Rachel Aaron's Blog, page 9
May 4, 2016
Writing Wednesday: Mastering Your Author Persona
And I'm back because I FINISHED MY EDITS FOR HEARTSTRIKERS 3!
You're all in for it now!Travis is reading it now, and given that he knocked out half the book in a single evening, I'm feeling pretty stoked about the finished product. I got to pack so many secrets into this book I've been waiting to reveal since the series started. The whole thing was author catnip, and I really really hope you enjoy it when it comes out in August! (And for those of you who are audio fans, I'm getting Audible the manuscript early this time, so the audio version should be out close to the ebook/print release date this time! Yay!)
Happy I was writing this book, though, I am very glad to finally be done with this project so I can move on to all the other stuff I have to do, such as writing blog posts! So, without further ado, let's talk about crafting an author persona.
Writing Wednesday: Mastering Your Author Persona
In the spirit of Travis's amazing posts on building your author brand and reaching your audience I wanted to talk about the part of all this book selling/marketing mojo that I actually think about as a writer.
To be perfectly honest, I don't even worry about sales/marketing/whatever until whatever book I'm going to be selling is almost done. Before that stage, my focus is entirely on telling the best story I can, because that's what really matters here. All the marketing in the world only makes a bad book fail faster, so clearly the Good Book is always our number one priority.
Even when the book is nearly done and it actually is time to market, I only really think about marketing in short bursts as necessary. This is partially because, important as marketing and promoting yourself is, nothing sells books like another book. Writing more is almost always the best thing you can do for your career.
That's great news for me, because by the time I'm done with one book, my brain is already miles ahead thinking about the next one. For me right now, that's Heartstrikers 4, which will probably be the final book in the series (I was planning on 5, but I covered a lot more of the meta plot than I was expecting in book 4, and I firmly feel that a series should end where it needs to, not where I want it to). When I do start a new series, though, I keep my brand in mind when sorting through all the new shiny ideas to find the new story I feel my audience will enjoy the most. I'm still writing what I want, just with an eye towards pleasing my fans and keeping my established brand strong.
So that's marketing, too. Really, though, there's only author promotion I think about at all stages of book creation and even in between novels, and that is my author persona.
What is an Author Persona?
Like this, but with more Amazon links and newsletter sign ups.
Your author personal is your public face. I like to think of it as the personification of my writing voice. It's still me, obviously, but it's me as I want readers to know me.
This is a very important distinction, because we as humans have a lot of different personalities. I'm usually pretty cheerful and easy going because 1) I have the best job ever, and 2) that's just how I am. But I'm not always like that. There are days when I'm an absolute beast to everyone and days when I just don't feel like talking at all. I have a temper and a macho competitive streak that sometimes leads me to do very foolish things (hey, Devi didn't get it from nowhere).
But while all of these flaws are also me just as your flaws are parts of you, they're not the aspects of ourselves that we want to present to our readers. When someone encounters me online, in print, or in the real world as Rachel Aaron, Author, I want to make sure they're seeing the best of me. I want people to meet me and think "wow, she was so funny/clever/nice/helpful! I'm totally going to check out her books!"
And then when they actually do check out my books, what they find inside needs to meet the expectations that were set when they met me as a person. Or, vice versa, when people read my books and like them enough to come find me, the Rachel they find needs to match the voice who told them that story. Not the Rachel who's having a bad day or a mood swing, but Author Rachel, who is always consistently happy to say hello.
This the essence of an author persona: the presentation of the person your books paint you to be. This is why you see Hardboiled Crime writers posting author pictures of themselves with a glass of nice bourbon or Historical Romance authors posing in beautiful English gardens wearing a corset and petticoats. They're projecting a persona, an image of themselves that matches the voice of the stories they write. That Romance novelist almost certainly doesn't stand around in her garden in costume every day, and that Hardboiled author may actually prefer margaritas to sipping liquor, but that's just their mundane daily life, the same daily life where authors wait at the DMV and cut their toenails.
Those aren't the kind of details most readers want to see. When we read a book, the voice we hear in our heads is the author we want to meet, and part of managing your brand as an author is making sure they you they see when they finally go looking matches that voice. If you write Sweet Romance and your blog is full of cursing and sexual innuendo, that's a mismatch. It might be the truth, there's no law that says you have to present yourself accurately in your books. At the same time, though, if the you you present to the world as your author face on your blog or bio or whatever isn't the same you from your books, the face of that voice your readers fell in love with, it can feel like a betrayal, and betraying readers is very last thing any author wants to do.
Wait, Rachel, are you telling us to LIE to readers?!?Not at all. Aside from the obvious mismatch I used above to illustrate my point, most authors naturally write books that reflect who they are as people. When that happens, adopting an author persona that matches your voice is no more of a lie than cleaning your house for company. You're already that person. All you're doing now is making sure that your best foot is always forward, because when you're an author, part of what you're selling is yourself. It's not just a book, it's your book filled with your voice and your opinions. That's why rejection hurts so much, because telling your story is the most personal thing you will ever do in public.
For the introverts in the crowd, an author persona is also a form of social defense. As I'm sure you've guessed already from my word counts, I'm a super talkative person, but many authors are shy, sometimes to the point of bordering on anti-social, which is why they chose such a solitary art in the first place. For these people, an author persona can be more than just a way of presenting yourself, it can be a mask. I know authors who go so far as to create an entirely different personality, even to the point of wearing special clothes, specifically so that they'll have something to hide behind while they have to engage in the otherwise terrifying act of greeting fans and making new ones.
So if you have any kind of social anxiety, crafting a more outgoing author persona can be the difference between having a social presence as an author and not being able to. Having a set role to play, even one that's basically just a more social and confident version of your normal self, takes a huge amount of social pressure off you to perform personally, and for many shy authors, that can be the difference between a fun convention book signing and a panic attack.
Even if you have no problem being social, having a known author persona to step into can still be a big help. It's sort of like having a style guide for behavior online and off (or a brand, if you want to get fancy). When you always know what's expected of you, meeting and even exceeding that standard becomes easier, and the more you practice, the better you get. I've had basically the same author persona for ten years now, and I'm so used to it, I can turn it on and off like a switch. I've had readers find me when I'm fresh off a miserable stint of traveling, vaguely nauseous, and ready to bite someone's head in two, and yet I still manage to be the author they know because I know how to be that person. It doesn't matter how grumpy I'm feeling IRL, Writer Rachel is always delighted to meet a reader and talk books. This is partially because meeting anyone who's read my books never fails to make my day, but it's also because I have an author persona to fall back on. Even when I'm feeling like crud, I can switch on Author Mode and instantly get the energy I need to be the funny, hopeful, happy writer that fan deserves.
So now that I've talked about all the ways having an author persona works for you, let's talk about how to actually go about building one.
How to Craft Your Author PersonaI have never met an author, or any public figure, who doesn't have a persona. That said, most authors never seem to plan theirs. Their author persona is something that grew organically based on their personalities and how they learned to interact with readers and potential readers of the years. But while the organic method is obviously going to give you the most natural result, the nature of the organic process means it not only takes time, but also trial and error, and error is what we want to avoid. No one wants to learn an embarrassing social lesson the hard way.
But this blog is all about not repeating the mistakes of the past! That's why I think that, the moment you start seriously thinking about publication, you should also start seriously considering who you want your author persona to be. You may not nail it right off the bat, but hopefully just going into the process with a plan rather than stumbling blindly will be enough to help you spot and avoid potentially embarrassing faux pas before they happen.
When you start thinking about building an author personal, there are three main issues you have to keep in mind:
1) Your author persona should match your writing style and voice.Again, this goes right back to everything Travis said about branding. This isn't to say that if your book is grim and dark and gritty, you have to be, too, but you should still come across as the sort of person who would write that book. Fortunately, if you're writing books you love, this should be a piece of cake. Your feelings and opinions are already coming out on the page, which means the people reading that page and loving what they see enough to bother getting to know you as an author are already predisposed to like you. You're already the author they want to meet and read more of, so just keep being that person and you'll be right on target.
If you're one of those authors who writes in a very different style from how you normally behave (ie, you're a Conservative Christian who writes dinosaur porn (link obviously NSFW)), then you probably want to adopt an author persona that more closely matches what you write since that's the you readers know and expect.
Just make sure you're careful with this, because the further your writer persona gets from your real personality, the harder it gets to keep up, which brings us to #2.
2) Chose an author persona you can live with.Most writers are also good actors (hey, we're in the business of fiction), but even the best actor can't play a role forever. Unless you change your name and completely rebrand yourself, whatever author persona you adopt is a face you're going to wearing for your entire career. If you pick something that's hard to maintain (for example, adopting an extremely flamboyant personality when you're actually very shy), you're going to have a rough time. Unless you truly love playing that role, having to put on someone that's so fundamentally different from you for every tweet and blog post is going to take a lot out of you, and you need that energy for writing. Not to mention if you ever do crack the facade, your readers are going to be hugely disappointed.
A much better plan, and FAR easier to maintain, is to adopt an author persona that's as close to your real personality as possible. A good way to do this is to just be yourself within a few simple guidelines, just like you would a brand. For example, if you write fun, positive, uplifting books, you might consider adopting a "no rants" policy. This doesn't mean things aren't going to piss you off, just that you're not going to complain about them in your public sphere because ranting and negativity isn't what you're about. On the flip side, if you write sarcastic, snarky books, then having a blog full of hilariously scathing rants about things that piss you off fits right into that brand. So go ahead, rant about everything! Another example would be if you wrote dark gothic vampire fiction and also happened to be into dressing goth for your own personal aesthetic, posting pictures of yourself dressed as a Gothic Lolita would be great personal branding.
Steampunk authors in particular are great at the costume stuff, but anything that shows you authentically are the person your books suggest you are is good author persona material. To cite a personal example, I'm a giant anime and manga nerd. This love is obvious in my stories, which means a lot of fans love it, too. Because of this, I can squee about anime and it fits right into everything else. It's authentically part of who I am and what I value, and that is really key, because the last thing you want to do in any of this is come off sounding insincere or like you're pretending to be someone you're not. This is why sticking as close as possible to your actual personality and interests is so important. The more details of your actual personal life you can weave into your author persona, the simpler it is to maintain and the simpler it is convince readers that this is the real you, because it is! Just, you know, with all the bad parts conveniently missing.
For me personally, I think of my writing persona as "Rachel when the writing's going well." I chose this not just because it's the me I like best--happy, focused, technical, positive, excited, having a good time, etc.--but because that person, the happy writing Rachel, is the voice of my books. All the stuff I write when I'm not happy inevitably ends up on the cutting room floor, which means that by the time the readers see it, the only voice they get is me at my edited best.
That's the Rachel Aaron author persona, and because it's the same voice I strive for in my books and here on the blog, it's very easy for me to maintain. It's just me, but at my happiest, best, and most positive. All the stuff that doesn't belong to that--the angry rants, the morose wailing over trouble spots in my books, the bad days--I try to leave at home in my private life. I'm not denying those parts of myself. All the bad stuff is me, too, but it's not the me I want to put out there for my readers. These people are paying money to let me entertain them, and just like a grocer wouldn't give his customers a bruised fruit, I try my best to make sure I'm always putting my best face forward, which leads us to #3.
3) Stick to it.Once you've got an author persona you fell comfortable with, stay there. That author persona is now part of your brand, it's how your people--fans, reviewers, even the general public--knows you. Your coolness or interestingness as an author is as much a part of what you're selling as the books themselves, and just like you wouldn't switch genres in the middle of a series, you don't want to switch author personas on fans midstream either. Remember, these people only know you through your books and the stuff you post. If you suddenly change that public persona, you might still be the same to your meatspace friends, but to them, you're an entirely different person. A stranger wearing the face of the author they loved. And they're not going to take that well.
This isn't to say you can never change your public personality. You absolutely can, and authors do it all the time. But you have to be smart about it by either shifting your focus gradually or starting over entirely with a new name and brand.
So as you can see, you never have to feel like you're stuck with a persona, but don't make the choice lightly, either. The way we choose to present ourselves as authors is part of our writing. Even if you become a bestseller, the vast majority of readers will never know you as more than a name on a cover, if they even remember that. But your best fans--the ones who'll read your entire backlist and buy your new books on release day and follow you from series to series and force your books into their friends hands--they're the ones this face is really for, and they deserve nothing lest than your absolute best.
And thus we reach our conclusion!Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this monster of a post! Wherever you are in your writing journey, I really hope this post has given you some new perspective on a very important aspect of authorship, or given you something to think about. If you enjoyed this post, I have lots more like it in the writing tag and we do new writing business and craft posts most every Weds and Monday. If you're not already, please follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to never miss an update!
Thanks again for reading, and as always, happy writing!
Yours,Rachel
You're all in for it now!Travis is reading it now, and given that he knocked out half the book in a single evening, I'm feeling pretty stoked about the finished product. I got to pack so many secrets into this book I've been waiting to reveal since the series started. The whole thing was author catnip, and I really really hope you enjoy it when it comes out in August! (And for those of you who are audio fans, I'm getting Audible the manuscript early this time, so the audio version should be out close to the ebook/print release date this time! Yay!)Happy I was writing this book, though, I am very glad to finally be done with this project so I can move on to all the other stuff I have to do, such as writing blog posts! So, without further ado, let's talk about crafting an author persona.
Writing Wednesday: Mastering Your Author Persona
In the spirit of Travis's amazing posts on building your author brand and reaching your audience I wanted to talk about the part of all this book selling/marketing mojo that I actually think about as a writer.
To be perfectly honest, I don't even worry about sales/marketing/whatever until whatever book I'm going to be selling is almost done. Before that stage, my focus is entirely on telling the best story I can, because that's what really matters here. All the marketing in the world only makes a bad book fail faster, so clearly the Good Book is always our number one priority.
Even when the book is nearly done and it actually is time to market, I only really think about marketing in short bursts as necessary. This is partially because, important as marketing and promoting yourself is, nothing sells books like another book. Writing more is almost always the best thing you can do for your career.
That's great news for me, because by the time I'm done with one book, my brain is already miles ahead thinking about the next one. For me right now, that's Heartstrikers 4, which will probably be the final book in the series (I was planning on 5, but I covered a lot more of the meta plot than I was expecting in book 4, and I firmly feel that a series should end where it needs to, not where I want it to). When I do start a new series, though, I keep my brand in mind when sorting through all the new shiny ideas to find the new story I feel my audience will enjoy the most. I'm still writing what I want, just with an eye towards pleasing my fans and keeping my established brand strong.
So that's marketing, too. Really, though, there's only author promotion I think about at all stages of book creation and even in between novels, and that is my author persona.
What is an Author Persona?
Like this, but with more Amazon links and newsletter sign ups.Your author personal is your public face. I like to think of it as the personification of my writing voice. It's still me, obviously, but it's me as I want readers to know me.
This is a very important distinction, because we as humans have a lot of different personalities. I'm usually pretty cheerful and easy going because 1) I have the best job ever, and 2) that's just how I am. But I'm not always like that. There are days when I'm an absolute beast to everyone and days when I just don't feel like talking at all. I have a temper and a macho competitive streak that sometimes leads me to do very foolish things (hey, Devi didn't get it from nowhere).
But while all of these flaws are also me just as your flaws are parts of you, they're not the aspects of ourselves that we want to present to our readers. When someone encounters me online, in print, or in the real world as Rachel Aaron, Author, I want to make sure they're seeing the best of me. I want people to meet me and think "wow, she was so funny/clever/nice/helpful! I'm totally going to check out her books!"
And then when they actually do check out my books, what they find inside needs to meet the expectations that were set when they met me as a person. Or, vice versa, when people read my books and like them enough to come find me, the Rachel they find needs to match the voice who told them that story. Not the Rachel who's having a bad day or a mood swing, but Author Rachel, who is always consistently happy to say hello.
This the essence of an author persona: the presentation of the person your books paint you to be. This is why you see Hardboiled Crime writers posting author pictures of themselves with a glass of nice bourbon or Historical Romance authors posing in beautiful English gardens wearing a corset and petticoats. They're projecting a persona, an image of themselves that matches the voice of the stories they write. That Romance novelist almost certainly doesn't stand around in her garden in costume every day, and that Hardboiled author may actually prefer margaritas to sipping liquor, but that's just their mundane daily life, the same daily life where authors wait at the DMV and cut their toenails.
Those aren't the kind of details most readers want to see. When we read a book, the voice we hear in our heads is the author we want to meet, and part of managing your brand as an author is making sure they you they see when they finally go looking matches that voice. If you write Sweet Romance and your blog is full of cursing and sexual innuendo, that's a mismatch. It might be the truth, there's no law that says you have to present yourself accurately in your books. At the same time, though, if the you you present to the world as your author face on your blog or bio or whatever isn't the same you from your books, the face of that voice your readers fell in love with, it can feel like a betrayal, and betraying readers is very last thing any author wants to do.
Wait, Rachel, are you telling us to LIE to readers?!?Not at all. Aside from the obvious mismatch I used above to illustrate my point, most authors naturally write books that reflect who they are as people. When that happens, adopting an author persona that matches your voice is no more of a lie than cleaning your house for company. You're already that person. All you're doing now is making sure that your best foot is always forward, because when you're an author, part of what you're selling is yourself. It's not just a book, it's your book filled with your voice and your opinions. That's why rejection hurts so much, because telling your story is the most personal thing you will ever do in public.
For the introverts in the crowd, an author persona is also a form of social defense. As I'm sure you've guessed already from my word counts, I'm a super talkative person, but many authors are shy, sometimes to the point of bordering on anti-social, which is why they chose such a solitary art in the first place. For these people, an author persona can be more than just a way of presenting yourself, it can be a mask. I know authors who go so far as to create an entirely different personality, even to the point of wearing special clothes, specifically so that they'll have something to hide behind while they have to engage in the otherwise terrifying act of greeting fans and making new ones.
So if you have any kind of social anxiety, crafting a more outgoing author persona can be the difference between having a social presence as an author and not being able to. Having a set role to play, even one that's basically just a more social and confident version of your normal self, takes a huge amount of social pressure off you to perform personally, and for many shy authors, that can be the difference between a fun convention book signing and a panic attack.
