Tag Archives: writing

Sep 4 2013

Traditional & Indie Publishing: A Symbiotic Relationship?

I’m borrowing the word ‘symbiotic’ from biology, which is used when two different types of organisms live together (rather intimately) to their mutual benefit.

For example, there is a rather brave bird (called a ‘plover’) which shares a symbiotic relationship with the crocodile. Incredibly, the crocodile opens its mouth and lets the plover pick meat out of its teeth, not harming the plover. The plover gains a meal, while the crocodile gets its teeth cleaned.

Perhaps this wasn’t the best example. I’m not implying that the traditional publisher is like a crocodile and indies are bravely picking its teeth. I am implying that the relationship may be symbiotic, but not quite that way. 🙂

In biology, the relationship may not always be mutually beneficial, but that’s what I have in mind by applying this concept to the publishing world. I believe the relationship between traditional and indie publishing to be mutually beneficial, not parasitic.

Here are some ways in which traditional and indie publishing are mutually beneficial:

  • Authors have the opportunity to avoid possible rejection letters by self-publishing. This benefits traditional publishing by reducing the number of proposals that need to be filtered.
  • Self-publishers provide ample business to print-on-demand publishers like CreateSpace and Ingram Spark. Traditional publishers benefit from this service, too, keeping titles ‘in stock’ which would otherwise be retired. The combined use of this service helps to keep the cost low for everybody.
  • Small publishers have increased their business by offering formatting, editing, and cover design services to self-publishers. This helps self-publishers improve their books.
  • The presence of indie authors significantly enhances the population of authors overall, which helps boost participation in author support groups – like writing groups, blogging communities, and social media sites. Many traditional authors in these communities have much experience to share.
  • The combined number of books – i.e. indie plus traditional – has led to an increased number of writing contests, review sites, magazines, etc. This increases the opportunities for all authors to improve their exposure and branding.
  • The combined number of e-books – i.e. indie plus traditional – impacts the price of e-readers in a positive way for consumers, and the availability of e-book publishing services for authors.
  • Both types of authors draw readers, especially when the books are very readable, enjoyable, or informative. I personally buy and read many more books now than when there only used to be traditionally published books available, and there are many others like me in this regard. Both types of books may generate sales for the other type through customers-also-bought lists.

Let me take the analogy a step farther.

The crocodiles could eat the plovers. They would gain some meals in the short run, but their teeth would be dirty in the long run. Even worse, the plovers could bite the crocodiles’ tongues.

Now imagine traditional publishers marketing negative things about indie books or vice-versa. If successful, this would be bad business for everybody. Many customers buy Kindles not just to read traditional e-books and not just to read indie e-books. If marketing efforts portray a lousy image for many e-books, it makes the e-reader itself less attractive.

If you could put a huge dent in either type of publishing, that would reduce the usage of print-on-demand services and e-readers both, which would impact pricing, competitiveness, and availability of services. It would also put a huge dent in readership.

The relationship between indie and traditional publishing may not be ‘obligate,’ meaning that survival of one entirely depends on the existence of the other. However, if either form were to vanish, it would have a major impact on the other.

From a marketing perspective, it makes sense to say good things about books, e-books, readers, authors, and publishers of all kinds. Putting time and effort into marketing your own book would be partially negated by also spreading a negative image for books at large. That negative image would decrease sales overall, which would come back to haunt you, statistically. Spreading a positive image of all kinds of books helps to reinforce your own marketing.

Similar books may also share a symbiotic relationship. Customers usually don’t buy one-or-the-other, but buy several similar books (if not all at once, spread over time – thinking, “Where can I get more like this?”).

Foolish authors who blast the competition shoot themselves in the foot. If successful at hurting the sales of similar books, they also hurt their own books.

When instead similar books are thriving, they all tend to thrive together – e.g. through customer-also-bought associations.

It’s not like there is only one book at the top and nothing else sells. There is plenty of room for readable, enjoyable, or informative books. Similar books can thrive together in symbiotic relationships.

It used to be that a paperback book selling about once a day had a sales rank around 50,000 at Amazon. Now it might sell once a day and have a sales rank well over 100,000. This shows that the total number of books selling frequently has increased. Much of this may be the result of symbiotic relationships among similar books, plus the increased number of good books to read and an increase in readership, as well as an increase in e-readers and e-books.

Chris McMullen, author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers, Vol. 1 (formatting/publishing) and Vol. 2 (packaging/marketing)

Sep 2 2013

Traditional vs. Indie Publishing: Which Is More Rewarding?

