Podcast: 10 Years Indie on The Writing Biz

Podcast appearance

I joined Laura Williams on The Writing Biz for a conversation about building a ten-year indie publishing career.

Listen to the episode: 10 Years Indie: How to Build a Writing Career Without Publishers

From the episode description: If you are a self-published author trying to build a sustainable writing business that lasts a decade or more, this conversation with queer sci-fi author, editor, and literary community organizer Cody Sisco breaks down exactly how to move beyond transactional sales tactics.

The step I missed

“When I was writing the first book in the series, Broken Mirror, I had this impression that I was working on my own, that I was in my home office writing away and getting ready for the book’s release. And really, once the book came out, I realized that I had missed a step, that I could have been far more engaged with writing communities and in other venues where I could find readers, in advance of the book’s publication.”

Think in funnels

“I see authors all the time […] picking and choosing one specific piece of marketing to focus on, when really I think what’s most important for authors is to think about it as a marketing funnel. At the wide end, you have places where you are visible, where your books are visible, and where interest is generated. And then as you get to the narrow end of the funnel, there’s a series of steps or stages or gates, really, that a potential reader has to move through before they finally get to purchasing your book and reading it.”

What will your third book look like?

“A lot of writers that I work with in an editing and book coaching capacity are working on their first book, and I always […] push them to think, ‘Okay, well, this is your debut, that’s great. What are you going to follow it up with? What is your third book going to look like?’ And I know that can be scary, but I think from a long-term career-building perspective, it’s important to decide […] how you want to show up in the world.”

Surround yourself with trusted peers

“I went to them and I said, ‘My new book’s coming out, I want to do a Kickstarter for it,’ and they gave me great advice. They were like, ‘You know, this is really a different audience, you don’t want to ask people to start […] midstream. You really have to go back to the first book and develop that audience from book one and carry it through to your latest release.'”

Writers are not well paid

“I knew that writing was not going to be financially viable for a while, and so I started to piece together different elements of a portfolio career that would also bring in income, and that’s where my editing and book coaching comes in, which I enjoy immensely. […] I think everyone who wants to be a writer needs to confront this problem we have, that writers are not well paid in our society and by the industry.”

The backlist engine

“I hope that over time, the proportion of my income that comes from royalties and sales of books that I wrote 10, 20 years ago becomes really important. So I’m always thinking about how can I set myself up so I build my backlist, so that it’s like an engine that keeps cranking and getting bigger over time. […] The most important thing I can do is bring out a new book on a regular basis.”

Writing first, business after

“When I am at my most productive, I’m putting the writing first, and I’m focusing on it at the beginning of the day, and then afternoons are for all the other business things that need to happen.”

AI for the business, never for the writing

“That document I mentioned earlier, by the Alliance of Independent Authors, Reach More Readers, […] has, in each section, a very useful description of how you could use AI to help you. […] They’ve suggested […] ethical ways to use AI to help you in the business process behind your writing career, and definitely don’t use it for your writing.”

Your creative engine

In response to a question about advice for business success: “I think it’s your creative engine. […] There are a lot of hurdles in the business, there are a lot of doors that need to be flung open or worked around. But what you can always do is return to your inspiration and draw energy and perseverance from that. So always be working towards your next writing project. That’s something that you can control, that no one can stop you from doing. […] The writing should always come first.”

The quartet in one breath

“The Resonant Earth quartet is all about what happens when someone who has a cognitive difference is criminalized by the state, and this fourth book […] is Toxic Medicine. […] It’s about a potential cure for this mental difference that is sweeping across the American Union of Nations. It’s a brain implant, so it’s highly invasive, but it seems to be working. […] And the main character is at this crossroads where he has to decide, ‘Do I want this cure? Do I believe in this cure or not?'”

Toxic Medicine is out now. New to the Resonant Earth quartet? Start with Broken Mirror. Find both at codysisco.com.