Philippa Ballantine's Blog, page 9

My 8 Essentials for Indie Book Success

I’ve stayed pretty silent on the independent fiction endevors of my husband Tee Morris and I—not because I don’t have opinions on them. I have mentioned in a few places online that I feel the hybrid author route is the one most likely to succeed.

Heck, I have plenty of opinions, but I always like to have some statistics behind me before I start holding forth on things. I’ve also had plenty of conversations with authors I know—some who are succeeding at indie publishing, some who are not so successful, and some who haven’t tried but are in desperate circumstances due to the bizarre metamorphosis now occurring in the publishing industry.

However, after pounding our own numbers for last year, and comparing them to 2012, I am starting to get an idea of what is working for us…and since everyone is jumping in with their opinions, it’s time for the kiwi to throw her hat in the ring.

First off, the usual…your mileage may vary…these are my personal opinions take them with a grain of salt…etc etc etc…yadda yadda…

Second, these observations are from a two writer household, one full time, one holding down a full-time job, so do bear that in mind if you use these to make your own decisions.

All of that stated, I can say that our numbers from 2012 to 2013 have gone up 50% — which as a business model is not half bad. It’s not our sole writing income, but it is definitely a sizable contributor. It is something that we are going to continue to build up and another 50% would be a win in my book.

You need the numbers. And by numbers I mean a large body of work. We have mixed it up with short stories, probably close to 90 between us, but I think it would need to double before it is more of a viable income. If you are doing novels then you would need less since you get more for a novel, but still that’s a lot of work so don’t quit that dayjob until you have those numbers.
You need variety. Thank goodness for pen names! Don’t restrict yourself to just one genre. Bear in mind you will need to build up each pen name separately unless you want people to figure out it is you, but you should really spread yourself wide over as many genres as you think you can manage. Romance. YA. Crime fiction. Dabble…honestly—it’s fun.
You need S & C. Selection and collection. Readers love series! Seriously, the more series the merrier. The first might do OK, but write a second and it’ll give the first a bump, and so on with each additional book. Also, readers like to spend time with characters they love, so when they look up your name and see a series they are comforted that you haven’t left them out to dry. Once you have series you can then bundle them neatly into collections. Make sure to knock of a small amount for those that shell out for collections, it is a nice bit of encouragement.
You need patience. Alright everyone knows about Konrath and some others who is making huge bucks with ebooks…but they didn’t get there overnight. Of course there are exceptions, but from my research those that are making crazy dollars at indie publishing have also put in the hours in the basement telling friends and family to leave them alone.
You need quality. Sure the erotica market doesn’t seem too discerning with cover art, but other genres are brutal if you get things like the cover and editing wrong. Some people might be able to look past it, but why take the chance? Find some professionals to help you if you haven’t got the skills. Most importantly, do not be the only person to edit your book. You need someone else. Seriously.
You need to make it easy for readers. Whatever format and whatever location the reader wants to find your book, that is where it should be. It may also take more effort, but you should definitely have it available in print. The Amazon Kindle program where you sacrifice spreading your book over all platforms, for the chance to give your book away for free and increased readership, used to be really useful. I think it’s about done. I stopped doing it in 2013 and noticed no change in income. If you must do it, then use it in a series where you make the first one free.
You need to keep track. Make Excel or some other program like it your friend. I keep a spreadsheet for every year, with all sales of all titles month by month. It helps me know which titles have earned back the money we put into them, and which ones have not. I also can spot trends in the different genres, which I color code on the spreadsheet.
You need to remember tax. Absolutely. Do not forget this bit. Even if you are only get a car payment in a month, it adds up, and no one wants a nasty bill at the end of a year of success.

 

So this is the path Tee and I are following. If we get another 50% increase I will be very happy…if we do better than that I will be nigh on ecsatic.

What do you think? Have I missed anything you think are also essential to make decent money at Indie Publishing?

New Year, New Things

Well, 2013 is finally behind us, and though it was a rough ride, it ended nicely.

Tee, Sonic Boom and I celebrated a kiwi Christmas, which was just what we needed. We got to put our toes in the Wellington harbour on Christmas day, reconnected with family and friends, and generally relax.

Then we got home and it was -10C…ah well.

Each year I try and learn from my mistakes of the previous year—at least writing wise. So I decided I needed more of a long view in the planning process of the year. A lot of stuff was planned day to day, but I felt like I was missing out on getting the most from my time by somehow always seeming to be scrambling. So I bought a laminated 12 month calendar for the wall, and wrote on it all the commitments (like conventions) as well as all the things I wanted to work on that month for 2014.

