Advice… Maybe Not

By Robin Weaver

In my head, this month’s theme was Advice on Relationships. The actual theme is Tips on Relationships. Which is a really good thing, since nobody really wants advice. Nor does anyone actually  need advice (even from Nora Roberts or Michael Connelly).  Advice is preachy. Advice is controlling.

What we need is factual, relevant information so we can make our own decisions.

See what I just did? I’ve backed myself into an impossible corner. How can I possibly provide information that is appropriate for a blog audience with varied needs?  Any advice?

Kidding aside, I can’t provide info that will be all things to all people, or even some people. The best I can do is give you tips* for how I’ve coped during a decade of writing, hoping, and writing some more. I'll describe what has worked—and not worked—and hope you find one iota of inspiration. After all, having one person get something meaningful from the written word is every writer’s Mecca.

Here’s what I’ve done to keep my sanity (sort of) while writing and attempting to publish the novel that will get noticed.

 1.       I found myself a good critique group.  For non-authors, critique groups are still essential; everyone needs a sounding board for life events, career decisions, child rearing info, good restaurants (yes, I’m hungry), etc., etc. For non-author events, I call my critique group Friends and Family. These folks give me a lot of feedback; even when I don’t ask for it. : )

a.       Don’t be offended by critique feedback. I expect feedback, not praise.

b.       If I am offended, I attempt to figure out why.

                                                               i.      Is it my ego? If the answer is “yes,” I get over myself.

                                                             ii.      Does the person doing the critique simply have a difference of opinion? If the answer is “yes,” I acknowledge the feedback and move on. Why acknowledge, you ask?  Because of the old adage: if enough people call you a goose, you should look for feathers.  If other people have the same criticism of my work (or life event), there may be more to the critique than a simple difference of opinion.  Upon hearing a criticism more than once, I go back to step i—is it ego? If not, I look for feathers. I do an honest, often raw, evaluation and a change usually results in a better paragraph/scene/chapter.

                                                           iii.      Am I having a bad day? If so, I put the critique aside and plan to review it the following day.

                                                           iv.      Is the criticism just mean?

1.       First time? Ignore it. It’s possible the person providing the critique was having a bad day.

2.       Recurring? Maybe reconsider the composition of your critique group.

2.       I kept my day job.  For me, this was a no-brainer since I actually like my day job.  But even if I weren’t so lucky, a non-writing career was important for numerous reasons:

a.       Writing can be stressful; I didn’t really need the additional stress of wondering how I’d pay for my groceries—especially now. Have you see the price of milk?

b.       The office environment provides an abundance of story ideas.

c.       I can always quit when I make it big. For you non-authors, this mean winning-the-lottery.  Actually, I think it’s the same for writers. 😊

3.       I counteracted boredom/frustration. For me, this means writing in multiple genres. In life and literature, doing something new or different always stimulates the old gray matter (by gray matter, I mean my brain, not the rest of me).

4.       I remembered my mantra: If life was fair, we’d all be stupid. As a writer, it’s all too easy to read a so-so best seller, or in some cases a “less-than-so-so” book and grow frustrated that we aren’t receiving the same success. It’s easy to lament, “Why them? Why aren’t people reading my book?”

When I find myself on the Woe-Is-Me Road, I remind myself writing is only one facet of my life and success is never measured by the NY Times (truly). Having a best seller also requires a lot more than good writing, and sometimes a lot of that “lot more” is simple luck. Hard work, marketing, and audience awareness are also essential, and I honestly haven’t done nearly enough of that. Still, doing the best I can is all I can do.

5.       Most important, I brought back the fun.

a.       It’s soooooooooooooo easy to fall into the deadlines/I must do this/I must do that trap.  Often, these deadlines and traps are self-imposed. I.E., “If I don’t get my novel done by D-Day, the editor/agent/Oprah won’t notice me.”  Thinking like this is stressful—possibly harmful.

Self-imposed hardships are also a problem in the non-author life. For instance: “If I don’t have as many Christmas lights as my neighbor, I’ll look like a loser.”

I know longer permit myself to think these thoughts. Odds are, missing that deadline is not the reason we’re not being noticed, and if you add another string of lights to your two-story house, your neighbor will simply add two more.  If she’s smart, she’ll also run an extension and plug into your outlet.  Actually, pretend I didn’t say that last part. 😊  But remember, not hanging more lights means you’ll have more time to make mulled wine.  If you share, guess who will be the most popular woman in the neighborhood?

b.       Another pitfall my past-self has fallen-into is writing for the market. Vampires were hot, so I pulled out all the fangs, even though a DNA researcher keep demanding I write her story.  Anyway, when my vamp story was finished—yep, you guessed it—editors had put the stake into bloodsuckers because the market was blooded—er, flooded.

