From Heather G Harris

• You can’t polish nothing. Sit down and write a book from start to finish. THEN edit. Don’t agonise over lines as you write. 
• If you can, rapid release remains a great model. Assess your writing speed and your genre to decide if that is an option for you.
• Don’t break your readers’ trust by failing to meet their expectations (to know what they expect, be super versed on your genre).

Heather G. Harris is an internationally best-selling urban fantasy author. Her books always have a strong female protagonist, an animal sidekick, murder and mystery, and a slow burn fade to black romance. Heather is blessed to be a full time author but she is also mum to a young family of kids aged 7,  5 and 2. Heather used to be a lawyer and she brings her time management skills to her job of being an indie author.

www.heathergharris.com

From Jan Foster

• Plan for a pivot – KU isn’t everything. Buy your own ISBN’s before you publish so you have options – KU/wide etc. If you own your ISBN’s then you can also publish via Ingram Spark etc as well as KDP, which stands you a better chance of getting into bookshops. A multipack is a worthwhile expense.
• Set yourself up for success on social media – list what you need to have in place if you have a viral video and things suddenly go massive. You don’t have to do ALL THE THINGS, because that costs a lot, but don’t lose out on that opportunity. Be prepared with where you can signpost people to buy your books, leading to…..
• Get a handle on universal links/buy links. Make it so easy for people to buy with one click and an easy way to share the link (e.g. books2read.com/bookname or a page hanging off your website/Linktree with all the buy links on).

By day, Jan juggles consultancy work with her family, but by night she sneaks off, into the past. Her penchant for sprinkling history with magic is fueled by coffee and Cadburys. When not writing, Jan takes her dogs and small monsters into the countryside, especially if there is a castle or historic building there with a cosy coffee shop in which to escape the rain of Manchester, England.

www.escapeintoatale.com

From Rob J Hayes

• It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Most successful indie authors don’t have 1 breakout BIG novel. Profitability is largely about the catalogue. Using new books to find new readers who will then read old books.
• Go in with a game plan. How much money do you have to spend on cover/editing/marketing? Where are you going to spend that money?
• Know your genre, and what you’re writing and why. Are you writing for yourself or to market, and temper your expectations accordingly. Epic dragon-rider fantasy sells better than steampunk capers.

Rob J. Hayes is a British fantasy and sci-fi author, self publishing for about 11 years. In that time he’s released 23 books. Mostly fantasy. He writes full time and supports himself completely with it, so proof that it can be done, and he has a pretty full range of experience in the various platforms (Kindle Unlimited, ACX, wide distribution, Kickstarter) available to indie publishers.

From Liz Cain

• Read as many books as you can in the genre you want to write in. Figure out what readers want and what YOU enjoy about the genre.
• Write ahead – work out a release schedule that works for you and write ahead. If you’re aiming for fast release then it’s great to already have your books written. I wrote for a year, writing two full series before I started releasing which is allowing me to release one book almost every month. I’m now writing the first series for next year.
• Use newsletter magnets to build up a following in advance – also take part in takeovers and build a fan base, get them excited about your releases.

Liz Cain is a Nuclear Medicine Physicist by day, and an urban fantasy author by night. She was born in East Yorkshire in the UK and grew up near the sea with her parents and two sisters. She moved to the midlands, which was much too far south for her, and spent 20 years trying to move back to her home town. She has travelled at every opportunity from Thailand and Australia to touring national parks in North America. Liz has done lots of crazy things for charity, including skydiving, running, swimming, and even cutting off her hair. While out on adventures she finds herself weaving intricate tales in her head which one day she had to write down. Liz has loved reading her whole life, growing up with Anne McCaffrey, Mary Stewart, and Terry Goodkind. Becoming an author happened by chance when she jumped at the opportunity to help a friend tell a story that deserved to be told. It inspired her to follow her lifelong dream and now she is self-publishing her own kickass, no-nonsense FMCs who you’ll love.

www.lizcainauthor.com