The rewards of traditional publishing include:

  • If you get traditionally published, you can experience the euphoria of acceptance. This can be especially gratifying after receiving several rejection letters. You get a stamp of approval.
  • There is much better potential for getting stocked on bookstores’ shelves, getting large-scale media coverage, and receiving editorial reviews that have wide circulation. Seeing your book in a bookstore or reading about your book in a newspaper can be quite satisfying.
  • You should expect to have a book with a professionally designed cover and professional editing. The better the quality of your book, the more you appreciate the result of your hard work. (Of course, professional cover design and editing are options with self-publishing, too.)
  • The top traditionally published books have many potential benefits. For example, they may be more likely to sell paperbacks in some genres, which may help with some bestseller ranks, and they can arrange for e-book preorders at Amazon. A highly successful book can be very rewarding. If you’re able to become one of the bestselling traditionally published authors, you can achieve very high levels of success. It’s not easy to achieve this, which makes doing so very rewarding.
  • There is a self-publishing stereotype. Through traditional publishing, you can escape this, and you’re more likely to receive praise from the critics of self-publishing. People are more likely to be impressed if a big publisher accepts your book or if they can find your book in a store. It’s satisfying to have friends and family praise your success.

Indie publishing has some nice rewards, too:

  • Self-publishing offers independence and freedom of expression. A traditional publisher may want you to change ideas, style, or wording in order to broaden the potential audience or to avoid offending anyone. It can be satisfying to exercise freedom and independence.
  • If you achieve success (at least mildly), the feeling of being self-made is very satisfying. The more challenging path offers the potential of a greater reward. I hold a great deal of respect for the indie authors who have made their own success.
  • The indie author whose book cover and editing rival those of the top traditionally published books has much reason to be proud of the finished product. For a traditionally published book, this is expected; but for indie publishing, it’s an option – it’s also an investment, which carries some risk. Therefore, it’s more rewarding for the indie author to produce a professional looking book.
  • There is a strong sense of community and a great support group available to indie authors. Being part of the WordPress community, for example, is a great feeling. (Of course, traditionally published authors can take advantage of this, too.) Experienced indie authors may also enjoy the feeling of helping newbies out.
  • It’s more rewarding to get a bookstore to carry an indie book, to get the local media to feature an indie book in the paper, or to get a serious reviewer to cover an indie book. Access tends to be easier for traditionally published books, which is a benefit of traditionally published, but at the same time it makes the achievement more rewarding for the indie author.
  • Being part of the indie movement has its rewards, too. Indie publishing is growing stronger with modern technology and support from major businesses like Amazon. It’s a revolution in the book industry. Publishing a professional indie book helps to break the stereotypes. Succeeding as an indie author helps to open doors for others.
  • There is a great deal to learn just to self-publish: writing skills, editing, formatting, cover design, marketing, public relations, and more. Learning can be very rewarding.

It’s not a war. It’s not traditional authors against indie authors. All authors are in it together.

It’s not a choice between traditional or indie publishing. Either way, you write a book and share your ideas with readers.

The fact is that many authors are doing both. Many traditionally published authors are self-publishing, too. They may accomplish this using a pseudonym for one or both. The author who publishes both ways definitely can’t knock self-publishing! There are many benefits of publishing both ways – e.g. maybe some of your ideas are more suitable for traditional publishers than others. You get all of the rewards from both lists when you publish both ways.

Some authors also self-publish hoping to make names for themselves and eventually become traditionally published. If you succeed as a self-published author, maybe you will find this to be highly rewarding. Perhaps you will want to continue to be self-made. Or maybe you will want to prove to yourself that you could also succeed as a traditionally published author.

Chris McMullen, author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers, Vol. 1 (formatting/publishing) and Vol. 2 (packaging/marketing)

Aug 30 2013

Formatting the Book’s Blurb

You can include boldface, italics, and bullets (with dots or numbers) in your book’s description on Amazon.