Now, I write what I want to write.  Don’t get me wrong, if a publishing house offered me big bucks (ok, even slightly-below-average bucks), I’d pen the novel in type O. Until then, my work-reward system requires something more substantial. As for me, my reward is having fun while I write.  Note: Salted caramel and mulled wine also work.

Recently, I combined two of the above, and IMHO, derived some of my best writing.  My critique partners and I created a compilation of short stories.  The anthology is called Three Perspectives.  For each of our 12 stores, we give you the plot from the perspective of the victim, the villain, and the investigator. We had a blast, and in the process, re-energized our Woe-Is-Us selves.

 To summarize, do something that makes you happy.  Your writing—and your life—will be better. Apologies!! That sounded like advice!  I meant, When I do something that makes me happy…

*Kudos to Judith and Sarah for actually defining the theme as "Tips" on relationships--not Advice. :)

*Being old doesn’t mean feeble, and hiring a gutter cleaner is a waste of money, but sometimes vanity can be criminal.
*A perfectly-imperfect socialite only wants to be adored. Which is a bit difficult after she’s found sprawled on a toilet. Dead.
*An aspiring writer wants to write a bestseller, but her critique partners have other ideas. Has one of them plotted the perfect murder? Hers.
*A retired schoolteacher conceals her lifelong secret. Until someone discovers she has insured her life for $5 million. There’s only one thing to do. Kill her.
* Don’t go into the barn. The one you love the most might kick the life from you.

These are just a few of the 12 compelling whodunnit mysteries inside Three Perspectives. Each tale includes the point-of-view from the victim, the villain, and the investigator, and will keep you guessing to the very end. And possibly awake—long after your bedtime.

To Market! To Market!

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

https://www.facebook.com/MarciaKingGamble

https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

Maybe you’re a new author venturing into this crazy world of publishing, or maybe you’re established, and the pitiful advances you’ve been receiving, have you throwing your hands in the air, and wailing. Perhaps, you’re thinking of breaking into this crazy writing world and wondering how you can get some exposure. No one knows who you are. You have no name.  How can you sell books?

Well, I’m here to tell you, marketing yourself can be free, or you can do so on a minuscule budget. Even a newbie can create a buzz if you’re willing to do a little work.

Let’s say you’re thinking of writing that book, or you’ve written one and need to get the word out, but you’re clueless about the steps you need to take. You’ve put all your attention and energy into writing that book, and if you’re an Indie you may even have spent some money to publish it. You need readers to buy that book, so you’ll need to promote, and I don’t want to hear the excuse you’re not good with technology, because that's what nieces and nephews, or that failing, neighbors are for. Just think, you may not even have to pay them minimum wage. That young, age group grew up using an iPad or laptop, and they’re fearless.   

Now that we’re ready to go, you’ll need to find fans, and the best place to search for them is on good old Facebook.  So, you’ll need to create that Facebook page.  You’ll want to share with your readers and fans a bit about you. You’ll want to post your best picture or upload and emoji, as some authors do. Don't be shy about reaching out. Connect with  groups. “Friend” authors, Make friends with book lovers, get chatting on sites, but be sure to “friend” those who read in the genre you wrote, or your hard work might be pointless .

Now, you’re probably wondering why even go through the trouble to reach out to these people. Established authors have followers, and they’re doing the same thing you’re doing. They’re looking to connect any way they can. Readers groups are always looking for new authors. These groups often have dates on which you can promote. And all that is free.  You can market yourself by participating in online discussions, and that’s before the book’s even released. You can post excerpts of your work and your attractive cover. You can sign up to be a guest blogger, and you can build your mailing list.  there's Instagram and Twitter. This is  a great way to encourage everyone you know and meet to join that ever expanding mailing list. It doesn’t hurt to give away a book or two.

Why would you need a mailing list?  You’d want to send out a newsletter. That newsletter need only be one page long. Still, it’s a place to promote. Here you can tell readers about your book. You can post that attractive book cover. You can run contests. Give something away to build reader excitement.  People like free. And you can do all of that before your new book is even published. 

  

Another marketing opportunity that is entirely free is Pinterest. Creating storyboards are fun. In pictures, you can tell the reader all about your book. You can describe the town the book is set in, you can post character look-a-likes, you can show the reader the town’s buildings and introduce them to new hobbies.  Pinterest is a great place to build reader buzz.

Say you’ve allotted a small budget for advertising, and you have to be careful as to where it would be better spent. Try Facebook Ads. I once set my spend at $12 a week and saw a substantial uptick in reader purchases. Another suggestion would be to invest a little money in building the readership of your newsletter. There are companies out there who specialize in getting you names and email addresses. This helps get readers on your list.

Make librarians your best friends. Libraries are often looking for speakers and workshop presenters, and libraries carry books. The more visible you are in the cyber or real world, the more likely you are to get your books bought. Build a following, and always remain personable. If going the traditional publishing route, visit the brick and mortar stores and make the sales associates your best friend. Sales people  are asked for recommendations. They hand sell books.   

