Market Your Book | Painting With Light

Archive for the ‘Market Your Book’ Category

The Rain, Family and Friends

November 17, 2013

Standing Out in a Crowd

I’ve been sitting here looking at rain, instead of the usual south Florida sunshine, waiting for the clouds to pass … and thinking about heading to Miami later this week, to the Readers Favorite Awards ceremony, where I’m supposed to pick up the Silver Medal for my short-story collection ZEBULON.

It’s kind of fun to be here … with nothing much to do except enjoy the warm weather (it was in the teens up north at home last night) and my grandkids, when they’re home from school.

I’ve already seen dance rehearsals, a basketball game and a Tae Kwon Do practice. I’ve gone shopping with my bride, been the only adult around for an afternoon play-date of six-year-olds and will soon get to travel north to experience Legoland … the dream spot of every sixty-something … right?

In truth, I can do without it.

But it isn’t for me; it’s for my grandson, and watching his eyes will make it a treat … so in a way it is for me. What price can you put on a memory like that?

I’ve been trying to work on ONE WAY STREET, the sequel to my first novel, REICHOLD STREET, but it seems to be genuinely stalled right now at about 42,000 words. If anyone who read the first book has any suggestions to get me jump-started, I’d sure like to hear a few of them in the “Comments” section.

Journey
I also put together select blog postings to offer in book form on Amazon. It talks about some of the things I’ve discovered about indie publishing, and offers what I hope is some practical advice. It’s called “The Journey of an Indie Writer” and you can find it in paperback here.

Journey of an Indie Writer

In the meantime, I’m still trying to figure out how to earn my audience. I’m like most indie writers who have a story to share with the world, but find nobody seems to care. And there’s no big publicity machine behind me to help spread the word.

If you’re like me, you keep writing and publishing anyway, hoping someone will come along and find out you have something readable to say. Perhaps something brilliant. Maybe even award-winning.

You Need to be Different
Unfortunately, sitting and waiting is probably the worst way to find an audience, and I should know better. The way to get the attention of an audience is to earn it, not demand it, because here’s the truth:

People don’t care at all what you have to say until they know who you are.

Earlier this year, J.K. Rowling (who wrote the Harry Potter series, in case there’s anyone on the planet who doesn’t know) published a new novel under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith.

She wanted to test the market and find out if it was still her writing that sold so well, or her name. She found out in a hurry. The book got very good reviews, but readers didn’t care.

Then, people somehow discovered the book was actually written by Rowling and the book immediately became a bestseller.

Same book. Same story. Same writing. But a different name on the front caused the book to become an instant success.

Why? Because readers are busy.

They pay attention to names they recognize and don’t always take the time to explore new authors. Plus, audiences are notoriously fickle. They quite often don’t care what you have to say, or how you say it; they care who you are. It’s what makes a crappy book by someone like Snooki a best-seller.

Best-Selling Author?

And if they haven’t heard of you, you might as well be invisible. So how do you become visible? What do you have to do? (see my Earned Media post). You need to discover your unique writing voice and build a platform around it. Sounds tough, I know. But it’s actually simple.

Others have said it. I’m just repeating it … because it’s true. Talk to your friends. Make new ones with social media tools … but make sure they’re Friends, not just marketing targets.

You Need to Find Your Tribe
You want them to become people you actually talk to, share information with and help out when they need it … not just someone to whom you’re trying to sell something.

Then you leverage those relationships to get in front of the right people, the friends of your friends. Word-of-mouth information and recommendation is so powerful that before long readers will come to you, not the other way around.

Like I’ve said before … earned media.

Think of It This Way:
There once was a man who had ten good friends. These friends would do anything for him. But for some reason this wasn’t enough for him … he wanted more.

So he campaigned and lobbied trying become famous. Soon, he had a hundred followers. Then, there were a thousand. He campaigned and lobbied some more. Made lots of noise. Not all of it was very nice, and he spent a lot of money doing it. Pretty soon he felt like a rock star, with millions of followers.

At first, he thought the apparent attention was nice.

But he soon found that there were expectations associated with his new-found status. People constantly asked for favors and handouts, wanting special attention. They made demands he couldn’t meet. But they never helped him with a thing. He felt trapped, overwhelmed and confused.

Isn’t this what he wanted? Why was he so discontent?

Not knowing where to turn, the man went on a search. He weeded through the crowds of countless quasi-admirers and “yes men,” looking for a few, dedicated followers. People he could comfortably do things for … and who would do anything for him.

Finally, he found ten people.

They were his original true friends. Turns out that was really all he ever needed.

You don’t need fans. You need friends.

Tags:award-winning author, book marketing, indie writers, self-publishing
Posted in Book Promotion, Market Your Book, Storytelling | 4 Comments »

The Indie Journey

November 4, 2013

Monks at Pongour Falls, Vietnam – Photo by Dang Ngo (used with attribution)

Tricky Footing
The journey of an indie writer can be a perilous one. It’s really not a trip for the faint of heart … at least not if you expect to make a living at it. The number of indie writers who’ve made it big can be counted on one hand.

Several predictions during 2011 said the year 2012 would be “The Year of the Indie Author.” After all, 2011 saw some awfully big indie moments all by itself:

John Locke became the first indie author to break the Amazon Kindle million-seller mark.

Amanda Hocking, the new Queen of indie vampire/zombie romance books (and already a multi-millionaire indie writer), signed a contract with St. Martins Press (who obviously wanted to ride on the coattails of her hundreds of thousands of independent sales).

And The New York Times deigned to include indies on their best seller list. Every week at least one title – often more – are listed.

From all indications, you’d expect readers and traditional media would both be rushing to wrap their arms around indie authors and their books.

Except … it didn’t happen.

