Author: selfpublishingadvisor

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 4/8/2016

THE MUSIC OF WORDS part TWO

I REMAIN AMAZED by the productivity potential of poets (such as Lois Beebe Hayna—see last week’s blog) who have that unique ear and perspective that other writers work so hard to develop. I’ve gleaned a few pointers from her regarding the creative process of writing poetry. I also believe these concepts apply to writing well in all genres. Here are the main tools she’s given me:

  1. “You must have a good sense about words and their definitions, in order to be a good writer. However, you must be in love with words in order to be an excellent writer.”  Truer words were never spoken! If I’ve learned nothing else from Lois it is this: know the definition-s of the words—the dictionary definitions, the slang definitions and the social/cultural definitions.  That is where true creativity comes in play—knowing which definition fits best in the specific spot you’re placing it, or the play of multiple definitions that allow the reader a variety of ways to interpret what is on the page.
  2. Write about the things that interest you: what you care about, what you know about and/or what you might be considered an expert in. There is no substitute for being passionate about your subject matter. If you are bored with the topic, your readers will also be bored.
  3. Don’t be afraid to research! Even though you are comfortable with what you know about a subject, there is always more to learn. In this day of instant information what was accepted as fact yesterday may be totally inaccurate today. Readers will catch authors in misstatements very quickly and that is not the desired reputation to build.

 

With these three key components you, too, will create music with the words you write. Because Lois is willing to release her work to literary journals, chap-book editors, contests and university publications, her poetry (and perspectives) have reached into thousands of homes. Yes, there were the rejections to deal with, but she did not let those stop her. Today there is a Library Room at Regis University (Denver, Colorado) named for her: The Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center. In it you will find several binders of her published and unpublished writings and young poets sitting at desks or curled up in a cushioned chair—writing!

Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center
Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center, courtesy of the Regis University website

I’ve heard writers groan about being “stuck” or experiencing “writers’ block.” Lois Hayna never let us use those words around her, always directing us to discover something new about the things that interest us and then “just let the words fall onto the page. Once they’re there, you can enhance the concepts, cut what doesn’t work, and fine-tune the piece to speak to you.”

SO, where are you in the process of creating your next—and best—piece of writing? Are you researching a new and different subject matter that caught your eye on last night’s TV-news? Did you hear someone use a word in conversation that didn’t fit—triggering discord in your writing ear? Or, have you been writing pages and pages on your favorite topic and are ready to talk to a publisher? Wherever you are—don’t stop! Keep going! You may just be the next author to have a Library Room of creative inspiration named after YOU! ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
elizabeth speaks, in your corner, Uncategorized

In Your Corner : You Don’t Have to Wait for May

You’ve probably heard the old idiom a hundred–or a thousand, or a hundred thousand–times:

But here’s a fact worth reminding ourselves of: April brings other apart from rain and waiting.  Things that you don’t have to wait a whole extra month to enjoy the benefits of?  (Who wants to wait for May for those flowers, anyway?)

Not only is today, for example, National Caramel Popcorn Day as well as National No Housework Day–I kid you not!  I wouldn’t joke about popcorn and chores!–but coming up this month we have National Walk on Your Wild Side Day, which coincides with National Library Day (4/12) and National Library Week (4/10-16).  Later on in the month comes World Book & Copyright Day (4/23) and Poem in Your Pocket Day (4/28).  We will also be celebrating Week of the Young Child (4/10-16), National Park Week (4/16-24), and National Princess Week (4/24-30).  It’s Autism Awareness Month, Celebrate Diversity Month, Financial Literacy Month, Keep America Beautiful Month, and Library Snapshot Month.

Why do I mention these days?  Because it’s a myth that there’s nothing worth celebrating about April.  And as self-publishing authors, we’re always hungry for opportunities to celebrate–not just because we like cake and ice cream (and caramel popcorn), but for the very practical purpose of promotion.

