As you know I have lots of conversations with authors. Some who find self-publishing one of the best things they have ever done and then others who are frustrated because they did not accomplish what they had hoped for when they started the process. Here are six things to keep in mind as you begin your publishing journey that will help you make the most of your opportunity.
Knowing who the audience is for your book is the most important element in your marketing plan.
1. If you write for everyone, you may not appeal to anyone.
If you have read this blog, listened to one of my webinars, or read my book, 7 secrets of successful self-published authors, this will sound like a broken record. The best place to start your publishing journey is to identify the most likely group of people who will want to read your book. In other words, write with a particular person or audience in mind. Focus on characteristics such as gender, age and avocation. For example, do you think more females or males will want to read your book? What age? Do they have a particular area of interest such as romance or science fiction? Providing clear answers to questions such as these will increase your ability to effectively market your book.
2. Your marketing plan is as important as your manuscript .
Most authors who pen a manuscript are not eager to market their book alone. Yet the primary responsibility for book marketing lies with the author. You can find outside resources to help you, but having a plan for how you are going to promote your book and gain distribution is even more critical. You can find a number of resources to help you craft a marketing plan to help you reach your publishing goals, but you should not have the expectation that someone else is going to do it all for you. You need to be part of the process.
This cover has a short memorable title and a clear subtitle. It catches my attention and tells me what the book is about. Does your title do that?
3. An interesting title draws attention and potential customers.
You labor over every word. You make sure all stylistic elements are perfect. Yet, the first words most people read will be your title. It is important to give as much care and thought to your title as any other part of your book. Tips on good titles include:
Don’t make the title too long. If I can’t remember it, I won’t be able to tell others about it and the type size on the cover will be too small to read.
Speak to potential readers, but don’t make it too cryptic. There may be a phrase or word that resonates with your target audience. If there is, consider using it in your title.
Reward the reader of your title. Make sure your title gives some hint of what readers will find within the pages of your book.
4. A book isn’t just judged by its cover. It’s sold by it.
Like your title, your cover design is crucial to attracting book buyers and readers. Be sure your cover fits your genre and the artwork supports the title. Work to ensure the typeface is legible and there is enough contrast between the background and the typeface color so the title can be easily read. A cover that is too plain or too complicated can send the wrong message to readers. Also, a cover that is based on a template can detract from the uniqueness of your book. Our skilled designers can help you optimize your creative ideas for the most effective cover. Too many authors ignore the advice of professionals and execute their vision for the cover even if it is not the best option.
5. Limiting the formats of your book may limit your opportunity
As e-books have increased too many authors either focus exclusively on digital or even worse, just one format, like a Kindle. While hardcovers are in decline and e-books are on the rise. there are still a number of paperback books that are sold so author should really think through whether or not there is any advantage to limiting the formats readers can buy the book.
6. If you don’t have specific goals, you can’t measure success.
It is important for you to set realistic goals for your book. To help you do that, you need to conduct a self-analysis of how much time you can invest in promoting your book. What goals can you reasonably expect to achieve from the different sales channels available to you? What speaking opportunities are available to you and can you sell your books while you are there? These are just a few of the questions you need to consider. Too often authors have unrealistic goals or lack a plan so they end up disappointed, but somehow they thought if they publish their book, the world will come calling.
In this short video, Pete Nikolai, Director of Backlist Development and Publishing Services at Thomas Nelson, shares his thoughts on why self publishing is a great option for new authors. Pete has varied background in publishing including working in retail bookstores for a period of his career so he brings a broad set of experiences to his point of view. The video is featured on the Author Learning Center currently and provides some simple insights that can help you on your publishing journey. Some of his key points include:
Each author needs to look at his or needs and decide how they can best be published. That may not sound like a profound statement, but I think what is important is even a few years ago, there were no options. Now an author can choose to do it all themselves using a publishing platform like Booktango, use an assisted self-publishing company like many of the imprints at Author Solutions or pursue a traditional route. Each of these options has particular benefits. If you want to understand the differences more clearly and what you need to do to succeed as a self-published author, you may want to download the 99 cent e-book, 7 secrets of successful self-published authors.
New authors benefit most because it helps them get there book in the marketplace. This is perhaps the most important benefit to self-publishing: speed-to-market. Instead of waiting for years to see if it will be available to readers, self-publishing allows the book to get out in the marketplace. That way consumers can be the curators of content, not just editors at big publishing houses.
It lets the messages that consumers want to respond to stand on their own. Because of changing economics, traditional publishers are having to drastically reduce the number of choices for consumers. Self-publishing gives consumers more choices and books that would otherwise be ignored by big houses because they do not have mass appeal. This does mean not all the books that get published will be well-written or well-produced, but that is still no reason to limit the opportunity of writers to get published. Readers are smart. They will find the good books and tell others about them. Self-publishing makes that possible.