It certainly gave me a new perspective, and I was able to plan for some projects that I have had on the backburner for some time.

I have nearly finished the first half of Immortal Progeny, my huge scope epic fantasy, with gods and monsters, so that the agent can begin pitching it.

Weather Child is in the editing process and I plan on having the ebook and paper version out on the 1st of March. The cover is be-autiful!!

Then I have a couple of other projects to get to. Two are YA titles. One is another New Zealand project that is tentatively titled Sea Witch.

In between I have several short stories and Kickstarter projects I am involved with.

As for the Ministry news…well Book Four, the Diamond Conspiracy has winged its way to our editor at Ace, and it is packed with exciting derry doings. Dawn’s Early Light comes out at the end of March…and we will have a free short story, and of course another season of Tales from the Archives to tempt our readers and listeners with. The RPG is out in the next few months and we’re super excited to see it. I am also starting to record the audio for ACX so that we can have Ministry Protocol available as an audio book.

This month I am most looking forward to going on a writer’s retreat with about ten other authors. It’s going to be fun and productive and I hope to make the most of the quiet. Alright, I admit the quiet might feel odd.

I hope you and yours came through the holiday season safe. What are you planning for in 2014?

COVER REVEAL: Das zerbrochene Band

The German cover for Wrayth has just been revealed. I love the sense of motion and urgency. I also happen to love the look on the Rossin’s face. It reminds me of our huge Siberian cat, Sebastian who may be the inspiration for the geistlord. He wears this particular expression when he is about to leap on his sister. I get the feeling Sorcha should run faster!

Das zerbrochene Band (The Broken Band) will be out in August next year, and I can’t wait to see what Harbinger looks like!

You can pre-order the title right now.

Final anthology of 2013

So coming Holiday Spice will be my last anthology release for the year. It’s organized by my fabulous agency, Foreword Literary, and the awesome Pam van Hylckama Vlieg.

You can get it all for a mere 99c!

Here’s the list of stories and the fine folk that I am sharing a Table of Contents with

Homecoming by D.R. Slaten

A Not So Lonely Christmas by Jody Holford

Christmas Spice by Anna Leigh Keaton

Naughty or Nice by Ainsley Winter

Put a Bow On It by Zrinka Jelic

The Silent Stars Go By by Peggy Barnett  

The Messenger by Kim Kasch

Office Santa by Jade A. Waters x (THIS ONE IS MISSING FOR NOW. CHASING UP)

Kinky Bells by Sidney Bristol

Snow and Love by Callie Russell

Secret Santa by Kyra Mason

Counting by Numbers by L.R. Wright

Christmas Sex Magic by Philippa Ballantine

The Murder King’s Christmas by Jamie Leigh Hansen

A Second Chance by J.A. Pope

Guardian Angel by Laura Kreitzer

No. 18 by Megan Carey

Ruined by the Reindeersaurus Rex by Arthur A. Author

 

And to get your started…a little snippet from my story Christmas Sex Magic

“Can I buy you a drink?” The brunette whose breasts were making a valiant effort to escape her dress, shot me an off kilter grin.

The fact that all the drinks were free at this office party was neither here nor there to either or me or this account executive.

She didn’t know who she was propositioning of course, but then if I’d said my name she’d probably have dissolved into giggles rather than being impressed. It was that sort of time in the human world.

What she saw then was merely the surface, the current form I wore; tall, muscled, with thick dark hair and a smile that I was informed made ladies melt.

I didn’t make an effort though to make this nearly incapacitated women weak at the knees; I preferred my women flexible and fully functional.

Though I was known as the Trickster, my tricks did not run that way. My other names had reputations for the kind of mischief I preferred. Puck, Robin Goodfellow, that most beloved of human bards had called me those things, and exposed my tricks of knocking of milk churns, taunting the occasional guard dog, and opening farm gates of those that mistreat their animals.

I raised my glass in the direction of the woman. “No, thank you, as you see I have my own.”

Her brow furrowed, and I could almost hear the gears working slowly inside her head. “What…what sort of accent is that?”

I couldn’t help tightening my hand around my glass, but I did manage from refraining to snap back a reply. My accent was Fey laced with old English, via a few points between the renaissance and the garish colors of 1984.

She was looking me up and down, but I knew she couldn’t see past the exterior. This human most certainly couldn’t observe the glimmer of Fey Art within me—not that there was a great deal of it left.

