BLAZING A TRAIL Interviews: Michael A. Stackpole

To celebrate its launch, BLAZING A TRAIL: Your Self Publishing Journey is FREE in Kindle format today!

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Mike Stackpole was one of the first authors to recognize the opportunities digital publishing had to offer. Here is the interview he gave for BLAZING A TRAIL:  Your Self Publishing Journey.

Michael A. Stackpole is a bestselling author of many traditionally published novels and a successful self-publisher. His most recent Indie release is MYSTERIOUS WAYS. His website is  http://www.stormwolf.com

Tell us a little about your background and publishing history.

I’m an eight times New York Times Bestselling author with over 45 books published. I’ve independently published a handful of originals (collections or novels) as well as a number of novels which had been traditionally published, but had no ebook rights attached. I’ve also participated in a number of Indie anthology projects, like FIVE BY, with Kevin J. Anderson, B. V. Larson, Loren Coleman, and Aaron Allston. That project was conceived of and executed as an Indie project.

If you published with a traditional publisher before self-publishing, do you think having a following helped your Indie sales? Why or why not?

There is no denying that having been previously published is very helpful. Any books sale involves a “trust me” factor. By having had work out before, readers already know what I can do. Also, as readers transition from paper books to ebooks, they look for authors they know and trust. Having a name—and a book on a shelf—is a convenient starting place. After all, if they decide to get my latest for their eReader, and do a search, all my titles show up. This way they find the traditionally published ebooks, as well as my Indie work. Search Engines do not discriminate in that way.

What led to your decision to self-publish?

Two main factors: First, money. I like getting a larger share of the pie. Second, I had work which no one else wanted to bring out in any format, simply because they couldn’t see how to make money off it. I could. So I decided to bring the books out.

How long have you been self-publishing?

I was the first author to have fiction available in the iTunes App store, and I had several stories available before that in a format that worked on iPhones and iPods. My self-published work began, however, back in April, 2003 with The Secrets, my how-to-write newsletter. So, at least ten years.  If you want to take my gaming work into account, where I was writing, editing, and publishing through Flying Buffalo, Inc, then we kick it back to 1979, but who’s counting?

What were your goals when you began, and how have they changed since then? How do you measure success?

Great question. My goals were poorly thought out and really require constant revision because of the way the marketplace and Indie publishing changes. The basic goal was to make money, and that continues. Marketing is a secondary goal, and that’s the slippery one. That takes a lot of work where the results are very hard to quantify when it comes to success. You can’t put five hours in one day and see $1,000 show up tomorrow. Or, if you can, tell me how. Twitter is a great example. I send out stories every day and then see things retweeted up to a week later. Clearly it is working, and announcing a new book will generate sales, no doubt, but getting it to build requires a lot of effort and constantly embracing new strategies.

Did you do a lot of the production process yourself, or did you hire people to do it for you? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

I do a lot myself because a) I am cheap and b) I’m coming from the gaming industry where I did all of that stuff in the past anyway. Graphics, which I really can’t do, I hire out or barter for. Ditto editing. I rely on the kindness of friends for proofreading. (They seem to think that getting to see an advanced copy is payment somehow.) I’m very satisfied with the outcome, but, again, I developed those skills a long time ago. If I was just trying to learn it all now, I know the learning curve would be steep in parts. Still, the cost/benefit analysis would push me on to do it.

How have you spread the word about your work?

Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, blogging, conventions. I did a limited run of CDs with one book on it and then did readings at conventions. I had a really good sell-through after the readings. Interviews and developing a list of reviewers to whom work can be sent is also important. I will do more on developing that list this year.

What has been the most effective thing you have done to promote your books? What has been the least effective?

To me, marketing efforts are really tough to quantify when it comes to results. For example, I had really good results last year when I did a giveaway via Amazon. Gave a boatload of books away and had really good follow-up sales. One of my publishers tried the same trick with one of my books, had exactly the opposite result: gave away tons, had no following sales. I think the real key is to build up a captive audience and use them as the foundation of what you’re doing. Also, enlisting bloggers through free review copies is key. Less because they have dedicated readers than anything is a chance for folks to be reminded the work is out there.

How did your Indie sales evolve? What should a new Indie author expect?

Yes, sales do evolve. They ebb and flow. Frankly, we are too new to this whole market to be identifying all the variables in play, much less identifying one (price, for example) which is the “magic bullet.” Price competition is stupid, to my mind, since it’s never really been part of the way folks buy books. Plus, since anyone can get a free sample and decide to read more based on that, how can you price your book below free? Better to learn how to write the front part of a book to hook readers than to worry about what the price of your book will be.

