Do You Want To Make Money? Help Yourself!

 

Write your first draft with your heart.  Re-write with your head.  ~From the movie Finding Forrester

 

 

Do I want to write as a business?

 

This is a question that has plagued my brain for quite awhile. I’m so very lucky because I don’t depend on writing for a viable source of income and that’s a luxury. I recognize that. While I struggle with wondering whether I want to put a passion to work, I’ve learned some very important things that an author should understand if they want to make a go in this industry.

 

The first thing to ask yourself is if you know your genre. I know a lot of you are shaking your head and telling me to start with something a bit more advanced. I’d like to, but too many authors haven’t studied their genre well enough and make basic mistakes that turn off readers. Have you read books written in the same vein as yours? Do they sell well? What aspects of one book make it a better seller than another? Are there things that readers come to expect and love in that genre? Is it in your book? I know we all want to write about the things we love, but let’s face it, if your book is about something that has a very narrowed window of interest, you might have a tough time making it into a viable seller.

 

I started this journey wanting to write a category romantic suspense, but my characters wouldn’t let me keep the story within the confines of a category book. (At the time, I didn’t even know it was called “category” and that it had all those rules attached to it!) I seem to write bigger suspense/thriller types of stories and with the encouragement of many people who read my pages, I started to swing towards all out non-romantic suspense. There was a problem. I didn’t read that type of book.

 

After jumping in and raiding my husband’s book collection, I discovered two things. Those books were awesome and I didn’t want to write one. I liked the stories, but I always found myself wanting more romance infused into the book. I finally came upon writers like Brenda Novak, Roxanne St. Claire, and Allison Brennan who wrote big suspense with a romantic thread running through the stories. I’m also happy to say that they sell quite nicely. Know yourself. Know your market. Do your homework.

 

Not all of you will agree with my next assertion. You need to spend money to make money. Spend some money on a professional editor and for a professional design of your book cover. Begin with your critique partners, have some beta readers give you feedback and then send your work to an editor. It will cost money, but it should be money well spent if you get a reputable editor. Don’t ever, ever, ever rely on just yourself to edit your work. I can almost guarantee that you will not have a polished product.

 

If you want your book to be placed next to a professionally published book and the reader not be able to distinguish any difference between the quality of the two, then find a cover designer. Unless you have a degree in marketing and are a computer genius, you will be able to spot a homemade cover a mile away. I believe this is almost more important in the virtual world of selling than in the real world. All you have to capture their attention right off the bat is that tiny picture showing up on their screen. Spend the money- make it professional. I know an author who put her book up for sale with a cover she put together for little to no money. It wasn’t bad, it was actually quite attractive until you compared it to others professionally done in her genre. Despite that, sales were fair and then she hired a designer and re-published the book with its new cover. Sales soared and she started receiving fan mail. Does a cover make that much difference? YES!!!!!

 

Once there’s a refined, sleek looking product the author needs to publish it. You have two choices at this point. You can hire a company that will do the work for you or you can educate yourself and do it. Most of my friends are doing this part themselves and saving money. If you don’t think this is for you, there are many companies willing to take your money. Some are quite reasonable and others will charge you a huge amount. It’s just like anything else. Do your homework and research the options. I’m of a mind that if you can figure it out, then give it a try.

 

This is the beginning of the business part. Are you still with me? Are you scared? Are you excited? The next two weeks will be spent talking about marketing, looking at actual authors’ numbers, and can you truy make a living doing this?

 

** Spoiler Alert** Yes, you can! It takes research, trial and error, and a whole lotta chutzpa. 

The Power Of Knowledge- Turn It Into Money

Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret.- Matthew Arnold

 

Do you want to make money?

I’m not sure, but I would guess every person reading this article will answer with a resounding YES! I know I do. I also know that it’s not enough to simply write a good book. This brave new world we’ve entered with the advent of self publishing and e-readers has changed our industry forever. We are now responsible for the business as well as the creative side of making books. (This is true no matter which avenue you take to publishing.) Most sectors of business change over the course of years, we’ve seen huge upheavals in the course of a few months.

Because of the shifting landscape, it is our responsibility to stay current with market research and business strategies for our careers. This takes a bit of time and effort, but doesn’t have to be overwhelming. A writer can educate themselves by reading blogs, like Muse Tracks, and researching the internet. I decided to take my own advice and have been studying trends and tricks of selling books.

This is me doing the research!

