Catrina Taylor

Owner, Author, Mother, Marketer

I started writing professionally right after my divorce. At the time, I was raising two amazing children. One would need me at the drop of a hat, the other needed me just the same for their own reasons. This pushed me towards self publishing my books. When I began, this whole indie author movement was brand new. People were trying everything to see what stuck to the wall. For some, it was a good experience. Others were disheartened and left publishing.

Initially, I was overwhelmed and pushed myself beyond sensible parenting, reasonable authoring, but had no sense this was a business. When I released my third book in my Xarrok series, people were clamoring to get to it. I only know this because without sharing my series’ Facebook page or personal page on Facebook, readers were finding me. It did not cross my mind to view my author career as a business at this point.

When book one of that series became a best seller, the other books followed. The payments were exactly what I needed to take care of my family. This is when I started learning to replicate what I did, and wrote actively. Only after my first attempt to turn my success into a way to help others failed that I realized my own writing, my author and publishing career is in fact a business.

In the years that followed, I have maintained my books and sales where it could support my family. My experience has taught me that marketing has to be intentional. Being aware that every decision made about the package of the book to the regular marketing makes a huge difference in how it will be received. Good marketing can sell anything, even your book.

Twitch changed things for me. I found a home in the writing community on Twitch, first as a viewer and then as a streamer. More than anything I’ve been moved to help others in a way that will be both practical and feasible for everyone. Below is my long term vision for being able to apply my knowledge and experience to help others in a practical way.

If you have questions you can visit me on twitch: http://Twitch.tv/TheLadyWrites I’m live most weekday early mornings and occasionally on weekends.

Vision

Many authors demonstrate a lack of understanding when it comes to essential marketing skills. No book, business, or service can be sold without some form of marketing. It’s something we all have to learn if we want a career in this industry, regardless of the publishing method.

As I’ve learned new marketing techniques, I’ve shared them with others, typically in private. Over the last couple of years, I’ve streamed daily on Twitch. This put me in touch with many other authors at various levels of their careers. Some have asked me about the marketing and other aspects of writing. If it’s something I’ve done, I share it. If it’s something I’ve seen others do that works, I share it. Helping others understand marketing essentials is something I’ve become passionate about. 

No one can be a full time author without an understanding of marketing.

It applies to so many areas of our business and book development. Book descriptions need to sell your book, not just tell us about it. Your book cover is part of marketing and needs to convey the most crucial information. It should not convey the contents of your book, but the emotions and genre. Social media can be leveraged only when it is developed. Podcasts can be an asset. Guest posts, author interviews, and influencers are also great ways to connect with new readers. Unfortunately, so few of us know where to start. 

With all of my heart, I want to help others get traction for their books, improve their understanding of the industry, and provide tools to help as many authors as possible along the way.

A Membership Community

Being an asset to our community, after all it’s given to me, is important. 

What I’d like to do for our author community is bring many or all of the resources we need together. Realistically, that’s going to take a lot of time. If I wait until I’m able to put a panel of fantastic editors together with talented cover designers and artists, beta readers, illustrators, translators, proofreaders, book reviewers, branding experts, and marketing savants, authors won’t benefit for years to come.

That being said, we’re going to create a community dedicated to supporting one another, as has developed in my twitch writing community. We’re going to save time for one another, boost signal, develop branding opportunities and most of all, help each other thrive doing what we love. 

One day, InExhaustibleAuthors.com will be the go to club for all the authorly things. Resources and opportunities will be available to everyone. Affordable, manageable, quality results will be put within the reach of our community – even those just starting out. 

Until then, we’re going to build to that goal – together.