How one indie author made $74,000 in 16 months and quit her day job (and what you can learn from her)

By Jami Albright

This is the story of how I was able to quit my job and become a full-time romance writer.

I published my first book, Running From a Rock Star, in April 2017. The book launched to 1,381 in the Kindle Store and stayed in the top 5,000 for six months until book two, Running With a Sweet Talker, released in October 2017. That book launched to 696 in the Kindle store.

As of the day I’m writing this, Running From a Rock Star is ranked 3,949, Running With a Sweet Talker is at 6,591 in the Kindle Store, and I’ve grossed $74,000, which includes audiobook sales.

I quit my day job

Due to the success of both books, last December I made the decision to quit my day job to write full-time.

Are you doing the math? Or are you like me, and you don’t math?

That’s okay. I’ll break it down for you. I didn’t release book two until six months after book one, and it’s been eleven months since I published book two. Book three isn’t scheduled to come out until November 2018.

In the world of indie publishing that is supposed to be the kiss of death. But I’ve been fortunate enough to continually and consistently make money by persistently getting my book in front of readers with newsletter swaps, Facebook group takeovers, and Amazon and Facebook ads.

Here’s what worked

Here’s what I did right:

• I put off publishing for a year to learn as much as I could about indie publishing. I listened to podcasts, went to conferences, and asked questions – lots of questions.
• I got a fantastic cover designer who created two great covers that followed genre expectations, but included my own personal brand.
• I wrote the best book that I knew how to write. Then I made sure it was the best it could be by having it professionally edited.
• I was willing to do anything I had to do to make my publishing dream happen, including selling plasma to pay for my edits. The bottom line is: How bad do you want it?
• I put my book in front of exactly the right readers. I did this a couple of ways.

First, I built an email list of 1,200 subscribers before I launched the first book by putting up a preview of my story on Instafreebie. I then joined two group giveaways where readers signed up for my newsletter in exchange for the preview.

Second, I participated in newsletter swaps with other authors. They put my book in their newsletter, and I put theirs in mine. This was a win-win because we were both exposed to new readers. It’s important to only swap with authors who write books similar to yours. Remember, the goal is exposure to the right readers.

• Network, network, network. I made friends with other authors. This can’t be overstated. It’s vitally important to find your people and form relationships with them, whether virtually or in person. I also reached out to other authors who were doing better than me. Sometimes it worked out, and a few times it didn’t, but nobody died in the process.
• I’ve tried to be the best community member that I can be. I cheer people on, I support them, I share their stuff, and I offer help when I can.

I made some mistakes, too . . .

And here’s what I could’ve done/could do better:

• Had multiple books written and ready to go before I published book one.
• Not let success distract me from getting the second book out. Book two came out months later than I’d intended. I had a tough time focusing because of social media, Book Report, and advertising.
• Stay the hell off social media. For soooo many reasons, I now have to limit my time on social media if I hope to get anything done.
• Not get caught in the comparison loop. It’s endless, and it’s caused me a great deal of stress. And sometimes I’ve let it rob me of the joy of the things that I have accomplished.
• Focus! I haven’t yet conquered this, but I am working on it and you should too.
• Cut myself some slack. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. How many times have we heard that? It’s true, and we all should have it tattooed on our butts.
• Negative self-talk. Y’all, this will kill you, and for about two months I let this paralyze me. If you’re doing this, then STOP IT! It’s my daily mission to correct this behavior in myself.

You can do it, too

I hope this helps. I’m super proud, but it would be useless to post this if it didn’t have some actionable takeaways, and the biggest takeaway should be: If I can do it, you can do it.

Thanks for reading. Now, go write!

Big thanks to Jami for sharing her success story with us! Want to ask her a question or congratulate her? Just leave a comment. 

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

Today it’s the “Blog Audit Checklist” from The Work at Home Wife. This comprehensive, easy-to-use  form walks you through a blog audit that helps you identify top-performing posts, traffic sources, and blogging tools you’re using, among other things.

I’ve downloaded it and will use it now to help me begin planning for 2019.

To get your copy, subscribe to her newsletter (use the form at the bottom of the post). You can always unsubscribe later if you decide the newsletter isn’t helpful to you.

At the time, she had just authored a regional travel guide to the Jersey shore. Today, she’s coming off the successful launch of her memoir, Running: A Love Story: 10 Years, 5 Marathons, and 1 Life-Changing Sport from Seal Press (March 2016 publication date).

I’ve been following Jen’s book marketing activities through her Facebook posts and have been impressed not only with her effort, but with the results, as well. She has done a masterful job of leveraging her skills, experience, and platform to create a book marketing success story.

I recently asked Jen several questions about how she marketed her memoir. I hope her experience inspires you!

The back story

[BBB] Please provide a brief description of your book and why you wrote it.