Even if you have no problem being social, having a known author persona to step into can still be a big help. It's sort of like having a style guide for behavior online and off (or a brand, if you want to get fancy). When you always know what's expected of you, meeting and even exceeding that standard becomes easier, and the more you practice, the better you get. I've had basically the same author persona for ten years now, and I'm so used to it, I can turn it on and off like a switch. I've had readers find me when I'm fresh off a miserable stint of traveling, vaguely nauseous, and ready to bite someone's head in two, and yet I still manage to be the author they know because I know how to be that person. It doesn't matter how grumpy I'm feeling IRL, Writer Rachel is always delighted to meet a reader and talk books. This is partially because meeting anyone who's read my books never fails to make my day, but it's also because I have an author persona to fall back on. Even when I'm feeling like crud, I can switch on Author Mode and instantly get the energy I need to be the funny, hopeful, happy writer that fan deserves.
So now that I've talked about all the ways having an author persona works for you, let's talk about how to actually go about building one.
How to Craft Your Author PersonaI have never met an author, or any public figure, who doesn't have a persona. That said, most authors never seem to plan theirs. Their author persona is something that grew organically based on their personalities and how they learned to interact with readers and potential readers of the years. But while the organic method is obviously going to give you the most natural result, the nature of the organic process means it not only takes time, but also trial and error, and error is what we want to avoid. No one wants to learn an embarrassing social lesson the hard way.
But this blog is all about not repeating the mistakes of the past! That's why I think that, the moment you start seriously thinking about publication, you should also start seriously considering who you want your author persona to be. You may not nail it right off the bat, but hopefully just going into the process with a plan rather than stumbling blindly will be enough to help you spot and avoid potentially embarrassing faux pas before they happen.
When you start thinking about building an author personal, there are three main issues you have to keep in mind:
1) Your author persona should match your writing style and voice.Again, this goes right back to everything Travis said about branding. This isn't to say that if your book is grim and dark and gritty, you have to be, too, but you should still come across as the sort of person who would write that book. Fortunately, if you're writing books you love, this should be a piece of cake. Your feelings and opinions are already coming out on the page, which means the people reading that page and loving what they see enough to bother getting to know you as an author are already predisposed to like you. You're already the author they want to meet and read more of, so just keep being that person and you'll be right on target.
If you're one of those authors who writes in a very different style from how you normally behave (ie, you're a Conservative Christian who writes dinosaur porn (link obviously NSFW)), then you probably want to adopt an author persona that more closely matches what you write since that's the you readers know and expect.
Just make sure you're careful with this, because the further your writer persona gets from your real personality, the harder it gets to keep up, which brings us to #2.
2) Chose an author persona you can live with.Most writers are also good actors (hey, we're in the business of fiction), but even the best actor can't play a role forever. Unless you change your name and completely rebrand yourself, whatever author persona you adopt is a face you're going to wearing for your entire career. If you pick something that's hard to maintain (for example, adopting an extremely flamboyant personality when you're actually very shy), you're going to have a rough time. Unless you truly love playing that role, having to put on someone that's so fundamentally different from you for every tweet and blog post is going to take a lot out of you, and you need that energy for writing. Not to mention if you ever do crack the facade, your readers are going to be hugely disappointed.
A much better plan, and FAR easier to maintain, is to adopt an author persona that's as close to your real personality as possible. A good way to do this is to just be yourself within a few simple guidelines, just like you would a brand. For example, if you write fun, positive, uplifting books, you might consider adopting a "no rants" policy. This doesn't mean things aren't going to piss you off, just that you're not going to complain about them in your public sphere because ranting and negativity isn't what you're about. On the flip side, if you write sarcastic, snarky books, then having a blog full of hilariously scathing rants about things that piss you off fits right into that brand. So go ahead, rant about everything! Another example would be if you wrote dark gothic vampire fiction and also happened to be into dressing goth for your own personal aesthetic, posting pictures of yourself dressed as a Gothic Lolita would be great personal branding.
Steampunk authors in particular are great at the costume stuff, but anything that shows you authentically are the person your books suggest you are is good author persona material. To cite a personal example, I'm a giant anime and manga nerd. This love is obvious in my stories, which means a lot of fans love it, too. Because of this, I can squee about anime and it fits right into everything else. It's authentically part of who I am and what I value, and that is really key, because the last thing you want to do in any of this is come off sounding insincere or like you're pretending to be someone you're not. This is why sticking as close as possible to your actual personality and interests is so important. The more details of your actual personal life you can weave into your author persona, the simpler it is to maintain and the simpler it is convince readers that this is the real you, because it is! Just, you know, with all the bad parts conveniently missing.
For me personally, I think of my writing persona as "Rachel when the writing's going well." I chose this not just because it's the me I like best--happy, focused, technical, positive, excited, having a good time, etc.--but because that person, the happy writing Rachel, is the voice of my books. All the stuff I write when I'm not happy inevitably ends up on the cutting room floor, which means that by the time the readers see it, the only voice they get is me at my edited best.
That's the Rachel Aaron author persona, and because it's the same voice I strive for in my books and here on the blog, it's very easy for me to maintain. It's just me, but at my happiest, best, and most positive. All the stuff that doesn't belong to that--the angry rants, the morose wailing over trouble spots in my books, the bad days--I try to leave at home in my private life. I'm not denying those parts of myself. All the bad stuff is me, too, but it's not the me I want to put out there for my readers. These people are paying money to let me entertain them, and just like a grocer wouldn't give his customers a bruised fruit, I try my best to make sure I'm always putting my best face forward, which leads us to #3.
3) Stick to it.Once you've got an author persona you fell comfortable with, stay there. That author persona is now part of your brand, it's how your people--fans, reviewers, even the general public--knows you. Your coolness or interestingness as an author is as much a part of what you're selling as the books themselves, and just like you wouldn't switch genres in the middle of a series, you don't want to switch author personas on fans midstream either. Remember, these people only know you through your books and the stuff you post. If you suddenly change that public persona, you might still be the same to your meatspace friends, but to them, you're an entirely different person. A stranger wearing the face of the author they loved. And they're not going to take that well.
This isn't to say you can never change your public personality. You absolutely can, and authors do it all the time. But you have to be smart about it by either shifting your focus gradually or starting over entirely with a new name and brand.
So as you can see, you never have to feel like you're stuck with a persona, but don't make the choice lightly, either. The way we choose to present ourselves as authors is part of our writing. Even if you become a bestseller, the vast majority of readers will never know you as more than a name on a cover, if they even remember that. But your best fans--the ones who'll read your entire backlist and buy your new books on release day and follow you from series to series and force your books into their friends hands--they're the ones this face is really for, and they deserve nothing lest than your absolute best.
And thus we reach our conclusion!Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this monster of a post! Wherever you are in your writing journey, I really hope this post has given you some new perspective on a very important aspect of authorship, or given you something to think about. If you enjoyed this post, I have lots more like it in the writing tag and we do new writing business and craft posts most every Weds and Monday. If you're not already, please follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to never miss an update!
Thanks again for reading, and as always, happy writing!
Yours,Rachel
May 2, 2016
How To Reach Niche Audiences
Hi Everyone,
Travis here again! Last week I talked about how to design your author brand. There was a fair amount of interest in niche appeal books, so that's what this week's topic is going to be about.
Whether your book is niche or if you are trying to reach a niche audience, hopefully you'll find this post to contain useful strategies.
Let's get into it shall we?
How To Reach Niche AudiencesToday I'd like to talk about reaching niche audiences. Originally, this post was for people who worried that their book(s) were niche. Twitter and blog comments have shown me though that folks are also interested in reaching said niche audiences, not just being relegated to them. So...
Should you worry about the niche?Right now, Rachel and I are watching an anime called Silver Spoon on CrunchyRoll.
Its a farming anime!On paper, this is 100% not our fare. We're hardcore genre fans. This is a contemporary drama about farming. No magic, no mystery, no action, no sci-fi, no futurism, it's not even historical. My shame is that I'd never even think about picking up a show/book like this on my own.
What drew us in was that we wanted another cooking anime (Shokugeki!!) to watch and this was vaguely sort of relevant since it dealt with food. Also very well rated, which helped.
So that's what we were expecting, but what we got was a well balanced show that is both serious and funny. It's very human and it wrestles with some amazingly deep and profound issues, tackling them with aplomb. It's my favorite thing to watch right now despite all the mecha and magical shows on my to-watch list.
What's the point here?Anime has proven to me that you can make anything interesting and be successful at it. I hate sports, they all bore me to tears. Sports anime though? Sign me up! I never cared anything about soccer until I watched Giant Killing . Boxing? Meh.. Hajime No Ippo though? Glued to the screen! There are many, hugely popular basketball, swimming, and baseball anime shows now. Sports Tournament is now a full fledged genre and an intensely addictive one at that.
I've also watched baking animes, the Go anime, cooking animes, slow moving overly complicated math mysteries, magical realism nature shows, and more. All stuff that I don't normally like, but which the right anime can have the power to enthrall me with.
This extends to the ridiculous as well. I mean, look at One Piece! It's not just ridiculous, it's ludicrous! Yet it's the most successful anime/manga of all time (I'm pretty sure) and is still one of greatest stories I've ever seen.
This is all a long way of me saying that pretty much any idea can have wide spread commercial success when executed appropriately. What counts as appropriate execution however depends on the topic involved. Some things require more delicate and deliberate handling than others.
I'm sure ya'll want me to get to the meat here. There's more I want to say on widespread appeal, but that can come later. Lets talk about...
The Strengths of the Niche
Fear the Bug!
This makes them more likely to take risks. They are more responsive to good marketing. They will even wade through a lot of what they don't like just to get to the stuff they do like. It's kind of incredible really. You mainstream readers don't go to these efforts because there's always tons of their thing around, but niche readers are hungry, and if you give them what they want, they will gobble it up.
Additionally, if you can give the niche their thing in the form of a good product, they will be loyal like few other groups can be. They will remember you far longer than others will, and they'll come back from much father away to be with you at release time.
So how do you leverage this as an author? Other than writing a book that scratches the itch of the niche?
Marketing to the NicheTip 1 - Learn Your AudienceThis applies to most authors really, but it really applies to niche books. There aren't as many potential customers out there for you, so you need to focus your marketing research on finding them. Where do they hang out? What are they reading? What common interests might they have beyond The Thing (TM) that makes their niche?
Believe it or not, authors whose works hit a wider audience have a much harder time with this research. There's too many different groups to learn and find. Due to their size, they are also much harder to market to due to increased competition and more dispersed tastes. Achieving proper levels of engagement, retaining gains, and hitting saturation are all a lot harder to do. It's an issue of scale really.
niche crowds be like this
But the niche author needs to hit the streets, so to speak, and learn their crowd. Hopefully, if you've written a book about The Thing, you are already partially part of the niche and know something of its communities. If not, then you've got a wonderful journey ahead of you meeting all these awesome folks out there who share your interest.
Tip 2 - Outreach is The Core Strategy
Author outreach is a popular topic this year as advice for new writers. Outreach is, in short, you going out there, getting to know, and sharing your work with, other interested parties. Usually this means reader communities, but it is by no means limited to them.
Aside: Much of the outreach advice I heard at RT2016 centered on reaching out to groups that aren't reader or publishing groups b/c authors are much more special and rare in those places. (ie, if you have a Cozy Mystery with a heroine who knits, you'll get more bang for your buck by trying for a guest spot on a knitting blog where you're a REAL AUTHOR! Who writes about KNITTING! Instead of going for a guest post on a book review blog that sees authors all the time.) We have done this some and it does get a vocal response. My kingdom for some numbers, though.
Many authors can take or leave outreach. It's very time consuming to be that social and it's really easy to spread yourself thin for little results. Again, the scale and diverse tastes within large groups can really get in the way of outreach. Rachel and I don't do a lot of this specifically because it's so inefficient for us. We just keep it to where we're already naturally hanging out at online.
For the niche author though, you'll find a different kind of reward. Hunting down and engaging the small and scattered communities that like Your Thing(tm) will likely result in much much higher engagements and conversions than other authors can enjoy.
To put this in numbers - It's hard to court 100,000 people and only get 0.1% engagements. It's great to court 1000 people and get 10% engagements though!
I bet some of ya'll just checked my math there and realized that both scenarios come out to 100 engagements. Kudos! Now lemme ask you, which is easier to reach? 100,000 people or 1000 people? Thus you see the strength of the niche!
Word of mouth in these groups is stronger too as members tend to be closer due to the smaller sizes. So the most gold-standard method of marketing is at force here.
How to Find ThemWeb detective go!
A certain amount of finding communities is just cold googling and such. Speaking of which, you'll want to up your Google skills for these searches.
In all seriousness though, talking to people is your best bet. Once you find one community group, all you have to do is ask them where to find more of Your Thing and the community itself will gladly share more links to more places. Go there, check it out, repeat.
Tip.. or maybe Warning 3 - Niches are Small TownsWe're talking about getting to know and be known by small web communities here. These places are effectively small towns who are protective of the niche interest that brought and binds them all together. If you cause trouble, break rules, or act the pest, it'll get around and it might shut you down for a long time to come. These places often are tight knit. They also tend to have low group turnover, which means they have long memories.
Therefore, conduct yourself responsibly!Read and Obey community rulesShare, don't sell (ie, don't just link your book over and over)Reciprocate, don't just take. Be an active part of the community!Behave!Don't start drama, and bring a thick skin with you.Don't fake your interest (if this is a problem, please go write something that interests you)You've got to be a good citizen when you are conducting outreach, courting fans, and generally getting in with your target audience. This applies to all authors and, I hope, life in general. For niche authors, it's particularly important. You aren't playing in a large pond, be careful about what kind of splashing you do.
Give Before You TakeProbably the most important advice I can give for conducting yourself on any internet community would be generosity. Give before you ask for anything. Once you've asked, give more afterwards. Maintain a virtuous cycle if you can.
It doesn't have to be a lot. Reading and participating in someone else's thread occasionally is perfectly fine most of the time. Giving some free samples, or even a tidbit of unique content, is wonderful and will go a long way. Help the community feel special if you can (super bonus if you can put them in the book somehow.. just an oblique reference even).
Have fun with it! These should be your people after all. The reciprocity will benefit everyone I assure you.
Tip 4 - Once You've Got them, Hold onto Them!
Here we see the happy author and his precious readersThis goes for all authors. Once people read your book, you need to try to capture them in any way you can. Newsletters are the gold standard as they have many automation options, high conversion rates, and low maintenance costs. Blogs and social media are good as they keep people coming back and keep you from falling off the radar. They are more effort though as they move faster.
It should be easier to retain niche fans. IMO, once you've proven that you can deliver The Thing, they tend to remember you a lot longer than others will. (I know I do!) However, you still have to be able to reach them again when the next book or hangout happens.
Genre Blending and Heartstrikers
click for full post with lots more HS art!Now that the publishing gates are open and indies aren't concerned about getting wedged into a single genre by publishers and bookstores, a lot more genre blending is going down. Just because you are doing so doesn't make your book niche, however.
Genre blending is a little scary. As I mentioned last week, a genre is a parent brand that brings an entire body of preset customer expectations to your book. Messing around with that is pretty risky. There's a reason publishers like to pigeon-hole books into genres, and it's not just because they have to be physically shelved somewhere one day.
If you are genre-blending, then it's cause for thought. By deviating into new territory, the question of "is there an audience for this?" looms large and valid. Don't be daunted, though! The rewards are also there.
Rachel's Heartstrikers series is definitely a good example of this. It's a near-future, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, dragon, action, soap opera, crime drama. I don't even know. We file it under New Adult, Cyberpunk, and Urban Fantasy to hopefully cover all the most crucial bases.
Here's the critical part though,
My favorite quote from a reviewer (and I can't find the source now argh!) was something like this,
Mainstream Yet NicheWhat we see with The Heartstrikers is how you can have some niche appeal elements, like its Shadowrun-esque roots, and yet still be successful in reaching a wide audience.
Another example, I feel, of this phenomenon is The Martian. Who would have thought that a book that is mostly comprised of the hyper-technical parts of Apollo 13 would not only become an amazing best seller, but also a great movie?
oops, wrong Martian....I wish I could give you tips here about how to weave all these different genre and niche interest threads together into an amazing story, but well, that's Rachel's terf. Also, it's a lot more than just one Writing Wednesday post, it's all of them.
My advice here is to write the best book you can and worry about its marketing second, once you have the actual story in your hands. Authenticity is your #1 currency with fans of all kinds, regardless of their numbers. There is no magic topic or niche appeal that frees you from the requirement of a good story well told. Focus on that first, last, and always and you won't be disappointed.
Go Forth!I hope I've helped assuage your fears about being niche or going niche today by providing some concrete options to use. It's a viable route given how many readers there are out there and the tools available to authors today. IMO, it's the same amount of work either way - infinite.
I also hope that I've helped some of you find the fire needed to wrestle risky, tough, unpleasant, or unwieldy topics out of their niches and into the mainstream. Doing so is hard work, but it's also a noble cause as such stories birth new genres and broaden humanity's horizons. Remember, there was a time when even Fantasy and Science Fiction just were just flavors of mainstream rather than genres of their own. A great new idea can create a genre, so never be afraid to stick to your guns and write what you love, whether or not it fits in the current genre landscape!
Thank you for reading! If you liked this post, please follow us somehow. We've made many options for you! There's feed-burner for the blog, there's Rachel's social media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+), and I'm on Twitter as @TravBach.
Next week, I'm hoping to continue these posts about marketing and branding. I'd like to tell people about the exciting strategy of relaunching a series. RT2016 had a lot to say about the why, when, and how of a relaunch so...much excitement!
See you next week!
-Travis
Travis here again! Last week I talked about how to design your author brand. There was a fair amount of interest in niche appeal books, so that's what this week's topic is going to be about.
Whether your book is niche or if you are trying to reach a niche audience, hopefully you'll find this post to contain useful strategies.
Let's get into it shall we?
How To Reach Niche AudiencesToday I'd like to talk about reaching niche audiences. Originally, this post was for people who worried that their book(s) were niche. Twitter and blog comments have shown me though that folks are also interested in reaching said niche audiences, not just being relegated to them. So...
Should you worry about the niche?Right now, Rachel and I are watching an anime called Silver Spoon on CrunchyRoll.
Its a farming anime!On paper, this is 100% not our fare. We're hardcore genre fans. This is a contemporary drama about farming. No magic, no mystery, no action, no sci-fi, no futurism, it's not even historical. My shame is that I'd never even think about picking up a show/book like this on my own.What drew us in was that we wanted another cooking anime (Shokugeki!!) to watch and this was vaguely sort of relevant since it dealt with food. Also very well rated, which helped.
So that's what we were expecting, but what we got was a well balanced show that is both serious and funny. It's very human and it wrestles with some amazingly deep and profound issues, tackling them with aplomb. It's my favorite thing to watch right now despite all the mecha and magical shows on my to-watch list.
