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Now, of course, self-publishing has exploded, simultaneously creating a more legitimate option for thousands of writers, and creating a whole spectrum of publishing opportunities within the previously limited world of self-publishing.

Sure, you can still do the old things like print your own books, or the slightly-less-old things like run a blog, but in between those two extremes there are people running email courses and premium newsletters and magazines and niche sites and finding dozens of different ways to get their words to the world – and to make money doing so.

So to me a micropublisher is an individual who takes control of their own online publishing. When you keep everything online, you keep your overhead low and you keep your options open. It’s a mental shift as much as anything – you’re not just a writer, you’re also a publisher now. And the most effective way for you to publish might not be to run yet another blog or whatever.

Your words deserve attention, and for you to find the best way to present them to the world. As an independent writer, how you publish your writing is now as important as what you write. Do you give it all away? Do you charge for some? Do you give away a book but charge for a course? Give away a course but charge for a book? The options are vast, and growing.

That said, the way in which I make my income is quite fluid at the moment. As you rightly mention, I recently took down the ebooks that accounted for a decent proportion of my income, so that’s necessarily affected how and where I make money. I’ve only been doing this full-time for around 6 months or so, and in that time I’ve sold ebooks, coaching, consulting, advertising, affiliate products, and newsletters. Some of these have been one-off things and experiments to see how they fit with my work, business, and life, while others are things to which I plan to return in future.

It’s been quite fun, really, exploring what works and what doesn’t, what will make money and what won’t. Having been through the past six months and tested out various different options, I’m in a stronger position moving forward to know what my readers want and where they see the value. So although the fine details of the business model are still being ironed out, I’m pretty much set on the direction for the next stage of things – though I’ll respectfully decline from going into huge detail about that just yet, because of those fine details that are still to be finalized.

As for the magazine itself, I’m constantly trying to balance the need for visual interest with my own personal preference for simplicity. It’s nice to be able to get out of the way of the words and images – that’s when the design is at its best, I feel. That said, I’m always looking to add something to the designs that keeps readers engaged, rather than having it feel like a simple ebook where every page looks the same. When in doubt, though, I tend towards simplicity.

In terms of design inspiration, it’s hard to say. I don’t look to many print magazines as they tend to be very advertising-led and have teams of trained professionals working on them each month, so there would be no way for me to imitate that even if I wanted to do so.

Really, not many people are working in the same format as In Treehouses, so I’ve had to pioneer things a little and find out what works for myself. That’s been great fun but a lot of work, and I’m still learning and testing and evolving the magazine with each new edition. The little steps add up.

I’ve experimented with a few different design directions for In Treehouses over the months, but I always tend to come back to something fairly simple and minimal. In the early days, I was too easily distracted away from my own personal aesthetic by looking at what was working for others. I’ve come to the belief that, while it’s important to take on board the lessons that other people can give you, you have to fit that in to a design with which you feel comfortable.

I could probably boost my conversion rate of readers to subscribers by adding a pop-over form or using shoutier headlines, but then I’d end up with a site with which I wasn’t happy. Whenever I’ve done something like that and been uncomfortable about the feel of the site, it makes me less inclined to want to spend time on In Treehouses as a whole. Design has a very direct effect on how I work, so I always want to make sure that the site is in a state with which I’m happy.

Getting more specific, the simplicity and minimal design is also crucial to keep the focus on the magazine. In terms of the path of the reader, I want people to head towards the magazine and to read that more than I want them on the site, so keeping the website simple means fewer distractions on that path.

The simplicity of the design is also linked to the state in which I want readers to approach the magazine. Consider that many readers who arrive on the site will have come from the bitesize beats of Twitter or from click-click-clicking through the blogosphere – so reading a 50 or 60 page magazine presents an entirely different prospect. Whilst many readers take a while to get through the whole magazine, or skim to the sections that are most appropriate to them, I can at least use the website to set up a certain mood, with a calm atmosphere that encourages readers towards a more relaxed pace.

If you’re true to yourself in your design, then you’re likely to attract a readership that you actually want. The window displays at Tiffany’s are different to those in the bargain basement shop down the street for a reason. The bargain shop might get more people in off the street, but that doesn’t mean Tiffany’s should start imitating their tactics; they’re going for a different market.

I’m not saying to be snobby, just that your web design is an indication of the type of operation you’re running – and before you imitate others, it’s worth considering whether their readers are the type you want.

Other than that, the biggest battle has been in switching off from the constant distraction of wanting immediate results. It’s natural to desire an impressive income from all your hard work, and to be seduced by the idea of setting up niche sites or affiliate sites that can make you money quickly. There is, however, a huge disconnect between that and working for the long term, to build a business, and to create work that matters and of which you’re proud.

I think the blogosphere in general blurs the line between these two approaches; not necessarily deliberately or cynically, but there’s not much distance between those who are trying to build a name and a reputation and a craft, and those who want to be able to run a blog for three months and then make a quick buck from selling loads of ebooks.

I have no problem with the latter approach if that’s your thing, but the concern for me is that it can be tough to discern between the two approaches. So you might spend six days a week building your ideal business, then on the seventh day be seduced by the great conversion rates someone’s been getting with big red buttons. So that’s a tough battle, I think, to be able to trust yourself and your own direction enough to hear the advice and make a rational decision whether or not it would work for you.

My initial decision to choose to create a magazine was taken on a whim, almost, after reading Seth Godin’s blog post about micro-magazines. I was toying around with websites and trying to find a direction, but frustrated by the lack of inspiration I was getting from the prospect of running a blog.

Magazines appealed to me and to what I wanted to achieve more than a blog did; they seemed so full of potential and unrestricted by what others were doing, or by convention, or by the constraints of the web and HTML. That creative appeal has remained over time, and I’m fortunate that’s been the case.

I’ve made various plans and claims and statements along the way, only to see my own inclinations or priorities change thereafter. So, while I have a very direct plan (or series of guesses) for the coming months, I’m learning to keep my mouth shut about what that precisely entails as it may well change before these plans see the light of day.

This is especially true when you’re working for yourself and can change direction in a heartbeat, rather than in a business where you have to think about dozens of other people and get approval and sell the idea. It’s at once a great flexibility to have, and a ticket to change your mind over and over.

What I will say is that I’m learning from the experiences I mentioned above about the various ways in which I’ve made an income thus far, and I’m building on what I’ve most enjoyed and what has made the most business sense. Beyond that, I’m going to keep quiet.

That said, it’s important to note that you shouldn’t be afraid to jump in and get started with things, even if they need to be changed later. Often the only way to test the true value of an idea or a publication or a business or a creation is to make it first. You not only learn a huge amount in the process, you get to see the reactions of others and then adapt and alter and update as needs be. The first version of something is rarely perfect, and the best way to discover those imperfections is to see how the world reacts to it.