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

Conversations: 7/8/2016

WISE COUNSEL—WITH MUSCLE II

Writer! Published Author! PR Specialist? Marketing Coach? Book Signing Scheduler? Connection Coordinator for Radio/TV Interviews? Website, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat Refresher?

WHAT? No! Not me. I’m the writer. I poured my life-blood into this book and everyone who has read it (3 friends, my Mom and spouse) loved it. When it hits Amazon, it will certainly be a best seller!

Well, Mr. Writer, I’m right there with you. I wrote my “bestseller” in 2015 and the initial sales were okay. Today, I’m deep into the work of a second book—enjoying every hair-pulling moment—while sales of that first book are floundering. It is time to admit that I’m not Super-Author who can write all day and market all night. There are simply not enough hours in the day to do both jobs well.  SO I’ve begun my search for HELP!

help wanted

As Writers and Published Authors our needs are specific…

  • to the genre of the book,
  • to the main topic and/or perspective
  • to the audience the book is written for,
  • and to the unique goals each author sets.

The goal every writer/author hopes for can be stated in just one word: BESTSELLER. Thank goodness there are multiple Bestseller lists—most according to genre—that can fulfill that goal. However, it takes physical work to climb that trail and strategic planning to reach every Reader who is a potential buyer. This is why we need to search for the right Marketing Assistant for us, for our book(s) and for this book-buying season.

When at a Writers Conference, one of the Website presenters gave us some questions to ask ourselves before setting up our websites. Since then, I see the wisdom of answering these queries as I begin looking for Marketing help.

  • Who are your Customers? Backgrounds? Likes? Dislikes?
  • What would they be searching for on the Internet that would lead them to your book?
  • What would you say to them if you met?
  • What visual illustrations would attract your Readers?

Answering these questions as completely as possible before talking with prospective Assistants will help them understand the expectations you have in their work.

Next, develop questions you may ask when interviewing the Marketing Assistants whether in person or by phone or even email. I’ve come up with a short list. As you read them you may think of others.

  • What is it about marketing books that you enjoy?
  • Why do you feel qualified to market in the Children’s Books genre (or Sci-Fi, or Faith/Ministry, or…)?
  • Have you experienced marketing mistakes? What did you learn from them?
  • Describe how you’ve marketed similar books in the past and what success you’ve had.
  • What marketing strategies do you consider useful for my/this book?
  • Will you require me to sign a contract with you? What is your fee schedule?

This last question is the one we all want to avoid. We know we cannot do an excellent marketing job for ourselves and yet it is often a major stretch in our budget to hire someone to help us.  Consider this: If we save the money, attempt to do the marketing, then have few (or no) sales, we’ve lost all that time and effort and $$ in writing and publishing. Wise counsel suggests that we invest in our work one more time and sign on with the Marketing Assistant who support us in reaching our goals. ⚓︎

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, Goals, in your corner, Uncategorized

In Your Corner : Summer Goals (Pt 1)

Summer is a time for kicking back, for putting your feet up, for drinking that sweet ice tea, and for avoiding responsibilities.  But it’s also an opportunity to knock out some of those projects which you can’t tackle at any other time of year.  The long daylight hours, the relaxed atmosphere, and the constant barrage of creative inspiration both on- and offline make for a potent mix–one you should take advantage of, albeit while still giving yourself the time and space to recover from another frenetic year, another long winter.

This is why I love goals.  Goals keep ups focused, and on point, and help us prioritize.  Without goals, everything hits us all at once: every responsibility, every task, every responsibility.  But with a well-defined goal or two, we know exactly what the core of our mission for the month or week or day is, and everything else–well, everything else, we can forgive or forget or allow ourselves to do “just enough.”  It’s really important not to be a perfectionist in everything, if your goal is to relax and still be productive.

goals

So, goals!  What should they be?  Of course, you’re the only one who can and should decide upon your own goals.  In lieu of telling you what yours should or could be, here are mine:

Write.

