Self-Publishing – Page 12 – Self Publishing Advisor

Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer: 08/07/2015

[UPDATE: Apologies for the posting error this morning! It should be corrected now.

– SPA Blogrunner]

WHY SHOULD I PUBLISH?

Isn’t the world turning to their iPads and Kindles for research and pleasure reading? WHY should anyone jump through all those book-publishing hoops these days? Last time I attempted to break through the walls and cross the motes to reach a traditional publisher every door slammed shut! No agent would take the time to even read my manuscript because “the main topic is too obscure.” The one publishing house editor who might have read the first few pages sent me a form rejection letter with a scrawled note at the bottom. “We’re packed to the gills with contracted publishing projects for at least the next five years.” OH, the cry of the writer who is unpublished today or who has barely stepped into the published author arena. Within my sphere of writer-acquaintances I have two examples to share with you today. One author was “accepted” by a small (yet mainstream) publishing house and one made the decision to self-publish with an established “press.”

The “house” author was so excited to have the backing of a known publishing house. However, as the months and years went by her enthusiasm dwindled. It was two months shy of three years before the book reached bookstores. The eBook and online presence came along much later. Then came the realities of marketing. Yes, this book wore the label of the mainstream publishing house. Yes, it was listed in their catalog of New Releases that went to bookstores around the world. Yes, they offered a helper to “get the marketing off and running.” However, (SURPRISE!) the actual marketing beyond their label and catalog would have to be done by the author—or a “contract” marketing team-for-hire.

The self-publishing “press” author held her finished book in her hand 98-days after submitting the manuscript with immediate availability to bookstores, major online book sites and as an eBook. That time-frame comparison alone has brought many new champions to the field of self-publishing. Here are a few other contrasts that will help all writers in making their publishing decisions.

PROS

Traditional Publisher (TP): There is NO upfront expense to the author who is accepted by and signs a contract with a mainstream publisher—and often there is an “advance payment” based on expected sales.
TP handles development (editing, rewrites, enhancements, etc.) of your manuscript as well as onset marketing, distribution and some traditional “warehousing.”
Self-Publishing Presses (SP) have developed priced “packages” of publishing options for authors to select from—from bare bones “print my book” to full-assistance Custom Cover and Interior design.
SP Authors maintain 99% of the control in developing their book. I say 99% because there still remains some printer guidelines regarding the finished “trim-size” of books.

CONS

The days of the 6-figure advances are gone. Plus, authors are beginning to consider their lost income due to the years it takes to get a book in print through Traditional Publishing.
There is also the very real concern that TP editors and book developers/marketing specialist will turn an author’s work into something it was never meant to be. TPs will deny this happens—yet too many authors tell a different story.
Because Self-Publishing presses consider their main goal is to get the book OUT and available to readers QUICKLY, many do not have a printed Galley Proof for authors to hold in their hands and actually “proof.” Although online Galley Proofing is an excellent way to manage corrections and changes, it is not always the easiest process for the Author.

These are the first of the Pros and Cons I will share with you this month. However, I will add here that for me personally, the biggest factor to overcome as an author is actually releasing my work into the hands of ANYONE else—whether traditional publisher or self-publishing press. Other eyes (professional publishing eyes) will be looking at what I’ve created. So, bottom line, I search for the right fit within current publishing options. That means research into the publishing field beyond what I ever expected so that the heart of my words will reach the hearts of my readers. ⚓︎

ABOUT 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.

Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Promotion Strategy, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Self-Publishing, Social Media Marketing

An Indie Author’s Social Media Primer | Tumblr

It’s kind of a big deal. Such a big deal, in fact, that even the White House has one, and the President of the United States has done a Q&A on one. What am I talking about? I’m talking about Tumblr, the microblogging platform that quite literally causes and feeds a frenzy of conversations––many of them controversial. And with over 81 million new posts going up every day, spread across more than 243 million individual blogs, the potential heft of any given piece of content is massive––particularly since Tumblr’s graphic-driven interface makes “reblogging” the posts of others so incredibly easy.