If you publish a paperback book with CreateSpace, you can include this formatting in your description when you publish. There is an advantage of using CreateSpace for this if you enable the expanded distribution channel: Online booksellers may preserve this formatting. For example, Julie Harper has a CreateSpace published handwriting book at Barnes & Noble with such formatting (click the link below if you want to check it out, then scroll down to the Overview). The caveat is that you must use basic HTML. But don’t worry: Even if you don’t know anything about HTML, the only HTML that is allowed is so simple that you can do it easily. Hold your objection further: There is even an easy way out of the HTML all together, if you really must. You can find this solution at the end of this blog post.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cursive-handwriting-workbook-for-girls-julie-harper/1116092847?ean=9781490515717

If you have an eBook or didn’t publish your physical book with CreateSpace, you can still format your blurb using AuthorCentral. When you login to AuthorCentral, click the Books tab. Then click on your book to edit the description. You can format the boldface, italics, and bullets yourself, or you can choose to write the description with HTML, if you prefer. Use <b> for bold, as in <b>bold</b>, <i> for italics, as in <i>italics</i>, and <br /> to force a new line (the Enter key won’t have any effect on the output text in HTML mode; the <br/> command basically has the same effect as the Enter usually has). If you want to create a blank line, use the <br /> command twice. Strangely, the <br /> command has a funny space between the ‘br’ and slash in AuthorCentral’s HTML.

To create bullets, use <ul> for dots (unordered list) and <ol> for numbers (ordered list). Place <ul> at the beginning and </ul> at the end. For each bullet, place the text for that bullet between <li> and </li>.

EXAMPLE

<b>Here</b> is an <i>example</i>. <ul><li>This is the first point.</li><li>This is the second point.</li></ul>

The HTML above produces the following effect at AuthorCentral.

Here is an example.

  • This is the first point.
  • This is the second point.

Unfortunately, (almost all) fancier HTML won’t work in AuthorCentral.

I recommend formatting your blurb in three stages:

  1. First, type the blurb in Microsoft Word as just basic text (no formatting). Use Word’s built-in spellcheck and grammar-check tools to ensure that you didn’t make any obvious booboos. It’s probably easiest to edit your text in Word. Typos in the blurb tend to kill sales.
  2. Copy and paste the blurb from Word to Notepad. This will strip it of unwanted formatting. If you omit this step, you might get a nest of extra stuff that you didn’t even know was there in Step 3 (you might be able to see it by clicking on the HTML option afterward).
  3. Copy and paste the blurb from Notepad to the description at AuthorCentral. Toggle back and forth between the Compose and Edit HTML modes a couple of times to ensure that everything looks okay (if not, you should notice something ‘funny’ when you go back to Compose).

How to format the blurb at CreateSpace without knowing HTML:

Follow the three steps outlined above. Then copy and paste the text from the Edit HTML window at AuthorCentral into your description at CreateSpace. You’ll need to remove the space from every <br /> to make it look like <br/>, otherwise you’ll get an error message. After saving your description at CreateSpace, open your book’s project page and click the Channels link in Distribute, then click the tiny link for eStore Setup. Now click the link for Title URL to view your CreateSpace eStore. This will show you how the formatting looks. Preview this carefully and correct any mistakes.

Chris McMullen, self-published author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers, Vol. 1 (formatting/publishing) and Vol. 2 (packaging/marketing)

Aug 27 2013

The Squeaky Wheel Poem (+ Marketing Afterword)

Squeaky Pic

As the horses galloped along,

The wheels went ‘round and ‘round,

And the wagon rolled steadily onward.

 

When the left front wheel squeaked,

The driver halted the horses,

And pampered the wheel with oil.

 

The horses galloped along again,

The wagon rolled forward again,

And the driver enjoyed the ride.

 

The left front wheel squeaked again,

Everything came to a stop again,

And the wheel was pampered some more.

 

The other wheels became jealous;

They worked just as hard.

Where was the reward for not complaining?

 

So the right front wheel began to wobble,

Demanding attention of its own,

And the driver tightened its screws.

 

A competition ensued:

The left front wheel squeaked,

While the right front wheel wobbled.

 

Soon, the right front wheel wobbled

More than the left front wheel squeaked.

It had succeeded in hogging all the attention.

 

Until one time the driver did something new:

He replaced the right front wheel with a spare wheel.

The old wheel was abandoned on the wayside.

 

At first the left front wheel smiled smugly.

Then when it was time to squeak again,

It had second thoughts about it.

 

But what about those poor rear wheels,

Who worked no less hard than the front wheel,

Yet demanded and received no attention at all?

 

Marketing Afterword

At first, it kind of seems unfair, doesn’t it?

Ideally, if you are shopping for a product, you would like for them all to be equally visible, with the better product priced a bit more and the worse product priced a bit worse. Then you would decide what you are willing to pay versus what quality you would like. But that’s not the way it works, is it?

You can’t just make an excellent product at a good price and expect everyone to show up at your warehouse the next day. How do people know that you have a product? How do people know that the product is excellent? How do people know that the price is good? They won’t just by being psychic.

