Writing is hard and publishing is even harder.
Building a successful, sustainable career as an indie-author is one of the most difficult things a creative writer like you can do.
Traditional publishers might not market an author as promised (same as the music industry, only top stars get the help that all their writers deserve), but they still do most of the heavy lifting, handling those elements that move a writer’s rough draft into a book that’s ready for sale.
Edits, covers, formatting and print, product descriptions, ads, and management of that title over time.
Self-published authors are responsible for every part of the process. For some writers this is daunting, but smart creators understand that this puts them in control of their own creative career.
Even if you’re not ultimately planning on handling every step of the process, developing a working knowledge will elevate your overall abilities and ensure a superior future.
When you self-publish, all the successes and failures are your own.
But that’s great news for an intelligent, longterm thinking creator like you. Someone who understands that it’s better to grow from our own work than write and pray for a publisher to take care of you.
Self-publish and:
- You will never have to wait for permission again. You can decide when and how to publish your book, who your ideal reader should be, and how to personalize their reader journeys.
- You will have a more malleable career. Traditional publishers are behind the times in many ways, still trying to understand the algorithms work while some of the world’s smartest indie authors are using those same algorithms as an ATM.
- You can control the speed of your career. Except for James Patterson, the most successful traditionally published authors in the world get two books a year, max. As an indie you can write and publish however much you want, and at the speed of your own creative process.
- You will be less lonely. Send your draft to your publisher and they’ll take care of the edits, cover, and everything else. But when you’re in charge of those elements yourself, you will naturally build the relationships required to sustain a thriving career, and enjoy your time creating. You will end up with invaluable connections that will elevate your entire creative experience.
- You get to control your future. Earn money and freedom while building a platform that will only add more of both to your life every month, so long as you keep doing the work and learning as you go.
Sterling & Stone started our self-publishing journey on October 3, 2011.
We’ve published over five-hundred titles, and have been sharing what we have learned the entire time. In 2013 we wrote the industry standard, Write. Publish. Repeat., and have been the most consistently innovative voices in the self-publishing industry ever since.
“Two of the best in the biz… A gem for aspiring authors.”
— Hugh Howey, Author of WOOL
Whether you’re trying to write your first novel, are struggling with book promotion, or trying to figure out how to scale your author career, we can help. It’s what we do for our own authors every day, and what we hope to share with you.
Self-publishing isn’t easy, but it does start with a very simple decision: Can I do this?
The answer is, ABSOLUTELY.
We did it, so can you.