Circadian Rhythm
So why do I bring this up? Well, I was thinking about it again, but not because I’m an indie author. It was because I couldn’t sleep.

The time change last weekend (damn that Daylight Saving Time nonsense) has my circadian rhythm all messed up again, so I got up and wondered what to do with myself.

Sitting alone in the dark, I contemplated the reasons it’s so hard for an indie author to make an impression on the literary world (yes, there are certainly some strange things that flit cross my mind, alone in the dark).

Then the reason many indie titles are such poor sellers hit me….

Big Reason #1: Bad Editing
I think there are several big reasons people complain about indie book quality and one of the biggest ones is the lack of editing.

This has changed in the past couple of years due in part to better, more diligent authors and the growth of inexpensive proofreading services. But the lack is still evident … and here’s a scary thought about why: there are independent authors who don’t believe their work needs to be edited.

Yet every writer can benefit from a good editor (even the most prolific of best-sellers). Writers are often too close to their work to make critical structural and grammatical changes that might make the story better.

Big Reason #2 – No Gatekeepers
The problem is compounded by the sheer number of badly written and hardly-edited indie books that taint the category, making it more difficult for good authors to get recognized.

Having a trusted place to find credible reviews would certainly help separate the good from the terrible.

There are a growing number of outlets which will review indie titles (like Readers Favorite or Kirkus Reviews). Readers Favorite will do it for free but Kirkus, probably the most respected indie review site at the moment, has a $495 basic fee … more than most indies can afford to pay.

Big Reason #3: Quantity Over Quality
The rise of self-publishing has caused a huge surge in the number of books available each year. Indeed, some indie authors seem to toss off multiple titles with ease.

Many so-called indie “reference” sources … and I use the term lightly … recommend having several books available for sale, claiming “If a reader likes one, they will look for another.”

That’s undoubtedly true. But writing a book shouldn’t be a race.

The model of pumping out several books a year might be fine for someone with available editors, but for indies the idea of putting out multiple books in a short time often means skipping important steps … such as editing … trying to go straight to the payoff.

Big Reason #4 – Crappy Covers
As with many things in life, first impressions are 90% or more of the game. You won’t sell a thing if no one will pick it up.

For indie authors to be taken seriously, they need to present themselves in a professional manner. Strong cover art, exciting blurbs and a professional author photo, are all must have items.

The decision to skip these important steps can hinder current and future sales. While there are many incredible indie authors out there, in order for them to be taken seriously by readers and the traditional media, they have to first take their own work seriously.

Just as every writer deserves the chance to write and publish, every reader deserves to receive an edited – and polished – book.

The Journey Will Continue
You may have reached the end of this blog entry … but it isn’t the end of the indie journey. I have another novel in the works, a sequel to my award-winning Reichold Street, tentatively titled One Way Street. I hope to have it done before the end of the year.

In the meantime, I’m off to Miami this month to receive the Readers Favorite Silver Medal in the Young Adult Fantasy genre for my collection Zebulon.

Blogging about the indie journey, however, will most likely never be done. Every day brings a new challenge and a new discovery. I hope you’ll continue to share it with me.

I’ll look for you on my next sleepless night …

—————

The marvelous photography of Dang Ngo can be found here.

Tags:award-winning writing, indie writers, Readers Favorite, self-publishing
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Awards, Book Promotion, Market Your Book | Leave a Comment »

What’s In A Name?

October 19, 2013

I recently changed the name on the cover of my books.

No, I didn’t start using a graffiti signature … and didn’t create a pen name … I began using initials, instead of my whole name.

I actually wanted to do it when I first started to write, but due to a misunderstanding with the support people at my publisher (something about the way in which my name was registered) I wasn’t able to.

(I didn’t understand it, either).

It took a while, but they’re finally convinced any royalties sent using only my initials and surname will arrive correctly … and the IRS will still know where to find me … which I know is what they were really worried about.

The confusion wasn’t a total a waste of time. It led me to discover more things on the web of nets … like six famous authors who actually did use pseudonyms.

——————–

1. Mark Twain
This was the easy one. Most American readers are aware Mark Twain is not the real name of the brilliant author and satirist who grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, and best known for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

He was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Clemens was very familiar with the steamboat trade, having spent some time as a boat pilot, and he knew “Mark…twain!” was a well-known term shouted by boat crewmen when taking depth measurements on the river.

It meant they were in water deep enough to safely navigate (two fathoms, or 12 feet). A brilliant self-marketer, Clemens used the well-known term as his pen name.

The ‘celebrity in the white suit’ lectured frequently and was fastidious about sustaining his image as America’s most beloved writer. He was charming, popular, witty, and jovial … and a raconteur without peer.

2. O. Henry
In the first decade of the Twentieth Century, it’s safe to say O. Henry was one of the most popular short-story writers in America. His stories were known for their warm characterizations and clever twist endings.

We still celebrate one of his most famous stories: the holiday classic “The Gift of the Magi.”

Born William Sydney Porter, his pen name (which he assumed as his own) hid the truth about the years he’d spent in prison for bank fraud. Porter created the pseudonym as a cover, thinking no one would buy his books if they knew the truth about his history.

He was able to carry the secret of his true identity to his grave. It wasn’t until his biography was published … almost six years after his death … that the truth was exposed.

3. George Eliot
In high school (about thirteen bazillion years ago), I had to read “Silas Marner” for an English class. Actually, the whole class had to read it. We studied it for days.

An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, it was notable in its day for its strong realism and sophisticated treatment of issues ranging from religion to industrialization.

I remember it because of all the time we spent with it … and because the teacher told us it was actually written by a woman named Mary Anne Evans. Writing in the 1860s, she used the pen name George Eliot on all her work, so her writing would be taken seriously.

Wait, there’s more!