What we’re about
The Washington DC Write to Publish Group is unlike many writers’ groups that focus on critiquing each other’s work. Instead, this group is dedicated to the business and business craft side of writing (writing to market is encouraged)* and works to help authors and would-be authors find resources that can help you through the publishing process.
Since this is a DC-area group where it's possible to actually meet up, let's shoot for once a month. It helps to hang out with people who share a passion and get re-charged. The idea here is to knit together a group of friends who share the common passion/insanity of writing.
The scheduled events will focus on the different parts of the ongoing agenda here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rUjc42UUBHZqAmYXKxFk8q5l-qDm3diqSyC35SfiU1I/edit?usp=sharing That will be a living document that is subject to revision based on the discussions that follow after each event.
The new focus for this group is:
Indie Publishing - primarily genre fiction
Marketing - paid advertising, social media, and other tools
Resources - for the business and craft of writing that can help you make your writing more competitive in the book market
Traditional (Big 5) Publishing - not a focus unless a co-organizer wants to lead
Small Press - not a focus unless a co-organizer wants to lead
Hybrid/Vanity - not recommended and will not be discussed
To get started, here are some online resources:
(I have no affiliation or financial interest, and there are no affiliate earnings associated with any of the links below. They are all 'clean' links.)
These are the primary platforms for Indie publishing:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf
https://www.ingramspark.com/
https://press.barnesandnoble.com/
https://authors.apple.com/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/writinglife
https://play.google.com/books/publish/
There are some good articles on both business and craft here:
https://writerunboxed.com/ - Donald Maass and others
https://janefriedman.com/ - Jane Friedman
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/ - KM Weiland
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/ - Joanna Penn
https://davidgaughran.com/ - David Gaughran
https://kindlepreneur.com/ - Dave Chesson
http://wiredforstory.com/ - Lisa Cron
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1056593901397144 - Author Unleashed - This is Robert Ryan's group and a good place to get your blurb critiqued by a pro!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin - This group is business oriented.
Paid advertising on Amazon and Google is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet, and even then it has to be done right.
Dave Chesson (Kindlepreneur) offers a FREE Amazon ads course that was recently updated as of July 2024. It also includes material from Janet Margot, who worked for Amazon ads and wrote a book about it. I worked my way through the course and can highly recommend it!
https://davechesson.podia.com/amazon-advertisements-for-books-course
Janet Margot worked at Amazon, so her advice is likely the most valid: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Ads-Indie-Authors-How-ebook/dp/B097TW5KLH/
Robert Ryan (see above) has great insight into marketing:
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Ads-Unleashed-Publishing-Self-publishing-ebook/dp/B07ZXV4MVZ/
Additional resources:
https://reedsy.com/ is a central marketplace for author services like editing, book covers, and others.
https://www.fiverr.com/ has a robust marketplace for paid beta readers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/ - All about writing with 2.4 million subscribers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/selfpublish/ - As the name implies, this is a discussion forum for self-publishing, also called Indie Publishing
https://www.reddit.com/r/books/ - 24 million subscribers. 'Nuff said.
https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/ - Not limited to writing, but they do allow one self-promotion post each Saturday in front of 4.3 million subscribers!
https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasywriters/ - Focused on writing fantasy.
https://www.goodreads.com/ - I think the time to build an Indie-published author presence on Goodreads has likely passed. Goodreads is ferociously reader-focused, and the people there can be twitchy about that. However, the real value to authors is in the lists. Do try to get help from your readers to add your book(s) to the appropriate lists. DO NOT participate in the paid giveaways that Goodreads offers because that will totally scramble your 'Also-Boughts' which will in turn confuse the Amazon recommendation algorithm. That said, I think it's a good idea to keep your author-reader discussion there an open channel.
#booktok on TikTok (34 million posts) and #bookstagrammer on Instagram (20 million posts) are potential viral launchpads. They mostly work best for Romance fiction.