Summer is a deceptive time.  I say “deceptive” because while it is in fact true that it tends to be a calm, rich, slow time of year … it is also busy.  So very busy.  Especially if you have a family, enjoy sports, and also have to go to work every day.  There are car rides to manage, kids to keep tabs on, meals to prepare as always–and the list goes on.  Because I’m the sort of person whose first instinct is to knock out all of these necessities first and put everything else on hold until they’re all done, I often find myself approaching the end of the day having done no writing at all … and exhausted.  I never do my best writing in the afternoon, much less the evening.  So my personal goal is to write, to write every day (even if it’s just a short paragraph), and to write first thing in the morning after I wake up.  Quantity doesn’t matter so much, as long as I’m constantly generating new material, and carving out a set time in the day when I’m at my best is a decision I have to make–or else it will never happen.

Structure my Writing … Loosely.

There are a lot of ways to do this, and I use several of them myself.  I have heard of several authors who leave off every writing session mid-sentence, just so that when they come back to that page they are forced to finish a thought before beginning a new paragraph or page–and they often say that this is somehow less daunting than facing that proverbial blank page at the beginning of every writing session.  I’ve tried this, and it works!  Or at least I should say: It works for me.  I recommend giving it an attempt, just to see if it works for you.

Another idea to try is the prompt.  I’ll write more about this next week, but don’t underestimate the creative potential to a writing prompt!  I love them because–if I find just the right one–the hard work of coming up with a place to start is already taken care of.  All I have to do is respond.  And on some busy mornings (and afternoons and evenings) that’s all I can muster: response.  They are the first and most consistently reliable way of conquering the dreaded Writer’s Block in my little world of constant struggle.

***

Look, it’s not important that you adopt any specific one of my own personal goals.  If I’ve learned anything over my years of dealing with the writing process, it’s that every writer has to take ownership of it before it feels right.  Before it feels authentic.  But I think the core message holds true: Summer is a natural time for writing goals, every bit as much as it’s a time for hitting the beach or the trails.  Writing is never easy in this frenetically busy world, and that’s okay.  Goals help us move forward, despite everything.

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, Uncategorized

Marketing Master Strokes Episode 5: Try Every New Thing

Five weeks ago, we started down this road: a road of positive thinking and proactive decision-making. A road upon which we agreed to stop thinking about the many ways we can mess up the marketing process (Marketing Missteps) and pivoted onto the front foot–to thinking, in short, about the many ways we can succeed instead.  So far we’ve looked at four master strokes, and today we’ll add a fifth, but a word of warning: this one’s not for the faint of heart!

Our first four master strokes asked that we:

  1. be all ears (listening to the stories of others, and keeping an open mind to actually changing your own approach),
  2. be willing to reach our readers where they live (setting aside the ego in order to adapt our outreach methods to best suit our readers),
  3. incentivize! (Or at least, find new ways to make your book look attractive.) And last but certainly not least, our penultimate master stroke requires us to …
  4. play well with others.

But the fifth master stroke?  Well, this is the hardest one of all.  It’s the most difficult to (no pun intended … maybe) master because it requires the aspiring self-publishing author to let go a little.  Okay, a lot.  It requires a complete surrender of the ego, because the ego cannot survive the constant process of optimization, the acceptance that the self doesn’t have all the answers, and that the process of innovation and modification will endure as long as that author remains an author.  Which we hope, of course, is forever.  

So what is this mysterious fifth and final master stroke?

Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream

Okay, okay.  Just kidding.  The real master stroke is:

Try Every New Thing. Try A New Thing Regularly. Daily. Always.

… and of course I might have summarized this as “optimize the crud out of your marketing process,” but that’s as clear as mud.  What does it actually mean to “optimize”?  It means to try new things.  To try every new thing.  To try a new thing regularly. To try it daily.  To try it … always.  And to observe, listen carefully to what the data is telling you, to use your intuition to sense when there’s a quantifiable trend and when the numbers are actually calling for a change in method.  It requires us not to be afraid, to in point of fact be brave, and be brave often, to think creatively about every obstacle in our path.  To push through self-doubt and disappointment.  To see clearly amidst the blinding glitter of success.

