Writing 101: What Can $5 Buy?

Indie authors are advised, again and again, to spend money on making their books high quality. Pay for a good cover, the experts say. Pay for an editor who will go through your book line-by-line. Pay for an illustrator, a great trailer...the list could really go on and on if I wanted it to. But here's the thing: lots of indie authors are two steps away from broke. Pay for a good cover? It's hard enough just to pay for dinner! But indie authors do have options that don't necessarily include shelling out a cool $40 for a graphic designer. With $5, you can buy a lot.

Got Five On It?

With just $5, it's possible purchase a pretty great-looking book cover. Take another 5 bucks, and pay someone for original illustrations. Or, use that 5 to have a promotional video made. You can even use it to have someone give you a thoughtful review of your work, but it would be strictly for your own use. It's unethical to pay for reviews on sites like Amazon. 

The website where all of this can happen? It's aptly named Fiverr, naturally, and it really does offer lots of opportunities. Some of them are good, but others can be pitfalls. Let me very clear in stating that I do not advocate the buying of social media followers or updates, nor do I advocate the purchasing of blog posts. As an author, you should really provide original content and I'm pretty certain that social media sites frown on the buying of social media followers. 

But purchasing a real service, such as original artwork, is perfectly ethical. And when it costs just $5, it's extremely beneficial to indie authors who haven't got a whole lot of cash to spread around. 

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