Christopher D. Schmitz's Blog, page 24

Self-Promotion for Indie Authors

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A few weeks ago I started a multi-part series about getting books into bookstore shelves. It was part of an author’s FB thread from my publisher’s private group. One of the authors claimed he did not, and would never, do anything to promote his book… and yet he still held out some kind of hope that it might somehow become a bestseller because fate, or fairy dust, or something like that.

I responded that he could do what he liked but guaranteed he would not have success if he didn’t put in any effort. People with that opinion (that authors can just write a book then let everything else magically work out) are under false pretenses about how the industry works nowadays. He’d cited a fixed income and advanced years, but really, he just didn’t want to do anything but the writing. With no platform, unproven skill, and an adamant denial of how things work in reality, he got so angry with me for suggesting that he use his abundant free time in retirement to try some free methods of self-promotion that he actually left Facebook altogether. Authors can come unhinged pretty easily and I thought he might block me for not agreeing with the echo chamber in his mind, but I thought that was a little cray cray. Whatever. I guess I’ll feel pretty stupid when he calls me out after receiving his Pulitzer… I guess he showed me.

Anyways. If you don’t have a fan base of thousands of people in your active email database or haven’t been a NYT bestseller and have literary agents salivating over the possibility of signing you, then you haven’t arrived. That means you still need to promote yourself. In fact, the publicists over at Smith Publicity say that you need to be actively involved in the process even if you hire a publicist! There’s no escape from this task. But you don’t have to love it… you just need to do it!

Publicists can be expensive and they don’t necessarily have an immediate and quantifiable payoff. So how do we think outside the box to get the word out about our books and generate some authentic buzz? I’ll try to lay out some principles and then spitball some specific suggestions that might help you craft some unique ideas for your project.

Connect on social media. I did not say advertise and I did not say promote… don’t use social media to broadcast “please by my book” or even “this is what my book is about.” Use it to connect with people and be a genuine person. Let it naturally lead to sales later. Anything else will be seen as selfserving and spammy and be a waste of time.

Think about newsworthiness. Why are most press releases ignored? Because they are really advertisements and not of interest (at least not without paying for the ad space.) Find what makes your story (not the book itself, but the news about the book) compelling. If you can do that, the media will broadcast your story and promote for you. For example, check out this example of a writer who rented a castle to write from during nanowrimo.

Sell yourself. It may feel dirty, but you should be used to it. Honestly, we all sell ourselves each and every day. When we fake a smile because we’d rather not share our inner struggles or post happy photos to our Instagram even though our life is a mess we are selling ourselves… we’re just promoting something else. You’ve got to believe in your book and its ability to succeed and be willing to walk through those doors to close a sale even if you’re not the kind of person who likes toot your own horn. Fake it if you have to, I don’t know if hypnosis works but try if you’ve got to. Nobody will care more about your book than you, so use that passion to convince the next person that they ought to read it. Be your books advocate.

You can learn to promote. People who try to push it off onto everyone else are refusing to try and learn a new skill. “But I’m a writer not a promoter.” That is probably true, but it’s time to wear another hat. Being an author is a business—treat it like one. Every startup owner has to wear multiple hats until they “finally arrive,” you get to do the same. “But I’m bad at promotion,” is just another excuse used to avoid trying. Trust me, your first book sucked too, but you (hopefully) got better and refined it and then continued writing. Promotion is like that. Just start and learn along the way. Pick up new tools whenever you can and never stop honing the craft.

Start early. Build relationships and build up your platform before you begin a big push with your marketing efforts. Timing is so critical to doing self-promotion well. You need time to develop a relationship where people care about you and your product before you pitch them or push your big project. If you haven’t done that, then promoting to them won’t generate the buzz you are hoping for on a book. Roughly translated: start selling yourself six months before your book comes out and start selling the book two months before that launches.

Some proven and some off the wall ideas:

Set aside a time and post a comment on social media every day (or share a link, etc.)

Host a giveaway

Write some book reviews

Get involved in some non social media communities

network at a book conference

visit bookstores and chat with managers

leave free swag (like bookmarks) at area libraries

leave free download coupon cards on the subway seats or post a similar flyer in the bus terminal

solicit book reviews from reputable book reviewers

try to create some news that you can steer towards your books (and which might warrant a press release)

ask bloggers if you can do a guest post or an interview

learn about and use hashtags

automate your mailing list (I recommend mailchimp) and try to generate signups via live events

post pictures of fans reading your books

post a short story elsewhere (or on a blog)

Add your website and link to your email signature

tweak and practice  a 1-2 sentence “elevator” pitch that you can deliver in about 15 seconds to set a hook and sell your book in live scenarios

join a writers group

organize a book signing

try a blog tour

organize a library book tour

set yourself up to speak at events or contribute to local newspapers (or heck, even just a newsletter with a group you may be affiliated with)

Consider entering your book in a contest (just watch out for fakes)

network with other writers and try to cross promote (less self-talk and more boosting others)

make sure your SEO and keywords will pull in relevant traffic

Ask your local radio and TV about possible spots as a guest (I’ve been on two stations twice each)

Find guest spots on podcasts. I’ve made some great friends doing this

 

If I was recommending two blogs to check out on this topic, they would be the two below. They are both humorous and tongue in cheek, but will help get you thinking about this the proper way.

