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Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts
Discounted holiday price - only $2.99! Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors
Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors offers valuable insights and tips for new and experienced self-published authors.
So what are you waiting for? Get inspired and download your copy today.
Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #13 – Michael J Sullivan
Another fascinating interview is in store for you today and this time we have best-selling fantasy author, Michael J Sullivan in the hot-seat. A very interesting and generous writer who has taken the time to answer my questions about self-publishing and achieving success in today's tough publishing market-place. As usual, please make sure to check out Michael's links and books at the bottom of the interview and also take advantage of the subscription offer. His Amazon biography describes him as thus (abridged):
After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend's
house, Michael J. Sullivan inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It
was a dark and stormy night. He was just eight years old and mimicking
the greatest (or only) writer he knew at the time...Snoopy. That spark
ignited a flame and the desire to fill blank pages would become a
life-long obsession. As an adult, Michael spent more than ten years
developing his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest
Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote thirteen
novels but found no traction in publishing. He did the only sane thing
he could think of (since insanity is repeating the same act but
expecting a different result), he quit and vowed never to write
creatively again.
Michael stayed away from writing for a decade and returned to the keyboard in his forties...but with one condition: he wouldn't seek publication. Instead, he wrote a series of books that had been building in his head over his hiatus. His first reading love was fantasy, and his hope was to help foster a love of reading in his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who struggled due to severe dyslexia. After reading the third book of this series, his wife insisted the novels needed to "get out there." When Michael refused to jump back onto the query-go-round, she took over the publication tasks and has run "the business side" of his writing ever since.
Michael is one of the few authors who has successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big five. Some key accomplishments of his career include:
* Named to io9's Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors
* Sold more than half a million English copies
* Been translated into twelve foreign languages
* Spent more than a year on Amazon's Bestselling Fantasy Author's list
* His Death of Dulgath Kickstarter is the third-highest funded fiction project of all time.
* Had his books named to more than 100 "best of" or "most anticipated" lists including those compiled by Library Journal, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads.com, and Audible.com
Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages with nine released novels, six awaiting publication, and a new series in the developmental stages.
Michael stayed away from writing for a decade and returned to the keyboard in his forties...but with one condition: he wouldn't seek publication. Instead, he wrote a series of books that had been building in his head over his hiatus. His first reading love was fantasy, and his hope was to help foster a love of reading in his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who struggled due to severe dyslexia. After reading the third book of this series, his wife insisted the novels needed to "get out there." When Michael refused to jump back onto the query-go-round, she took over the publication tasks and has run "the business side" of his writing ever since.
Michael is one of the few authors who has successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big five. Some key accomplishments of his career include:
* Named to io9's Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors
* Sold more than half a million English copies
* Been translated into twelve foreign languages
* Spent more than a year on Amazon's Bestselling Fantasy Author's list
* His Death of Dulgath Kickstarter is the third-highest funded fiction project of all time.
* Had his books named to more than 100 "best of" or "most anticipated" lists including those compiled by Library Journal, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads.com, and Audible.com
Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages with nine released novels, six awaiting publication, and a new series in the developmental stages.
Here he is, folks. The inimitable, Michael J Sullivan:
Do
you think that your life experience has gone someway towards making you a
successful author in your chosen genre?
Yes,
in many ways all that has occurred during my life has been a contributing
factor to my success. It’s taken me decades to find my voice and polish my
story-telling style, but more importantly the skills related to marketing,
design, and promotion also took years to perfect. My “day job” before I became
a full-time novelist was running my advertising agency. Doing that gave me
experience in layout, design, and marketing.
You
are what is commonly referred to as a ‘hybrid author.’ Can you please explain
whether you agree with this and whether or not this was a conscious decision on
your part?
Yes,
a hybrid is the best description for how I approach publishing. For those who
aren’t familiar with the term, it’s an author who utilizes both self-publishing
and traditional. It would help to explain a bit about my publishing history.
· 2008 – Book #1 of The Riyria
Revelations was published by a small press
· 2009 - 2010 Book #1 - #5 of The Riyria Revelations
were self-published
· 2011 – 201 2: Book #1 - #6 of
The Riyria Revelations re-released by big-five
· 2013 – Book #1 & #2 – of
The Riyria Chronicles released by big-five
· 2014 – Hollow World – released
by self (ebook) and small press (print book)
· 2015 – Book #3 of The Riyria
Chronicles self-published
· 2016 – Book #1 of The First Empire
released by big-five
· 2017 - Book #2 of the First Empire released by
big-five and at least one book self-published.
