Jessica Deen Norris - A smiling woman with blonde hair and glasses wearing a light gray textured top, photographed against a plain light gray background.
Hi, I'm Jessica

You don't have to write faster to make a living as an author

I'm a YA fantasy author, indie bookstore owner, and homeschooling mom of five. I started Author Exec because I got tired of hearing that the only way to make a living as an author was to write faster and publish more.

Something was always getting ignored

For a long time I ran my author business one way: head down. Head down on marketing while the writing sat untouched. Head down on writing while the marketing went quiet. Or head down on both while my family waited. Whatever I was working on, something else was being ignored.

The first thing that changed it was getting everything out of my head and into one permanent source of truth. Especially my workflows: how I do each thing, written down once, so I didn't have to look it all up every time.

Everything else grew from there. I'm a slow writer, and I built a six-figure publishing business on just three books by treating the operations side as seriously as the writing. I published my first book in 2022, opened my direct sales store at the end of 2023, grew it to six figures within a year, and in 2026 opened my own bookstore and warehouse.

And I still homeschool the kids. :)

What I believe

It's possible. You really can get a lot done in a day when you have systems and use automations, without hiring a whole team.

Your business should be yours. Sell direct, build your own list, and treat the big retailers as a bonus instead of the foundation.

You don't need a huge catalog. I'm a slow writer. Three books got me to six figures because I made the most of each one.

Tools I built for my own business first

Everything in this shop is a tool I built for my own business first. These are the systems that let me run three companies while homeschooling my kids and still writing my books, cleaned up, templated, and ready for you to drop into your own author business.

Browse the templates and tools

A few things about me

Homeschooling mom of five

My work fits around school days, which is why everything I build has to save time.

Bookstore owner

My husband and I opened an indie bookstore in 2026.

Planner nerd

I think on paper first, then Notion keeps it all organized.

Learner, Input, Focus

My top three CliftonStrengths, with Activator and Strategic close behind. I learn the tools, collect what works, and build fast.

Want to work through it together?

Sometimes a template isn't what you need. You need someone who has done it to look at your business with you. In an Author Strategy Session, we spend one focused hour on your biggest problem, whether that's selling direct to readers, being more productive, or automating the busywork.

If you've ever felt buried in the busywork of running an author business, you're exactly who I made all of this for.

Execute with clarity. Create with freedom.

The Author Strategy Session — 60-Minute Consult

$225.00
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Shipping calculated at checkout.

One focused hour to solve your biggest problem — whether that's selling direct to readers, being more productive, or automating the busywork out of your author business.

You've got the writing part handled. It's everything around the writing that eats your time — the launch you keep putting off, the sales that all run through someone else's platform, the to-do list that never gets shorter.

That's what this hour is for.

Bring me the thing that's actually stuck, and we'll spend 60 minutes building you a clear, doable plan. No generic advice, no upsell — just the specific next steps for your situation.

Come with a question about any of these, and we'll go deep on it:

  • Direct sales — selling your books straight to readers instead of handing every sale (and every reader's email) to a retailer.
  • Author productivity — systems to write and publish more consistently without burning out.
  • Automating the busywork — the repetitive tasks in your author business that a tool or a simple automation could just... do for you.

Not sure which bucket your problem falls into? That's fine. Book the call and tell me what's on your mind — we'll figure out where to focus together.

What you get

  • A 60-minute 1:1 video call with me, focused entirely on your business.
  • A short pre-call questionnaire, so we skip the backstory and spend the hour on solutions.
  • The full recording of our call, so you can listen instead of scribbling notes and rewatch whenever you need it.
  • A written action plan in your inbox within 2 business days — your prioritized next steps, plus links to every tool and resource I mention.

Who you'll be working with

I'm Jessica Deen Norris — an award-winning YA epic fantasy author, independent bookstore owner, and homeschooling mom of five. I built my author business to six figures on just three books by selling direct to readers and running it on systems and automations instead of a big team.

I've spoken on all of this at Monica Leonelle's Expand Summit, and I'm speaking at Author Nation 2026. On this call, you get the same approach I use in my own business, applied to yours.

How it works

  1. Purchase your 60-minute consult here.
  2. Your order confirmation will include a link to book your session and pick a time that works for you.
  3. Before the call, you'll answer a few short questions so I show up already knowing your situation.
  4. We meet for 60 minutes over video and build your plan live.
  5. Within 2 business days, you'll get the call recording and your written action plan, so you can start on your next steps that week.

This is a one-time strategy call — no subscription, no commitment beyond the hour.

This is for you if:

  • You're an indie or hybrid author who wants to run your career like a business.
  • You're curious about direct sales but don't know where to start.
  • You need to delegate but don't have the cash flow yet for outsourcing.
  • You're drowning in repetitive tasks and know there's a better way.

This probably isn't for you if:

  • You're looking for developmental editing or feedback on your manuscript.
  • You want a guaranteed done-for-you service. This call is about building your plan — though if there's a piece I could take off your plate, I'm happy to talk about doing it as a separate project (no pressure, and only if you bring it up).
The Author Strategy Session: a 60-minute one-on-one consult with Jessica Deen Norris of Author Exec
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The Author Strategy Session: a 60-minute one-on-one consult with Jessica Deen Norris of Author Exec
A digital vector illustration with the text &
Three marketing feature callouts on a white background: a target icon with the text &

The official bio

Jessica Deen Norris is an award-winning YA fantasy author and the founder of Author Exec. She built a six-figure direct-sales book business on three books, owns an independent bookstore in Louisiana, and teaches self-published authors the systems, templates, and automations behind it. A former English teacher with a degree in English education, she is a 2026 speaker at Author Nation and Expand Summit.