A simple conversation with a cab driver reminded me that self publishing is about opportunity and choice. Who is against that?
My meetings were finished so I grabbed a cab to the airport. I returned all my calls and traffic was at a standstill so I struck up a conversationwith my cab driver. We didn’t really talk about what I did, but I asked him when his shift started and how long he had been driving a cab. He told me he started at 5:00 am, but went to class in the middle of the day. He had moved to the U.S. five years ago from another country where he was a lawyer and was now trying to get his law degree here. That fascinated me so I asked why would he trade a legal career in another country to drive a cab for years with no assurance he would become a lawyer here. His answers were sincere, refreshing and a great reminder of what democracy means to people. When I told him that I worked in self publishing, he quickly pointed out how that would not be possible if democracy wasn’t the rule of the land. It was simple, but profound and so I thought about what he said about democracy and realized he was right. Here are some of his quotes followed by my thoughts on how it applies to self publishing
“This is a country of great opportunity”. From his perspective, you could be a cab driver one day, but the opportunity exists for you to be a lawyer the next. It is not guaranteed, but it is possible. In his opinion, no other country offers that as freely as the U.S. Maybe that is why self-publishing was birthed in North America and more specifically in the U.S. We are a country that still believes in opportunity. An author can be unknown one day, and reach a wide audience the next. Publishing used to be an aristocracy, but now it is a democracy.
“With opportunity comespossibility”. I have been saying for some time, this is absolutely the best time in history to be an author. Not that long ago if you had a manuscript, your only hope was to get an agent to notice you, and then pray a publisher would pick you up. Now you can still pursue that path of traditional publishing, but you can also use DIY publishing solutions like Booktango or any number of assisted self publishing imprints from a company like Author Solutions to help you get your book published. So instead of walking to the mailbox and pulling out another rejection letter, you can pull out a copy of your book.
The critics of self publishing argue that bad books get published or that authors get taken of advantage of with false hopes of becoming a best seller. I think they are missing the point. Self publishing is about opportunity and choice.
“My five year old son could be president”. With opportunity and possibility come the chance to dream big. In this case, the cab driver said his son, who was born in the US, could grow up to be president one day. In his native land, that isn’t something a parent or child might even think about. As an author, self-publishing makes it possible for you to become a best selling author. It is not guaranteed, but the opportunity and possibility exist. Take Bronnie Ware for example. She lives outside Brisbane, Australia and self published with Balboa Press. Her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying became a topic of world-wide interest. She eventually got a traditional publishing contract and is impacting people throughout the world with her book. Would she have been able to publish through a traditional publisher. Maybe. But how long would she have to wait to see that happen.
“There are some unqualified candidates that run for office, but at least they have a chance to run”. You can probably tell by now, this was not your average cab driver. We talked politics and he made the point that in America everybody has a chance to run for office. Many candidates are not qualified and spend lots of money only to lose the election. But to him that is not the point. The point is they have the opportunity to run. I think the same thing can be said about self-publishing. There are some “unqualified” books that get published, but the greater good is that every body now has the opportunity to publish.
The critics of self publishing argue that bad books get published or that authors get taken of advantage of with false hopes of becoming a best seller. I think they are missing the point. Self publishing is about opportunity and choice. There is no Rasputin-like spell that has been cast over authors that make them pick a particular publishing option. They choose of their own free will and now they can do it for free using DIY solutions or pay for services to help them accomplish their goal. This is truly the best time in history to be an author!
I have to be honest. In the past, I would have been irritated to sit in traffic that long, but I am grateful for my conversation today. It reminded me of two things I know, but sometimes can lose sight of. First, even with the challenges we have in our country, this is still one of the greatest places to live. Second, even though there are naysayers, self-publishing is the best thing to happen to authors since Gutenberg’s press.
So if you have a manuscript, take advantage of the amazing opportunity you have as an author today and make the choice that makes sense for you and get your book published.
….even though there are naysayers, self-publishing is the best thing to happen to authors since Gutenberg’s press.
Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to be part of three Book-to-Screen Pitchfests where authors learn how to pitch their book as an idea for adaptation for film or television and then have the opportunity to pitch to entertainment executives in a speed-dating like setting. They have been great events for the authors and the entertainment executives alike. There have been hundreds of requests for different books. One has been optioned and there are a number of others that are under consideration.
If you break down every great story, it has these elements
What has been most interesting to me is no matter what the genre, there are some common elements to every great story. The books that get noticed have these elements. The books that Hollywood execs often pass on are missing one or more of these. In fact one exec said to me, “If you break down every great story, it has these elements”. So what are they?
An inciting action. This means open the story with some event that sets the characters and action in motion. Get my attention in the beginning and give me a reason why I am going to care about the people and the story going forward.