In terms of  new Indie authors, they need to think endurance, not sprint. Stay in the game. Turning out more work is actually marketing and very effective marketing. Sales will build eventually. Figure out two or three marketing methods with which you are comfortable, master them, and use them mercilessly. (Sample chapters are your best friend.) Don’t feel you have to do all the stuff everyone else tells you to do. Job one is write. Better to sell three copies of  ten titles than thirty copies of one title simply because with ten titles, it’s easier for a reader to discover you.

What influenced your decision to price your books as you did?

I price them at what I think is fair and below what traditional publishers charge. In my case, it’s simple, $1 per 10,000 words, capped around $6 (depending on the book and any special/deluxe features). So, if the book is a monster, you get a bargain. I’m also turning out more compact novels, running around 50,000-60,000 words (the pre-1987 length for SF/F—current length for crime fiction and [category] romances). This means I can do more to have more work out there for more readers.

What are your top tips for new Indie authors? What do you wish you had known before you started?

Be market aware and keep writing. The saddest authors are the ones that flog the hell out of a single book. Why? Because by the time they’ve sold a copy to everyone who could conceivably buy it, they don’t have anything new to offer. Careers are made from continuing sales, not one-offs. You always want to have something new for the reader to find, and to include sample chapters in the back of earlier book, complete with links to buy.

Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

Read the blogs, follow twitter feeds (@mikestackpole), and do what you must to keep up with trends, but take everything with a grain of salt. Sure, the predictions I started making about all this five years ago have come true, but that’s less because of truth of my vision, than the persistence of it. While folks waited to see what the future would become, I was out there telling them how it would be. They went along with me and my vision simply because it was easier than thinking for themselves (and risking being wrong compared to me—tongue in cheek here).

Most of all, keep writing. The fact that you must market does not excuse you from writing. More material means more sales. Every new person is a chance to buy your whole backlist. Don’t disappoint them by not having one. Also, think about new ways to tell stories and use them. Make the medium work for you.

BLAZING A TRAIL Interviews: Kris Tualla

Kris Tualla is one of the people who showed me that succeeding at self-publishing was possible. She shared her insights with me for BLAZING A TRAIL:  Your Self Publishing Journey, and in celebration of its release, I’m sharing what she had to say here.

Kris Tualla is the author of the historical romance Hansen series, the Discreet Gentleman series, and two books on self-publishing. Her most recent Indie release is LEAVING NORWAY and FINDING SOVEREIGNTY (Story and sequel released together in December 2012.) Her website is http://www.kristualla.com/

Tell us a little about your background and publishing history.

I started writing in 2006 on a whim and completed my first 100,000-word manuscript in ten weeks. I was hooked! I kept writing and learning, pitching and querying. I signed with an agent in 2009 and had full manuscripts requested by Big 6 publishers.

What led to your decision to self-publish?

After two solid years of either “we can’t sell Norway” or absolute silence from the publishers who had my manuscripts, I decided to take them back and self-publish.

 

How long have you been self-publishing?

Since September 2010.

What were your goals when you began, and how have they changed since then? How do you measure success?

My goal was to sell books and make money. That has not changed. Success, to me, is making more than a traditionally published author.

Did you do a lot of the production process yourself, or did you hire people to do it for you? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

I did it myself, except for editing and proofing, which REQUIRE multiple sets of outside “eyes.”

How have you spread the word about your work?

Appearances anywhere and anytime, Facebook, price manipulation online, and  promo CDs sent across the country to events.

What has been the most effective thing you have done to promote your books? What has been the least effective?

Most = price manipulation. Least = Advertising.

What influenced your decision to price your books as you did?

I started with the 99-cent lead-in and $2.99 follow-up, but now those price points have become warnings that the books aren’t any good. I raised them all to $5.99.

What are your top tips for new Indie authors? What do you wish you had known before you started?

#1 is MAKE SURE you have a good product as judged by publishing professionals!

#2 is to remember our books have no “shelf life,” so any book could hit big at any time.

#3 is to write another book.

Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Far too many self-pubbed authors publish prematurely out of ignorance and put out a crappy product. Game over before it’s begun.

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BLAZING A TRAIL: Your Self Publishing Journey is now available in Kindle format and will be FREE March 19 – 21. If you decide to download a copy, please return after you’ve read it and leave a review. Thanks!

