Authors Are Small Business Owners: The Many Hats You Must Wear

We’d all love for writing to be just that, but in the current climate we have to be marketers, accountants, publicity agents, lawyers, copy writers, graphics designers, editors, community moderators… I’m sure there are a dozen other hats authors wear on the reg. Authors, like all creatives monetizing their skills, are small business owners.

Yes some of these can be outsourced (if you have the money), and others will be supported by an agent, editor, and publisher (if you publish traditionally), but you’re still expected to know a little something about everything. There’s more information now than there used to be for sure, but there is still a lot of smoke and shadows for debut authors.

I can’t speak with experience to every stage of the game, but I can tell you what I know, what I've heard, and offer a little support myself.

Finances

Hats worn: proposal writer, tax man, budget manager, project planner, contract wrangler, law abiding citizen, hotel deal finder

Making Money

Most writers are working a day job to finance their writing career. Especially if they haven’t published yet, and likely even if they have but haven’t “broken out” yet. That's the first financial thing that comes to mind as an aspiring author, but there’s more to it. 

Before we get to moving money, there is one other thing you can consider: grants and residencies. You can receive money to work on your writing from the government, universities, and other foundations. However, this does put another hat on your head: proposal writer. 

Moving Money

You get to be an accountant for yourself when the money does start to roll in. As an independent contractor, you have to set aside taxes yourself. This is true whether you are published traditionally or not. And of course, your agent gets their payout too.

Other budgeting tasks can crop up before, during, and after publication.

Before approaching an agent, publisher, or taking on the task of self-publishing, you may hire an editor to help tighten your manuscript. With self-publishing, you will likely pay for cover art and possibly typesetting or software to typeset yourself.

During the querying process, there are few things that I can think of that will find their way into your pockets, but it is a good time to start social media marketing, and you can spend on this (more on that later). Self-publishers will also be looking at things like ISBN numbers, barcodes, and a copyright certificate. Some self-publishing platforms also have fees; others of course are free.

Leading up to and after publication is when the hidden fees start popping up more and more. Travel and merch costs for book launch parties and book signings, publicity, marketing, and, if you don’t already have one, website hosting fees.

Marketing and Publicity

Hats worn: public speaking, graphic design, copywriting, accountant, tech savvy, internet know-how, community outreach, confidence, organization.

Marketing and publicity came up during our chat about moving money. And technically, you don’t have to spend any money on marketing, you can do it all yourself and never pay for an ad. But, many authors opt to hire someone or run ad campaigns on Google or social media platforms.

Social Media

A lot of marketing today revolves around the internet. This asks you to be a graphic designer, a copywriter, an SEO and GEO expert, a community manager, and simply a hard and consistent worker. Posting a single post showing your cover and cover copy just won’t do it. You need regular posting that sells your book and builds community & engagement.

You can choose to also sell yourself as an author and Very Cool Person™. This is the advice most authors are given along with “start now, before you’ve even finished your book.” That’s a big commitment and it’s why, if possible, people outsource it to social media managers or commission a few post templates to remix and reuse.

Word of Mouth

However! This is not the only form of marketing. Readers live by word of mouth suggestions. Reviews, interviews, and networking can be huge. 

Go to your local independent book store and chat up the staff, talk to the manager about offering your book on their shelves, consider talking to other patrons if they seem receptive.

Go to your local library and request your book, and talk to the librarian about it so they know who to recommend it to.

If someone is browsing in your genre section, consider recommending your book.

It feels weird to promote yourself and maybe even more so in real life, but if you feel comfortable doing it, do it! While being kind and considerate of course.

You can consider advanced reader copies, or ARCs, so you get some early reviews on places like Goodreads and Bookstagram. And some of those ARCs are people with online communities, consider offering them interviews for their YouTube channel, Substack, or Instagram.

Yes, you’ve now put on the “talking eloquently to the public” hat, but it’s a great hat to wear. People love feeling that connection with the authors they read.

The Law

Hats worn: contract scourer, law abiding citizen, artist lover and attributer.

It cannot be escaped. Copyright, permissions, and contracts are all a huge part of publishing. 

While copyright is automatic once you’ve begun your work (at least in Canada and the USA), you can buy a certificate which gives a little extra legal holding.

Copyright also works the other way. You must be careful about images and words used in your novel. If you quote a song, or another book, you may need to acquire permissions. If you use assets from the internet for your cover, you may need permissions and you may be required to use attribution somewhere in the legal copy of your novel. Be sure you attain these permissions or you may be finding a whole new set of hidden fees.

Contracts affect self and trad pubbed authors. Contracts with agents, publishers, designers, and publishing platforms should be read thoroughly. Of course, it’s best you have legal representation read them, but you can don the “lawyer hat” and read through them yourself. 

Editing and Alpha & Beta Readers

Hats worn: developmental editor, substantive editor, comma wrangler, proofreader, deadline announcer, response chaser.

You, of course, should edit your own work before handing it off to anyone else. (Unless, perhaps, you’re working with a developmental editor.) And that is a hat all its own. You have to know good ideas, good structure, good prose, proper spelling, and grammar (and when you can break the rules).

But getting outside feedback is so important. Critique partners and groups, early readers, and professional editors can all take on important and different roles in your writing and editing process. But that does mean you need to vet and communicate with these people! And managing other humans is not a walk in the park.

Keeping track of who has what draft, all the feedback, and holding people to deadlines is easily another full-time job.

Book Design and Publishing

Hats worn: Graphic designer, typesetter, proofreader, style guide follower.

Your cover and book formatting will be handled by your publisher if you go the traditional route, but if you’re self-publishing, you’re going to be putting that “keen eye for detail” hat on. Of course, you can outsource both of these things, but assuming you’re the DIY kinda guy…

A cover requires legible text and eye grabbing visuals. If you’re not also an illustrator (or painter or whatever else), this may be a bit more difficult to accomplish. That being said, you can use free-use images and fonts from the internet, just be aware of the individual licensing rules for commercial use. I’ve seen loads of authors swear by using Canva, and I say go for it. Just keep in mind, people do judge books by their covers.

As far as formatting goes, your average Google Doc or .docx or whatever else you’re using isn’t going to be formatted for a standard book page. You can accomplish this formatting in these tools or you can opt for tools specifically for formatting books like InDesign. This depends on your budget and your tech savvy-ness. 

You should be able to find each platform's specifications pretty easily for margins, indentations, page numbers, and header/footer text. Most, if not all, will ask for a PDF so they can’t mess up your formatting.

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And there it is, a good look at the many hats an author must don beyond the writer one. Of course, you can lean into each of these hats as little or as much as you want but your results may differ!

A tight manuscript will help you land an agent and keep readers happy and engaged, so outside feedback is important. Consider critique partners, beta readers, and professionals like me!

People can’t read your book if they don’t know it exists and the more you put it out there the more likely your audience is to find it so make sure you’re telling people about it in real life and on the internet! Consider getting a little extra support with templates or a launch campaign from someone like me!

If you’re curious about hiring me for editing, marketing, or web design support, reach out and I’d be happy to answer your questions!

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Jerrica is a writer and editor who inspires up-and-coming writers to create compelling fiction and creative nonfiction works while providing them with the confidence to do it themselves or ask for a helping hand when they need it. She enjoys speculative fiction, horror and gut-wrenching emotion with a side of food & drink and the cozier things in life.