A Week of Self-Published Authors: Final Guest, K.C. May

As the week winds down and our final guest shares her experiences, I want to give a big thanks to all four authors who took the time to answer our questions in such detail and with such candor. I think a lot of the authors out there who haven't become best-sellers feel a degree of failure in themselves, at least that is my impression when I talk to many of them. For all of you who are beating yourself up over your sales, I hope the authors who've been interviewed this week have helped put things into perspective for you. "Writing is not a sprint, it's a marathon." It's like most careers-- you don't don't get hired in as the president of the company, you have to work your way up.

What can you (we) take away from this week?

• Write. Writing more is the absolute best way for you to become a success.
• Don't get distracted by social media. It can seem like a good investment of time, and sometimes it is, but best in moderation.
• Write more.
• Brand yourself. Be who your books are, at least as far as what your readers see and hear.
• Free book giveaways are a very good marketing tool.
• Write more.
• Be patient. If you're a good writer, and if you stick with it, you'll find success even if you end up having to redefine what you thought "success" was originally going to be.
• Pay attention to the trends in the industry. New ideas and options for marketing are coming out all the time.
• If you're not sure if you're spending your time well, you should probably be writing.

Our last guest is K.C. May, a science fiction and fantasy author with six novels to date. She has her own publishing house and has been in the business for close to ten years. She is one of the few self-

published authors who has created the ability for herself to make writing her full-time career. She has a lot of experience and it shows. Authors, take a look at her website www.kcmay.com. It's everything an author would want their website to be: clean, professional, and fun. Take a look at the covers of her books. Even if you'd only read one of the Kinshield saga, you'd know any of the others were part of that series simply by the cover.

You’ve been a novelist for close to a decade. In that time, the industry has drastically changed. What do you see as the positives from those changes and what do you see as the negatives?

When I first started writing novels (in the late 80s), there weren’t a lot of ways for a writer to get feedback. Without feedback, it’s difficult to know what you’ve done right vs. what you need to improve. With the internet came ways for writers to connect, and share advice and feedback. Since my first book was published in 2005, the biggest changes have been in the explosion of the number and variety of outlets for publication. Small presses have succeeded, vanity publishing has diminished, and self-publishing has emerged as a surprisingly viable means to earn a living as a writer.

Your novel, The Kinshield Legacy, won a hardcover publishing contract in 2005. You’ve since had the rights reverted back to you and published it under your own imprint, “Peach Orchard Press”. Why did you decide not to seek another publishing house?

In 2010, self-publishing was beginning to get real traction in terms of accessibility to the major markets (Amazon and Barnes & Noble in particular). I’ve always had somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit (I’ve tried getting into Amway, Mary Kay, and a few other peer-to-peer type organizations), and so the thought of doing it myself was massively appealing. By self-publishing it, I could maintain control of the artwork and see the sales figures myself instead of having to trust that the publisher (which has since earned a spot on the Predators & Editors “Not Recommended” list) was reporting sales accurately.

I did query my agent about The Venom of Vipers before self-publishing it, however. His lack of response (hrmph!) was no match for my ambition. I was more than happy to publish it myself.

Your situation is unique in that you own the publishing company that distributes your books which leads me to believe you see a benefit over simply self-publishing “generically”. In what way(s) do you feel you benefit by adding that extra layer? Would you recommend that other self-published authors do the same? Have you ever considered placing other authors under the Peach Orchard banner and expanding your company?

I’m not sure there’s a benefit to anyone but me. By establishing a separate entity, I can show (to anyone who cares, such as the IRS) that this is a serious venture for me. I’m not “just” a hobby writer. I felt that creating a publishing imprint was a way to communicate my intent. I don’t know that I’d recommend doing so to others, but I certainly wouldn’t discourage it. I think it depends on their commitment level and cash flow. It might be cheaper or free to register a business in other municipalities, but where I live, it ran me a few hundred bucks just for that piece of paper.

My intention is to only publish my own work under the Peach Orchard Press banner. That doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind, but the benefit to my readers in keeping POP solely for my own writing is that they know that every author pen name with my Peach Orchard Press name and logo is me. If my fantasy or science fiction readers also enjoy romance, they can tell by the publisher that I also write in that genre. And they might enjoy those books as well.

You have recently begun a chapter of your life as a full-time author. You have achieved a success that most authors, especially self-published authors, never reach. What was the turning point, the moment, when you realized you could support yourself as a writer? What changed in order for you to feel comfortable enough to take that leap?

It was a bit of a surprise to me, actually, when I was doing my taxes. 2013 was my fourth year having to declare royalties as a self-published author on my income tax return. I had a big sales boom in 2011, and things tapered off in 2012 and 2013, but when I saw that my royalty income for last year was still almost enough to pay the bills, I decided there was no longer any reason to wait. Writing fiction was what I wanted to do. Every Monday, I would wake up dreading my week and wishing I could just write stories.