Aha!  You didn’t know I could turn Spring Astronomy Week (4/10-16) into some sort of practical application for you as a self-publishing author, did you?  But here’s the thing: if you’re looking for a reason to kick your marketing campaign into gear, you both should not and very much should look to the calendar for inspiration.  You should not look at the calendar as an excuse to wait for some perfect day in the middling or distant future to launch a promotional event.  You very much should look to the calendar to see what’s already happening in the immediate future and take advantage.  If you’ve written a Young Adult space-faring novel, then Spring Astronomy Week seems like the absolute perfect time to host a reading or giveaway, doesn’t it?  But consider this: there’s always a way to tweak a “National Day or Week or Month of X” to your own needs:

“Wishing upon a star for Summer to hurry up and get here?  Take a moment in celebration of Spring Astronomy Week to enter this raffle for an Advance Reader Copy of my upcoming book!”

Simple.  Easy.

Maybe it’s a little mercenary to work this way.  If you want to market with a conscience, as I certainly recommend doing, here’s my hard and fast rule of thumb: if it’s going to be fun and funny for everyone, don’t hesitate!  But if it feels like you’re co-opting a day meant to commemorate a serious event (like Ellis Island Family History Day on 4/17) or condition (Autism Awareness Month) then I advise steering clear–unless, of course, your book specifically tackles the subject in question.

The really great thing about looking to the calendar–in the month of April or any other month, for that matter–is that you have the opportunity to tie your marketing work in with a larger conversation.  Look for Twitter hashtags and Facebook groups that touch upon your day or week or month theme, and start conversations with other people invested in celebrating it.  National celebrations are all about building connections and conversations!

For a more complete list of upcoming dates of note in April, check out this website!

You are not alone. ♣︎

ElizabethABOUT ELIZABETH JAVOR: With over 18 years of experience in sales and management, Elizabeth Javor works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable publishing consultants, pre-production specialists, customer service reps and book marketing specialists; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Elizabeth Javor can put you on the right path.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Marketing Missteps Episode 3 : Waiting till the book is done to start marketing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been delving into some of the marketing mistakes I’ve made or seen made over my many years of experience in the self-publishing industry as an author who works alongside other authors to bring books to fruition. The first mistake? Devolving into a self-centered campaigner.  And the second?  Confusing the sales message with the marketing campaign.  I’d like to stress that both of these mistakes–in fact, all of the missteps I’ll be unfolding over the course of this blog series–are incredibly easy to make, and have more to do with the vast numbers of authors flocking to indie publishing each year, with little to no experience in marketing to start, and no easy way of filtering through the noise of the countless resources available online.  A blog post like this one is only helpful if it actually cuts some of the clutter, right?

 

Which is why, as we tackle the third most common misstep I see self-publishing authors make in marketing, I am reminding myself of one very important fact: No grandstanding.  Just deliver the facts, with exactly the right amount of necessary context, and shine a little light on the path forward for busy authors with limited time to spend marketing much less researching new marketing strategies.  And with no further ado, I give you:

He Who Waits To Finish–May Never Really Get Started

 

 

waiting

I speak with authors on a regular basis who are just one month–or one week–or one day away from having their book out, but who haven’t yet launched a website.  “I’ll get around to it when the book’s actually ready for people to read,” they often say.  And when’s that?  When it’s already on bookstore shelves but there’s no buzz to sell it?  But the fact of the matter is, if an author waits that long, anything they try to do after the fact will be too little, too late–no matter how much time and effort he or she pours into the attempt.

power blogger

Don’t wait to launch your website, your social media platforms, your blog, and other aspects of your digital strategy.  I want to repeat that: DON’T WAIT for your book to come out before you start marketing in earnest.  Sometimes, a delay can’t be avoided–and I get that, really I do–especially since self-publishing authors are carrying a heavy burden on top of already busy lives.  But in most cases I’ve run across, maybe eight out of ten, the delay is artificial, not practical.  And it’s usually because the author in question underestimated the months and even years it can take to generate traffic on a website.

The instant a website is live, it can be paired with all of your existing online interactions.  If you’re already blogging, fantastic!  If you’re already on Twitter and Tumblr and Pinterest and Facebook and YouTube and Goodreads, great!  Start shepherding your existing followers in the direction of your official website for updates.  Get them used to turning to your website as a resource before your book is out–and that way, they can become advocates for your book even before its publication.  One of the toughest things to do as a book-lover is to recommend a new book without having either the actual book in hand or some easy-to-find website to point new readers to.  But if your website is live, then you leave room for anticipation and that much-desired “buzz” you’ll need to start selling books on the day of your book’s release.  And don’t forget, you are the most undervalued tool in the toolbox.  New readers don’t just fall in love with books; they fall in love with the people who write them, too.  They will (understandably) want to know more about you, and when your next book is coming out, and where they can contact you for media and review inquiries–all of which is made 500% easier if you launch a website … and early.