As
you can see, I have utilized small presses, the big-five traditional
publishers, and self-publishing over the course of the last eight years. It is
definitely a conscious decision, as I think it diversifies my offerings and
provides for the greatest amount of flexibility. For each project, I determine
what I think would be the best for my career and evaluate potential income, and
then I decide which route to take.
A
common trait I have noticed, amongst the work of some of the biggest and
best-selling authors who self-publish, is that they are ‘World Creators.’ You
are no exception – your books are set in fantastical and futuristic worlds that
envelope your readers. The fact that many of the top self-published authors
create and write within these worlds leads me to believe that this way of
writing lends itself strongly, to solid story strands that translate nicely
into both extended series and devout fans and to a certain appeasement of the
Amazon gods in terms of the promotion of those series. Do you write an origin
story with a future series in mind or is it more of an organic process because
of the way you build such a strong setting/world in the first book?
To
date, I’ve written series mostly, but I do so in a very unusual way. I write
all the books before publishing any of them. For instance my first series, The Riyria Revelations was a
six-novel story arc, and I finished writing the last book before the first one
was published. I just finished a new series, The First Empire (5 books). Even
though the first book, The Age of Myth, won’t be released until June 2016, I’ve
finished all five books this April.
I
do have one book, Hollow World, which is a standalone novel. That being said, I
left some room to revisit that world and characters if the readership wanted
more. It would appear that they do, so I’ll probably be writing a second story
in that universe starting next year.
How
important are books written within a series to your success as a best-selling
author?
I
think series are very important to my success. First, it is common in fantasy
and science fiction to create epic tales that require several full-length
novels to tell. But more importantly, it’s hard to make a living with just one
book. Three seems to be the magic number as far as the number required to start
obtaining a substantial readership. When they are all in the same series, it’s
easy to get someone to go from one to the next (assuming the first one has
entertained and/or touched them).
Otherwise, you have to find a new audience with each standalone book,
and that is a lot more work.
Once
you have decided that self-publishing might be your route, what financial and
artistic considerations should you keep in mind before you begin?
I’m
a firm believer that if you go the self-published route, you MUST produce a
work that is every bit as good as anything coming from New York. That means an
attractive, professional cover and flawless editing. A self-published book has
to be twice as good to get half the credit. A typo or two in a traditionally
published book is looked upon as a “minor mistake.” The same typos in a
self-published book are held up as proof that self-published authors need
better editing. Going self doesn’t
mean “taking the easy way.” It means just the opposite. So if you can’t produce
a book with exceptional quality – I say don’t bother. All that being said, you also have to keep in mind budgetary
considerations. It doesn’t make sense to spend $2,000 releasing a book that
will only net $500. So you have to
spend your money wisely. If you
shop around you can budget around $800 and get good results for both cover and
editing. To me, that’s probably the lowest amount you should expect.
What
kind of marketing did you do to establish your author brand and what do you
think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors? Is there any
one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books – i.e. could
you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales
method/s?
It’s
impossible to sum up years of marketing experience in a paragraph. But I can
point out some resources that should help. One of the areas that I’ve found the
best results from is Goodreads. It’s a site dedicated to books and is a perfect
environment to find readers. There’s a lot to do there:groups to join, giveaways
to run, talking to people who have read and reviewed your books. It can be
somewhat overwhelming. I suggest people check out an article I wrote in the Feb
2015 edition of Writer’s Digest as a good place to start. I also have some
online guides on the right-hand side of reddit’s write2publish sub
(https://www.reddit.com/r/Write2Publish/).
You
have some fantastic book covers. How important do you think cover design is to
a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your
success to date?
Nothing
will hold back a good book more than a bad cover. If someone can tell a book is
self-published by looking at it, then you’ve put yourself at a significant
disadvantage. Remember what I said about producing a book using the same
standards of traditional publishers. That means that the cover of your
self-published book has to stand toe-to-toe with anything that comes out from
New York. With a bad cover, you have to work so much harder to convince people
that what is inside the covers is worth their time. A good cover clears that
obstacle and puts the focus on the writing not its package.