Last, and not least, do not underestimate the power of author friends; those you have made in person or online. Authors are great resources and support each other. We know how tough  it is out there. You  just might pilfer a  fan or two, and get yourself a mentor while you're at it.

These are opportunities that cost nothing.  Get out there and make yourself known, and those books will fly off the shelves, cyber or otherwise! And don't forget to Tweet!

 https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

About Marcia King-Gamble

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

Be sure to join her mailing list:

https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

Short Thinking

by M. L. Buchman

I make a third of my living from short stories.

I'd like to pause right there and wind back the clock. Even a decade ago, this was so exceedingly rare as to be laughable. I had a friend who was a short story machine. He wrote three a week and he kept them in the mail until they sold--all of them. Some of those took three years and 20-30 submissions to sell. (Imagine the logistics of that: he produced ~150 stories per year and never let a rejection sit on his desk for more than a week (he had a weekly "mail everything" day), always launching it out to a new market. He got up to half a living with short fiction in an era when everyone agree that even that was impossible.

The present day, where we can sell directly to readers through Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, etc. has revolutionized that world.

However, let me clarify further, I make a third of my living with romance short stories. This actually is unheard of. I don't even have to wind back the clock. Present tense, there is one magazine for romance short stories: Heart's Kiss. 

So, imagine my surprise when my stories took off. Four years ago last winter, I'd sold a few to Fiction River Anthology Magazine and finally put one up for free on my website for a week just as a promo. And it started to sell. Sell! While it was free. When I took it off free, it really started to sell.

Total fluke, right?

So four years ago this month (I'm not the fastest learner), I tried another. Same thing. And another, and...

For four years now I have posted a free short story to my website on the 14th of every month, left it there for one week, and then watched it sell in wonder.

Now, there are some challenges here. If you don't read short stories, it will be much harder to write them. (Which was part of my excuse for years: "I only read novels so I only write novels.") However, when I finally thought to look at my bookshelf (which has been weeded through too many moves), I saw that many of the books I hung onto were short story collections. As a kid I inhaled short science fiction: Clarke, Asimov, Campbell, Hugo winners, Best of the Year, themed anthologies... I had spent the first decade or so of my reading life immersed in short fiction.

So, as a romance writer, I turned to find...an echoing desert. There were occasional anthologies of novellas, but not true short stories (5-12,000 words). Encouraged by my early success, I set out on a quest to learn to write short romance fiction.

A caveat: I'm a purist. Many people I've talked to about romantic short fiction say: "Getting a glimmer that they have a future together, that's enough." Or, "If I can get the meet cute to squeeze into a single story, that's a romance."

Nope! For me, a romance is only a romance when you get the full HEA. Probably the hopeful MGM musical romantic in me. It took a lot of practice to figure out how to get an HEA in a short story that also included the meet cute, but now it is one of my favorite forms.

Here's where it gets interesting! I started my short fiction in my military romance suspense series. I slowly learned how to move it over to my rapidly growing contemporary romance body of work. OR did I come to have a growing contemporary romance readership because I augmented it with short fiction? I strongly suspect the latter.

Now, finally, I'll take just the quickest peek ahead, which oddly enough is also a long look back. I love writing romantic suspense and contemporary romance and I don't ever see not writing them. But there's this love of science fiction that comes from all those years of wallowing in short stories. And I would love to build a science fiction readership to go along with my suspense and contemporary readership.

Therefore, I've started putting my foot back into SF as well. My fans have seen little blips of this in my few Future Night Stalkers stories. Now I'm going to do it in a regular way. Not free on my site, but instead collected with some of my favorite voices writing today in a quarterly anthology. Come on over, try it out. It's not all romance by any stretch (though I'll be shifting more and more SF rom in there as I learn how to write them), but it is some amazing reading!

JUST LAUNCHED: Boundary Shock Quarterly. #1, #2, #3

While you're at it, don't miss another of my romance short stories. Just subscribe to my newsletter to always get a reminder (and a free book too): http://free-book.mlbuchman.com/

M.L. Buchman started the first of over 50 novels and even more short stories while flying from South Korea to ride across the Australian Outback. All part of a solo around-the-world bicycle trip (a mid-life crisis on wheels) that ultimately launched his writing career.

Booklist has selected his military and firefighter series(es) as 3-time “Top 10 Romance of the Year.” NPR and Barnes & Noble have named other titles “Top 5 Romance of the Year.” In 2016 he was a finalist for RWA's RITA award.

He has flown and jumped out of airplanes, can single-hand a fifty-foot sailboat, and has designed and built two houses. In between writing, he also quilts. M.L. is constantly amazed at what can be done with a degree in geophysics. He also writes: contemporary romance, thrillers, and SF. More info at: www.mlbuchman.com.