One more time for those in the back: don’t wait!

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com. 10:00 AM
Advocacy in Self-Publishing, from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: A Reader Views Book Awards Retrospective

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

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[ Originally posted: March 16th, 2009 ]

Last week Reader Views announced the official winners of their 2008 Literary Awards and just in time for National Reading Month.

The Reader Views annual literary awards were established to honor writers whoself-published or had their books published by a subsidy publisher, small press, university press, or independent book publisher geared for the North American reading audience.

If you’re looking for something good to read this month, why not try one of these award winning books: Click here to view Reader Views winners.

AND

[ Originally posted: November 14th, 2012 ]

As a self-publishing author, it is important to constantly market your book and improve your credibility. One of the best ways to accomplish both of those tasks is entering your book into contests. Winning awards shows potential readers that your book is worthwhile and that you are a serious author, and it often results in great publicity as well. One of my favorite book award contests for self publishing authors is the Reader Views Literary Book Award. Here are all of the details.

What is the Reader Views Literary Book Award?

The annual literary awards were established to honor writers who self-publishedor who had their books published by a subsidy publisher, small press, university press, or independent book publisher.  POD books are accepted.

Who is eligible?

Reader Views Literary Awards are open to all authors  regardless of residency; however, the books must be published in the English language and targeted for the North American market. Works published by major book publishers are not eligible.  Books must  have a 2012 copyright date.  Submission for more than one category or more than one title is acceptable.  Books that have racist themes will be not be accepted.

Three finalists will be chosen in each fiction and non-fiction category. First and second place winners will be awarded in each category. Third place will receive an honorable mention. One finalist, the top score in each area, will be chosen in each regional and global category. Each winner will receive a certificate.

Finalists will be announced in Reader Views’ weekly e-mail newsletter on March 4, 2013 and the winners on March 25, 2013.

For more information, visit http://readerviews.com/Awards.html.

I’d love to know, have you entered your book into the Reader Views Literary Awards before or are you planning to do so this year? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Well, it’s that time of year: Reader Views have released their list of finalists for their 2015/16 Literary Book Awards, with winners and placements to be announced in upcoming weeks.

readerviews

We’ve been following Reader Views and the awards in question for some time, as you’ll see in the first post above, which ran on Self-Publishing Advisor back in 2009.  We’ve kept up with them, too, and in 2012 I took a moment to break down what, exactly, the awards are all about.  (Hint: You.)  And the good news is, in the interim Reader Views has kept up its good work, delivering year after year of high-quality indie finalists for their subscribers to discover and enjoy.  Books appearing in the final rounds of competition see, as a matter of course, spikes in popularity and sales–and this is exactly the kind of exposure that you should pursue as a part of your holistic marketing strategy!

It’s for Authors

Luckily, submitting your book for consideration remains as easy in 2016 as it was in 2009 and 2012, and all the information you might need to do so can be found at the Reader Views website, under the “Literary Awards” tab.  Submission dates change from year to year, of course, so it’s always worth double-checking what this year’s requirements are (particularly if you’re a time-traveler and stumble across this in some other year than 2016)!

It’s for Readers, Too

That’s right!  As I’ve already mentioned, the exposure finalists and winners alike receive throughout the submission and consideration process reaps all sorts of rewards for authors–but it has a wonderful side-effect of benefiting readers of indie and self-published works in equal share.  How?  First and foremost, the competition generates lists.  Several lists!  Lists of nominees, lists of finalists, and lists of winners and their placements.  Each list serves as a siren call to readers looking for something new to add to their to-read bookshelves and to their Amazon shopping carts. By raising awareness about such a carefully curated list of high-quality indie works, Reader Views broadens the discerning reader’s horizons.

It’s Worth a Look

A lot of book awards are the province of institutionalized hierarchies enforced and policed by the traditional publishing industry–but Reader Views is something else altogether.  In the spirit of discovering the undiscovered, recognizing the unrecognized, and treasuring the undervalued, the Reader Views Literary Book Awards filter through the noise of a crowded self-publishing market to find the very best of the best–and then they present their findings to the public, free of charge and free of any agenda other than celebrating the good work done by good authors.  That’s an agenda I can get behind–and I think you can, too!