Do
you think it is important for self-published authors to identify and write in a
niche market that they may have an interest in, in order to establish themselves
as a leader in that genre and sell more books?
I
don’t know that I’m expert on selling books across a broad spectrum. All I can
speak to is what has worked for me. First and foremost I think you have to
write what you love. Otherwise, the lack of passion will show in your work. For
instance, erotica has always done well in self-publishing, and if I cared only
about money, I might consider writing for that audience. But I’d fail in that
genre as (a) I don’t know the market well and (b) they aren’t the stories I
want to tell. The people who do well in that market do so because they are
passionate about those stories. There are going to be writers whose books are
going to be “too niche” or “too broad” and they will probably struggle, and may
never be commercial successes. It’s just a fact of life. If that describes you,
then you need to find your rewards by the journey rather than the destination,
and there is nothing wrong with that.
What
avenues of self-promotion did you find to be most effective and affordable?
What’s the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’ advertising you have employed?
Without
question, a Goodreads Giveaway is the best “bang-for-your-buck.” For the cost
of printing and shipping a book you can get hundreds, or even thousands of
people to know it exists. I just
concluded a giveaway for my new novel, The Death of Dulgath which had 4,186
people interested. The one before
that (The Age of Myth (previously called Rhune) had 9,243 people sign up. Now, a new author can’t expect that
kind of result. But even when I was an unknown author, I was pulling in 500 –
800 readers. That’s quite a bit, especially considering that I could message
each one afterward and offer them a free short story. Doing that was very
successful in getting people into my series.
In
your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that
traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of
self-publishing?
No,
I don’t think traditional publishing is on the way out, but I do think self is now
just as viable as traditional. It depends on what your goals are and what
capabilities you have. If, for instance, you can’t put out a high-quality
self-published book, then I think you should go traditional. Yes, you’ll lose a
big cut of the profits, but the book will be professionally produced, and you
have to start with that or you have nothing. As for traditional “keeping up” with self-publishing…the
answer is they can’t...but they don’t need to. Let me explain. “Keeping up” implies they can match the
output of self – and that’s just not possible. There are only so many books
they can curate in any given year, and it will always be a very small fraction
of the self-published books released. Traditional publishing’s business model
is much different than self. It has always had a limited bandwidth, and that
works for their model. The bigger concern to traditional publishing isn’t an
influx of self-published titles. If anything, that helps them out. The danger is a decrease in readership
as people turn to other forms of leisure…video games, television, movies, etc.
Would
you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or
will you always manage some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?
I
would like to have more self-published titles then I currently do. There were
times in my career that I was 100% self, and that provides a great deal of
freedom and a lot fewer hassles. When I sold my first self-published works to
the big-five, my intension was to self-publish all future books. So far, that
hasn’t happened. The first offer I got on my second series had me heading for
self-publishing, but then an offer came in that made traditional a better
choice. For my third series, I
also intended to take that self, but again another offer came along that I just
couldn’t pass up. Still, my most
recent work is going out the self-published route and I do have several new
projects I plan on self-publishing. Whether they will or not will depend on
many factors including how my career is progressing and which route I think
will make the most amount of sense.
But no, I don’t suspect I’ll ever be 100% traditional.
Have
you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while
marketing tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?
There
was a three-week period back in 2010 when I put my second novel to free. In
general, I’m not a fan of free novels as it is a large potential loss for the
author. What I do believe strongly
in is free short stories. I have two shorts free on Audible (The Jester and
Professional Integrity). And I have some free shorts in ebook (including the
Riyria Sampler, which has four little shorts in it). But I say all that with regards to my writing. For some
authors, the free first book is essential for their careers, and it works well
for them. Each author is going to be slightly different. The best advice I can
give is to be self-aware about your audience and what you need to do to lower
the barrier for them to try your stuff. At the beginning of your career, free
books may be a needed incentive, but as your readership grows, you should be
able to go without it.
Do
you feel there’s a good sense of community within the self-publishing industry?
Absolutely.
I find the self-published authors are extremely open and share a great deal,
something I’ve not seen much of with traditional authors. In particular, the
Writer’s CafĆ© of Kindle boards (kboards.com) is especially helpful.
Many
self-published authors (and many traditional authors) have a strong support
network, the most important member usually being a spouse or partner who
provides financial stability in the early stages of the author’s career. Your
wife has been instrumental in handling the publishing tasks and runs the ‘business
side’ of your career which gives you the freedom to write. Do you think this is
an essential aspect of successful writers’ careers and do you think you would
have the success you have enjoyed to date without such support?