I’d been letting the royalty checks pile up in the savings account, trying to decide how to use the money (Should I get a swimming pool? New car? Put in a new outdoor fire pit in the backyard? Remodel the bathroom?). Then I had a particularly bad week at my day job, one of those weeks where I just wanted to throw up my hands and quit. I spent a few days (and a weekend) thinking it over, talking with my family about it, and then I wrote my resignation letter.

It is generally agreed that the most difficult part of being a self-published author is marketing, especially in the beginning when there are only a few titles for readers to choose from. How long (years) and how many novels did it take before you were able to consider that a career as a novelist could be a reality? What strategies did you use to market yourself that you would warn others against using? What strategies did you use to market yourself that you feel contributed most to your success?

I have six novels and a novella out now. One of the novels and the novella are free (and they shall remain free as long as I have the power to keep them that way), so essentially I have income from five novels released Dec 2010 through Dec 2013. I didn’t consider going full-time until January 2014, when I looked at my tax return + bank statement and realized that possibility was real. I figured that, although I’d have to supplement my royalty income with money I’d saved up for a little while, having time to write three or four (or more?) books per year (and hopefully earning enough from them to fully cover my bills) was worth the risk.

I am not a natural salesperson (which is probably why my attempts at Amway, Mary Kay, etc. failed so miserably), and I’m not good at marketing myself, and so for a while, I threw money at whatever venues were available – banner ads, “sponsorships” (for someone else’s marketing campaign), giveaways, ads at sites like Bookbub, Facebook, Goodreads, etc. Most of them worked a little bit, but some didn’t work at all. Facebook and Goodreads ads for me were a waste of money. Some of those sponsorship ads didn’t work, or they were effective at one time and became less so. There are Facebook groups that list effective advertising sites (like BookBub, Book Gorilla, and so forth) that I recommend writers follow. Those that worked for me a month ago might be a wash six months from now. The Facebook groups that keep lists would probably do a good job at updating them as new sites emerge and old ones fade away. Just know that there are sites out there that cater to readers, listing good deals on books. The more popular of those sites tend to be the most effective for advertising.

When I released my romance novel this past December (the first book under that pen name), I was a nobody in the genre. Discoverability is the key to sales, and if no one knows your book exists (because it’s not on a bestseller list anywhere and no one is talking about it), there are no sales. What I did for that one, to get it kick-started, was to give it away for free. Yeah, people gasp and clutch their hands to their throats because “how can you possibly make money on a free book?” If your potential audience numbers in the MILLIONS (or even hundreds of millions!) of readers, a few thousand (or 20 thousand) free copies isn’t going to ruin everything. Some of those free copies will actually be read, and some of those readers will leave reviews (especially if you include a note at the end asking them to). My romance novel, Body Double, has been out just shy of two months now, and it has 33 reviews on Amazon US and 20 on Amazon UK. Not bad for an unknown author in a new genre, right? And now that it has a good number of reviews, it’ll qualify to be featured on a site like Book Bub, Book Gorilla, or Fussy Librarian. That’s where the readers are. In fact, when the book went back to its regular price of $3.97 on Amazon, it got the benefit of an hour’s visibility on the top 100 free books listing, except that it had a price. It ended up with a very respectable sales ranking on Amazon UK (in the triple digits) for several days in January. Sales rank keeps the book in front of readers’ eyes.

Then there’s my favorite marketing method: writing more books! It really helps to have a mailing list that people opt into. In the back of each book, I’ve included a link to my web site and urged people to sign up for the mailing list. These aren’t like those “fake” Facebook Likes that never engage or Twitter followers that don’t care. These are people who actually like my writing and want more. When I’m ready to announce a new book, my newsletter readers get the scoop first, they get an opportunity to win something nobody else can get: a personally autographed digital copy, and they find out about the release day-only sales price (99c on release day, then the price goes up the next day. It’s a win-win. My book starts off with a strong sales rank, and my most devoted readers get my new book at a killer price.

Is there any one book you’ve written that has molded your identity as a writer and made you into the brand you are? Is there anything about your brand that you feel has created a reason to compel readers to read more of your books?

Gosh, I’m not sure. The Kinshield series is a brand, and I’d like to think readers would agree that the gradual peeling-back of mysteries and layers in the series that takes it from being “just another sword and sorcery book” (book 1) to something different and fun (books 2-4) is uniquely “me.” Every writer has their own spin, their unique way of seeing the world and telling a story that reveals the nuances of human experience. I hope that my twist is different enough yet comfortably familiar enough to entice readers to come back for more. I plan to be doing this for the rest of my life.

A Week of Self-Published Authors: Debra L. Martin

Debra L Martin joins us today, someone who I'm very excited to have on Unicorn Bell. She has been a great help to me for a long time, especially when it comes to marketing. Kind of my own personal Author Guru. She's lent her advice selflessly, even spent time on the phone with me discussing strategies and ideas. Keeping in mind that we've never met face-to-face, I find that amazing and it lends a lot of credence to what Robin said in her interview: "It's called a community for good reason."

