Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "tlc"
Notes from The Literary Consultancy's conference 2013 - Writing in a Digital Age: 5 Key Stages of Self-Publishing - Part II
Part I of this segment of the series can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I have been writing a series of posts about what I learned at the recent "Writing in a Digital Age" conference. The staff at The Literary Consultancy have collated various press reports and write-ups on their website. Check it out here: http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk/...
My blog posts are included!
Now on to part 2 of this topic. Today I'll tell you what was said about the importance of book design.
There was a very interesting presentation about how book design (the cover and interior) can be an effective marketing tool for writers.
Lots of market research goes into creating covers that sell books. This is one area that I found quite eye-opening. I've always thought that little or no imagination goes into the book covers created by the big publishers, but there is a method in their madness. They know which covers sell, so why bother spending lots on a cover? They have researched the elements that have to be included on a cover for the book to stand a chance of selling to a target market, and they make sure that their covers have those.
Kristen Harrison, found of The Curved House, said that the covers of commercial books 'speak' to the target market.
An example given was that for chick-lit books, typically marketed at 30-40 year old professional women, the usual key requirements are:
1. The colour pink included somewhere on the cover
2. A font that looks like handwriting
3. A woman's legs from the knee down
4. A pencil skirt
Yes, weird, but true... Some covers were shown at the conference and it really was obvious that most of the chick-lit books had followed this winning formula to some extent using one or more of these elements.
Here are some covers I found that kind of prove the theory:
Lots of pink, and legs, and handwriting font there...
Another important point brought up at the conference was about brand identity and how that can help to attract readers and sell books. We see it with the bestselling authors, where they have many books with similar book covers that identify them as the author. For example, they may always use the same font type for their name, or maybe a similar picture on each cover.
The example given at the conference was Rachel Hore. If you take a look at her website, you can see how similar all her book covers are: http://rachelhore.co.uk/
Many indie authors (myself included) do not set out with a marketing plan when designing a cover; they will just choose a cover they feel suits the story and the book. There is a subjective feel to many indie authors' covers. However, from a marketing point of view this is probably not the best strategy.
Some indie authors are aware of the need for brand identity. A couple of authors that spring to mind are Terry Tyler and Susan Buchanan. If you take a look at their book covers, you'll see what I mean:
Susan's books:
Terry's books:
(click on the book covers to see larger images).
It definitely gives a more professional image when you have these types of 'brand image' covers.
******
It's not only the outside of your book that will influence what readers think of it; you have to think about the inside as well.
The type of font you choose is important.
The standard type fonts used by most independent authors are Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial. At the conference, we were told that these types of fonts may put readers off as they are associated in their minds with office documents, and the look of the book will be 'home-made'. To elevate your book to a more professional status, it was advised that writers should move away from using the standard fonts available with MS Word.
Suggested fonts for use inside a book are benbo and garamond. But it was also mentioned that sometimes publishers will state which font is used at the start of the book on the book information/copyright page. If you read a book by a large publisher and like the font, you can try looking there to see which font it is. Most professional fonts can be bought. A few websites mentioned where you can buy fonts: 1001fonts.com, dafont.com, fontgrill.com, Google
Apparently, readers like the tried and tested book interiors. For example, it's usual in traditionally published books to start the first few pages by numbering in roman numerals, e.g. i, ii, iii, and then when the actual book starts you go onto normal page numbers.
Chapter drops are usually about one third of the page. It was advised that authors stick to this when publishing. The idea is to make readers feel at home, and to associate your book with traditionally published books.
This design strategy does not stop with your book cover. It was advised that things like the fonts used and the colours used on your covers should become your identity online also, for example on your website or your Facebook Page.
Make your website look interesting, add images and videos.
It was also advised that you should use good quality images on your website and other networking sites.
There are some great websites that provide free photos for book covers under the creative commons licence, i.e. you can use the photo for free and just have to credit the photographer. One example given was Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I've also found a good site http://www.morguefile.com
Another tip given was that you should complete fully your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other such sites. Often they are left incomplete. Make sure you add an image to your profile pages and a bio.
Wordpress.com was recommended as a good site for creating a website/blog as it has good quality images.
Something that was mentioned was how big publishers often have different designs for covers depending on where they are selling the book. Different markets around the world respond to books covers in different ways. The point was made, however, that indie authors do not really have the option of designing different covers for different countries because the way we can publish is limited. One book design goes all around the world with independently published books.