To think about life and being an author and marketing as some kind of laboratory, where experimentation is the rule and not the exception–and where, like good scientists, we document our progress thoroughly so that we can track, exactly, which outcomes can be attributed to which changes in method.

laboratory

Look, I realize I’m treading on unstable ground here.  I don’t advocate authors give up on their own ideas altogether.  Self-publishing is a safe-haven for those who want to hold true to their personal vision of what’s good and what’s right for them, in the face of a cynical world and the influences of a hostile traditional publishing institution.  I think we need to protect and cultivate the ideas that are different, outside of the box, and unique to you.  What I mean by “sacrificing the ego” and so on and so forth is that we give up on closing our minds off to the real heart of innovation.  And the innovator’s approach, as you’ll already be well aware, is a joyful heart that embraces new approaches and new ideas–if they work.  So let’s find out if they work!  As your final master stroke, I challenge you to go out and try something new–whether it’s a new social media platform, a new promotional offer, a new collaboration, or any number of other ideas–every day of the week.

Go forth and innovate!

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line atselfpublishingadvice@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
from the archives, Jodee Speaks, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “How Much Do Self-Publishing Authors Earn?”

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.

∗∗∗∗∗

[ Originally posted: August 18th, 2014 ]

How much do self-publishing authors earn?

There is no one size fits all answer.

What an author earns varies greatly. Income is based on a variety of factors, including the author’s goals, intended market, and marketing strategy.

One of the main reasons author income varies so greatly is because many authors don’t self-publish to make money. They never intend to market and promote their book, so they earn very little. For these authors, success is not defined by the amount of money they make or the number of books they sell. Instead, it is simply based on whether or not they accomplished their goals.  Some common definitions of success among self-published authors include:

  • Sharing their story with family and friends
  • Reaching a niche market
  • Finishing and publishing their manuscript, regardless of how many books they sell
  • Gaining fame
  • Earning an income
  • Increasing their business
  • Building their following of readers
  • Adding to their resume
  • Getting picked up by a traditional publisher
  • And many, many more

I assume you ARE interested in earning money if you asked this question. For those of you who want to make a profit, here is what you need to know:

  • Depending on the trade discount set by you or your publisher, you can expect to earn royalties on average of $2-$7.
  • Some self-publishing companies offer more flexibility in setting pricing and royalties, so it is important to select a company that meets your needs.
  • Marketing is key to financial success! If you want to earn money from your book, be prepared to dedicate your time, money, and effort to marketing and promoting your self-published book.
  • Quality is also extremely important. You must offer readers a professional, well-written book.
  • A dynamic cover and professional editing are a must.

A great way to learn more about how much self-publishing authors earn and how they define success is studying other authors. Read interviews and books by successful authors. Network with writer’s in your area. Join professional writing groups. Talk to people who have self-published. Learn about the industry. All of this research will not only give you an idea of how much self-publishing authors earn, but will also offer excellent tips and advice for making your book successful.

– by Jodee Thayer

Jodee’s right, of course–it’s not necessarily useful to know the exact amounts that every self-publishing author makes, since so many aren’t in the game for the cash.  But there is a certain benefit, I think, to knowing:

A. Some self-publishing authors are going to hit it big. And by “big” I mean BIG, with Hugh Howey’s Wool saga pulling in roughly $150,000 a month from ebook sales back in 2014, for example–and other authors like Amanda Hocking and John Locke doing very well indeed.

B. Many self-publishing authors are going to find the middle ground, becoming what in the traditional publishing industry might be considered “midlist”–but without the crippling disadvantages of traditionally published midlist authors, who are promised marketing assistance for example but very rarely ever receive it.

and C. Some self-publishing authors aren’t going to make much money, either because they choose not to put the time and energy or money into marketing it (for whatever, possibly legitimate reason) or because they have no idea where to begin.  We at Self Publishing Advisor want to move as many authors from category C. to categories A. or B. as possible–assuming that the authors want this too!

I would also like to encourage you with some hard data. Hugh Howey (mentioned above) has done a lot of work to open up the self-publishing industry and render it transparent, and his industry watchdog company (AuthorEarnings.com) does some very necessary and useful work each year in publishing its Author Earnings Report. The latest one posted to the site is from May of this year (2016) and while the nature of the study itself has fundamentally changed (from a longitudinal study to a cross-sectional one), Howey is able to draw some inspiring conclusions.

By broadening the parameters of their search, he says, they appear “to have nearly doubled the count of authors currently earning in this $10K/year ‘tax bracket.'” And while “$10,000/year is hardly a living wage in the US,” he continues, “it’s a nontrivial supplementary income. Especially for doing something you love.” According to this May 2016 study, only 18% of authors make less than $10,000/year–and “almost half” of the remainder “also appear in the $25,000-or-better bracket above”–meaning that roughly 1 in 5 self-publishing authors on Amazon make very little money, 2 in 5 make “a nontrivial supplementary income,” and the remaining 2 in 5 are making a decent chunk of change (more than $25,000/year, at least).

This is good news. Aiming to eclipse the superstars like Hocking and Locke and Howey may not be an attainable goal, but earning good money from your books is.  Now get writing!

hugh howey wool

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.

barnes and noble, Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 7.4.2016

happy 4th of july independence day

Happy Independence Day, Everyone!

Here in the United States, we’re busy celebrating the hard work done by many people all over the world to ensure our freedoms, and planning how best to continue that work in the years to come. Now, we know it’s not Independence Day for everyone–and that many still live in poverty and even in modern forms of slavery–but we hope that what we do here on this blog every day throughout the year contributes, in some small way, to building hope and cultivating the conviction that independent thought and action is something to be admired, and supported.

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

This June 30th article by Catherine Dunn for Digital Book World continues a series being published to that website regarding the ins and outs of the self-publishing experience.  The whole series, as we mentioned last week, is worth checking out and exploring–it’s packed with insight and thoroughly researched–but this week’s is perhaps more pertinent than ever, given that the topic is marketing.  (And we really like talking about Marketing here on Self-Publishing Advisor, if you haven’t noticed!)  This week, Dunn taps into some of the fundamentals of the marketing process: getting reviews, getting creative, leveraging social media and giveaways to meet your needs, how to watch your budget while marketing, how to keep the momentum going, and what to do next once you launch your book into the “real world”.  All in all, it’s a tightly packed little essay on the process of marketing for indie and self-publishing authors, with a good dollop of common sense and a large serving of innovative thought.  But what else would we expect from Digital Book World?  We love those guys.  They’re awesome.  You can read the original article here.

This piece by Caitlin Rosberg went live on The A.V. Club on June 30th as well, and from its title you might have guessed that it has a little something to do with the world of self-published comics–a growing market niche we’ve commented on here and there at Self-Publishing Advisor in months past.  According to Rosberg, our attention has been well-allocated, since changing the way comics are published (or at the very least, providing a viable “other way” for them to be published) benefits everyone involved in the self-publishing industry, from authors to illustrators to readers.  Spurred by her dissatisfaction with this year’s Eisner list of award nominees–none of which were self-published, for reasons we’ve discussed elsewhere (*coughcoughSTIGMAcoughREPUTATIONcough*)–Rosberg unveils a few of her favorite self-published comics as well as the ways in which they’re changing the comic landscape.  She drops a lot of names (Smut Peddler, anyone?) and her points hit home.  To read the full article, drop on by The A.V. Club article here.

What we have here may be something less than an article and something more along the lines of a press release, but it’s big news nonetheless: on June 28th, Barnes & Noble declared several groundbreaking (and ground-shaking) changes to its lineup of products and services.  The main event is the unveiling of NOOK Press, which B&N is launching in order “to provide NOOK Press authors with an easy-to-use, self-service program that enables them to create hardcover and paperback books for customer purchase.” The new platform will allow eligible NOOK Press authors (conditions apply) to “have the opportunity to sell their print books at Barnes & Noble stores across the country on a local, regional or national level, and online at BN.com. Authors can also qualify for the opportunity to participate at in-store events including book signings and discussions, where they will be able to sell their print books and meet fans.”  There’s a lot to chew on here, but the moral of the story seems to be: if Amazon does something for half a decade and finds success, maybe it’s time to take note and jump on a similar train.  To read the full press release, follow the link!
happy 4th of july independence day

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.