Debra and her brother form a writing team. They have seven novels to date, and are about to release their eighth. Pay close attention to this one, Debra has a lot of insight into the way the self-pub world works.

For those of us with a drive to make writing our one and only career, I think it's especially important to take note of the fact that Debra and Dave together have seven novels, plus Debra has four more under a different pen name--and they're still playing it safe and keeping day jobs. Except for some very isolated cases, volume truly is the key to independence in the author world.

You’re in a unique situation—you write as a co-author with your brother, David W Small. There must be enormous benefits to having someone to share the burdens with, but I imagine—like all creative endeavors that involve more than one person—there must be struggles as well. Many authors (probably most!) don’t realize how much work goes into achieving success as a writer until after they’ve written their first story. Would you recommend teaming up with another writer, do you feel it has been beneficial for your career, or would you warn against it?

Writing with a co-author means leaving your ego at the door. I have a post about this on my blog, Two Ends of the Pen, http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/ but I’ll be happy to share it here. I started writing with my co-author Dave in 2006. I was lucky to have such an awesome co-author, but I’m a bit biased. Dave has traveled around the world while in the Marine Corps and with his military background, I could be sure that any fight/battle scenes in our books would be spot on.

Growing up we both enjoyed the same types of books—science fiction and fantasy—and even into adulthood, we would pass books back and forth on a regular basis.  One day I was on the phone with Dave while he browsed the latest books in SFF and he was complaining that every book available was basically the same. I said, “we could write our own book,” and our collaboration was born.

Now saying you’re going to write a book and actually writing one is at opposite ends of the spectrum. As any author will tell you, they’re heard that exact same statement from lots of people, but actually following through on it and putting words to paper takes a tremendous amount of time, energy and self-determination.

Our first book was Quest for Nobility, a fantasy based on the distant planet Otharia. Our main characters were royal twins (brother and sister). Surprising, right? Anyway, it made perfect sense for us. We’ve had a loving relationship all our lives and it wasn’t hard to write these characters and how they would react to the conflicts we would throw at them. We had a general outline of the book and initially assigned each other a chapter to write. Now that sounds reasonable, however, it turned out to be a disaster.

We turned out to be pretty similar in our writing styles and that meant we included pretty much all the same information in both chapters. Out came the delete button and thousands of words went into the trash bin. So then we figured that we would write one chapter at a time before we sent it to the other one for edits. That way we both knew what was already in the chapter and could move forward with the next chapter without repeating the same information. Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing especially when something was added in that we both didn’t agree on. Our mutual test was “if you can’t justify why something is included, then out it goes.” Yes, you definitely need to leave your ego at the door and keep the big picture in mind. You want to write the best book you can and sometimes that means things got left on the cutting room floor.

So that should have worked, right? Wrong! Do you know what happens when two people are writing a story without a specific outline? It’s not pretty and ¾ into the book, we thought of a fantastic tangent that we had to include in the book. That meant we needed to go back to the beginning chapters again and rework them so that our new tangent made sense. When we finally finished the book, we felt like we’d run a marathon, but we weren’t done yet. After letting it set for a few weeks, it was back for another round of edits. It’s amazing how much you see that needs to be changed if you step away for a bit.  All in all, our first book was probably edited from cover to cover at least 6 or 7 times before it went to our editor for the final edit. That’s a lot of editing, but the book is now something we both are proud to put our names on. This was also the book that nearly landed us an agent in 2008, but in the end, it didn’t work out. The one positive thing we came away with though is that we didn’t suck at writing! We could write an exciting action-packed adventure and that was a huge boost for us.

Because of our experience in writing Quest, we knew that we needed more than a 10,000 foot outline. In the second book in the Otharia series, The Crystal Façade, the writing went much more smoothly. We were getting into our groove and we had a much more extensive outline to work from. That’s not to say that we don’t think of “cool” things to add in along the way, we absolutely do, but at least now when we add in an unexpected twist or another tangent we don’t have to backtrack to the beginning and fix the plot. Even though we both know what the outline says, it’s still exciting to see how it actually turns out especially when we both add in little tidbits as surprises for the other.

We released Assassin’s Curse in 2012 and it’s the first book in a new series, “The Witch Stone Prophecy.” It was an absolute blast to write and we have definitely gained our rhythm writing together. We are currently working on the exciting conclusion Witch’s Curse to be released this spring.

Dave and I love writing together. It is a fantastic creative outlet for us, but it may not be for everyone. If you plan to write with a co-author, make sure you have compatible writing styles. When Dave and I look back at our books, we can’t remember who wrote what and that’s a very good thing!

You’ve crossed genres in your writing in a big way: High Fantasy, Vampire Romance, and Apocalyptic. You’ve kept your name the same with every one of your books. I’d like to hear your thoughts on whether you feel that crossing genres has been a benefit or a hindrance to building yours and your brother’s brand as authors. Do you feel it has helped you grow as a writer? Who you recommend branching out to other authors as a result of your own experiences?