There
is no doubt that I couldn’t have been successful without Robin’s support. Does every author have that? Sadly, no.
Can you be successful without it? Yes, but it will be harder. I find the “business
side” overhead to be about the same in self and traditional…the tasks are
different, but the time away from writing is about the same. So, it’s not like
there is more burden with self than traditional on that front. I’m fortunate as
I don’t have to concern myself with agents, publishers, publicists, etc. Robin
handles all that. It puts me in an exceptional position for writing. Bottom
line. I wish every author had what I do, and no you can’t have Robin. She’s
mine.
What
would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to self-publish?
Control.
I just spoke about the “overhead” being about the same between the traditional
and self. A lot of that has to do with constant conversations Robin has with
the publisher about things we would like to do but can’t. Want to lower the price temporarily? The publisher says no. Want to distribute the books free of
DRM? The publisher says no. Would
you like the book included in a Humble Bundle? Nope. Don’t like the cover
created? Too bad, you don’t have a
say. Would you like a different
format (say hardcover or mass market paperback)? Again you don’t have any input
into such things. When you are
with a traditional publisher, there is a lot of “hoping” they’ll do things you
want them to do. Sometimes they do, but many times they do not. And it can be extremely frustrating.
You
have successfully used crowd-funding (Kickstarter) to drive some of your
projects forward in the past. What are the main pros and cons for a
self-published author in using such platforms to fund their projects?
The
pros of Kickstarting is the sense of “community” that the backers generate.
They feel a part of the creation process and are as proud as I am with the
success of the book. They are enthusiastic, and it’s great seeing everyone
pulling to meet that next stretch goal. They also provide early reviews and
help with generating pre-release “buzz.”
The
cons are that it won’t work for everyone. People who have no audience will find
it difficult to fund. So, my suggestion is you shouldn’t Kickstart your first
novel. Once you get a few under
your belt, and you have a following that’s when you should consider one.
You
have many of your books available in audio format – do you think audio books
are worth investing in for self-published authors? I.e. is it a revenue stream
that pays dividends in your opinion?
Again,
it’s hard for me to discuss generalities, as I’m only an expert with regards to
my books and my career. For me, they surpassed my wildest expectations, but I’ve
also been on the top of the bestsellers there and one thing about the top – is
not everyone is going to get there. The best thing I can say is if you have a
good strong ebook/print audience the chances of a good audio audience is good
as well. But when you do it, do so with that same attention to professionalism
I spoke of elsewhere. That means hiring a top-notch narrator and using a
professional studio for recording and mastering. If you try to do it “on the
cheap.” I don’t think it will be successful.
How
important do you think social media and a strong active online presence is, to
becoming a success as a self-published author?
It
depends on how you define “social media” – if you define it as having a
Facebook page and tweeting to “buy my book” I think that will tend to be
counterproductive. If you mean
having tools that help you connect with your readership…well that’s a whole
different story. I think authors
today are fortunate in that they have so many ways to CONNECT with readers. To
me, such venues help to do that, and I think making connections is just as
important to a self-published author as it is a traditionally published one. It
comes down to what you do with those tools.
Are
you in regular contact with other self-published authors and how important was
any input you may have received early on in your career? Do you have a
mentor in terms of your self-publishing success – someone who may have inspired
you to ‘give it a go’?
There
are a few authors I’m in touch with regularly, some are self-published, some
are traditional, and a very few do a bit of both. All of my contacts came after I started publishing, so it
didn’t help build the career…but now that I have a career it’s nice to chat,
compare notes, and talk about what’s going on in the industry. As for
mentorship, it has tended to be the other way around. I mentor a lot of people,
but I was a bit of a trailblazer, so my work was pretty much on my own.
Do
you think self-published authors need to become effective business people, by treating
self-publishing as a business, in order to succeed and secure their financial
independence?
Yes,
I do believe self-published authors have to concern themselves with both the “craft
of writing” and the “business of publishing.” As I said above, you have to put
out something with every bit of quality that “real” publishers do – so you need
a bit of entrepreneurship in you. Those that prefer “working for the man”
probably will never be a good fit for the type of maverick nature that good
self-publishing requires.
