Tag Archives: business

Notes from AwesomeCon DC 2014 by Cerece Rennie Murphy

The Set-Up

– An artist/small press table for AwesomeCon this year was $290. The fee included one skirted table and 2 chairs. The Convention ran from Friday afternoon through Sunday with a reported attendance of 40k people.

– Though the coordinators seemed somewhat disorganized prior to the event, once everything was underway, things ran pretty smoothly and I was impressed with the level of customer service that was offered to vendors.

– The table vs booth distinction was an issue. I thought I paid for a booth, but got a table when I arrived. Fortunately, I had my new retractable banners so set-up was much easier. I highly recommend these if anyone is considering what items to invest in for a show. Unfortunately, I had no room for my RIB rack, so I just bought the books with me and was able to talk about quite a few RIB authors. My list of POC speculative fiction writers came in handy as well.

– The convention was small enough to have just 1 person (me) at my table for both Friday and Sunday, but Saturday, I got help from my mother.

Results

– 94 books sold in 2 ½ days, which I think is pretty good considering that this was the smallest Con I’ve done to-date.

– Had 2 impromptu interviews and made a few connections that I am looking forward to exploring

– I paid $120 for electricity, mostly to power my TV where I play my book trailer as part of my display. But unlike in bigger Cons where you are really fighting for attention, I don’t think I needed it for this event. Next year, I will save the expense.

– The “2 for $20” pitch continues to be a powerful tool. Including some swag also helps to make people feel like they are really getting a great deal for their money. I am still giving away the reusable bags and/or Order of the Seers posters with each book purchase.

Conclusion

– This was definitely a successful event for me and I will be back next year (unless they schedule the event during Easter weekend again!)

– Even if you don’t know someone you can stay with in the DC/MD/VA area, you can find cheap enough accommodations in DC that might allow you to a least breakeven, while increasing your book exposure. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $8.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

A Look Into BookBub by Bettye Griffin

Secrets and Sins The days of simply uploading a book to the various online retail sites and having people download it are over. Now, with thousands of new titles being released each week, it’s all about discoverability. How to get your book noticed in a sea of literature?

Prolific author Kristin Kathryn Rusch recently wrote a series of articles on her blog about this topic that you might want to check out. They are lengthy, but quite informative.

Advertising is one logical answer to this dilemma, and just about the best way to get the word out about your book is by advertising on BookBub. These people have somehow managed to amass huge numbers of subscribers (the more subscribers, the higher their fees) who receive emails 365 days a year listing bargain books in multiple categories (mystery and contemporary romance being the most popular, but also including thrillers, action, women’s fiction, literary, nonfiction and others).

Advertising on BookBub is not cheap, but there’s no denying its effectiveness. I first heard about this service in April 2013 through an article at author D.D. Scott’s (now inactive) blog. I immediately subscribed and did some monitoring of how advertised contemporary romance books fared. They way they shot up the rankings impressed me, but I had reservations about how my book would do in what I suspected was a majority Caucasian marketplace. Ultimately I decided to go for it (after expressing these doubts and being encouraged by others on the blog), and I submitted a request to feature my romantic comedy Accidentally Yours as a free offering (yes, you pay them handsomely to advertise, but http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/do-bookbub-ads-work-to-find-new-readersd they have to accept you, which struck me as downright nutty…but one reason their advertising is so successful is that they strive to offer high-quality books).

I was approved, but due to personal travel plans, did not set my date until early June, to give myself plenty of time to get both the book file and its pricing in order. I was thrilled when Accidentally Yours went to #1 in the entire Free Kindle Store. Better still, sales of my other books experienced a nice bump, obviously from readers who enjoyed reading this freebie (I made sure to upload a new version that included brief excerpts from a few of my other titles).

The same thing happened when I did my second BookBub promotion for A Love of Her Own in September, although the sales of paid titles didn’t get as high as the first time. That was about the time the market was starting to get glutted, but I did well enough to make a profit from my ad, and the title I included an intriguing excerpt from in the freebie shot back onto the Top 100 some eighteen months after its original publication.

Here are some recommendations I’d make in regard to using BookBub:

Don’t even consider doing it unless you have at least three eBooks published, preferably more. You want to have more product to offer people than the one discounted or free title.
I have yet to be turned down for an ad, and I understand that the main reasons for rejection are length (BookBub does not advertise novellas or short stories), quality (I’m not sure just how they make this determination to what’s behind those covers, but it’s listed as a requirement on their site), and a professional presentation (in other words, your cover shouldn’t look like you put it together yourself at your kitchen table unless you’re a design professional or are truly gifted in that area). While there is no minimum number of reviews required, a book with five reviews with three or four of them 3 stars or below will not likely be accepted, whether those reviews are truly deserved or not, i.e., someone giving you a low ranking because of downloading.
Use an older title, particularly if you’re doing a freebie. I personally don’t like slashing the price on an eBook less than two years old; I don’t think it’s fair to readers who paid full price.
The first book of a series works well to spur sales of the remaining titles in the series…just make sure that readers know it’s a series.
Pay close attention to your front and back matter. Two suggestions I like are to include the book’s description in the front, right after the copyright page, to remind the reader of the plot (suggested by J.A. Konrath) and to include a listing of your other books in the front (suggested by Deatri King-Bey right here at Become a Successful author) with purchase links, of course (I used to provide Amazon links in the Kindle file and Barnes & Noble links with the Nook file, but now I simply link to my eStore, which has both, as well as links to purchase directly from my eStore at a cheaper price. I also like to include a brief note to the reader with a link to whatever excerpts I’ve included (which are also in the table of contents). Every piece of front matter should be absolutely necessary; you don’t want the reader to have to thumb through (or the electronic equivalent of) pages and pages before getting to the actual start of the book. All the other stuff can go in the back matter.
As I mentioned above, BookBub’s rates are pretty hefty. It bases its prices (which are increased regularly as their subscriber lists continue to grow) on both the number of subscribers in the desired category and your sale price. A free book is cheaper than a 99-cent book, which in turn is cheaper than a $1.99 book.
I personally feel it’s better to pay more for a 99-cent listing than to do a freebie, and to maximize earnings, consider enrolling in Kindle Select (a must if you plan on offering a free book) and subsequently in the Countdown program running simultaneously with your promotion, which will still net you the 70% royalty rate even for a 99-cent book.
With regard to pricing, BookBub recently introduced an African-American category. This is virtually the same as being segregated from the general book population in bookstores in the African-American section, but the rates are very affordable because of the smaller number of subscribers (50K vs. nearly 700K for contemporary romance and over 500K for women’s fiction), which makes it worth considering. If you like the results, you can always run another ad (but not within six months if it’s for the same book) and put it in a more broader category (BookBub retains the right to make a final determination about your chosen category).
Put your best work forward. You might want to do a complete read-through of your work and upload a new file if necessary. Some avid readers will snap up everything under $1, whether it’s their preferred category or not, read them, and can be very critical. When I advertised A Love of Her Own , some readers complained about a continuity error that hadn’t been caught in the original Kensington print copy (because editors aren’t perfect). I went in and corrected it and uploaded a new version, and reviews after that have mostly been positive. If you seek universal adoration or are in the habit of replying to negative reviews (something I strongly advise against doing, no matter what the circumstances), BookBub probably isn’t for you. It’s reading reviews or emails from people who say they are buying my other books after having read the sale or free book that make it worthwhile, at least for me.

