The Internet has democratized the process of creating content, but this abundance has also hurt the overall writing community on the whole. Budding authors now find it increasingly difficult to break into the publishing industry. The explosion of self-published writers and ability to reach readers through services like Kindle and BN has dried up the once fat advances that authors could hope to get from publishers. Becoming a career author has become increasingly challenging and not so lucrative.

In Author Power, Lynn Isenberg shows you how you can turn around your fortune as a writer. She argues that authors now need to shed the image of a reclusive writer and proactively hustle for their dues. With the advice that she shares in this book, the author promises that you can earn a fortune even before you get your book out and get on the charts.

Lynn Isenberg is the author of comedic trilogy The Funeral planner and frequently consults for entertainment technology companies and teaches Transmedia Entertainment at LMU. She is also the Chief Creative Officer at Focus Media Inc. where she crafts cutting edge narratives, branded entertainment, and publishing properties for select clients.

While I believe that Author Power is most useful for authors who already have a book under their belt and a good sales number in their armory, it shouldn’t stop never published writers from applying the solutions that Author Power shares.

The process of publishing has undergone a big change like every other business. In the first part, The I Am Philosophy, the author outlines these changes and shows you why you need to sit up and take notice of these changes and face the reality. She sums up the state of publishing when she says “Unfortunately, the days of giant advances are over, unless you’ve reached a celebrity status and can guarantee substantial sales and media attention on your own.”

But a change doesn’t really mean that you are out of business. It is just that you need to adapt to the changing environment and find new ways to generate business. She suggests that authors need to see themselves as entrepreneurs, and explores the new roles and helps you in adopting these roles.

Part II, Strategies, begins with how self-publishing is not necessarily the last option. Here, the author talks about various ways the author can raise money even before the book is finished. Crowd sourcing is the most ‘happening’ thing in the business world. Raising money as a loan or in return for endorsements is gaining traction in various industries. The movie and television industry is no stranger to product placement and the author believes there’s no reason why it cannot be done in a book. The author shares literally hundreds of ways you can raise money for your writing project before the book hits the stands.

Throughout the book, the author provides various resources to put in action what she suggests. You will not just find examples of how she did it or how someone else did it, but also concrete resources to do what she did. She also goes a step further by actually quoting email transcripts and chats she had with different corporate sponsors and other small businesses. Part III of the book, Proof of Concept, shares and end-to-end case study of how Jim Dratfield managed his book Dogphoria.

All this marketing jargon can sound too intimidating to authors. Lynn Isenberg gives you the basic tools to run your next book project and provides you with the material for each step of the way in Must Have Materials: Roadmaps.

You can see everything that the author professes applied to Author Power. A simple online search will help you see how the author has put in action what she has shared. Author Power is a must-have book for every published, self-published, and wannabe writer. You will find some great resources to make money and support your next book.