The first step is to make the product visible. Every company wants their product in stores where their target audience shops. They all want their products to stand out – put it on the endcap, in the advertisement, etc. Of course, they can’t all be equally visible. Just getting into the store is a big step.

The second step lies in the packaging. The packaging should first clearly show the customer what kind of product it is, then when the customer finds the product, the packaging should stand out from other products like it. It should look professional. It will describe itself in a way that helps to sell it.

Another step is getting people to try the product. If they like it, they may recommend it to others. This begins with a focus group when it’s being produced. Then you need to sell it to stores, get people or businesses to review it, and give away samples or coupons to help get initial customers.

In the end, the more expensive product isn’t necessarily the best product. Packaging and marketing are involved in the equation, too. The perception may be more important than the actual quality, to an extent.

Here is a concept that relates to the squeaky wheel: A company that has an excellent product should, theoretically, invest more time, effort, and money into the marketing. (It doesn’t always work out that way, but the notion does affect purchasing decisions.)

Companies are trying to help their target audience find their products. This is the idea behind marketing.

The company that doesn’t squeak can still sell products, but in this case it’s relying strongly on packaging and referrals.

The less visible the product (like many books), the more important the referrals and marketing.

The company that squeaks is likely to get more initial attention. Unless, of course, it squeaks so much that potential customers tune it out (like tweeting several times every day, “Please buy my product”).

Let me cast this in a different form specifically for authors. You’re not really just a writer. You’re not really a salesman either. People aren’t buying your book for the paper and ink. They’re buying your book for the ideas. You’re selling the ideas (story, entertainment, information, etc.).

The ideas that you’re selling are not just in your book. Squeak your ideas to help sell the ideas in your book. For example, provide related content outside of your book (e.g. in articles), preferably where it will be visible to your target audience. Then your book is simply a way for the audience to find more ideas like it.

If the wheel squeaks and the driver finds a quarter next to the wheel every time it squeaks, the driver is likely to look for a store where he can buy more wheels like that one. You don’t want to give away quarters, but you do want to provide some valuable content to help your target audience find your product.

Chris McMullen, self-published author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

Aug 25 2013

Authors: Where Is Your Happiest Place Online?

I’ll discuss a few places, then I’ll cast my vote in the last paragraph. I’d also like to hear your vote, if you’d be so kind as to leave a comment.

Let me start with Amazon, since it’s a huge website that authors are familiar with. I love shopping for books (and more) at Amazon and I love the support that Amazon has given to authors, including indies. It doesn’t win my vote with regards to happiness, however. For one, the current customer review and comment platform detracts a little from what would be a much more positive ambiance. It’s great that they promote freedom and independence, I just wish they could do that and still limit the occasional spitefulness. Another problem I see is that I sometimes find myself frustrated when trying to search for and discover new books by keyword or in a category. It’s sort of an inherent problem in trying to search through twenty million books. Maybe if we could see more than a dozen or so books on a page that would help speed up the process; sometimes, the way the results are ordered seems to make us scratch our heads, too. Still, I love Amazon and continue to use it.

There are many features that I enjoy at Goodreads, both as a reader and an author. Authors can connect with other authors, and friend reviews are allowed but clearly marked as such (I happened to see one on an author’s page recently, and thought it was an interesting option). You can see what friends have read, are reading, or intend to read. You can discover new books. However, there seems to be a little too much negativity (enough that some authors actually shudder at the mention of the website’s name), but not enough effort to try to make the ambiance more positive throughout. Again, perhaps the negativity is associated with the effort to provide independence and freedom. On the other hand, my vote goes to a website that seems to promote freedom and independence quite well, yet still appears to be a much more positive environment. If they can do it, why can’t others?

Another popular place among authors is CreateSpace. There may be a little room for improvement, but overall I like the way the website works as far as publishing books goes. I also love the wealth of free publishing and marketing information available to authors (if you haven’t checked it out before, you should). The community discussion forum is a nice place for authors to interact with one another, and a good place to look for publishing help. There are many helpful members there, some who are small publishers with many years of publishing experience. For the most part, the forum is very courteous (especially, compared to some community forums on other websites). Still, there are a couple of reasons that CreateSpace didn’t receive my vote. First, the file review process can be a little frustrating at times – even if you submit the interior or cover to specifications, there are sometimes unexpected changes (like telling you that your file is too complex, or resizing the cover on you). The defect rate may be a little higher than we may like (we can hope that they are working to improve this), yet there are defects with all publishers. Finally, eStore sales require the customer to setup a CreateSpace account and it’s not intuitive for customers to search for books on CreateSpace. Nonetheless, I still love CreateSpace and continue to use it, even though there are promising new rivals like Ingram Spark.