The realm of the Fey had drifted away from this one, with it taking the source of my powers. As much as I cosseted my remaining strength, kept my shifting to fewer shapes that I changed less, there was no getting away from it; only a few more years and I would be nothing more than mortal.

Even to one such as myself, it was a little depressing. Yet, there is one time of year I would still rise to—one time that I could still revel in. Like humanity gorging on a well-cooked turkey, I too enjoy Christmas—even the great human solemnities of the office party.

New Audio

So awhile back I was contacted about the audio rights for Hunter and Fox and Kindred and Wings.

As you know, I LOVE audio, but my time this year has been limited, so I was unable to produce this myself. However, Caitlin Greer has done a wonderful job on these two books.

So through audible you can now get both books read by this delightful narrator.

Hunter and Fox

Kindred and Wings

 

Final anthology of 2013

So coming November 12th will be my last anthology release for the year, Holiday Spice. It’s organized by my fabulous agency, Foreword Literary, and the awesome Pam van Hylckama Vlieg. Look for it on your favourite e-reader very soon.

Here’s the list of stories and the fine folk that I am sharing a Table of Contents with

Homecoming by D.R. Slaten

A Not So Lonely Christmas by Jody Holford

Christmas Spice by Anna Leigh Keaton

Naughty or Nice by Ainsley Winter

Put a Bow On It by Zrinka Jelic

The Silent Stars Go By by Peggy Barnett  

The Messenger by Kim Kasch

Office Santa by Jade A. Waters x (THIS ONE IS MISSING FOR NOW. CHASING UP)

Kinky Bells by Sidney Bristol

Snow and Love by Callie Russell

Secret Santa by Kyra Mason

Counting by Numbers by L.R. Wright

Christmas Sex Magic by Philippa Ballantine

The Murder King’s Christmas by Jamie Leigh Hansen

A Second Chance by J.A. Pope

Guardian Angel by Laura Kreitzer

No. 18 by Megan Carey

Ruined by the Reindeersaurus Rex by Arthur A. Author

 

And to get your started…a little snippet from my story Christmas Sex Magic

“Can I buy you a drink?” The brunette whose breasts were making a valiant effort to escape her dress, shot me an off kilter grin.

The fact that all the drinks were free at this office party was neither here nor there to either or me or this account executive.

She didn’t know who she was propositioning of course, but then if I’d said my name she’d probably have dissolved into giggles rather than being impressed. It was that sort of time in the human world.

What she saw then was merely the surface, the current form I wore; tall, muscled, with thick dark hair and a smile that I was informed made ladies melt.

I didn’t make an effort though to make this nearly incapacitated women weak at the knees; I preferred my women flexible and fully functional.

Though I was known as the Trickster, my tricks did not run that way. My other names had reputations for the kind of mischief I preferred. Puck, Robin Goodfellow, that most beloved of human bards had called me those things, and exposed my tricks of knocking of milk churns, taunting the occasional guard dog, and opening farm gates of those that mistreat their animals.

I raised my glass in the direction of the woman. “No, thank you, as you see I have my own.”

Her brow furrowed, and I could almost hear the gears working slowly inside her head. “What…what sort of accent is that?”

I couldn’t help tightening my hand around my glass, but I did manage from refraining to snap back a reply. My accent was Fey laced with old English, via a few points between the renaissance and the garish colors of 1984.

She was looking me up and down, but I knew she couldn’t see past the exterior. This human most certainly couldn’t observe the glimmer of Fey Art within me—not that there was a great deal of it left.

The realm of the Fey had drifted away from this one, with it taking the source of my powers. As much as I cosseted my remaining strength, kept my shifting to fewer shapes that I changed less, there was no getting away from it; only a few more years and I would be nothing more than mortal.

Even to one such as myself, it was a little depressing. Yet, there is one time of year I would still rise to—one time that I could still revel in. Like humanity gorging on a well-cooked turkey, I too enjoy Christmas—even the great human solemnities of the office party.

Holiday Spice

As the year draws to a close, and I am finishing up sending off the Ministry Protocol to the Kickstarter backers, there is still one final release for 2013 coming from me.

Foreword Literary is putting together a hot anthology of short stories, and one of mine will be proudly included. The story of Puck continues, but with a sexy little encounter.

Anyway, here is the cover, and look for it coming to your e-reader in November. It should keep the home fires burning in the northern hemisphere, and make that summer extra toasty in the southern!