There is a website, that I had never heard of before, called Fixabook.com where you can get opinions on book covers, which could prove quite useful: http://www.fixabook.com/
********
Well, I think that is quite enough information for you to get your heads around today. I was going to write up this part of the series in two parts, but I will add a Part III. In the next part of this section of the series, I will pass on some tips from an author who switched from traditional to self-publishing.
**********************************************************************************
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I have been writing a series of posts about what I learned at the recent "Writing in a Digital Age" conference. The staff at The Literary Consultancy have collated various press reports and write-ups on their website. Check it out here: http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk/...
My blog posts are included!
Now on to part 2 of this topic. Today I'll tell you what was said about the importance of book design.
There was a very interesting presentation about how book design (the cover and interior) can be an effective marketing tool for writers.
Lots of market research goes into creating covers that sell books. This is one area that I found quite eye-opening. I've always thought that little or no imagination goes into the book covers created by the big publishers, but there is a method in their madness. They know which covers sell, so why bother spending lots on a cover? They have researched the elements that have to be included on a cover for the book to stand a chance of selling to a target market, and they make sure that their covers have those.
Kristen Harrison, found of The Curved House, said that the covers of commercial books 'speak' to the target market.
An example given was that for chick-lit books, typically marketed at 30-40 year old professional women, the usual key requirements are:
1. The colour pink included somewhere on the cover
2. A font that looks like handwriting
3. A woman's legs from the knee down
4. A pencil skirt
Yes, weird, but true... Some covers were shown at the conference and it really was obvious that most of the chick-lit books had followed this winning formula to some extent using one or more of these elements.
Here are some covers I found that kind of prove the theory:
Lots of pink, and legs, and handwriting font there...
Another important point brought up at the conference was about brand identity and how that can help to attract readers and sell books. We see it with the bestselling authors, where they have many books with similar book covers that identify them as the author. For example, they may always use the same font type for their name, or maybe a similar picture on each cover.
The example given at the conference was Rachel Hore. If you take a look at her website, you can see how similar all her book covers are: http://rachelhore.co.uk/
Many indie authors (myself included) do not set out with a marketing plan when designing a cover; they will just choose a cover they feel suits the story and the book. There is a subjective feel to many indie authors' covers. However, from a marketing point of view this is probably not the best strategy.
Some indie authors are aware of the need for brand identity. A couple of authors that spring to mind are Terry Tyler and Susan Buchanan. If you take a look at their book covers, you'll see what I mean:
Susan's books:
Terry's books:
(click on the book covers to see larger images).
It definitely gives a more professional image when you have these types of 'brand image' covers.
******
It's not only the outside of your book that will influence what readers think of it; you have to think about the inside as well.
The type of font you choose is important.
The standard type fonts used by most independent authors are Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial. At the conference, we were told that these types of fonts may put readers off as they are associated in their minds with office documents, and the look of the book will be 'home-made'. To elevate your book to a more professional status, it was advised that writers should move away from using the standard fonts available with MS Word.
Suggested fonts for use inside a book are benbo and garamond. But it was also mentioned that sometimes publishers will state which font is used at the start of the book on the book information/copyright page. If you read a book by a large publisher and like the font, you can try looking there to see which font it is. Most professional fonts can be bought. A few websites mentioned where you can buy fonts: 1001fonts.com, dafont.com, fontgrill.com, Google
Apparently, readers like the tried and tested book interiors. For example, it's usual in traditionally published books to start the first few pages by numbering in roman numerals, e.g. i, ii, iii, and then when the actual book starts you go onto normal page numbers.
Chapter drops are usually about one third of the page. It was advised that authors stick to this when publishing. The idea is to make readers feel at home, and to associate your book with traditionally published books.
This design strategy does not stop with your book cover. It was advised that things like the fonts used and the colours used on your covers should become your identity online also, for example on your website or your Facebook Page.
Make your website look interesting, add images and videos.
It was also advised that you should use good quality images on your website and other networking sites.
There are some great websites that provide free photos for book covers under the creative commons licence, i.e. you can use the photo for free and just have to credit the photographer. One example given was Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I've also found a good site http://www.morguefile.com
Another tip given was that you should complete fully your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other such sites. Often they are left incomplete. Make sure you add an image to your profile pages and a bio.
Wordpress.com was recommended as a good site for creating a website/blog as it has good quality images.