I’ll cast my vote now. WordPress is the happiest place online for me. Authors seem to enjoy ample freedom, independence, and creativity, while also in my experience it’s usually a very happy place online. The exception may be the occasional bitter rant, but that’s easy to ignore if you want. The comments section is often filled with positive interactions. The sense of community here at WordPress has been excellent, in my experience. WordPress draws me in like a magnet. I don’t hesitate, fearing negative experiences. I find myself spending way much more time writing posts and reading posts than I ever imagined, and I enjoy it. A positive ambiance attracts people, and the people make or break the place. Here’s a big THANK YOU to all the great people who make this place. 🙂 Please remember to cast your vote and share your opinions and experience.

Aug 25 2013

Selling Books Directly – How to Do It and Why You Should

Books

Some authors are highly successful with direct sales – i.e. copies they sell personally – as well as getting local booksellers to stock their books. There are a few simple things that anyone can do that would help with direct sales. You don’t have to be a car salesman to effectively move your books. We’ll return to this point shortly.

First, there are several benefits from selling directly:

  • Author copies are very reasonable for paperback books from CreateSpace, which allows you to discount the book and still make a significant royalty. Any discount you offer from the list price works as an incentive – like being on sale – for readers to buy your book.
  • You may sell some books to customers who wouldn’t have bought the book otherwise. This widens your exposure. The more people who read your book, the better your prospects for reviews and word-of-mouth sales.
  • People often buy on impulse. Once that moment has passed, you may have lost your chance. If you tell someone about your book, by the time they get home and log onto the computer, they might change their mind or forget about it. When you sell directly, you can avoid this delay.
  • Selling directly is a very personal form of marketing, and you combine the marketing and selling into a single step. Readers often enjoy the chance to meet and interact with the author, and this improves the chances for them to buy your book. You have the chance to charm them.
  • Nobody is as passionate about your book as you are. Therefore, you are your own best salesman. There is no salesman at all when customers shop online. When you sell directly, you have the opportunity to let your passion show through. (Instead, if you don’t show much interest in your own book, it will be difficult for readers to imagine enjoying your book.)
  • Holding a book in your hands is different from viewing the cover, blurb, and Look Inside online. A professional looking paperback or hardcover book can make a positive impression. People do buy books because they seem interesting (that’s why they have books lying around the house that they’ve never even opened, but intend to read someday).

Don’t view yourself as a salesperson. Think of it as marketing. You’re the author. Let your passion for your work show naturally (don’t overdo it). You’re trying to help people in your target audience discover your book, and by offering a discount (if you choose to do this – and check if you’re beating Amazon’s price, since that may be discounted, too), you’re helping them save money.

Here are some tips for selling books directly:

  • Put the book in the customer’s hands. Be discreet about this, and be insistent. Your goal is to get the book in the customer’s hands and keep it there. When the customer tries to hand the book back to you, you want to have your hands full or busy or to be positioned in such a way that the customer won’t simply hand you the book in return. But you have to be natural and smooth. If the customer succeeds in returning the book (setting it on a table, for example), at some point you want to naturally pick it up and try to put it back in the customer’s hands. If the customer gets the book out of his or her hands, the customer is more likely to walk away without buying it.
  • Offer to sign the book for the customer. This is a way that you can create a perception of added value to the product. It’s another incentive for the customer to make the purchase. If you succeed in getting the customer to hold onto the book, after the sale is made, get out a pen and ask the customer how he or she would like the book to be signed. Once the transaction is complete, you don’t have to worry about the customer letting go of the book temporarily. Don’t mention signing the book too early – you might be able to use it to help close the deal later.
  • Smile. Be confident (it’s very important that you appear to believe in your book – otherwise, why should the customer?). Be courteous. Let your passion show through naturally. Talking about some aspect of the book you love is a great way to take your mind off your nervousness and quench those butterflies. Let a little creativity show. Charm helps.
  • You can have too few books, but not too many. Keep a stack of nicely packaged books in the trunk of your car (well, maybe not in extreme heat or humidity). Whenever your book comes up in the topic of conversation, you want to have a copy handy. Being out of stock is a good way to lose sales.
  • Format your book so that the cover and interior look professional. The more professional your book appears and the more the cover fits the genre, the better your chances of making the sale.
  • Strive to have the voice of a confident author and not the voice of a desperate salesperson. If you don’t want to feel like a salesperson, the first step is to realize that you aren’t really a salesperson and shouldn’t feel that way. You’re the author. People have the chance to meet the author in person and get a signed copy.
  • Don’t be a pressure salesperson. Create a relaxed ambiance.
  • Very often, the customer wants to buy a product, but is kind of stuck in limbo. If you see this hesitation, that’s the moment you’re waiting for to say the magic words. Maybe they are, “How would you like me to sign this?” Don’t ask, “Would you like to buy this book?” If it’s a yes-no question, you give the customer a chance to say, “Not today.”
  • Every salesperson understands the value of add-ons. “Would you like a bookmark to go with that?” (Bookmarks are also helpful marketing tools, especially since they may actually get used by readers.) “Your daughter might enjoy this children’s book I’ve written.”
  • If your list price is $12.95, consider selling it for $10 in person. Round numbers make it easy for customers to pay and help relieve the issue of making change. Come prepared with denominations that you may need to make change. At a large event, you want to be setup with PayPal on a laptop, for example.
  • Offer a discount for buying multiple books. For example, $8 each or $20 for the trilogy. (Look at your cost – don’t forget shipping you pay to get the books – and potential royalties first – don’t just make up numbers.)