BLAZING A TRAIL Interviews: Thomas Watson

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

To promote the release of BLAZING A TRAIL: Your Self Publishing Journey I’m sharing some of the interviews with Indie authors that are in the book. From my perspective, knowing how self publishing has worked for a variety of people who have written different kinds of books is much more valuable than knowing how it worked for just one or two outliers. Today’s interview is with Tom Watson.

Thomas Watson is the author of THE LUCK OF HAN’ANGA and FOUNDERS’ EFFECT, the first two books in The War of the Second Iteration series. His website is http://underdesertstars.wordpress.com .

Tell us a little about your background and publishing history.

I was a freelance writer from the late 1970s through the early 1990s. I wrote fiction as well as articles and essays, but had no luck selling novels or short stories during that time. While that was going on, I worked a variety of retail jobs to make ends meet, read a lot of science fiction, and was involved in science fiction fandom in the Phoenix area. It was a rewarding, but not always easy, way of life. In the mid ‘90s, burned out by constant financial struggles, and a persistent lack of success with fiction, I went back to school and finished a degree process set aside many years before. By 2000 I’d pretty much stopped writing, and shortly after actually admitted that I’d given up. The possibilities presented by modern forms of self-published revived my interest in writing for publication in late 2010.

What led to your decision to self-publish?

The rejection letters I received from fiction editors in the ’80s weren’t always form letters, simply signed and sent. On the contrary, I received enough encouragement to believe that I would sooner or later be published, yet it never happened. I eventually, after trying for twenty years or so, gave it up and moved on to other things. I was never happy about that. The modern form of self-publishing made possible by the digital age provided options that motivated me to try again. The results so far have kept me motivated.

How long have you been self-publishing?

Not very long, at the time of this writing. My first book, a short memoir about star gazing, MR. OLCOTT’S SKIES, was released in March of 2012.  THE LUCK OF HAN’ANGA followed in June.

What were your goals when you began, and how have they changed since then? How do you measure success?

The only goal I had in the beginning was to master the process of producing and publishing a book. Beyond that, I’ve avoided setting arbitrary goals or specific milestones and don’t worry much with how I might measure success. To my mind, it’s simply too soon for that. Something I learned the hard way in my first attempt at writing for a living is that expectations raised by a writer are seldom realized and rarely unfold quickly if they are realized. The discouragement that sometimes follows unrealized expectations can suck the creative impulses right out of you. So for now, I’m concentrating on the work of getting the next book out there and will then redirect a bit more of my energy toward self-promotion.

Did you do a lot of the production process yourself, or did you hire people to do it for you? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

Because of financial constraints, the only production related work I’ve paid for was some formatting early on. I’ve since learned to do all of that for myself. I haven’t done this on my own, however. Several people have played the role of beta readers for me, providing critical evaluations and much needed reality checks. Believe me when I say I am grateful for both, and that my books would not be anywhere near as readable as they are without that input. I am also fortunate enough to be married to someone who is not only an excellent proof reader, but also is not at all shy about telling me when something I’ve written just doesn’t work. My biggest production challenge has been cover art. I’ve managed to work that out on my own, so far. I have been quite pleased by the results and have seen no complaints so far regarding production values.

How have you spread the word about your work?

I’ve actually made only limited efforts to actively promote my work. I use Twitter as a quick and dirty promotional tool and keep people up to date using Facebook and a weblog. I have promotional “threads” running on the Kindle Boards, Shelfari, and Goodreads. Being focused on getting books out there, I have not really explored the possibilities of self-promotion. When the second book of the series is out, I’ll shift my focus a bit toward such matters.

What has been the most effective thing you have done to promote your books? What has been the least effective?

Two things have worked especially well for me, so far. First was a giveaway I ran on Goodreads. Five signed copies of The Luck of Han’anga were made available. Before the event ran its course, more than 250 people had added the book to their “Want to Read” lists. The second is a short story I wrote, set in the Second Iteration universe, which is available for free. More than three hundred people downloaded it in a month, with only Twitter and Facebook to announce its availability. Several readers of the short story have since purchased the novel. As for least effective, the weblog might fit that characterization, but a bit unfairly, as I neglect the blog in favor of using my writing time to work on books.

How did your Indie sales evolve? What should a new Indie author expect?

