Izak Botha's Blog, page 2
August 1, 2018
01-08-2018 Publishing
Before delving into the nitty-gritty of indie marketing, I would like to check if we are on the same page regarding publishing. This is important, for not all aspiring authors are aware of the different routes to publishing when they embark on a writing career. When asked what it takes to get published, my counter question is: how do you see yourself published? This is not a trick question, but a valid way of establishing whether the aspiring author is familiar with all possibilities. It is a truth that not all writers are published straight away or even at all; indeed, it is the exceptional—combined with a touch of timing and luck—who are published first time around, so those determined to make it no matter what, should at least know what lies ahead.
Publishing has three main streams: traditional publishing, self-publishing and indie publishing. Despite these various pathways, the how of getting the job done is similar. Who gets the job done however, is where the difference comes in.
Traditional Publishing
Traditional publishers are publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and the like. Authors who seek representation by one of these companies are usually required to access the publisher via an agent. But finding a willing, able agent can be like finding the proverbial hens’ teeth. Agents are busy people. And I mean, BUSY! The response time of most agents if you’re lucky enough to find one kind enough to reply, is two to three months. And don’t hold your breath it’s going to be what you wanted to hear. With competition at an all-time high, agents are fully represented most of the time and their clients are already established authors. Getting in as a newcomer is akin to winning the lottery. Lately, those individuals and parties who feed the agents—the agent’s agent so to speak—are also fully represented. Rejection is therefore more the order of the day than getting your foot in the door. No matter how fantastic the writing, you may not get published though an agent and traditional publisher—ever.
So, what are the alternatives?
Self-publishing
Self-publishing means that authors approach companies such as AuthorHouse, Trafford, Lulu and others who publish books at the author’s expense. Self-publishing can range from a one-off book to enterprising bulk publications. Authors have all the benefits of a traditional publisher but pay for everything themselves. The up-side of self-publishing is that you do not get rejected. The downside is that, without all the checks and balances in place to produce a first-class product, you can get away with murder. For this reason, self-publishing is stigmatized as vanity publishing, which is met with skepticism. far too many poor quality self-published titles enter the market underlining the stigma attached to this type of publishing.
Depending on package, number of books and marketing strategy, self-publishing can run into thousands of dollars. A deal with a publisher should include: ISBN, copyright, cover designing, formatting, printing and listing with retailers. Marketing, despite you paying for it, is anyone’s guess. After all, you’ve already paid them. Marketing is comprehensive and not even traditional publishers do all the marketing themselves. Another drawback of self-publishing is that you pay for middlemen and after all that there is still no guarantee of success. If you are not published traditionally and you have the capital to self-publish, this one could be for you. But before going this route, there is one more option to consider.
Indie Publishing
Indie (independent) publishing is when authors grasp the bull by the horns, doing just about everything themselves to get their books into the hands of potential readers. It is possible, and yes, it can be equal to or even cap the quality of traditional publishing. It may not be easy, but it can be rewarding.
For most, going indie is the only option, or rather, the only initial option if you want to see your book on sale in the bookshops. Submitting to agents first, hoping to climb on board with a traditional publisher in the process, but with thousands of books hitting the desks of agents every day, waiting months, even years to hear what aspiring authors dread to hear, why not go indie?
Technology in the form of digital publishing has opened the doors for you to be your own publisher. Sitting in South Africa, I can publish eBooks all over the world. I can now even publish paperbacks via print on demand, being the production of one book at a time and which allows indies to have their titles printed anywhere in the world and distributed to the door of a buyer without ever having to leave their home-based desk. Print on demand obviates the need for storage and its cost. Titles are available all the time and there is no such thing as ‘out-of-print’. Indie publishing also eliminates middlemen like agents, publishers and distributors, but unless you are a multi-skilled genius, indies still need the professional expertise of editors, graphic designers or illustrators and a format specialist to craft your book into the outstanding product of your dreams. Fortunately, you can source your team from the comfort of your own home. Indies are not only authors, they must learn to become publishers and marketers of their own work. They have control over the writing, editing, formatting, cover design, book format and layout, printing, pricing, distribution; yes, all the aspects of creating and selling books, and you guessed it, instead of the 12-17% received from a traditional publisher, indies earn up to 70% of the profit. With increasing returns, however, comes greater responsibility.