You don’t have to sell just paperback or hardcover in person. You can sell an e-book directly, too. Transfer the file directly. Once you figure out how to transfer the file successfully a couple of times, you’ll have the confidence to pull this off at the point-of-sale.

Where and how should you be selling your books directly?

  • Readings and signings. You can’t set these up if you don’t try. Try to be professional. Prepare a press release kit. Some managers are just trying to gauge whether you’re an amateur or a professional. If you’re not having luck with bookstores, look elsewhere: local stores (antique stores, perhaps) that sell books, coffee shops that might like to sell some coffee to anyone who shows up, have a picnic at the park – be creative (arrange a zombie race and have your signing at the end of it). Work to populate these events so you don’t wind up with zero audience. Schedule your event on your AuthorCentral page, then add a photo of it there afterward.
  • Anyone you interact with who shows interest in your book. Remember to always have a stack of neatly packaged books nearby (e.g. in the trunk of your car). Print out a nice looking coupon with a discount code and your CreateSpace eStore in case you don’t have a book handy, or at least have a business card or bookmark with your website on it. However, you’re more likely to sell a book that you have handy than get a sale later from a website.
  • Booksellers. Not just bookstores and libraries. You may have better success in local shops that sell a few books. Start small and try to work your way up; you’ll gain experience with each attempt. A press release kit may come in handy. You prefer to sell copies directly (they’ll want a hefty discount, which should be okay since author copies are low cost), but they may prefer to do consignment (this gives them less incentive to sell, and your copies may be bruised or lost – plus what happens if the store goes out of business?). Consignment is better than nothing; there is a little risk, but all investments carry risk. They can order your books from Ingram or CreateSpace Direct, but selling your author copies may be the best option.
  • Seminars. Whenever you give a presentation, you want to have a table stacked with books when it’s over. You can arrange a workshop where you teach some valuable skill that relates to your book, you may get invited to give a seminar, you might volunteer to teach a skill at a senior center, etc. Where there is a will, there is a way.
  • Relevant stores. For example, if you wrote a grammar workbook, look for teacher supply stores, educational stores, and any other stores that sell workbooks. Schools may also have an interest. Look for home school teachers, too. Look online, too. For example, for workbooks, there is a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. If you didn’t write a workbook, think about what other kinds of stores sell such books. Try going to the store in person, first. If you contact them by mail, you want to prepare professional documents like those in a press release kit.

When people look on your AuthorCentral page or blog and see that you’ve been giving seminars on this topic or have a schedule for signings and readings, it looks impressive. It’s the sign of a serious author.

The more people in your target audience you interact with, the more people who may buy your book and the better the prospects for reviews and referrals. So the more people you meet through direct sales avenues, the better.

Plus, when you look at what makes people buy books, personal interactions is one of the main factors that applies to authors who don’t have big names. The other big factors include being on the bestseller list, referrals, and top search results. The most accessible factor for most authors is personal interactions. You have to aim for this (and if you succeed, it may help your book benefit from the other factors).

People like to buy books from authors they’ve met and interacted with where they enjoyed the interaction. By trying to sell books directly, you have a chance to make a big impact.

People you interact with personally are not just more likely to buy your book, they are also more likely to review it and refer it to friends. So you have every reason to try to meet people in your target audience and try to interact with them. You can do it. 🙂

Chris McMullen, self-published author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

Aug 24 2013

Hear Indies Roar!