We know e-book consumers are increasing their buying power, both in print and e formats. More people are buying more books online to the detriment of the traditional brick and mortar book stores. Obviously, the ease and number of e-readers on the market has influenced this trend immensely, but a sky rocketing segment of this is found in-app purchasing. According to the Book Industry Study Group- www.bisg.com   which publishes Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading shows that more than half of e-book readers increased their use of using apps to buy books and more than one third of them increased their buying at sites like Amazon. A huge percentage of them said that they’ve significantly decreased their spending at book stores.

Their findings show that dedicated e-readers are still the most used platform for reading books, but even that has changed over the last few months. Take a look at these numbers:

-17% said they are now using tablets, which is up from 13%.

-Smartphones used as readers has gone from 5.3 to 9.2%

- Dedicated e-readers has dropped from 71.6% to 60.9%. Even so, sales for the Kindle jumped 175% between Black Friday and Christmas of this past year.

So how do these numbers translate into dollars and cents? The book trade as a whole has grown and profited over the last year, but the e-book trade has led the way jumping from 73.2 to 128.8 million dollars. That’s a 76% increase in just one year!

This is huge!

So what do you do with this information? E buying, whether print or e-book, is still fueled by the traditional method of “word of mouth”. We all want to read a good book so we listen to our friends. The trick is to take that time honored method and apply it to our digital age. “Word of mouth” now has the ability to extend far beyond a writer’s immediate little world. It’s called social media.

Indie/self published authors have blazed a path of marketing through this outlet pushing their sales to new heights. I was very interested to learn that traditional publishing houses are taking note of this grassroots effort and are using it as well. An anthology will soon be released through a major publishing house and they have each of their authors creating street teams to help market the book. Each author sends out a request to their friends asking them to sign up for a specific week to Facebook, Twitter, blog etc. about the upcoming book. It has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of people, if not more. (Interesting twist that traditional publishing is taking a cue from the lowly writers who have made their own path.)

Let me be clear- I am not a business type person. I have trouble keeping my check book balanced, however I am NOT stupid. If I want to steer my writing career, I have to have the knowledge. Knowledge is power, knowledge translates into making money and as we’ve already decided, we all want to do that!

Take some responsibility! by Candi Wall

So I hit the purchase button the other night SEVEN times. Yeah, you heard me right. Seven times. For a grand total of $21. and some change.

I don’t part easily with my money, except when it comes to books. I could spend THOUSANDS. (Checking to make sure hubby didn’t read that.) Below is what my house will probably look like some day.

I usually don’t complain. But here’s the thing. I read the first book – LOVED IT – and went on to the next. It was a .99 cent purchase from an author I didn’t know, self-pubbed and I liked the premise. Hey I’ll give anyone a chance. ONCE.

I hadn’t reached the end of the first chapter when I realized I’d given my money away for nothing. I groaned, archived the sucker and went on to the next one. The next wasn’t as bad, but there was a plot hole the size of Jupiter about midway through and by this point I was losing interest in the hero. Too bad, because it started off as a good read. Darn.

I’ve twittered several times about this as well, venting my frustration for the self-pubbed authors who are making other self-pubbed author look bad. Every reader who has a bad experience with a self-pubbed book makes it harder for other authors to sell! Argh, the frustration! And I’m not even self-pubbed.

At this point, hubby was starting to get sick of my ‘waspish’ attitude. After three more days, my results were:

Seven purchases

1- Loved

2- Liked

4- Couldn’t finish

I know – it’s a crap shoot right?!?

NO! It isn’t.

And here’s where dear hubby had all he was going to take.

In his words…

“What did you expect, hon?” Raising a quizzical brow. “If you go to Wal-Mart and buy a vacuum for twenty bucks, you get what you pay for. It’s like buying toilet paper at the dollar store. It ain’t gonna hold up.” (Yep, I’m married to a thinner version of Larry the Cable Guy.)

Well how dare he. I have friends who self publish. That’s not fair! (Insert indignant foot-stomping) “There are tons of authors out there with brilliant books!”

“Really?” says hubby. “Then you would think you’d do your homework before you buy.”

GADS! He’s SO right. And I’m so not going to tell him that. Sheesh.

What was I thinking?!?

We’ve been spoiled peeps. Let’s face it. The publishers we’ve come to trust have given us so many great books, we may have forgotten how to check the products first. Don’t get me wrong, one person’s crap is another’s gold. I hate what you love at times and visa-versa. But we came to rely on what they put out there.

