Launch week: coupon HQVIP takes $10 off, so it's $17 until 11:59pm EST, Monday 9 November For indie authors, fiction or non-fiction: 19 guides, one roadmap
For indie authors
The Indie Author Roadmap · from research to Book 2

Your first book, mapped from blank page to bookshelf.

Self-publishing has a thousand tutorials and no running order. SelfPublishHQ gives you the order: seven stages from first idea to Book 2, and 19 practical guides that sit on the stage where you'll actually use them.

  • Built on a real 102,000-word novel, written with AI and published on Amazon
  • Fiction or non-fiction, any genre, with or without AI
  • Sourced numbers and honest expectations. No income promises
Get all 19 guides for  $17 $27

$27, or $17 with launch coupon HQVIP until 11:59pm EST, Monday 9 November.

SelfPublishHQ: The Indie Author Roadmap, from research to Book 2
The problem

It's not a lack of information. It's too much of it, in no order.

You can find a video on covers, a thread on blurbs and a course on ads. None of them tell you what to do first, what to do next, or what can safely wait until Book 3.

So most first books stall in one of two places. Before a word is written, because the author keeps researching. Or somewhere in the middle, because polishing, packaging and launching all feel like one big fog.

SelfPublishHQ fixes both: a clear start, and a clear next step at every stage after it.

What's inside

Seven stages. Nineteen guides. One running order.

Find your stage, open the guide for it, and ignore the rest until you need it.

Stage 1

Start

See the whole path before you take a step.

  • The Indie Author RoadmapSTART HERE
    Seven stages, what "done" looks like at each, the traps, and a two-minute find-your-stage quiz.
  • The Indie Opportunity + What's Realistic
    What Amazon pays out, what most authors actually earn, and honest expectations for Month 1, Year 1 and Year 5.
  • From Framework to Finished Novel
    The case study: twelve steps behind a 102,000-word novel written with AI, mistakes included.
Stage 2

Decide

Pick a niche that fits you and that readers want.

  • The Fiction Niche Finder
    Fifty sub-genres readers binge, a 10-minute Amazon check and a 20-minute decision drill.
  • The Source Hunter's Cheat Sheet
    Free public archives, and how to turn real history into plots, villains and worlds.
Stage 3

Write

Get the draft done with a plan and a co-writer.

  • The Co-Author Prompt Pack
    Thirty copy-paste prompts across seven toolkits, plus a Book Brief template.
  • The Series Bible Template
    Characters, world rules, timeline and open threads, kept straight across every book.
  • The Series Sprint Checklist
    A day-by-day writing plan with realistic time budgets.
Stage 4

Polish

Make it read like a person wrote it.

  • The AI-Tell Polish Pass
    Seven passes in a fixed order, real before-and-after fixes, and a finish line so you actually publish.
Stage 5

Package

Look like you belong on the shelf.

  • The Cover & Title Formula Guide
    Title formulas, genre cover conventions and the thumbnail test.
  • The Blurb & A+ Content Swipe File
    Fill-in book description templates and Amazon A+ layouts.
  • Pen Name & Author Platform Kit + Author Site Build with AI
    Choose your author name and build a simple author site in an afternoon.
  • The Short Story Reader Magnet Kit
    A companion short story that turns browsers into subscribers.
Stage 6

Launch

Go live with readers waiting, not to silence.

  • The First 10 Reviews ARC Playbook
    Build an early-reader team within the platform rules.
  • The KDP Launch & Free-Promo Playbook
    A launch calendar, how free days and Countdown Deals work, and copy-paste templates.
Stage 7

Grow

Turn one book into a series and a readership.

  • The Series Economics Calculator
    An interactive tool and guide: price, page reads and read-through, per reader.
  • The AI Audiobook Guide
    Turn the same manuscript into an audiobook without a studio.
  • The Book 2 Fast-Track
    Start the sequel while Book 1 still has momentum.
  • The AI Author Tool Stack Map
    Every stage of the roadmap, with the tool that helps at each step.
Works for you if…

You'd rather follow steps than collect tutorials

You want to publish your first book (or finally finish it), you write fiction or non-fiction, and you use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or no AI at all.