Sales have so far not evolved in any meaningful way. The books haven’t been out there long enough, and I’ve spent too little time promoting them. With only a few months of availability, this is hardly a surprise. As for expectations, I’d tell someone just launching right now to have absolutely NO expectations of any kind whatsoever regarding sales. There’s too much luck involved in this business, no matter which tricks you are inclined to try. People out there hustling and “gaming” the system for the most part don’t seem to be doing much better than those who focus on the writing. So, save your strength for the keyboard!

What influenced your decision to price your books as you did?

A great many things, from numerous blog pieces to discussions online. In the end, though, I looked at the prices of a large number of books in my genre, independently published, and took a rough average. That matched the range presented by blogs and discussion groups, and so I picked a price from the middle of that range.

What are your top tips for new Indie authors? What do you wish you had known before you started?

I wish I’d known a little earlier that independent publishing had changed so dramatically, in the digital age. I’d have started writing again sooner! As for tips, don’t sweat formatting. You do need to make the effort to get it right, but it isn’t nearly as difficult or complicated as some people would have you believe!

Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

Patient Indie authors are fond of saying that this is a marathon, not a sprint. They are right.

BLAZING A TRAIL Interviews: Roxy Rogers

Another of the authors that agreed to be interviewed for BLAZING A TRAIL: Your Self Publishing Journey is Roxy Rogers.

Rogers’ most recent publication is GABRIEL’S RELEASE, the prequel to the Angels Descending series, and PAYBACK, the first of 16 novelettes in her HEROES series. Her website is  www.RoxyRogers.com

Tell us a little about your background and publishing history.

I began writing for newspapers while still in high school and then wrote for the IT industry before focusing my efforts on erotic romance and starting my own publishing company. I began releasing short stories as an Indie in 2011 and have a series of novelettes and a novel in progress.

If you published with a traditional publisher before self-publishing, do you think having a following helped your Indie sales? Why or why not?

Not significantly. My erotica with Cleis Press has contributed to some cross-over interest for my romance, but the demographics for each type of story are different enough that I would say the effect on sales is marginal. It also might be too early to tell since I have more romance for sale than erotica.

What led to your decision to self-publish?

I’d already been thinking about publishing independently when I sold a piece of short erotica to a New York publisher for an anthology they released in 2012 (GOING DOWN: ORAL SEX STORIES). This was the final push I needed that convinced me I was ready not only as a writer, but allowed me to really embrace the idea of having full editorial control of my product.

How long have you been self-publishing?

Since 2011.

What were your goals when you began, and how have they changed since then? How do you measure success?

When I started, I had three main goals:

1. Produce the most professional erotic romance stories that I could
2. Focus on the emerging eBook market. (I believe digital is the future of fiction and I am highly committed to reducing the waste and environmental toxins that the traditional publishing models create, particularly in the areas of paper pulping and carbon impact from the 40% returns model currently used.)
3. Retain editorial control of my stories from conception to final sale  and in the process, learn the best way to create a product I’m proud of, and in a way that generates sales but also ensures happy readers. Happy customers are repeat customers.

My goals have remained the same, but I’ve added more detailed goals, mostly around distributing internationally, increasing my output, and time-relevant goals for obtaining financial autonomy.

Measuring success as a new Indie is based on process rather than sales for me, at least for now.  Financial measurements are important as future goals, but regular sales are more important. When I am earning my main living from the sale of eBooks, my measurements will focus on finances and demographics. The way I measure success now is based on continuous forward movement toward my long-term goals, knowing that regular sales, no matter their size in each distribution channel, are proof that I’ve been successful in meeting my early quality goals: providing the most professional stories I can using a process that works for me. Every writer’s work improves the longer they practice their craft, so focusing attention on my writing, and on creating as many products in the market as possible helps me move closer to attaining success in all areas. In all things, including measurement, I’m thinking long-term rather than short-term. In retirement, my body of work will be my passive income stream, allowing me to travel and write on a more flexible schedule. That’s a very important end goal for me. If I can also afford Nanomeds when they become available and live long enough to write the 300+ stories I have clamoring to be written, I’ll be thrilled.

