Indie Author Magazine, co-founded by Chelle Honiker in 2021, is a business journal tailored for working indie authors. The magazine emerged from the need for in-depth, resourceful conversations within the indie author community, which until then were often scattered across social platforms and various blogs. After launching Indie Author Magazine, Chelle and her team expanded their offerings to include Indie Author Training, an educational platform, and DirectToReaders.com, a marketing hub for indie authors. Together, these three facets—informational, educational, and marketing—serve as a valuable and educational launch pad for indie authors.

This wasn’t Chelle’s first experience with publishing; she launched her first book, Six Steps to Closing an Internet Lead, with Lulu in 2009. The self-proclaimed “worst travel agent ever,” she credits the book with her successful next steps, “I was in the travel industry for years and years. I was the worst travel agent ever. I published this book and immediately was flooded with consulting and speaking gigs. I spoke all over the world. I went to Hong Kong. I went to Paris. I went on more than thirty cruises to teach travel agents how to close internet leads and how to work with people. My book legitimized everything for me.”

The Solution

Lulu's print-on-demand services provided the perfect solution for Indie Author Magazine's needs. The no-inventory model allowed for print volume growth alongside the magazine’s audience growth. Because there are no minimums, it was easy to shift quantities as needed.

The Solution

Lulu's print-on-demand services provided the perfect solution for Indie Author Magazine's needs. The no-inventory model allowed for print volume growth alongside the magazine’s audience growth. Because there are no minimums, it was easy to shift quantities as needed.

Creator Overview: From the Worst Travel Agent Ever to Magazine Co-founder

The Magazine

Indie Author Magazine is a high-quality publication available in print and digital formats. It features evergreen, long-form content, making it a valuable resource for authors at any stage of their journey. The magazine is distributed through bookstores, conferences, and subscription services, with additional content available via apps, podcasts, and social media.

Chelle explains, “Our strategy is to have a beautiful full color print version of the magazine for the audience. We want to help the self-publishing industry legitimize their work. The ideal audience is the author who aspires to have a career based off of their writing. We help them understand what’s available to them.”

Lulu as a Business Partner

Lulu is a print-on-demand and self-publishing platform with over 20 years of experience empowering creators to publish and distribute their work with ease. With a focus on quality, automation, and accessibility, Lulu is a trusted partner for businesses and individuals looking to bring their content to life. Our seamless integration with tools like the API, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Zapier makes it a go-to solution for magazines like Indie Author Magazine.

Lulu as a Business Partner

Lulu is a print-on-demand (POD) and self-publishing platform with over 20 years of experience empowering creators to publish and distribute their work with ease. With a focus on quality, automation, and accessibility, Lulu is a trusted partner for businesses and individuals looking to bring their content to life. Our seamless integration with tools like the API, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Zapier makes it a go-to solution for magazines like Indie Author Magazine.

The Challenges

Launching a magazine from scratch requires defining an audience, building out a business plan, and making big decisions around distribution and the final product. Here are a few of the problems Indie Author Magazine encountered:

The Challenges

Indie Author Magazine is a high-quality publication available in print and digital formats. It features evergreen, long-form content, making it a valuable resource for authors at any stage of their journey. The magazine is distributed through bookstores, conferences, and subscription services, with additional content available via apps, podcasts, and social media.

Chelle explains, “Our strategy is to have a beautiful full color print version of the magazine for the audience. We want to help the self-publishing industry legitimize their work. The ideal audience is the author who aspires to have a career based off of their writing. We help them understand what’s available to them.”

Launching a magazine from scratch requires defining an audience, building out a business plan, and making big decisions around distribution and the final product. Here are a few of the problems Indie Author Magazine encountered:

• Community Needs: Indie authors lacked a centralized, reliable source of in-depth information and resources around all facets of self-publishing.
  
  
• Legitimacy: Chelle wanted to create a product that legitimized indie authors as professionals in conjunction with a disappearing stigma around self-publishing. This bridges the gap between information and conflicting ideas around particular topics.
  
  
• Efficiency: Publishing a high-quality, full-color magazine was time-intensive, taking up to two weeks per issue. As the magazine evolved, streamlining the process was important.
  
  
• Distribution: Reaching a wide audience across multiple platforms while maintaining quality and consistency was a significant hurdle.

The Data Doesn't Lie

Time to Revenue

Automating book fulfillment with Lulu’s print API reduced internal publishing production time by 90%, allowing the team to focus on growth and content creation.

Content Types/Platforms

The magazine is available in print from Lulu, as well as in digital and app formats, with additional content shared via podcasts, YouTube, and social media

Units Sold/Time

The magazine sells approximately 20,000 print units annually, with plans to 5x this number in the coming year through new initiatives. With Lulu’s automated print-on-demand services, increasing print volume is easy.

Audience Growth

Key industry partnerships with companies that share the indie author audience increased subscriptions 10x in one year. 