What's the point here?Anime has proven to me that you can make anything interesting and be successful at it. I hate sports, they all bore me to tears. Sports anime though? Sign me up! I never cared anything about soccer until I watched Giant Killing . Boxing? Meh.. Hajime No Ippo though? Glued to the screen! There are many, hugely popular basketball, swimming, and baseball anime shows now. Sports Tournament is now a full fledged genre and an intensely addictive one at that.
I've also watched baking animes, the Go anime, cooking animes, slow moving overly complicated math mysteries, magical realism nature shows, and more. All stuff that I don't normally like, but which the right anime can have the power to enthrall me with.
This extends to the ridiculous as well. I mean, look at One Piece! It's not just ridiculous, it's ludicrous! Yet it's the most successful anime/manga of all time (I'm pretty sure) and is still one of greatest stories I've ever seen.
This is all a long way of me saying that pretty much any idea can have wide spread commercial success when executed appropriately. What counts as appropriate execution however depends on the topic involved. Some things require more delicate and deliberate handling than others.
I'm sure ya'll want me to get to the meat here. There's more I want to say on widespread appeal, but that can come later. Lets talk about...
The Strengths of the Niche
Fear the Bug!This makes them more likely to take risks. They are more responsive to good marketing. They will even wade through a lot of what they don't like just to get to the stuff they do like. It's kind of incredible really. You mainstream readers don't go to these efforts because there's always tons of their thing around, but niche readers are hungry, and if you give them what they want, they will gobble it up.
Additionally, if you can give the niche their thing in the form of a good product, they will be loyal like few other groups can be. They will remember you far longer than others will, and they'll come back from much father away to be with you at release time.
So how do you leverage this as an author? Other than writing a book that scratches the itch of the niche?
Marketing to the NicheTip 1 - Learn Your AudienceThis applies to most authors really, but it really applies to niche books. There aren't as many potential customers out there for you, so you need to focus your marketing research on finding them. Where do they hang out? What are they reading? What common interests might they have beyond The Thing (TM) that makes their niche?
Believe it or not, authors whose works hit a wider audience have a much harder time with this research. There's too many different groups to learn and find. Due to their size, they are also much harder to market to due to increased competition and more dispersed tastes. Achieving proper levels of engagement, retaining gains, and hitting saturation are all a lot harder to do. It's an issue of scale really.
niche crowds be like thisBut the niche author needs to hit the streets, so to speak, and learn their crowd. Hopefully, if you've written a book about The Thing, you are already partially part of the niche and know something of its communities. If not, then you've got a wonderful journey ahead of you meeting all these awesome folks out there who share your interest.
Tip 2 - Outreach is The Core Strategy
Author outreach is a popular topic this year as advice for new writers. Outreach is, in short, you going out there, getting to know, and sharing your work with, other interested parties. Usually this means reader communities, but it is by no means limited to them.
Aside: Much of the outreach advice I heard at RT2016 centered on reaching out to groups that aren't reader or publishing groups b/c authors are much more special and rare in those places. (ie, if you have a Cozy Mystery with a heroine who knits, you'll get more bang for your buck by trying for a guest spot on a knitting blog where you're a REAL AUTHOR! Who writes about KNITTING! Instead of going for a guest post on a book review blog that sees authors all the time.) We have done this some and it does get a vocal response. My kingdom for some numbers, though.
Many authors can take or leave outreach. It's very time consuming to be that social and it's really easy to spread yourself thin for little results. Again, the scale and diverse tastes within large groups can really get in the way of outreach. Rachel and I don't do a lot of this specifically because it's so inefficient for us. We just keep it to where we're already naturally hanging out at online.
For the niche author though, you'll find a different kind of reward. Hunting down and engaging the small and scattered communities that like Your Thing(tm) will likely result in much much higher engagements and conversions than other authors can enjoy.
To put this in numbers - It's hard to court 100,000 people and only get 0.1% engagements. It's great to court 1000 people and get 10% engagements though!
I bet some of ya'll just checked my math there and realized that both scenarios come out to 100 engagements. Kudos! Now lemme ask you, which is easier to reach? 100,000 people or 1000 people? Thus you see the strength of the niche!
Word of mouth in these groups is stronger too as members tend to be closer due to the smaller sizes. So the most gold-standard method of marketing is at force here.
How to Find ThemWeb detective go!
A certain amount of finding communities is just cold googling and such. Speaking of which, you'll want to up your Google skills for these searches.
In all seriousness though, talking to people is your best bet. Once you find one community group, all you have to do is ask them where to find more of Your Thing and the community itself will gladly share more links to more places. Go there, check it out, repeat.
Tip.. or maybe Warning 3 - Niches are Small TownsWe're talking about getting to know and be known by small web communities here. These places are effectively small towns who are protective of the niche interest that brought and binds them all together. If you cause trouble, break rules, or act the pest, it'll get around and it might shut you down for a long time to come. These places often are tight knit. They also tend to have low group turnover, which means they have long memories.
Therefore, conduct yourself responsibly!Read and Obey community rulesShare, don't sell (ie, don't just link your book over and over)Reciprocate, don't just take. Be an active part of the community!Behave!Don't start drama, and bring a thick skin with you.Don't fake your interest (if this is a problem, please go write something that interests you)You've got to be a good citizen when you are conducting outreach, courting fans, and generally getting in with your target audience. This applies to all authors and, I hope, life in general. For niche authors, it's particularly important. You aren't playing in a large pond, be careful about what kind of splashing you do.
Give Before You TakeProbably the most important advice I can give for conducting yourself on any internet community would be generosity. Give before you ask for anything. Once you've asked, give more afterwards. Maintain a virtuous cycle if you can.
It doesn't have to be a lot. Reading and participating in someone else's thread occasionally is perfectly fine most of the time. Giving some free samples, or even a tidbit of unique content, is wonderful and will go a long way. Help the community feel special if you can (super bonus if you can put them in the book somehow.. just an oblique reference even).
Have fun with it! These should be your people after all. The reciprocity will benefit everyone I assure you.
Tip 4 - Once You've Got them, Hold onto Them!
Here we see the happy author and his precious readersThis goes for all authors. Once people read your book, you need to try to capture them in any way you can. Newsletters are the gold standard as they have many automation options, high conversion rates, and low maintenance costs. Blogs and social media are good as they keep people coming back and keep you from falling off the radar. They are more effort though as they move faster.It should be easier to retain niche fans. IMO, once you've proven that you can deliver The Thing, they tend to remember you a lot longer than others will. (I know I do!) However, you still have to be able to reach them again when the next book or hangout happens.
Gathering these folks up in a way that you can reach them later is the long-term strategy here.Harder to find, easier to keep. So other than outreach, retention should be your #2 priority. Long term, your success depends on accumulation. As a niche author, accumulation isn't something you can take for granted. You need to play to your strengths here more so than others do, because they are more limited and specialized.
Genre Blending and Heartstrikers
click for full post with lots more HS art!Now that the publishing gates are open and indies aren't concerned about getting wedged into a single genre by publishers and bookstores, a lot more genre blending is going down. Just because you are doing so doesn't make your book niche, however.Genre blending is a little scary. As I mentioned last week, a genre is a parent brand that brings an entire body of preset customer expectations to your book. Messing around with that is pretty risky. There's a reason publishers like to pigeon-hole books into genres, and it's not just because they have to be physically shelved somewhere one day.
If you are genre-blending, then it's cause for thought. By deviating into new territory, the question of "is there an audience for this?" looms large and valid. Don't be daunted, though! The rewards are also there.
Rachel's Heartstrikers series is definitely a good example of this. It's a near-future, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, dragon, action, soap opera, crime drama. I don't even know. We file it under New Adult, Cyberpunk, and Urban Fantasy to hopefully cover all the most crucial bases.
Here's the critical part though,
Rachel and I don't specifically market Nice Dragons Finish Last to niche audiences.Please think about this for a minute as it's everything I was talking about at the beginning of this post. By most evaluations, NDFL should be a niche book and we should have needed to pursue a niche marketing strategy around it. We haven't.
My favorite quote from a reviewer (and I can't find the source now argh!) was something like this,
"Just when we'd all gotten bored of urban fantasy, Rachel Aaron finds a way to make something completely fresh and new." -Person who I want to profoundly thankThis right here is why I believe that the idea of a niche book is usually a paper tiger. Though, to be fair, Rachel was working with a cocktail of already popular concepts. There's nothing truly squicky, wicky, or just plain out-there strange in the HS series. The execution challenge to get back to the mainstream goes way up once those kinds of elements come in.
Mainstream Yet NicheWhat we see with The Heartstrikers is how you can have some niche appeal elements, like its Shadowrun-esque roots, and yet still be successful in reaching a wide audience.
Another example, I feel, of this phenomenon is The Martian. Who would have thought that a book that is mostly comprised of the hyper-technical parts of Apollo 13 would not only become an amazing best seller, but also a great movie?
oops, wrong Martian....I wish I could give you tips here about how to weave all these different genre and niche interest threads together into an amazing story, but well, that's Rachel's terf. Also, it's a lot more than just one Writing Wednesday post, it's all of them.My advice here is to write the best book you can and worry about its marketing second, once you have the actual story in your hands. Authenticity is your #1 currency with fans of all kinds, regardless of their numbers. There is no magic topic or niche appeal that frees you from the requirement of a good story well told. Focus on that first, last, and always and you won't be disappointed.
Go Forth!I hope I've helped assuage your fears about being niche or going niche today by providing some concrete options to use. It's a viable route given how many readers there are out there and the tools available to authors today. IMO, it's the same amount of work either way - infinite.
I also hope that I've helped some of you find the fire needed to wrestle risky, tough, unpleasant, or unwieldy topics out of their niches and into the mainstream. Doing so is hard work, but it's also a noble cause as such stories birth new genres and broaden humanity's horizons. Remember, there was a time when even Fantasy and Science Fiction just were just flavors of mainstream rather than genres of their own. A great new idea can create a genre, so never be afraid to stick to your guns and write what you love, whether or not it fits in the current genre landscape!
Thank you for reading! If you liked this post, please follow us somehow. We've made many options for you! There's feed-burner for the blog, there's Rachel's social media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+), and I'm on Twitter as @TravBach.
Next week, I'm hoping to continue these posts about marketing and branding. I'd like to tell people about the exciting strategy of relaunching a series. RT2016 had a lot to say about the why, when, and how of a relaunch so...much excitement!
See you next week!
-Travis
April 27, 2016
No Post Today, But Here's a Treat!
There's no Writing Wednesday today because I'm on a roll to finish my edits for HEARTSTRIKERS THREEEEEE!
Yes, No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished is very nearly done! I'm hoping to wrap it up early next week for a publication date sometime in August. Until then, Casa de Aaron/Bach is dragons all day, every day. Until then (if you haven't already), please enjoy my very clever husband's amazing and epic post on How to Craft Your Author Brand he put up on Monday.
Again, I apologize for the slacker non-post, but I promise you it'll be worth it! To make it up to you, though, here's a bit of art I just got from my amazing cover artist Anna Steinbauer of a certain growly dragon...
Click to see in full, glorious resolution!
We all know who this is, right? ^__^ Oh yeah, no one's getting out of this unscarred. I hope you're all ready to comfort poor Julius. Kid has it rough this book! (Evil author cackling)
I'll do the full cover reveal when I have an actual release date for the book other than "sometime in August." But it shouldn't be long!
If you want to be the very first to see it, though, sign up for my New Release mailing list. They get alllllll the good stuff first (and no spam ever).
That's it for now 'cause I've got a book to finish! Again, if you're at all interested in book publishing/selling, check out Trav's marketing post. It is the jam. Seriously, he's been throwing himself hardcore into the business side of publishing so I can focus on writing for a year now. Dude knows his shit. He put stuff in here that I hadn't even thought about. Can't recommend enough!
See you all next week. Until then, keep writing and reading and generally being awesome!
❤ R
Yes, No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished is very nearly done! I'm hoping to wrap it up early next week for a publication date sometime in August. Until then, Casa de Aaron/Bach is dragons all day, every day. Until then (if you haven't already), please enjoy my very clever husband's amazing and epic post on How to Craft Your Author Brand he put up on Monday.
Again, I apologize for the slacker non-post, but I promise you it'll be worth it! To make it up to you, though, here's a bit of art I just got from my amazing cover artist Anna Steinbauer of a certain growly dragon...
Click to see in full, glorious resolution!We all know who this is, right? ^__^ Oh yeah, no one's getting out of this unscarred. I hope you're all ready to comfort poor Julius. Kid has it rough this book! (Evil author cackling)
I'll do the full cover reveal when I have an actual release date for the book other than "sometime in August." But it shouldn't be long!
If you want to be the very first to see it, though, sign up for my New Release mailing list. They get alllllll the good stuff first (and no spam ever).
That's it for now 'cause I've got a book to finish! Again, if you're at all interested in book publishing/selling, check out Trav's marketing post. It is the jam. Seriously, he's been throwing himself hardcore into the business side of publishing so I can focus on writing for a year now. Dude knows his shit. He put stuff in here that I hadn't even thought about. Can't recommend enough!
See you all next week. Until then, keep writing and reading and generally being awesome!
❤ R
April 25, 2016
Designing Your Author Brand
Hi Everyone, Travis here. I'm going to be helping out on the blog more since we've so much to talk about. Today's topic is going to be a guide on designing your own author brand.
As you all know, Rachel and I just got back from RT 2016 not too long ago and we're bursting with things to share. While we were at RT, I went to probably 15 business, marketing, or industry panels in total. It was a lot!
One of the most common topics discussed was branding. Now I didn't hit every business panel, but there were easily 3 on branding alone. We hear about author branding a lot outside of the convention as well. I'm sure many of you have heard that you need to have a brand and that you need to manage it.
But what is you brand? How do you determine it? What do you do with it? Well, that's what we're going to talk about today.
How to Design Your Author BrandI want you to go get a piece of paper and something to write with. You can also just bring up notepad or your phone's note program. Whatever medium is fine. Come back when you are ready. (Also, if you have more than one pen name, just pick one for what we're about to do)
Ready? Ok great. Now write down what your [author] brand is. You have 10 seconds. GO!
Time's up.
So, first off, were you able to write down what your brand is in 10 seconds? If yes, then congratulations. No back patting yet though, you have a second test to pass.
Did you write down your brand in 6 words or less? Ah! I bet most of you did not. If you did and did in under 10 seconds, then kudos to you as you probably have a good idea of what your brand is.
If you didn't pass one or either of those tests, don't worry. Fixing this problem is what we are about to get into. I do hope that, by the end of this article, you can retake this test and pass. If not, then hopefully you'll know what you need to do so that you can come back later and pass.
Both of these tests have to do with the single most important part of branding in that...
Brands Need to Be SpecificIf you failed either of the two tests above, the very likely reasons why are either,You don't really know what your brand is yet.You are over-describing your brand and couldn't write it all down fast / concisely enough.So if you couldn't put down your brand quickly and in very few words, you need to sit and think on it. You need to strip away contradictions, muddiness, and superfluousness. To help you along with this process, let's talk about the end goal of this exercise.
What does a brand actually do? This is pretty simple really. A brand is just something that signals customers to know what to expect when they see it. This is usually instinctive on the customers' parts.
Once they've had experience with a brand, they will hopefully know in their guts what to expect from it. Ideally this is a favorable expectation that encourages them to buy your product, talk about you to their friends, and to take chances on your latest release.
To achieve these expectations, the brand needs to be something that people can understand. No one understands something like,
Now, what about a brand like this?
Now, I'm sure you noticed that I used some very genre-esque words like Romantic and Thrilling in my above samples. That was completely intentional because I need to mention that,
Genres Play a Big Role
oops... not that kind of rollWhat about the role of your genre with your brand? First, its totally okay for a genre or a sub-genre to be in your brand description. Its really handy, actually. Rachel doesn't do this, though, and one look at her books list will tell you why. A specific genre can be limiting as a branding scope.
Whether or not you do this, you still need to consider this fact:
For me, stock urban fantasy means,
Hidden magical world now large and in chargeDetectives, usually broke ones who are perpetually down on their luckFae, Vampires, and Werewolves.
Your definition may vary as brand is in the eye of the beholder after all. Point is, you probably have some strong opinions or feelings as to what any given genre contains/reads like, and that's brand.
Your book's genre is essentially a parent brand. A larger, less specific brand that brings in a wider audience, that you court for attention along with the others riding under that umbrella. Many people come looking for more urban fantasy but they might like your brand of UF (say dragons in Detroit?) more than others.
When considering what your brand is, consider what you are inheriting from your genre parent. Its a good idea to make sure they fit well. Now I'm not saying that you should adjust your writing to match a specific genre. Haha, we all know that Rachel certainly doesn't do that. Just be on the look out for what resonates and what doesn't. Such considerations should help guide you.
It'll Never Fit PerfectlyWhat genre is Nice Dragons Finish Last I ask you? Despite its genre blending, the book still has an Urban Fantasy voice and pacing. While it's near future and post-apocalypse (sorta), it's still contemporary enough to fit under UF, so we typically bill it as Urban Fantasy.
Case in point, the Heartstrikers series is very Shadowrun inspired. It has augmented reality, cyber-ware, and lots of action set in dense urban sprawls, all mixing with magic. We even put it under Cyberpunk as one of its BISACs.
I have to say, though, whenever I try to market it to the Cyberpunk crowd, it falls flat. This is because the Cyberpunk brand (gritty, dark, futuristic noir) and the Rachel Aaron - Heartstrikers brand (fun, dramatic, charismatic, action packed) just don't match well. On the other hand, I've had much more luck marketing Rachel Aaron - Heartstrikers to people who like The Dresden Files . So classic Urban Fantasy is a much better brand fit.
Now, what about this brand?
Muddying a Brand (As in: Don't)A muddy brand is one that is trying to do too much. It wants to be too many things to too many people. This is the #1 mistake of branding and it's a killer. No one will understand a muddy brand. Worse, customers' conflicting experiences the will teach them to mistrust your brand. Spending money on something is always taking a risk. People won't risk if they don't trust. It's the worst situation.
You don't want this
You want this
I could write an entire post about muddy or confused brands easily, but staying on target!
I'm sure you are ready to dig in, so now that you know the rules of what to look for when making your brand, let's get to it!