Something that was mentioned was how big publishers often have different designs for covers depending on where they are selling the book. Different markets around the world respond to books covers in different ways. The point was made, however, that indie authors do not really have the option of designing different covers for different countries because the way we can publish is limited. One book design goes all around the world with independently published books.
There is a website, that I had never heard of before, called Fixabook.com where you can get opinions on book covers, which could prove quite useful: http://www.fixabook.com/
********
Well, I think that is quite enough information for you to get your heads around today. I was going to write up this part of the series in two parts, but I will add a Part III. In the next part of this section of the series, I will pass on some tips from an author who switched from traditional to self-publishing.
**********************************************************************************
Notes from The Literary Consultancy's conference 2013 - Writing in a Digital Age: 5 Key Stages of Self-Publishing - Part III
In June, I attended a very interesting conference about how the publishing industry is changing now that it is easier for authors to self-publish. I've been writing a series of blogs about the conference, and hope they will be of use to authors, both indie and traditionally published, as well as readers who might want a bit of insight into how the publishing industry works.
One segment of the conference was called "5 Key Stages of Self-Publishing". You can see Parts I & II of this part of the series here:
Part I: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Part II: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Now on to Part III
Orna Ross was one of the speakers at the conference. She's an author and founding director at the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI). She explained why she decided to go from being traditionally published (her books were published by Penguin) to self-published. She is now self-published because she prefers it.
One of the key differences she mentioned was that she always found it difficult to understand her royalty statements, but now with self-publishing, it's so much easier to have control over such things. There was a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing.
Advantages of Self-Publishing:
Higher royalties - the author doesn't have to pay a percentage of his/her royalties to a publisher. Of course, there are costs involved e.g. when you publish through Amazon Kindle, it is usual for the author to get 70% of the sale price. There are similar fees on other publishing platforms.
Creative freedom - in traditional publishing there are often changes made to the book and sometimes the author may not have particularly wanted those changes. In self-publishing, the author decides.
Clear sales and royalty statements - monthly or quarterly - easier to understand
Book never goes out of print - unless the author wants it to, of course. In traditional publishing, titles often go out of print. There is usually a certain time limit for when promotion is done for a particular book, but with self-publishing you can promote a title whenever you want.
Disadvantages of self-publishing
Bookstores
It is difficult to get bookstore distribution, especially front-of-store placement. This is usually reserved for bestsellers, and traditionally published books. Browsing in book stores accounts for a lot of sales, and indie authors are missing out on these.
There is a campaign that ALLI is currently running called "Open Up To Indies", to try to help change this policy in bookstores. They are currently seeking volunteers who can help with the campaign: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/blog/...
Distribution
Distribution of books is more limited in general in the self-published sphere. It's important for indie authors to ask questions about distribution before they decide to publish on a particular site.
A couple of warnings were given about some unscrupulous services. Agent-assisted self-publishing is on the rise for traditionally published authors with a back list of books that may be out of print. Some of the services are good, but a warning was given that authors should research well. Some problems that have occurred include agents uploading the book in the agent's name and taking control. Also beware of fees charged for these types of services.
Another warning given was about digital-only presses, who offer to help self-publish. This is seen as a form of "vanity" publishing. Authors should avoid paying fees to such services as they are usually good for the publisher but not the author. Research should be done into what this service is actually offering the author.
It was also pointed out that authors should avoid publishing with companies who sell services more than books.
A bit of advice given to indie authors was: slow down -- when you write one book, put it in a drawer and write another, then go back to the original one you wrote to edit it so you can see it with a fresh eye.
Get a good editor and designer, and take time on the book.
Anyone can join ALLI, and there is self-publishing advice on their blog: http://allianceindependentauthors.org/
I hope you found some useful tips here!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One segment of the conference was called "5 Key Stages of Self-Publishing". You can see Parts I & II of this part of the series here:
Part I: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Part II: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Now on to Part III
Orna Ross was one of the speakers at the conference. She's an author and founding director at the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI). She explained why she decided to go from being traditionally published (her books were published by Penguin) to self-published. She is now self-published because she prefers it.
One of the key differences she mentioned was that she always found it difficult to understand her royalty statements, but now with self-publishing, it's so much easier to have control over such things. There was a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing.
Advantages of Self-Publishing:
Higher royalties - the author doesn't have to pay a percentage of his/her royalties to a publisher. Of course, there are costs involved e.g. when you publish through Amazon Kindle, it is usual for the author to get 70% of the sale price. There are similar fees on other publishing platforms.
