If you don't know me, Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book of all time. ;) One of these day's I'll do it justice.
So, I was sort of laughing when someone brought up that a friend asked them what self-publishing/
indie writing entailed. First—let me insert here if someone asks that’s better than the latter…oh writing is so easy, write the thing and put it up there. It reminds me about each and every time a new writer asks me for advice on anything. I’ve had a few that said that’s too ridiculous (perhaps thinking, this girl has no idea what she’s talking about…lol).
Think of the Mad Hatter on crack…this is who you have to be.
What do you mean…all you have to do is write the story, right?
Let’s see here...hmm write the story. This is tougher for some, writers block, research, etc. My problem is the opposite. I have too many ideas and stories to keep up with!
Step two edit, step three edit, step four edit…haha, you get the idea. Too many people complain they don’t have money for an editor, well you better be damn sure you have an eagle eye and have critique partners. What is a critique partner? They are person who reads/writes in the genre you write and will read your story and edit it. I do track changes for my CP’s. Also, I have software that reads back my text. The good thing about eBooks is you can re-read it at a later date and upload a new version. And yes now that I have come along, I have found an editor. Editors: there are many different kinds of editors, find the one you need (content, grammar, etc). This is why a CP is like gold, they can tell you your “issues”.
After this is the cover, be willing to spend some money, but not an exorbitant amount. Some people spend $250 for a cover. This is crazy! I was under the naive notion that I could do my own. Um, did I mention yet that I am a control freak? It was a sloppy mess. I bought some covers from selfpubbookcovers.com and I was very happy with them. But I admit, I needed a better understanding of what sells. People clearly DO judge a book by its cover. I have made Bound for Pleasure, but not without help. I still struggled with understanding GIMP II.
Since then I have purchased the pictures for covers and had someone help me with them. I trade work in kind and basically say verbatim what I want. This isn't to say she isn't talented, I can't wait to show you one cover that blew me away. As I mentioned I think GIMP II hates me. You can't be good at everything and they sooner you realize that they better. I have been having http://www.satisfictionservices.com/ doing my covers for quite some time now.
Marketing: You need to be good with social media. Understand how they work and find circles and marketing sites on Facebook. Be sure to start with a “personal” Facebook and then an “Author” Facebook page off of that. The personal one helps you Market on other Facebook pages. Your author page is great tool for understanding your audience. A blog is another good way to market, but decide if you can keep up with it and what type of content you want on it.
Marketing is the biggest piece, growing your brand from your name to your following. People are tempted to buy followers, but why. They aren’t people, but rather robots and they don’t buy books. Also people putting “Bestselling Author” I’ve told this to a few people, make sure you are honest with your readers. Did you earn that title? Did you “sell” these books or where they free? Be sure to make that distinction.
Be sure to hype up your book before you publish it. Ask others for help, do a cover reveal, blog tour, Rafflecopter, Goodreads giveaways, there are so many things.
What not to do:
Don’t annoy the heck out of people. OMG I cannot tell you how many people I have unfriended on both Twitter and Facebook. These are SOCIAL places. Also politics and religion have no place here. You are selling books not your personal beliefs. Sure, readers love to feel a connection with you, but they don’t want to be offended.
Twitter:
Don’t say thanks for following me here’s my books in the same Tweet to me…I won’t look at it…guaranteed. AutoDM’s are the worst.
Don’t put my name in a Tweet with your marketing promo.
Facebook:
Stop promoting to the same pages every day. I try to do it once a week and I have many books. Most people in your circle are in the same groups as you. So you clutter up my notification’s feed. I see 45 notifications and 12 are from ABC person (unfriend, especially if that is the only reason you friended me). Also, don’t PM a link. A link and nothing else screams spam to me.
Damn, this girl is so mean you say. LOL Someone actually heard my whole spiel about Amazon. About certain covers and words not accepted. They said this is too hard, too much red tape and said forget it. You need to understand and be mindful of so much. I read a lot of books before I published my very first one. Arm yourself, ask questions and don’t go blindly. You will be hurting yourself in the long run.
Phew, are we ready to put the book up yet??