The Long and Winding Road Part 2 - Promotion

Hi everyone! I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My newest book, Courage, is middle grade fiction that will be coming out next summer from Harper Collins.

If you are running a business, you know that promotion is a must have part of your overall marketing plan. And being an author is like running a business.

The problem is, I am a die hard introvert.  Among other things, that makes blowing my own horn borderline impossible.

But that is a requirement for marketing and promotion. That's one of the messages I received during the Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day (PWID) conference in October.

I learned about things authors should begin doing in the months before their book is published:

• Aggressively build a social media platform (being sure to focus on “you” and not your book) 
• Connect with other authors (social media, online communities, new author publicity groups, associations in common, etc.)
• Get involved with author communities (i.e., volunteer to be a judge in writers contests, to become a mentor, etc.)
• Brainstorm marketing ideas like holiday or seasonal tie-ins and different methods of outreach. Click HERE to take a look at a prior RTG post on the outreach efforts of one group of authors a few years ago.
• Sign up for writers conferences or other types of professional conferences occurring after your publication date at which you can sell or promote your book.
• Reach out to book clubs or other groups who might be interested in your book and/or in hearing you speak.
• Coordinate with your agent or editor about submitting your book to eligible awards.

As with any other product, name recognition is critical to consumers. Experts explained that for the most part, readers buy books from authors they feel they know or have a connection to.  Or an author/book that someone they know or care about recommends. That's why name brands are important and why companies have learned to Trademark valuable product names and jingles. When a customer recognizes you by name not just by product type, that name has monetary value.

Having readers know an author by name is practically a holy grail. Nora Roberts, JK Rowling, James Patterson, Jodi Piccolt - these are all name brands to their readers who feel like they know these authors personally. They actively seek out new books bearing these author's names. Finding one is like being invited over to a friend's home for dinner.

The library market can be a big boost to any author. Public and school libraries are big purchasers of both physical and eBooks. But you have to go after that market. Do not assume that having a "library edition" on Amazon will entice any library to want your book, especially if you are self-published. Two things drive library purchases - award wins and patron checkouts.

Get your fans to go to their local libraries and request your books. Many libraries listen to patron requests. After all, librarians want books that will circulate, and a request means the book will go out at least once. Use your news letters, blogs and other venues to recruit volunteers to help spread the word. Sometimes we authors call them "street teams", people who love our work and will spread the word about our new books. Make them feel a part of your family with special news items just for members, treats and give-aways. In return, their enthusiasm can get their friends and relatives to become your fans.

Side note, you should also get your fans to check your books out of libraries. The more an author’s books circulate, the more likely they are to believe future books will do the same, and therefore will more likely buy your next book.

That brought the next lesson - Authors need to have marketing plans that include actively promote themselves. We have to communicate our product and brand...ourselves to potential readers. This is different from the "buy my book" advertising too many authors sometimes flood social media with. That kind of thing does not promote a feeling of friendship, it turns people off.

So, have a platform, something you are passionate about and are willing to spend the time and effort to share. Then find like-minded groups and do so.  Today, social media, twitter, facebook, instagram, etc., have groups and societies for almost any area. Get active. Post original content once or twice a week to show your expertise and opinions.  Also share the content of others. Comment on them early and often, but don't get sucked into controversies that could make people remember you for the wrong thing. Friend people, respond to comments on your posts.

Build a community, so when you do begin posting advertising and information about your new release, people who see you social media will know who you are. Because they know and care about you, you increase the odds they will want to get your book.  (It's kind of like not telling a lot of backstory until after readers have learned to care about your characters.)

I had a private consultation that included personalized advice from Hannah Ehrlich, Director of Marketing and Publicity at Lee & Low Books. You may have noticed I have changed my opening picture for my posts. Those were her first words, to have the new cover out front and center everywhere. Her next piece of advice was that I needed to do more with my personal blog -  http://www.babinns.com/barbarabinnsblog/. The consultant told me I had information that others would want to know about, my knowledge of diversity and multiculturalism in the publishing and educational arena. Show people what I know. Transfer what I speak about to short blog posts. Twitter is actually more fun for me, I like twitter where I have to condense. I am not a fan of the longer length. Nevertheless, I have begun doing more blogging recently, and will try to pick it up. My consultant reminded me that twitter does take time to build an audience. Hence that cycle is another of the list of things that needs to begin long before the publication date.

As an author of young adult and middle grade books, I also market to schools, and gleaned some extra tips about that. The first is that the library and school market are different and need different approaches. Librarians are primarily interested in what is new. Schools want to see what fits into curricular needs. They can be interested in a book years after the publication date if it appears useful to them and their students. That means it is feasible to continue marketing backlists to schools, as long as it fits what they are looking for.

And that means this introvert has to start planning for even more school visits and conference presentations for next fall.  Please pray for me.