Now if we, the consumer, are going to gripe about prices and go elsewhere to read at super cheap prices, we’ll have to start doing our own research. We’re spoiled again however, because there is this ingenious little thing called the World Wide Web. Search engines abound, and at any time, we can sluice through the crap to ferret out the truth, or at least get a sense of what we’re getting into.

Here’s my new list of things I check BEFORE I purchase:

• Google the author
• Do they have blogs?
• Reviews? (Other than where I’m purchasing from and checking the author’s responses to reviews)
• Any other books out?
• Website?
• And of course – I ask my writing/reading pals

Seems like a lot of work, but hey, there are some amazing authors out there getting lost in the shuffle of self-pubbing. I want to find, support and enjoy them. If that means I have to do a few minutes of research, so be it. I’m a big girl, I can handle the responsibility of checking out my purchase’s history beforehand. After all, who wants a $20 vacuum that doesn’t work, when you can get the fantastic $5 super sweeper that might just be the next big thing?

So take some responsibility as readers! Check it out first.

Welcome Saranna DeWylde and THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MOUNT OLYMPUS

Hello All,

I’m super excited to have this writer here today. I was lucky enough to find and befriend Saranna DeWylde during the Next Best Celler contest at Textnovel, and I’m extremely lucky we’ve stayed pals since. I could list her qualities (one of which happens to be a ridiculously fast and super efficient crit partner who puts me to SHAME) but I’ll let you get to know her through her writing, which is what drew me to her in the first place.

Saranna recently released her uber sexy THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MOUNT OLYMPUS and she’ll be giving away one PDF copy to one lucky comment EVERY TEN COMMENTS! Sweet!

I loved this book in its earliest draft and now – awesome.

Love the cover!

Welcome Saranna!

Let’s start out easy! What do you write and is there one genre you wish you could write but don’t?

I write paranormal romance, urban fantasy, contemporary and erotica. I also write a bit of true crime. I used to be a horror author but after my employment as a corrections officer, it sort of changed what I wanted out of my career and what I wanted to put out into the world. I’ve even got a romantic suspense that’s been poking at me to give it some attention.

The second part of the question is harder to answer. I don’t really write in genre, (contrary to labels I slapped on myself in the previous paragraph. *laughs*) I write the story that wants to be told. The one living in my head. So, if I have a hard-boiled cop story in my head, that’s what I write. If I have a historical in my head, I’ll write it. I think anyone can do the same as long as you’re true to the characters and the story that needs/wants to be told.

Um, the correction’s officer part is true and Saranna just sold her memoir about that time in her life. WOOT! Okay, back on subject. Are you a plotter or pantser?

Mostly a pantser. I usually have a general idea of what I want to happen, major plot points in my head when I start. I don’t write it down though, or make a story arc or an *shudders* outline. I do, every so often, write down some GMC statements where I can see them. Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. Just to remind myself what drives my characters and that really helps me keep them in character so I don’t have to go back and delete 20K of material because it’s not working.

Can you tell us what made you decide to self-publish Housewives?

It was a tough decision, but everyone who read it as far as agents and editors were concerned told me they thought it was too snarky. But my critique partner and other beta readers loved it. More importantly, *I* loved it. I believe in it. There is so much more to it than the snark and it’s using the gods as they were meant to be used. As an allegory for ourselves and what I like best about romance–in that it shows us redemption and happily ever afters are possible for all of us.

Further, publishing is changing so fast now. It’s shifting with new technology, new ways to get stories to readers and new ways to connect with each other. Platforms, markets, and even product are all in a spin. I wanted to dip my toe in the water and check it out. So far, it’s been great. I got exactly what I wanted for this book as far as character, content, even my cover is exactly what I imagined.

Regardless of whether I’m with a traditional publisher, an epublisher, and indie publisher or publishing myself building a backlist is important.

I had requests for something after I did some promo for my Kensington books that won’t be out until 2012.

So, you add all of that together in a big blender and get the self-publish smoothie.

Smoothies, yum. Okay, even a publishing smoothie is yummy considering so many of my fav authors are putting out titles on their own. So is there one pro and one con you’ve found from your experience self-pubbing?

They’re the same thing. Being responsible for everything myself. It was cool because like I mentioned earlier, I got to produce this product exactly to my specifications and my visions.

But wow, the pressure. There were some things I had trouble with and luckily I have awesome friends who were right there to jump in the fire with me and help me out.

Any advice for those considering the self-pub path?