Please shut up: Why self-promotion as an author doesn’t work

Rating Self-Promotional Techniques For Authors And Their Books

Remember to check out my book The Indie Author’s Bible for tons of tips and how-to guides and be sure to follow this blog!

Review: When the Eye Sees Itself

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Eric Borgerson’s When the Eye Sees Itself evokes so many images in its pages. It’s both dystopian and has overtures of cyberpunk. The sci-fi aspect is light but it feels reminiscent of many films and stories to have come out in the past two decades (I’m feeling Hackers, Bladerunner, What Ever Happened to Monday, and so much more). It borrows themes from many and molds them each into fit a narrative that is unique unto itself, telling a story somewhere on the spectrum between Orwell and Heinlein in its approach to politics and human classism. It is disturbingly realistic and certainly cautionary.

It is a big book, with words crammed a little too tightly, which is my only complaint. It probably could’ve been shorter, and that’s usually a mark of poor writing or subpar editing… however, that’s not the case here. The prose is tight and it is well edited (though Borgerson does tend to gloss over some things and occasionally use a passive, summary paragraph. That may be a way he battled the length.)

If you’re looking for something that feels like a modern Philip K Dick, When the Eye Sees Itself might be the perfect book for you. I got a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

You can get a copy of the book by clicking here.

State of Writing

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Not much happening this last week… still under crazy workloads that I can’t let slip because of deadlines so I’m burning the midnight oil there and any leftover time is going into a house I’m renovating and trying to flip. It’s so close to being done!

I did manage to start sketching out a few short stories and even wrote an opening scene for one. I may finish it this week. That’s my only real writing goal—I’m prepping for a weekend convention with the rest of my time and trying to get folks to show up to my metro area book event on June 9.

If you are in the MPLS/St.Paul area this weekend, come say hello at the MCBA Comic Convention at the State Fairgrounds.

The Kakos Realm 3: Death Upon the Fields of Splendor is finally available!

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If you’ve read any of my Monday Sate of Writing reports then you have likely seen me mention TKR3, or The Kakos Realm. The first book (Grinden Proselyte) was the first novel I ever published and it is what started me on this path, over a decade ago. I originally wrote the first two books and half of the third one… book three is finally completed and ready! The first trilogy is done and available wherever you get your books. I have plans for the next four books which will complete the series.

I’ve promised some of my long-time readers that this world is not safe, and the title reflects the high stakes… The Kakos Realm 3: Death Upon the Fields of Splendor. (Paperback readers can also get the entire trilogy as one compilation… it’s the largest possible  paperback you can get printed under Amazon’s roof.)

Also, for a limited time, all of The Kakos Realm ebooks will be discounted to 0.99, and I’m also offering a coupon to get the first book in the series completely free. Just sign up for my mailing list and the system will send you a free coupon code and link!

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The mysterious Watcher finally arrives as a harbinger of terrible news. He sends Rashnir and Zeh-Ahbe’ on a suicide mission in order to save their friends. Despite the Luciferian Deathsquads, bounty hunters, and a secretly excavated monolith unearthed by Lilth’s Wendigo, the ranger and lycan charge headlong into the mouth of danger: the arch-mage’s home at the Temple of Light.

Before they can succeed, the Watcher shows his true colors and trades secret information in exchange for an item locked away in a demon overlord’s stronghold. They must retrieve a simple silver key that resides in the Dark Lord’s throne room.

Getting into the castle is doable—but getting out alive may be another matter entirely!

Gloom & Silver Linings in Self-publishing Market Stats

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Market trends shift all the time and indie-publishing is no exception. Stay ahead of the curve: forewarned is forearmed. Keep reading for some Indie publishing statistics you have to know about!

You may have heard these dismal numbers before, and they probably bum you out, but they are worth examining nonetheless.

Most self-published/Indie books will not sell more than 200-250 books in that title’s lifetime. (A large Indie publisher reports a number less than 50 lifetime sales per title on average).

•At least 1 in 5 indie authors report no income from sales (most give away more than they sell.)

•Every year almost a million books are published. This is your competition. The majority of those are independent titles; Amazon says that only 40 Indie authors have ever cracked their threshold for success (1 million books) which says a lot about those people hawking their online programs to “sell a million books in three weeks.”