Capclave schedule

This is a brand new convention for me, but Capclave is nice local one. Here’s where you can find me …oh and that GRR Martin guy (but we don’t share any panels) 

Friday

6-7 pm Buy My Book

Self promotion and you. Nervous about talking about your books and stories? There are some things you should do and avoid when talking about your writing.

Room: Rockville/Potomac

7-8 pm Author table

Room: Author’s Hallway

 

8-9 pm Producing Your own Anthology

This panel talks a bit about the business of putting together an anthology of original fiction or even collected essays. Where do you go from the idea? What options are available? Print? eBook? Audio? How do you work with others, especially when it comes to the editorial process? Hear from the panelists tips and tricks on getting along with others and the tools needed to put together a terrific anthology, and the pros and cons on working with friends.

Room Rockville/Potomac

Saturday

10-11 am Moving Beyond the Small Press 

A look at how small presses in the age of the eReaders – where anyone can be a publisher – have their limits, and what to do when you’ve hit them. There is also the additional pressure of performing on a higher level. Listen to panelists describe what to do when you have plateaued with your own independent publisher, and what lies ahead if or when you step up to corporate publishers.

Room: Salon A

1-2 pm Reading 

Room: Frederick

5-6pm White Out

LeGuin complained that many Earthsea covers whitewashed the characters (as did the SciFi movie). The worlds of many fantasy/SF novels seem to be overwhelmingly white and European. Why do writers (and cover artists) do this? How can we bring diversity into our genres? Is it getting better? Are non-white authors and hero(ines) still rarities?

Room: Salon A

7.30pm Mass Signing 

Room: Salon A, B and CDE

Editing and proofing and conferences OH MY!

Busy, busy as usual with me, but time for a quick catch up post.

I’ve learned a new skill…well at least the basics…InDesign! I helped my darling husband, Tee Morris out with some ebook design for the Ministry Protocol. He however did the more complicated print design. It’s interesting the two different approaches. Print is set in stone, with ebook you have to keep it relatively simple, just to take into consideration the different hardware people will be using to read them.

We just got the proof of the print copy, and I’m in the process with Tee of checking it over. It’ll need a couple of tweaks, then another proof, but after that we should be good to go. It is going to be a very pretty book though from this first round!

We also got the second round of edits for Dawn’s Early Light, and it’s exciting to see the book take shape into something awesome. I really want to get this out into people’s hands. Don’t forget you can totally pre-order it.

Also I am editing Weather Child, and totally handing it over to Tee Tate my go-to freelance editor today. The cover image is being shot by the damned talented Alex White, and I hope to get it out for all your Christmas buying needs.

But we did manage to have some fun this month. Tee and I both attended Authors After Dark in Savannah. It is a wonderful convention for a writer to attend, because you get a lot of quality time with readers. We took a group of charming readers out to lunch at the Pirate House. Wonderful place and wonderful company. We also got to hang out with Delilah S Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber some of our authors from Ministry Protocol. So all in all a great weekend! Next year it is in Charlotte and I highly recommend it.

Not done yet!

Oh yes, and we won an award. Tales from the Archives won a Parsec award for best anthology/magazine. This makes for three Parsecs in total for the podcast, and three Parsecs between Tee and I (one each, and then one together). It makes for a nice round number. Thanks to Kregg Steppe who picked up the award for us since it was presented at DragonCon.

Think that is the last of it…but I’ll try and keep more atop it.

Ministry Protocol- COVER REVEAL

A busy week rolls on, but this is an announcement I have been dying to share!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels are a multi-award winning steampunk series, which tells the story of the government agency committed to keeping citizens safe from the strange, the unusual, and the bizarre.

In a very successful Kickstarter in July, the Ministry Initiative was funded, allowing the creation of both a roleplaying game and a brand new anthology.

Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a collection of short stories that will take readers across the Empire and all over the world, revealing new facets of familiar characters and introducing new agents, allies, and enemies from the Ministry’s colourful history.

The authors of this globe-spanning anthology include Delilah S. Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber, Alex White, Jared Axelrod, Tiffany Trent, Peter Woodworth, Jack Mangan, JR Blackwell, Dan Rabarts, Lauren Harris, Karina Cooper, and Glenn Freund from The League of S.T.E.A.M.

And one of the Ministry’s creators, Tee Morris, presents the origin story of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences itself.

Look for the ebook coming in August, with signed print editions to follow.

Feast your eyes on the cover art from the Ministry renaissance man, Alex White, and spread the word about the anthology by entering the giveaway.

 

 

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