics as needed.
Perhaps your social media campaigns aren’t yielding the expected results, or maybe you’ve identified a new target audience.
Regular reviews will keep your plan—and your career—on track.
Key Elements of a Writing Business Plan
Executive Summary
This is a high-level overview of your entire plan.
It should cover your objectives, your niche, and your strategy for achieving your goals.
Market Analysis
- Target Audience: Define who your readers are, their age, interests, and where they generally discover new books.
- Competition: Identify who your competitors are and what you offer that they don’t.
Marketing Plan
Detail your promotional strategies, including:
- Social Media: What platforms you’ll use, posting frequency, and content type.
- Email Marketing: How you plan to build and engage your subscriber list.
- Collaborations: Potential partnerships or cross-promotions.
Financial Plan
- Budget: Outline your starting capital, running costs, and projected expenses.
- Revenue Streams: Explain how you plan to earn money, whether through book sales, speaking engagements, or writing workshops.
SWOT Analysis
List your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to gain a comprehensive view of where you stand in the market.
Milestones
Set key milestones you aim to achieve in the next 6-12 months.
This can include publishing a particular number of books, reaching a sales target, or growing your email list to a certain size.
Implementation
Your business plan is a living document.
Make sure you review and update it regularly to adapt to market changes, technological advancements, or shifts in your personal goals.
While writing may be a solo venture, publishing is not.
Indie authors wear many hats: writer, editor, marketer, and more. A business plan helps you juggle these roles effectively, giving you a clear plan of action and making the business aspect of self-publishing less daunting.
It’s not just about making your current book a success, but setting the foundation for future works, too.
So, if you’re serious about your writing career, it’s time to get equally serious about your business plan. Your future self will thank you.
Have you got a plan for your author business?
CherryEdits 