Influencers in Self-Publishing You Should Stay Tuned For

We can’t develop without solid knowledge and previous experience. For this reason, it’s essential to find a mentor or influencer – a person who can share expertise and provide some helpful advice. With them, you avoid numerous mistakes and master your skills faster. 

Who inspires you?

Here’s our list of professionals. They have considerable experience in writing. They know the pitfalls of self-publishing — their ideas on book marketing work not merely for them but for other authors.

Let’s meet these gorgeous people. 

Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman is an expert in business strategy for authors and publishers with a 20-year experience. Jane believes that business and art are tightly connected. She educates authors on new business models, writing, and publishing strategies. 

Her useful online classes, books, and guides cover everything that interests modern authors. 

https://www.janefriedman.com/ – personal website

K.M.Weiland 

Katie Weiland is an award-winning writer of bestsellers Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel. She also mentors authors through her blog, podcast, vlog, and writes historical and speculative fiction. 

Katie has an inspiring blog with over 1, 200 posts about writing and marketing techniques with practical examples. 

By the way, recently we had a pleasant interview with Katie about self-publishing challenges and tips on how to be a successful indie author. Don’t hesitate to check it out!

https://www.kmweiland.com/ – personal website

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/ – a resource for authors that provides help in writing

Jeff Goins

Jeff Goins is a best-selling author with the most popular book “The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve”. He helps authors to show off their talent and market their books, proving that none has to starve to be a successful author. 

In Jeff’s blog, you can find tips from his experience on how to capitalize on the power of your creativity and easily market your books.

https://goinswriter.com/hello/ – blog, where Jeff shares thoughts on writing, life, and creative work.

Kristen Kieffer

Kristen’s passion is to help authors craft sensational novels, create incredible characters, and build fascinating storylines. 

Kristen writes inspirational articles on the creative process (which are also available in audio), creates workbooks about the writing techniques, and runs communities for authors on Facebook and Twitter. She also has free writing courses and Scrivener tutorials. Everything you need to develop your talent. 

https://www.well-storied.com/ – a website with tips, tools, and community to build your best writing experience

Joel Friedlander

Joel Friedlander has an impressive experience in book cover design, advertising, typography, and publishing. He helps authors become visible and find new ways to get their book into print and understand how the publishing process works.

Joel Friedlander has an amazing coaching course for self-published writers called Self-Publishing roadmap. His website the Book Designer is full of resources on everything from book design to writing legal issues.https://www.thebookdesigner.com – a blog for authors to succeed in writing and self-publishing

Mark Dawson

Mark is a best-selling self-published author with over 2 million books downloaded in different countries and languages. Mark’s journey to success was full of learned lessons. He has tried many strategies and tested different approaches before becoming a best-selling author. 

That’s why he has created a community for indie authors called Self-Publishing formula. This is a one-stop-shop where you can read practical guides, take courses, listen to the podcasts, and get support from other fellow writers like you.

https://markjdawson.com/ – personal website

https://selfpublishingformula.com/ – website with steps to self-publishing success

https://www.facebook.com/selfpublishingformula/ – Facebook community 

Nick Stephenson

Nick Stephenson is a best-selling fiction and non-fiction author who teaches other authors how to find their first 10K readers. He’s created a video training series where you can find out how to build an audience and sell books more effectively + juicy blog with a series of articles about author marketing. 

https://www.blog.yourfirst10kreaders.com/ – articles with helpful ideas on self-publishing and writing

Carla King 

Carla King is a self-publishing expert who helps self-published authors start their book publishing journey and become successful at doing business as a publisher. Carla provides amazing educational programs for authors, books, and workshops on her website Self-Pub Boot Camp. You can also find free worksheets, guides on her website that will help you in publishing path.

Carla also provides free consulting for authors and helps you self-publish a book that looks no different from a traditionally published book.

https://selfpubbootcamp.com/ – place to find useful resources and interact with an expert  

https://carlaking.com/ – personal website

Joanna Penn

Joanna Penn is an American best-selling author, a founder of the Creative Penn Blog – one of the top 100 blogs for writers by Writers Digest. 

Creative Penn is full of resources, podcasts, courses, and tools that will help you make a living with writing. Joanna has also published an amazing book called Author Mindset that focuses on the emotional aspects of writing. 

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/ – sources with advice on writing, publishing, marketing, and selling more books

Michelle Prince

Michelle Prince is a best-selling author of her first book Winning in Life Now, owner of the publishing company and founder of the Book Bound Workshop. 

