Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Authors are Small Business Owners

#AuthorToolboxBlogHop

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop #AuthorToolboxBlogHop which meets every third Wednesday of the month. This is my first post in this group. Thanks to Raimey Gallant for spearheading this venture. Hop around cyberspace and pick up useful information from these helpful bloggers. The list of participants is at the bottom of the page.

Authors are Small Business Owners

Small businesses in Hebden Bridge, England

Authors are small business owners too. Did you ever look at it that way? Your book is your product. I know you didn't write a book thinking about selling it. I know the story swirled in your brain until you just had to write it down. But because you had a message or a desire to touch people's hearts, you shared it with the public. At the moment the book is published--indie or traditional--it becomes not just a heart work, but also hard work. You need to set aside the creative area of your personality in exchange for the practical reality of being a business owner. Your responsibilities include editor, publisher (indie), marketer, speaker, and bookkeeper.

I never realized there were so many "jobs" associated with being a published author until my first novella was published. The good news is there are many tools/resources to help you learn about running this small business- books and online websites, writing groups, and authors who are willing to share their experiences.

Blog series on Focused on Story
 featuring romance
and mystery authors

I hosted a blog series featuring romance and mystery authors who discussed their tips on writing, marketing, and publishing. Not only was it a wonderful opportunity to meet authors, but also a chance for writers to gain valuable information from the experienced authors. 
AUTHOR TIP: I collected the authors' blog posts into an ebook and published it on amazon. I gave a PDF copy to the contributing authors so they could use it as a giveaway/opt-in.

Today I'm sharing resources I use and websites suggested by my guest authors for use in their writing businesses. Click the highlighted resource to take you to the website.

Publishing

Joel Friedlander

Joe Konrath 

Marketing

Writers on the Move 

Training Authors 

Share Your Brilliance 

Author Marketing Club 

Book Marketing Tools 

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound 
The Creative Penn, Joanne Penn
Build Book Buzz, Sandra Beckwith

Writers Groups

Insecure Writers Support Group 

Search on Facebook for Writers Groups

Do you have a favorite website for finding out information for writers? Please share in the comments section below so we can visit. Thanks.

Click here to visit the participants in the Author Toolbox Blog Hop!!

Running Your Author Business, Resources for Authors, This Week

Hello and welcome to the J. Q. Rose Blog!

Hello from J.Q. Rose

According to the Holiday Insights Website, March 29 is the National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. This day is one close to my heart because my husband and I were small business owners. We had a flower shop, greenhouse, and garden center for twenty years. And let me tell you, we put in enough hours to equal forty years of work. Owning your own business requires a lot of work.

Authors are small business owners too. Did you ever look at it that way? Your book is your product. I know you didn't write a book thinking about selling it. I know the story swirled in your brain until you just had to write it down. But because you had a message or a desire to touch people's hearts, you shared it with the public. At the moment the book is published--indie or traditional--it becomes not just a heart work, but also hard work. You need to set aside the creative area of your personality in exchange for the practical reality of being a business owner. Your responsibilities include editor, publisher (indie), marketer, speaker, and book keeper.

I never realized there were so many "jobs" associated with being a published author until my first novella, Sunshine Boulevard, was published. The good news is there are many resources to help you learn about running this small business- books and online websites, writing groups, and authors who are willing to share their experiences.

I hosted a blog featuring romance and mystery authors who shared their tips on writing, marketing, and publishing. Not only was it a wonderful opportunity to meet authors, but also a chance for writers to gain valuable information from the experienced authors. Here are some of the resources they use in their writing business. Check them out for your writing business.

Publishing

Joel Friedlander, The Book Designer http://www.thebookdesigner.com/

Joe Konrath http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

Marketing

L. Diane Wolf http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

Karen Cioffi, Writing and Marketing http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/

Training Authors http://www.trainingauthors.com/

Build a Business with Your Book http://buildabusinesswithyourbook.com/

Author Marketing Club http://authormarketingclub.com/members/resources/

Book Marketing Tools http://bookmarketingtools.com/

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound https://publicityhound.com/

Author Groups

Insecure Writers Support Group-http://www.alexjcavanaugh.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

Writers Chatroom http://www.writerschatroom.com/

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing
Available at Amazon--99 cents

It was my privilege to gather the writing tips shared on my blog (plus more) in one place in the writing tips e-book--Romance and Mystery  Authors on Writing: the Writing Process, Publishing and Marketing. Contributing authors in the book are:

Conda Douglas

C. Hope Clark

Gail Roughton

Heather Fraser Brainerd

Heather Haven

Helena Fairfax

J.Q. Rose

Joan Curtis

Joselyn Vaughn

Kathy McIntosh

Marsha West

Melissa Maygrove

Miss Mae

Roseanne Dowell

Sara-Jayne Townsend

What are your favorite online resources on writing? Do you look at your writing as a business?
Please leave a comment below. Thank you.

This week:

Romance Readers Want to Know
Thursdays on the J.Q. Rose blog

March 31--Author Diane Wickles rounds out our March guest authors. Bring your questions about her writing process. Looking forward to a great discussion next week.

Look who's coming in April! 

You're invited to fire up those questions for the following authors:

APRIL
7	Joselyn Vaughn
14	Spring Break
21	Sandra Cox
28	P.A. Estelle