The Future of Publishing

by Maggie Lynch

I’m going to modify my predictions for next year to focus exclusively on Indie publishing—also known as Self-Publishing. The reason is that the publishing playing field is no longer weighted toward traditional publishers. In fact, it’s not even the level playing field it was in 2013 or 2014. I believe the market is now clearly tilted toward indie authors. The stigma of self-publishing is no longer looming large. Indie authors have increased their professionalism and their business savvy. Indie published books are regularly on all the bestseller’s lists, often holding 50% or more of the slots. Authors who have left traditional publishing to turn Indie did so to make more money and, the majority are very happy with their results.

The Top Trends I’m Seeing

I know most people do Top 10, but I’m going to stick to the top five. These five are enough to scare me into action in 2017. The overriding technological change that impacts the entire digital landscape is the role of smart phone use in society. According to PEW Research on Internet use, in 2015 over 68% of Americans had a smart phone, and the rest of the world is quickly moving to catch up. It is predicted that by 2020 global smartphone subscriptions will double. By 2020, 70% of people worldwide will use smartphones, and 90 percent will be covered by mobile broadband networks. As you evaluate my top five trends, keep this in mind and consider how it will change the way you create and sell your stories. 

1. Mobile Reading is Now the Norm – Many pundits have been predicting mobile reading for the future. I know I’ve been talking about the swell of tablet use for at least four years—predicting it will become the reading device of the future. Well, the future is now and I’ve been surprised. According to The Wall Street Journal more people are reading books on their phones than on tablets, and almost no one is reading on desktop computers. Though many people own an e-reader (Kindle, Nook, Kobo), device sales have slowed substantially in favor of phones. In May of 2016 PEW research reported that not only were people reading more on their phones, but they engaged with reading longer as the word count went up!  News articles that were longer than 5K words had greater engagement than the 250-500 word articles.

Why is phone reading such a boon? I would have not guessed people would be content to read long articles or books on a 5” x 4” screen and sometimes smaller. The answer is “convenience.” A phone is something people have with them all the time—waiting in line, on a commute, at their desk, at home in a pocket while they do chores, in a restaurant, and when visiting with friends. The phone is now a multi-purpose device: a computer, a search mechanism and research tool, a dictation device, a way to engage socially, a news distributor, a book manager, a video streamer, a calendar manager, and at the bottom of the list it is also a phone. Do people actually talk on the phone anymore? On a worldwide level, currently 52% of readers around the world read on their smart phones. And another 12% are reading on tablets.  That means the market is moving away from single use devices, like a specific e-reader toward app-based reading. A smart phone or tablet can have multiple apps on it—not tying a reader to one source for their content.

What does that mean to authors? On the design side, it means think about phone displays when designing covers. Yes covers can be enlarged on the phone, but it is still limited to that 3” x 4” screen of most smart phones. Don’t count on a 20” desktop screen or even a tablet larger than 8” to reach the majority of readers. Also, think about simplification of your text to make it easy to scroll quickly, without jumps, and keep the story intact. Instead of extra fancy fonts, dividers, drop caps and images taking up space in your text, consider something that is neat and readable. Certainly a nice font is important, and distinction between italics and normal. Even a bolded heading is fine. But not much more is desired or necessary.

Author and book marketing in a mobile world means focusing more on email, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media as the point of engagement with readers. Websites, blogs, any sales venues MUST be responsive. That means they must automatically resize based on the device. They must be easy to navigate on a phone. Calls-to-action need to be clear and easy to access with immediate reward. Advanced marketers are looking to strategies that link to easy downloads of content at transit locations: airports, hotels, trains, tourist and business destinations.

2. Audiobooks are the fastest growth area for the book publishing industry. According to the Audiobook Publishers Association (APA). The market grew by 27% in 2014, 38% in 2015, and though data for 2016 won’t be available until three to four months into 2017, first and second quarter reports put growth in the 37% range. Smartphones again play a critical role in audiobook consumption. Buyers report listening to audiobooks while watching children’s sports practices, handling rote tasks at work or at home, while commuting on buses and trains, and while exercising.

The key for author success in Audiobooks is choosing the right narrator. Good narrators have a certain celebrity following among listeners. Those who do a good job narrating bestselling titles become recognized—just as a great actor is recognized when a movie hits big. Listeners seek out specific narrators without regard to the book’s author.  Savvy authors invest in audiobooks at the front end as a valuable reimagining of their book—one that requires an outstanding performance of the author’s work. One cannot invest in it as an afterthought or something to be done on the cheap. It won’t compete well in the marketplace.

I had plans to narrate my own books, as I do have voice over experience. But seeing how the market has matured, I will now have to save to pay a professional actor (narrator) who has a following. Not to do so is to sink money that won’t see a return on investment for years, if ever.

NOTE: Though this is the fastest growth industry, it is still only 14% of all book sales. If you are evaluating where to spend money on a limited budget, audiobooks may not yet be the place to invest if you haven’t built a good fanbase in print and/or e-books first.

3. Print Books Are Still Important.  According to a May 2016 PEW Research survey, 65% of Americans still read print books. NOTE: The majority of print books sold are non-fiction. This percentage does vary widely by age, education, and genre with non-college educated individuals preferring to read electronically.  But overall, 65% is still significant.

Furthermore, approximately 30% of people read both e-books and print books.

This tells me that authors who are digital-only are missing an important part of the market. Yes, it continues to be difficult for any author—traditional or indie—to get a print book stocked in bookstores or in their local library. However, it pays to keep trying. Also, though independent bookstores are thriving—they are thriving in cities and large swaths of countryside do not have bookstores with large collections. So, print books are purchased online. Whenever possible, indie authors need to have a POD version of their book for those readers who prefer that option.

4. Controlling Reader Information is Critical. Given the mobile trend overall, and the fact that online purchases exceed local bookstore purchases, it is more critical than ever that authors find a way to know who their readers are and who is buying or not buying in order to target promotions and advertising more effectively. Third party vendors do not share purchaser information with you, even when they distribute your book. Keeping buyer information to themselves is the biggest asset a vendor has for further sales and creating loyalty.

If you engage with your readers on Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest or Snapchat, do you know who your readers are? Can you contact them on your own, without paying an intermediary through advertising? If one of these places go down (remember My Space?) or is no longer popular, do you still have a way to get to your readers and migrate them to a new popular platform? Technology change has taught us just that digital players can disappear quickly or be bought by someone else. If only third party vendors know who your readers are, you are truly an economic prisoner to their software system and what they decide your role can be, as well as how much they are willing to pay you for your intellectual property.

Many authors don’t think about controlling reader information until it’s too late. All of these wonderful mobile sites do great things to find readers and market to them and it’s easy to become complacent and let them do all that work. However, if you have 1/3rd of your sales with a vendor who goes out of business or decides to take a significantly larger cut, your income is drastically reduced. This means you MUST find a way to get that reader contact information yourself—names and emails. Just like vendors, you need to build your largest asset—your customers.  The larger your list of true fans, the better sales will result and the more opportunities you create for discovery of your books by new readers.

5. Discoverability and Marketing are Inseparable. In the early days of indie publishing, 2009-2011, the number of authors participating and the number of titles produced was significantly smaller. The chance for a good author to develop a following based on a well-written book and some buzz was decent—not easy but possible.  In 2015, according to Bowker, over 700,000 books were self-published. And that number is probably low because many e-books that are self-published do not use an ISBN, which is how Bowker tracks books. Many market researchers predict it is well over 1 million self-published books that are put out each year. The backlist of indie titles is over 13 million already.

This means that even well-written books, with a dozen good reviews, have a hard time finding an audience without an investment of marketing time and dollars. And, even if you invest those dollars and time, the upward discoverability and sales trends fall off fairly quickly the minute you stop investing.

An author can no longer wait for discovery, or depend on the craft of writing alone to get ahead. She must also drive readers to her books through a large mailing list, through advertising, and through consistent brand awareness. That does cost money. If you invest in one thing in 2017, invest in a reputable class that teaches you what works and what doesn’t in advertising and building a mailing list of true fans. Then take the time to implement all the steps to make it work. It is not a learn one day and implement it the next type of process. Then budget those dollars every month for implementation. Even bestselling authors continuously invest in marketing in order to maintain their bestselling status.

The good news is indie authors have a good potential to make more money than ever. Many traditional authors turned indie in order to make more money on their creative properties and with lots of hard work have finally been able to do this as a career. But it doesn’t come easy. It is still hard work—from the creation of a good book to getting discovered, and building a fan base that will return again and again to the buy the next book you write and tell all their friends.

Good Luck in 2017!

Maggie Lynch is the author of 20+ published books, as well as numerous short stories and non-fiction articles. Her fiction tells stories of men and women making heroic choices one messy moment at a time. In addition to writing, Maggie enjoys teaching about the business of writing and marketing. She teaches online for All Writer’s Workshops and will be moving classes to video in 2017. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences and for master classes at writer’s groups around the country.

Maggie and her musician husband have settled in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she writes and teaches full time. Her adult fiction spans romance, suspense and SF titles under the name Maggie Jaimeson. She writes urban fantasy and YA under th name Maggie Faire. Her non-fiction titles are found under Maggie McVay Lynch. You can learn about her books and her classes at her website; http://maggielynch.com

New Year, New Hopes and Learning New Things

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. This month's topics is all about goals, new directions and plans, which fits in very well with my intentions for 2015.

2014 went from awful to awesome for me, both in terms of my publishing and private life. At the start of the year I had one publisher close leaving two unpublished books homeless, had my first publisher bought out by another and my debut novel there removed from retail sites, and had to take the decision not to submit further to my remaining publisher due to the introduction of an exclusivity clause. I was left with one novel and three shorts available, and two of them were freebies. I felt like giving up the idea of being a published author and quitting the whole business altogether.

Well, I can look back on that collection of disasters with a smile now. In the last six months I've had five new releases. Five! I currently have ten titles for sale, eleven listed on Goodreads. But even with that, my sales are...disappointing to say the least. I've bemoaned that fact, and wrung my hands over how I suck at marketing. Since my reviews are generally good and I've a collection of nice, shiny awards - my YA scifi novel Gethyon became a finalist in the SF category of the EPIC ebook Awards just last month - it doesn't seem to be down to having terrible books. I knew early on that I wrote in a niche genre, whether it's straight SF or my scifi romance titles. So I decided the time has come to stop saying I suck at marketing and actually do something about it.

Marketing is not something I enjoy doing in general, but it needs to be done. January is the only month I don't have a book release (I have print releases February and March, another new title in April, and I'm looking at re-releasing my debut novel in May), so I set it aside to research marketing. I have a few books recommended to me, plus several blog posts on the topic bookmarked to read. My main publisher took a class on Amazon sales and filed some documents in our author group for us to use. I'm also doing a workshop with FFnP (the Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal chapter of RWA) on book launches - fortuitous as I really want to re-launch my debut novel Keir in style (I'm currently halfway through edits and just finalized the cover art, squee!), and it's the first of a planned five book series . And after seeing much debate for and against KU, I decided to give it a shot with my three short stories, since what few sales of them I get are all on Amazon anyway. Really, I can't be any worse off by giving it a try, and it may well be a boost to my longer titles all with publishers. I have a course on Moons starting in February - okay, that's not marketing but it satisfies the scientific research part of my persona. >.<

So the New Year is the start of me learning and trying new things, probably more so than any year so far. My only problem with it is right now I'm not finding the time to write. I still have enough material to release another three or four self published titles of my own over the next year, but nothing to submit to my publisher for the foreseeable future. My hope is that, after May, I'll be able to devote myself to simply writing after almost non-stop editing, touring and cover reveals since July 2014.

And if you're interested in seeing what's coming next from me, you can sign up to my newsletter here. I have four upcoming releases already, and the prettiest cover reveal you've ever seen scheduled here for the 28th January (pssst, newsletter subscribers get to see it a day before everyone else). ;)

2014 ended up being one of my most awesome years in publishing, and I have high expectations for 2015. May the New Year bring you all you hope for!

Using a Free Read to Sell Books by SF Romance Author Cathryn Cade

Thanks, Sara and Judith for inviting me back to RTG. It’s been so great to watch this blog grow, and to explore the wealth of information here.

Let’s talk about marketing. Pffffft! Yes, the subject most writers would like to kick into the nearest closet and slam the door. I don’t just dislike marketing, I hate it! I want to write stories for my readers, chat with them on Facebook, answer the wonderful, inspiring messages they send me. I don’t wanna market.

So I’m all about promoting my books the easy way. My favorite part of writing? Writing. So going with my strengths, I use a novella (40K) as a major marketing tool. It’s written, edited, covered and packaged. 

Done. 

I don’t have to sit in a chair behind a table of books and bling, hoping readers will take pity on me and stop. I don’t even have to go to a con. I love cons, but they’re expensive, and I am essentially an introvert. I love meeting people, but it also exhausts me emotionally. So after a day or two, I’m ready to dive into that closet, even with marketing lurking in the shadows.

Instead, I let my ex-space pirate and alpha hero Stone Masterson do the heavy lifting for me. 

Heart of Stone is a science fiction romance. It can also be called ‘space opera’, a term I love as it means a rollicking good adventure. The story is set in the world of both my Orion and LodeStar series, so it serves as an introduction not only to my work, but to both series.

I’ve heard authors rally the cry ‘Don’t give away your work! It devalues all of our work.’ Sorry, I totally disagree. When my local grocer lowers the price of sweet, juicy oranges to get people into his store, he loses money on the oranges, but he makes money on everything else they buy. And who walks out with only oranges? Not me and probably not you. The oranges are a ‘loss leader’.

And I’ve never heard one grocer complain publicly about devaluing oranges.  They just put up their own loss leaders!

Amazon is by far and away my biggest sales venue. Heart’s Amazon categories are

·         ‘Free > Romance > Science Fiction’

·         ‘Free > Science Fiction > Space Opera’

Amazon’s Free chart lists are, as I’m sure you know, a very popular place for readers to cruise for new books and authors. I have a number of reviews that say ‘I don’t really read sfr, but I enjoyed this story’. I also have reviews that say ‘Love this story. I’ve found a new author.’ They’re willing to try my story because it was free.