Michelle is full of motivation and enthusiasm, she helps authors perform their best and make a difference with their writing. She is a founder of the coaching program Winner Circle that helps authors build their personal brand, differentiate, and market themselves. We like the philosophy of Michelle and recommend her resources!

https://www.michelleprince.com/ – website where you can discover your purpose, learn about publishing and enhance productivity

Belinda Pollard 

Belinda has 20+ years of experience in books and publishing (both traditional and self-publishing). She is an editor and multi-award-winning author.

On her website, you can find different writing, editing, self-publishing, and book marketing tips. 

https://smallbluedog.com/ – a website with useful information for writers and editors on writing, editing, blogging, managing social media, self-publishing, and many more 

Sandra Beckwith

Sandra is the author of three traditionally published and three self-published books and national award-winning former publicist. She teaches new authors on how to promote their books and get more readers. 

Sandra provides personalized training, coaching, and resources on book marketing topics. She is a founder of the website Build Book Buzz where you can get free book promotion tips, read articles on the blog, and tips on the book signing

https://buildbookbuzz.com/ – reveals secrets of book marketing, promotion, and publicity 

Kate Tilton

Kate Tilton works in publishing since 2010. She is the founder of Kate Tilton’s Author Services, LLC where she helps authors connect with their readers and feel confident in the self-publishing world. 

Katie offers consultation for indie, hybrid, and traditionally published authors as well as different a la carte services (social media package, Instagram package, Graphics package) she also has articles about book marketing, publishing, writing, etc.

https://katetilton.com/ – personal site with free articles about social media, publishing, book marketing, writing, and so much more

Bryan Cohen

Bryan Cohen is an author, podcaster, and coach who teaches authors how to get more sales, reviews, and email subscribers. Brian is also a co-host of Sell More Books show – a podcast where you can discover different marketing and book publishing news, tools, and strategies. 

http://bryancohen.com/ – website where you can find courses for authors and self-publishing news

Anne R. Allen

Anne is the author of 10 comic mysteries and a collection of short stories and poems. Based on her experience, she helps writers avoid common pitfalls in the publishing industry. Together with Ruth Harris Anne runs a blog where you can find valuable tips about everything a modern author should know. This blog is extremely useful, as all the tips you will find there are tried and tested on the real experience of Anne and Ruth. Enjoy!

https://annerallen.com/ – a blog for writers to avoid pitfalls in the self-publishing industry 

Orna Ross

Orna Ross is an Irish indie novelist and poet. She is a faithful supporter of self-publishing and creative business. Poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers can find her brilliant ideas on how to improve their creativity and make marketing effective. Orna is a founder-director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) – the global non-profit association for self-publishing authors. Orna knows what is writing and publishing about, so her valuable ideas are always handy for authors, artists, and other creative changemakers. 

https://www.ornaross.com/ – articles, podcasts, and other tips on fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and self-publishing

Rachelle Gardner

Rachel is a literary agent, book editor, and publishing coach. She has been working with authors in the publishing business since 1995. Rachel coaches authors and supports them in writing, publishing, and social media for marketing their books. Her blog is a source of information where she shares her experience of cooperation with publishers and authors. You can find a lot of advice on writing, publishing, submitting, marketing, writer’s life, and other helpful ideas there. 

https://rachellegardner.com/ – a bunch of information about writing and publishing

Nathan Bransford

Nathan Bransford is an author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series. He used to work a literary agent and now dedicated to helping authors chase their dreams. In Nathan’s blog, you find thousands of tips you need to know about writing, editing, and self-publishing. 

https://blog.nathanbransford.com/ – blog about editing and self-publishing

David Gaughran 

David Gaughran is an Irish historical writer. He helps thousands of authors worldwide to self-publish and promote their books. David shares his experience at workshops and via books. He also runs his blog with helpful tips for indie authors. His interviews in the number of European newspapers and magazines disclose the secrets of self-publishing as well as teach how to succeed in this area. 

https://davidgaughran.com/ – personal site

Craig Martelle

Craig Martelle is a bestselling science fiction author. He owns a number of best-selling novels in military sci-fi, space opera, colonization, Space Marine, and genetic engineering. In Craig’s blog, you can find the first chapters of his works as well as his experience in self-publishing. 

https://craigmartelle.com/  – personal site

All these fantastic people possess tremendous experience and lessons to be learned. Stay in touch with them, and may your writing and self-publishing be creative and effortless.