Where
to from here? Are
you currently represented by an agent and are you working with any publishers
on future projects?
I
recently changed agents, and am currently represented by Joshua Bilmes’
JABberwocky Agency. Just prior to signing on with them, I sold four books to
Del Rey. This includes the first three books of The First Empire series (Age of
Myth will be released in June 2016), and one more yet to be determined book to
be set in my fictional world of Elan.
That could be a fourth Royce and Hadrian Riyria book or one of about a
half-dozen other books I already have planned out in that world. Del Rey will be releasing my books
yearly, so I’ll be writing (and probably self-publishing) other books as they
do their releases. As I said, I have all five of the First Empire novels
written, and I’ll have plenty more finished over the four years of that
contract. Currently, I’m in beta
with my third Riyria Chronicle (The Death of Dulgath) which I plan on having
out before the end of the year via self-publishing.
Can
you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it
all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?
The
only thing that I think I did wrong was when I gave up. I had spent about a
decade writing and had thirteen completed novels. When I couldn’t find any
traction in publishing, I quit. I
didn’t start writing again until a decade later, and I only did so with the
belief that I wouldn’t be publishing. Ironically, it was those books that put
me on the map. So I guess my best advice is to realize that the only way to
ensure failure is to quit trying. If something doesn’t catch…write something
else. Keep working on improving
your skills and keep telling stories, and that will significantly increase your
chances of success.
Finally,
thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is the best place
for readers to find your books?
Thanks
for having me, and for asking such great questions. This is where people can
connect with me.
Website:
www.riyria.com
Twitter:
@author_sullivan
A small selection of Michael's books (click image to purchase)
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Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #12 – Rachel Abbott
Today's interview is with best-selling
U.K. thriller author, Rachel Abbott. Rachel has received a lot of good press
recently about her rise to the top of Amazon's best-seller lists. This from her
Amazon biography: "Rachel published Only the Innocent in November 2011. It
raced up the UK charts to reach the top 100 within 12 weeks and quickly hit the
#1 spot in the Amazon Kindle chart (all categories) and remained there for four
weeks.
Originally, Only the Innocent was a self-published title, but since the success of the early version, the novel was re-edited and the new version was launched in the US by Thomas and Mercer in paperback, audio and Kindle versions on 5th February 2013, hitting the number one spot in the Kindle Store in August 2013. Her second book, The Back Road, was also published by Thomas and Mercer.
Her third book, Sleep Tight, was published in February 2014."
Here is the interview, please make sure you check out Rachel's books and website and also subscribe (see link below) to this website to stay tuned for the next interview in the Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors interview series (next interview will be with best-selling fantasy author, Michael J Sullivan).
Do you think that your life experience has gone someway towards
making you a successful author in your chosen genre?
An interesting question! I haven’t met many murderers as far as I know, but my books tend to be about the extremes of relationships – the dilemmas people face when they realize that things are not the way they thought they were. On that basis, I do think that my life experience has helped enormously. I like to people watch, and for my characters I take small personality quirks and expand them until they become threatening. Take the guy who watches his wife’s every move - he can’t take his eyes off her. What triggers would have to be pressed for this to become a dangerous obsession?
An interesting question! I haven’t met many murderers as far as I know, but my books tend to be about the extremes of relationships – the dilemmas people face when they realize that things are not the way they thought they were. On that basis, I do think that my life experience has helped enormously. I like to people watch, and for my characters I take small personality quirks and expand them until they become threatening. Take the guy who watches his wife’s every move - he can’t take his eyes off her. What triggers would have to be pressed for this to become a dangerous obsession?
Did you try to get publishing contracts for your books early on
with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or, if
not, what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your
work?
I didn’t try very hard because I originally wrote for my own pleasure. Family members suggested I should try to find an agent, so I sent a few enquiry letters. The responses were encouraging, but nobody was actually ready to take my first book on. I didn’t do anything with it after that for quite a while, but when I saw that you could upload to the Kindle in the UK, I just thought I would give it a try – just to see what happened. I wasn’t expecting anything much at all, and so it wasn’t an active decision based on weighing up the options. It was merely the idea of ‘having a go’.
Many
other successful self-published authors have established themselves and hit the
best-seller lists with ‘Series Books’ – your novels follow this trend in that
the lead character of Detective Inspector Tom Douglas drives the story forward
with each new book. Usually, authors/publishers brand their books along the
lines of “A Detective Tom Douglas Thriller” etc. You seem to have bucked this
trend by not labeling your books as a series, despite their obvious connections.
