Episode 53: How To Build Your Author Business With Intention

🧾 If you’ve published a book or two and you’re thinking… “Now what?” — this episode is for you. In Episode 53 of The Author Next Door, Angela Haas and Cassie Newell kick off the year with the unsexy-but-critical topic most authors avoid: business goals.Because once you decide you want to earn income from your books, you’re not “just writing” anymore… you’re officially a small business owner.In this episode, we talk about the question that changes everything:✅ Is writing your hobby… or your career plan? Your answer determines your path — from how you spend money to how you market, set goals, and build a sustainable author life.We cover: 📌 The “Now What?” phase after publishing a few books 📌 How Cassie shifted from hobby mindset to business strategy (and why) 📌 Streamlining costs and getting a return on your investment 📌 Business basics authors forget: separation of expenses, systems, and tracking 📌 The KU vs Wide conversation (and why “test one thing at a time” matters) 📌 How to stop comparing yourself to full-time authors when you’re not full-time 📌 Why knowing your reader (like, really knowing them) is a business skill 📌 Short game vs long game: building a strategy you can actually sustain✨ This episode is equal parts pep talk + practical, designed to help authors stop winging it and start making confident, intentional decisions.👇 Question of the week: Are you treating your writing like a hobby—or building it like a business?🔔 Subscribe for more! ➡  https://www.youtube.com/@TheAuthorNextDoor    🎙️For More About The Author Nextdoor ➡ https://theauthornextdoor.com/  Sign up for exclusive content 👉  https://bit.ly/49hvRVp🗺️ Other places to find us and connect:    ANGELA HAAS Choose your own adventure  🚀💕  https://ahaaswrites.com/    CASSIE NEWELL Romance 🩷 https://ckdarling.com/   Young Adult 🧚  https://authorcmnewell.com/   ℹ️ Keywords 🔑 writing goals, business mindset, self-publishing, author success, reader engagement, financial planning, creative process, marketing strategies, indie authors, book performance