I’ve only done it with one book so far, but I’ve learned that people do expect more from a self-pub book because of the stigma of being self-pubbed. It’s not as bad as it used to be, there are a lot of good books out there self-pubbed. But don’t let it get to you. Accept it and prove them wrong. Put out the best product you can. Engage an editor, take time with your cover and remember a book isn’t just your creative expression, it’s a product. If you want people to buy it, you have to treat it like a product and you are the brand.

Okay, now some fun stuff:

Who’s your favorite character in Housewives and why?

Thanatos. He’s so modern, kind of cyberpunk. He’s like Death living in The Matrix. He’s one of the most powerful gods, but he wears it so casually. He accepts what he is, a little dark and brooding, (I mean, come on. He’s Death.) but he still has a sense of humor, he’s witty. Hades was the one I thought I’d fall for, but I ended up being stuck on him just a little bit.

Where did the idea for HOUSEWIVES come from?

I was talking shop in chat with a few friends of mine and we were talking about cool titles. I threw that one out there and one of my friends demanded I log off and write it. So I did.

HA! I know that friend. She’s a slave driver. Thank goodness! Tell us a secret about Housewives. Were there any deleted scenes you’d put in the extras category if this were a dvd?

There were not any deleted scenes. Usually, there is something I delete but the words flew hot and fast with this one. I would just sit down in the morning and crank out sometimes three chapters a day and it was surprisingly very clean. Although, I had trouble with Demeter’s chapters. I didn’t like her much and living in her head was hard for me until she learns her lesson.

As I’m a card carrying metal head, it may surprise those of you who know me that this book had its own CD. Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster. Each couple has a song. I don’t write to music anymore, I used to, but I weaned myself away from it. Although, I could hear these songs in my head when I wrote them.

Hera/Hades-Dancing in the Dark

Demeter/Eros- Bad Romance

Nyx/Apollo-Alejandro

Abstinence/Zeus-Monster

Persephone/Thanatos-Teeth

And if this were a DVD, I’d have an interactive section where you could dress them up like live-action Barbie dolls.

This is always hard, but can you tell us a secret about you?

I, the all powerful Amazon Goddess of Doom, am afraid of cows. I hate them. The neighbor’s bull broke through the electric fence to chase me a 1/2 mile UP-friggin-HILL home. And ever since then, the cows across the street watch me with their big soulful eyes, but inside, I know they’re laughing.

Or they could just be looking for my mini Amazons. They like to feed them Hershey’s kisses. (When my youngest was smaller, she thought if she gave them Hershey’s, she’d get chocolate milk so she’d sneak over and give them some.)

LOL! COWS?!? Hey I can’t say much since I freeze up like Medusa glared at me whenever a spider makes an appearance. Thanks for being a good sport.

Here’s an excerpt of HOUSEWIVES:

NYX

     “Thanatos!” she cried when she saw her oldest son lounging on her temple steps.

     “Hey, Ma.” He stood and endured her hug.

     “I thought you were working all week. Wasn’t there a natural disaster in South America?”

     “Wouldn’t you know it, it’s so cool. Red Cross showed up and the volunteers saved a bunch of people.”

     Nyx hadn’t seen him in what felt like a century. In fact, she almost started counting on her fingers to see if it had been that long. “I suppose you’re hungry. Fig cakes with cream cheese frosting?”

     Thanatos patted his flat stomach. “You know me so well.”

     “Why are you outside? You could have gone in, you know.” Nyx pushed the door open.

     “I didn’t want to startle you. Might fall and break a hip and I’d feel bad.” He shrugged.

     “You little shit,” she laughed. He was always teasing her about her age. She was a Titan after all and older than all of the gods. She was one of the last of the old guard; one Zeus was sure wouldn’t try to overthrow his power. He was mistaken about that one, only she didn’t want the power herself. She wanted him to stop treating Hera like crap. Or divorce her. That at least, would be honest.

     He smirked back at her. Of her two sons, Thanatos was most like her. She loved her children the same, but she had a special kinship with Thanatos.

     “So uh, what’s the deal with Persephone and Hades?” he asked as he followed her inside.

     Tartarus on cracker! What was with that girl that these dark types were so stuck on her? Was it because she was blond? Nyx just didn’t get it. Not that she had anything against the girl, but it wasn’t like she was as pretty as Hera. Or as smart as Athena.

     “You have been out of the gossip loop for awhile, yeah? They broke up, so to speak.”

     “He let her go? Dumbass.” Thanatos shook his head.

     “What would you have him do? Sacrifice the world for her?”

     “Well, yeah,” Thanatos answered as if that were the only reasonable response.