The Indie Author Roadmap From Framework to Finished Novel The Indie Opportunity The Fiction Niche Finder The Co-Author Prompt Pack Source Hunter's Cheat Sheet Series Bible Template Series Sprint Checklist AI-Tell Polish Pass Cover and Title Formula Guide Blurb and A+ Swipe File Pen Name and Author Platform Kit Author Site Build with AI Short Story Reader Magnet Kit First 10 Reviews ARC Playbook KDP Launch and Free-Promo Playbook Series Economics Calculator AI Audiobook Guide Book 2 Fast-Track AI Author Tool Stack Map
Built on a real book

Not theory. The path behind a published novel.

Every guide uses Paladin 404: Welcome to the Dungeon as the worked example: a 32-chapter GameLit murder mystery of more than 102,000 words, written with AI assistance and published on Amazon under the pen name blogbum.

From Matt Garrett: online marketer since 1999, contributor to products with over $25M in combined affiliate sales, and the author behind blogbum.

Honest bit: what this isn't

  • It isn't software. It's 19 PDF guides (plus an interactive calculator) in a members area.
  • It isn't a "publish 50 books by Friday" system. It's one good book, done properly, then the next one.
  • It won't promise you sales. Nobody honest can. The Opportunity guide shows what the numbers really look like.
Everything you get

The full roadmap, today

The Core 5 · Start, Decide, Write
The Indie Author RoadmapSeven stages, the traps, and the find-your-stage quiz$17
From Framework to Finished NovelThe Paladin 404 case study, plus a your-genre page$27
The Indie Opportunity + What's RealisticSourced numbers and honest expectations$17
The Fiction Niche Finder50 sub-genres and the 20-minute drill$27
The Co-Author Prompt Pack30 prompts and the Book Brief template$27
Core 5 subtotal$115
The 14 next-step guides · Decide to Grow
Source Hunter's Cheat Sheet + Real History as Fiction Fuel$27
Series Bible Template$27
Series Sprint Checklist$17
AI-Tell Polish Pass$37
Cover & Title Formula Guide$27
Blurb & A+ Content Swipe File$27
Pen Name & Author Platform Kit + Author Site Build with AITwo guides$37
Short Story Reader Magnet Kit$27
First 10 Reviews ARC Playbook$27
KDP Launch & Free-Promo Playbook$37
Series Economics CalculatorInteractive tool + guide$27
AI Audiobook Guide$17
Book 2 Fast-Track$17
AI Author Tool Stack Map$17
Next-step guides subtotal$368
Total stack value$483
$27

One-off payment · instant access · members area

Launch week: coupon HQVIP is applied automatically at checkout, so you pay $17.
Ends 11:59pm EST, Monday 9 November.

Secure checkout via WarriorPlus. Instant access to your SelfPublishHQ members area after purchase.

30-DAY
MONEY-BACK

Read it, use it, decide.

Take 30 days to work through the roadmap. If it isn't useful to you, open a ticket at gazmat.com within 30 days of purchase and you'll get a full refund.

Questions

Before you buy

Is this for fiction or non-fiction?

Both. The worked example is a novel and the Niche Finder is fiction-focused, but every stage applies to any book, and the guides point out where non-fiction differs.

Do I need to use AI?

No. The prompts are there if you want them. The roadmap, drills, templates and checklists work without them.

I'm halfway through a book already. Is it still useful?

Yes. Take the find-your-stage quiz in the Roadmap, start at that stage, and skip what you've already done.

What format is it?

19 PDF guides (20 files, as the Pen Name Kit comes with a separate Author Site guide) and an interactive Series Economics Calculator, all in your SelfPublishHQ members area.

Is it a subscription?

No. One payment, and you keep access.

Will I make money from my book?

No one can promise that, and we don't. The Opportunity guide shows what the numbers really look like, including how little most first books earn, and what the authors who earn more do differently.

How does the launch coupon work?

Coupon HQVIP is applied automatically when you click the buy button before 11:59pm EST on Monday 9 November, and the price drops from $27 to $17. After that, the coupon stops working.

Need help?

Open a ticket at gazmat.com.