Episode 25: April M Woodard and Budgeting Mindset Tips
Writer Mom Life Episode 25: April M Woodard and Budgeting Mindset Tips
April M Woodard released her first book at the end of May but got started way before that on the writing and marketing side! We talk about her long journey to publication, her preparation for the launch, and how her community has supported her.
April also gives details on:
- How she found her ARC team – and tribe! – through Twitter
- The kinds of things an editor will notice that betas won’t
- How it’s sometimes better to hear from other authors instead of readers
- Why she doesn’t give writing advice to new authors
- Her plans for her vlog
- How she’ll get in writing time during the summer
(Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that at no cost to you, we get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)
April’s links:
Her author website
Her new book!
Her Twitter
The Author Like A Boss Facebook Group.
J. R. Frontera’s Tips and Resources
Today we talk about the importance of knowing WHY you’re writing and self-publishing books!
And not just the deeper WHY of what it does for you emotionally, or the WHY of why (haha, that sounds funny) you’re self-publishing rather than going the traditional route … but also, how you’re planning to approach the writing, publication, and marketing of your books. Are you going to embrace it all as a professional business and become your own boss, a savvy authorprenuer?
Or will you stick to a more casual approach and give barely a thought to things like ROI, advertising, and hunting down the absolute best cover designers?
Why does it matter so much that you know from the start whether you are writing and publishing as a business or simply as a hobby?
Because it’s all about expectations! YOUR expectations. Knowing which angle you want to approach writing and publishing from will help shape your own expectations, as well as the expectations of those around you … any family or friends who know what you’re up to will know how best to support you that way, and other authors, too, will be better equipped to help steer you along the correct path when you know up front what you want to get from your writing.
Knowing which side you’re approaching your writing from will also help you set an adequate budget for your purposes. If you’re really more writing as a hobby, you don’t need as large of a budget as someone who is writing for business purposes.
In either camp, your budget needn’t be MASSIVE, mind you. You can still pursue writing as a business on a reasonable budget. But writing with a business mindset WILL require more investment (both in time AND money) than writing as a hobby, so that’s something to keep in mind.
As Daphne says in the episode, “You can’t expect business results with hobby effort (or hobby budget).”
Be sure to listen to the full episode itself to get all the tips on how knowing if you’re writing for hobby or business can help you focus on the right stuff, ignore the wrong stuff, and fashion a budget that will work best for your purposes!
The book we mention in the tips, For Love or Money by S. K. Quinn, is actually no longer available, to our sad surprise! But the author still has some great blog posts on the subject right here, so feel free to go browse around and learn more about deciding which path is right for you right now.
And remember, YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR MIND at any time!If at any point you realize you are ready to pivot from one to the other, you totally can!
Also, writing books with a business mindset does NOT mean you’re just in it for the money, or that you’ve sold out, or that you won’t also still love it! It’s just a different approach with a different mindset that will lead you to making different decisions on your publishing journey.
That’s it! So with that in mind, go on out there and write!
Good luck!
