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9 Author Tasks You Should Never Do Yourself

These are the first things I gave my new VA — and wow, what a difference

Author

Teddy Smith
July 24, 2025

Hey Everyone 👋

Big news in author productivity this week, I hired a virtual assistant to help me grow faster, and today I am sharing exactly how you can do that too.

I'm diving into how (and why) I hired a VA for my author business. If you've ever felt swamped juggling newsletters, promos, launches, social posts, and, oh yeah, actually writing… this one’s for you.

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📣 This Week’s Episode: How to Hire a $7.50/hr VA Who Gets Your Author Business
Talking on VAs, the reason I got one in the first place is speaking to my author friend Kevin.

Kevin Tumlinson joined me to break down exactly how to find, train, and delegate to a virtual assistant — even if you’re on a tight budget. I'm using mine to grow my email list via BookFunnel swaps, but we talk about so much more.

🤝 What’s an Author VA, Anyway?
Think of an author VA (virtual assistant) as an over seas member of your team. They’re not just random freelancers — they understand the publishing world. My VA helps with newsletter swaps, BookFunnel promos, social posts, metadata updates, even chasing Amazon when it gets weird (you know the drill).

I found mine through Author Anchor, and I couldn’t recommend them more. They specialise in training VAs specifically for author tasks, so you don’t have to teach them what “backmatter” means or how BookBub works. It’s like hiring someone who already gets it.

Tasks your Author VA could take off your plate:

  • Organising BookFunnel swaps and newsletter promos

  • Creating graphics for social/email using templates

  • Uploading and scheduling newsletters

  • Managing your ARC team

  • Reaching out to podcast/book bloggers

  • Updating your metadata and backmatter

  • Compiling reviews or blurbs for ads

  • Chasing Amazon support when things go sideways

  • Keeping track of your ad spend or spreadsheet chaos

Basically: freeing you up to write (or nap. No judgement).

Currently my VA is running my Book Funnel for my romance brand. I have gained 500 subscribers this month using Book Funnel only. That is huge! Think how big you could grow your author newsletter.

This book is a great example of using a point of difference to stand out — it’s short, sharp, and designed for busy people. I love this approach. There are plenty of competitive categories that you can stand out in, simply by reframing how you present the information to it is easy to digest.

💡 Tip: Think “30-day challenge”, “12-week plan”, or “365 affirmations” — adding a structure or constraint like this can really help your book shine in a crowded market.

Let’s chat
Got a VA yet? Thinking about it? Or have your own “life-saving” VA story?
Hit reply — I’d love to hear what tasks you’d outsource first!

Talk soon,
Teddy

P.S. I’m @teddyagsmith on all the socials — come say hi.