     Nyx couldn’t argue with that, but she tried anyway. “Hades released her from the curse too. He didn’t want her to be unhappy.”

     At that, her son was silent for a moment. “So how hard do you think Demeter would smite me if I asked Persephone out?”

     “She better not smite you, or I’ll kick her ass up over her shoulders. She has winter, but I’ll drench the world in eternal night if she tries.” Nyx was thoughtful for a moment. “Unless of course you were unreasonably handsy or demanding. Or acted like Zeus. Or—,”

     “I get the picture, Ma. By the way, you look great.”

     “You’re just saying that because my hair looks like yours now.” She scowled.

    “Moonlight and stardust. No one can resist.” He smirked as if it was just his trial to bear, being that attractive.

   “Nice deflection. I mean what I said. If you want Persephone, do what you will, but don’t be a dick. Got it?”

     “Yeah, Ma. Don’t be a dick. Got it,” he recited dutifully.

     “So I have to ask. What’s with you dark and tortured types and this girl?”

     “I dunno. She’s hot. It’s not like I want to marry her or anything. It would just be a date. Maybe a kiss.” He considered for a moment. “Maybe something else.”

     “That girl is a virgin, Thanatos.” Yes, he was her son and she loved him dearly, but he was one-hundred percent male—thinking with his parts. She had to struggle not to sigh.

     “She’s probably got a family of bats living in there after all this time. Don’t you think it would be okay if she—,”

            “You know, we so don’t need to have this conversation.” She threw her hands up in defeat. Nyx loved that her boys talked to her, confided in her, but there were some things a mother just didn’t need to know.

Thanks so much for coming by hon. Okay everyone, Saranna’s an open book so if you have questions, ask away. And make sure you leave a comment to get a chance at a free copy!

And here’s where you can find THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MOUNT OLYMPUS:

Amazon

B&N

ARe

MuseTrack’s Link of the Week

Today’s link features Pitch University. You’ve heard us plug this site from time to time. Not just because the head alchemist is a personal friend, but becuase this site has so, so much to offer.

Learn to pitch your novel, write a query, and get helpful advice and insight on marketing, hooks, and proposals. There is even an entire section entitled Indie U devoted to offering career advice to authors pursuing independent publishing, as well as small press and traditional publishing.

Check it out!

http://www.pitch-university.com/main/

Just Add Mash and Stir

Song of the Day: Overcome by Creed

Last week, Stacey mentioned in her post a mash-up experiment that she and I and two others participated in. Let me give you a recap, down low on the low down, the specifics of what we, The Usual Suspects, concocted.

Author #1 wrote the beginning of a story up to around 1000 words. He then sent his story to the next author, who in turn would pick up the tale where he left off and write another 1000 or so words. Then Author #2 would pass it along to Author #3, and so forth. After the last person finished their contribution, it went back to Author #1 for another round. When it was our turn again, we read the story thus far and added another chunk. The idea was to go several rounds and create a short story. There was no discussion of genre, plots, characters, or motivation. Imagine our surprise each time the story landed back in our laps, especially given that each one of us has our own unique voice, writing in different genres.

But the bigger surprise came when we finished. We had a great story! Sure, there were plot holes big enough for a convoy of beer-toting truckers to drive through and moments of mass confusion. (Where’d Clyde go? He was here a moment ago? Oh, he’s dead now? Really? How’d that happen? Oh wait, it was just a flesh wound? Yeah, someone should fix that.)  But the bones were strong. We talked about the problems and how to fix them. We are currently editing in the same roundtable fashion, sweeping up any gruesome evidence of heinous writer-ly crimes.

Though it was an experiment, we didn’t treat it as such. We put thought and honed skills to task. The goal was to have a marketable finished product. One that will eventually be available for e-reading.

Participating in this co-written short story was fun. I didn’t feel the usual pressure I place on myself, despite the twinge of performance anxiety. I was the last author, Author #4, in the roundtable. By the time the story reached me, it obviously headed down the dark and scary path of suspense. I should’ve known this would happen. Stacey and the other Usual Suspects have a flair for writing thrillers and romantic suspense.  But I write historical romance. Sure, I like to kill people. Sure, I like to throw in some spills and chills. However, these aspects are not the driving force behind my novels.

I surprised myself. I held my own against these thrill seeking pot boilers. I stepped out of my comfort zone, upped the ante, and managed to add tiers of tension. In the end, I was pleased with what I wrote. I learned that I can be flexible and push my boundaries into uncharted waters I have not been inclined to explore. What a great experience.