Creative freedom - in traditional publishing there are often changes made to the book and sometimes the author may not have particularly wanted those changes. In self-publishing, the author decides.
Clear sales and royalty statements - monthly or quarterly - easier to understand
Book never goes out of print - unless the author wants it to, of course. In traditional publishing, titles often go out of print. There is usually a certain time limit for when promotion is done for a particular book, but with self-publishing you can promote a title whenever you want.
Disadvantages of self-publishing
Bookstores
It is difficult to get bookstore distribution, especially front-of-store placement. This is usually reserved for bestsellers, and traditionally published books. Browsing in book stores accounts for a lot of sales, and indie authors are missing out on these.
There is a campaign that ALLI is currently running called "Open Up To Indies", to try to help change this policy in bookstores. They are currently seeking volunteers who can help with the campaign: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/blog/...
Distribution
Distribution of books is more limited in general in the self-published sphere. It's important for indie authors to ask questions about distribution before they decide to publish on a particular site.
A couple of warnings were given about some unscrupulous services. Agent-assisted self-publishing is on the rise for traditionally published authors with a back list of books that may be out of print. Some of the services are good, but a warning was given that authors should research well. Some problems that have occurred include agents uploading the book in the agent's name and taking control. Also beware of fees charged for these types of services.
Another warning given was about digital-only presses, who offer to help self-publish. This is seen as a form of "vanity" publishing. Authors should avoid paying fees to such services as they are usually good for the publisher but not the author. Research should be done into what this service is actually offering the author.
It was also pointed out that authors should avoid publishing with companies who sell services more than books.
A bit of advice given to indie authors was: slow down -- when you write one book, put it in a drawer and write another, then go back to the original one you wrote to edit it so you can see it with a fresh eye.
Get a good editor and designer, and take time on the book.
Anyone can join ALLI, and there is self-publishing advice on their blog: http://allianceindependentauthors.org/
I hope you found some useful tips here!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Literary Consultancy's Writers' Conference 2014
Last weekend I was at The Literary Consultancy's conference: Writing in a Digital Age.
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I attended last year and ran a series of blogs afterwards with lots of advice for writers.
This year's conference was just as information-packed and useful as last year's.
I came away with lots of scribbled notes and there is probably too much information to fit into one blog post so I'll do another series of blogs here.
I'll also be copying the blogs to my UK Arts Directory blog so that more people get to see the advice.
As an overview, a few interesting snippets from the weekend that stood out for me were the following:
1. Traditional publishers and independent/self-published authors now appear to be working more in unison. Last year there seemed to be a resistance to change. This year, however, there was a wonderfully author-friendly aura about the whole conference. The industry is changing and it felt more like the big players in publishing are embracing the changes more. I imagine that there will be much more collaboration between indies and mainstream publishers over the coming years. I'm happy about this because most of the books I read these days are by very talented indie authors and -- as some of the speakers at the conference proved -- indies are finally finding a place in the market. Although not yet equal, the playing field is levelling out a bit. There was the use of the term 'Author-Publisher' rather than 'self-published' that is becoming more popular, giving more credibility to independent authors.
2. One important thing that kept being repeated at the conference by different speakers was the importance of targeting your readership for effective book-marketing. Many authors (especially self-published) try to market their books too widely and miss their target audience. It's important to know who the perfect reader for your book is and to seek them out.
3. The past year has seen a significant rise in self-published eBook sales. I'll be posting more details about the numbers in a future blog.
4. Agents can be very important to writers to help secure things like foreign rights and TV/film rights etc. Some of the largest book markets are abroad and authors need to know how to promote effectively to those countries. Again, I will post more information about this in future blogs.
There is a lot more, but I think I'll stop here.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon...
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I attended last year and ran a series of blogs afterwards with lots of advice for writers.
This year's conference was just as information-packed and useful as last year's.
I came away with lots of scribbled notes and there is probably too much information to fit into one blog post so I'll do another series of blogs here.
I'll also be copying the blogs to my UK Arts Directory blog so that more people get to see the advice.