Learn all the places you want to pub, understand the good and bad of each. There are formatting and cover rules for each of them. Then press that button. Sigh you are done, right? Wrong! Market, get reviews and guess what…you better be working on your next book. ;)
indie writing entailed. First—let me insert here if someone asks that’s better than the latter…oh writing is so easy, write the thing and put it up there. It reminds me about each and every time a new writer asks me for advice on anything. I’ve had a few that said that’s too ridiculous (perhaps thinking, this girl has no idea what she’s talking about…lol).
Think of the Mad Hatter on crack…this is who you have to be.
What do you mean…all you have to do is write the story, right?
Let’s see here...hmm write the story. This is tougher for some, writers block, research, etc. My problem is the opposite. I have too many ideas and stories to keep up with!
Step two edit, step three edit, step four edit…haha, you get the idea. Too many people complain they don’t have money for an editor, well you better be damn sure you have an eagle eye and have critique partners. What is a critique partner? They are person who reads/writes in the genre you write and will read your story and edit it. I do track changes for my CP’s. Also, I have software that reads back my text. The good thing about eBooks is you can re-read it at a later date and upload a new version. And yes now that I have come along, I have found an editor. Editors: there are many different kinds of editors, find the one you need (content, grammar, etc). This is why a CP is like gold, they can tell you your “issues”.
After this is the cover, be willing to spend some money, but not an exorbitant amount. Some people spend $250 for a cover. This is crazy! I was under the naive notion that I could do my own. Um, did I mention yet that I am a control freak? It was a sloppy mess. I bought some covers from selfpubbookcovers.com and I was very happy with them. But I admit, I needed a better understanding of what sells. People clearly DO judge a book by its cover. I have made Bound for Pleasure, but not without help. I still struggled with understanding GIMP II.
Since then I have purchased the pictures for covers and had someone help me with them. I trade work in kind and basically say verbatim what I want. This isn't to say she isn't talented, I can't wait to show you one cover that blew me away. As I mentioned I think GIMP II hates me. You can't be good at everything and they sooner you realize that they better. I have been having http://www.satisfictionservices.com/ doing my covers for quite some time now.
Marketing: You need to be good with social media. Understand how they work and find circles and marketing sites on Facebook. Be sure to start with a “personal” Facebook and then an “Author” Facebook page off of that. The personal one helps you Market on other Facebook pages. Your author page is great tool for understanding your audience. A blog is another good way to market, but decide if you can keep up with it and what type of content you want on it.
Marketing is the biggest piece, growing your brand from your name to your following. People are tempted to buy followers, but why. They aren’t people, but rather robots and they don’t buy books. Also people putting “Bestselling Author” I’ve told this to a few people, make sure you are honest with your readers. Did you earn that title? Did you “sell” these books or where they free? Be sure to make that distinction.
Be sure to hype up your book before you publish it. Ask others for help, do a cover reveal, blog tour, Rafflecopter, Goodreads giveaways, there are so many things.
What not to do:
Don’t annoy the heck out of people. OMG I cannot tell you how many people I have unfriended on both Twitter and Facebook. These are SOCIAL places. Also politics and religion have no place here. You are selling books not your personal beliefs. Sure, readers love to feel a connection with you, but they don’t want to be offended.
Twitter:
Don’t say thanks for following me here’s my books in the same Tweet to me…I won’t look at it…guaranteed. AutoDM’s are the worst.
Don’t put my name in a Tweet with your marketing promo.
Facebook:
Stop promoting to the same pages every day. I try to do it once a week and I have many books. Most people in your circle are in the same groups as you. So you clutter up my notification’s feed. I see 45 notifications and 12 are from ABC person (unfriend, especially if that is the only reason you friended me). Also, don’t PM a link. A link and nothing else screams spam to me.
Damn, this girl is so mean you say. LOL Someone actually heard my whole spiel about Amazon. About certain covers and words not accepted. They said this is too hard, too much red tape and said forget it. You need to understand and be mindful of so much. I read a lot of books before I published my very first one. Arm yourself, ask questions and don’t go blindly. You will be hurting yourself in the long run.
Phew, are we ready to put the book up yet??
Learn all the places you want to pub, understand the good and bad of each. There are formatting and cover rules for each of them. Then press that button. Sigh you are done, right? Wrong! Market, get reviews and guess what…you better be working on your next book. ;)
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