You have had great success with your books but I wondered why you haven’t been
more obvious about calling your books a ‘series’? What are your thoughts on
this and how important do you think series books are for self-published authors
in establishing themselves and in regards to hitting the best-seller charts?
I love Tom Douglas, but I don’t consider my books to be principally
about him. They are about the victims or the perpetrators of the crimes.
Because most of my books involve murder, I usually feel the story is helped by
the involvement of a policeman, and I have kept to the same character
throughout. But when I think of ideas for my books, Tom doesn’t figure in the
thinking. It’s the relationships and the crime that drive the books.
Having said that, I have introduced quite a bit of Tom’s
personal life, and readers seem to enjoy it. And so for now I will continue to
do that.
I am not sure whether it’s necessary to have a series. I
think if you like an author’s writing style it doesn’t matter whether the same
characters are in all of them or not. That only begins to matter if they have a
developing story of their own – so the reader becomes interested in what is
going to happen to them next.
Is
diversification something you see as a growing necessity for contemporary
self-published/indie authors, or is specialization (genre focus) more important
in your opinion? If so/not please explain why.
It differs for each individual. In my case, I have an
incredibly loyal band of readers who enjoy my books. If I suddenly started to
write in some entirely different genre, I think they would be confused. If a
writer has achieved success in a genre, it makes sense to continue writing for
the same audience. But at the same time, if you enjoy the whole process of
writing, you need to write from the heart and if that leads you in a different
direction, you may feel you have to follow it.
You
have previously written about how you go about soliciting reviews for your
books. Has the way you gather reviews changed since you started publishing or
is there still one method you find to be of the most use for getting good
quality reviews?
There are three main sources of reviews for my books, and
without a doubt the most important source is the reader – the person who has
bought my book, has sat down and read it. But it takes time for those reviews
to appear, and it is very useful to have some reviews available at launch. With
that in mind, I use two sources – early readers and bloggers. The early readers
are people who have been quite chatty about their enjoyment of my books, and I
choose a small number for advance copies in return for an honest review. I also
approach bloggers – I have a database of them – and ask if they would consider
writing a review.
Is
there any one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books –
i.e. could you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most
successful sales method/s?
I am asked this question more than any other, and the truth
is that the most successful sales method changes with every single book –
because things move on so quickly. The most important thing is to raise
awareness of your book – and you need to use whatever means you can. People say
to me that Facebook and Twitter ads are a waste of time, because they cost as
much as you might make on a book sale. But that is slightly missing the point.
I recently ran an experiment with Twitter ads. One of my books was in a US
promotion, so I ran some ads. The book rose up 300 places in the charts
overnight and sales tripled. However, the number of click through on Twitter
was far LESS than the increase in sales. The fact is that as the book rose up
the charts with the small number of Twitter click through, it became more
visible – more people became aware of it. So the majority of additional sales
were from people who, until that point, hadn’t noticed the book.
Who
designs your book covers and promotional material? How important do you think
cover design is to a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has
played in your success to date?
My book covers are designed by a young man who used to work
for me when I ran an interactive media company. I gave him his first job after
university, and he’s still working for the company at a very senior level
twenty years later. He’s a complete star! But he’s a very busy man, and so while
he does the cover design, he no longer has time to do the promotional material.
We’re currently looking for somebody to take on that task.
People often say that you don’t sell books because of the
cover, but I disagree. It’s back to the awareness point. If your cover is
attractive, people will notice it and begin to recognise it – and hopefully
will be sufficiently interested to take a look.
In your
opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that
traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of
self-publishing?
I don’t think for a minute that traditional publishing is
on the way out, and I would be very sad if that were the case. Traditional
publishers do a great job, and when I am asked for my advice from other writers
I often say that they should try traditional publishing first. Self-publishing
is not going to work for everybody, and the traditional route is tried and
tested.
Do
you use other online publishers as an alternative to Amazon’s KDP and
Createspace platforms? I.e. do you feel that it is necessary for self-published
authors to use as many avenues in order to widely publicize and market their
books to potential readers?