Conflict. There needs to be some challenge to overcome or some quest or mystery. The character or characters need to have some type of struggle.
Resolution. Make sure the conflict gets resolved by the end of the book and don’t come up with some crazy way to solve the matter. One thing I have noticed about authors’ books that get close to being requested, but often get a pass is the resolution to their story doesn’t make sense. They set up the conflict, make the characters interesting and then resolve it with something that comes out of the blue. In their efforts to be creative, they end up making the ending implausible and that hurts the story.
Protagonist. Give me a character I want to care about and can understand. Help me understand why they do what they do. Sounds simple, but it is very challenging.
Antagonist. Life is often about struggle and opposition and so great stories present those challenges as well. Many times it takes the form of a person. As with the protagonist, make the antagonist interesting. Help me understand why he or she presents the opposition.
Now none of these five elements should be surprising, but I have been somewhat surprised at how some books are missing one of these elements, have them underdeveloped or make them implausible. How about your story? It would be could to do a quick review of your manuscript to see if you have these elements included. All good stories do.
I have to admit I was not a big fan of poetry until a few years ago. I did not take it seriously because it was not constrained by the rules of grammar. Therefore, writers could do anything they wanted and call it poetry. However, my opinion changed when I heard an interview with Dana Gioia. (Gioia is pronounced JOY-uh.) He is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning poet and also Former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Gioia caused me to reconsider my position and made me realize all writers can benefit from reading poetry. He did not make that exact statement, but that is the conclusion I have come to after taking up the habit of reading poetry.
Reading from a collection of poetry like this one will expose to a wide variety of styles and poets.
I got started with a simple book titled, A Poem A Day. It is just what the title says; a collection of 365 poems that are taken from all different time periods. Prompted by the reading of this book and then listening to other interviews about poetry, I started to read works of specific poets. One of my favorites is Jane Kenyon and her book Otherwise. From these books and others, I have come to realize that reading poetry makes you a better writer if you pay attention to what is important to a good poet..
Poetry focuses on the details that otherwise might be missed. A good poem draws the attention of the reader to a certain detail that might have been overlooked. That is a useful skill no matter what genre you are writing. Some times we gloss over something when just spending a little more time describing a scene or character or idea is the difference between communicating and capturing the reader.
Poets appreciate that less is more. While good poets pay attention to details, they don’t use one more word than is needed to make their point. That is so important. Too often, authors think books are like deli meats. The heavier the book, the more it is worth. The reality is many books have over inflated word counts because the author did not appreciate the value of saying more by saying less.
Good poetry uses precise words. It was the interview with Gioia that first caused me to see the value of this. I could use the word, “rock” or the words “crystalline quartz”. Both are correct, but one paints a more vivid picture for the reader. Again, no matter what the genre, I think there is tremendous value in using the exact word rather than a general word when writing. Good poets do this very well. Good writers can learn from them.
For some time I have been saying this is the best time in history to be an author and nothing I have seen recently leads me to believe otherwise. There are more opportunities for authors to get their books published then ever before. One of the more recent options for authors to consider is Booktango. This free DIY e-book publishing platform has a easy-to-use editor and cover designer, distribution to all e-readers and something no else offers: A true 100 percent royalty.
Booktango made the announcement in a May 1 press release. In the release, Chris Bass, Marketing Director for Booktango said, “For the first time, e-book authors can now publish for free and keep the entire sale price of their e-book. That means if an e-book is sold for $4.99 through the Booktango bookstore, the author gets the full $4.99,” That is as good as it gets when it comes to royalties to authors.
I saw this Speed Bump comic strip, and while it made me laugh, I also thought it captured the problem many authors have pondered when they think about book signings in an era of growing e-books sales. How exactly do you do a book signing in the days of digital publishing? Well, I think there is an answer and you can see how it works this Thursday, May 10th from 2:30-3:30 EST.
It is called Behind the Story: A Virtual Book Signing. Registration is limited to the first 200 people and you can sign up by clicking on this link.
If you attend, you will have the opportunity via an online webinar format to meet four authors, learn about their books and inspiration for publishing, plus ask them questions using a chat window. Best of all, after the session you will receive an email with a card called a BookStub that allows you to download a free copy of each of the author’s e-books. The four authors and their books are:
Harvey Gould and his book, A Fierce Local, which is a memoir that offers a vivid picture of what it’s like to travel and live in Ireland.
Ted Simon and his book, A Toxic Assault, which draws eerie connections between race relations in the American South and environmental crimes.
Harvey Burgess and his mystery novel, Kiss Her Goodbye, which introduces readers to the character Houston Cash, an ex cop turned private investigator.
Stuart Maloney and his book, 26, in which he takes readers on an in-depth tour of his life with cerebral palsy.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to connect authors with readers. I think you will find it quite enjoyable.
