Many writers think that as soon as they’ve signed with an agent or publisher, they’re destined to become the next J.K. Rowling or Suzanne Collins.

The reality is that it takes more than a well-written novel to make it as an author. In fact, the most successful modern authors often understand marketing and how to sell products.

Writers may not view their book as a “product” since that doesn’t seem to account for the creativity and emotion they’ve poured into their project. However, authors who enter the publishing world with some kind of business experience have a head start compared to novels afraid of putting themselves out there and selling books.

How The Author Conservatory teaches marketing skills for authors

Here at The Author Conservatory, teaching our students marketing skills is so important to us that it takes up half of our instruction. 

We want Author Conservatory students to already have marketing experience so that they can enter the publishing industry with an established platform and confidence in connecting with customers. We do this through our business and marketing program that runs alongside our fiction program. 

In the first two years of The Author Conservatory, students launch their own pop up business and actually get paid for their products or services. Common businesses that our students find successful are cleaning businesses, Etsy shops, virtual assistant businesses, and tutoring businesses.

Depending on their situations and goals, they will either grow their pop up business for greater long-term profitability, implementing a scalable marketing system with the goal of doubling their income. Some students instead opt to apply their business skills in real-life settings, such as working for a marketing company. Kira Rosegren-Weigner, one of our graduates, started a housecleaning business which has served as her main source of income for the past two years.

No matter which option students choose, our students carry their hands-on experiences from the business and marketing side of our fiction writing program into a publishing industry where they’ll need to connect with an audience and sell their books to readers.

Amber Ginter, one of our nonfiction graduates, shared that because of the marketing skills she learned in the Conservatory, her biggest takeaway was that “my dreams weren’t unrealistic; I just needed to [understand business] and how to write professionally.” 

Author Conservatory anthologies: our marketing capstone project

In the third and final year of our fiction writing program, students publish a short story alongside their fellow graduates in one of our Voices of the Future anthologies. 

This is more than just a fun writing project; it allows our students to practice the entire publishing and book launch process from start to finish. That way they walk away with real-world experience marketing a book without the pressures of launching a debut novel. 

With a polished short story they can be confident in publishing, students focus on preparing marketing materials, building their platform, building a launch team, and other essential steps that every author takes when launching a book. Plus, they get to experience the fun parts of launching a book, like doing a cover reveal or securing a book signing! In total, our students have crossed over $6,000 in combined sales from our anthologies.

In our fiction writing program, our students learn marketing and business skills through hands-on experience—and they get to walk away from our program with their first published project!

Some students are initially hesitant to dive into the business side of our fiction writing program, as they may not see themselves as an entrepreneurial type. Joseph Brink, one of our 2025 graduates, expressed that he entered the Conservatory with this mindset. Upon graduation, however, he shared that he is most proud of “launching a full-time yardwork business, especially considering the fact that I never would have launched a business had it not been an assignment.” 

Join The Author Conservatory’s fiction writing program

The Author Conservatory’s fiction writing program teaches students the mastery of the fundamentals of creative writing, as well as the marketing and business skills it takes to be successful in the industry. 

If you want to learn how to craft professional novels and have the marketing skills necessary to actually sell them, we have a resource designed for you.

Our Road to Publishing guidebook provides you with the exact roadmap you need to turn your writing dreams into a reality: