SELF-PUBLISHING AND NIWA
by P.J. Cowan
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| NIWA BOOTH AT ORYCON |
Talk to almost anyone about self-publishing today and you’ll hear how
wonderful it is. It’s easy, inexpensive, you have control over your content and
cover and a much bigger cut of the profits. In the old days there was only one way
to go, the vanity press, which meant spending thousands of dollars on hundreds
of books that sadly, often ended up stored in a back corner of your garage.
Digital technology changed all that. Writers now have a range of options,
including e-book only companies like Amazon’s Kindle program or Smashwords.com.
Both provide a simple user interface where you can upload your book and cover.
There is no up front cost and they only receive a small share of the profits
from your sales.
Print on demand, or POD publishers such as LightningSource or CreateSpace
offer a similar service for your print edition. You upload your files and your
books are printed only when you or a buyer request them, and again, the company
takes only a small percentage of your profit.
That all sounds pretty good—so what’s the problem? Well there are a few. There
has been a stigma around self-publishing for years. So even if you’ve worked
hard to learn the rules of composition, or you’ve hired someone to edit your
work and bring it to the level of traditional publishing, how do your prospective
readers know?
Then, there’s selling your book. Many writers are used to working alone, and
they like it; selling is socializing and may not be comfortable for everyone. In
addition, self-publishing means you are doing it alone, without access to a
professional publisher’s experience, or to the network of resources and
contacts they’ve developed.
That’s where NIWA comes in.
I was introduced to NIWA, the
Northwest Independent Writers Association,
when a friend dragged me to the third meeting of the newly formed group. In the
back room of an Irish pub in
Vancouver,
Washington I met a group of
people who were dedicated to independent publishing. Writers who wanted to find
others to share ideas, tips and resources with—so they did.
NIWA’s mission is two-fold, to support
Pacific
Northwest writers in improving their writing and marketing skills
and to promote professionalism in independent publishing. To support writers NIWA
hosts a monthly meeting, members participate in conferences and develop events
such as signings and readings, date-an-authors and book launches. They also provide
a forum where members can meet to organize critique groups or just talk about
writing.
In order to promote professionalism they’ve developed the
NIWA Seal of Quality, or
NSQ. Books are submitted, read and judged on 20 criteria, including
spelling and grammar. If awarded the NSQ the book is highlighted at events and
included in the NIWA catalog, sent to independent bookstores across the
Northwest.
In my role as marketing director I find that there are not enough hours in
the day to implement the great ideas that come from our members, which now number
over 100.
Taking on the roles of writer, editor, cover designer, formatting expert,
publisher and marketer the independent publisher faces huge challenges, the
biggest of which is doing it all alone. As a member of NIWA, you don’t have to!
Please visit my website
http://www.pambainbridgecowan.com
to learn about my writing, and my All Things Indie Tab to find resources for
independent publishers, or visit
http://www.niwawriters.com
to learn more about NIWA.
Ashlyn Mathews on Self-Publishing
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| ASHLYN MATHEWS |
Why would an author self-publish? There are a
multitude of reasons depending on who you ask, but eventually the decision
comes down to personal choice. My debut paranormal romance, Shadow Watcher, was released by a
traditional publisher. A second book, My
Fallen (with the same publisher) is slated for a release date of January 14th.
I feel very lucky to get my foot in the door with a
digital and print-on-demand romance imprint of a big name publisher. Yet, I had
this intense desire to have more control over the creative processes, to design
covers that will brand my series, and to be able to determine my own release
dates to coincide with the release dates of my traditionally published books.
For me, the most cost effective way to venture into
self-publishing was to publish a novella. Small town settings are very popular
right now. My Willowbrook novellas take place in a quaint fictional town in
Oregon and focus on three separate couples with hang ups that aren’t easily
solved with a conversation. There are misunderstandings, hurt feelings and
issues from their past to deal with before these couples can have their
happily-ever-after.
With the rights belonging to me, I have the option
to combine the three planned novellas into an anthology, or I can expand each
story into a full length novel and re-publish. The choices are endless. And
because I get to choose and design my covers, all three covers will have the
same look and “feel.”
For those looking at self-publishing their work,
don’t make hasty decisions. Be prepared to work hard at self-promotion,
networking and learning all you can about being an Indie author. I hired a
cover designer who designs covers for the big publishing houses. I paid a
senior editor of a reputable digital publisher to steer me on course and insert
all those darn commas that I had missed. And I hired an experienced team to
format and upload my self-publishing debut novel, If Only (available NOW).
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| IF ONLY 12/02/12 |
The rest (self-motivation to meet my own deadlines)
is for me to own. I want my novellas to be the best it can be because my name
is on that cover. Whether traditionally published or self-published,
professionally edited or not, authors are ultimately responsible for the
quality of their work. Writers are creative and talented people. They’re also
supportive and love to share what works and what can be tossed out the window.
Basically, if you want to jump into self-publishing,
there are lots of resources out there. Find them, embrace them and plow
forward. The journey and experience is well worth it!
Bio: Ashlyn Mathews is fascinated with strong men
and women who walk a fine line between good and bad, solitude and loneliness,
and love and duty. She lives in the inspiring gloom of the Pacific Northwest
with her husband, four boys, and a Golden Retriever that enjoys bossing her
around.
For more about Ashlyn Mathews, you can stalk her at:
Twitter: @ashlynmathews
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| TONYA MACALINO |
Changing
Your Definition of Success by Tonya Macalino
Two
years ago, I found myself at a turning point. The path I had chosen for my
journey, the path to publication, looked grim. Ebooks and the economy had bookstores
closing one after the other, publishing houses crumbling. Money had become more
of an issue than ever and publishers could no longer afford to groom future
bestsellers. You either came to the game with established celebrity, or, if you
were lucky enough to get picked up without it, established that celebrity
straight out of the gate—with little to no financial assistance.
And
if you didn’t? Game over.
There
were exceptions to the rule, of course, but as I had never been one for blackjack,
roulette, or the slots, that did little to make the road look brighter. And
then I started to see another trend: an uptick in self-publishing. Absolutely
not. That was for the hacks, for the people who refused to believe the world
when they were told their writing was drivel! But then I peeked through my
fingers and saw little glow-lights flicker: the rise of the indie bestsellers,
mid-listers from the traditional publishing world jumping ship, the development
of user-friendly self-pub platforms by all the major booksellers. Eventually,
the entrepreneur in me pulled those hands away from my author’s eyes.
Was
it possible? Could I legitimately take control of my own writing career?
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| Image: ©
Xavier Mazellier |
Where
the entrepreneur in me vibrated with excitement to take advantage of a new
business model while it was still in its infancy, the author in me dug in its
heels, appalled. I had worked nearly every day of my life to achieve a singular
definition of success: the validation of traditional publishing. I had skipped
going out with friends to polish query letters. I had turned away from a much
more lucrative career path of electrical engineering to refine my writing craft
at an expensive liberal arts school…and lived for years on ramen and mac-and-cheese
to pay it off. And all of this sacrifice for one goal: to achieve that
validation.
And
now I was expected to toss all of that aside? Not an easy sell.
Ultimately,
I had to change my definition of what success would mean for me. I had to let
go of my craving for the approval of the ancient publishing house gatekeeper.
As an image that had burned archetypal in my mind for so long, I slowly came to
realize that it had blinded me to the real goal of writing: moving readers.
Readers. And now that the publishing technology and distribution architecture
had developed this new path for the journey, I truly no longer needed to pay
homage to the gatekeeper. A concept both freeing and frightening:
I
was completely responsible for the quality of my own book. And directly
answerable to my readers.
So
have I achieved success? I would like to think so. (Although my pocket book
occasionally complains to the contrary!) My readers, though, are passionate
about the stories I’ve immersed them in and that’s what truly matters. And if
sometimes I feel a lacking or a guilt when the spectre of the gatekeeper drifts
through my mind?
I
turn to him and I thank him for dropping by.
I
thank him for reminding me of a childhood rich in quiet corners, stormy nights,
and in dreams of faraway places. I thank him for a youth spent in long days at
the keyboard, brave evenings before my critique group, and for the relentless
focus in honing my craft.
I
thank him for making me an author.
Bio: Tonya Macalino lives in Hillsboro, Oregon
with her husband, children’s author Raymond Macalino, and their two wildly
imaginative kids. She is an avid collector of folklore and folk history, far
too many to fit comfortably within the pages of any given book! When not
working on her latest urban fantasy thriller, she enjoys coaching other writers
through the How to Build a Book workshops at Jacobsen’s Books & More. Tonya
also acts as the Director of Events for NIWA, the Northwest Independent Writers
Association.
You can find Tonya many places on the internet, including:
I published my third SF “Monk’s Maze” in 2010 as my
first e-book. I’ve followed it with five others across three genres. That was
right after PubIt and CreateSpace entered the fray. Now I’m direct to Kobo as
well and through Smashwords to others. In that time I’ve learned a lot, so,
I’ve redone all of the covers once and the marketing twice. I’m trying to be
agile and responsive to my own learning.
Did I need to take the traditional 1-1/2 to 2 years
to get to market as I did with my traditional sales? No, I took 12 hours
(including the print layout and full front-and-back cover design). Does it have
the huge reach of traditional press? Not yet. I’m leveraging my self-pub sales
off the traditional sales, but they’re both going to grow. It doesn’t happen
overnight, some of my self-pubbed books still don’t sell but occasionally.
