From Author to Entrepreneur: Building a Bookish Business that Works! {ep. 168}
June 6, 2025
Alexa Bigwarfe and Hannah Jacobson dive deep into business-building for authors and publishing pros. They cover funding models, pricing mistakes, automation, AI tools, and the essential mindset shift from "just an author" to entrepreneur. It's honest, funny, and full of hard-won wisdom. A must-listen for creative business owners!
In this episode, Alexa teams up with her longtime collaborator Hannah Jacobson of Book Award Pro to dive deep into the business side of publishing. Whether you’re bootstrapping your first book or scaling a freelance editing business, this conversation is packed with practical tools, hard-earned lessons, and a whole lot of encouragement.
In this episode, Alexa and Hannah discuss:
In this episode, Alexa and Hannah discuss:
- Why authors, editors, and publishing professionals must see themselves as entrepreneurs
- The origin stories behind Alexa’s publishing journey and Hannah’s creation of Book Award Pro
- Bootstrapping vs. investors vs. crowdfunding—and when to use each
- Real-life pricing mistakes and how to avoid undercharging for your time
- The power of business systems, automation, and templates (and why they matter)
- Learning to love the “yucky business stuff”: contracts, invoicing, websites, and CRMs
- Tools like Stripe Atlas, 17 Hats, Squarespace, and PubSite for business setup
- Website ownership 101: what it means to own your digital property
- Why AI (like ChatGPT!) can save you hours of time, especially for marketing and metadata
- How to grow a freelance business from scratch—plus Alexa’s tips from her early VA days
- The three traits of the most successful authors Alexa has seen
- Book reviews, trade reviews, and building visibility with Book Award Pro
- A sneak peek at the upcoming Business Bootcamp for publishing pros