Everything that Dave and I write together, we use our real names. Most of our titles thus far are in epic fantasy, but even The Silver Cross, our Boston/cop vampire story is in the fantasy realm, urban fantasy to be specific. Because this story is more hard-boiled cop than romance, we didn’t feel that publishing under our own names would be detrimental to our brand. We plan to write more books in our Vampire Nightlife series and like the first one, the emphasis will be on cops, action and intrigue. There will be an element of romance to it, but it won’t be the main focus.

I also write pure romance under my pen name, Debra Elizabeth. I felt that these stories would not fit into the brand Dave and I were building with our fantasy fans so I branched out with my own set of stories. We both felt that we didn’t want to confuse our fans. They expect a certain type of books from us and while you’re building your audience, it’s important to publish what they expect, at least in the beginning.

It is generally agreed that the most difficult part of being a self-published author is marketing, especially in the beginning when there are only a few titles for readers to choose from. Authors, lean in close and pay attention here. Debra has a great deal of experience with marketing.

How long (years) and how many novels did it take before you were able to consider that a career as a novelist might be a reality?

Dave and I started writing in 2006. In 2008 and 2009, we submitted query after query letters to agents hoping to be picked up. Back then, that was the only avenue to publication for authors. While we were never under contract with an agent, the personal replies we received on our query letters let us realize that our books had potential. When Amazon opened up the digital publishing platform in 2010, it was our chance to get our writing out to the public. It’s been an interesting journey as a published author, but like so many other authors, Dave and I still hold day jobs. We are building our career now in preparation for being able to write full-time in the next few years.

What strategies did you use to market yourself that you would warn others against using?

One of the things that new authors should try to avoid is trying to do everything and be on every social media platform out there. If you try to do too many things at once, you’ll not be able to devote the required time to make a difference on any of them and then you won’t carve out any time to write the next book.

Authors should definitely have an online presence such as a website/blog, http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/ an author bio on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Debra-L-Martin/e/B003Q1WLXY have a Facebook author page, https://www.facebook.com/Debra.L.Martin.Author join Pinterest (which I just joined), http://www.pinterest.com/dlmartin6/ and have a twitter account https://twitter.com/dlmartin6 I spend an enormous amount of time on my blog which has taken years to build up so authors should be aware that you shouldn’t allow any one venue to take over all your writing time. The blog now gets 300-500 hits a day and I have a number of tabs at the top of the blog where readers can find out about all of our books, my interviews and a number of other interesting topics.

Connecting with other authors is crucial and Kboards, http://www.kboards.com/, is a great place to meet other authors especially in The Writer’s Café, http://www.kboards.com/index.php/board,60.0.html. Get involved in discussions on all social media platforms, but the one thing new authors should NEVER do is constantly say “Buy my book, buy my book…” That’s not the way to get noticed and authors and fans alike get tired of this very quickly.

What strategies did you use to market yourself that you feel contributed most to your success?

Marketing is the bane of all authors. It’s hard and takes an enormous amount of time, but patience is the key. You can’t get discouraged because most authors are not instant bestsellers.

Amazon offer authors added perks if you enroll your book(s) in Select. There are specific rules for this such as your book must be exclusive to Amazon, but you’ll get 5 days that you can set your book free. Now, you’re probably thinking “I don’t want to give my book away.” While this may seem counter intuitive, the point is that it gets your book in front of readers. You’ll always have those readers who will download every free book out there, but there are many others who actually are interested in reading your story. If they like it, they’ll come back for more. That’s how you begin to build a fan base.

Getting ads for your book on sites like Bookbub, Kindle Books & Tips and Bargain Booksy can certainly get your books in front of a huge number of readers, but because these sites have become so popular, it can take a number of submissions before your book is accepted. Most of these sites have specific guidelines for books they post such as a 4 star rating,

a certain number of reviews, etc.  I’ve had books accepted one time and then when I submit again, the same book is rejected, but you can’t give up. These sites are overwhelmed with requests and authors must be persistent in their efforts. It’s hard work, but anything you pursue could definitely pay off in the end. Get a certain book in front of readers and you could easily sell enough copies to make the best-selling lists, “New York Times” and “USA Today.” I’ve seen this happen over and over again especially with Bookbub.

The other way to get readers attention is to hold a giveaway on Goodreads. Giveaways must be for a physical book

though and many new authors only publish in digital form. Most new authors sell most of their copies in digital form so having a paperback may not be something they want to explore. Amazon’s Createspace, https://www.createspace.com/ does an absolutely fantastic job with publishing paperbacks. However, I use a professional graphic artist to format the book for publication. I can’t be good at everything and I’m happy to leave things like creating book covers, editing and formatting to the professionals. Createspace also offers professional services if you need them.

Is there any one book you’ve written that has molded your identity as a writer and made you into the brand you are? Is there anything about your brand that you feel has created a reason to compel readers to read more of your books? With regard to building a brand, is there any advice you would overwhelmingly give to struggling authors?