So how does Tumblr work? As with its distant cousins, Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr is a hybrid blogging and social networking platform. Its structure is fourfold in that it allows users to:

Post new content, which will then appear on both their blog and in the “feed” of any other user who “follows” that blog;
View the blogs and “reblogs” of others, in a single streamlined and constantly updated feed;
Share or “reblog” the posts of others, all of which will appear––with attribution––in their feeds; and
Discover new content by searching Tumblr’s general database, using hashtags, keyword searches, and a variety of other built-in exploratory features.

In many ways, Tumblr’s user interface feels a great deal like Twitter’s––which we discussed in detail last week––in large part because in both cases the interface places great structural emphasis on the content of each tweet or post. Facebook, which we’ll discuss more in weeks to come, is structured to emphasize the relationships between users themselves; this isn’t to say that Tumblr and Twitter don’t allow for personal connection, or that Facebook doesn’t allow for the production of content, but there is a subtle shift in the warp and weft of each platform which determines what gets seen and what slips under the radar.

On Tumblr, who you are is less important than what you post, and the “best” posts hit a sweet spot in respect to visual appeal, cultural relevance, timeliness, tone, and length. (Don’t worry, I’ll expand on these five points in a moment.) You can easily see which posts are successful; they’re the ones with the most “likes” or “reblogs,” both of which are tabulated as “notes.” For self-published and indie authors looking for a bit of exposure, there’s nothing so handy as a website that is, quite literally, designed to take content viral.

Debunking the Great Tumblr Myth: “Notes are the most important thing.”

I’m not going to lie––notes are important. But they’re not the only important indicator of success on Tumblr, and they’re not even an accurate indicator of a piece of content’s popularity. Because likes and reblogs are conflated together into the note count, it’s impossible to winnow out how many people flat out “liked” a given post, and how many are commenting on it. As you may know from other websites, comments on any given social media platform where anonymity is guaranteed (Tumblr users do not have to divulge their names or personal information to set up accounts) can range from fans going wild over their favorite things to people being downright mean. Most of Tumblr’s many millions of users prefer to reblog content they like rather than content they dislike, but some use the “reblog” feature to elaborate upon, rebut, or otherwise respond to the posts of others. This type of feedback can provide other benefits to you as an author, but it cannot be equated directly to “Yes! My stab at self-promotion is a raging success!” No, notes are not the most important thing. Engagement is.

So how do you get the average Tumblr user to stop scrolling through the hundreds or thousands of blog posts and reblogs in their feed to look at your excerpt, or your book cover, or your “behind-the-scenes” video?

Top 5 Best Practices:

1. Make sure it looks good. Visual appeal cannot be over-trumped as the leading reason why a pair of eyes will fasten onto your post. Many of Tumblr’s most canny users won’t even bother posting any text at all if it isn’t accompanied by a pleasing graphic or photograph of some kind. In fact, most Tumblr users will lead with the picture, rather than slipping it in as an afterthought. Since Tumblr is a medium of fast consumption leading to speedy sharing, the image should be something that is easily comprehended after just a quick glance, so as to keep the reader’s eye moving, roving further into the text that follows. It’s also a good thought to break up dense text posts with a .GIF file or two––the “reaction .GIF” is a Tumblr specialty, and not one to be underestimated. (There’s nothing like a perfectly on-point .GIF to inject a text post with a dose of humor and personality!)

2. Keep it relevant. This should go without saying, but a wise friend once pointed out to me that my own (private) blog was a confusing mish-mash of my interests (which are many) and my own material (which is quite specific in focus). As an indie author looking to create a cohesive, effective methodology in dealing with social media, it’s a good idea to specialize. That is to say, you should keep your posts––both of original content and any reblogged material that might catch your eye––focused on you, your book, and the authorial process. If you become enamored of all of the different features that Tumblr has to offer, and if you enjoy reading an eclectic mix of posts by others, that’s wonderful! … Just make sure that you create a separate blog for your author-related activities so that you don’t accidentally inundate your followers with Shia LaBeouf memes.