You don’t have to listen closely. The roar can be heard throughout the world of books: The roar of the indies.

The best indie books have many wonderful benefits:

  • Many fictional works are designed around e-readers. The paragraphs are shorter so as not to overwhelm the reader, the story is designed to grab attention right away and keep it so that there is an action-packed flow, and the language is geared toward the audience. Not all indie books are like this, but many top-selling indie e-books are.
  • Traditional publishers have applied a different philosophy for years. Their editors sometimes screen great storytelling or great writing for various reasons. The audience may be too specialized. The author’s qualifications may not look impressive on paper. The proposal may not have followed standard guidelines. Etc. Now such stories have the opportunity to be shared. Not all writing screened by publishers is good writing, but some great indie stories wouldn’t have been published without e-books and print-on-demand.
  • Editors sometimes revise good writing for various reasons. Perhaps it would offend a few readers. Perhaps it doesn’t agree with the editor’s sense of style. All writing needs some degree of editing, and traditional publishers fill a demand for reading material that meets a high editing standard. However, it’s also nice to read material as the author intended it, without revising it to save our eyes from possible offense and without corrupting the author’s unique style. Some indie books have also been through several rounds of editing, but with the author having the final say. Well-written indie books have some merit this way.
  • An idea may actually be too creative for a traditional publisher to take a chance on it. As a result, you can find some incredibly creative self-published books that are actually quite good. They may not be easy to find, but if you can find the gems, they are worth the search.
  • Time-sensitive material can reach the audience very quickly when it is self-published. Traditionally published writing can take dozens of months to reach the market.

My next point, I believe, is really huge and sometimes overlooked. In fact, I would say it’s often turned against indies, when it should be the other way around.

Indie authors will often give you personal attention:

  • Some traditional publishers and their editors strive to market a bad image for indies with statements like, “You’d never see Stephen King commenting on his own reviews,” and pointing out instances where indie authors don’t handle criticism well. They do have a valid point here, but there are many successful indie authors who behave quite professionally. Plus, indie authors often do some things that big-name authors can’t or won’t do, which may be beneficial to readers.
  • It’s often easier to get in touch with indie authors, they can give you more time in personal interactions, they are likely to place higher value on helpful feedback, etc. Being smaller-scale authors, they simply have more time and one customer makes a much bigger difference to the indie than to the big-name traditional author. This has some advantages. Many indie authors are happy to meet their readers and will strive to make each reader feel special. The top indie authors are likely to give you the benefits without the disadvantages. A few rotten eggs in one restaurant shouldn’t spoil dessert in every restaurant.

Some indie authors have made big names for themselves:

  • Have you heard of Amanda Hocking, E. L. James, or Hugh Howey, for example? If not, check out their stories. There are several highly successful indie authors.
  • More and more traditionally published authors are switching over to self-publishing. Why not? Once they have already made names for themselves, why not reap the benefits of self-publishing? A small-time traditionally published author might run into a few roadblocks with bookstores or the media, for example; but if you have a name like J. K. Rowling and self-publish (and make your popular name well-known if adopting a different one), a bookstore manager or journalist would have to be really foolish not to roll out the red carpet.

Many indie authors are working very hard to help you find books that are likely to be relevant to you:

  • It’s really challenging to discover good new books – there are just too many books out there (even within traditional publishing). The traditionally published author who receives a big advance may not feel nearly as motivated as the self-published author who isn’t selling any books without actively marketing. As a result, indies are working hard to find members of their target audience, bloggers in their target audience who may review their books, etc. They are trying to deliver good books to you. Not everyone goes about this the right way, but there are successful indie authors who are striving to unobtrusively help you find good books to read.

Indies have a huge community:

  • There are hundreds of thousands of indie authors. Add to this number their relatives, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers. You don’t need a calculator to see that there is overwhelming support for self-published authors. The number of books combined with the number of people in this immediate support group leads to an astronomical number of sales. A single small-time indie author may not provide much business, but overall the amount of business is staggering. Indie-friendly companies like Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, CreateSpace, Lulu, and Ingram Spark are reaping many benefits.
  • There is a huge support group for indie authors. This starts with ample free help with tips on writing, editing, marketing, formatting, cover design, etc. There are numerous discussions in community forums for indie authors to interact with one another. There are wonderful support groups on blogs and social media.
  • Many indie authors read and review indie books. Since there are so many indie authors, this leads to many sales and reviews from within the indie community itself. Add to this their friends, family, and acquaintances, and you can see that many readers support the self-publishing concept. (I’m not talking about friends reviewing the book of an author, which Amazon is doing a great job of minimizing. I’m talking about an author and his or her friends and family reviewing books of unknown indie authors, simply because they support the indie concept.)