Assassin’s Curse is the book that gained us the most attention. When we release the sequel, we hope that fans of the first book will be more than satisfied with the conclusion to the

series. The Witch Stone Prophecy was a planned 2-book series from the beginning. Dave and I both get tired of authors that plan multi-book series and then take years and sometimes even decades to finish. With so many books out there to choose from, authors need to pay attention to their own career plans. Fans who enjoy your work want more and there’s questions authors should think about. Do they want to write a series? Do they want to write stand-alone books in a certain genre? How long will it take to write a book? These are all questions that new authors should think about before they write that first word. No one is an island and like everything else, networking with others is the best way to learn the business.

A Week of Self-Published Authors: Robin Lythgoe

Robin Lythgoe joins us today, a self-published author whose debut novel (Dec. 2012) has enjoyed tremendous success. Her thoughts on the book industry in general are provocative, lending the kind of insight that all authors, especially self-pubs, should find useful.

Hello, Matthew! I’m so pleased you invited me to join you today—thank you so much.

Your first self-published story, a short story, was over two years ago. Since then, you’ve published another short and one novel. The novel, As the Crow Flies, is arguably a fantasy masterpiece.  Have you sought representation from an agent or publisher? If not—why not?

I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! That means a lot to me. For As the Crow Flies I chose to self-publish, though I have submitted other works to traditional publishers. I had a short story published in an e-zine and I was, of course, delighted, but gaining traction in the traditional market was painfully slow, and I’m evidently an impatient person. While I was writing As the Crow Flies I looked into more publisher/agent alternatives, and I discovered the option of indie publishing. My interest was piqued, and when faced with the option of years of submitting to publishers before my book found readers, the answer seemed pretty clear to me.

You’ve been in the business long enough now to get a clear picture of the way the industry works and I know you’re an active advocate of other authors. Through your correspondence with those authors, I’m sure you’ve gained an understanding of the way selling books has changed. In your opinion, do you see more changes coming to the book industry, specifically in the self-publishing segment?

I do like to champion other authors, no matter how they choose to publish—an opportunity made incredibly easy by today’s technology.  It’s so fun to get to know other writers, to hear about their publishing experiences and learn about their books. If I may be so bold, I have a page on my website where you can find out what I do and a list of books—primarily fantasy—I happily recommend: http://www.robinlythgoe.com/flinchfree.html.

The book industry has changed a great deal just since I stepped into the market, and yes, I think it is going to continue to change—must change. Self-publishing is more accepted every day, and we have folks stepping up to offer their professional services as editors, artists, formatters, marketers, and mentors. More people are reading and reviewing self-published works, lending fresh credibility to indie authors. Technology that allows further exposure and more reading continues to expand. Online venues available all over the world provide new places and ways to discover books. It’s really an exciting time for both writers and readers. Now if only we had a time machine that would allow for more reading!

Genre. Some say it is an author’s doom to cross genres because readers will never know what to expect from an author who does. Many of the big name authors have found success through sticking to a primary genre and a formula for their books. As an author who has closely stayed within a particular genre (for you, high fantasy) can you discuss your opinion of whether you feel it has contributed to the success of your work?

I write fantasy because I love it, and I think staying with a particular genre builds trust with the readers. Those big-name authors found something that worked for them and stuck with it on purpose. It worked. Authors who have several books published and a large following can more easily afford wading in other pools, and there are some that do so successfully, though they often choose to publish under a different name. Why? Because their fans expect them to stay in the already established lines. And, thanks to a surge in the popularity of fantasy stories—evident in book sales as well as movie and television production—why wouldn’t I stay with fantasy? Bottom line? Yes, staying within the fantasy genre has definitely had a hand in the progression of things.

It is generally agreed that the most difficult part of being a self-published author is marketing, especially in the beginning when there are only a few titles for readers to choose from.

How long (years) and how many novels did it take before you were able to consider that a career as a novelist could be a reality?

I’m still working on that! Frankly, the response from readers (other than my family) to my first novel pretty well cemented it for me, though I wouldn’t say it qualifies as a “career” yet. I see other authors with similar works available, and I read their stories, and it encourages me. The indie world also has some awesome mentors out there who teach and lead and lend their support very generously.

What strategies did you use to market yourself that you feel contributed most to your success?

Finances have dictated very modest marketing, so I’ve had to be choosy. I advise authors to stay away from offers to “tweet your book to our XX-thousand followers for only $5/$10.” It sounds like a nice, small step, but it doesn’t offer tangible results. Reviews are a blessing, but they’re not that easy to get. What’s a poor, starving author to do?

First, write. Writing actual words to an actual book should be your main focus. Editing should be the next Important Thing. Poorly edited books won’t help your career at all. The better the product, the more likely its chances of success.