Did you do a lot of the production process yourself, or did you hire people to do it for you? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

I’ve mostly hired vendors, although I did experiment with various parts of the process to understand how it’s done and to help me better manage the talent required to do each task at the quality level I want to achieve. Vendors can be difficult, and the market is filled with unprofessional vendors who have talent but little or no business sense. Having managed vendors in my IT career, I was prepared to go through several in each production area until I found the right mix of talent and professionalism. I can’t stress enough how important it is not to settle on vendors who don’t give you what you asked for at the quality level or schedule agreed upon. If I want my readers to have professional quality products, I have to demand quality and professionalism from my vendors. I work full-time in addition to my publishing career, so it was more economical for me to outsource the editing, formatting, and cover art. I did perform the formatting and partial edits on one of my eBooks, and even though the formatting was the easier of the two tasks, I’m still convinced that my time is better spent writing than performing most production tasks myself.

How have you spread the word about your work?

I have a professionally created web site, a blog, and I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. I have also made appearances at conferences and public events. While I don’t spend much time promoting my work through my blog (in fact I often go several months between entries), I do think it helps with the general buzz about my work.

What has been the most effective thing you have done to promote your books? What has been the least effective?

Having a presence in many virtual places increases the number of search engine hits received when someone searches on my name, and it does move the occurrences of my name higher up in Google search results. While I don’t think that has been responsible for sales, I believe sales result from a certain level of saturation in the market. Search results are just one part of that saturation. I’ve seen my best sales periods when I was receiving new reviews on Amazon while simultaneously advertising my books once weekly on Twitter and Facebook, using a one-line comment and a link. I have not used my blog for promotions yet, but I am planning to do that several times in the coming year. While it’s difficult to measure whether the social net blasts or the reviews on Amazon were primarily responsible for the sales or not, I believe both my reviews and my Twitter/Facebook blasts had an effect. It could have been a combination of factors. I also think that publishing erotica in an anthology was helpful to my romance as it gave me the opportunity to reach a demographic that would not normally be focusing their attention on romance, again adding to the saturation factor.

How did your Indie sales evolve? What should a new Indie author expect?

My sales have been somewhat regular and enough to pay for utility bills. However, considering all of my eBooks are short stories or novelettes, that’s actually very good. I begin at a price point of $.99, so my products are not typical in that most authors begin with full length novels at a higher price point. I find that all my sales have experienced what I would call the bell curve effect. They’ve been seasonally affected, and they drop and plateau after peaking around the holidays. My best sales periods have been from November – April. My assumption is that the high of that sales curve result from readers buying for the holidays  and also buying more books after receiving a new ereader as a gift. I also notice that sales change depending upon what’s taking place in the market. As more Indie publishers enter the market, my sales drop off when I’m not releasing a new book. I’ve found that making sure you have something releasing regularly seems to be the best way to keep overall sales up.

What influenced your decision to price your books as you did?

At first, the length of my work dictated the price, such as charging $.99 for a short story or novelette. However, as the market environment changes and I have more publications out, I’ll be changing my prices to reflect quality and value perception.

What are your top tips for new Indie authors? What do you wish you had known before you started?

Do it now. Don’t wait! Don’t let rejection from traditional publishers convince you that your work isn’t ready. Their business models are antiquated. and they’re not a good yard stick to use in measuring whether you are ready. Once I started publishing, I couldn’t believe how much easier it was than I had imagined and how much happier I was about having control over the entire process. If you are a person who hates the idea of managing details or vendors, then it might not be for you. It was the perfect fit for me, and I wish I had started at least a year before I did. Remember that this whole production business is a balancing act. You are wearing many hats, even if you outsource most of the production work. Another thing to keep in mind is that the industry is in constant flux right now. You’ll need to be constantly adjusting your business model for that, so stay as fluid in your approach as you can and expect change to occur on a regular basis.

Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

Don’t expect to get rich overnight. For a tiny few this will occur, but for the rest of us, publishing is a long-term commitment, but it offers long-term rewards. Be patient with yourself, with the process, and above all, write the best books you can. As the saying goes, “Cream rises.” And you will too if you’re committed to professional quality and to your craft.

Publishers Behaving Badly, Part… I’ve Lost Count

David Gaughran has collected information about this train wreck and analyzes it far better than I could. This is a must read if you’re waffling about how to approach publishing. (Also note: David’s novel and short story collections are free today.)

Publishers Behaving Badly, Part… I’ve Lost Count.

Start Planning Now For 2013

I know that’s not what you want to hear right now. You’re in the throes of buying holiday gifts, decorating, making the rounds of parties, and hosting guests. You’d rather wait until January to make plans for 2013. But after all the ribbons and candles are put away, you’ll want to hit the ground running, and that will be easier to do if you already have a plan. It doesn’t have to be rigid or too detailed. In fact, I think it’s better to leave it a little loose because as we all know, Life Happens. But in the end you’ll be happier with where you wind up if you know where you’re going.