New Opportunities

The magazine's success has led to additional revenue streams, including Indie Author Training and DirectToReaders.com, as well as speaking engagements and workshops for Chelle. In 2026, Indie Author Magazine plans on expanding with the help of Substack.

Community Needs
Indie authors lacked a centralized, reliable source of in-depth information and resources around all facets of self-publishing.

The Magazine

Automation
By integrating Lulu's API with platforms like Ghost and Zapier, the magazine reduced its internal production time from two weeks to just two hours.

The Data Doesn't Lie

• Automation: By integrating Lulu's API with platforms like Ghost and Zapier, the magazine reduced its internal production time from two weeks to just two hours.
  
  
• Quality: Lulu's high-quality printing ensured that the magazine stood out as a professional, legitimate publication.
  
  
• Distribution: Lulu's tools enabled seamless global distribution to subscribers, bookstores, and conferences, expanding the magazine's reach.
  
  
• Legitimacy: The full color print version of the magazine legitimized Indie Author Magazine, setting it apart from digital blogs. 

• Community Needs: Indie authors lacked a centralized, reliable source of in-depth information and resources around all facets of self-publishing.
• Legitimacy: Chelle wanted to create a product that legitimized indie authors as professionals in conjunction with a disappearing stigma around self-publishing. This bridges the gap between information and conflicting ideas around particular topics.
• Efficiency: Publishing a high-quality, full-color magazine was time-intensive, taking up to two weeks per issue. As the magazine evolved, streamlining the process was important.
• Distribution: Reaching a wide audience across multiple platforms while maintaining quality and consistency was a significant hurdle.

Legitimacy
Chelle wanted to create a product that legitimized indie authors as professionals in conjunction with a disappearing stigma around self-publishing. This bridges the gap between information and conflicting ideas around particular topics.

Efficiency
Publishing a high-quality, full-color magazine was time-intensive, taking up to two weeks per issue. As the magazine evolved, streamlining the process was important.

Distribution
Reaching a wide audience across multiple platforms while maintaining quality and consistency was a significant hurdle.

• Automation: By integrating Lulu's API with platforms like Ghost and Zapier, the magazine reduced its internal production time from two weeks to just two hours.
• Quality: Lulu's high-quality printing ensured that the magazine stood out as a professional, legitimate publication.
• Distribution: Lulu's tools enabled seamless global distribution to subscribers, bookstores, and conferences, expanding the magazine's reach.
• Legitimacy: The full color print version of the magazine legitimized Indie Author Magazine, setting it apart from digital blogs. 

Quality
Lulu's high-quality printing ensured that the magazine stood out as a professional, legitimate publication.

Distribution
Lulu's tools enabled seamless global distribution to subscribers, bookstores, and conferences, expanding the magazine's reach.

Legitimacy
The full color print version of the magazine legitimized Indie Author Magazine, setting it apart from digital blogs.

• Time to Revenue: Automating book fulfillment with Lulu’s print API reduced internal publishing production time by 90%, allowing the team to focus on growth and content creation.
• Content Types/Platforms: The magazine is available in print from Lulu, as well as in digital and app formats, with additional content shared via podcasts, YouTube, and social media
• Units Sold/Time: The magazine sells approximately 20,000 print units annually, with plans to 5x this number in the coming year through new initiatives. With Lulu’s automated print-on-demand services, increasing print volume is easy.
• Audience Growth: Key industry partnerships with companies that share the indie author audience increased subscriptions 10x in one year. 
• New Opportunities: The magazine's success has led to additional revenue streams, including Indie Author Training and DirectToReaders.com, as well as speaking engagements and workshops for Chelle. In 2026, Indie Author Magazine plans on expanding with the help of Substack.

Time to Revenue
Automating book fulfillment with Lulu’s print API reduced internal publishing production time by 90%, allowing the team to focus on growth and content creation.

Content Types/Platforms
The magazine is available in print from Lulu, as well as in digital and app formats, with additional content shared via podcasts, YouTube, and social media.

Units Sold/Time
The magazine sells approximately 20,000 print units annually, with plans to 5x this number in the coming year through new initiatives. With Lulu’s automated print-on-demand services, increasing print volume is easy.

Audience Growth
Key industry partnerships with companies that share the indie author audience increased subscriptions 10x in one year.

A CASE STUDY

A CASE STUDY

From Two Weeks to Two Hours

How Indie Author Magazine Streamlined Production with Lulu Print-on-Demand & Automated Fulfillment.

From Two Weeks to Two Hours

How Indie Author Magazine Streamlined Production with Lulu Print-on-Demand & Automated Fulfillment

About Lulu

Since 2002, Lulu has worked hard to introduce advanced technology for authors, creators, businesses, and publishers to print and distribute their work. By taking advantage of the Lulu Print API and other publishing and printing tools, businesses and brands have been able to scale their work, opening new educational channels for a global audience.