Second, get a good cover. That axiom about not judging books by their covers? It doesn’t apply to books; it’s a good philosophical principle mainly related to people, and possibly puppies. Readers can usually spot the DIY covers, and, sadly, there is a plethora of cover design websites that aren’t much better. Look at the books that are selling at the top of their lists. Is your cover up to par? Get other opinions (not from relatives and best friends, who don’t want to hurt your feelings). The book cover is the very first thing anyone will see about your book, and it has to impress, it has to elicit interest and curiosity. It’s usually competing in a line-up of other suggested books.

If you’re lucky enough to grab the attention of a shopper, the next thing you need to present them with is a good blurb. Then they’ll move on to the sample chapter(s). Is it well-formatted? How much front matter do they have to wade through to get to the good stuff? Is the stuff actually good (properly edited and formatted and, yup, interesting)? Your book has to work hard!

Third (or are we technically on #6?), don’t waste all your time on social media. Yes, “they” tell you that you need to brand yourself—and you do—but be cautious. Social media swiftly turns into a black hole that will suck you in and never let you go, and you’re not likely to see much of a return on your investment of that time. Pick one or two platforms that you feel comfortable with, learn how to use them, then limit your time there. Do be friendly, helpful, and engaging. Don’t constantly be telling people to buy your book. Hook up with fellow writers and readers, especially those in your own genre. It’s called a community for a good reason.

Another way of getting the word out about your book is to do some giveaways. Naturally, it’s much more economical to give away e-books, and the good news is that there are lots of opportunities for that. Many book-related blogs do giveaways and blog hops. Book-related social networking sites like Goodreads and BookLikes offer the opportunity to connect with readers and to do giveaways. Goodreads requires you to give away a physical version, while BookLikes will let you use print, digital, or audio. (Mind, though, that this is another form of social media that will threaten your writing schedule!) You can run your own giveaways on Twitter, Facebook, your blog or website—and you can use Goodreads to advertise an “event” (giveaway). 

Another thing to be aware of is that only 8-10% of the U.S. population owns a Kindle e-reader—so you’ll want to expand your options and offer other formats for the rest of the reading world.

Reading and commenting on the blogs (websites, social media sites) of authors, readers, and reviewers (Hello, Matthew!) is another great way to open yourself to opportunities. Again, be careful of the amount of time you spend being social!

And here’s the catch to all things marketing: What works for one author won’t work for another. That means that you’ll need to experiment until you find a comfortable and productive schedule and place for yourself.

So the very last thing required is patience. Not everyone blasts into the publishing world like Amanda Hocking or Hugh Howey, and not everyone will be a flash in the pan like—well, better not to name any names! Persistence pays.

Is there any one book you’ve written that has molded your identity as a writer and made you into the brand you are? Is there anything about your brand that you feel has created a reason to compel readers to read more of your books?

That’s kind of an easy answer, since As the Crow Flies is the only book I’ve published so far! I’m behind! Crow’s story delivers a particular stamp of adventure and humor (one that’s found in my short story, Dragonlace, as well). It’s fast-paced, but not too fast for some creative world-building. I have it on good authority that the novel can be read in one day, if you’re willing to let chores fall by the wayside on your day off. The characters are relatable and they grow. People care about them, and it’s great when readers choose one character as their favorite and fiercely defend their choice. My current project is more involved than As the Crow Flies; it is, in fact, part of a series (Sadly, book one is still laboring under a “working title”). Still, it maintains the solid core that readers so enjoyed with Crow: style and rhythm, characterization, adventure, world-building. And, in spite of my original intention to write Crow’s story as a single, stand-alone novel, I’ve also got another story for Crow simmering—thanks to the enthusiastic prompting and prodding of fans.

With regard to building a brand, is there any advice you would overwhelmingly give to struggling authors?

Yes, be consistent! Ideally, you want to be seen all over the internet. It’s crucial that people recognize your name—and by that I mean your author name—and your public identity. So you want the things that identify you (your name, your photo, your logo, etc.) to be the same across the board. If you’re Jane Jones on your blog, you can’t be TwinklyFairy on Twitter and JaneLuvsTrzn on Facebook. Aside from looking unprofessional, you get lost in the translation. It also helps to make use of graphics and colors consistently. Using the same background and graphics across the web helps tie all the pieces together. And, just like the covers, remember that this is often the first glimpse the world has of you, the author. Make your “selfcover” purdy! (And compare it to those of other successful authors to see how it measures up.)

Along the same lines, be sure that your content is consistent and relevant. The things you post are part of your brand. If you’re trying to sell fantasy books, chatting excessively about your dog won’t do the trick. (Unless, maybe, that dog features as wizard in your novel…) If you’re trying to sell children’s books, your interest in steamy romances or your plan to build a zombie-proof bunker will turn away the crowd you need. You can perhaps see how this overlaps with the “stay in one genre” rule. Er, advice. But relax! This advice doesn’t strictly rule out including other things, other interests. After all, readers like to get to know the person behind the book. It also helps you if you can relate those other things to your brand in some way; bring the topic back on subject, so to say.

