The SELF-PRINTED 3.0 Splash! (#selfprintedsplash)

As my indie writer friends know, I think Catherine Ryan Howard is the bomb. When I discovered her as a resource a few years ago, I was delighted to find someone who was brimming with common sense and practical advice. Were it not for her, I don't think I could have handled formatting for Smashwords, and I probably would have made a bunch of stupid and costly marketing mistakes, as well as spammed Twitter with every review I've ever gotten and every excerpt I could fit into 140 characters.

I'm pleased to be a part of the splash to get the word out about the 3rd edition of SELF PRINTED: THE SANE PERSON'S GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING. Just to show how insanely knowledgeable she is, she invited one hundred or so of her craziest fans to send in their publishing and marketing questions.

Did I try to stump this brilliant woman? You bet. Did she rise to the challenge? What do you think? ;-)

Q: For fiction (specifically romance), where do you think you get the most bang for your marketing buck: ads or public relations (e.g., reviews, interviews, etc.)?

A: Ooh, this is a toughie.

Normally I say don't spend any $ on advertising at all, but if you have a very specific genre that is known to sell in droves, and you find the most [that genre] popular book blogger site that has a gizallion readers a month who love YOUR kind of book, and that book blogger is offering a banner header for $100, well then: go for it! If you think it'll practically guarantee sales, it'll be money well spent.

On the other hand, word of mouth is what drives all bestsellers, and that can only come from reviews on sites like Goodreads and from book bloggers, and sending them copies of your book costs $ too. Having said that, if you're posting paperbacks, how many can you realistically buy and mail for $100? Could you send e-books instead?

If I ONLY had $100, I'd split it. I'd spend $25 running a Goodreads giveaway (as per strategic way that I blogged about recently) and the rest on a banner or sidebar advertisement on a website I KNOW has lots of avid readers who love just my kind of book OR a newsletter/mail shot that goes to those same kinds of readers - in other words, maximum guaranteed eyeballs. Then I'd try to e-mail out a few e-book review copies too, just to be sure!

Thank you Catherine! 

Want more great tips like this? Then grab your copy of SELF-PRINTED (3rd edition)!

_____________________

Catherine Ryan Howard is a writer, self-publisher and caffeine enthusiast from Cork, Ireland. SELF-PRINTED: THE SANE PERSON'S GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING (3rd edition) is out now in paperback and e-book and available from Amazon. Follow the #selfprintedsplash on Twitter today (Friday 24th) and/or visit www.catherineryanhoward.com for chance to win an amazing prize that will get your self-publishing adventure started!

“SELF-PRINTED is my self-publishing bible. It taught me how to format, create and upload my e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks. It showed me practical things such as how to build a website/blog and how to promote my books. More importantly, it taught me how to compete with the professionals. Just look at the results - The Estate Series has sold nearly 100,000 copies and following that I got a traditional book deal with Thomas & Mercer too, so I’m now a hybrid author. Jam-packed full of hints and tips all in one place, I’m always referring back to it. In a word, it’s priceless.” – Mel Sherratt, author of The Estate Series and DS Allie Shenton Series

There *is* such a thing as bad publicity

I mentioned, in places too numerous to link to, that I originally went the "traditional" route and queried agents. Although I wanted to go indie for a while, I was cognizant of the benefits of traditional, most of which were in the areas of editorial and marketing services. One of the things that convinced me to finally take the plunge was that there is almost no marketing support these days unless you're already really big or unless, for whatever reason, your publishing house takes a shine to you. Because the category I write in doesn't command a lot of shelf space in bookstores (that would be New Adult Romance, FYI), I realized I would not be one of those authors who would get a lot of support, if I got picked up at all.

I am happy with my decision, but we indies are very aware of how much work we have to do to generate our own publicity. I love writing for other blogs, but I realize that those don't have the same reach as a print magazine or newspaper. I am not the only indie who fantasizes about having a big platform to shout from so I could convince people that they should buy my book.

It's just that I always figured if I did, I'd be giving you good reasons to buy from me, not telling you all of the reasons why someone who doesn't like my stuff is so deficient. In fact, if I had a really big platform, I wouldn't want to tell ANYONE about the people who didn't like me. So the actions of two authors last week leave me not only disgusted, but puzzled.

I am not going to write out the name of the first author in question, nor am I going to put her name in the tags. Here's a link to some of Dear Author's coverage of the story. I am not going to give this woman anymore publicity because what this author did falls under the definition of stalking. I don't mean online stalking- I mean real-life stalking. I don't understand why the blogger she stalked hasn't brought criminal charges against her, because I would. And how did this start? Because the author could not handle that this blogger and reviewer didn't like her book.

People are crazy; what else is new? But what has been making me blink for the last few days is that the Guardian, a respected news outlet, published the story the author told about her obviously criminal behavior. It also astounds me that her publishing company, Harper Teen, has said nothing in response to what their author did. Until they do, I can only assume that their silence is cover for their approval.