Are you up for it? If you fail, at least you have only yourself to blame!
Becoming an indie is like going on a long uncharted road trip. And as with all journeys into the wilderness, it takes time to prepare, effort to pack and load, and money to stock and make the wheels go around. Don’t dare to hit the road unprepared; it will be costly in more ways that you can imagine. On the other hand, if you make it, it will be very rewarding. So, you might as well pack your bags and get going. Again—good luck!
1-08-2018 Publishing
Before delving into the nitty-gritty of indie marketing, I would like to check if we are on the same page regarding publishing. This is important, for not all aspiring authors are aware of the different routes to publishing when they embark on a writing career. When asked what it takes to get published, my counter question is: how do you see yourself published? This is not a trick question, but a valid way of establishing whether the aspiring author is familiar with all possibilities. It is a truth that not all writers are published straight away or even at all; indeed, it is the exceptional—combined with a touch of timing and luck—who are published first time around, so those determined to make it no matter what, should at least know what lies ahead.
Publishing has three main streams: traditional publishing, self-publishing and indie publishing. Despite these various pathways, the how of getting the job done is similar. Who gets the job done however, is where the difference comes in.
Traditional Publishing
Traditional publishers are publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and the like. Authors who seek representation by one of these companies are usually required to access the publisher via an agent. But finding a willing, able agent can be like finding the proverbial hens’ teeth. Agents are busy people. And I mean, BUSY! The response time of most agents if you’re lucky enough to find one kind enough to reply, is two to three months. And don’t hold your breath it’s going to be what you wanted to hear. With competition at an all-time high, agents are fully represented most of the time and their clients are already established authors. Getting in as a newcomer is akin to winning the lottery. Lately, those individuals and parties who feed the agents—the agent’s agent so to speak—are also fully represented. Rejection is therefore more the order of the day than getting your foot in the door. No matter how fantastic the writing, you may not get published though an agent and traditional publisher—ever.
So, what are the alternatives?
Self-publishing
Self-publishing means that authors approach companies such as AuthorHouse, Trafford, Lulu and others who publish books at the author’s expense. Self-publishing can range from a one-off book to enterprising bulk publications. Authors have all the benefits of a traditional publisher but pay for everything themselves. The up-side of self-publishing is that you do not get rejected. The downside is that, without all the checks and balances in place to produce a first-class product, you can get away with murder. For this reason, self-publishing is stigmatized as vanity publishing, which is met with skepticism. far too many poor quality self-published titles enter the market underlining the stigma attached to this type of publishing.
Depending on package, number of books and marketing strategy, self-publishing can run into thousands of dollars. A deal with a publisher should include: ISBN, copyright, cover designing, formatting, printing and listing with retailers. Marketing, despite you paying for it, is anyone’s guess. After all, you’ve already paid them. Marketing is comprehensive and not even traditional publishers do all the marketing themselves. Another drawback of self-publishing is that you pay for middlemen and after all that there is still no guarantee of success. If you are not published traditionally and you have the capital to self-publish, this one could be for you. But before going this route, there is one more option to consider.
Indie Publishing
Indie (independent) publishing is when authors grasp the bull by the horns, doing just about everything themselves to get their books into the hands of potential readers. It is possible, and yes, it can be equal to or even cap the quality of traditional publishing. It may not be easy, but it can be rewarding.
For most, going indie is the only option, or rather, the only initial option if you want to see your book on sale in the bookshops. Submitting to agents first, hoping to climb on board with a traditional publisher in the process, but with thousands of books hitting the desks of agents every day, waiting months, even years to hear what aspiring authors dread to hear, why not go indie?