Happy Sales to You!

Bettye Griffin

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Build OFFLINE Relationships with Readers! by Deatri King-Bey

The other day one of my new mentees asked me why I attend reader events when most readers want eBooks now days and you can promote your books online for free. First off, print books have more sells than electronic, but that’s neither her or there. Secondly, time is money. So the hours of time she spends chasing down readers should be calculated into her marketing cost. What worried me is my she thought there was no need to meet the readers in person anymore. She told me she doesn’t waste time with conferences because she won’t make the money back in sells. Soooo, I decided it’s time to write an article about why you should meet the readers.

In a few weeks, I’m headed to the Romance Slam Jam—the place for readers and authors of Black romance to meet. I’ve been attending this annual even over ten years. I originally attended as a reader of Black romance, then became an aspiring author and finally a published author of Black romance. I attend reader events quite often, because I am a reader, but this is the only conference that I attend regularly as an author. Readers read all year around. So by the time the conference comes around, the regulars already have my books, thus I don’t sell many books at the conferences. So why continue to go?

Because this is my way of saying “Thank you for investing in me over the years and your continued support. The least I can do is spend a few days to hang with you.” You’d be shocked at how much readers appreciate authors not just being in sell mode. How much they appreciate you taking a little time to talk about what they love to read—your genre books. They want to see you as more than the author who just shows up when they have a new release saying, “Buy my book.”
Because this is where a large group of my target audience meets each year with the purpose of talking about what I write. Yes, having people travel across the country or even across town who want what you have to offer is a good thing. They are there for your genre, not to weed through Facebook and other social media to happen upon a post you made.
I choose to attend one conference in my genre regularly because I want to get to know that set of attendees and the new attendees each year. Building relationships with readers and others in the business (offline) is a good thing. If you are a new author (new to the reader) they are more willing to give your work a try if they know you. If they already know and like your work, they are more likely to spread the word about your work if they know you personally.
My opt-in mailing list grows every time I attend a reader event for my genre. The opt-in mailing list is your most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Unlike social media where they control when and who gets to see your promos and post, you own your opt-in list. It’s like I say, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket. Especially a basket someone else owns (social media).
Speaking with others in the publishing business in person, learning from each other. Getting leads. Giving pitches. Taking workshops… As an author, you should invest in your business. This means networking, learning the craft and the business. Conferences and reader events are great places to do all of these.

So do I get a good return on investment by attending this yearly conference? Yes I do. I get an outstanding return on investment. Not from the books I sell at the conference, which will be minimal, but from the connections I’ve made. Because of those connections, when I have new releases, I have a pretty sizable base that purchases my books and spreads the word about them. This base took years to cultivate and is ever growing. Many of my readers promote my titles not only because they like the book, but because they’ve gotten to know me as more than that chick on Facebook who starts to pop in a few weeks before she has a new release.

Now get out there and find a conference that focuses on your genre. You want readers who are there for what you have to offer! Can’t afford to travel, use the good ol’ Internet and find something local.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

My Steps to Being Reborn as a Writer by Stacy-Deanne

I blasted into 2014 with a vengeance and that was my plan. I had some professional shakeups in 2013 but it was all for the better and I looked forward to moving on. I wanted to share what I am doing personally and the changes I’ve made to become reborn as a writer. Some are minor, some major, but all of them are changes I needed to make to become the best writer (and person) I can be.

These are not guidelines or tips anyone has to follow, but I’m simply sharing what I’m doing and how I’ve changed things for myself so that others might find inspiration. Remember, we all have our own paths to take, but it can be so rewarding to take a step back and implement changes. It can bring happiness and fulfillment for not just writers but people in general.

Below are things I am doing now that contribute to my rebirth:

Gearing up Production

I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions but mine for 2014 was production and so far I am living up to my goal. Since late 2013, I’ve completed eight books. All of these are novellas of around 25,000-30,000 words. These books are in two different series. So far, two of these have been released and the rest will come out in upcoming months. At the rate things are going, I will have a new release around every month or every two months depending on the publishers’ scheduling. I’m a writing machine. I always took writing seriously, but I am even more committed to it now than before. One thing that’s helped me is outlining. I used to always write down scenes for my stories but now I outline my work from beginning to end before it’s written. That saves me writing time as well as editing time. The more I outline, the faster I finish books. I love it and I know this will all pay off.

Minimizing Promotion

I used to kill myself promoting my books, but after years of doing that I realize promotion (from authors) is overrated. The trick is not how much promotion but what type of promotion. You can do all the promotion in the world, but you can’t force people to buy your work even when you do all the right things. I’ve learned (and been told by a few NYT bestselling authors) that writing more books is how you capture and keep your audience. It seems like authors forget that writing is the most important thing, not sitting on a social network all day. Times have changed since Facebook and Twitter became popular. There are so many authors trying to promote online that voices get lost. These days I do the most effective but minimal promotion I can do because the best promotion is creating new books!

Ditching Facebook

I’ve been pulling away from FB for a while but now I’m done with it for good. I am still on there but I only plan to pop on to share info about new releases. I don’t plan to socialize or hang out there anymore. Facebook used to be a fun place but there are too many negatives in my opinion. I’m a positive person and I always try to be, but lately FB has been the devil to me. I find myself feeling anxious, jealous, or depressed when I get on there. I also don’t like the clique environment that’s rampant in the writing circles, especially in many of the book groups. There is always some hostility or drama on Facebook and that’s not what I like to be around. FB was screwing up my outlook, psyche, and it just wasn’t worth it. The funny thing is that many of my author friends have pulled away and only pop on once-in-a-while too. I see why. When something is causing negative thoughts or not fulfilling you then I feel like it’s time to move on. I want to concentrate on things that benefit me and FB doesn’t do that.

Writing for Digital Presses

I’ve started writing for digital romance presses and I am really enjoying the experience. I’m pleased with the houses I’m working with right now, and going from print houses to e-publishers has been great for my workload. I need a publisher that can keep up with me because I write fast. Another thing I like about digital presses is that you are only contracted to one book or series. They don’t hold you to any rights grabs of any other work so you can sub to as many houses as you want and have multiple books with several places. These days, authors should not have their eggs in one basket.

Stop Worrying About Sales and Rankings

This is about the worst and most unproductive thing a writer can do so I no longer do it. My plan is to check every once in a while, but not all the time. Hanging on to every sale or watching your ranking or trying to see how many reviews you have is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. It doesn’t matter! Sitting there watching these things will make you depressed and angry then you won’t want to write. My advice to all those obsessive authors (which is most of us) who do this, stop. Don’t even pay it any attention. Focus on writing which is something you can control.

Well, these are some of the steps I’m taking on my rebirth journey. I feel more alive than I have in a while. I feel like I did when I first started writing professionally years ago. I don’t know how things are going in everyone’s world but if any of the things I’ve shared today have brought you some insight, I’m glad.

Happy Writing!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Look Before You Send, Stop The Multiple Submissions By W. Terry Whalin

In the magazine world, it is common to simultaneously submit your query to a number of different magazines. Each publication is different and sometimes an editor will want a 500 word article while others will request a 1500 word article. As the writer, you can create two distinct articles to meet these needs.

In the world of books, simultaneous or multiple submissions are also common. Literary agents and editors are notoriously slow to respond to submissions because of the high volume. I often tell people that being an acquisitions editor is like trying to drink water from a fire hose. I read a high volume of material every day yet I’m actively looking for great writing to publish. The practice of multiple submissions is accepted throughout the publishing world.

So what multiple submissions do I want you to stop?

An author sent me his manuscript last week and then almost immediately sent another email saying to delete that one and he was sending the right manuscript. A few hours later, this same author sent another email saying that he wasn’t going to get it done today but it was coming tomorrow. Then that day, he wrote saying it would be the next day. Yes the chain went on until he sent and resent his submission several times. I want you to stop these types of multiple submissions. In fact, an author should never send such a submission in the first place. It makes a poor impression on the editor and you have no regard for how that submission comes across to the editor or agent.

Here’s the reality: we receive hundreds of emails in a single day. The back and forth actions—send and withdraw from an author do not help you feel good about the submission in the first place.

Another type of multiple submission that I receive are half-baked ideas from authors. They write asking me to look over their proposal or idea to see if they are on the right track. Maybe these authors have corresponded with me or met me at a writers conference and feel like I’m approachable (something I want and encourage). Yet I do not run a critique service or editing service. I’m actively looking for great manuscripts to publish. I want to get so excited about your material that I promote it to my colleagues and get you a book contract from a New York publishing house. I can’t do this authentically if you have sent your material on multiple occasions.

A third type of multiple submission is what I call the “multiple download.” Rather than send a query, this author put all of his files to submit into PDF, which end up being larger than document files. Then he “zipped” them into three different emails and submitted them 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3. Talk about a time suck to simply download and read them! Guess what type of impression this author made about his submission?

Remember the key saying when it comes to submissions and approaching literary agents or acquisitions editors: you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Yes I underlined one chance in that last sentence.

Many authors presume they will be the exception to the rule (choose whatever rule you want to choose). I’ve learned that most of us will need to carefully follow the different rules before we ever get a chance to be one of the few exceptions.

Instead of assuming your submission will be the exception, I encourage you to polish your proposal with a critique group or a professional editor—before you send it to an agent or editor. You want your submission to have the best possible chance of acceptance. At Morgan James Publishing, we receive over 5,000 submissions a year and only publish about 150 books (less than three percent of the submissions).

I want to encourage you to submit your material. Many authors fail because they do not persist to find the right editor or the right agent or the right publishing house. They get rejected or have self-doubts so they never submit their material.

Opportunity is all around us and as a proactive writer, you have to be on the move to locate the right connection. Just take a slight pause before you fire off that multiple submission to the same editor. It will make a lasting impression—and not the type of impression you want to make on a publishing professional.

________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Irvine, California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Increase Your Sales Numbers by Deatri King-Bey

I write because the characters in my head will drive me crazy if I don’t. As I like to say, I put my psychosis to work. I enjoy writing and love sharing my stories with readers. That’s the artistic side of me. I sell my titles to make money. I know a lot of authors who say they aren’t in it for the money. Granted, that’s not the only reason I’m in the business, but if making money weren’t part of it, I wouldn’t charge for my titles.

There are no quick fixes, and overnight success is luck that most of us don’t have, so take steps to increase your sells. Below are a few tips to help you along your way.

Plan For Success: No groaning. It takes time, but proper planning will save you time and money while increasing your sells. Set measurable goals and strategies to reach them. Work your plan and make adjustments where needed. Don’t know how to set goals? Here’s a little help: Creating S.M.A.R.T Goals that you can apply to creating your plan. Here’s an article I wrote a while back that shows planning in action: Proper Planning Testimony: A Key To Publishing Success.

Invest In A Successful Outcome: If you are not willing to invest in your product, why should your customers? Learn the craft and strive to make each novel better than the previous. You can not edit your own book and expect it to be the best it can be. Pay for professional editing (developmental, copy and proof reading—a different editor for each type of editing). If you can’t create professional quality covers, then hire someone to do it for you. The same goes for the other steps in the production process.

Use Your Prime Realty: How many of you include a list of your titles in your novels? I know numerous authors who do, but they put that list at the back of the book. Many readers do not continue reading to see what’s included after the novel ends. Move that list to the front matter. I experimented with this, and sells of my backlist drop when I place that list at the back of the book.

Same goes with your website. You should have a product page for each of your titles AND a page that list purchase information on all of your titles. I can’t tell you how many authors’ pages I’ve gone to that don’t have product pages or it’s hard to find the product pages for their older titles. Your website is your personal showroom.

Make It Easy For Readers To Buy Your Books: I make a few thousand in sells on Barnes & Noble a year. Nowhere near as much as I make on Amazon, but I’ll take it. One of the reasons I do okay on Barnes & Noble is I make it just as easy for readers to by my Nook titles as I do my Kindle titles. I’m shocked at how many authors only place their Amazon link or say “Available on Amazon” then forget about the other online sellers. I know numerous users of devices other than Kindle who ignore post that only say Amazon or Kindle because they figure the author must be a part of that KDP Select program where they have given Amazon exclusivity.

Work Smarter Not Harder: Direct your marketing/promo for readers in your target audience. I manage and belong to several genre specific, online readers groups. It amazes me how many authors come into the groups and post promos that do not belong to the groups’ genres. Many groups have begun blocking authors for continual promotion and promoting non-genre titles. You do not want to become a pain in the butt to readers.

Instead of joining every group that allows authors of your genre to promote, pick a few and actually participate in them. You’ll get a much higher return on your investment (more sells) than if you just pop in to promote your titles and it will take less time. That includes participating a few weeks before your book comes out, then promoting your book and disappearing. Yes, many readers pay attention to that type of thing.

Stop Spreading Yourself Too Thin: It seems like every few months there is a new type of social media out there you can use to promote. Do you know which is the best social media site to use? The one you utilize to its full extent. Each one has its own flavor. Pick the one that you like best, then focus your energy on building your fan base through that site. Once you are comfortable, if you have time, then expand to a second. Remember, each of the major social media hubs have millions of readers for you. You don’t have to be everywhere. Get the millions from the hub you find works best for you, then expand.

Cross Promote: Work with authors in your genre to cross promote. I don’t know of any reader who says they only read one author’s work, but I know many who say they only read one genre. Stop competing with each other. Readers read. Even if they don’t purchase your book today, if they want it, they will buy it.

Cross promotion is as simple as posting in social media when an author has a New Release. Have guest bloggers on your website. Do signings with other authors. Create online groups and web sites with other authors in your genre.

I’m all for cross promotion, but ensure the people you are promoting are interested in releasing as high of quality work as you do.

That’s It
There is no secret or magic behind increasing your sells. Just keep releasing quality products and building your audience. With each title, your base will grow, and you won’t have to work as hard promoting.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

A Single Letter Makes A Difference by W. Terry Whalin

Do you ever get stuck on a project where it seems to drag on and never get handled?

Yes it happens to me. As an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. The bulk of my day is involved answering emails and spending time on the phone with authors about their book projects. I’m working with many different types of authors at different stages in the process for their books. It’s a lot of fun and interesting work on a wide variety of types of books for different audiences. If you want to know more detail, I encourage you to hear my recent radio interview where I spoke about the details.

In the middle of my acquisitions work, I have my own book projects and on-going effort to tell people about Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Originally I released this book several years ago and published it through my small press, WTW Press.

While I have continued to promote my book and teach on the topic, the actual book needed updating in several areas:

—first, I changed companies and moved from Arizona almost two years ago. The Arizona information in the book was outdated.

—several of the resources in the book needed to be changed. Some websites that I wrote about years ago aren’t functioning any longer. Change is a constant part of the publishing world.

—Morgan James offered to publish the book and get it out to a broader audience and in many different formats including all of the various types of Ebooks and an audio version of the book. Morgan James is selling their books into 98% of the bookstores in North America including the brick and mortar bookstores.

About a year ago, I signed a contract with Morgan James for this revision. It was exciting. My challenge was finding the time to make the necessary corrections. This sort of time crunch is what almost every writer faces. I went through one round of changes with the designer last March. Yes, it was almost a year ago. I printed my book and carried it to many different places around the country—but never got it handled—until the final portion of December.

Why did I find time during the holidays? Morgan James shuts their offices the last two weeks of the year. While I did answer some email during that time, my correspondence dwindled so I could focus on some other things—like my own writing.

I carefully read through each page of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Imagine my horror when I reached page 237 and this section, “Most people outside of the publishing community assume they will make money writing books, but the publishing numbers present a different story. Less than 90 percent of nonfiction books ever earn back their advance.”

OK, bear with me for a minute because the last sentence of that paragraph did not say what I wanted it to say. What the revised version says is “More than 90 percent of nonfiction books never earn back their advance.” Yes that is the reality that only 10% of nonfiction books earn their advance.

This change was just one of a number of important changes that happened in the revision process. Also the pagination for the book changed so the index for the book was completely overhauled in this updated version.

I’m excited about the information in this book and how it is helping writers. I continue to promote the material and speak on it. Also next month (March 21^st and 22^nd) I will be in Spokane, Washington teaching at the Inland Northwest Christian Writers Conference. I hope to see you at one of these events. I’m working on more speaking events later this year and you can always see my speaking schedule at this location.

And if you can’t get to a writers’ conference where we connect in person, then I encourage you to pick up a copy of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and begin to study it and apply it to your writing life.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Ever Changing Publishing World by Deatri King-Bey

The publishing world is ever changing, and you need to change with it or be left behind. With so many moving pieces, it can be difficult to focus. The key is to pick one area at a time to follow.

This is a two-part article. Let’s Get Down To Publishing Business delves into the parts of the business that move, but not so much they are hard to keep track of as much such as taxes, earnings and proper planning. I find this stuff boring, but you have to learn about it, so don’t skip it.

Now back to the not so boring part. Let’s look at some of those moving parts of the publishing industry.

BARNES & NOBLE
In the past year, Barnes & Noble has changed quite a bit. To upload your ebook, instead of going to pubit.com you should now use http://www.NookPress.com. I have always liked the sales reports better on Barnes & Noble. You have a breakdown of what you sell each day and the royalty. So if I run a promo campaign on the 4th, 5th and 6th, I can see how many and what titles I sold on the 4th, 5th, and 6th.

The Nook Press platform for uploading the book isn’t much better than it was before. You can actually edit your manuscript in Nook Press, but I haven’t used that feature. I don’t like the idea of keeping my manuscript there. I’ll do it the old fashioned way. Write it on my computer and upload it.

It used to take around three days for my titles to show for sale after uploading. Lately, I’ve been averaging about a day. The Nook Press system is more touchy with the files. Follow their guidelines or the system will not accept your manuscript. When formatting, please note that using a “Page Break” no longer starts chapters on a new page. You must now use “Section Break.” They have also changed the cover dimensions and file size. Read their guidelines. They are ever changing.

Unfortunately, they don’t have any new promo opportunities, their customer service is still poor and the newsletters they send out to customers with recommended reads aren’t the best at introducing readers to books similar to those they’ve purchased in the past. Hopefully, things will improve.

Many authors have given up on Barnes & Noble, but I’m not one of them. I’ll take my little $200-$600 a month from them for now and be happy.

AMAZON

Amazon has so many changes. Where to begin? Where to begin?

Subgenres: There are additional subgenres that you need to pay attention to. For example Interracial Romance and Science Fiction Romance. If your book actually fits into one of the new subgenres, use the Contact option from the KDP site and ask them to add your title to that subgenre. Remember, Amazon only allows you to link your title to two genres, so you’ll only get to choose one genre when you are updating your product page information.

One of my mentees had her title added to the appropriate subgenre and her sells took off. Since she changed in November, she’s gotten around 65 sells. Previous to that she’d only had 20 and her book had been out over a year. She also has not been promoting her book, so this is all from the change in genre.

Kindle Book Formatting: Amazon now wants you to have a Table Of Contents in your ebooks. They’ll let you upload the file without the table of contents, but eventually, you’ll get a nasty gram saying you need to update your book with a table of contents. They also have a “spell check” of sorts now that calls out errors in your book after it’s been uploaded. Don’t rely on it. Hire good editors and proof readers.