As an overview, a few interesting snippets from the weekend that stood out for me were the following:
1. Traditional publishers and independent/self-published authors now appear to be working more in unison. Last year there seemed to be a resistance to change. This year, however, there was a wonderfully author-friendly aura about the whole conference. The industry is changing and it felt more like the big players in publishing are embracing the changes more. I imagine that there will be much more collaboration between indies and mainstream publishers over the coming years. I'm happy about this because most of the books I read these days are by very talented indie authors and -- as some of the speakers at the conference proved -- indies are finally finding a place in the market. Although not yet equal, the playing field is levelling out a bit. There was the use of the term 'Author-Publisher' rather than 'self-published' that is becoming more popular, giving more credibility to independent authors.
2. One important thing that kept being repeated at the conference by different speakers was the importance of targeting your readership for effective book-marketing. Many authors (especially self-published) try to market their books too widely and miss their target audience. It's important to know who the perfect reader for your book is and to seek them out.
3. The past year has seen a significant rise in self-published eBook sales. I'll be posting more details about the numbers in a future blog.
4. Agents can be very important to writers to help secure things like foreign rights and TV/film rights etc. Some of the largest book markets are abroad and authors need to know how to promote effectively to those countries. Again, I will post more information about this in future blogs.
There is a lot more, but I think I'll stop here.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon...
TLC's Writers' Conference 2014 - How can writers get funding?
At the recent TLC's "Writing in a Digital Age" conference, there was a panel of experts talking about available funding in the UK for writers.
Here's a breakdown of what is available out there:
Society of Authors
They give away £200K per year
Writers in financial difficulty can apply to them for funding. See the terms and conditions and details on their website, including how to apply: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
They also have grants available for works in progress, and various prizes for authors: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
Arts Council
Anyone can apply for an Arts Council grant to, but you have to pitch your project well. You have to demonstrate a good track record and a good reason for needing the grant.
In the past they have given funds to authors who, for example, had to travel abroad for research.
To be successful, you usually have to be endorsed by other organisations e.g. publishers.
Find out more about what they have to offer and how to apply on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
The Literary Platform
Website: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/
The representative talked about two arts programmes they have:
1. The Writing Platform Bursary: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/co...
2. Annual prize also open to self-published writers - £5,000 to each of the 8 books selected. Find out how to apply here:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/jer...
Other prizes and sources of funding that were mentioned:
Folio Prize. Read more about it here: http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/i...
Guardian First Book Award: http://www.theguardian.com/books/guar...
Royal Literary Fund Scholarship Scheme: http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipschem...
The Literary Consultancy has a Free Read Scheme to assess your manuscript. Follow the link for more details: http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/edit...
IdeasTap Funding: http://www.ideastap.com/Funding
Winston Churchill Travel Fund: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
Also, all UK writers should make sure they're signed up and have their books listed with Public Lending Right: http://www.plr.uk.com/ and ALCS: http://www.alcs.co.uk/
It was stated that there are more opportunities for funding/grants etc. in the UK than anywhere else in the world.
If you're a writer, have a look at all the sites above and see whether there's anything you can apply for!
Here's a breakdown of what is available out there:
Society of Authors
They give away £200K per year
Writers in financial difficulty can apply to them for funding. See the terms and conditions and details on their website, including how to apply: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
They also have grants available for works in progress, and various prizes for authors: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
Arts Council
Anyone can apply for an Arts Council grant to, but you have to pitch your project well. You have to demonstrate a good track record and a good reason for needing the grant.
In the past they have given funds to authors who, for example, had to travel abroad for research.
To be successful, you usually have to be endorsed by other organisations e.g. publishers.
Find out more about what they have to offer and how to apply on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
The Literary Platform
Website: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/
The representative talked about two arts programmes they have:
1. The Writing Platform Bursary: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/co...
2. Annual prize also open to self-published writers - £5,000 to each of the 8 books selected. Find out how to apply here:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/jer...
Other prizes and sources of funding that were mentioned:
Folio Prize. Read more about it here: http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/i...
Guardian First Book Award: http://www.theguardian.com/books/guar...
Royal Literary Fund Scholarship Scheme: http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipschem...
The Literary Consultancy has a Free Read Scheme to assess your manuscript. Follow the link for more details: http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/edit...
IdeasTap Funding: http://www.ideastap.com/Funding
Winston Churchill Travel Fund: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
Also, all UK writers should make sure they're signed up and have their books listed with Public Lending Right: http://www.plr.uk.com/ and ALCS: http://www.alcs.co.uk/
It was stated that there are more opportunities for funding/grants etc. in the UK than anywhere else in the world.
If you're a writer, have a look at all the sites above and see whether there's anything you can apply for!
