20 Reasons Why There’s Never Been A Better Time to Be an Author

✏️ Your heavy dose of optimism to start the week ✏️

Freaking pinch me moment right now.

Johnny B. Truant

is a legend in indie publishing and one of the people who inspired me to become an indie author.

He co-hosted the original Self-Publishing Podcast, co-founded the Smarter Artist Summit, and has published over 100 books including the best-selling Fat Vampire series.

Today, we decided to collaborate on an article together (full circle moment 🤯) – all about a shared ethos that, despite publishing’s challenges, it’s a better time to be an author than ever.

Johnny is in the middle of his Kickstarter for The Artisan Author. A book all about how to reclaim a self-publishing career you love by pursuing the path of The Artisan Author. You can check out the Kickstarter here.

20 Reasons NOW is the Best Time to Be An Author with Johnny B. Truant and Michael Evans

Let’s make this fun. Johnny and I each wrote 10 reasons, but we’re not telling you who wrote what.

If you can guess the most correct answers (who wrote which reasons), you’ll win a free 1-on-1 Beyond the Book coaching session with me. The deadline to submit your answers is in the comments of this Substack post by the end of the day Tuesday, July 29th.

—CONTEST IS OVER.

Jamie Davis

won. ALL ANSWERS REVEALED BELOW—

In that session, I’ll help you figure out how to make money beyond book sales, whether that’s through products, content, film, or other creative income streams.

Now let’s get into it 👇

1. Authors as individuals and as a collective are one of the smartest, most kind, and interesting communities in the world. — Michael

2. There’s a small but growing contingent of people out there who’ve had enough of big business and its greedy ways … and because of it, are actively seeking out ways to support artists and creators, and to shop local. — Johnny

3. Every negative trend you hear is merely a generalization. It’s true that fewer people read today than they did before … but the people who DO read are more voracious about it and excited than before. — Johnny

4. Technology is continuing to amplify the power of the individual and take down more gatekeepers. Whether it’s marketing help, editing help, or even helping with creation of your story, one person is now capable of more than ever. — Michael

5. News of all types is simply one perspective. Any negative thing you hear about writing and publishing has an equal and opposite perspective that finds good news in exactly the same situation. — Johnny

6. The written word, in books, is only one type of writing. If you think of yourself as a storyteller instead, you’ll see that there’s a need for storytellers everywhere, across all media. — Michael

7. In a world of complex social and technology change, we all need stories more than ever for escape and understanding. — Johnny

8. Information about how to run and grow your author business has never been more accessible. Gone are the gold rush days— but with them came grave uncertainty. There’s more to sort through now than ever, but as this industry has matured, so have best practices and playbooks. — Johnny

9. Real human connection is still valuable, and as the world depersonalizes further, people are beginning to realize how much they want and need it. Stories provide that connection. — Michael

10. There’s a new frontier for storytellers — and soon indie storytelling will encompass films, games, and more. The market is going to grow by 10x in the next 10 years. The pie is huge and there’s enough for a lot more authors to make a living. — Michael

11. Pessimism is often actually just rigidity of thinking. Rather than something being objectively “bad,” it’s more likely that the person who thinks of it as bad is simply reluctant to give something up that they’ve gotten used to. If you’re flexible, you won’t need to be pessimistic. Change is simply change, and is neither good nor bad. — Johnny

12. There are more ways to make a living as an author than ever. Whether it’s the proliferation of hundreds of subgenres, many different revenue streams, and dozens of software tools and platforms that support storytellers making a business. — Michael

13. People will not stop wanting to be entertained. Period. — Johnny

14. As a community, we are focused more on sustainability than ever. Bank > rank. Your well-being > your word count. We are better equipped to achieve new emotional heights, not just business ones, than ever. — Michael

15. Indie authors in particular are one of the most adaptable groups of people in the world. As major changes in society speed up, the collective of storytellers will shape-shift and thrive. — Michael

16. It’s trite and oft-quoted, but every crisis carries within it the seed of opportunity. It’s the people who are creative enough to zig when the whole world is zagging (or who find ways to stay open-minded while others say the sky is falling) who win. — Johnny

17. If you see the proliferation of competing media (meaning: media that competes with books for people’s attention) as a threat, you’re not using your imagination. It’s MEDIA! And media needs CONTENT! We’re more in-demand than ever … not less. — Johnny

18. Authors are one of the most supportive and collaborative communities ever. Together we are boundless! — Michael

19. It’s still so early. Most people outside of indie publishing still don’t know that this is an even an option… yet. It takes decades for massive societal changes to come. And just know if you are reading this now, you are still early. — Michael

20. Nobody else brings to the world what you bring. That means that nothing and nobody can ever replace you — ever. Form real bonds with readers and get them to like you for you … and that will make you bulletproof. — Johnny

Okay! Submit your answers in the comments: Which one of us said which of the above?

The one who gets the most right by EOD Tuesday will get a free coaching session with me!

You should also submit your guess over on Johnny’s post right here, he’s giving away a prize of his own!

I’ll be back with another episode of the Beyond the Book Podcast soon.

In the meantime, don’t forget…

Together we are boundless,

Michael Evans

The Author Sidekick

P.S. I’m launching the Six-Figure Film Accelerator in the coming days, all about how to turn your story idea into a six-figure film using paid ads, social media, and collaborations. You can join for an early discount here.