Review Removal: In an attempt to decrease phony reviews, Amazon added a new policy for not allowing reviews or “Sentiments by or on behalf of a person or company with a financial interest in the product or a directly competing product (including reviews by publishers, manufacturers, or third-party merchants selling the product)” –Amazon Policy

Technically, authors could not write reviews for other authors. You also couldn’t have your family and friends writing glowing reviews for you. At first numerous reviews were removed, but Amazon has pretty much backed off this.

Kindle MatchBook: If your eBook is also available in print, through your KDP dashboard, you can link the two, so that when someone purchases the print edition, they can also purchase the eBook version as a discounted price. I’ve done this with my eBooks that are available in print and haven’t seen a measurable increase in print sales. Here’s more information on Kindle MatchBook.

Be careful if the print version of your book was ever released by a different publisher. Ensure Amazon knows which book to link the MatchBook promotion to. Many authors have gotten their rights back, but their old publishers are still selling print copies of their titles.

KDP Reports: The reporting is greatly improved. You no longer have to wait until the 15th of the month to see the previous month’s sells. I like the at a glance look at how many of each title I sold for the month. Granted, you will not have the royalty report for the previous month until the 15th, but if you really wanted to know, you can always look at your previous six weeks report. You can also toggle between locations. For example how well are your titles selling in the UK or Germany? Take your time and go through the reports section. You’ll find lots of goodies.

KDP Payday: There is no longer a minimum royalty payout. So if you sell one copy of your .99 title in February, you’ll receive your royalty check for that .99 sell at the end of April.

Release Date: Numerous authors found out that the release date on their product page had been updated to a current date without their knowledge. What happened? A few months ago, Amazon changed the programming in the background. Before this change, if you didn’t select a publishing date when you uploaded your title, it used the date that the file was uploaded and that was the end. You could go in and change your product information and have no issues. After the change, if you have not selected a publication date, the system can automatically update your publication date.

Yep. You can end up having a publishing date YEARS after review dates if this happens. Have no fear. Just go into the KDP dashboard then to the titled product page information and update the release date to the proper date. On the KDP dashboard, it will list the original release date.

GOODREADS
Amazon purchased Goodreads. Many were worried that would be the end of Goodreads, but the site is still thriving. One of the biggest changes on Goodreads is now authors can “own” their profile. It’s a way of keeping information up to date on your titles. Read more about the Goodreads Author Program

One thing I really like about Goodreads is the quotes. Readers can post quotes from books they’ve read. I’ve found this is a great conversation starter. Soooo, be sure to encourage your readers to showcase their favorite quotes from your titles. Here are a few from one of my titles.

Goodreads quotes: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/25520642-the-only-option

FACEBOOK
I know you don’t want to hear this, but your opt-in mailing list is your most powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal (outside of releasing outstanding books). Building a high quality opt-in list is time consuming, but worth it. What does this have to do with Facebook? Well, those of you who follow my teachings have heard me say several times that your social media friends and likes are not YOURS. They belong to the social media site.

I think Facebook, Twitter and such are great for promotion, but don’t only rely on them. Keep growing your opt-in mailing list. So let’s look at what has happened over at Facebook since this time last year.

Actually, we need to go back a little over a year when Facebook began warning users not to promote on their personal pages. They encouraged users to create fan pages, which were for business and had just as far of a reach of a personal page AND the added bonus of your being allowed more than 5,000 followers.

So people started following the rules and creating Fan pages. In came a Facebook business model change. They decided to start charging you for you to post to more than 10% of your list of your fan pages. In came another change on your personal pages. Your statuses are no longer posted to all of your “friends” newsfeeds. They are only posted to “friends” who you have interacted with recently.

So now authors who only relied on Facebook are having difficulty reaching their followers unless they are willing to pay. How much does it cost? Here’s an article that breaks it down nicely: Facebook I Want My Friends Back

Expensive, huh? Soooo, get to working on your opt-in mailing list. Again, social media is great. Use it, but don’t put all your eggs into a basket you don’t even own. You do not control what business model those social media sites will follow. You do control your mailing list though.

Before I change the subject form Facebook, I came across an interesting article about why you should Like Your Own Facebook Post.

TWITTER

Twitter now allows you to post images! I love that feature, but still don’t get Twitter. Every year I try some new marketing technique. Last year was the year of Twitter for me. I actively participated. I set up my Hootsuite tool to repost blog post and promos. I retweeted and was retweeted. I gained followers and followed…. All that good stuff. I usually send people from social media over to my website so I can see where my promo traffic is coming from and guess what? I barely saw anything from Twitter. For me, it wasn’t worth my time. I still go on Twitter from time to time, but it’s just not my thing. If it works for you, GO FOR IT!

YOUR TURN
Okay, there are more changes. What have you noticed has changed over the last year? Enlighten us.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Let’s Get Down To Publishing Business by Deatri King-Bey

Writing is a business whether you self-publish or go the traditional route. As an author, I HATE the business side of things. To me it is BORING! I just want to write my books. No matter how much I hate and want to ignore the business side, I’ve had to become an expert at my business.

First get a good high-level view of the business and where you fit in it. Here is an excellent article to get you started.
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/self-publishing-debate-part1/

Now look at your publishing business. What is your plan for the next year to grow your audience and increase earnings? What is your target growth for the year? What are your five and ten year plans?

Don’t worry. I won’t make you write it all out (at least not today). These are questions you should know the answer to and you should have to. Are you feeling overwhelmed? It’s okay. Take it one step at a time. Look at one aspect of your business. There is a LOT of information to absorb in this post. Take your time. Reread and needed and I’m always around for questions and to help guide you in the right direction.

Let’s look at taxes. Don’t wait until April to think about taxes. There are things you can do throughout the year to optimize your publishing businesses deductions. Here’s an article from 2013. Use it as a base for knowledge, then do your research: Tax and the More Tax by Michele Tooles.

What were your sales last year? Do you know your numbers? Looking at Amazon ratings is not a good gauge of how well your titles are actually selling. You need real numbers. How many units did you sell? How much did you spend on production and marketing? Here’s an article on gathering your numbers. Know Your Numbers by Deatri King-Bey

Where do you see your publishing business in the next year? Five years? Ten years? Let’s start small. If you don’t have your plan for the year, make one. Your year doesn’t have to start on Jan. 1. Make your plan for the next twelve months (year), then get busy. Your one year plan should be concrete. What are your goals and the steps you will take to make them. Be sure to incorporate cost and time needed for each step.

Once you’ve gotten comfortable with the one year plan concept, write your mid-term goals. Where do you expect your business to be in five years or if five seems to far away, in three years? Your mid-term goals do not have to be as concrete and your year to year plans should be action items to help you reach those goals.

Next are your long-term plans. Ten years down the line or if that sounds too far away, seven years. These plans are not concrete. It’s like your dream. It’s always good to know where you want to be headed, so you can take the steps to go in that direction. Sounds simple, but you’d be shocked at how many people say they want this that or the other, then never get there because they don’t route the path to get there.