3. Timeliness is key. Tumblr is the home of revolutions. More than half of Tumblr’s active users report being under 25 years of age, and the platform’s format encourages the Millennials’ activist leanings. The Occupy Wall Street crowd? It may have found a second home on Twitter, but its native land is Tumblr. Ever heard of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag? Or #WeNeedDiverseBooks? One of teenage designer and activist Kyemah McEntyre’s handmade creations walked the red carpet at the BET Awards because of Tumblr. Petitions have been signed, flags taken down, flags proudly shaken, politicians heckled, and, quite possibly, laws passed on the momentum generated by Tumblr’s dedicated, active, and socially-engaged user base. They’re politically and economically diverse, and as feverishly clannish as any other group of Millennials, and if you can make them care about your work, you’ll never want for support. All of this to say, it’s best to keep an ear to the ground. If you’re willing to use Tumblr as a tool, you should “follow” as many other users as you need to in order to stay in touch with current trends, topics, and ongoing conversations. If you know what’s spurring interest, you can reframe your own posts to touch on these hot-button issues, and generate more interest in your work.

4. Watch your tone. I’m kind of holding forth here in this post, which I’d stress can be either the most effective approach, ever to Tumblr, or the most annoying thing, ever. There are four main speeds when it comes to tone on Tumblr: ranting, reflecting, ridiculous self-posturing, and photo essaying. Rants are passionate (and sometimes, though rarely, lengthy) attacks on the various injustices of life, whether humorous or serious in nature. Reflective posts usually consist of brief narrative bursts, retelling past events or unwinding the implications of some thought experiment (Harry Potter and other fictional worlds inspire many of these, I find). A Tumblr user might dip a toe into ridiculous self-posturing when looking to inspire a good laugh or let off some steam, and often these posts are spoken in the coded language of memes. Some users eschew text altogether and simply post photo essays of their adventures; many hikers, climbers, boulderers, runners, and artists of all disciplines use Tumblr as a sort of interactive portfolio or photo album. One of the many quirky realities of Tumblr is that a post which uses only one of these tones is more likely to go viral than another post that tries to use more than one tone. Tumblr users are looking for easily digestible, bite-sized pieces of life.

5. Keep it readable by keeping it brief. As with my last point, length is best viewed through a lens of digestibility. The world of Tumblr moves fast, and sometimes sideways, and content has to be focused, brief, and either hilarious or achingly accurate in order to collect notes. The most successful Tumblr bloggers post nuggets that are quick to read or view, and they post regularly. I find that instead of encouraging simplicity and generalization, Tumblr users’ love of brevity actually encourages complexity and specialization. The more direct the statement, the more likely someone else is to respond––and for a single sentence to provoke a snowball effect of comments and reblogs.

Most Overlooked Feature:

Most Tumblr users either upload text or photographs, but Tumblr actually allows for several other types of posts: videos, quotes, links, and chats. As an author, you should most definitely take advantage of the “quotes” feature to introduce your followers to your voice, characters, and above all––your book!

I hope you’ll join me in building this Social Media Primer! 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 social media know-how. ♠

ABOUT 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, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Self-Publishing

On Self-Publishing and Merchandising

You are a self-published author. Fantastic! And you’re a self-published author looking to boost your book sales through strategic self-promotion, and by diving into the ofttimes terrifying world of … merchandising. You’ve written your book, which everyone told you was the hardest part of the whole writing-and-publishing process, and you’ve plugged it into a self-publishing engine like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, or BookSurge, or Xlibris, or Outskirts Press, or any one of a dozen other self- or hybrid publishing websites. But what comes next? For most writers, it’s not automatic instant success. For most writers, what comes next involves a lot of hard work, and finesse. Because for most writers, what comes next will involve merchandising.