How about you? Have you tried your hand at a different genre? Ever plan to? Have you ever participated in a mash-up type story? I’d love to hear from you.

Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.  ~Author Unknown

 

By: Stacey Purcell

I wish I could say that I wrote those two sentences in the title of my blog, but I didn’t. They were written by the amazingly talented Joss Whedon who also wrote Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Firefly. This is a wonderful example of a short story. A really, really short story.  It is said that Ernest Hemingway wrote one using only six words. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” He also claimed that it was his best piece in a very large body of work.

Short stories are on the rise in popularity. So much so, Amazon is attributing this burgeoning market to pushing their stock up to above $200 a share.

Hmmmm.

That’s a pretty good statistic. If that didn’t get your attention, try this. David Baldacci recently wrote a short story called No Time Left. It sold 50,000 copies in its first week! Times are changing and we need to be flexible enough to change with it. It wasn’t so long ago that the only way to sell short stories was to bundle them together and sell them in an anthology or to sell them to a magazine. It was a slowly dying breed. Things are different now!

Short stories have caught on everywhere and I want to be a part of that market. Last week, I shared with you about my “mash up” experience. Three of my friends and I have taken turns putting together a story. No plans. No talking about it. Just write and see where it goes.

Now, we’re trying to figure out the best way to edit and re-write the parts that need help. This is proving to be a bit difficult. Finding common free-time in four very active adults’ schedules is next to impossible. Plan No. 2- We’re going to edit in the same round table fashion as we wrote it. I’ll keep you posted with our success…or maybe there will be Plan No. 3. Regardless of the plan chosen to do the painful edits, it’s been a fun and very creative moment for our group, The Usual Suspects. We’re hoping to put it up for sale as soon as it’s polished.

So what is a short story? It’s a story that can, obviously, have very few words. That being said, the six word tale won’t be a hot selling commodity any time soon. The typical short story can be found to have anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 ish words. They represent all genres and seem to sell really well for $0.99.

An author friend of mine has an e-publisher that only handles her short stories and she produces one every other month. Over time, she will have quite an inventory of product out there! She was also smart enough to write groups of stories around different themes so she could easily compile them into anthologies. That’s good writing and good marketing! Those stories will be a source of solid income over the next several years as the desire to have well written stories people can easily read on their phone or e-reader increases. The Director, Hamish Hamilton, at Simon Prosser Publishing stated, “The short story form is better suited to the demands of modern life than the novel.”

This phenomenon is not just happening in the U.S., it’s very popular in the U.K. A British newspaper called The Sunday Times has begun the EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.

The prize?

30,000 pounds. (That’s over $65,000)

Hmmmm.

That’s a pretty good prize. And if that didn’t get your attention, then I give up!

 

One last really short story: Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.-William Shatner

Writer Inspiration: Indie YA Fantasy Author Learns As She Goes by Beth Barany

Indie YA Fantasy Author Learns As She Goes

By Beth Barany

“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”

–Helen Keller

I dove in with both feet, both as an author and as an indie publisher of my own work.

I’m happy to chat here on Musetracks to share some of what I’ve learned on my adventure and to participate as a guest blogger to promote my upcoming release of the print edition of Henrietta the Dragon Slayer, my first novel. Be sure to read to the end of this post to participate in my blog tour’s monthly giveaway and Grand Giveaway.

Pretty much every time I sit down to write I say, “I don’t know what to say.” I start at zero and I’m okay with that. From there I turn to help. Sometimes to my husband to talk it out. Sometimes I look around my environment for inspiration. Sometimes I just set the time for 20 minutes and go!

Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, available on the Kindle and Nook, is a young adult novel that I’ve been working on for the last seven years. It’s 238 pages, for ages 12 and up.

ABOUT
Henrietta, the legendary Dragon Slayer of the Kingdom of Bleuve, can’t stomach the thought of one more kill. Yet, in order to save her dying mentor, she must go on one last quest. But will misfit companions, seasickness, and an egomaniacal king derail the quest for the healing stone? And will she be able to cut past her conscience and kill the dragon?

Yep. It took me seven years to get to this point. In that time I’ve learned so much.

As I said, I’m a hands-on learner. I learn by doing.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• how to write compelling and memorable fiction
• world building
• how to receive critiques
• how to edit fiction
• how to reedit fiction (and again and again!)
• how to query agents and editors
• how to handle rejection

And then this January I decided to self-publish and I had to learn for myself (and am still learning!) more things, like:

• cover design
• finding my audience
• what my audience wants
• how to organize a blog tour
• how to solicit book reviews
• and more!