When you take the time to search through the haystack, every gem that you discover provides you with an incredibly wonderful feeling.

Just because there are some indie books out there that seem to have lousy covers, lousy grammar, lousy spelling, lousy formatting, lousy stories, lousy writing, or appear to have just been slapped together quickly with the hope of earning a few bucks, this shouldn’t detract from the many indie authors who have great writing skills, took the time to edit and format carefully, thought of great stories, produced fantastic covers, and otherwise published wonderful books. (Personally, I’m not in favor of calling anyone’s hard work and passion lousy.)

Let those who have done well define the world of indie books, not those who are deemed to have done poorly. The most successful indie authors show the true potential of self-publishing. Let’s focus on this.

We can do our best, we can try to help others, but we can’t be responsible for every other author out there. Should we not judge each author individually, rather than create a stereotype for all indies?

It takes much courage for a great writer to pursue self-publishing. There are also many benefits to reap for doing so successfully. And those who do succeed help to open doors for the rest.

Let me make it clear that I have nothing against traditional publishers or traditionally published authors. They provide helpful products and services. We need them.

My point is that many indie authors are also providing helpful products and services, and we need them, too.

I read both traditionally published books and self-published books. I enjoy both, and for different reasons.

Both self-publishing and traditional publishing are very large entities. The indie roar is growing, and is no longer being drowned out by the traditional roar.

Chris McMullen, self-published author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

Aug 21 2013

Once Upon a Time

Cliches

Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night.

A tall, dark, and handsome knight was bored out of his mind.

Far, far away, a damsel was in distress.

The knight woke up and smelled the coffee.

The time had come to cut to the chase.

So he put the pedal to the metal.

He went the whole nine yards.

Then he went the extra mile.

He was careful not to burn any bridges along the way.

But he did break a leg.

It was nothing to sneeze at.

He took two cookies and saw the doctor in the morning.

Then he felt snug as a bug in a rug.

He turned nutty as a fruitcake and barked like a dog.

Unfortunately, he was barking up the wrong tree.

Fortunately, he had an ace up his sleeve.

Until he lost his shirt.

So he followed his nose.

He arrived just in the nick of time.

Better late than never.

The damsel was over a barrel.

A tiger was playing mouse with her.

The knight took the tiger by the tail.

Since he had a bone to pick with that tiger.

It was like playing with fire.

He cleaned the tiger’s clock.

Then he rubbed salt in the tiger’s wounds.

The tiger went stiff as a board and then bit the dust.

Next he buried the hatchet.

And the tiger was up a creek without a paddle.

When the knight and damsel met, it was love at first sight.

It was so romantic.

Because it takes two to tango and three’s a crowd.

They were like two peas in a pod.

He was dressed to the nines and she had money to burn.

So they tied the knot.

They even put the icing on the cake.

And they lived happily ever after.

They were on cloud nine.

Until they kicked the bucket.

Life goes on.

All’s well that ends well.

That’s a wrap.

The end.

Aug 21 2013

Prepositions: To End With

What’s this silly rule for?

We can break it if we want to.

It’s something you can do without.

Especially, when it sounds odd to get around.

 

Would you ask, “Up is what?” instead of “What’s up?”

Or, “Over, come,” rather than, “Come over”?

Or, “I below am,” over, “I am below?”

Or, “Off get!” versus, “Get off!”

 

Well, we could instead completely change the sentence over…

But why? What’s the original really suffering from?

Will it really set your work above?

Enough; I’m finally through.

Aug 19 2013

Authors, What Are Your Writing Superstitions?

I’m very curious about this.

If you’re a writer and you have any superstitions, quirks, or rituals that relate to writing, please take a moment to share them.

Or if you know a writer with such habits, please share them.

Let me suggest a few examples for you to consider while think about this:

  • Do you check every chapter to make sure that it doesn’t have 13 pages?
  • Do you refuse to wash your underwear until the book is finished? (Well, that might explain why writing tends to be such a solitary experience…)
  • Do you read your horoscope before you decide to write that day?
  • Do you use a Ouija board to help get book ideas?
  • Do you insist on ending every book on page 451 (hoping that sales will be ‘on fire,’ in degrees Fahrenheit)?
  • Do you walk precisely one mile on the treadmill for every page you write?

Well, then, what do you do?