So what is merchandising?

Simply put, merchandising is any and all practices and methods which boost product sales in a retail environment. Once you get used to thinking of and treating your book as a retail product–which is harder than it may seem, in personal experience–the process of selling and marketing your book becomes infinitely easier. Why is this? Since books are more than just a piece of wood pulp and ink–because books are ideas and stories and occasionally, magnificent works of art–we understandably think about them as these things, these intangible things. And it can seem, well, rather low-brow to treat an idea the same way that I treat a sandal or a bottle of shampoo. Low-brow, and possibly even vulgar. But the fact of the matter is, we want our books to sell, not just to sit all neat and pretty on our own private bookshelves awaiting discovery after we pass on. We want–no, need–our books to sell for all sorts of reasons: the dissemination of ideas, the collection of profits, and so on. We need to sell our books, and merchandising helps sell books.

Unfortunately, self-published authors often find themselves daunted by the notion of self-promotion via merchandising. Authors who survive the knuckle-bruising process of traditional publication have an entire company to help them navigate merchandising, if not take it on entirely. Self-published authors face the same fears, the same doubts, the same tangle of fine print–only, without the clout and muscle and well-fleshed-out personnel of a publishing firm at their back. And it’s virtually impossible to know where to begin. Do you begin with mugs and notepads and tee shirts? Do you begin with book design or haggling with local retailers? You may not have a publishing firm’s PR department on hand, but you do have us. (Not to mention, your legions of fans.) You have us, your loyal digital cheer squad and sounding board for ideas. We’re here to help.

Over the coming weeks, I’m going to unwind a few key strategies for merchandising success, specifically in regards to self-published authors seeking entry into the world of merchandising that the privileged traditionally-published author never has to think twice about. A few of these strategies will include:

Extras & special edition releases
Book & jacket design
Blurbs, reviews, and blog reviews
Dealing with Amazon, CreateSpace, and others
(And yes, we’ll deal with mugs and notepads and tee shirts, too.)

Suffice it to say, this is a big topic. Epically, profoundly, unmentionably big. (Which is exactly why we’re here, reading this blog, isn’t it?) It will take us a while to step through all of the angles, so plan on checking this space every Wednesday morning as we dive in!

I’m realistic, or I like to think I am. This topic is bigger than just me and my own thoughts. I’d like to open the floor to you, dear reader. If you have any thoughts to share on the topic of merchandising, or questions you’d like answered, send them my way via the comments box below! I want to hear from you, and I love nothing more than a good excuse to do a little research if I don’t know something off of the top of my head. Jump on in!

Advocacy in Self-Publishing, Kelly Speaks, Publishing Trends, Self-Publishing

Diversity & Self-Publishing (ep. 4)

Three Wednesdays ago, I launched an ongoing series of blog posts centered on some of the questions we ask, or should ask, regarding diversity in self-publishing. Two weeks ago, I explored the first two questions in detail (“What’s the track record of diversity in publishing?” and “What about within self-publishing, specifically?”), while last week I sought to address two more (“Are there differences, and why or why not?” and “Why does diverse representation in literature and the industry matter?”).

Since there’s a nice symmetry to the use of pairs, and because I’m feeling a bit rebellious against such staid notions as symmetry, I’m going to look at the following three questions today:

What could healthy diversity actually look like?
Who benefits from diverse representation, and who benefits from a lack thereof? (and)
Can we make it happen?

And so it begins. What could healthy diversity look like? In its broadest sense, diversity should mean that all people who want to see themselves represented in literature and in publishing should be equally supported in developing their voices, seizing opportunities for upward mobility and vocality, and striving to achieve their dreams. At the very minimum, it means that those groups which have historically been marginalized, whether minorities or not, should face the same barriers to representation as everyone else––and no more. And diverse representation in publishing and self-publishing also means that those in the privileged oft-heard sector must cultivate an attitude of respect, support, and inquiry without descending to patronization, pity, condescension, judgment, or other, subtler or more violent forms of negativity.