And I didn’t do this alone.

The so cool thing about being indie published — this whole adventure — is we don’t have to do it alone; we are in this together. I have found so many great resources for indie authors, and even created one of my own, a Facebook group for Indie YA fantasy authors: http://on.fb.me/IndieYAFantasyAuthors.

 

I created this group because I wanted a place to share resources, especially marketing resources. I wanted a place to celebrate our successes and a way to be laser focused on my marketing.

It’s one thing to support all indie authors, it’s another to support authors in your same or related genre.

I love supporting and helping other YA and fantasy authors that are focused on adventure.

As I’ve progressed in sharing the news about my book, I’ve been getting to know my readers better.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned by talking to girls, including my twelve-year-old niece, and her three girlfriends over breakfast, and their moms:

• teen girls read mostly print books
• moms are always looking for good fiction for their daughters
• teens love school visits as long as the presenter is interesting and funny (Funny is important, my niece said.)
• lots of girls and boys love adventure stories; lots of young 20-something women do too!
• a good cover that captures the eye produces a fun Wow! response

As I progress in my blog book tour — it lasts through August — I look forward to learning more and to setting up my in-person school visits. (I need to learn how to do that!)

So to learn more about you, and for you to enter my giveaway, please share what you love about adventure stories. Be sure to include your email so you can enter to win a copy of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer (print or ebook), and to enter the Grand Giveaway, a replica of the necklace around Henrietta’s neck. (See book cover)

Want more of Beth and Henrietta The Dragon Slayer? Visit her website
Visit her Buy Links page to Purchase.
And be sure to follow her Summer Blog Tour.  You can find her schedule here.

 

Contest

Beth is also having a big contest as part of her Summer Blog Tour!  Enter for a chance to win a copy of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer and the necklace Henrietta is wearing on the book cover!

Giveaway Rules for the Summer Blog Tour of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer by Beth Barany

Contest will run from May through August.

You may enter as many times as you like throughout the summer for the Grand Giveaway, though you can only win one book.

Just leave Beth a comment and you’re entered.

Check out her blog stops and tour schedule Here for more chances to win!
Be sure to include your email address so you can be contacted if you win!

You can receive the print or digital edition of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer. International entrants okay.

She will pick a winner on the last day of each month using Random.org.

She’ll pick a winner for the necklace from all the entries from May through August on the last day of August. If you have won a book you are still eligible to win the necklace!

Individual bloggers may be hosting same-day giveaways. So you have extra chances to win a copy of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer! Be sure to stop by to enter for the Grand Giveaway!

 

Good Luck!

Sell Your Body….I Mean Your Book

By: Stacey Purcell

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.  ~Agatha Christie

Change is afoot in the publishing industry and at Muse Tracks. Like many other authors around the world, Jenn has e-published her novel Blood and Treasure and two of our dear friends, who were guests here, have published theirs. Will Graham (William Simon) wrote Street Heat and Melissa Ohnoutka presented Faithful Deceptions. I appear to be the slow turtle out of our group, but that doesn’t mean I’m sitting on the sidelines twiddling my thumbs. The big question that I’m researching and spending hours reading advice from various experts is, “Now what?”

Sounds simple.

It’s just two little words, and fairly unremarkable ones at that. However, nothing is as it seems and this is no exception. Did you think writing your book was difficult? Hang on to your chairs the ride has only begun! If you have taken this road or are even contemplating taking control of the publishing of your book, there’s a lot to learn. Once upon a time authors had the luxury of leaving the marketing up to their publishers, but that time is much like a fairy tale told in a faraway land. Even if you pursue a traditional publishing house, much of the marketing is still on your shoulders. What can you do?

There’s power in numbers. Group together with your friends and help one another get your name out in the public. Use all the social networks to accomplish this. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, web sites etc. are a great way to support one another. They say that the average number of “friends” a person has is around 120. Most people I know have more than that. If you band together with five of your friends then you have increased your ability to get your name in front of folks to, at least, 600.  Do you see how this can mushroom? Throw in Twitter and all the rest, you can spread yourself over 1000 individuals. Be creative.

Let’s talk about Amazon. Take your group of five friends and do things like tag each others’ books, write reviews, and “like” their author pages. This gives the immediate feeling of a book that has a lot of traffic. Traffic begets more traffic which begets sales.  I also noticed that if you buy each other’s books, then when someone else goes to one of your books, it automatically brings up the others as books that may be of interest to the buyer. You can also create lists on the listmania portion of Amazon. I created one with my favorite romance books listed- one more way to get their names in front of other shoppers. Be creative.