The words “focus” and “consistency” apply to all parts of our writerly lives. Focus on your writing / focus your writer brand. Be consistent with your writing schedule / be consistent with your public persona.

And on that note, I need to go focus on some WORDS! Thank you so much, Matthew, for inviting me to spend a little time with you here on Unicorn Bell—and happy writing!

A Week of Self-Published Authors: MR Cornelius

We're continuing our self-pub week with an interview with MR Cornelius, who's written three novels to date. She shares her thoughts on why she chooses to self-publish as opposed to going traditional, her successes and failures in advertising, and some basic advice for authors like herself.

Her books are well-researched, well-written, clever, and an absolute blast to read.

You can find her on Amazon HERE.

I hope you find her replies as useful as I did. 

You’ve been a novelist for over two years and in that time have achieved success without going the route of traditional publishing.  You’ve jumped in with thousands of other authors and come out ahead of the pack. Based on that, I have to assume you know the industry better than most self-published authors. From your point of view, would you discuss for a moment the way the industry currently stands in relation to where it was when you began, where you believe it is going, and how it relates to self-published authors specifically? 

I’m flattered that you think I might know what is happening in the book industry, Matthew, but I don’t have a clue. But then, even experts, and traditional publishers aren’t sure what’s going on, so I guess I’m in good company.

I can tell you my experiences.

My first book, H10N1, was published in May 2011. That fall, I heard about Amazon’s KDP Select. I decided to offer the book free on Dec. 28, 29 and 30 of that year. I figured people would be getting Kindles for Christmas, and would be looking for books to download.

During those three days, I gave away 6500 free copies of H10N1. In January, when the book went back to regular price, I sold over 1200 copies. In February, my sales were still close to 1100.

Now, I’m sure your readers are thinking that’s the kind of success they’re looking for. But unfortunately, that was the last time I had that kind of banner month.

When Amazon started the Select program, it was much simpler to rise up the ladder of the TOP 100, but since they changed the algorithm for equating free books to paid, I haven’t even gotten close to those numbers.  In June 2013, I gave away over 6000 copies of my book The Ups and Downs of Being Dead. When the book went back to regular price, I sold 59 books. (*frowny face*.)

Now I’m not saying I will no longer use KDP Select, because I still believe they give me the best coverage. I tried Smashwords, who in turn distributed my e-book to Kobo, Sony, and B & N. But I’ve never gotten traction from any of those sites. And even when someone ‘borrows’ one of my books through Kindle Prime, I’m making over $2. None of the others can come close to that.

On Feb. 26, 27, and 28 of this year, I offered my book Losing It All FREE on Kindle. During those three days, I gave away 5502 copies. Didn't get any higher than #44 on the top 100 list. Since then, I have sold 84 copies of the book, which is a really good month for me. (No appreciable difference in sales of other 2 books.) And I've gotten 7 new reviews since the free offer. Not sure if there is a connection. I wouldn't think people would read a free download that fast, but I did not solicit any of the reviews. 

One of the good changes Amazon made was in their affiliate program. If someone clicks on a book on a website, and it takes to you Amazon to purchase the book, the website owner makes money. But Amazon got tired of these sites only offering free books, so they changed their payout system. Now these websites need to offer regular and reduced-price books if they want to make money. And that’s a good thing for us authors. Because of the glut of free books out there, our reduced-price books never got showcased. Now they are.

As far as where I think the industry is going? There are a whole lot of people self-publishing now who better not quit their day jobs yet. There is such an abundance of e-books, both from traditional and self-publishers, that it is very hard to get a decent share of the book-reading market. And with companies slithering out of the woodwork to ‘help you get published’, the market will continue to be super-saturated with low cost books. These companies are not interested in your talent; they are interested in your MONEY.

Your novels have achieved the AIA Seal of Excellence. This means they have been reviewed by industry professional and found to be every bit as good as traditionally published material. Have you pursued a publishing contract? If you haven’t, why is that? 

I started out with an agent who pursued a publishing contract for me. After a year of rejections, she suggested I try self-publishing. She loved the book, but couldn’t sell it. I felt confident enough to self-publish, considering I had crossed the first hurdle of finding an agent.

Even if she had managed to sell my book to a publisher, it would have just made it to print in 2013, because there’s a 2-year drag time between a contract and a book actually getting onto a shelf. In that same time, I’ve published 3 books, and will have my fourth book ready this spring.

And with the e-book world exploding, the print book is steadily losing ground. I know, lots of people say they still want to hold a book, and turn the pages. But how many of those books are purchased new, and how many are bought second-hand at the Goodwill, or passed along from one reader to another? Some folks may still be willing to plunk down $30 for a hardcover novel, but considering you could buy a Kindle for the same price as 4 books, and you can see how a lot of readers are changing the way they read.

So why do I need a traditional publisher if my books are only going to be sold online? There are very few book signings anymore, unless you’re already an established author. Indie bookstores are going out of business at an alarming rate. Even big-time authors have decided to retain their rights to e-sales, so traditional publishers may soon go the way of Blockbuster.