One of the things already on my calendar for 2013 is a class I’m teaching for WriterUniv.com. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, co-founder Laurie Campbell asked me to teach a class called “Before You Indie Publish” next March. I have the lessons completed already, and I’m putting together a companion book (BLAZING A TRAIL: YOUR SELF PUBLISHING JOURNEY) with additional material. That’s almost done, too, and will be released in late February or early March. I’ll be finishing the production process for that in January and February. (BTW, I’m including an appendix of interviews of indie authors. If you’ve self-published at least five months ago and would like to have your perspective included, please contact me.)

I’m also talking at the Tucson Festival of Books next March. First, I’m on a panel titled, “50 Shades of What? Is Erotica Romance?” and the next day I’ll be on a panel about blending genres.

I’ll be releasing BETRAYED BY TRUST early in the year, too. (BBT is set in 1979 and in the same “universe” as LIGHTBRINGER.)

After that, I’ll be working on GUARDIAN, the sequel to LIGHTBRINGER. I’m really looking forward to writing fiction again, but I may take a couple of weeks off to catch my breath.

What do you have planned for next year?

FORBIDDEN TALENTS Is Available on Amazon!

The Kindle version of FORBIDDEN TALENTS,  book two of the Vinlanders’ Saga, is now available on Amazon!

This is Ragni and Saeun’s story, but the hero and heroine from the first book, Dahleven and Celia, are significant characters.

Here’s the “back cover copy”:
As the second son of the Kon of Nuvinland, and a priest of Baldur, Lord Ragni understands the demands of politics. He’s not surprised when his father arranges a marriage for him to the daughter of another Jarl. Unfortunately, Ragni has just fallen hard for Saeun.

Saeun never expected to fall in love with Lord Ragni, but what began as a casual dalliance with a ladies’ man blossomed into a deep passion. But her hopes for the future are dashed when her tools of forbidden magic are discovered. To save herself, and Ragni’s reputation, Saeun escapes into a deadly blizzard—leaving behind everything, and everyone, she loves.

Ragni faces an agonizing choice: enforce the law he’s sworn to uphold, or save the woman he loves.

And while the lovers’ hearts are breaking, a dark and ancient threat to all of Nuvinland is gaining strength.

FORBIDDEN TALENTS will stand alone, but you’ll enjoy it even more if you’ve read DANGEROUS TALENTS.

Every Indie Knows . . .

When I plan what to write about here, I sometimes catch myself thinking, “Everybody knows that. I don’t want to beat a dead horse.” But not everybody is in the same place in their career development, and not everybody has read earlier posts, so at the risk of repeating myself, I’m going to mention a few things again.

Get Rich Quick and Easy–NOT!

The decision to bypass traditional publishers and go Indie is sometimes regarded as a quick way to make money. It takes so much less time to get a book in front of a reader with digital publishing than it does going the traditional route, it’s easy to see how beginners might fall into the trap of thinking this. In my experience, however, and in the experience of the Indie authors I know personally, this is not the case. It takes time to build an audience, and unless you already have a following from some other public life or as a traditionally published author, don’t expect to sell hundreds or thousands of books in the first few weeks, or even months. The authors who do well as Indies have multiple books out there. Don’t expect your first book to take off like a rocket. Keep writing.

It also takes a lot of work. See below.

YOUR BOOK NEEDS EDITING

I’ve seen some good books that went though multiple rounds of beta readers so I won’t say categorically that a book must have professional editing to succeed. But good golly, it sure helps. Yes, it will push back your break even point but I think your long term career will benefit because the book will be that much better. Second only to word of mouth, readers say the reputation of the author is what persuades them to buy. Build your reputation by putting out a quality product.

I just finished “Not Magic Enough,” a novella by Valerie Douglas that is meant to be an ambassador for the author’s other romantic fantasy books. The author’s voice is absolutely perfect, but as an ad for her other books this offering is weak because of the poor editing. (Despite that, check it out. Douglas’s voice is beautiful.)

My advice: Don’t rush your finished story out the door. Get a pro editor, or if you can’t afford it, do multiple rounds of beta readers. Even so, typos will still slip though, but consider what your work will look like if you don’t do this.  You don’t want readers to miss the forest of your story for the trees of typos.

