A subplot feels woven into a novel when the main plot and secondary storyline change each other. The connection may come through a shared character, piece of information, resource, setting, consequence, or decision—but it needs to exist on the page, not only in the writer’s explanation of what the two threads mean.
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Your Advice for Writers resource articles.
Writing a book comes with questions, challenges, and moments of doubt, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. The Advice for Writers resource articles break down the writing, publishing, and promotion process into clear, approachable guidance, so you can focus on telling your story with confidence.
A subplot that shares characters, settings, and scenes with the main plot may cost very little extra narrative space. A subplot that needs a new location, supporting cast, conflict, and sequence of scenes costs far more. Two novels with the same word count can therefore support very different levels of complexity.
Someone can read your book without buying a new copy—they might discover it at the library, borrow it from a friend, buy it used, pull it from a shelf at home, or access it through a subscription service. That distinction matters because readership and book sales overlap imperfectly.
Consider raising your ebook price when the increased royalty per sale can offset a reasonable decline in unit sales and the higher price fits what readers already expect from comparable books.
Publishing a book is only part of the process. Authors also need ways to help reviewers, librarians, booksellers, journalists, and other book professionals discover it. NetGalley is one of the publishing industry’s best-known platforms for doing that. It allows publishers and authors to provide digital review copies to a large community of readers and professionals who actively seek new books.
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Nonfiction books are still selling, but readers do not buy “nonfiction” as a category—they buy books that satisfy a specific interest, solve a recognizable problem, illuminate a world they care about, or tell a story they cannot get elsewhere.
Book awards can be worth it for indie authors when three things are true: the program is credible, your book is genuinely competitive in its category, and you already know how you would use a win or finalist placement. If you cannot identify the audience that recognizes the award or the marketing action you would take afterward, the entry is probably low priority.
How many ISBNs you need depends on the number of separately marketed formats and editions you plan to identify. Paperback and hardcover editions need separate ISBNs. Digital requirements vary by distribution channel: some platforms do not require the author to supply an ISBN, even though publishers may choose to assign one for metadata and supply-chain consistency.
Selling books direct to readers means accepting payment through a store you control and fulfilling the order yourself or through connected vendors. You keep the retail relationship, but your net income is the sale price minus payment fees, storefront fees, printing or file-delivery costs, shipping subsidies, taxes you absorb, refunds, and any advertising cost used to acquire the customer.