Johnny B. Truant - Write. Publish. Repeat.: The No-Luck Guide to Self-Publishing Success

Write. Publish. Repeat.

By Sean Platt &

Johnny B. Truant

Copyright 2013 by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. The authors greatly appreciate you taking the time to read our work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help us spread the word.

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Your Bonus Copy of Writing Online

IF YOURE READING THIS PAGE, you were one of the first writers to ever buy Write. Publish. Repeat. THANK YOU!!!

To show our appreciation, we want to give you Seans freelancers companion book, Writing Online for free.

Youll find the link to get it on the very last page in this book.

For Robin and Cindy, who made (and make) it all possible.

The Note Where We Tell You About This Book's Voice

AFTER A YEAR AND A half of producing the weekly Self Publishing Podcast and publishing millions of words, Sean and I (Johnny) decided we should create SPP: The Book, wherein wed take the podcasts core philosophies and best tips for crafting a smart, sustainable, and potentially lucrative writing career and set them down in a single bottom-line volume.

Lucky you: Thats the book youre holding.

David Wright, SPPs third host, isnt one of this books primary authors, but he did contribute and because hes part of our story, his presence is with us on every page. But even with only Sean and I writing, trying to include multiple voices in this book proved immediately difficult and totally annoying. The use of we also got clumsy fast. To keep things simple and easy to read, I decided to arrogantly wrestle control into my corner and write with my own voice as the primary point of view.

As you read this book, know that all I and me mentions are Johnny. Like in real life, Sean is all over the place and never shuts up. In this book, he shows up right in the middle of my sentences (LIKE RIGHT NOW). But that would be punishment to suffer through a see-sawing voice. Im writing the rough draft (like always, because Sean is lazy) so were writing from my perspective. If youre a podcast listener, you already know all about Seans slobber and can clearly see that this is for the best (Johnnys not being mean, Im still me).

The Note Where We Talk About Fiction vs. Nonfiction

WERE PRIMARILY FICTION AUTHORS, SO much of what we say in this book will skew toward fiction writing. But if youre a nonfiction author, take heart! Were nonfiction authors, too (evidence of this is in your hands or on your screen), so we have a ton to say about nonfiction as well.

If youre a nonfiction writer and find yourself in the middle of a section detailing series novels or story narrative, we suggest you keep reading. The best nonfiction is full of story. This book has plenty of story in addition to its how-to, and Seans book Writer Dad is nonfiction crafted around a personal narrative. Even if you ignore the story sections, everything pertaining to pre-and post-production, marketing, editing, the self-publishing process, setting goals, thinking outside the box, and so much more will still apply directly to you.

And remember, if youre having trouble researching your nonfiction book, you can always stick a unicorn somewhere inside it. That way, you can write off factual errors as part of the story.

The Note Where We Describe Our Evil Ulterior Motive

WED LOVE TO GET SOMETHING out of the way up front.

This book is chock-full of our best advice on how to build a successful career in self-publishing, or indie publishing if you prefer (we totally do). Its a logical, rational, workmanlike approach that has nothing to do with ninja tricks or magic beans. Its not about gaming the system, sliming your way to the top, or getting rich quick. It is, in short, advice that will actually help you get where you most want to go, if youre willing to wear your overalls and get to work (you dont actually have to wear overalls, though Seans mom would love it if you did). This book is the written version of our Self Publishing Podcast, which we record every week and which goes out to thousands of writers who often send us beautiful e-mails about getting unstuck, fighting past their fear, publishing their best work, and starting a journey toward living their dreams.

Most writing examples used throughout this book are our own. This is done for two reasons. First, these are the examples we have. If were going to describe a product funnel, it makes most sense to tell you how The Beam, Yesterdays Gone and Fat Vampire are organized because we dont know how someone else organized his or her funnel, or how well the approach worked. We also make the point throughout this book that successful indies are, above everything else, smart businesspeople. Yes, theyre artists but if theyre not businesspeople as well, they have little chance competing against the writers who are willing to work at the intersection of art and commerce. This book will tell you everything you need to know in order to become one of those smart businesspeople, but please understand that the book in your hands in addition to being what we hope is the most comprehensive, absolute best self-publishing guide youll ever read is also a part of our business strategy. One of the things we want to do with this book is to (wait for it) raise the profile of our other books.

We promise to never actively promote our stuff, and use our books only as examples. We promise to keep things informational and helpful, but as on our podcast, we will mention them. Often. Does that seem like a fair trade, using those details to explain how we published more than 1.5 million words and built three successful product lines (with our busy hands in a fourth) in this last year alone? We also discuss the same people throughout the book, either authors weve worked with or had on our show. We put as much of our personal experience as we could in these pages, but it isnt a research project. The book was already sprawling enough. Our experience doesnt begin and end with the three of us, but we can speak with most authority about those projects we know best.

We also swear. Not a lot. Less than on the totally NSFW Self Publishing Podcast (someone really should stop us), and less than in most of our books, though not all of them. We dont swear in Unicorn Western, except for our made-up word dagnit. Nor do we swear in any of the childrens literature in production (written under the pen name Guy Incognito). But we do use some four-letter favorites when it makes sense. To do our best work, this book should read as much like were sitting on the barstool beside you as possible. And if we were side by side, and comfortable, with our children out of the room, we would probably call an asshole an asshole, if he was being an asshole.

Lastly, we will repeat ourselves. This cant be avoided. Write. Publish. Repeat. is a reference book, and while many authors will want to read it straight through, others wont. You might read it through the first time and then use it only as reference after that. Weve written a book that is at least 90 percent strategies to 10 percent tactics (more later on what that means and why it absolutely matters). Each section must stand on its own without being reliant on something you may or may not have read 50 pages before. Weve taken great care to curb this as much as possible, but if youre reading straight through, please do expect some minor repetition.