Step 1 - Write Down Your BrandThe first part of branding yourself is a soul search. Think about the work you have done or are doing. Try to write down 4-6 words that succinctly describe it. This might take a while and finding a good fit might be tough. Break out your dictionary and thesaurus though and set to.
Elicit help on this as well. Ask people who've read your work to throw some words at you. Part of this exercise is to incorporate how people see you. You want your brand to match your work well.
Here's an example of how this starts to come together, can you put your brand down like this?
Rachel's two names, Rachel Aaron and Rachel Bach, are two different brands. One is for the witty, and mostly P-13, Eli and Heartstrikers series. The other is 'rated R' and more romance for the Paradox series. Yes, we used movie ratings as part of the brand description. You'll see why when we get to step 2 of designing your brand.
The Goal for Step 1: you want to produce an actual document (or post it note at least) that says exactly what your brand is. I feel that documenting what your brand is important. You need something that can be used as reference. Opinions drift over time and a fixed point is extremely useful.
Bonus: Also put down some of the things your brand isn't. If you have definite lines you don't want to cross or don't feel belong in your work. For example, one of Rachel's is "No Rants". Not to say that won't or hasn't ever happened. In general though, Rachel doesn't want to be one of those angry, bitter people who yell a lot on the internet. Its neither her nor her brand.
Anyway, the reason for formally writing down your brand that is the second most important part of branding...
Consistency is the Soul of Your BrandThis is all about managing customer and potential customer expectations. Since we're talking about something that is formed from experiences and which operates on an instinctive level, consistency is key.
Brands are also about trust. Customers have to feel like they can trust your brand to deliver something that is consistent with their existing experiences with it. If I read a book and its fast and exciting, that's what I have learned your brand is. So if you publish a book that's slow and introspective, and I buy it not realizing that, I might be pretty mad that it wasn't what I wanted.
All of this has its roots in consistency. You can write down what you think your brand is every day for a year and it won't matter unless you conduct yourself such that what you wrote is the reality people get.
So please don't write down, "Sexy Dark Adventures" and then go write cozy cat mysteries. Well, you can, but you are merely deluding yourself as to what is what here.
Designing your author brand starts with identifying what it is, but is also an ongoing effort of using that document to make sure that everything you do publicly as that brand matches up to what you set down.
Here's an example of everything coming together. I took this picture at RT2016. Check out this brilliance. (More on this image in another post, one about covers)
Branding level = over 9000Ok, hopefully you've been thinking, or even better working on, your brand now. Once you have your basic document, we need to do another thought exercise to finish designing your brand.
Step 2 - Know your CustomerWe've posted about this before, but now its time to hit it from the branding angle. I have but one question for you, "Who is your brand's customer?".
Can you describe to me one person, not a group, just one realistic person who would be a likely customer of your brand? (darn, that was two questions wasn't it? now three! ack!!)
Most people I've seen do this will invent a customer (that link is awesome BTW check it out!). Let's use our sample brand again.
I immediately feel like Stacy probably uses audio books more than ebooks. Her commute likely takes away a lot of her reading time. So having an audio format is important for reaching her as a customer.
(Sorry if your name is Stacy and this doesn't match you haha)
Now, don't feel like you have to have only one customer. Make up more if you want.
ok.. maybe this is too many...
I'm sure that, for most authors, the most likely customer is, well, yourself. That's certainly true of Rachel and it's true of many authors I've met as well. She is the target customer of her brand. Fortunately, 30 something educated white ladies buy and read a lot of books. They aren't the only demographic reading her books though, not by a majority even.
Its completely OK to be your own target customer. Most all authors fall into this category. That's great, that means you are writing true to yourself and not bending your creativity over backwards chasing something you don't care about; like the latest trend. (post about this here)
What's important about this exercise isn't to create demographics for marketing targeting either, though that is good to do, its to answer two questions,
Is this customer realistic?Is this the customer you want to court?Question 1 is pretty simple. If the fictional people your brand appeals too are completely unrealistic, then you probably have an issue with the appeal power of that brand. You might just appeal to very niche tastes (like occult romantic horror), which is fine and knowing that can help you embark upon a specific strategy to work with it.
(Speaking of which, would anyone be interested in a post about what to do if your writing has super niche appeal?)
Anyway, unrealistic customers at this stage usually means that your brand is likely not specific or clear enough. Go back and do more research. Hit that thesaurus again. Look at books similar to yours and see what words they use. Repeat step 1 and then take another crack at step 2. I think it will be enlightening.
Question 2 is not simple. If you strongly feel your sample customer is right, but feel that they aren't what you want, then you have new soul searching to do. Who are you writing for? Why are you writing what you are writing? I can't answer these questions for you. We've just helped identify the dissonance is all.
Asking Your Target Customer QuestionsHaving made up some fictional people (ya'll are good at this right? ^_~), it's time to put them to use.
When you are putting together covers, titles, ads, posts, and more, occasionally ask yourself, "Would Stacy buy this?". Stacy being my example of course, your fictional person goes there. You don't have to do it all the time, but doing this exercise regularly will help you keep your brand's appeal on target.
Here's an excerpt from The Five Rules of a Very Successful Indie Game Creator, my fav part! (They are making a pony mobile game for tweens in this article btw)
*cough* Ahem... anyway...
This paragraph illustrates so wonderfully how this whole post today comes together. By setting down a specific brand, we are also able to identify and stay true to a vision of a customer. It provides another tool in the arsenal for vetting all those great ideas.
Now that you've jumped through all these hoops with me, thanks btw, let's get to the last part. Which is,
Step 3 - Applying the BrandOnce you have a brand and some customers, you need to find out if the following things match it,
Your book(s) contentYour book titles, covers, blurbsYour book(s) BISACsYour social media profiles and contentYour blog and website contentYour mailing list contentYour advertisementsAnything else you do publicly as that brandThis is a lot of work I'm sure. Especially if you've never done it before now. I'm hoping you find that everything already lines up with how you see your brand. Don't fret if they don't! Just make a to-do list of all the avatars, images, profile descriptions, and so on that don't match and then fix them.
What to Do When Something Doesn't Line UpSometimes you'll want to do something, a blog post, a tweet, or even a book, that isn't in line with the brand you are trying to build. Exceptions do happen. We're not robots after all and a lot of publishing is creatively driven work that can easily veer into new territory.
brand vs inviting side projectFor intentional diversion from your brand, many times you can just let people know its an exception. Saying something like, "I don't normally talk about this but" works pretty well. Just make sure the "I don't normally" part of that is true. If whatever it is you're doing becomes normal, well, you should probably re-read this post then.
For something big, like publishing a book that doesn't match your brand, you should exercise caution and have a plan. If the book is very different from your normal brand, then you should seriously consider a pen name for it. If you don't want to have another pen name, who does really, then come up with a strategy for how you will help set reader expectations.
For example, using a different artist to get a very different look and feel for the cover. Make it really stick out from your other covers so people don't just assume it's what they are used to getting.
Lastly, once you have sold some books and run a blog/website for a while you need to consider...
Step Infinity - Maintaining Your Brand
Given how long running Toy Story is now, this image is most appropriateBranding is a long game. It's like a garden, a child, or any other slow growing, nurturing metaphor you prefer.
My advice here is to gather data. Specifically, go look at who is reading your books and clicking on your ads. Run Google Analytics on your website/blog. Read your reviews and try to figure out who these people are. There's lots of clues out there if you study and pay attention. You can also just ask. Reader survey's are gaining in popularity after all.
Its important to start adding information feedback into your brand. Everything we've done up till now is purely theory work. Once the rubber hits the road, you need to check to see what actually happened versus what you thought would happen.
Rachel's Paradox series is a good example. We thought that the romantic side of that would make it a very female book. Turns out the readership is almost 50-50 male-female. The guys are like, "Well, it does have some kissing in it, but the powered armor fights are awesome!". The girls are like, "Well it has a lot of fights and powered armor, but the romance was good". I'm stereotyping here (guys can like kissing! girls can like powered armor!), but those are very close to actual quotes we've read online.
Point is, we were initially wrong about the Rachel Bach brand. This was eye opening and has prevented us from making what would have been some shameful mistakes. (No one is perfect!)
So, as you see, you need to evaluate your efforts. Ask, "a m I hitting the mark as intended?" Also, is this working to generate sales? Is this brand effective? These are big questions, without knowing your brand and gathering data on it though, you'll never know.
I've Said "Branding" Enough Today
I couldn't do this post without hitting the obvious pun at least once!One final bit, you'll notice I haven't put up Rachel's full branding documents here. There's nothing sinister or darkly secret for me to hide. It is instead the final rule. Brands are invisible themes.
That is a whole topic we probably need to write a post on, but I need to wrap up here. Invisible themes are themes you the author know, but which are never spelled out or mentioned directly to the reader. That's because, the moment they are [called out], they go from message to sermon. Same for branding and most marketing really.
Whew! Long post today!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end. I hope that you got some good, actionable tips from me today about how to design your own brand, use it, and manage it. Keep in mind, and here's the "dun dun DUN" part, if you produce something the public can see, you have a brand one way or the other.
Brand is perception. People beholding your output creates a brand. You can try to direct and control that, or you can leave it to chance. Some people are lucky enough for that to happen on its own. The rest of us are probably better off having a plan and checking it twice.
If you didn't pass my test at the top of this post, please go back and give it another try. Otherwise I hope that this post has helped send you in the right direction. If you have some branding questions for me, please feel free to put them in the comments below or hit me up on twitter @TravBach
So do you know what your brand is?-Travis
As you all know, Rachel and I just got back from RT 2016 not too long ago and we're bursting with things to share. While we were at RT, I went to probably 15 business, marketing, or industry panels in total. It was a lot!
One of the most common topics discussed was branding. Now I didn't hit every business panel, but there were easily 3 on branding alone. We hear about author branding a lot outside of the convention as well. I'm sure many of you have heard that you need to have a brand and that you need to manage it.
But what is you brand? How do you determine it? What do you do with it? Well, that's what we're going to talk about today.
How to Design Your Author BrandI want you to go get a piece of paper and something to write with. You can also just bring up notepad or your phone's note program. Whatever medium is fine. Come back when you are ready. (Also, if you have more than one pen name, just pick one for what we're about to do)
Ready? Ok great. Now write down what your [author] brand is. You have 10 seconds. GO!
Time's up.
So, first off, were you able to write down what your brand is in 10 seconds? If yes, then congratulations. No back patting yet though, you have a second test to pass.
Did you write down your brand in 6 words or less? Ah! I bet most of you did not. If you did and did in under 10 seconds, then kudos to you as you probably have a good idea of what your brand is.
If you didn't pass one or either of those tests, don't worry. Fixing this problem is what we are about to get into. I do hope that, by the end of this article, you can retake this test and pass. If not, then hopefully you'll know what you need to do so that you can come back later and pass.
Both of these tests have to do with the single most important part of branding in that...
Brands Need to Be SpecificIf you failed either of the two tests above, the very likely reasons why are either,You don't really know what your brand is yet.You are over-describing your brand and couldn't write it all down fast / concisely enough.So if you couldn't put down your brand quickly and in very few words, you need to sit and think on it. You need to strip away contradictions, muddiness, and superfluousness. To help you along with this process, let's talk about the end goal of this exercise.
What does a brand actually do? This is pretty simple really. A brand is just something that signals customers to know what to expect when they see it. This is usually instinctive on the customers' parts.
Once they've had experience with a brand, they will hopefully know in their guts what to expect from it. Ideally this is a favorable expectation that encourages them to buy your product, talk about you to their friends, and to take chances on your latest release.
To achieve these expectations, the brand needs to be something that people can understand. No one understands something like,
"To build an informative matrix of wondrous collage experiences that navigate a narrative landscape of paradigm point of views and original synergies."I might have over-killed the buzzwords here, but I hope that gives the idea of something that says a lot without saying anything at all.
Now, what about a brand like this?
"Daring, Thrilling, Romantic, Action Packed, Exotic"Does that already start your brain moving as to what those books or movies would be? Are examples already popping into your head? What if I change it to...
"Daring, Thrilling, Sexy, Action Packed, Exotic"That's a big difference isn't it? One was almost James Bond and the other might be more like James Bondage.
Now, I'm sure you noticed that I used some very genre-esque words like Romantic and Thrilling in my above samples. That was completely intentional because I need to mention that,
Genres Play a Big Role
oops... not that kind of rollWhat about the role of your genre with your brand? First, its totally okay for a genre or a sub-genre to be in your brand description. Its really handy, actually. Rachel doesn't do this, though, and one look at her books list will tell you why. A specific genre can be limiting as a branding scope.Whether or not you do this, you still need to consider this fact:
Genres and sub-genres are their own brands.This is really important, so I made it extra big. A genre is a brand already. When you think of say, Urban Fantasy, does it come along with a lot of assumptions and story flavor? Do you know, roughly, what to expect from urban fantasy? Can you describe generic urban fantasy to me? If not UF, then Fantasy? Sci-fi? Historical Romance?
For me, stock urban fantasy means,
Hidden magical world now large and in chargeDetectives, usually broke ones who are perpetually down on their luckFae, Vampires, and Werewolves.
Your definition may vary as brand is in the eye of the beholder after all. Point is, you probably have some strong opinions or feelings as to what any given genre contains/reads like, and that's brand.
Your book's genre is essentially a parent brand. A larger, less specific brand that brings in a wider audience, that you court for attention along with the others riding under that umbrella. Many people come looking for more urban fantasy but they might like your brand of UF (say dragons in Detroit?) more than others.
When considering what your brand is, consider what you are inheriting from your genre parent. Its a good idea to make sure they fit well. Now I'm not saying that you should adjust your writing to match a specific genre. Haha, we all know that Rachel certainly doesn't do that. Just be on the look out for what resonates and what doesn't. Such considerations should help guide you.
It'll Never Fit PerfectlyWhat genre is Nice Dragons Finish Last I ask you? Despite its genre blending, the book still has an Urban Fantasy voice and pacing. While it's near future and post-apocalypse (sorta), it's still contemporary enough to fit under UF, so we typically bill it as Urban Fantasy.
Case in point, the Heartstrikers series is very Shadowrun inspired. It has augmented reality, cyber-ware, and lots of action set in dense urban sprawls, all mixing with magic. We even put it under Cyberpunk as one of its BISACs.
I have to say, though, whenever I try to market it to the Cyberpunk crowd, it falls flat. This is because the Cyberpunk brand (gritty, dark, futuristic noir) and the Rachel Aaron - Heartstrikers brand (fun, dramatic, charismatic, action packed) just don't match well. On the other hand, I've had much more luck marketing Rachel Aaron - Heartstrikers to people who like The Dresden Files . So classic Urban Fantasy is a much better brand fit.
Now, what about this brand?
"Dramatic, Fun, Thoughtful, Fast Paced, Page Turner, Action, Mystery, Epic"Does anything spring to mind when you read that? This combo doesn't do anything for me, personally. Its my example of...
Muddying a Brand (As in: Don't)A muddy brand is one that is trying to do too much. It wants to be too many things to too many people. This is the #1 mistake of branding and it's a killer. No one will understand a muddy brand. Worse, customers' conflicting experiences the will teach them to mistrust your brand. Spending money on something is always taking a risk. People won't risk if they don't trust. It's the worst situation.
You don't want this
You want thisI could write an entire post about muddy or confused brands easily, but staying on target!
I'm sure you are ready to dig in, so now that you know the rules of what to look for when making your brand, let's get to it!
Step 1 - Write Down Your BrandThe first part of branding yourself is a soul search. Think about the work you have done or are doing. Try to write down 4-6 words that succinctly describe it. This might take a while and finding a good fit might be tough. Break out your dictionary and thesaurus though and set to.
Elicit help on this as well. Ask people who've read your work to throw some words at you. Part of this exercise is to incorporate how people see you. You want your brand to match your work well.
Here's an example of how this starts to come together, can you put your brand down like this?
Ad: "Hey do you like daring, thrilling, romantic, action packed, exotic books?"Now, for most authors, their name or pen name is their brand. That's what's natural for our industry. No problems if you go this route.
Person: "Yes! *clicks*"
Ad: "Great! Then you'll love She was the Paradise Spy"
(disclaimer, I have no idea if that's a real book or not)
Rachel's two names, Rachel Aaron and Rachel Bach, are two different brands. One is for the witty, and mostly P-13, Eli and Heartstrikers series. The other is 'rated R' and more romance for the Paradox series. Yes, we used movie ratings as part of the brand description. You'll see why when we get to step 2 of designing your brand.
The Goal for Step 1: you want to produce an actual document (or post it note at least) that says exactly what your brand is. I feel that documenting what your brand is important. You need something that can be used as reference. Opinions drift over time and a fixed point is extremely useful.
Bonus: Also put down some of the things your brand isn't. If you have definite lines you don't want to cross or don't feel belong in your work. For example, one of Rachel's is "No Rants". Not to say that won't or hasn't ever happened. In general though, Rachel doesn't want to be one of those angry, bitter people who yell a lot on the internet. Its neither her nor her brand.
Anyway, the reason for formally writing down your brand that is the second most important part of branding...
Consistency is the Soul of Your BrandThis is all about managing customer and potential customer expectations. Since we're talking about something that is formed from experiences and which operates on an instinctive level, consistency is key.
Brands are also about trust. Customers have to feel like they can trust your brand to deliver something that is consistent with their existing experiences with it. If I read a book and its fast and exciting, that's what I have learned your brand is. So if you publish a book that's slow and introspective, and I buy it not realizing that, I might be pretty mad that it wasn't what I wanted.
All of this has its roots in consistency. You can write down what you think your brand is every day for a year and it won't matter unless you conduct yourself such that what you wrote is the reality people get.
So please don't write down, "Sexy Dark Adventures" and then go write cozy cat mysteries. Well, you can, but you are merely deluding yourself as to what is what here.
Designing your author brand starts with identifying what it is, but is also an ongoing effort of using that document to make sure that everything you do publicly as that brand matches up to what you set down.
Here's an example of everything coming together. I took this picture at RT2016. Check out this brilliance. (More on this image in another post, one about covers)
Branding level = over 9000Ok, hopefully you've been thinking, or even better working on, your brand now. Once you have your basic document, we need to do another thought exercise to finish designing your brand.Step 2 - Know your CustomerWe've posted about this before, but now its time to hit it from the branding angle. I have but one question for you, "Who is your brand's customer?".
Can you describe to me one person, not a group, just one realistic person who would be a likely customer of your brand? (darn, that was two questions wasn't it? now three! ack!!)
Most people I've seen do this will invent a customer (that link is awesome BTW check it out!). Let's use our sample brand again.