Diversity looks like a community in which individuals are respected for but not defined by their race, gender, legal or medical status, sexual orientation, religion, or other aspects of personal identity. And frankly, diversity in publishing and even self-publishing, in the long utopian term, looks a little less white, a little less male, a little less ableist, and a little less like mainstreamed convention. Diversity, done right, doesn’t look like any one thing. It looks like a farmer’s market, perhaps, or barely controlled happy chaos. It looks like a community that cares about and for its members, representing the interests of all authors, readers, marketing and publishing specialists, not to mention all the craftspeople, librarians, academics, students, and other groups that might receive trickle-down benefits––because, who benefits from diverse representation? Everyone.

No, really. Everyone benefits from diverse representation, even those who might profit from a lack thereof. Sound confusing? Consider two baskets, one which holds a single huckleberry, and one which holds a whole supermarket bin of huckleberries. Hundreds of huckleberries. Thousands of huckleberries. Uncountable millions of huckleberries, and the families and friends of those huckleberries, and the communities from which those huckleberries come from, and the communities in which those huckleberries end up, and the introverted huckleberries who maybe call home once a month. A man may prefer the basket which holds one single huckleberry, but first he must convince himself and everyone else in the grocery store who might want a huckleberry that all those other huckleberries don’t exist, or that they exist but aren’t likely to be as good, or advance as far up the huckleberry pecking order because of some inherent flaw of character, or the simple blind fury of fate. This is how a man might prefer and profit off of the single-berry basket scenario. But if he happens to open his heart and mind to the reality of the other berries out there, his taste will expand, and his world too … and all the other shoppers get what they want, and all the huckleberries end up making their glorious splash.

Have I worn you out on huckleberries yet?

Really, the most difficult question to answer of all is this: can we make it happen? Well, of course we can. All of us, together. Readers, writers, and (self-)publishing specialists alike. Marginalized and non-marginalized, mainstream and countercultural. Together. We’ve seen some progress, as I already mentioned in my first blog post of this series. This progress has convinced me that it is not only a moral imperative to carry on, but plain good sense. We’ve got the means, we’ve got the will, and we’ll find the way. Through concerted and strategic and repeated action, we can enable people of diverse origins and identities to succeed. And we will.

These thoughts barely scratch the surface of these questions, much less the conversation as a whole. As I continue pondering how to go about touching on the other questions I posed three weeks ago, please drop me a line in the comments section below with your own thoughts or suggestions! And of course, check back next week as we delve into still more of the self-publishing world!

Advocacy in Self-Publishing, Alternative Marketing Methods, Blogging Tips for Authors, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Promotion Strategy, Book Reviews, Book Signings, Facebook, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Publishing Trends, Self-Publishing, Social Media Marketing, Viral Marketing, Writing

Diversity & Self-Publishing (ep. 3)

Week before last, I began to examine the ongoing conversation centering on diversity in self-publishing that has sprung up over the last couple of years, and only risen in importance and visibility since then. Last week, I addressed two questions:

What’s the track record of diversity in publishing? (and)
What about within self-publishing, specifically?

This week, I want to address two more questions. The first, as you’ll see, follows on immediately from number two, above:

Are there differences between the track records of traditional publishing and self-publishing in regards to diversity, and why or why not?

As MediaShift’s correspondent Miral Sattar notes in her excellent article for PBS, diversity has always had a little bit more of a foothold in the world of self-publishing than it has elsewhere. In large part, this can be traced back to the blue-collar, anti-establishmentarian streak that gave rise to the self-publishing industry in the first place. Wanting to place profits in the hand of an individual author as opposed to a company or a collective? When it comes to books, that’s a radical idea. Wanting control over the entire authorial, publishing, and marketing process? That, too, falls outside the established framework provided by traditional publishing. All of this independent thinking and hungering after self-realization has led to an environment that fosters rebels and self-starters and free-thinkers and otherwise marginalized peoples. That includes, of course, people of diverse origins, pursuits, and identities.