Thanks for reading.  If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.  ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 4.4.2016

This week in the world of self-publishing:

In the world of self-publishing, we know just how important precedents can be–and we have a lot to learn about and deal with when it comes to the legal ramifications of going solo.  And well–another precedent has just been set, as reported in this April 1st article for the National Law Review by Jeffrey Neuburger, a Partner in the New York office as well as co-head of the Technology, Media & Communications Group and a member of the Privacy & Data Security Group.  In short, Neuburger is an expert.  He knows what he’s about, and he takes the conversation about self-publishing’s future seriously.

Writes Neuburger, “We live in a world that has rapidly redefined and blurred the roles of the ‘creator’ of content, as compared to the roles of the ‘publisher’ and ‘distributor’ of such content.”  And what exactly is the nature of this precedent?  In short: “This past month, an Ohio district court ruled that several online self-publishing services were not liable for right of publicity or privacy claims for distributing an erotic (and so-called “less than tasteful”) book whose cover contained an unauthorized copy of the plaintiffs’ engagement photo because such services are not publishers.”  The plaintiff brought suit not just against the author but against Amazon’s Kindle Digital Publishing, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press, and Smashwords.  Luckily for self-publishing, the suit was dismissed on the grounds that the author had signed agreements with all three companies stating he owned the rights to all material he published–and therefore bore sole responsibility for violating the plaintiff’s privacy.  But the implications, should a similar case be brought against self-publishing authors and companies in the future, are massive.  And in an industry that is increasingly hybridizing–with companies offering book cover design packages among many others–the boundaries become even more blurred.

Have you ever wondered if there might be a hidden cost to the self-publishing industry’s near-rampant success?  Well, there is one, but it might not be what you think: The rise of self-publishing and the high demand for uber-cheap stock photos of steamy men to grace the covers of new (self-published) romance novels has cut the bottom out of the industry that used to supply these photos.  Or at least that’s what Laura Holson argues in this March 30th article for the New York Times Business Day.

The demand for steamy cover photos has never been higher–but indie authors aren’t willing or able to pay what traditional publishing companies have paid in the past, so the (mostly male) cover models make less per photo.  Holson quotes Liz Pelletier, “the chief executive of the romance novel company Entangled Publishing” as saying: “I never thought I would say this […] but I am so tired of looking at men’s abs. I don’t know if these ones are sexier than those other ones.”

Most telling of all is the average income for these models, and Holson singles out a Mr. Baca to illustrate the difficulties facing them now: “Few romance models, if any, make enough money to eke out a living. Mr. Baca, for example, works at the Housing Authority of the Santa Clara County, Calif., as a customer-service clerk. And although he has an agent, he said he earned only $20,000 in his best year. This, despite the fact that he is a tireless self-promoter who fancies himself the next Fabio.”  And appeared on the cover of Playgirl in 2004. While you may or may not be a romance novelist in addition to being a self-publishing author, Holson’s article serves as a useful reminder that every change in the status quo or in a market trend is bound to have some kind of human cost.  To read the rest of Holson’s article, follow the link.

In his March 31st interview with self-publishing sensation Elyse Salpeter for The Island Now, Adedamola Agboola begins with the author’s rocky path to improvement. “I wasn’t always a great writer but I had great ideas,” Agboola quotes Saltpeter as saying, after recounting her early humiliation at the hands of an unkind schoolteacher.  And more importantly, Saltpeter never gave up: “Since 2011,” writes Agboola, “Salpeter has self-published nine books in four different genres from thrillers, horror, fantasy to young adult novels.” Nine books!  And all of them brought into existence as the final product of a creative mind set at liberty to realize its full potential–without the limitations and criticisms systemic to traditional publishing.  But Saltpeter didn’t start with self-publishing; as Agboola recounts, she published her first book through the traditional imprint of Coolwell Press.  But over time, her relationship with her editors deteriorated, and after they “trashed” another round of drafts, it took “almost 15 years to hit [her] strides” again–and she did so by going indie.  While Saltpeter is honest about the challenges facing self-publishing authors in a crowded marketplace, she sticks by her decision.  For more information about Saltpeter and her latest book, The Call for Mount Someru, you can access Agboola’s full interview here.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.