[JM] Running: A Love Story  is a memoir about how I became a runner, but also how I used running to get over some tumultuous periods in my life. I wrote it after a piece I wrote in the New York Times called “Running as Therapy” garnered a huge response. I’d been toying with the idea of trying to write a running memoir before then, but that really pushed me to make it happen.

[BBB] In what section is it shelved in a bookstore, and what are your Amazon book categories?

[JM] I had a male runner and a female non-runner read the book as I was writing it because I wanted this book to reach more than just female runners, which seemed the obvious focus of marketing energy (for good reason). My goal was to make this for anyone who wanted to read about someone overcoming challenges. That’s pretty wide, but it seems I’ve hit that mark. I’ve gotten a lot of emails from readers that start with “I’m not a runner, but . . . .” It’s been embraced by the running community, too, which is also great!

[BBB] What was your overall strategy for reaching this audience? 

[JM] In addition to the publicist reaching out to her and my contacts, I tried to write pieces where I’d be mentioned as the author of my book in the byline. Of course there was a focus on sports and running-related media, but we tried to go beyond that.

For events, I zeroed in on running stores, mostly because they all already had a group run at least once a week. I’d hook up with the group run and then do a reading after, sometimes with the store providing beer and pizza. This way, I was guaranteed an audience. Only once did no one buy a book (the running store forgot I was coming!). These events were open to non-runners too, and they showed up for the reading parts. This was fun, though tiring! I didn’t realize how much of an impact running at each event would add onto the already stressful and tiring experience that are book events.

Publisher support, author responsibilities

[BBB] What did your publisher’s publicity/marketing department do to support the book?

[JM] They had a contract publicist work on the book (a contract that is now over), but since this is my third book and I have a boatload of contacts in the media world, I really took the reigns and did most of the work myself. Already being known as someone who writes about running really helped.

When the New York Times excerpted it, for example, they asked me – no one pitched it to them. SELF magazine reached out to me too (though they didn’t know my book was coming out in the same month they wanted a running essay from me). I was also able to have the book added to my bio line for a lot of stories I wrote, including two features and an essay for espnW, which helped and was something only I could do. 

The only thing I wouldn’t do is write articles or blog posts for free in exchange for a book mention. I held fast on this one. I write for a living, and I wasn’t going to compromise on that. I told this to the publicist before the campaign started and reiterated it for the period of time she worked on the book.

[BBB] What did you have to do yourself?

[JM] IN addition to what’s outlined above, I arranged my own signings and events. My publisher gave me a budget to pay for book-related travel, though I went over that (in part because I just wanted to go more places) and paid a small part myself.

[BBB] When did you start marketing the book and what did you start with?

[JM] I started before I even finished the book. I made an announcement of the book’s sale on my blog, and then would sometimes post pictures of me working on it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram during the writing process.

Then I made my list of potential media targets, which was merged with the publisher’s list.

My agent also came up with the idea for a pre-order giveaway: if you pre-ordered the book online or at a bookstore, and sent me proof, you were entered into a contest where you could win swag from my local running store and an encouraging letter from one Jen A. Miller (my publisher paid for this, though most of the cost was shipping). This was a great idea!

I also saw that Women’s Running magazine would let people of note take over their Instagram account for a day. Most of the people who did this were famous runners, but I figured it was worth a shot so I asked — and they agreed! I posted about my book launch on my book launch day — which they timed along with running an excerpt from my book. That worked really well, too. 

After the first two months, I shifted into reaction mode since press begets press. The Wall Street Journal and Outside were two publications that found me through other press, for example. Most journalists reached out to me directly, so I made sure to reply quickly with what they needed.

Book marketing results

[BBB] What have you accomplished in terms of exposure? 

[JM] I lost count! That’s a good thing, right? The mentions I’ve linked to already are the big ones. I’ve also been in Parade, Runner’s World, Well + Good, NJ Spotlight, and the book was named a best book of 2016 by the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

[JM] Using contacts I already had got the most press for the book. I know those things aren’t something everyone has, but that’s where I started out. Taking over Women’s Running‘s Instagram account was something I did on a lark but I think was incredibly successful. Also: I don’t see this book as having a time limit, so to speak. It’s not going to go stale, so I’ll keep on keeping on.

[BBB] What did you enjoy doing the most?

[JM] Radio or podcast interviews. I love talking. TV, not so much, though I did that, too. I was lucky that a friend who works in local media set up a few interviews for me in that realm.

[BBB] Based on this experience, what advice would you offer other authors?

[JM] No one is going to care about your book as much as you do — not your agent, your publisher, the publicist, no one. That’s not me being snide, but it’s true since this is the only book you’re working on, and their attention is needed elsewhere. If you want to make something happen, don’t wait for someone else to do it.

Also, be available. Reporters reached me through my website, Twitter, and Facebook, and I responded quickly.

Got a question about Jen’s book launch? Ask her here!