Your plans are not written in stone. You WILL update them. As the publishing climate changes along with your wants, you’ll need to make updates.

Here’s an article to help with your planning: Proper Planning Testimony: A Key To Publishing Success by Deatri King-Bey

I don’t want to give you information overload, so will stop for now. Take your time and start mastering the business side.

To save you, I broke this article into two pieces. Click here for The Ever Changing Publishing World

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

10 Tips for Formatting Your eBook by Barbara Joe Williams

In the last three years, there has definitely been a surge in eBook sales thanks to the rise of the Amazon Kindle, NOOK, Sony Reader, Kobo, and iPads. Amazon sold at least one million Kindles a week during one Christmas season. Most readers have reported that they are reading more on their electronic devices than they have ever read before.

The average price to download a self-published eBook ranges from $0.99 to $9.99. However, you’re only paying for basic costs such as editing and book cover design. You don’t have to worry about the expensive cost of printing books. As a publisher, you’re definitely making more profit with eBooks than paperback ones. The royalty rate for Kindle and NOOK books ranges from 35% to 70% of the eBook price.

According to Amazon, the majority of the bestselling eBooks are priced at $3.99 or less. As a debut author, you don’t want to overprice your book. If I’ve never heard of you, I’m not likely to purchase your eBook for $9.99. Yes, it’s less than your $15 paperback, but it’s still overpriced.

You don’t want to give probable readers any reason not to buy your book, and price is definitely a determining factor when considering the works of a new author. If you already have your eBook on the market and sales are slow, you should consider lowering the price of your book. That’s a bitter pill for some authors to swallow, but a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.

Be advised, there is more to formatting an eBook than simply converting a Word file to a PDF (or vice versa). Each bookseller has different requirements. You will have to check with the website of each one to make sure that you’re meeting all of their specifics.

Here are ten general things you need to be aware of when formatting your eBook:
(1) Use a simple font such as Times New Roman
(2) Use normal 1” margin settings
(3) Do not use any headers or footers
(4) Try to avoid large tables
(5) Do not justify your text
(6) Use pre-set tabs verses the tab key
(7) Insert page breaks and section breaks (Nook) from the Page Layout menu
(8) Check the front cover dimensions for each site
(9) Photographs should be JPEG files
(10) Preview your book file after it’s uploaded

Note:
If you’re still not comfortable after reading the specific formatting guidelines, you should consider hiring someone to format your eBook. Remember, you don’t have to do everything yourself to be an independent publisher. This is just another expense to be included in your publishing budget. Check out this website for more information on converting to eBooks:
www.ebook.online-convert.com

Here are the three major websites for selling your eBooks:
(1) Kindle Direct Publishing Program
www.kdp.amazon.com,
(2) Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Press
www.nookpress.com,
(3) Smashwords
www.smashwords.com,
Smashwords can format for Kindle, NOOK, Sony reader, Kobo, and iBooks (Apple). Be careful using this site because books are easily pirated. They don’t offer the DRM (digital rights management) protection.

One thing I love about eBooks is that I can check my sales report in real time. In other words, as soon as a book is downloaded, it will be reflected within an hour on Amazon. With BN, you can keep track of the monthly totals as well as the current and previous day’s sales. It tells what titles were purchased on what day. However, Smashwords sales are not posted for at least a month.

Publishers used to print paper books first, and then print eBooks about two or three months later. Now, they’re publishing eBooks first and using that money to cover the cost of printing paper books later, if there’s a demand. With POD, you only have to print what you need or just enough to supply your demand. So, it makes sense to publish the eBooks first.

Barbara Joe Williams

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Take Action To Grow in Your Writing Life by W. Terry Whalin

I love the energy and fresh start that comes with a new year. It’s strange in some ways but turning the page to January 1 gives us a chance to start into new areas and set new plans into motion.

What plans do you have for your writing life? Are you writing down those goals then returning to them and looking at them on a regular basis? As you look at those goals, you can readjust the goals to make them more realistic and make sure you are moving forward to accomplish them. Successful people take these types of actions to move ahead and complete various tasks. Planning keeps you focused and not wandering around “trying to write” or “hoping to complete ____ this year.” See the vague nature of those plans? Make your plans specific and focused and realistic.

One area that I’m devoting some time and energy to in the coming months is libraries. I love the library and use it often to get books and other resources. It is a key part of my regular interaction with books. I do not know much about how libraries purchase books. Yes, I’ve read some material on this topic and heard some lectures. I’ve been learning a great deal from this course from Elaine Wilkes. At $27, this course is a bargain for every author or would-be author. The course is packed with audio interviews and written information to equip you to be successful as you approach libraries. I’ve been working through it and amazed at the valuable information. If you have any interest in reaching libraries, I highly recommend Elaine’s course.

If you purchase this course, you have to take action to apply the information to your books and writing life. Buying the course is the first step, then listening to audio interviews and following the seasoned advice will be critical.

I recently wrote about How to Get Reviews by the Truckload on Amazon by Penny C. Sansevieri. This Ebook is loaded with terrific advice. One part of the Ebook is the specifics about Good Reads. In 2011, I registered for a Good Reads profile. I know Amazon.com purchased Good Reads but until I studied this info graphic, I did not realize they have 25 million members. Now that is a huge number and basically I’ve been silent and ignoring Good Reads.

Now I have plenty of excuses why I’ve not been on Good Reads. Instead of wallowing in those excuses and guilt, I decided to change and take action. I began to use my Good Reads account a few days ago. I’ve written hundreds of book reviews on Amazon. I pasted over 80 reviews into Good Reads. Yes, I went from zero reviews to 80 in two days.

Also I was not registered as an author on Good Reads. It allows you to promote events, interact with readers and many other benefits—but you have to take action and connect your books to your author profile. Yes, it takes a bit of action and consistent effort. In the long run, I believe it will be well worth it.

Do I have everything figured out in these two areas of libraries and Good Reads? No but I’m on my way to learning and applying this information to my writing life.

What active steps are you taking to grow your writing life?

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

The Twitterverse Made Easy by Chicki Brown

Deatri asked me to share about maximizing Twitter. I’ve heard a lot of authors admit that they don’t use Twitter or, even if they have ventured into the Twitterverse, they don’t tweet on a regular basis. Big mistake, in my opinion.

I know. You’re already overwhelmed with social networking and you don’t even want to think about adding another chore to your to-do list. But if you need to eliminate or avoid something, it shouldn’t be Twitter. Why do I say this? Because the literary community on Twitter is different from every other social network. The authors and readers are supportive and committed. In the year or so that I’ve been active on Twitter, I’ve discovered several things that make the difference when marketing your books.

The secret of Twitter is reciprocation. If you follow other authors, bloggers, reviewers and readers and RT (retweet) for them, they will do the same for you. This means that your tweets will go to all of their followers.

The next most important thing about Twitter is the use of hashtags, those words preceded by a # sign. When you send a tweet without hashtags, it only goes to your followers. When you add tags, they serve to attach your tweet to a specific following – people with an interest in a certain category like #romance, #mystery, #newrelease, etc., and these tags are followed by multiple thousands of people. Here’s my personal list of popular tags for authors and books. I’ve separated them by category. It’s best to mix and match the tags that apply to your book and not use more than three. Remember, the tags will take up some of your 140 characters unless you’re using a Twitter management tool like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, which I’ll explain in a minute.

TWEETS OF INTEREST TO AUTHORS/WRITERS (interviews/craft/) –

#authorRT #Tweets4Authors @Writerlytweets @WritersRT @WritersRetweets

TO PROMOTE A BOOK –

#BYNR @promoteyourboo1 @free_book_promo @BookTweetTeam @digitalbookend

TO PROMOTE AN INDIE BOOK –

@indtwt @IHB6 @IndBk @VoiceOfIndie @IndieBookTweet @IndieAuthorNews @indiebookpromos @IndieWriterSupp

FOR BOOK PROMOTION (GENERAL) –

@BooksandAuthor @A_Book_Shelf @Writers_Cafe @Readers_Realm @AvidReadersCafe @GoodBooksBlog1 #lovetoread #bookworm #bookspotlight #WritersKaboodle

TO PROMOTE A ROMANCE –

@romanticpicks @ROMANCEONLY @ReadingRomance @RomanceinColor @storiesoromance @allromance @JUSTConRom @RmTwts

TO PROMOTE A NOOK BOOK –

@bnbuzz @nookbn @nookboards

TO PROMOTE A KINDLE BOOK –

@Kindle_India @kindle_ch @GoodKindles @kindle_promo @KindlePromotion @IndieKindle @MadKindlePromos @AmazonBookPromo

TO TWEET ABOUT SOMETHING OF INTEREST TO INDIE AUTHORS (not book promo) –

@IndieAuthorLand @IndAuthorSucess @IndieExchange @IndieAuthorAnon @IndieWriteNet @indiepubnews @IndiesUnite

TO PROMOTE A CHRISTIAN/INSPIRATIONAL BOOK –

@CEBTAuthors @Christian_Reads

The other secrets of Twitter are the way you format your tweets and the frequency at which you post a tweet and the time of day. Formatting is simple. You want to get your point across using the least amount of characters possible. Always put your book title in all CAPS so it doesn’t get lost among the other characters. Abbreviate whenever possible, but never abbreviate words in the book’s title. You want people to be able to look up the book online without a problem. It’s not necessary to shorten the buy link to your book, because Tweetdeck or Hootsuite will automatically do it for you. Here’s an example of three tweets I might post in a day for my new release:

Love is the greatest healer. A WOMAN’S WORTH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUH6M3S @JUSTConRom @RmTwts @digitalbookend #BYNR @indtwt @IHB6

Marc is helping Gianne to heal her body. Why won’t she let him heal her soul? A WOMAN’S WORTH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUH6M3S @IndBk @MadKindlePromos

Why would Gianne Marvray move to Vegas 2 B with a man she barely knows? A WOMAN’S WORTH http://bit.ly/1dTlshd @bnbuzz @nookbn @nookboards

As far as frequency and time, it’s most effective to tweet three times a day. The optimum times are: mornings between 8 and 9 AM (after people get to work and get settled in front of their computers. LOL!) Midday between 12 Noon and 2 PM and evening between 5 and 8 PM).

That might sound like a lot, but there are ways you can type all of your tweets at once and schedule them to run hours, days, weeks or even months in advance. This is done by using one of the Twitter management tools like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. They are both free to download, and they will make tweeting a whole lot easier. I never use Twitter.com anymore. It doesn’t do everything you need it to do.

My last suggestion to maximize your Twitter reach, if you have a blog, is to join Triberr.com and sign up to be part of one or more tribes. Triberr was created solely as a way to increase your reach on social networks. The main tribe I belong to has a reach of 151,000 (the combined Twitter following of all the tribemates.) Every time you post a new entry, the link goes directly to Triberr and all of your tribemates will retweet it for you. Retweeting on Triberr requires no typing. You merely click. It takes twenty minutes tops.

I hope this wasn’t too confusing. I encourage you to take use of Twitter to promote your books. It’s fantastic!

Chicki Brown

Dee here: I hope you SHARE THIS ARTICLE with all of your author friends. I know I’m not the only one with Twitter issues and Chicki has made it so easy for us. Don’t be stingy, SHARE SHARE SHARE.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

How Are You Asking? by W. Terry Whalin

A great deal of publishing involves the process of asking. For example, if you want to write a magazine article, then you learn how to write a one-page pitch letter called a query and send it to an editor. Essentially you are asking that editor to publish your article.

It’s the same with books. You have a book proposal or a book manuscript and you ask the editor or agent to consider publishing your material. It’s critical for each process that you ask in the right way to receive a positive response. I’ve invested a great deal in this teaching process creating courses and free teleseminars and articles.As I consider this concept of asking, it is a biblical idea. James 4:2 says in the NIV, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” One of the keys is asking with the right strategy and in the right way.

Many times I speak with writers who are struggling financially. There has always been a “starving artist” type of mentality with writers. In recent years, some new tools are available (without cost) to help you raise the funds that you need to accomplish your dreams. Some people call it “crowd funding” and other times it is called “joyful giving.” It’s a way your connections (friends and family) can financially support your publishing vision.

One of the most successful programs online is calledKickstarter. I read a new book from Aimee Cebulski calledKICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES. Whenever I want to learn a new skill, I’ve found it is important to learn from people who have detailed experience in this area. Aimee Cebulski is one of these people. She not only writes about Kickstarter but has used it successfully to fund her book, THE FINDING 40 PROJECT.

In the introduction for KICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES, Cebulski writes “Kickstarter has quickly become a mainstream way to get a creative project made.” Most people have no idea how to raise funds for their creative project, Kickstarter gives anyone the ability to raise funds—but it does take strategic planning and thinking to pull off successfully. This book will help you understand the details and creative possibilities.

The Kickstarter model is working. Page 6 says, “As of March 2013, individuals using Kickstarter have:

• Launched 89,400 projects
• Funded 37,300 projects – a success rate of 43%
• Raised $434 million”

“Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing approach to fundraising. This means, if you don’t hit your fundraising goal within a certain timeframe (about 30 to 60 days), you get nothing. As a result, you need to be very strategic in your planning, your goal-setting, and backer solicitation, all of which I cover in depth in this book.” (Page 7)

The illustrations, step-by-step instructions and depth of this book make it a “must-have” for anyone who is going to use Kickstarter effectively. I recommend you get this book, study it carefully then launch your own creative endeavor. Aimee Cebulski has shown readers the path for their own success and opportunity with KICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES.