Romance, luckily for us, is a genre with prolific and adventurous readers. They snap up free samples of authors’ work at a great rate. Heart has been out since January 2013, and downloads haven’t slowed. With a fabulous, sexy cover by Christy Carlyle at Gilded Heart Designs, Heart remains in the top 100 on Amazon sfr lists, usually in the top 40. That is great visibility for my sfr.

Now, not all who download will read. And not all who read will buy. But enough do come back for more of the author’s work, and pay for it. I have never once regretted publishing Heart of Stone as a perma free read on all sales sites. Want more proof? This is my Amazon sales chart for a portion of May 2014.

AMAZON SALES CHART

The red line represents sales of all 3 of my self-published books on Amazon, day by day. The green line represents free books given away. Notice how the general flow of sales follow the flow of give-aways. This month, I have given away X number of copies of Heart. I have sold more than double that number of books.

And these are just my self-published books. Because of Heart and the success of my new self-pub sfr series, my sfr backlist at Samhain continues to sell despite being published 2008-11. I’m a mid-list author with no pretensions to the top echelons, but this month I met a financial goal of mine, and I expect to reach another by year’s end.

Hopefully my backlist sales show that publishing a free novella can work for a traditional or small press author too. In fact, publishers usually love it when authors take on some of the heavy lifting! If contract terms preclude this, it can’t hurt to lay out a proposal, right?

Heart is always available, always working for me. That’s what I call a great sales partner. The rest of marketing can stay in the closet with the dust bunnies.

Best,

Cathryn Cade

Best-selling author of Sci Fi romance

RT 4.5 Stars and Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK
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New Year - New Adult

B. A. Binns here, back with the Genreistas again, with a little fable I hope you'll enjoy.

Once upon a time there were two kinds of fiction books, children and adults. Marketers loved this, because the primary audience for both were the same – adults. Children were stuck with the books purchased for them by parents and grandparents.   

One day, an entrepreneur noticed how much disposable income young teens had, and began marketing directly to kids who hated the idea of looking for books in the same shelves as Peter Rabbit or The Bobbsey Twins. The Young Adult category was born. (That whole seeking independence from parents thing ) Now, older adolescents and teens have books, both edgy and sweet, that appeal to directly to them. Many adults also read YA, usually after some book like Harry Potter or Hunger Games takes the teen world by storm and the winds whip all the way to adulthood. 

Technically, Young Adult remains part of the Children’s category, but voracious young readers in the 12-16 age bracket have made it a class by itself. (Yes, I know, kids as young as 10 and old as 18 will read YA, but the core market, the kids who buy and tell all their friends, remains in that middle.)

The End.

Not really.

There is a gap. There are few books about life after high school and before the thirties, when young adults are turning into newly minted adults. New Adults books belong on the Adult shelves, but chronicle the story arcs of protagonists in their late teens or early twenties. They tell stories that belong in college, or during the first years in the workplace, the period some call the Quarterlife Crisis. 

These books often have trouble finding readers. Many teens are not yet that interested in life after high school. Readers are split, with many twenty-somethings so busy with college and/or getting started in the workplace that one of the last things they want to do with their leisure time is pick up a book. I've heard a number of reader comments about a New Adult category, such as:

• I can't imagine anyone wanting to read books about 20 somethings learning how not to be mooches and leeching off family and society or wondering what to do next while they work to get out of debt. I wouldn't even consider reading such depressing topics for entertainment.
• I'm 21 and fresh out of college, and I'm stuck living at home and working in retail. In some ways I'm grown up and in other ways I might as well be 16 all over again. I can definitely see a market for books dealing with characters in this situation.

Is there a market for New Adult books – probably. How authors/publishers can reach that market is the great unknown.  

Last year I discussed the New Adult category with authors writing for that audience. Heather Burch, author of a new paranormal series about beings called Halflings, Clover Autry with her books in the Annointed series, and Ophelia Julien author of Saving Jake. Here are their thoughts:

Heather

Protagonists need to be old enough so they aren’t bound by normal teen restraints, but young enough that things like first love are still monumental. (As monumental as saving the world).

Ophelia

 My plots usually have something to do with accepting who you are despite what everyone else tells you that you need to be, and finding ones way back.

Clover

 My protagonists had to be old enough to go off on their own without parental guidance (tracking demons). They have also passed the coming-of-age situation and have more confidence. They are good at their job and know it, while at the same time they feel the weight of responsibility for others. Younger YA is more inner reflective of who am I. New Adult is more where do I fit in society, can I make a difference in the world?

What do you think?

How do you feel about New Adult books? Is there really a need for these novels? Would you be interested in characters meeting the challenges of this time of life? Comment below with your thoughts. If you have a favorite New Adult book, tell the world. Besides the works of these authors, some of my favorites can be found in a New Adult post.

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