In this article I look briefly at the Indie Author Powerpack and Business for Authors

At any one time I’m usually reading several books. It means, of course, that it takes me a long time to finish any one of them, but I find that reading several books in parallel works for me.

Reading habits would be a good topic for an article but for now I just wanted to bring to your attention a couple of publications you may find useful. These are not reviews as such, but (I hope) useful information.

The first is The Indie Author Powerpack: How to Write, Publish and Market Your Book.

This comprises three books:

• WRITE. PUBLISH. REPEAT.: The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success - Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant
• LET'S GET DIGITAL: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should - David Gaughran
• HOW TO MARKET A BOOK - Joanna Penn

Unusually for me, I am mentioning this even though I haven’t actually opened it yet. A supreme act of faith? Perhaps, but one that is based on experience.

I’ve read some of Johnny B. Truant’s stuff and found it useful despite the fact that I don’t care for his writing style that much. But my main point of reference is the (updated) How to Market a Book, by Joanna Penn.

I have a few of her books, including the first edition of How to Market a Book, and find them very useful indeed: full of good advice and plenty of links. What I especially like about her books is their honesty: “I tried this and lost a load of money” (I’m paraphrasing), and the fact that she never says, as far as I know, “Do this and in six weeks you’ll be a millionaire”.

I aim to review this fully as soon as possible, but at the moment the whole pack, comprising all three books, is available for £0.77, so you have almost nothing to lose.

The other book I wanted to mention is Business for Authors, also by Joanna Penn.

Again, I haven’t finished reading it, so this isn’t a full review. So far, I’m impressed. I’ve read loads of books on making money as a writer, and they tend to go into things like finding work and pitching for big money clients. What I like about this book though is its clear guidance on the nitty-gritty of running a business as a writer.

For example, she talks about the different kinds of income streams you can start to enjoy. Other authors mention this in an airy-fairy kind of way, but this book gives concrete examples, with links and other information (such as how to turn your book into an audio book).

Well worth buying – there are e-book versions too if you prefer.