What about the product itself? It’s hard to go to conferences or other venues where you have the opportunity to sell your book and you don’t have tangible product to give to a customer. You can either buy some print-on-demand copies to sell or you can give them an autographed postcard with your cover printed on it and hope like crazy they go home and buy your book. I don’t think your success rate for the latter choice will be very good. People forget.

How do you sell a virtual object? Dean Wesley has a terrific idea! http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=4154  Make your book into a gift card with your cover as the front. The customer pays for the cool card which will have a code on it to access your book online for downloading. I thought this was a stroke of brilliance. Now you have something you can sell at small gatherings, schools, conferences, book launches etc. The possibilities are endless. You could even use them as free giveaways for promotion. Be creative.

These ideas are only scratching the surface of what you can do to increase your sales. The one consistent idea I hope you get from this article is to be CREATIVE. Marketing is an art that you can cultivate. It takes time and hard work, but we’re good at thinking out of the box. We can do it!

From Script to eBook

Frequent MuseTracks guest  William Simon is at it again. William describes how his recent release STREET HEAT found its way into the digital world of eBooks.

So without further ado, take it away, Will.

Long ago and far away (wow, almost twenty years ago!), I was determined to be a screenwriter for television and movies.  Came close a couple of times, but never really broke through.  I was determined, though, and, uh, well, maybe a tiny bit stubborn.  (cough, cough)

I wrote and submitted a spec script for a network series that I personally really liked quite a bit.  The characters were complicated and layered, there wasn’t always a happy ending, and the show tackled some serious issues before anyone else.  While a lot of it was exaggerated and ‘Hollywooded’ up, it was a more than pleasant way to kill an hour once a week.  (I am deliberately not naming the series for several reasons not worth going into.)  I had landed an agent at the time, things were going nicely, when the show was abruptly yanked off the air with no explanation.  To this day, I don’t know what happened, why it was cancelled, or just what went down.

Okay, this happens.  Things like this happen a lot more than most people realize.  The fact anything gets filmed, anything gets released, or a series actually makes it on the air is such an incredible long shot.  To be a success, well, someone just won the lottery and got struck by lightning simultaneously.

Anyway, I really liked the script, and it eventually dawned on me it could easily become a novel, hopefully the start of a series.  Of course, I couldn’t use the original series premise, so I started from scratch with a former police detective turned best-selling mystery novelist.  (This was 1991, so any comparisons to a current TV series featuring a best-selling mystery writer who ‘really IS Ruggedly Handsome’ don’t count.)  I wrote it the way I now saw it, and was quite pleased with how it turned out.

I sent it out to anyone and everyone I could think of.  Got some terrific rejections along the lines of “I really loved this, but my partner/associate felt it lacked a certain ‘something’ that prevents us from extending an offer at this time.”  Some editors responded with similar thoughts, others a form rejection.  Eventually, I slapped it on a diskette (remember those?) and filed it because writers never throw anything out.

Time passed.  The Y2K shenanigans came and went, the horrendous events of September 11, 2001 happened.  Technology moved forward at an alarming pace, the world changed, and then something came along I couldn’t believe:  the Kindle.

I’ll be the first to eat some crow on this.  I didn’t believe the Kindle would work, I didn’t agree with the concept at all of eBooks.  I want a BOOK book, not an electronic pad that I flick a finger on.  I want to turn a page, I want the smell of a new book, I want the feel of it in my hands.  Then I bought an iPad, and my world view shifted.  Dramatically.

Some friends of mine tried publishing their work as an eBook.  Some of them had terrific success, others sold slow and steady; kind of like Real Life Publishing.  After thinking and cogitating and mulling, I decided ‘what the heck’, dug out the diskette (with WordStar documents, if you remember that one), and decided to pull the trigger… so to speak!

For better or for worse, damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead, and a rousing cry of ‘Excelsior!’:

STREET HEAT, under the pseudonym ‘Will Graham’.

 http://tinyurl.com/3bfjjym

We’ll see what happens next….

William Simon is the owner and lead investigator of a licensed firm specializing in computer forensics and electronic evidence.  His fiction  has been published in the anthology MURDER BY MAGIC, “Suspense Magazine”, and the forthcoming THRILLER III from ITW, due Summer 2012.