"Daring, Thrilling, Romantic, Action Packed, Exotic"This is all IMO, but this brand's customer is Stacy. In my mind, Stacy is a college graduate who works an office job of some kind. She's probably in her 20's or 30's and drives a pretty long way to work. She dreams of travel and struggles with work/life balance. She's in a relationship, but maybe not married. I don't think she has kids yet.
I immediately feel like Stacy probably uses audio books more than ebooks. Her commute likely takes away a lot of her reading time. So having an audio format is important for reaching her as a customer.
(Sorry if your name is Stacy and this doesn't match you haha)
Now, don't feel like you have to have only one customer. Make up more if you want.
ok.. maybe this is too many...I'm sure that, for most authors, the most likely customer is, well, yourself. That's certainly true of Rachel and it's true of many authors I've met as well. She is the target customer of her brand. Fortunately, 30 something educated white ladies buy and read a lot of books. They aren't the only demographic reading her books though, not by a majority even.
Its completely OK to be your own target customer. Most all authors fall into this category. That's great, that means you are writing true to yourself and not bending your creativity over backwards chasing something you don't care about; like the latest trend. (post about this here)
What's important about this exercise isn't to create demographics for marketing targeting either, though that is good to do, its to answer two questions,
Is this customer realistic?Is this the customer you want to court?Question 1 is pretty simple. If the fictional people your brand appeals too are completely unrealistic, then you probably have an issue with the appeal power of that brand. You might just appeal to very niche tastes (like occult romantic horror), which is fine and knowing that can help you embark upon a specific strategy to work with it.
(Speaking of which, would anyone be interested in a post about what to do if your writing has super niche appeal?)
Anyway, unrealistic customers at this stage usually means that your brand is likely not specific or clear enough. Go back and do more research. Hit that thesaurus again. Look at books similar to yours and see what words they use. Repeat step 1 and then take another crack at step 2. I think it will be enlightening.
Question 2 is not simple. If you strongly feel your sample customer is right, but feel that they aren't what you want, then you have new soul searching to do. Who are you writing for? Why are you writing what you are writing? I can't answer these questions for you. We've just helped identify the dissonance is all.
Asking Your Target Customer QuestionsHaving made up some fictional people (ya'll are good at this right? ^_~), it's time to put them to use.
When you are putting together covers, titles, ads, posts, and more, occasionally ask yourself, "Would Stacy buy this?". Stacy being my example of course, your fictional person goes there. You don't have to do it all the time, but doing this exercise regularly will help you keep your brand's appeal on target.
Here's an excerpt from The Five Rules of a Very Successful Indie Game Creator, my fav part! (They are making a pony mobile game for tweens in this article btw)
“This is Amanda. Meet Amanda.(I am perpetually amused at the idea of a bunch of gamer guys trying to put complex skill trees and armor crafting systems into a tamagotchi pony game for young girls. LOL. My kingdom of an image for this LMAO)
“Amanda doesn’t care about embedded skill trees. She cares about her Pony and she wants to feed it sugar and pat it every day.”
From that moment onward if there was ever a difficult decision to be made — about design, art, direction, anything — Matt would just point to that picture stuck on the wall.
Does Amanda want upgradeable horse armour for her pony? No. No she doesn’t."
*cough* Ahem... anyway...
This paragraph illustrates so wonderfully how this whole post today comes together. By setting down a specific brand, we are also able to identify and stay true to a vision of a customer. It provides another tool in the arsenal for vetting all those great ideas.
Now that you've jumped through all these hoops with me, thanks btw, let's get to the last part. Which is,
Step 3 - Applying the BrandOnce you have a brand and some customers, you need to find out if the following things match it,
Your book(s) contentYour book titles, covers, blurbsYour book(s) BISACsYour social media profiles and contentYour blog and website contentYour mailing list contentYour advertisementsAnything else you do publicly as that brandThis is a lot of work I'm sure. Especially if you've never done it before now. I'm hoping you find that everything already lines up with how you see your brand. Don't fret if they don't! Just make a to-do list of all the avatars, images, profile descriptions, and so on that don't match and then fix them.
Don't worry about a few mistakes and don't worry about past mistakes. Look forward! Brands are living things in many ways. They can be hurt, they can die, but they can also heal and flourish.Anyway, as you work and publish and market, come back to your brand document frequently and ask yourself, "does this match my brand? does this appeal to my customers?". I don't think you'll regret it.
What to Do When Something Doesn't Line UpSometimes you'll want to do something, a blog post, a tweet, or even a book, that isn't in line with the brand you are trying to build. Exceptions do happen. We're not robots after all and a lot of publishing is creatively driven work that can easily veer into new territory.
brand vs inviting side projectFor intentional diversion from your brand, many times you can just let people know its an exception. Saying something like, "I don't normally talk about this but" works pretty well. Just make sure the "I don't normally" part of that is true. If whatever it is you're doing becomes normal, well, you should probably re-read this post then.For something big, like publishing a book that doesn't match your brand, you should exercise caution and have a plan. If the book is very different from your normal brand, then you should seriously consider a pen name for it. If you don't want to have another pen name, who does really, then come up with a strategy for how you will help set reader expectations.
For example, using a different artist to get a very different look and feel for the cover. Make it really stick out from your other covers so people don't just assume it's what they are used to getting.
Lastly, once you have sold some books and run a blog/website for a while you need to consider...
Step Infinity - Maintaining Your Brand
Given how long running Toy Story is now, this image is most appropriateBranding is a long game. It's like a garden, a child, or any other slow growing, nurturing metaphor you prefer.My advice here is to gather data. Specifically, go look at who is reading your books and clicking on your ads. Run Google Analytics on your website/blog. Read your reviews and try to figure out who these people are. There's lots of clues out there if you study and pay attention. You can also just ask. Reader survey's are gaining in popularity after all.
Its important to start adding information feedback into your brand. Everything we've done up till now is purely theory work. Once the rubber hits the road, you need to check to see what actually happened versus what you thought would happen.
Rachel's Paradox series is a good example. We thought that the romantic side of that would make it a very female book. Turns out the readership is almost 50-50 male-female. The guys are like, "Well, it does have some kissing in it, but the powered armor fights are awesome!". The girls are like, "Well it has a lot of fights and powered armor, but the romance was good". I'm stereotyping here (guys can like kissing! girls can like powered armor!), but those are very close to actual quotes we've read online.
Point is, we were initially wrong about the Rachel Bach brand. This was eye opening and has prevented us from making what would have been some shameful mistakes. (No one is perfect!)
So, as you see, you need to evaluate your efforts. Ask, "a m I hitting the mark as intended?" Also, is this working to generate sales? Is this brand effective? These are big questions, without knowing your brand and gathering data on it though, you'll never know.
I've Said "Branding" Enough Today
I couldn't do this post without hitting the obvious pun at least once!One final bit, you'll notice I haven't put up Rachel's full branding documents here. There's nothing sinister or darkly secret for me to hide. It is instead the final rule. Brands are invisible themes. That is a whole topic we probably need to write a post on, but I need to wrap up here. Invisible themes are themes you the author know, but which are never spelled out or mentioned directly to the reader. That's because, the moment they are [called out], they go from message to sermon. Same for branding and most marketing really.
Whew! Long post today!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end. I hope that you got some good, actionable tips from me today about how to design your own brand, use it, and manage it. Keep in mind, and here's the "dun dun DUN" part, if you produce something the public can see, you have a brand one way or the other.
Brand is perception. People beholding your output creates a brand. You can try to direct and control that, or you can leave it to chance. Some people are lucky enough for that to happen on its own. The rest of us are probably better off having a plan and checking it twice.
If you didn't pass my test at the top of this post, please go back and give it another try. Otherwise I hope that this post has helped send you in the right direction. If you have some branding questions for me, please feel free to put them in the comments below or hit me up on twitter @TravBach
So do you know what your brand is?-Travis
April 20, 2016
Writing Wednesday: GMC - A Stupidly Simple System for Great Character Creation
As I promised yesterday, I am back with the first of the many many new writing tricks I picked up at RT 2016!
One of the things I love most about writing is that no matter how much you know or how experienced you are, there is always something new and awesome to learn. This year, the piece of writing advice that I put to immediate use was Linnea Sinclair's GMC character creation method. Now I'm not sure if Linnea actually invented this, but she's the first person I'd heard it from, so I'm going to give her credit because she's awesome and a super smart writer. Totally go check out her stuff if you like action packed romantic SF (like my Devi books!)
So what is GMC? Let's find out!
Writing Wednesday: GMC - A Stupidly Simple System for Great Character Creation
Historically, my character creation process has happened in one of two ways: either a character came into my head fully formed and I just jotted down details (this is often how my main characters begin), or I created a character specifically to fill a need in the story (everyone else). For example, when I wrote my Paradox series, Devi was a character I'd had fully formed in my head for a long time. She just walked into my brain one day and was like "Get in, loser. We're writing a book." Eli was exactly the same, though far nicer about it.
Point is, I've never had to think very much about my characters because, for me, they just happen. I always make sure to get down the basics like what they want out of life, their histories, what they look like, etc. When it comes to their personalities, though, I usually just know.
Serendipitous as that might sound, this has actually been a huge weakness for me as an author. Because my characters come to me from the void of creation largely intact, I've never needed to make any kind of system to keep them in line, which means when things do go wrong with my characters, they go catastrophically wrong, and I have no idea how to fix them.
This is a problem I've been pecking at for a long time as a writer, but while I love granular systems in all other aspects of my writing (see how I plot or how I edit for examples of the too organized author in action), I've shied away from doing the same for characters because I didn't have a system of my own, and none of the ones I found ever felt right.
And then I discovered GMC, or Goal, Motivation, Conflict.
Like all really good writing tools, the GMC system is extremely simple on the surface, but has endless layers of depth. All you do to start is ask your potential character 3 questions:
What do you want? (Goal)Why do you want it? (Motivation)What's stopping you? (Conflict)
That's it. Answer those three questions and you will know everything you need to know about why this character is in this story and how they're going to react to the other characters around them.
Like all really good ideas, this one was so simple, but the moment I heard it, I immediately started using it on Heartstrikers 3, and I found so many problems. Keep in mind, these are characters I've been working with for years. I should know them inside out. But one of the big mistakes I've been making as a writer is confounding Goals and Motivation, and my favorite part about GMC is that it forces you to separate what a character wants from why they want it.
These are ABSOLUTELY not the same thing. To illustrate the importance of this difference, Let's take one of the most motivated characters ever, Monkey D Luffy from One Piece.
For those of you not familiar with this amazing show, Luffy is the main character who is absolutely defined by his desire to be the Pirate King. That's actually his catch phrase, "I'll be the Pirate King!" Every arc in the series, every wacky adventure is fueled by Luffy's Unstoppable Force to become the Pirate King.
Now, last week, if you'd asked me "What is Luffy's motivation as a character?" I would have told you that "To be the Pirate King," and I would have been wrong. Becoming the Pirate King is what Luffy wants. It's his goal, the star he's aiming for. His motivation, the why he wants to be the Pirate King, is far more complex, and now that I can see the difference, I love it.
This combination of simple goal and complex motivation is story gold, and it's one of the reasons One Piece works so well. We instantly know what the character wants because he shouts it in the opening, but why of it, the reason Monkey D. Luffy fights so hard, is incredibly deep and complex and ties into the themes of friendship, the innate nobility of reckless daring, and the importance of doing the right thing that the show as a whole revolves around. If Luffy's motivation really was to become the Pirate King, he'd be a literal one note character, but as millions of fans around the world will go on forever about, he is so so much more, and that depth is entirely due to the complex motivations behind his character. The why.
Realizing this blew my mind in the best way. For so many years, I'd been jamming my character's goals and motivations together. I would just ask my character "what do you want?" and treat the why as part of that, never realizing I was putting the cart before the horse. The goal is where the character is running, but motivation is why they run and fight and put their lives on the line, It's the soul of what any character is doing in a story and the key to knowing how they'll act in the face of conflict. It's not something you can brush over, in other words, and the fact that I've gotten this far conflating these two vitally important aspects just shows how instinctive good characters are.
I've gotten this far by trusting my gut and treating my characters as people, but like any blind trust, there are pitfalls, especially with minor characters I might not know as well as my main cast. This is where the true glory of the GMC sheet comes out, though, because you can do one for every character, big or small, named or unnamed, and instantly get a guide for how that character works within your story.
For example, let's say your characters stop at an inn late at night and have to face a grumpy innkeeper. The GMC for this innkeeper would go like this:
Goal: Get these questionable people to leave.
Motivation: Because I want to go to sleep.
Conflict: They won't leave.
Just like that. In three lines, you know everything you need to know about this character. You can probably already see in your head a grumpy innkeeper desperately trying to get these bothersome, probably broke adventures out of his inn so he can go to sleep.
How this actually goes down will depend on your other characters and the plot situation, but that innkeeper is good. He doesn't even need a name. All we need is that GMC and he's ready to play his part. This is the beauty of the GMC system: it can be as complex or as simple as you need it to be, but so long you take the time to figure it out, you'll have everything you need to tell you how a character will act in any given situation according to their goals and motives. But the other really great trick to this system is that it builds in delicious, wonderful conflict by default.
Conflict is what makes stories interesting. It is the story. If everyone got what they wanted at the beginning, they'd have no reason to go on an adventure and there'd be no plot. The GMC system keeps this in mind by assigning every character conflict, no matter how minor. If the innkeeper just said "come on in" there'd be no scene. But if he wants your characters to leave, that's a scene. There's conflict, there's negotiation. Your character's goal for the scene (to spend the night somewhere not outside) which stems from their motivation (they're being chased, they grew up as a prince and hate sleeping on grass, whatever fits your story) runs counter to the innkeeper's goal (to get them to leave) and motivation (because he wants to go to sleep).
As you see, there's nothing really complex going on here. This is a simple conflict, and that's okay. Not every conflict has to be life or death. At the same time, though, there has to be some level of disagreement for the story to be interesting. A plot where everyone says yes to your characters is a plot where nothing happens. By building conflict into every character right from the start, though, you're guaranteeing yourself an interesting story. There's simply nothing else it can be with that much conflict waiting to spark.
So if you've been struggling with character creation, or you just want to try something new, I highly recommend making a GMC sheet for your characters. Even if you're like me, and you already know your characters inside and out, just getting the basics down can still be incredibly eye opening. Just speaking for myself, I ended up completely redoing parts of Chelsie's backstory because I was mistakenly treating her goal as her motivation. Just by implementing this simple fix, Chelsie's part of the Heartstriker story is infinitely more interesting, moving, and heartbreaking. I am thanking my lucky stars I discovered GMC before I published this book, because I would have missed an incredible opportunity to make one of my favorite characters even better.
I hope this system blows your mind as much as it did mine! Stuff like this just goes to show how important continuing education is for writers. I've written 13 novels (20 if you count the ones I never published or can't talk about), and I'm STILL discovering new fundamentals for my writing. We're never too experienced to learn a new trick, and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
I'll be back next week with more writing gems from RT, starting with what I learned about Romance plot lines and how they're fundamentally different from other forms of fiction. Also, I've convinced Travis to do posts about the amazing author business panels he attended since 1) he was the one who was actually there while I was at the craft panels, and 2) there's no way I can write all of these blog posts myself! So look out for that next week as well.
As you can see, we've got lots of good stuff in the pipe! If there's a subject you'd particularly like me or Trav to talk about, please let us know in the comments below, and if you're not already, don't forget to follow me on social media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to never miss a post. I post new craft posts every Wednesday and writing business stuff in between plus updates on my own books, so be sure to check back!
Thank you as always for reading. I really hope these tips help you as much as they've helped me. I'll see you all next Wednesday for another post. Until then, keep writing!
Yours,
Rachel
One of the things I love most about writing is that no matter how much you know or how experienced you are, there is always something new and awesome to learn. This year, the piece of writing advice that I put to immediate use was Linnea Sinclair's GMC character creation method. Now I'm not sure if Linnea actually invented this, but she's the first person I'd heard it from, so I'm going to give her credit because she's awesome and a super smart writer. Totally go check out her stuff if you like action packed romantic SF (like my Devi books!)
So what is GMC? Let's find out!
Writing Wednesday: GMC - A Stupidly Simple System for Great Character Creation
Historically, my character creation process has happened in one of two ways: either a character came into my head fully formed and I just jotted down details (this is often how my main characters begin), or I created a character specifically to fill a need in the story (everyone else). For example, when I wrote my Paradox series, Devi was a character I'd had fully formed in my head for a long time. She just walked into my brain one day and was like "Get in, loser. We're writing a book." Eli was exactly the same, though far nicer about it.
Point is, I've never had to think very much about my characters because, for me, they just happen. I always make sure to get down the basics like what they want out of life, their histories, what they look like, etc. When it comes to their personalities, though, I usually just know.
Serendipitous as that might sound, this has actually been a huge weakness for me as an author. Because my characters come to me from the void of creation largely intact, I've never needed to make any kind of system to keep them in line, which means when things do go wrong with my characters, they go catastrophically wrong, and I have no idea how to fix them.
This is a problem I've been pecking at for a long time as a writer, but while I love granular systems in all other aspects of my writing (see how I plot or how I edit for examples of the too organized author in action), I've shied away from doing the same for characters because I didn't have a system of my own, and none of the ones I found ever felt right.
And then I discovered GMC, or Goal, Motivation, Conflict.
Like all really good writing tools, the GMC system is extremely simple on the surface, but has endless layers of depth. All you do to start is ask your potential character 3 questions:
What do you want? (Goal)Why do you want it? (Motivation)What's stopping you? (Conflict)
That's it. Answer those three questions and you will know everything you need to know about why this character is in this story and how they're going to react to the other characters around them.
Like all really good ideas, this one was so simple, but the moment I heard it, I immediately started using it on Heartstrikers 3, and I found so many problems. Keep in mind, these are characters I've been working with for years. I should know them inside out. But one of the big mistakes I've been making as a writer is confounding Goals and Motivation, and my favorite part about GMC is that it forces you to separate what a character wants from why they want it.
These are ABSOLUTELY not the same thing. To illustrate the importance of this difference, Let's take one of the most motivated characters ever, Monkey D Luffy from One Piece.
For those of you not familiar with this amazing show, Luffy is the main character who is absolutely defined by his desire to be the Pirate King. That's actually his catch phrase, "I'll be the Pirate King!" Every arc in the series, every wacky adventure is fueled by Luffy's Unstoppable Force to become the Pirate King.