In her article, Sattar mentions a whole host of self-published authors, including CJ Lyons, Orna Ross, Lara Nance, HM Ward, Kailin Gow, Margarita Matos, Abdul Qayum Safi, Lozetta Hayden, Manuela Pentagelo, Tejas Desai, and Aleysha Proctor. And these are just a very few of a very great many self-published authors currently putting their books out there. There are others: Mary Sisney, Liz Castro, Nadeem Aslam, Johnny Townsend, Qasim Rashid, and so, so many more. The fact is, if you want to publish something that the mainstream publishing industry isn’t prepared to market, and which isn’t angling to be a blockbuster seller, then the generous spirit of the self-publishing world is always waiting. We live in a day and age, thankfully, when the self-published book is no longer synonymous with “I’m selling this out of the trunk of my car” (although that may still be the case), and with a whole host of resources out there, from internet forums to hybrid publishing firms, the self-publishing author can count on sending a high-quality–if radically counter-cultural–product out there into the world.

Why does diverse representation in literature and the industry matter? Why should we authors and readers and (self-)publishers care?

This fourth question is, in some ways, a much harder one to answer. As with many things in life, it might seem easy to fall back on a rote answer (you either do or you don’t), or to fall into the trap of trying to heavy-handedly preach readers into one perspective or another (because I said so!). The fact of the matter is, caring about something as radically life-changing as diversity and representation is more than just a private act, but it’s also something you can’t just tell people to do.

When someone leans in over the dinner table and asks me why they should care about diversity–as has happened fairly often this last year–I fall back on a whole retinue of explanations: the statistics about social stratification and advancement or regression, the ethical and moral ground upon which we build healthy and just societies, and the anecdotes of people I know who have found themselves on the wrong side of the line when it comes to representation. And of all of these arguments, the most effective one is, appropriately enough, one that requires a little imagination.

Imagine you are a child, any child who doesn’t look like a descendant of a hundred Caucasian family trees, who maybe doesn’t tip the scale quite to quite the same number as any of a thousand Disney Channel stars, who maybe comes from a faith background or an ethnic background that isn’t mainstream Christianity or undecided, who maybe has physical or emotional disabilities, who maybe identifies as something other than cisgendered or “straight” or is questioning their identity, who maybe comes from a dysfunctional family or society. Imagine you have any one of these attributes, or a whole heady cocktail of them, and ask yourself this question: Have you seen yourself in a popular book lately? How about on TV or in a movie–as the main character? Have you seen yourself anywhere but in the bathroom mirror and have you seen yourself compassionately rendered there?

I remember the first time I found myself in a book, the first time I encountered a character who looked and felt and acted and believed like me. It was absolutely, entirely, 100% life-changing.

Why should we care about diversity in publishing and self-publishing? Because we want our children to grow up knowing that they don’t have to live in the shadows. That they are lovable and loved. That they don’t need to bleach their skin or get rid of their accent or faith or private struggles in order to be a whole human being.

Explaining to a child who has never seen a familiar face or life story told on television or in books or in music why they’ve never seen that story is absolutely heartbreaking, not to mention difficult. One hopes that we don’t have to end that conversation with “…and it looks like it’s going to stay that way for a while.” One hopes we can end that conversation with: “But see? We’ve made progress, and here is a whole host of stories to get you started.” Others have put together powerful arguments why diversity in publishing (of any kind) is important, too, so I think there’s a lot of hope we’ll see change within our lifetimes.

These thoughts barely scratch the surface of these questions, much less the conversation as a whole. As I continue pondering how to go about touching on the other questions I posed two weeks ago, please drop me a line in the comments section below with your own thoughts or suggestions! And of course, check back next week as we explore still more of this complicated tangle!

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