Technology in the form of digital publishing has opened the doors for you to be your own publisher. Sitting in South Africa, I can publish eBooks all over the world. I can now even publish paperbacks via print on demand, being the production of one book at a time and which allows indies to have their titles printed anywhere in the world and distributed to the door of a buyer without ever having to leave their home-based desk. Print on demand obviates the need for storage and its cost. Titles are available all the time and there is no such thing as ‘out-of-print’. Indie publishing also eliminates middlemen like agents, publishers and distributors, but unless you are a multi-skilled genius, indies still need the professional expertise of editors, graphic designers or illustrators and a format specialist to craft your book into the outstanding product of your dreams. Fortunately, you can source your team from the comfort of your own home. Indies are not only authors, they must learn to become publishers and marketers of their own work. They have control over the writing, editing, formatting, cover design, book format and layout, printing, pricing, distribution; yes, all the aspects of creating and selling books, and you guessed it, instead of the 12-17% received from a traditional publisher, indies earn up to 70% of the profit. With increasing returns, however, comes greater responsibility.
Are you up for it? If you fail, at least you have only yourself to blame!
Becoming an indie is like going on a long uncharted road trip. And as with all journeys into the wilderness, it takes time to prepare, effort to pack and load, and money to stock and make the wheels go around. Don’t dare to hit the road unprepared; it will be costly in more ways that you can imagine. On the other hand, if you make it, it will be very rewarding. So, you might as well pack your bags and get going. Again—good luck!
01-07-2018 Publishing and Marketing Success
Lately, aspiring indie authors have been asking me to share some of my publishing and marketing experience with them. Success as an indie author will only be yours if, once you have learned the ‘tricks of the trade’, you diligently implement them. You probably will not achieve all the tasks you set yourself to do; there simply is only so much you can do and managing your time is crucial. Trial and error will show you what works best for you.
For the rest of this year I will blog about indie publishing and marketing. There are no sets of rules. Only beacons. I did not invent them; I discovered them along the way. All travelers on this road find their own beacons. I’m sure you will discover your own too. I will note some of the beacons which have helped me, listing them in the order that you might require them. They indicate what they are and what should be done, but not necessarily how. Each beacon introduces you to a lengthy process; so here is the what; the how must wait for another day. Good Luck!
01-07-2018 Indie Publishing and Marketing
Lately, aspiring indie authors have been asking me to share some of my marketing experience with them. Success as an indie author will only be yours if, once you have learned the ‘tricks of the trade’, you diligently implement them. You probably will not achieve all the tasks you set yourself to do; there simply is only so much you can do and managing your time is crucial. Trial and error will show you what works best.
Retracing my marketing steps in this blog is a challenge. When I started to promote my own work I hardly knew where to start. I foolishly did not keep track of what I was doing whilst I was doing it. The magnitude thereof only dawned on me when I tried to account for my success. But being some way down the line now does not mean my marketing is finished; it is always a work in progress.
For the rest of this year I will blog about indie publishing and marketing. There are no sets of rules. Only beacons. I did not invent them; I discovered them along the way. All travelers on this road find their own beacons. I’m sure you will discover your own too. I will note some of the beacons which have helped me, listing them in the order that you might require them. They indicate what they are and what should be done, but not necessarily how. Each beacon introduces you to a lengthy process; so here is the what; the how must wait for another day. Good luck!
1-07-2018 Indie Publishing and Marketing
Lately, aspiring indie authors have been asking me to share some of my marketing experience with them. Success as an indie author will only be yours if, once you have learned the ‘tricks of the trade’, you diligently implement them. You probably will not achieve all the tasks you set yourself to do; there simply is only so much you can do and managing your time is crucial. Trial and error will show you what works best.