Now, last week, if you'd asked me "What is Luffy's motivation as a character?" I would have told you that "To be the Pirate King," and I would have been wrong. Becoming the Pirate King is what Luffy wants. It's his goal, the star he's aiming for. His motivation, the why he wants to be the Pirate King, is far more complex, and now that I can see the difference, I love it.
This combination of simple goal and complex motivation is story gold, and it's one of the reasons One Piece works so well. We instantly know what the character wants because he shouts it in the opening, but why of it, the reason Monkey D. Luffy fights so hard, is incredibly deep and complex and ties into the themes of friendship, the innate nobility of reckless daring, and the importance of doing the right thing that the show as a whole revolves around. If Luffy's motivation really was to become the Pirate King, he'd be a literal one note character, but as millions of fans around the world will go on forever about, he is so so much more, and that depth is entirely due to the complex motivations behind his character. The why.
Realizing this blew my mind in the best way. For so many years, I'd been jamming my character's goals and motivations together. I would just ask my character "what do you want?" and treat the why as part of that, never realizing I was putting the cart before the horse. The goal is where the character is running, but motivation is why they run and fight and put their lives on the line, It's the soul of what any character is doing in a story and the key to knowing how they'll act in the face of conflict. It's not something you can brush over, in other words, and the fact that I've gotten this far conflating these two vitally important aspects just shows how instinctive good characters are.
I've gotten this far by trusting my gut and treating my characters as people, but like any blind trust, there are pitfalls, especially with minor characters I might not know as well as my main cast. This is where the true glory of the GMC sheet comes out, though, because you can do one for every character, big or small, named or unnamed, and instantly get a guide for how that character works within your story.
For example, let's say your characters stop at an inn late at night and have to face a grumpy innkeeper. The GMC for this innkeeper would go like this:
Goal: Get these questionable people to leave.
Motivation: Because I want to go to sleep.
Conflict: They won't leave.
Just like that. In three lines, you know everything you need to know about this character. You can probably already see in your head a grumpy innkeeper desperately trying to get these bothersome, probably broke adventures out of his inn so he can go to sleep.
How this actually goes down will depend on your other characters and the plot situation, but that innkeeper is good. He doesn't even need a name. All we need is that GMC and he's ready to play his part. This is the beauty of the GMC system: it can be as complex or as simple as you need it to be, but so long you take the time to figure it out, you'll have everything you need to tell you how a character will act in any given situation according to their goals and motives. But the other really great trick to this system is that it builds in delicious, wonderful conflict by default.
Conflict is what makes stories interesting. It is the story. If everyone got what they wanted at the beginning, they'd have no reason to go on an adventure and there'd be no plot. The GMC system keeps this in mind by assigning every character conflict, no matter how minor. If the innkeeper just said "come on in" there'd be no scene. But if he wants your characters to leave, that's a scene. There's conflict, there's negotiation. Your character's goal for the scene (to spend the night somewhere not outside) which stems from their motivation (they're being chased, they grew up as a prince and hate sleeping on grass, whatever fits your story) runs counter to the innkeeper's goal (to get them to leave) and motivation (because he wants to go to sleep).
As you see, there's nothing really complex going on here. This is a simple conflict, and that's okay. Not every conflict has to be life or death. At the same time, though, there has to be some level of disagreement for the story to be interesting. A plot where everyone says yes to your characters is a plot where nothing happens. By building conflict into every character right from the start, though, you're guaranteeing yourself an interesting story. There's simply nothing else it can be with that much conflict waiting to spark.
So if you've been struggling with character creation, or you just want to try something new, I highly recommend making a GMC sheet for your characters. Even if you're like me, and you already know your characters inside and out, just getting the basics down can still be incredibly eye opening. Just speaking for myself, I ended up completely redoing parts of Chelsie's backstory because I was mistakenly treating her goal as her motivation. Just by implementing this simple fix, Chelsie's part of the Heartstriker story is infinitely more interesting, moving, and heartbreaking. I am thanking my lucky stars I discovered GMC before I published this book, because I would have missed an incredible opportunity to make one of my favorite characters even better.
I hope this system blows your mind as much as it did mine! Stuff like this just goes to show how important continuing education is for writers. I've written 13 novels (20 if you count the ones I never published or can't talk about), and I'm STILL discovering new fundamentals for my writing. We're never too experienced to learn a new trick, and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
I'll be back next week with more writing gems from RT, starting with what I learned about Romance plot lines and how they're fundamentally different from other forms of fiction. Also, I've convinced Travis to do posts about the amazing author business panels he attended since 1) he was the one who was actually there while I was at the craft panels, and 2) there's no way I can write all of these blog posts myself! So look out for that next week as well.
As you can see, we've got lots of good stuff in the pipe! If there's a subject you'd particularly like me or Trav to talk about, please let us know in the comments below, and if you're not already, don't forget to follow me on social media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to never miss a post. I post new craft posts every Wednesday and writing business stuff in between plus updates on my own books, so be sure to check back!
Thank you as always for reading. I really hope these tips help you as much as they've helped me. I'll see you all next Wednesday for another post. Until then, keep writing!
Yours,
Rachel
April 19, 2016
RT 2016: Winning an RT Award and What We Learned from the Inside of Publishing!
On the extremely off chance you missed the twitter spam/squeeing that could be heard from space, I spent the last week in Las Vegas for the 2016 Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention! I went last year, too, and had an absolute ball, but this year was a bit more special...
Yes, that is my name on a major industry award. For a self-published book!
It's hard for me to articulate how much this means to me. When I first decided to self-publish, a chance at an industry award was one of the things I thought I was giving up. In my experience, self-published authors just didn't win major awards, and I didn't see that changing any time soon.
But change is the only constant in publishing, and the Romance community (which is what the RT awards honors) has always been ahead of the curve. I was one of many self-published authors receiving an award that night on the same stage as huge best-sellers like Eloisa James and Julia Quinn as well as big Fantasy names like Kate Elliot. It was a celebration of good fiction, regardless of source, and I was absolutely over the moon to be a part of it!
But amazing as getting my award was (preciousssssss), RT was so so SO much more than just the awards. I blogged about this before after last year's con, but I'll say it again: no matter what genre you write, Romantic Times is one of the best writing industry cons around. The entire week was jam packed with panels of the best authors, editors, and book industry people in the world from both trad and self publishing talking about writing, publishing, distribution, marketing, and what's coming next for our industry. It was utterly amazing!!
There was so much good stuff, I took Travis with me this year just so we could split up and hit more panels. Good thing, too. Even with two of us, there was almost more to see than we could handle! And that's not even counting all the meeting up, drinking, and general hanging out with amazingly awesome authors and book industry people we squeezed in around the edges.
So what's our take away from all of this? Well, here is a very brief taste of our take aways from RT 2016:
(Note: Any of these could be a blog post in itself. I'm not kidding when I said we learned a lot! Travis and I have pages of notes from every panel we went to, so if you see anything in the list below that you want more on, just let us know in the comments and we'll write an expanded post on the topic with more details.)
1) Publishing is changing again, and it's getting more awesomeThe wave of indie publishing change continues to sweep through publishing. In Romance at least, indie authors are no longer the outliers, but a large, healthy, and respected force of the publishing landscape.
That respect was really evident this year not just in the number of extremely successful indie authors who were heading panels, but in the massive amount of refined services that have sprung up to help indies get the word out about their books. We got to talk to the folks from Book Bub, KDP, Inscribe Digital, and Smashwords just to name the big ones, but the real stand out was Kobo.
When I used Kobo before, it was just a scrappy little Amazon competitor. Now, though, it's grown enormously, especially in the international market. Also, publishing through Kobo gets your books into Overdrive, which makes them available to libraries.
This is a huge deal! The library customer is one that indie authors have never been able to reach. Now, Kobo, Ingram, and other distributors are all rolling out programs to let self-published authors reach not only libraries, but bookstores and other historically closed off markets as well. We actually have a ton of information on this both from the companies themselves and from the amazing Librarians and Booksellers panel where we got specific details on how to get indie books into bookstores and libraries, so look for more on this in the future.
But it wasn't just all indie books! Publishing is also changing for the traditional author in a very good way. There were several editors from major houses at the convention, and all of them were actively looking to acquire books. One even mentioned that the quality of author pitches overall has gone way up since so many authors now self-publish first, meaning the books they receive are often second or third books, and therefore more polished. Which brings us to our next point:
2) The line between Trad and Indie is blurringWhat interested me most about this is that there seems to be an ecosystem emerging where authors move freely back and forth between trad and self publishing depending on their individual goals. The usual stigma of self publishing was almost completely non-existent at this convention. Many big name, trad published authors were there to promo their new indie titles, and NYT best sellers Nalini Singh and Cherry Adair both won RT awards for their self-published work.
At the same time, editors and publishers seemed to be actively looking to acquire indies. The days of the "don't self publish your first novel! You'll use up your first publication rights and no one will want you!" advice that used to be on every agent website are long gone. These days, at least in Romance, self pub first seems to be, if not the norm, definitely not a mark against you.
I'm not sure if other genres are quite this welcoming yet, but change is definitely coming. With its high volume and loyal readers, Romance has always been at the cutting edge of publishing. What we see here is what will be everywhere in 5 years, and that gives me a lot of hope.
Also on this topic, the quality of indie offerings has gone up enormously. Readers have caught up even faster than publishing, and, as one panel said, they are the new gate keepers. Gone are the days when indies could put out crap and still sell on price alone. These days, indie books have to both look professional and be legitimately good to win audience. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, the tools and knowledge available to self published authors for covers, branding, and editing are better and cheaper than ever. I actually have a huge post on this planned, so stay tuned for more!
3) Craft is still kingBranching off what I mentioned above, novel quality is more important than ever. There are more books for sale than ever, which means our books have to be really solid contenders to stand out in the crowded marketplace. But this is good!! We should be focusing on writing better books. A crowded market place means everyone's bringing their A game, resulting in better books and a healthier publishing industry for everyone.
But this also means no author is safe to rest on their laurels. One of my big goals for RT was to hit as many craft panels as possible and learn everything I could about how to write better heroes and love stories, and I was not disappointed! I've got so much awesome from some of the best writers in Romance I can't even begin to share it all here, but rest assured that there will be LOTs of craft posts full of awesome coming up, starting with an amazing character creation trick I picked up from Linnea Sinclair for tomorrow's Writing Wednesday!
4) Upcoming trends in publishingFinally, it would be impossible to talk about what we learned from RT without touching on trends. Seriously, there were more panels on trends and what was coming next than any other single subject. It was all anyone wanted to talk about!
Personal disclaimer here: I don't believe in chasing trends. Trying to catch a trend is like trying to catch a falling knife, there's just no way to it safely. Either you end up with a rushed book you don't actually care about, or you're too late and the trend is already gone, leaving your previously on-trend novel struggling for air in a now overcrowded market.
I actually just wrote an entire post about this exact topic, but my TL;DR opinion is that you should write the books you love and trust them to find a market. The best place to be in a trend is the book that starts it, and you only get there if you're writing original, creative stories YOU love, not ones you picked because that was what was hot.
That said, just because I don't chase trends doesn't mean I want to be ignorant of them. It's always useful to know what's selling if only so you know how to position your not-trendy book in the market For example, when Grim Dark fantasy was in, I marketed my Eli books as a cheerful alternative. Tired of everything being depressing? Come read a charming thief by an author who won't kill every character you love!
So as you see, knowing what's popular is useful for a lot more than just trying to write on trend. And on that note, here's a list of what editors and marketers said was in and out at RT 2016.We've hit peak dark and broody. Dark, sexy contemporary has been hot for a long time, but it's finally slacking off. Not to say it won't sell, just that the market has hit saturation and readers are looking for somewhere new to get their dark, aggressive, suffering alpha fix.Paranormal/Urban Fantasy is falling off in publishing, but readers still want it. The number of Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy titles is falling both from trad and indie publishers, but going by the data from readers searches on RT magazine's website, readers are just as hungry for it as ever. This has led to a gap in book supply and reader demand that a savvy author with a brilliant and creative new take on the UF/Paranormal tropes could swing into and hit big. (Rachel rubs her hands together)Dragons are about to be big! But we knew that, didn't we? Also, (speaking from strictly Romance) vampires still sell, but you have to be really creative. Shifters are still huge, but ghosts and physics don't sell, at least according to Harlequin, Carina Press, and Avon. Wizards and other magical peeps seem to be on the rise in the next year as well, so if you're writing about modern wizards, you should be in luck!New Adult is having growing pains. Though it took off hot, book stores don't seem to know what to do with New Adult (books for readers between 19 and 25, too old for YA but not quite ready to hit adult fiction). This is especially true since most NA titles tend to be very sexy, but still feature main characters that are too young (read, 19-20) for many adult readers. Since the genre is so new, though, most bookstores don't have a place to shelve it, and even Amazon is having trouble categorizing it correctly. This means if you're an author with a New Adult book and you want to market it as such, you're going to have to straddle other genres to help readers find it. That said, NA is still very popular with readers (especially with YA readers who've grown up and want the same stories, but sexier), and is totally a market worth hitting.Print books are still big. There is still a huge market for print books and no one should ignore it. More on this when we do our post about distribution and getting indie books into bookstores.Finally, audio books are where it's at! This is less of a trend and more of a fact, but audio books have been growing explosively over the last few years. Audible has been doubling its readership pretty much every year, and audio books represent an enormous untapped market. I know that just for myself, audio has been an amazing market, but I didn't realize just how big it was. If you've got books out, and they're not in audio, you need to get them there pronto either through your publisher, an audio book production company, or on your own through ACX. This was such a big deal that we're going to do a whole post on it, but for now, if you're not already thinking audio, you definitely need to take a look. Also, if you're signing a trad contract, make sure you're getting a good rate on audio. It's not a niche market anymore!Again, this con wrap up is just the barest ripple of the top of the iceberg of everything we learned!! We got so much good stuff, you're going to be hearing about it for months. I really can't stress how amazing it was to get to talk shop with so many people from so many areas of the writing world--writers, publishers, readers, bloggers, reviewers, editors, they were all here!!
Again, if you saw anything above you specifically want to know more about, let us know in the comments below! For now, I think Chelsie is standing behind me, which means I have to get back to writing. o_o
Thank you all for reading, and I really hope you'll enjoy all the great stuff we've got coming your way! And as always, don't forget to follow me on Social Media to never miss a post! (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+)
More to come starting tomorrow. For now, though, happy writing!!
Yours as always, Rachel Aaron
Yes, that is my name on a major industry award. For a self-published book!
It's hard for me to articulate how much this means to me. When I first decided to self-publish, a chance at an industry award was one of the things I thought I was giving up. In my experience, self-published authors just didn't win major awards, and I didn't see that changing any time soon.
But change is the only constant in publishing, and the Romance community (which is what the RT awards honors) has always been ahead of the curve. I was one of many self-published authors receiving an award that night on the same stage as huge best-sellers like Eloisa James and Julia Quinn as well as big Fantasy names like Kate Elliot. It was a celebration of good fiction, regardless of source, and I was absolutely over the moon to be a part of it!
But amazing as getting my award was (preciousssssss), RT was so so SO much more than just the awards. I blogged about this before after last year's con, but I'll say it again: no matter what genre you write, Romantic Times is one of the best writing industry cons around. The entire week was jam packed with panels of the best authors, editors, and book industry people in the world from both trad and self publishing talking about writing, publishing, distribution, marketing, and what's coming next for our industry. It was utterly amazing!!
There was so much good stuff, I took Travis with me this year just so we could split up and hit more panels. Good thing, too. Even with two of us, there was almost more to see than we could handle! And that's not even counting all the meeting up, drinking, and general hanging out with amazingly awesome authors and book industry people we squeezed in around the edges.
So what's our take away from all of this? Well, here is a very brief taste of our take aways from RT 2016:
(Note: Any of these could be a blog post in itself. I'm not kidding when I said we learned a lot! Travis and I have pages of notes from every panel we went to, so if you see anything in the list below that you want more on, just let us know in the comments and we'll write an expanded post on the topic with more details.)
1) Publishing is changing again, and it's getting more awesomeThe wave of indie publishing change continues to sweep through publishing. In Romance at least, indie authors are no longer the outliers, but a large, healthy, and respected force of the publishing landscape.
That respect was really evident this year not just in the number of extremely successful indie authors who were heading panels, but in the massive amount of refined services that have sprung up to help indies get the word out about their books. We got to talk to the folks from Book Bub, KDP, Inscribe Digital, and Smashwords just to name the big ones, but the real stand out was Kobo.
When I used Kobo before, it was just a scrappy little Amazon competitor. Now, though, it's grown enormously, especially in the international market. Also, publishing through Kobo gets your books into Overdrive, which makes them available to libraries.
This is a huge deal! The library customer is one that indie authors have never been able to reach. Now, Kobo, Ingram, and other distributors are all rolling out programs to let self-published authors reach not only libraries, but bookstores and other historically closed off markets as well. We actually have a ton of information on this both from the companies themselves and from the amazing Librarians and Booksellers panel where we got specific details on how to get indie books into bookstores and libraries, so look for more on this in the future.
But it wasn't just all indie books! Publishing is also changing for the traditional author in a very good way. There were several editors from major houses at the convention, and all of them were actively looking to acquire books. One even mentioned that the quality of author pitches overall has gone way up since so many authors now self-publish first, meaning the books they receive are often second or third books, and therefore more polished. Which brings us to our next point:
2) The line between Trad and Indie is blurringWhat interested me most about this is that there seems to be an ecosystem emerging where authors move freely back and forth between trad and self publishing depending on their individual goals. The usual stigma of self publishing was almost completely non-existent at this convention. Many big name, trad published authors were there to promo their new indie titles, and NYT best sellers Nalini Singh and Cherry Adair both won RT awards for their self-published work.
At the same time, editors and publishers seemed to be actively looking to acquire indies. The days of the "don't self publish your first novel! You'll use up your first publication rights and no one will want you!" advice that used to be on every agent website are long gone. These days, at least in Romance, self pub first seems to be, if not the norm, definitely not a mark against you.
I'm not sure if other genres are quite this welcoming yet, but change is definitely coming. With its high volume and loyal readers, Romance has always been at the cutting edge of publishing. What we see here is what will be everywhere in 5 years, and that gives me a lot of hope.
