The Lazy Author's Way to Self-Publish: 3 Time Savers

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one, Urgesta AS may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read the affiliate disclosure.

Get the free checklist: the 12 steps I follow for every book I publish.

The lazy author’s way to self-publish is to put every repeat task on a checklist, do only the tasks that lead to sales, and hand the rest to other people. That is how you avoid burning out. Below are the three steps and what they did for me.

Why do self-publishers burn out?

Self-publishing is demanding. There are many phases and many tools, and a book doesn’t sell just because you throw it on the market. At first I had to work out the tools and the steps, then how to get books to sell using content marketing and paid ads. Once I had a readership, I noticed many of my tasks repeated. That seems like good news, since you don’t have to learn them again, but it wears on you. I burned out trying to balance the important tasks with the old repetitive ones, with limited time.

What counts as burnout?

The World Health Organization defines burn-out as a syndrome from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, with three signs: feelings of exhaustion, growing mental distance or cynicism about your job, and reduced professional efficacy (WHO, 28-May-19). For an author the second sign looks like dreading your own books. If that is you, cut work before you push harder, and see a doctor if it goes beyond tiredness.

1. Make a checklist for every repeat task

Write the steps one by one in Excel or a text file. When you fix something that broke, write it down. Then you never have to figure it out again. My free 12-step self-publishing checklist is my version for the whole process. Related: you don’t fix this now, you’ll hate yourself later.

2. Do the tasks that move the needle first

Check the checklist for unimportant items, and cut them. The tasks that count either put new books on the market (writing so many words a day) or send traffic to the books you have (setting up ads, content marketing). This is where laziness comes in: a truly lazy author doesn’t want to do extra tasks, does the ones that matter most, and does one at a time. I don’t mean doing nothing, only dropping the tasks that don’t change the number of books on the market or the traffic to them.

3. Hand the repeat tasks to other people

Give your checklists to virtual assistants. You can find them in the Philippines through OnlineJobs.ph (an affiliate link), or on Upwork, which is where I’d start. OnlineJobs.ph has a free employer plan (you can see applications but can’t contact workers until you upgrade), PRO at $69 a month or $299 a year and Premium at $99 a month or $349 a year. It says employers hire direct, with no salary markups or ongoing fees (OnlineJobs.ph pricing). Check Upwork’s current fees on its site.

Don’t outsource a task until you have figured out how to do it, so you can train the person. Many authors feel they would do the task better themselves. Even if that is true, the repetition will burn you out, and then you stop producing books, which is the number one way to succeed in self-publishing. Your best use of time is writing the books and getting your face out as an author through content marketing, so people connect your name with the type of book you write.

Which tasks do other authors hand off first?

Covers and editing are the usual ones. In the Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey, mid-range earners often work with freelance designers who specialize in their genre, while lower earners often do covers themselves with Canva or templates. For editing, newer or lower-earning authors mostly chose DIY, beta readers or no editing at all, and established authors worked with trusted, consistent editors. The survey does not cover virtual assistants, so the order below is my own. I would hand off the repeat jobs I already have on a checklist, such as formatting steps and uploads, before I hand off anything that needs my judgment.

I follow up regularly and use Todoist (an affiliate link) to track tasks, so several books can be worked on at once and I know where each one is. Todoist has a free plan with 5 personal projects. Related: 3 early warning signs of author burnout.

The cycle runs like this: more books on the market, more traffic from ads and content, a face and an email list, and then the reviews. It is iterative, so just don’t burn out in the process. I waited way too long before I started handing tasks off. I wish I had started much earlier.

Are you overwhelmed by self-publishing work? Tell me in the comments.

Listen to this episode on Spotify

Start with the free checklist

The checklist is the 12 steps I follow for every book I publish, from choosing a topic that already sells to setting up the book's marketing. It is free, and you get it straight away.

Get the free checklist

You get the free checklist and Chris's emails. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy policy

Not sure yet? Book a free 25-minute call