Slightly less disturbing is the tantrum author Margo Howard wrote for the New Republic. Her book was given to Amazon's Vine Program for early review. She seems to find the idea of pre-publication reviews in and of themselves offensive, never mind that most authors (traditional and indie) long for such pre-publicity. Apparently, the Vine Reviews she received were unflattering, and she in turns feels that these unprofessional reviewers are uneducated mouth-breathers who are only reviewing so they can get free stuff and don't understand that books are different from "pots and creams".

Ah, that again. As a long-time reviewer and a member of the Vine Program, I would like to point out that it is extremely difficult to review the product if we don't have it. And since we are being asked to review it, it just doesn't make sense to charge us for what we review. Hence, what we get is free.

I'd also like to add that I'd been reviewing on Amazon by choice for about six or seven years before I was selected to be in the Vine Program. I have a decent rank, but I wasn't in the Top 1000. To this day, I'm not entirely sure why I was tapped, but obviously Amazon felt I offered something that they wanted for their program. This would, therefore, be the case with all of the other reviewers in the program. In other words: we were asked.

I'm an author; I get how much a bad review can sting. But if we're serious about not just writing but publishing our work, I fail to understand why we would not act like professionals and not narcissists. I also don't understand why the Guardian and the New Republic want to perpetuate the idea that reviews, which are really opinions, and perhaps books in general should only be available to those who are qualified.

Here is my list of qualifications: literacy. Yep- done. All those who qualify are invited to read books and share their opinions.

The Siren (Laments of Angels and Dark Chemistry # 1) by Meg Xuemei X (Excerpt, Giveaway)

Title: The Siren

Series: Laments of Angels and Dark Chemistry # 1

Author: Meg Xuemei X

Published: August 9th, 2014

Word Count: 80,000

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance Action Adventure

Synopsis:
Two boys tied to her irrevocably. One offers life disguised as death; the other leads to death with unfathomable love. Her choice decides whether the world turns or ends.

Lucienne Lam, born to rule as the last of the Sirens, is running out of time. If she fails to find the TimeDust, an ancient power, her enemies will have their wish–her head on a spike. And she’ll never know the love promised by Vladimir, a fierce warrior of the Czech royal bloodline.

Except Ashburn, a genius ‘farm boy,’ has found the TimeDust first, and its power binds Lucienne to him. She must convince him to sever this forced bond so she can return to her first love. But breaking the link seems insurmountable when the TimeDust launches its own ominous agenda and the two boys prepare to duel to the death over her.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

Excerpt:

Vladimir reacted instantly, catching her before she hit the wall. The impact drove them both to the ground. “I’m glad you’re on top,” said Vladimir with another groan. “I absorbed most of the hit.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Lucienne turned to Vladimir, their faces inches away. His warm breath and pheromone made her forget where she was. Rushing footsteps brought her to her senses.
“Vlad?”
“Yes, Lucia?” he whispered, his hands pressing against the small of her back.
“We’ve been discovered.”
“I know. But there’s no need for them to yell. That’s kind of rude.”
“They’re not yelling.”
“No, but they will.”

About the Author:

Meg Xuemei X is an award-winning author. She grew up in a backward, southern town in China, went to college in Akron, and dropped out from Tisch School.

She’s the author of Laments of Angels & Dark Chemistry series. Her science fiction novel, Ghost Star, was published by the China Federation of Literature Publishing House. Her romance novella, Dance with Your Enemy, won an International Editorial Award.

She lives in Sherman Oaks, California.

She’d love for you to sign up to her mailing list at eepurl.com/YxOcn

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website

Giveaway:

Widget Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28b5dae6176

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So maybe this is why you need to diversify your distribution chain?

As you may recall, I agonized last year over whether I should keep all of my books in Kindle Select, which meant exclusivity on Amazon, or whether I should diversify and make them available to Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo and all of the other channels. While KDP Select did offer what amounts to highly visible free advertising, the program simply wasn't offering the same return that it had even the year before, and there was no way to know how it was going to change. Fine- things change- but the more invested I was in it as my only platform, the more vulnerable I'd be to those changes.

Shorter: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Which is why this piece in the New York Times is making me scratch my head. Let me be clear: I understand that as an indie author I have a lot more freedom than most traditionally published authors. If I want to change prices, all I have to do is go to my author dashboards on KDP or Smashwords. Also, if I really wanted to, I could sell my books directly on my website, in addition to or instead of selling them through other vendors. Authors who are published through publishing houses generally can't make those decisions on their own.

But...if I had a huge fan-base, I'd put information on my website, Facebook Page and Twitter account as to where else my fans can purchase my books if I didn't feel Amazon was doing a good job for me. I would also create a mailing list if I hadn't already and send out notices with the same information. And I would encourage people to shop for my physical title at their local Barnes & Noble or indie bookstore. I would also jump all over Hachette and demand that they make their website a place where readers can directly buy my titles. (What, that sounds futile? Less so than making demands of Amazon.)