•Romance accounts for about 1/5 of all fiction sold (more than all nonfiction, childrens, and lit fiction combined,) and self-published romance book sales make up a little more than all other sales combined (fiction and nonfiction.) If you’re not writing dirty books your percentage of the Indie market-share just plummeted.

•Your book has less than 1% chance of being stocked on a bookstore shelf. Most books only sell in the author/small publisher’s communities.

•Barnes & Noble’s sales declined by 6% in 2016, and sales from mass merchandisers (Target, Walmart, etc.) also declined

•Overall book sales are down (ebook/print combined)

As authors, we can’t do much about those above stats. However, we can recognize the factors present in the Indie market and still make a plan for success. There are three things that affect us:

1. The glut of books—there is a huge level of supply. Everyone is publishing a book. There isn’t much you can do about that. We cannot control this.

2. Quality control—most of those books are abysmal piles of trash that were put out by a person who has no idea about editing, cover design, industry standards, etc. I may sound rude, but I’m right. The fact that many people pull punches in order to “be nice” about authors (or half-assed Indie publishers) who shirked it are the reason that overall sales are down (market confidence has dropped). It’s also why predatory self-publishing companies are able to continue existing. We can control this.

3. Lack of marketing—this may be because of a lack of funds or a lack of time, but it’s something that solid planning can have a significant impact upon. We can (and should) control this.

With thousands of writers choosing to self-publish every day, it’s easy to see why there are so many predators out there. Smart authors know that there is a need to rise above the flood of new books and do some marketing. Writing is what we do and it’s worth being discovered, our books demand that we do them justice by getting them seen and read. This is an author’s mandate for marketing.

My books always do better during my marketing seasons. Sometimes I let the residual effects of earlier market pushes ride themselves out until my sales taper. That lets me know I need to start a renewed push—this means I need to budget my mental energy for such an effort. It may mean I shift energy away from blogging or writing my next book. Much of success as an Indie is tied to budgeting your time wisely (and not just time, but that mental energy that is the difference between phoning it in and quality time.)

The statistics above may paint a dismal picture of the publishing world, but I’ll leave you with some more hopeful ones, because I truly believe you can rise above the tide of junk bogging down the market (after all, those books aren’t selling and those authors aren’t putting in the work and reading blogs like this one in search of making their mark!)

40% of all ebook revenue is going to indie authors, and self-published books accounted for 31% of all ebook sales in the Kindle Store in 2014. According to the trends in 2016, indie books represent 27% of books on Amazon’s ebook bestseller list.

•Audiobooks continue to be on the rise with 148% sales growth from 2010 to 2015.

•Eight of the top 20 Kindle sellers in 2016 were from Amazon’s own publishing imprints.

•Amazon has an estimated 65 million US Prime members. Prime memberships are now believed to account for $7 billion in revenue each year.

•Indie ebook sales account for over half the market.

•Publishing is still a multi-billion dollar global business. The market could drop 50% tomorrow and you’ll still have opportunities to achieve your dreams.

•Most book marketing today is done by authors, not by publishers… which means that we’re all in this together!

Stay tuned! We’re going to talk about marketing for the next several weeks.

State of Writing

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I rather lost track of all time amid a hectic week (and my last couple book reviews did not autopost, although they went to Amazon/Goodreads since I manually do those.) Anyhow, I forgot to write an update on Monday, so here I am doing it today. Between being sick and crazy busy with work life, I feel like I didn’t do much last week. Hindsight disproves that.

Last week, my third Kakos Realm novel went live, as did the Kakos Realm 3 book compilation. I also nailed down a lot of details and some media for a big author event I’m running that Barnes & Noble is hosting, plus got a promo blitz planned for the TKR series… (and in a month I get to do all of this again, but for the Wolves of the Tesseract book).

No writing or editing last week… just some reading, and lots of work on the side. I ought to start some short fiction this week, perhaps.

Review: Firebug of Balrog County

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I bought this book at a convention the author was at after I saw him speak about YA writing and how, for a long time, YA was opposed to certain thought-provoking darkness. Oppegaard’s characters certainly have that. In Firebug of Balrog County Mack has an edgy, testosterone fueled angst. Pent up anger from losing his mother and pyromaniacal tendencies color Mack as damaged goods.

If I know anything about teenagers (I am a full time youth worker and it’s literally what I all do every day) Mack is a real character… I feel like I know him… maybe I was him. Like most kids, I wanted to either call the cops on him or give him a hug and tell him everything would be fine. Sometimes both at once.

I agree with the recommendation from School Library Journal that this is a YA book for the older end of the spectrum with references to sex and drinking. As a youth worker and someone who remembers my own teenage years, the references are gritty and real. Oppegaard captures the visceral, turbulent life of a damaged high school kid (that’s pretty much all of them) in rural USA.