GET A GOOD COVER

Some authors have the skill to design beautiful and effective covers, or they have a loved one who can do it for them, but most of us don’t. Human’s are visual creatures. We respond to visual cues. We need to use this to sell our work. If we don’t, our competitors will, and they’ll make the sale that could have been ours.

FORMATTING

I’d rather be writing than cleaning up Word’s weird style artifacts, but formatting can be done at home. If you decide to do this yourself, make use of the great resources out there to learn how to do it well. Me, I hire it out. There are folks out there charging very reasonable prices for quick, clean work. You do not want a reader to stop reading your story (and leave a bad review) because the font changes every other paragraph, or the question marks are replaced by hieroglyphics.

SO OBVIOUS IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE MENTIONED, BUT I WILL ANYWAY

Write a great story with engaging characters. ‘Nuff said.

My Self-Publishing Journey: Kindle Select Update

I mentioned in an earlier post that Amazon has been changing its algorithms for Kindle Select so that books using the free promotion days no longer get  the significant bump in sales they once did. Since then I’ve read more about this, and realized that none of my books were  in the program during the golden or even the silver age of  Kindle Select. In the early days (less than six months ago) books could expect hundreds or perhaps thousands of sales after a free stint. That had changed by the time I signed up. Which is not to say it can’t still happen. It can, as Edward W. Robertson (no relation) experienced with the aftermath of the free promo of his book BREAKERS. But as Ed recently posted, Amazon’s changes to its algorithms has changed the game for many self-publishers.

After an amazing amount of close observation, number crunching, and analysis, Ed determined that Amazon has been testing not one, not two, but three different algorithms, each with different consequences for self-published authors. It’s unlikely that Amazon will go back to the old way of weighting free downloads equally with a sale. In fact, as Ed mentions at the tail-end of a recent podcast interview, there’s evidence that more expensive books are weighted more heavily in Amazon’s popularity lists than cheap books are. (Time to raise the price on those 99 centers!) This makes some sense. A book that costs $4.99 or $7.99 requires more of a “buy in” on the part of a customer than a free book or a 99 cent book does. The buyer must want it more to spend more, so Amazon gives that purchase more popularity “points.”

These changes are also the topic in Russel Blake’s post. His take on the future of self-publishing is more negative than Ed’s, but his basic premise is sound: Amazon is in business to make a profit, not to support indie authors.  Amazon will make changes to its algorithms with that goal–to maximize profits– in mind. Some of Jeff Bezo’s business decisions will benefit self-publishers, some will hurt us, and some will have a mixed effect. Working with Amazon is like sleeping with an elephant, after all. They may not mean you harm, but you feel it every time they twitch.

Personally, I think Amazon will choose a middle ground between equating a free download with a sale and not recognizing it at all. I think they’ll continue to use an algorithm that counts free downloads as 10% of a sale. If they don’t do at least that much, they’ll be missing a chance to increase sales and profits from indie authors (minimal though they might be to Amazon’s balance sheet), and authors will stop making their books exclusive to Amazon through Kindle Select.  In that case Amazon might as well discontinue the program altogether–which I doubt they want to do.

It has been ten days since LIGHTBRINGER  went back to paid status after its most recent free promo. So far the post-promo sales for LIGHTBRINGER are comparable to what I experienced after my other two free promotions. The book’s sales numbers aren’t as amazing as some other authors experienced in the first months of the year, but they are an improvement over what my books were selling before the the promotion. While I would have loved to have experienced those phenomenal rebound sales, I think the smaller bump in sales may be more sustainable (also due to the change in Amazon’s algorithm). And since I’m in this for the long haul, that’s probably more important.

What’s the take-away from all this?

1. Amazon will continue to experiment with their algorithms.
2. It’s harder to make a killing using free promotions through Kindle Select than it used to be.
3. There are still benefits to using Kindle Select.
4. Focus on what you can control: writing a good book, with good editing, good formatting, a good cover, and a good product description. Rinse and repeat.

The First Amendment Lives!

There is excellent news about PayPal’s position on erotic publishing. Following an intense period of negotiation, and in response to a huge amount of talk online, PayPal has revised its position. Mark Coker writes:

This is a big, bold move by PayPal. It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction. It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.

Following implementation of their new policies, PayPal will have the most liberal, pro-First Amendment policies of the major payment processors.

As the saying goes, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. In this case, the response was swift, and those who wanted to restrict freedom found out that authors and readers were not sleeping.