Retracing my marketing steps in this blog is a challenge. When I started to promote my own work I hardly knew where to start. I foolishly did not keep track of what I was doing whilst I was doing it. The magnitude thereof only dawned on me when I tried to account for my success. But being some way down the line now does not mean my marketing is finished; it is always a work in progress.
For the rest of this year I will blog about indie publishing and marketing. There are no sets of rules. Only beacons. I did not invent them; I discovered them along the way. All travelers on this road find their own beacons. I’m sure you will discover your own too. I will note some of the beacons which have helped me, listing them in the order that you might require them. They indicate what they are and what should be done, but not necessarily how. Each beacon introduces you to a lengthy process; so here is the what; the how must wait for another day. Good luck!
April 10, 2018
10-04-2018 Goodreads Giveaway
Enter the 11-23 April 2018 Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a free eBook copy of the acclaimed, Blood Symbols! (US only.)
January 15, 2018
15-01-2018 New Year’s Greetings
I am a perennial onlooker, astonished as I see people making their new year’s resolutions. I have never been one to set goals around my work at the start of a year. Yet, 2018 arrived with a bang as I woke on January 1st, realizing I had much to achieve this year, and could, for once, see the purpose of resolve. Thus, the first day of the year found me on the run, taking on manifold work-related tasks. My brain buzzed with numerous goals. Despite the festive mood around me (I live in an area where thousands of people holiday every year), I could hardly wait to get going. And that is because I love doing what I do.
Writing, and latterly, publishing and marketing, is probably the most rewarding ‘work’ I’ve done. That’s it, you’ve guessed right: writing does not feel like work! To be sure, I hate work, but I love being an author—in spite of the fact writing is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.
I’ve possibly worked harder before, taking on challenges such as becoming an architect and businessman, achieving provincial colors in athletics, and dancing Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, but none of these has been as challenging intellectually as writing my dissertation, Angelicals Reviewed, and my conspiracy thriller, Blood Symbols.
Analyzing and unraveling some of life’s profound questions is extraordinarily rewarding, especially when you gain new insights. It is that Einsteinian moment, being the first to come up with a solution to a problem that makes life worthwhile: a breakthrough contribution to posterity—your legacy to the world.
So now the festivities are at an end, the dust has settled, and holiday makers have gone home, what better way of getting the creative juices to flow than a free eBook promotion at Amazon Kindle.
Thanks to the positive response I’ve had from readers affording my work high ratings and good reviews, sales of my recently published books are flourishing. Sales of Blood Symbols are escalating exponentially. Readers, it appears, love the book. Yet, one cannot read what one does not know about, so I carry on promoting.
At first, I relied on feedback from advertising on Amazon. Since sales are directly related to the clicks per ad, it is easy to measure the success of the campaign. If all goes well, something new happens: sales increase despite the clicks that did not result in sales. That’s when things get exciting, because it means books are selling by other means—word of mouth. People are talking about the book.
Word of mouth sales are the best! It may be likened to a snowball gathering snow as it rolls down a hill, increasing exponentially in size. Any author’s dream! When readers love and respect what you write, they talk about it, and encourage their friends to share in their experience by getting the book as well. The more people talk, the more others want to know what the buzz is about. And this is happening with my work. So, thank you to all the readers who are contributing to the success of my books.
On another note, the BookLife Prize 2017, which saw Blood Symbols make the semi-finals, scoring 10 out of 10 in all categories, including the overall score, has done wonders for creating awareness of this novel as a worthwhile read. No-one enjoys picking a book, only to be disappointed halfway through the read. That’s why reviews, ratings and awards are useful; they give potential readers the assurance that the product they are about to purchase has been tested and tried, and is likely to ensure a worthy journey.
I also published Angelicals Reviewed last year. Being non-fiction and focusing on an issue many Christian faithful may find challenging—evolution—Angelicals Reviewed has not, so far, achieved equivalent stature to Blood Symbols. To get the buzz going for this work, which introduces the possibility of an evolutionary soul, I have entered it in the free eBook promotional giveaway through Amazon Kindle. So be on the lookout for the promotion, which starts on the 17th and finishes on the 21st of January 2018. Yes, don’t miss out on this opportunity to get your free copy this week.
I wish all of you a fantastic new year and may all your dreams come true. Finally, I thank those of you who have taken the time to read my work, write reviews and give ratings. You have no idea how much I enjoy and respect your feedback.
Izak’s 2018 New Year’s Greetings to Readers
I am a perennial onlooker, astonished as I see people making their new year’s resolutions. I have never been one to set goals around my work at the start of a year. Yet, 2018 arrived with a bang as I woke on January 1st, realizing I had much to achieve this year, and could, for once, see the purpose of resolve. Thus, the first day of the year found me on the run, taking on manifold work-related tasks. My brain buzzed with numerous goals. Despite the festive mood around me (I live in an area where thousands of people holiday every year), I could hardly wait to get going. And that is because I love doing what I do.
Writing, and latterly, publishing and marketing, is probably the most rewarding ‘work’ I’ve done. That’s it, you’ve guessed right: writing does not feel like work! To be sure, I hate work, but I love being an author—in spite of the fact writing is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.
I’ve possibly worked harder before, taking on challenges such as becoming an architect and businessman, achieving provincial colors in athletics, and dancing Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, but none of these has been as challenging intellectually as writing my dissertation, Angelicals Reviewed, and my conspiracy thriller, Blood Symbols.
Analyzing and unraveling some of life’s profound questions is extraordinarily rewarding, especially when you gain new insights. It is that Einsteinian moment, being the first to come up with a solution to a problem that makes life worthwhile: a breakthrough contribution to posterity—your legacy to the world.
So now the festivities are at an end, the dust has settled, and holiday makers have gone home, what better way of getting the creative juices to flow than a free eBook promotion at Amazon Kindle.
Thanks to the positive response I’ve had from readers affording my work high ratings and good reviews, sales of my recently published books are flourishing. Sales of Blood Symbols are escalating exponentially. Readers, it appears, love the book. Yet, one cannot read what one does not know about, so I carry on promoting.
At first, I relied on feedback from advertising on Amazon. Since sales are directly related to the clicks per ad, it is easy to measure the success of the campaign. If all goes well, something new happens: sales increase despite the clicks that did not result in sales. That’s when things get exciting, because it means books are selling by other means—word of mouth. People are talking about the book.
Word of mouth sales are the best! It may be likened to a snowball gathering snow as it rolls down a hill, increasing exponentially in size. Any author’s dream! When readers love and respect what you write, they talk about it, and encourage their friends to share in their experience by getting the book as well. The more people talk, the more others want to know what the buzz is about. And this is happening with my work. So, thank you to all the readers who are contributing to the success of my books.
On another note, the BookLife Prize 2017, which saw Blood Symbols make the semi-finals, scoring 10 out of 10 in all categories, including the overall score, has done wonders for creating awareness of this novel as a worthwhile read. No-one enjoys picking a book, only to be disappointed halfway through the read. That’s why reviews, ratings and awards are useful; they give potential readers the assurance that the product they are about to purchase has been tested and tried, and is likely to ensure a worthy journey.
I also published Angelicals Reviewed last year. Being non-fiction and focusing on an issue many Christian faithful may find challenging—evolution—Angelicals Reviewed has not, so far, achieved equivalent stature to Blood Symbols. To get the buzz going for this work, which introduces the possibility of an evolutionary soul, I have entered it in the free eBook promotional giveaway through Amazon Kindle. So be on the lookout for the promotion, which starts on the 17th and finishes on the 21st of January 2018. Yes, don’t miss out on this opportunity to get your free copy this week.
I wish all of you a fantastic new year and may all your dreams come true. Finally, I thank those of you who have taken the time to read my work, write reviews and give ratings. You have no idea how much I enjoy and respect your feedback.