The book makes you feel. I begrudgingly connected with Mack—as an adult I could see the foolishness and idiot things in his life and wanted to shake some sense into him (Mack’s sister, too) but couldn’t as the reader. It reminded me of what it was like to be a teenager struggling with the great injustices of the world and thinking, “I’d be happier if this whole place just burned.”

You can check the book out here!

Article about me in a MN Newspaper

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I recently gave a presentation at a library in New Ulm, MN. One of gentlemen who came was a reporter for a local paper; he had some interesting questions about fiction readership in general and where reading as a pastime is heading.

Check out the article by clicking here.

If you are really curious, the entire presentation was filmed by their local cable access station. You can watch the video below (and ignore the hair… I have no idea what was going on.)

How to get carried by Bookstores Pt.2

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Last week we talked about how to get into bookstores and looked at the things you needed to know before you began actually speaking to stores and asking if they would consider carrying you. I also mentioned some of the basic stuff about making sure that your book was market ready. If you read up on it last week and didn’t think you were quite ready, you might consult my step by step roadmap to Indie Publishing that will walk you through getting your book fully saleable.

Another great resource to help with this (which includes the above article) is my book The Indie Author’s Bible

Now onto some of the practical things you can do in order to get carried on a bookstore.

You can pay a service that pitches titles to stores in the hopes that they will be carried by them. Ingram has a catalogue called Advance that they send to stores.

Have a friend request and buy a copy through the store and suggest that they carry it once it has arrived and the store has seen it as a quality product.

Call the store and make the request; this is often easiest when you are trying to set up a signing for a future date. You will want to speak to the manager in all likelihood.

Ask if they have a local author section you could be placed in.

Look for long-ranged events on the community calendar that fit your book’s genre (knitting convention happening nearby in July? July would be a great time for them to carry your book on yarn crafts and host a signing.)

Call and ask something like this. “I was just wondering if you were able to see XYZ Book in your system? Do you carry it on your shelf? Actually, I’m the author… I was wondering if you would consider buying a copy to carry in order to see if there is any local demand.”

Guerilla warfare. I’ve heard from some authors who have actually brought their own books in to chain stores and placed the book on the shelf and left it there. It’s a giveaway at that point, but could end up falling into someone’s hands who wants it (though you will make no money on the sale and risk angering a manager who will inevitably need to deal with trying to sell a product that’s not in their system.)

If it is a bookstore that does consignment, make sure you discuss which option you want. Run the numbers, you might actually make more money with a consignment option, depending on what your books cost and what it’s priced at.

Ask if you can leave some free bookmarks at the store whether or not they agree to carry you on the shelf. It may help create a demand and allow you to turn a No into an eventual Yes.

Remember: The chief thing concerns for you are 1. Cutting through the noise and being discovered (this is why I recommend speaking to the book buyers  rather than sending mail or email. Phone is okay, in person is better.) 2. Being seen as legitimate. You want to be professional and have a book that is at the top of it’s game. These days, everyone is an author.  You have to give the store a reason to be carried on the shelf. There is so much available supply that you must fight for space, so put your gloves on and get in the ring (make the phone call to your nearest store.)

We will continue this topic next week and talk about tips for self-promotion so be sure to follow this blog!

Review: Let’s Go Exploring. Calvin and Hobbes

[image error]I got a chance to peek under the hood at the newest Calvin and Hobbes book! Click the read more to check it out!

So, it’s more of a Bill Watterson book than a Calvin and Hobbes book, but I was excited nonetheless. Michael Hingston’s Let’s Go Exploring is an interesting peek at the inner battles between the famously reclusive Bill Watterson (one of my personal heroes) and the monstrous men in black, the corporate suits that controlled the evil comics’ syndicate.

It’s maybe not as black and white as all that and really came down to one man standing up to the corporate machine and refusing to sell out his principles. While I really wish there were more Calvin and Hobbes coming, there are not. Watterson is far too principled a man to allow such a thing. Hingston’s book shows us some of the inner workings of that syndicate and the pressures that they famously exerted to try and milk the tiger for every penny while Watterson stood in their way, unwilling to budge.

Truly, his principles may have galvanized the late gen-xers such as myself into the generation that so often refused to sell out.

I proudly own paperbacks of every Calvin and Hobbes book ever printed and have dog eared them and passed them on to my children. They might very well be the best philosophy books to have emerged in the 20th century.

Hingston draws most of the information in his text from both personal experiences and from public records and other widely known sources as he weaves a narrative depicting many struggles: Watterson’s conflicts with the syndicate, his struggle to maintain Calvin’s wonderful world, and his personal fight against a world that sought to exploit the very thing that he had created (as well as keep his mental sanity as the media tried to rob him of the very things that made Watterson unique and which trickled down into Calvin like bottled lightning.)

It’s an interesting book. I got a free copy as an advanced review. You should get a copy—it just came out (literally, just today)! Get it on Amazon by clicking here.