Also on this topic, the quality of indie offerings has gone up enormously. Readers have caught up even faster than publishing, and, as one panel said, they are the new gate keepers. Gone are the days when indies could put out crap and still sell on price alone. These days, indie books have to both look professional and be legitimately good to win audience. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, the tools and knowledge available to self published authors for covers, branding, and editing are better and cheaper than ever. I actually have a huge post on this planned, so stay tuned for more!
3) Craft is still kingBranching off what I mentioned above, novel quality is more important than ever. There are more books for sale than ever, which means our books have to be really solid contenders to stand out in the crowded marketplace. But this is good!! We should be focusing on writing better books. A crowded market place means everyone's bringing their A game, resulting in better books and a healthier publishing industry for everyone.
But this also means no author is safe to rest on their laurels. One of my big goals for RT was to hit as many craft panels as possible and learn everything I could about how to write better heroes and love stories, and I was not disappointed! I've got so much awesome from some of the best writers in Romance I can't even begin to share it all here, but rest assured that there will be LOTs of craft posts full of awesome coming up, starting with an amazing character creation trick I picked up from Linnea Sinclair for tomorrow's Writing Wednesday!
4) Upcoming trends in publishingFinally, it would be impossible to talk about what we learned from RT without touching on trends. Seriously, there were more panels on trends and what was coming next than any other single subject. It was all anyone wanted to talk about!
Personal disclaimer here: I don't believe in chasing trends. Trying to catch a trend is like trying to catch a falling knife, there's just no way to it safely. Either you end up with a rushed book you don't actually care about, or you're too late and the trend is already gone, leaving your previously on-trend novel struggling for air in a now overcrowded market.
I actually just wrote an entire post about this exact topic, but my TL;DR opinion is that you should write the books you love and trust them to find a market. The best place to be in a trend is the book that starts it, and you only get there if you're writing original, creative stories YOU love, not ones you picked because that was what was hot.
That said, just because I don't chase trends doesn't mean I want to be ignorant of them. It's always useful to know what's selling if only so you know how to position your not-trendy book in the market For example, when Grim Dark fantasy was in, I marketed my Eli books as a cheerful alternative. Tired of everything being depressing? Come read a charming thief by an author who won't kill every character you love!
So as you see, knowing what's popular is useful for a lot more than just trying to write on trend. And on that note, here's a list of what editors and marketers said was in and out at RT 2016.We've hit peak dark and broody. Dark, sexy contemporary has been hot for a long time, but it's finally slacking off. Not to say it won't sell, just that the market has hit saturation and readers are looking for somewhere new to get their dark, aggressive, suffering alpha fix.Paranormal/Urban Fantasy is falling off in publishing, but readers still want it. The number of Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy titles is falling both from trad and indie publishers, but going by the data from readers searches on RT magazine's website, readers are just as hungry for it as ever. This has led to a gap in book supply and reader demand that a savvy author with a brilliant and creative new take on the UF/Paranormal tropes could swing into and hit big. (Rachel rubs her hands together)Dragons are about to be big! But we knew that, didn't we? Also, (speaking from strictly Romance) vampires still sell, but you have to be really creative. Shifters are still huge, but ghosts and physics don't sell, at least according to Harlequin, Carina Press, and Avon. Wizards and other magical peeps seem to be on the rise in the next year as well, so if you're writing about modern wizards, you should be in luck!New Adult is having growing pains. Though it took off hot, book stores don't seem to know what to do with New Adult (books for readers between 19 and 25, too old for YA but not quite ready to hit adult fiction). This is especially true since most NA titles tend to be very sexy, but still feature main characters that are too young (read, 19-20) for many adult readers. Since the genre is so new, though, most bookstores don't have a place to shelve it, and even Amazon is having trouble categorizing it correctly. This means if you're an author with a New Adult book and you want to market it as such, you're going to have to straddle other genres to help readers find it. That said, NA is still very popular with readers (especially with YA readers who've grown up and want the same stories, but sexier), and is totally a market worth hitting.Print books are still big. There is still a huge market for print books and no one should ignore it. More on this when we do our post about distribution and getting indie books into bookstores.Finally, audio books are where it's at! This is less of a trend and more of a fact, but audio books have been growing explosively over the last few years. Audible has been doubling its readership pretty much every year, and audio books represent an enormous untapped market. I know that just for myself, audio has been an amazing market, but I didn't realize just how big it was. If you've got books out, and they're not in audio, you need to get them there pronto either through your publisher, an audio book production company, or on your own through ACX. This was such a big deal that we're going to do a whole post on it, but for now, if you're not already thinking audio, you definitely need to take a look. Also, if you're signing a trad contract, make sure you're getting a good rate on audio. It's not a niche market anymore!Again, this con wrap up is just the barest ripple of the top of the iceberg of everything we learned!! We got so much good stuff, you're going to be hearing about it for months. I really can't stress how amazing it was to get to talk shop with so many people from so many areas of the writing world--writers, publishers, readers, bloggers, reviewers, editors, they were all here!!
Again, if you saw anything above you specifically want to know more about, let us know in the comments below! For now, I think Chelsie is standing behind me, which means I have to get back to writing. o_o
Thank you all for reading, and I really hope you'll enjoy all the great stuff we've got coming your way! And as always, don't forget to follow me on Social Media to never miss a post! (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+)
More to come starting tomorrow. For now, though, happy writing!!
Yours as always, Rachel Aaron
April 6, 2016
Writing Wednesday: Are Conventions Worth It?
Hello everyone! So just in case my gratuitous selfie posting on Twitter hasn't tipped you off, I'm going to the Romantic Times Book Lover's Convention in Las Vegas next week!!! That's right, we're going to party with a bunch of Romance Authors in Vegas.
If it happens in Vegas, it has to stay in Vegas, right? I mean, that's a Nevada state law now, right?!?Take it from me, no one parties like Romance Authors. Those ladies be crazy!
(Also, if you're going to #RT2016 and want to hang out, I TOTALLY WANT TO! DM me on Twitter or send me an email and we will make plans to be nerds together! It will be awesome!!!)
So why am I going to a Romance Convention when I don't actually write Romance? Well, as you might remember from last year's con report, I went to the con knowing nothing about it purely because it sounded like fun and Ilona Andrews invited me to be on a panel...and I LOVED it!! I met a ton of amazing people, had a marvelous time, and learned more about both the craft and business sides of writing than I'd known was left to be learned. It was hands down one of the best writing education and networking experiences of my life...and did I mention fun? SO MUCH FUN! More fun than should be legal to write off on your taxes.
I also won an award this year, but I was already planning on going to the con, so that was the delicious, delicious icing on top of an already perfect cake!
With all that, it's no wonder that I'm back again in 2016 and bringing my husband along for the ride because A) I need someone to help me divide and conquer because RT has more good panels than any one person can physically attend, and B) because I want to make him take pictures with the cover models have him with me while we learn more about what is now our family business! Yeah, that's what I meant!
Thankfully for me, he's pretty excited about it, too! Everyone's excited!! And that actually brings me to the actual, non-Rachel-squeeing-about-her-fun-trip part of this post. Because fun as they are, conventions are stupid expensive. This goes double for a major industry con like RT where all guests have to pay ~$400 to attend in addition to travel and hotel. Add in the time a convention takes out of your schedule, and you're looking at a serious investment. We already know it's going to be fun because conventions are always fun. (Seriously, even bad conventions are usually still pretty awesome). But all fun aside, is a convention worth it from a business case perspective?
This is an equation I've wrestled with personally for many years now, and the answer I've found is that, like everything in writing, whether attending a particular convention is "worth it" or not depends on you, your situation, and what you want from the experience. If you've yet to finish a book, then you don't have to worry about this stuff. Just treat a convention like a vacation that might also be good for your writing and have fun! But if you do have a book out or if you're looking to publish one soon, conventions are something you're probably already thinking about.
So let's break it down!
Writing Wednesday: Are Conventions Worth It?
Giant book signing from RT 2015. Believe it or not, I'm in this picture somewhere!First up, a universal truth: conventions are absolutely not necessary for a successful writing career. As stated above, they're a ton of fun and a huge perk of the author gig (especially if you get invited as a guest!), but you do not have to attend a single one to have a long and successful writing career. But the fact that they are not necessary is what makes the financial decision of whether or not X convention will be worth your time/money that much more important.
Every convention you attend is an investment of your time and money. If you're a writer on a budget, rushing into any random convention just because that's what you think writers should do is a bad business decision. Like all investments, you need to do your research first, so let's take a look at the types of conventions out there for writers and what you can expect from them.
There are three major types of conventions writers attend/get invited to: craft conventions, reader conventions, and industry conventions.
Craft conventions are conventions for writers, particularly unpublished or recently published writers. Often, they're hosted by a professional writing organizations such as RWA, and tend to focus on teaching craft and publication skills, networking, and hooking writers up with industry professionals like agents and editors.
Should You Go? If you're interested in writing and publishing, or if you just want to meet more writes, these kind of conventions can be a lot of fun and very educational. That said, I've never personally been to one, so I can't really comment on whether or not they're worth it. I have hear a lot of good things, though, so if this sounds up your alley and you've got the money/time to spare doing something that will probably be really fun and/or you really want to meet a particular writer or agent in person, I'd say give it a shot! These sort of cons tend to be very affordable and many switch locations every year, so you're not risking too much by giving one near you a go.
Reader Conventions are, as the name implies, centered around the fans. At these events, the author is the attraction, the guest brought in to convince people to sign up for the con. Unlike craft conventions, I've done a lot of these both huge and small, and they are really fun. Even if you have't published a book yet, most of them most of these conventions offer unparalleled opportunities to talk to published authors, most of whom will be more than happy to talk shop with you as their schedule permits. (I know I always am!)
(Note: If you're looking for a list of reader conventions to attend, simply google conventions happening in your area or by your genre. It won't be complete, but it should give you a good idea of what's happening in your area)
Should You Go? I think reader conventions are the most fun of all the cons. If you've already got books out there, getting to go to a convention as a guest and actually meet people who've read your books in person (or make new fans) is A.MAZ.ING. It's also a great chance to get to know other authors since you'll be on panels together, and if you're not big enough yet to get invited as a guest, you can still sell your books as a vendor and do pretty well if you're a good salesman. Personally, I HATE hand selling my books (most awkward thing ever, imo), but if you're the sort of person who enjoys it, you'll have a great time and a captive audience of people who (assuming you did your homework and picked a good con for your stuff) are in to the same things you write about!
BUT (you knew that was coming, right?) as fun as they are, reader cons are expensive both in time and money. Even if you get your badge for free as a guest, you still have to pay for food, lodging, travel, and any giveaways/swag you bring with you. Also, I get sick every time I got to a con, which means that the days immediately after one are a write off for getting work done.
Any one of these costs can be small, but all together, they add up to a major investment. And whether or not that's worth it for you is going to depend a lot on your personality and expectations. If you go to a convention expecting to get a good ROI, sell a bunch of books and rack up tons of new fans, you might as well forget it. I love them to death, but I've never seen a bump in sales from a convention, and if you don't have a book out yet, then going to a reader convention with any hopes other than meet some cool authors/other fans and have a good time, you're going to be very disappointed.
Long story short, Reader Conventions are lots of fun. If you get invited as a guest, that's a huge thrill and definitely worth doing at least once for the experience alone. But as a business vehicle for selling books, I've always found them to be not worth the cost. Maybe that's just because I suck at selling my own book. I know plenty of authors who work the convention circuit like it's their job, make tons of money, and love every second.
To those authors, I tip my hat, but just speaking personally, I know I could get a much better return if I take the money I was going to spend on a convention and use on advertising instead. Because of this, I've taken to looking at reader conventions as just a really fun vacation I get to write off on my taxes. That said, though, you can't put a price on the first time a fan squees at you, so if you publish a book and land a guest spot at a reader convention, totally go. You don't have to go to every convention like it's your job to promo a book (in fact, unless you LOVE conventions, I'd say this is a horrible waste of your time and money), but if you ever get the chance, you should try at least once. You might not make your money back, but you will have a really good time!
Finally, we have Industry Conventions. Like craft cons, these are conventions for people in the book industry. Unlike craft cons, though, which focus entirely on the writer, Industry Conventions are gatherings for publishing professionals. RT, the convention I'm about to go to, is one of these for Romance, and it is jam packed with everyone who's anyone in the genre: bloggers, editors, publishers, agents, reviewers, big time authors, small time authors, medium time authors, the Amazon KDP team. You name it, they're there, and they're all talking shop.
Should You Go? This is a tough question, because industry cons are hands down the most expensive conventions, and every one is different. If I was a Romance author and I could afford to go to RT, I would totally do so because the con is just so packed with stuff to learn about writing and publishing! (So packed, in fact, that I'm going and I don't even write Romance! IT'S THAT GOOD!) But RT is a special animal. Another big industry con is BEA or Book Expo America, which happens every year in New York. Like RT, it's a big, expensive industry event packed with a focus on publishing professionals. Unlike RT, though, which also has a ton of stuff for for both reader fans and writers of all experience levels, BEA is very much a business con where agents, editors, librarians, and book buyers go to see what's new and make deals. They're not there to talk about writing, and if you are, then BEA is probably not going to be what you want (but would still probably be amazing and I totally want to go some year just for the experience!)
More than any other type of con, the question of is an Industry Con worth your money and effort depends on the con itself. If you're considering attending one, my advice is to use your google-fu and find con reports written by people who've attended in previous years. Many people who spend the time and money it takes to attend one of these suckers are going to write a report about their experience like the one I wrote for RT last year, and these reports can help you decide whether or not this con is going to be worth it for you.
And don't limit yourself by genre, either! Like I said, I'm not a Romance author, but I am an indie author, which is an area where Romance authors are on the cutting edge. I learned so so much about my industry that I never would have known if I'd dismissed RT because I didn't write Romance. So keep an open mind and look around. You might be surprised how many amazing conventions are happening right under your nose.
I hope you enjoyed my post about conventions. As I said up top, if you're going to RT and want to meet me or Travis IRL, DM me on Twitter or send me an email! It doesn't matter who you are, if you read this blog, I automatically think you're awesome and want to meet you! Drop me a line and we'll figure it out!
I'll have a new writing blog up next week, but if you want to hear my live report of the convention (and see tons of pictures of me with awesome people!) follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to get it all in real time!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys in Vegas!!
❤ Rachel
If it happens in Vegas, it has to stay in Vegas, right? I mean, that's a Nevada state law now, right?!?Take it from me, no one parties like Romance Authors. Those ladies be crazy!(Also, if you're going to #RT2016 and want to hang out, I TOTALLY WANT TO! DM me on Twitter or send me an email and we will make plans to be nerds together! It will be awesome!!!)
So why am I going to a Romance Convention when I don't actually write Romance? Well, as you might remember from last year's con report, I went to the con knowing nothing about it purely because it sounded like fun and Ilona Andrews invited me to be on a panel...and I LOVED it!! I met a ton of amazing people, had a marvelous time, and learned more about both the craft and business sides of writing than I'd known was left to be learned. It was hands down one of the best writing education and networking experiences of my life...and did I mention fun? SO MUCH FUN! More fun than should be legal to write off on your taxes.
I also won an award this year, but I was already planning on going to the con, so that was the delicious, delicious icing on top of an already perfect cake!
With all that, it's no wonder that I'm back again in 2016 and bringing my husband along for the ride because A) I need someone to help me divide and conquer because RT has more good panels than any one person can physically attend, and B) because I want to make him take pictures with the cover models have him with me while we learn more about what is now our family business! Yeah, that's what I meant!
Thankfully for me, he's pretty excited about it, too! Everyone's excited!! And that actually brings me to the actual, non-Rachel-squeeing-about-her-fun-trip part of this post. Because fun as they are, conventions are stupid expensive. This goes double for a major industry con like RT where all guests have to pay ~$400 to attend in addition to travel and hotel. Add in the time a convention takes out of your schedule, and you're looking at a serious investment. We already know it's going to be fun because conventions are always fun. (Seriously, even bad conventions are usually still pretty awesome). But all fun aside, is a convention worth it from a business case perspective?
This is an equation I've wrestled with personally for many years now, and the answer I've found is that, like everything in writing, whether attending a particular convention is "worth it" or not depends on you, your situation, and what you want from the experience. If you've yet to finish a book, then you don't have to worry about this stuff. Just treat a convention like a vacation that might also be good for your writing and have fun! But if you do have a book out or if you're looking to publish one soon, conventions are something you're probably already thinking about.
So let's break it down!
Writing Wednesday: Are Conventions Worth It?
Giant book signing from RT 2015. Believe it or not, I'm in this picture somewhere!First up, a universal truth: conventions are absolutely not necessary for a successful writing career. As stated above, they're a ton of fun and a huge perk of the author gig (especially if you get invited as a guest!), but you do not have to attend a single one to have a long and successful writing career. But the fact that they are not necessary is what makes the financial decision of whether or not X convention will be worth your time/money that much more important.Every convention you attend is an investment of your time and money. If you're a writer on a budget, rushing into any random convention just because that's what you think writers should do is a bad business decision. Like all investments, you need to do your research first, so let's take a look at the types of conventions out there for writers and what you can expect from them.
There are three major types of conventions writers attend/get invited to: craft conventions, reader conventions, and industry conventions.
Craft conventions are conventions for writers, particularly unpublished or recently published writers. Often, they're hosted by a professional writing organizations such as RWA, and tend to focus on teaching craft and publication skills, networking, and hooking writers up with industry professionals like agents and editors.
Should You Go? If you're interested in writing and publishing, or if you just want to meet more writes, these kind of conventions can be a lot of fun and very educational. That said, I've never personally been to one, so I can't really comment on whether or not they're worth it. I have hear a lot of good things, though, so if this sounds up your alley and you've got the money/time to spare doing something that will probably be really fun and/or you really want to meet a particular writer or agent in person, I'd say give it a shot! These sort of cons tend to be very affordable and many switch locations every year, so you're not risking too much by giving one near you a go.
Reader Conventions are, as the name implies, centered around the fans. At these events, the author is the attraction, the guest brought in to convince people to sign up for the con. Unlike craft conventions, I've done a lot of these both huge and small, and they are really fun. Even if you have't published a book yet, most of them most of these conventions offer unparalleled opportunities to talk to published authors, most of whom will be more than happy to talk shop with you as their schedule permits. (I know I always am!)