Open your mind to new ideas and approaches. For some of you, Kickstarter will be a path you should explore to get the funds you need to publish your book or to market your book. The opportunity is certainly there for you. Will you seize it and ask others?

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Just Say NO to Sucky Covers by Deatri King-Bey

One day when I was surfing Facebook, I saw an image of what had to be the worst cover ever. The caption beneath it said: Just because you own Photoshop doesn’t make you a cover designer. Harsh, but I find myself thinking the same thing from time to time.

Your cover is a visual representation of the content of your title that draws readers and makes them want to learn more about your book. Think of it as a visual book blurb. Now let’s get back to that harsh statement about Photoshop, or any other image editing software. Not everyone is artistic. And that’s okay. Not everyone has the technical acumen to utilize image editing software properly. And that’s okay. If you don’t have the vision and the ability, then put money away and hire a cover designer.

Whether you create your own cover or hire someone, you should understand the whys behind cover design.

What main genre is your title? Does the concept you want fit the genre? I hired a designer for a suspense cover. The concepts she showed me looked like horror, so I passed.

What is the tone of your title? Your cover sets reader expectations of what’s inside. For example, if you write a novel that has a serious tone, you wouldn’t want to use a humorous or playful cover. If you wrote a book that is a sweet romance (no sex scenes shown), you wouldn’t want to place a highly erotic cover.

Has some version of your cover been done a thousand times before? Go to Amazon and do a search on your genre that traditional publishers released. Learn the look and feel for your genre, but do your twist on it.

Do you know what the most important element of your cover is? The name you write under. It’s the one item that will remain the same. Initially, your name on the cover doesn’t have to be as large, because people are going to be drawn to the artwork more than you (after all, they don’t know how fabulous you are yet). You’ll draw them in with your fabulous cover, then they’ll read and love your work so much that they’ll spread the word. As your popularity grows, ensure the size of your name grows. Eventually, people will be purchasing your title just because it has your name on it because they know what is inside will be just as good as the last book they purchased by you.

Artwork on the cover can be tricky. Many authors/publishing houses use stock photos. There is absolutely nothing wrong with stock images. I use them myself. But down side with them is unless you purchase exclusivity of the photo, others can also purchase and use it.

There are other options.

You can use non-populated covers (covers without people on them). This makes the pool of stock images used larger.
Contact a photographer and pay for a photo shoot. Don’t forget to check out your local colleges and continuing education classes for photographers and possible models. Don’t forget to get releases and if you want exclusive rights, be sure to have that in your contract with the photographer.
Pay for exclusivity from stock photo companies.

Below are a few of the covers I’ve designed. Please note. I am not a cover designer and am not looking to design covers for anyone. I’m showing these as examples of covers of various genres and tones. Some are populated. Others not. Some have multiple elements that had to be manipulated. Others a singe photo with fancy font.

What information do you give a cover designer?

Genre and back cover blurb
A description of the characters (if using populated cover)
Cover concept (if you have one)
Key themes of the book
Colors you do not want
Colors you’d like if they look right

It’s important to remember that a cover artist is an artist. It’s best to give them general concepts then allow them to be creative. Hopefully, they’ll make something better than you imagined.

Before you hire a cover artist, be sure to document:

Timeline of the project
How many different cover samples they will allow you to choose from and that a font change does not constitute a different sample
How many updates they will allow on the design you choose
Cost and payment options
Exclusivity
The size(s) of the final cover image(s) they’ll be giving you
If they will be giving you the editable file and the cost (if they charge).

If you want to design your own covers, be sure to learn how to use the software and study covers. When I design a cover, I usually have three concepts that I show readers of the genre. I let them give feedback, then I go back to the drawing board.

Now do me a favor and say NO to sucky covers.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Notes from Baltimore Comic Con 2013 by Cerece Rennie Murphy

The two second version: Definitely worth a try.

The Set-Up – The conference was 2 days this year, which was perfect. Next year, I hear they are planning to go to 3.)

– The fee was $200 for a table (not a booth) in the Artist Alley section. This comes with a 6’ table covered in a white table cloth with 2 plastic folding chairs. I got 2 badges with my booth with the option to buy an additional 2 badges for $10 each.

– The distinction between the table and the booth is significant because most of my presentation materials are designed for a booth (banners, poster boards with easels) and you can’t attach anything to the walls behind you. I improvised, but it was really tight and not ideal. This is a good space for one of those retractable banner stands. I got a good recommendation for a place that makes them if anyone is interested.

– I had one person with me at my table for both days.

The Results – I sold over 100 books in 2 days. That’s more than I sold in 4 days at Wizard Con in Philly.

– Being able to “package” more than one book made a big difference. On Saturday, which was the busiest day, I pitched the books as “$10 each” and sold out of almost 2 full cases of the first book in addition to selling more than half a case of the 2^nd book. On Sunday, which was significantly less crowded, my sister took over and pitched the books as 2 for $20. The difference in perceived value was dramatic. Not only did I sell more books on Sunday, despite the drop in traffic, I sold more sets. This difference may be obvious to veterans of this game, but I was shocked to see the impact of this small change in marketing.

– The new Order of the Seers poster went over REALLY well. So did the reusable bags. Both were free with purchase. I gave folks a choice between the 2 and many people chose the poster despite the utility of the bag. (Thanks Stanley Weaver!)

– $10 a book continues to be a good price point for me.

– Got over 50 new names for my mailing list. Yay permission marketing!

– I got to pitch several RIB author books while I was chatting folks up and signing copies. I had many of the RIB books I’ve read on hand and whenever I got the inevitable “You’re like the only black/ black female/female author of sci-fi I have ever heard of besides Octavia Butler,” I whipped out my book collection and started talking. It was quick and it was fun to talk about you guys! The lesson here is that physical copies of the book (or some representation of the book e.g. postcards, flyers, etc.) really help in introducing other authors. It also really helped that I had read the books so that I could talk about them as a reader, not just someone who has “heard of these people”. I also need to make a list of authors that I’ve read so that I can just hand it out. People were so excited to hear about you guys that I often just ended up ripping off a piece of paper from my sign-in book and writing your names/books down. There was significant interest in authors of color in the areas of horror, fantasy, general sci-fi and mystery.

– I was, once again, the only black female selling a novel she had written in any genre. Ella, please correct me if I am wrong here, but I didn’t see anyone.

Bottom-line: I will be there next year. The low table cost made it very easy to make a profit. I also live very close to Baltimore, so that helped tremendously. Next up NY Comic Con 2013 (October 10^th – 13^th).

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble