In case you didn’t see my social media teases leading up to Saturday afternoon, I was on an online radio/podcast show Saturday afternoon called “Tag Team 2*4*5,” in conjunction with the Rave Reviews Book Club. The numbers refer to two hosts, four authors, and five minutes each, just to solve that baffling mystery for you. [Read more…] about Radio Didn’t Kill the Book Star
Selling
New Books By Nobodies Don’t Sell Jack
In the week since “Killing the Immortals” was released, I’ve been asked dozens of times by numerous people, “So, how are sales going?” These people generally mean well and are just trying to engage with me on the subject of the book, but the answer for pretty much all brand-new authors who have no real platform to sell from and are completely unknown outside a fairly small set of friends, family and acquaintances: “Predictably slowly.” I tend to tell people they’re “trickling in.” That’s pretty much right. It’s also pretty much exactly what I anticipated. There’s a reason new indie authors don’t just quit their day jobs once their book is out. Like any other small business, it takes a long time (and a good bit of luck) to build a following and a foundation for success. I’m a long way from that.
I don’t mind when people ask that. I’ve yet to punch anyone who did so, in fact. I make no promises, but it’s likely I won’t. But, in the interest of addressing the question, I thought I’d take a look at that in this post. Full disclosure and all. One of the things I never could find as I researched the business of publishing was an idea of reasonable expectations. This won’t solve that completely, but maybe it will help a bit. It’s a sample size of one, though, so bring your grain of salt with you. Here we go … [Read more…] about New Books By Nobodies Don’t Sell Jack
5 Lessons from a First-Time Author
Writing your first novel is, in many ways, a grueling experience. Some of it, I wasn’t entirely prepared for. A lot of it, I definitely didn’t see coming. Through the process, I learned I was well suited and trained for much of it, and not really ready at all for some of it.
I started writing on the morning of Dec. 19, and it took me right at six weeks to write about 85,000 words. From there, it took me six months to edit it and get it to where I felt like it didn’t suck, and could go out into the world. Sometimes, I got frustrated. Other times, I was excited. Almost all the time, I wanted it to be over, and be where I am today, with a brand new novel sitting on Amazon’s virtual shelves and several positive reviews alongside it.
Here are five key lessons I’ve learned from going through this process. If you ever think about writing a book of your own, hopefully you can learn from the stupid things I did, and do fewer stupid things yourself. [Read more…] about 5 Lessons from a First-Time Author
Goodreads Giveaway Contest
So, if you’re curious about this “Killing the Immortals” book you’ve been hearing about and would like to have a shot at winning a free copy, I’m gonna give lots of you that shot. I’ve talked about Goodreads before here, and I definitely recommend joining if you enjoy reading, for all the reasons I detail in the linked blog post. And, in case you didn’t know, I’ve got one more reason: Free books. More specifically, a shot at a free copy of “Killing the Immortals” with my giveaway. Uh-huh. That’s right. And it’s coming soon. [Read more…] about Goodreads Giveaway Contest
How Much Should a Novel Cost?
It’s a tough question, and it’s one that shouldn’t be answered with a shrug and a blindfolded dart toss: How much should a novel cost? More specifically when it comes to me (and, maybe, you), how much should my novel cost? There are plenty of factors that go into figuring that out. [Read more…] about How Much Should a Novel Cost?
Release Plan for “Killing the Immortals”
With the Release Day for “Killing the Immortals” fast approaching, I’ve had to shift gears lately from focusing on writing/editing to marketing/publicity. For many authors, this is where shit gets real. “I’m an author, not a marketer” has been the cry from many an author when it comes time to get the word out on their books. And, to be fair, it’s not something that comes naturally for a lot of them, particularly those who didn’t grow up in the social media age and are trying to adjust.
Twenty years ago, the barriers to entry for publishing a book were rather high, and most everyone had to go through a traditional publisher to get their book out there. That also meant going through a literary agent, which meant query letters, rejections, and years of waiting, waiting, waiting. It also meant someone was handling the majority of marketing for you. Your publisher came up with a marketing plan, and you showed up where/when needed. Maybe you did a book signing. Maybe you did a speaking engagement, or a newspaper interview. Whatever it was, your publisher probably lined it up for you.
Today, that landscape has changed. Even if you get a publisher, they only handle so much. Almost no publisher is going to take over your Twitter account; that’s on you. And if you’re self published, you’re everything. I’ve got to not only do it all, but plan it all too. [Read more…] about Release Plan for “Killing the Immortals”