This is not a static industry, and everyone has to constantly adapt. It stinks when we'd rather be doing things like writing, but that's the way it is. If, indeed, Amazon is doing corrupt things (it's one thing to lose your spot on a list due to an algorithm, it's another to lose it because someone took you off of it) then that highlights that we need to be less vulnerable to them. Yes, by all means, report this to whichever regulating bodies are appropriate, but in the meantime work every other angle and advantage you have.

Algorithms, preferences, word of mouth- oh my!

Okay folks- I will let you in on a little secret: many marketing efforts we indie writers employ are all about getting Amazon to highlight us, however briefly, on one of their landing pages so that you, the reader, will say, "hey, catchy cover/title/author's name...let me go check out that blurb...ooh, interesting...hey, not a bad price [especially if we're running a sale]...oh look, the reviews are pretty good...I am here, so why not?"

I'm going to spare you everything that (we think) goes into inducing you to have that conversation with yourself, but it is all contingent on the magical algorithms that power Amazon. It is, for the most part, a complete crapshoot, because we don't really know how Amazon makes its determinations as to what you like. We know that the more you sell, the more you sell, and we have seen some evidence that more reviews get you more visibility than those with fewer reviews (maybe!). And if we can get even eyeballs on our title after someone has looked at something else, that can give us a little bump too.

But maybe the algorithm is a crapshoot too.

As I've mentioned before, I've reviewed on Amazon for over a decade. I've also been known to create Wishlists and Lists for Listmania. Sometimes, I get great suggestions from my purchases, because I've rated something or because I've added something to a Wishlist. Because Amazon knows I like Thelonious Monk (you know, more than the average person with functional ears), they suggested a slew of other Jazz Artists and titles, many of which sat on my Wishlist for years until I recently added them to my Spotify list. And you know what? I found some great titles I wouldn't have found otherwise, certainly not through something like Spotify's Discover engine.

I've also come across a number of resources on cooking and fitness that I wouldn't have found without them. Also, because my sons love the Amulet series, I added the latest title to my Wishlist, and now I have a number of recommendations for age-appropriate graphic novels. Thanks, Amazon- you do a good job in some things.

However, I recently reviewed a Korean movie that was over a decade old. Sort of kind of obscure, but not unheard of- at least ten other people had reviewed it as well. Strangely, I did not see one suggestion when I went through the Recommended For You list that Amazon generates. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they, despite being an international juggernaut, really don't do well with things that don't "speak" to an American or Western audience? (I tell you, that Pankaj Ghemawat is onto something!)

Maybe...but then how do we explain Amazon's lack of recommendations to me for anything related to mythology? You think I talk about it a lot here? You should see how many items I've reviewed on their site. I would LOVE to get recommendations for more books on the topic, especially if it's anything along the lines of George O'Connor's awesome Olympians series. But, on Amazon, utter silence.

(Let's not even talk about how it hasn't had any foreign policy recommendations worth noting since I randomly picked up Arab Spring Dreams and Invisible Armies- or got and loved Lawrence in Arabia through their Vine program. I've got Twitter to scratch that itch. Right...)

Unfortunately, I'm picky: just because I liked one thing an author wrote doesn't mean I'll like everything. The last author I binged on was Agatha Christie- and even she got on my nerves after a while with some references that struck me as simply racist in the 21st century. (And of course I'm only talking about the Poirot series; I've never wanted to read Miss Marple.) So an algorithm like Amazon's can actually be useful to me, both as an author and as a reader, but it's not.

So how do I find things to read? The old-fashioned ways: word-of-mouth from like-minded friends...and browsing the library shelves. What are you going to do?

Excuse me, I'm going to do some research into the genealogies of Greek mythology now. (Are you listening, the internet?!)

Infinite Ink Authors Birthday Extravaganza (Giveaway)

~ Treehugger ~

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

~ The Torturer’s Daughter ~

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~ Contributor ~

Amazon | GoodReads

~ Fevered Souls ~

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

~ The Breeders ~

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

~ The Scourge ~

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~ Daynight ~

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

~ Virulent ~

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads Meet the Authors 

~ Kea Alwang ~

Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Mailing List

~ Zoe Cannon ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Mailing List

~ Nicole Ciacchella ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website

~ SK Falls ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website

~ Katie French ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog

~ AG Henley ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Newsletter

~ Ash Krafton ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website

~ Megan Thomason ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Pinterest | Blog

~ Shelbi Wescott ~

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Tumblr

Giveaway Details:

There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:

• $10 Amazon gift card (INT)
• Winner’s choice of a Kindle Fire HD or Kindle Paperwhite (US only) or if winner is INT, winner’s choice of $119 PayPal Cash or Amazon gift card.

Please note that Juniper Grove Book Solutions is not responsible for the handling/sending of the Kindle giveaway.

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Review Tour for the New Pioneers, now booking on Juniper Grove Book Solutions!

You know what writers love? Sales! You know what else they love? Reviews (and hopefully positive ones).

The good people at Juniper Grove Book Solutions are helping me get the word out to people about my books. Between November 24th and December 19th, I'm on virtual tour with the heroines of the New Pioneers. While there's an incentive for people to review- a good one!- I'm also going to be available for guest posts.

Interested? Please sign up here.

Hope to see you there!