Now as far as earning the AIA Seal of Excellence. Here is how I earned that honor: I PAID A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR!!

Writing is a business, just like cutting hair, or opening a shoe store. If you aren’t interested in investing some money to get your business started the right way, then don’t bother writing. You’ll just become one of the millions of authors who have books on Amazon that are going nowhere.

And I don’t mean pay a friend in your critique group. I mean an editor whose business is guiding you to write the best book you can. I challenge you to pick up your favorite author’s book, flip to the acknowledgements, and see the sentence that says something like: “I’d also like to thank my editor, whose invaluable assistance . . .”

If Stephen King, and James Patterson use an editor, so should you.

You seem to be the Queen of Finding Reviews. Your most recent novel, Losing it All, already has 27 reviews. Your novel The Ups and Downs of Being Dead has an amazing 134 reviews, and your apocalyptic novel H10N1 has a whopping 189 reviews. What’s your secret? How have you managed to get so many people to take the time? 

Some of my book reviews have come from bloggers I found on Twitter. You can do a hashtag search to find them. But be warned, half of them still want a hard copy of the book, which you will gladly send, free of charge. Others have gotten better about accepting e-books, but trust me, these bloggers are very, very busy.

You will wait for months to have your book read, (during which time you will NOT send a snarky message asking how much longer they are going to take), and then if they don’t like it, they won’t review it. Which really is a blessing. If someone doesn’t like your book, be glad they don’t post a review.

Pay attention to what types of books these bloggers review. If they say they only read romance, or science fiction, don’t badger them to read your mystery. That’s a good way to get a bad review.

I keep a list of reviewers, and their interests. My first two books were speculative fiction, but the third was more of a romance. So I went back through my lists and pulled out reviewers who liked that genre.

I have also gone on Goodreads and looked up people who gave a favorable review for one of my other books. I asked if they would be interested in reading another of my books.

And of course, with thousands of my books given away, (over 80,000 for all three books) I couldn’t help but get some reviews from anonymous readers. Remember when I said earlier that offering free books doesn’t give as much bang as it used to? It doesn’t in terms of sales, but it certainly gets your book out there and read. The trick is getting the review.

If you aren’t on Facebook or Twitter, you need to get busy. I prefer Twitter for a fan base. Sometimes people drop me a line to say they read one of my books and enjoyed it. I tweet right back, asking them to please consider leaving a review on Amazon. I assure them that it does not have to be a long review. Just their thoughts. Amazon only requires 20 words for a review. And a 5-star review is a 5-star review. (At least for now.)

It is generally agreed that the most difficult part of being a self-published author is marketing, especially in the beginning when there are only a few titles for readers to choose. How long (years) and how many novels did it take before you were able to consider that a career as a novelist could be a reality? 

The day I received my first ARC of H10N1, I considered myself a writer. And when I saw the book listed on Amazon, I felt as though this was a career I wanted to pursue.

But—if you are asking if I can support myself as a writer, I must answer with a resounding no. I made less than $10,000 last year.

My husband still works full-time, our mortgage is paid off, our children are out of college, and I am retired from a school system, so I am drawing a pension.

I know of some self-publishing authors who are doing well. If you want to read about a success story, check out my friend Russell Blake at Blake Books. He wrote 25 books in 30 months, and he has probably sold more than a million books by now. But Russell is the exception. He literally locked himself in his hacienda in Mexico, and wrote for 14-16 hours a day. Honestly? I don’t think my back could take that kind of abuse.

And if you have any kind of life – a spouse, children, a day job – there’s no way you can match that kind of writing stamina. Most of us tinker around with our books over weekends, and while on vacation.

If you seriously want to pursue a writing career, my advice is to ask yourself some questions.

1. Do you have $5000 to invest in this career?

A good editor will cost over $1,000 per book. A good cover will run you between $250 and $500. Are you going to format your own books, or will you pay someone? Are you going to let an all-in-one publishing house handle everything? Because that will cost WAY more than going through someone like Createspace or Lulu. You’ll have to buy your own ARCs at around $6 to $7 a book. It isn’t unrealistic to think you will need around 100 books to send to reviewers. And no, there is no guarantee that the book will be reviewed.

2. Do you think you have more than one book in you?

Lots of people have a great idea for a book. Some of them actually write it. But if you dry up after that one book, you won’t get very far.

3. Do you come up with great ideas for books, but never seem to finish one?

Nobody sells an idea. They sell completed books. Even if you send in a proposal for a non-fiction book, you will still be expected to finish it.

4. Can you live without an income?

That’s the toughest question, isn’t it? There are a whole lot of books out there, folks. The chances of your book skyrocketing to the top are slim. Google estimates there were over 129,000,000 (that’s one hundred twenty nine million) books listed on Amazon in 2013.

If you want even a fighting chance of making your 32c on every 99c book you sell, you better have the best possible book you can write. And how are you going to be sure it’s as good as you can get it?

(Hint: Hire an editor.)