I used to make my books available on as many eBook retail sites as possible. But I now only sell on Amazon because in return for that I get better opportunities to promote my books. I don’t tend to use CreateSpace – although I have done. I now have my books professionally printed in bulk, so that I am able to distribute to bookstores.
Would
you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or
will you always mange some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?
I never say never! At the moment, things are going well for me – but it is hard work. I am at my desk seven days a week, and sometimes the idea of somebody taking all of the extra stuff off my hands is very appealing.
Who knows what the future will bring? Five years ago I
hadn’t published my first book, so I have no idea what the next five years will
bring.
Have
you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing
tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?
I have never given my books away for free (other than to
people I meet or know, of course). I haven’t found it necessary. I do know that
some people have gained success that way – they have found that by giving away
some of their books they build a readership who will then buy their books – but
it’s not something I have ever been tempted to try.
Lots of changes have been occurring within Amazon’s KDP program/s
(Select, Unlimited, Countdown etc.) over the past couple of years – do you feel
that it is still possible for hard-working, self-published authors who write
great stories, to become best-sellers by remaining exclusively with Amazon?
Absolutely. But it’s not
necessary to remain exclusively with Amazon. There are advantages, and for the
moment – for me at least – they outweigh the disadvantages. But if the story is
good and captures people’s imagination, in the end it comes down to the ability
to get the book noticed. And that’s the hard bit.
What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to
self-publish?
I suppose I would have to say
it’s being my own boss. I work in conjunction with my agent who gives an
amazing amount of advice based on her extensive experience. But between us we
can decide not only the right schedule for publishing new titles, but also the
right time to put books in promotions. We choose the cover, the title, write
the blurb – and I might find it difficult to relinquish control.
I have to admit that also it is
commercially very viable for me to be self-published, and at present that is
attractive.
You
took early retirement from a career in law and began your new career as an
author. The fact that you took early retirement and moved to the Mediterranean
begs the question as to whether your success has been helped by having a
generous budget at your disposal to market your books. I.e. the old adage seems
to apply that one has to ‘spend money to make money’ as evidenced by the likes
of Mark Dawson who is quite open about spending 3-500 $/£ a day on Facebook
advertising to boost his profile and his book sales. Do you think that a
self-published author has to have a decent marketing budget in order to achieve
success and hit the best-seller charts with the amount of competition out there
currently?
It may surprise you to know that
I had no marketing budget at all when I started writing. I do have now, but
when I launched Only the Innocent I had just me – nobody helping me at all – a
very old computer and a lot of extremely hard work. I don’t think I spent a
single penny on marketing for at least a year, and now I spend very little on
advertising. The majority of my marketing budget goes on people now – I have a
couple of part time assistants who take away a lot of the day to day work leaving
me free to write.
How important do you think social media and a strong active online
presence is, to becoming a success as a self-published author?
It’s definitely one way of doing
it – and the way that people seem to prefer. But there are other ways too. I
have met people who have come up with totally different marketing ideas based
around the content of their books. They write articles on an appropriate
subject from their stories, aimed at those interested in the background to the
content, rather than the genre of book, and they target clubs and groups who
have similar interests. Social media is the means most often talked about, but
I think self-published authors need to be open-minded about all marketing
options.
Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working
with any publishers on future projects?
I was signed by Lizzy Kremer of
David Higham Associates when Only the Innocent became a best seller, and having
an agent is probably the best decision I ever made. She is a huge help to me in
so many ways, from editing my work to advising me on publicity, jackets, titles
and generally keeping me focused.
For the moment, the plan is to
remain self-published because it seems to be going well and so it’s probably
best not to make too many changes. But who knows what will happen in the
future.
Can you
offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all
over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?
Before you start to go down this road you need to ask
yourself what success looks like to you, and then base your business plan on
that. What matters most to you – number of readers, amount of money made,
critical success? Once you know that, you can work out how to pursue that
dream. But you need a plan. If I could do it all again I would do two things
differently – I would write a marketing plan before I started, rather than two
months after launch – and I would eat far fewer chocolate biscuits, the only
thing that kept me going as I sat at the computer for fourteen hours a day
trying to market my book!
Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is
the best place for readers to find your books?
All my books are available in both eBook and paperback from Amazon, but the printed books can be ordered from most
good bookstores.
The following links go
straight to your local Amazon online store.
Rachel Abbott's website
Rachel Abbott's blog
Twitter account #1
Twitter account #2
Facebook
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