(Note: If you're looking for a list of reader conventions to attend, simply google conventions happening in your area or by your genre. It won't be complete, but it should give you a good idea of what's happening in your area)
Should You Go? I think reader conventions are the most fun of all the cons. If you've already got books out there, getting to go to a convention as a guest and actually meet people who've read your books in person (or make new fans) is A.MAZ.ING. It's also a great chance to get to know other authors since you'll be on panels together, and if you're not big enough yet to get invited as a guest, you can still sell your books as a vendor and do pretty well if you're a good salesman. Personally, I HATE hand selling my books (most awkward thing ever, imo), but if you're the sort of person who enjoys it, you'll have a great time and a captive audience of people who (assuming you did your homework and picked a good con for your stuff) are in to the same things you write about!
BUT (you knew that was coming, right?) as fun as they are, reader cons are expensive both in time and money. Even if you get your badge for free as a guest, you still have to pay for food, lodging, travel, and any giveaways/swag you bring with you. Also, I get sick every time I got to a con, which means that the days immediately after one are a write off for getting work done.
Any one of these costs can be small, but all together, they add up to a major investment. And whether or not that's worth it for you is going to depend a lot on your personality and expectations. If you go to a convention expecting to get a good ROI, sell a bunch of books and rack up tons of new fans, you might as well forget it. I love them to death, but I've never seen a bump in sales from a convention, and if you don't have a book out yet, then going to a reader convention with any hopes other than meet some cool authors/other fans and have a good time, you're going to be very disappointed.
Long story short, Reader Conventions are lots of fun. If you get invited as a guest, that's a huge thrill and definitely worth doing at least once for the experience alone. But as a business vehicle for selling books, I've always found them to be not worth the cost. Maybe that's just because I suck at selling my own book. I know plenty of authors who work the convention circuit like it's their job, make tons of money, and love every second.
To those authors, I tip my hat, but just speaking personally, I know I could get a much better return if I take the money I was going to spend on a convention and use on advertising instead. Because of this, I've taken to looking at reader conventions as just a really fun vacation I get to write off on my taxes. That said, though, you can't put a price on the first time a fan squees at you, so if you publish a book and land a guest spot at a reader convention, totally go. You don't have to go to every convention like it's your job to promo a book (in fact, unless you LOVE conventions, I'd say this is a horrible waste of your time and money), but if you ever get the chance, you should try at least once. You might not make your money back, but you will have a really good time!
Finally, we have Industry Conventions. Like craft cons, these are conventions for people in the book industry. Unlike craft cons, though, which focus entirely on the writer, Industry Conventions are gatherings for publishing professionals. RT, the convention I'm about to go to, is one of these for Romance, and it is jam packed with everyone who's anyone in the genre: bloggers, editors, publishers, agents, reviewers, big time authors, small time authors, medium time authors, the Amazon KDP team. You name it, they're there, and they're all talking shop.
Should You Go? This is a tough question, because industry cons are hands down the most expensive conventions, and every one is different. If I was a Romance author and I could afford to go to RT, I would totally do so because the con is just so packed with stuff to learn about writing and publishing! (So packed, in fact, that I'm going and I don't even write Romance! IT'S THAT GOOD!) But RT is a special animal. Another big industry con is BEA or Book Expo America, which happens every year in New York. Like RT, it's a big, expensive industry event packed with a focus on publishing professionals. Unlike RT, though, which also has a ton of stuff for for both reader fans and writers of all experience levels, BEA is very much a business con where agents, editors, librarians, and book buyers go to see what's new and make deals. They're not there to talk about writing, and if you are, then BEA is probably not going to be what you want (but would still probably be amazing and I totally want to go some year just for the experience!)
More than any other type of con, the question of is an Industry Con worth your money and effort depends on the con itself. If you're considering attending one, my advice is to use your google-fu and find con reports written by people who've attended in previous years. Many people who spend the time and money it takes to attend one of these suckers are going to write a report about their experience like the one I wrote for RT last year, and these reports can help you decide whether or not this con is going to be worth it for you.
And don't limit yourself by genre, either! Like I said, I'm not a Romance author, but I am an indie author, which is an area where Romance authors are on the cutting edge. I learned so so much about my industry that I never would have known if I'd dismissed RT because I didn't write Romance. So keep an open mind and look around. You might be surprised how many amazing conventions are happening right under your nose.
I hope you enjoyed my post about conventions. As I said up top, if you're going to RT and want to meet me or Travis IRL, DM me on Twitter or send me an email! It doesn't matter who you are, if you read this blog, I automatically think you're awesome and want to meet you! Drop me a line and we'll figure it out!
I'll have a new writing blog up next week, but if you want to hear my live report of the convention (and see tons of pictures of me with awesome people!) follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+) to get it all in real time!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys in Vegas!!
❤ Rachel
March 30, 2016
Writing Wednesday: Know Thy Customer - How to Write What You Love and Still Sell
Hello all! After an EPIC CONCLUSION, I am finally done with Heartstrikers book 3!!
Of course I still have to edit and polish and actually write that one chapter that's nothing but a line saying [INSERT AWESOME HERE], but still,
I know it's been a long, long road on this series, but I promise you guys the wait will be worth it. This book is going to be crazy town!! If you liked the first two (or just need more Bob in your life), you're going to love this one!! I hope anyway o.o
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go check out the first two books in my (award winning!) Heartstrikers Urbans Fantasy series here. It's dragons in future magical Detroit! You won't be sorry.)
Right then. Now that all the horn tooting and blatant self promotion is out of my system, let's talk writing!
Writing Wednesday: Know Thy Customer - How to Write What You Love and Still Sell
That moment when you love your book to pieces...and you suddenly
fear no one else ever will.
One of the most important parts of being a self-published author (or any kind of professional, really) is keeping up with what's currently going on in your sphere. For me, this means reading new books that come out in my genres (oh, the hardship! I have to read this awesome book for work!), keeping an eye on what's topping the Amazon lists so I know what the market is into right now, and occasionally (but not obsessively) reading forums and business blogs by/for authors so that I don't miss any big changes to the things that impact my sales (ie, Amazon changing their algos/ranking system again). I also keep a constant ear out for clever new promo stuff because you never know when you're going to find that brilliant idea you totally want to do!
Anyway, all this is a vastly over complicated way of saying I try my best to stay up to date with current events in the writing/publishing world as pertains to me and my books. Part of this is just good business. If a shit storm is coming, I want to know well in advance. When it comes to what books are selling/getting attention, though, staying up to date is more than just business. I like to know what's new and cool not only because it's my job, but because I am legitimately interested in genre fiction. There's a reason I write the books I do. I've been a fan of all things SFF since basically forever, and that intersection of fandom and business is what I want to talk about today.
The Old Writing to the Market vs. Writing for Yourself Conundrum, Now With a Surprise Ending!If you're an author today, or even if you just want to be an author, chances are you've heard the phrase "write to market," which basically means "look at what's selling, and then write your book to match."
I can't tell you how many writers cringe at that statement. To be honest, I cringe, too. I am by no means an Artist Capital A, but I have a lot of pride in my work, and the idea of writing something I don't care about because that's what's selling is unpalatable in the extreme. One of my biggest cornerstones as an author is "if you don't love it, you're doing it wrong." Passion for my own stories and characters is a huge part of who I am both as a writer and a person (seriously, if you meet me IRL, and you ask me about my books, be warned that I will NEVER SHUT UP.)
At the same time, though, I do this professionally. Writing isn't just something I do for fun and dreams anymore. It's how I eat and pay my mortgage and send my kid to summer camp, and that means I can't just write in the vacuum of "things Rachel thinks are cool." I have to also think of my reader/customer, what they want, and how I can give it to them in a way that will make them desperate for more.
This intersection of art and commercialism, doing what you love vs. doing what sells, is a struggle every professional artist faces. Now, obviously, if you don't plan on making writing your career, then none of this applies to you. Write what you love and be happy! But if you're like me and you dream of making storytelling your profession, then "Write to Market" is one of the most important pieces of advice you'll ever receive, but not in the way you think.
When we hear "Write to Market," most of us jump immediately to the worst extreme of hack writers callously churning out derivative schlock iterations of whatever's on the best seller's list that month. I admit there is a lot of that that goes on, and not just in self publishing. How many "kid finds out he's special, goes to special magical school, makes unlikely friends, saves world" books did we see from major publishers after Harry Potter hit big? Hint: A LOT.
As much as we try to dress it up, the truth is that all of commercial publishing is guilty of the sin of copy-cating to some extent, because copying what's popular works. Readers are like any other consumers in that they move in trends. When they find something they like, they want more, and if you can give them that, you will sell. If you can give it to them in a quality package that is legitimately good in addition to being the thing they want, you will sell a lot. Give them a shitty version, and you will probably still sell, but not nearly as well. Readers, even ones in a froth for the hot new thing, are not stupid. They know shit when they get it.
But all of the above is just one extreme of the Writing to Market strategy. Obviously, if you write good, well packaged books in a popular genre with an eye toward hitting the hot trends, you're going to sell a lot of books. But what do you if the books you want to write aren't part of that equation? It's one thing to know "Contemporary Romance is hugely popular!" but if you don't read Contemporary Romance and you don't have any ideas for Contemporary Romance plots or characters, then any Contemporary Romance book you try to write is mostly like 1) going to feel like pulling teeth, and 2) suck. With circumstances like that, it doesn't matter how hot a particular market is. If your book is bad because you don't care and you were only writing it because "that's what sells," then you're going to tank.
Now, the obvious solution here is to just find a popular genre you do love and have exciting ideas for and just write those. This happy alignment is "Write to Market" at its very best, and if you can pull it off, you will have a great time.
But even when we stop assuming the worst, when the idea you're most in love with doesn't fit into any of the popular slots, "Write to Market" can still feel more like a death sentence than good business advice. I can't tell you how many emails I get from authors--established and new--who are absolutely in love with ideas they are convinced won't sell because they're "too weird" or "not mainstream enough."
This is where the internet and indie publishing revolution comes in to save our bacon. Big publishers need big volume to make back their costs. That means they have to publish what's popular, but the game for small presses and indie authors is entirely different. With lower costs and a higher profit per book, the bar for success, even wild success, is much more forgiving in the indie world. You don't need to write in a giant popular market to sell well. Big or small, though, you still have to write a book that is going to sell to someone, and figuring out who that someone is is the secret to everything.
Writing To Your Market - Know Thy CustomerIf you want to sell anything, you have to know who you're selling to. Who is the customer for this product? For us writers, that question becomes "who is my reader? What do they want?"
I think about this question a lot, because writing is a constant decision making. Every time I'm trying to decide how I should turn the plot or if I should let this character run off on his really bad idea, the one question I always ask in addition to all the vital artist ones like "Will this be good for the story?" or "Would this characters actually do this?" is "How will my reader like it?"
Obviously, reader approval is not my only consideration. Stuff still has to make sense and play out logically and dramatically within the rules of my world. But since I'm not writing this story just for myself, potential reader reaction is a huge part of my decision making process. If I do this thing, if I let this character run off on his tangent, how will my audience react? Will they enjoy it? Will they get bored? Will they put the book down?
These are things I need to know, and the only way to get answers is to know what kind of person I'm writing this for. But honestly, that can be pretty tough. It's not like Amazon tells me who buys my books, and while I do interact with my fans all the time and get to know them that way, that's useless for a new writer who doesn't have a fan base yet. Even for established authors, though, our fans are wildly different. So what do we do? How do you write to an audience when you can't know who that audience is?
My solution to this problem is that I just pick a reader. One person that I want to please and entertain. And for my books, that person is me.
Not writer me. Writer me wants to do all kinds of crazy shit like write a book with zero major male characters just to see if anyone notices, or write a novel in second person just to prove it can be done. This is because writer me is a writer and thus cares about writer things like clever construction and interesting conceits like resetting Titus Andronicus in space. But while all that stuff sounds cool in theory, Reader Rachel doesn't give a shit. Reader Rachel just wants a good story, something that will keep me up way past my bedtime for the sheer joy of reading, and this is why Reader Rachel, not Writer Rachel, is my audience.
This isn't to say all the crazy shit I listed above can't be a good book. I'm a firm believer that any story well told will find its audience. But all of those ideas came about because I found them interesting as a writer, not because they were actually stories I wanted to read. This is why reader me, not writer me, is my audience, because the actual audience for my books are probably not writers. They're just people who want fun stories, People like me, so that's who I write for.
Despite everything I write in this blog about character motivation and proper plot structure, when I'm struggling with a decision in my book, the final vote always comes down to "would I want to read this?" If this was a novel I was reading in bed on my Kindle, would I like this twist/scene/critical character moment, or would I just go "meh."
This is a good time to mention that pleasing your imaginary reader is NOT THE SAME as listening to your Inner Editor. If you're at all like me, your inner editor is a bitch who only says negative things and should never be given the time of day (for tips on how to shut her up, click here). You inner reader, on the other hand, is the voice of your experience.
If you've read enough books to want to be a writer, you probably have definite opinions on what you like. Therefore, if you focus on writing something you like, something that makes the reader you happy and excited and ready for the next book, not only will you have a grand time writing the thing, you'll end up with a book that is, in fact, written to market. The market of you. Maybe that market is big, maybe it's not, but unless you are an extreme outlier, there is certain to be someone, probably a whole lot of someones, who will share your opinion that this book is awesome, and those people are your audience. That's your market, and if you do your darnedest to write books they're going to love, you will by definition be writing a book you love, exposing the trumped up battle of Writing to Market vs. Writing for Yourself as the false dichotomy it's always been.
No writer is an island. If you write the book you love the book where you re-read bits just because they're amazing, and you do it well, you will sell. Maybe not as much as you hoped, because doing it well is really hard. But if you keep practicing, don't settle for mediocrity, and keep your reader's enjoyment as your first priority, you will build an audience of amazing people who love the same things you do, and together, you and your audience of awesome will create a fantastic career full of books you all love.
It's win/win all around, and we should settle for nothing less.
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed my weirdly impassioned post about writing for yourself. If you enjoy my stuff, please follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+ ) to never miss an update, Thank you again, and until next time, keep writing!
Yours always,Rachel
Of course I still have to edit and polish and actually write that one chapter that's nothing but a line saying [INSERT AWESOME HERE], but still,
I know it's been a long, long road on this series, but I promise you guys the wait will be worth it. This book is going to be crazy town!! If you liked the first two (or just need more Bob in your life), you're going to love this one!! I hope anyway o.o
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go check out the first two books in my (award winning!) Heartstrikers Urbans Fantasy series here. It's dragons in future magical Detroit! You won't be sorry.)
Right then. Now that all the horn tooting and blatant self promotion is out of my system, let's talk writing!
Writing Wednesday: Know Thy Customer - How to Write What You Love and Still Sell
That moment when you love your book to pieces...and you suddenlyfear no one else ever will.
One of the most important parts of being a self-published author (or any kind of professional, really) is keeping up with what's currently going on in your sphere. For me, this means reading new books that come out in my genres (oh, the hardship! I have to read this awesome book for work!), keeping an eye on what's topping the Amazon lists so I know what the market is into right now, and occasionally (but not obsessively) reading forums and business blogs by/for authors so that I don't miss any big changes to the things that impact my sales (ie, Amazon changing their algos/ranking system again). I also keep a constant ear out for clever new promo stuff because you never know when you're going to find that brilliant idea you totally want to do!
Anyway, all this is a vastly over complicated way of saying I try my best to stay up to date with current events in the writing/publishing world as pertains to me and my books. Part of this is just good business. If a shit storm is coming, I want to know well in advance. When it comes to what books are selling/getting attention, though, staying up to date is more than just business. I like to know what's new and cool not only because it's my job, but because I am legitimately interested in genre fiction. There's a reason I write the books I do. I've been a fan of all things SFF since basically forever, and that intersection of fandom and business is what I want to talk about today.
The Old Writing to the Market vs. Writing for Yourself Conundrum, Now With a Surprise Ending!If you're an author today, or even if you just want to be an author, chances are you've heard the phrase "write to market," which basically means "look at what's selling, and then write your book to match."
I can't tell you how many writers cringe at that statement. To be honest, I cringe, too. I am by no means an Artist Capital A, but I have a lot of pride in my work, and the idea of writing something I don't care about because that's what's selling is unpalatable in the extreme. One of my biggest cornerstones as an author is "if you don't love it, you're doing it wrong." Passion for my own stories and characters is a huge part of who I am both as a writer and a person (seriously, if you meet me IRL, and you ask me about my books, be warned that I will NEVER SHUT UP.)
At the same time, though, I do this professionally. Writing isn't just something I do for fun and dreams anymore. It's how I eat and pay my mortgage and send my kid to summer camp, and that means I can't just write in the vacuum of "things Rachel thinks are cool." I have to also think of my reader/customer, what they want, and how I can give it to them in a way that will make them desperate for more.
This intersection of art and commercialism, doing what you love vs. doing what sells, is a struggle every professional artist faces. Now, obviously, if you don't plan on making writing your career, then none of this applies to you. Write what you love and be happy! But if you're like me and you dream of making storytelling your profession, then "Write to Market" is one of the most important pieces of advice you'll ever receive, but not in the way you think.
When we hear "Write to Market," most of us jump immediately to the worst extreme of hack writers callously churning out derivative schlock iterations of whatever's on the best seller's list that month. I admit there is a lot of that that goes on, and not just in self publishing. How many "kid finds out he's special, goes to special magical school, makes unlikely friends, saves world" books did we see from major publishers after Harry Potter hit big? Hint: A LOT.
As much as we try to dress it up, the truth is that all of commercial publishing is guilty of the sin of copy-cating to some extent, because copying what's popular works. Readers are like any other consumers in that they move in trends. When they find something they like, they want more, and if you can give them that, you will sell. If you can give it to them in a quality package that is legitimately good in addition to being the thing they want, you will sell a lot. Give them a shitty version, and you will probably still sell, but not nearly as well. Readers, even ones in a froth for the hot new thing, are not stupid. They know shit when they get it.
But all of the above is just one extreme of the Writing to Market strategy. Obviously, if you write good, well packaged books in a popular genre with an eye toward hitting the hot trends, you're going to sell a lot of books. But what do you if the books you want to write aren't part of that equation? It's one thing to know "Contemporary Romance is hugely popular!" but if you don't read Contemporary Romance and you don't have any ideas for Contemporary Romance plots or characters, then any Contemporary Romance book you try to write is mostly like 1) going to feel like pulling teeth, and 2) suck. With circumstances like that, it doesn't matter how hot a particular market is. If your book is bad because you don't care and you were only writing it because "that's what sells," then you're going to tank.
Now, the obvious solution here is to just find a popular genre you do love and have exciting ideas for and just write those. This happy alignment is "Write to Market" at its very best, and if you can pull it off, you will have a great time.
But even when we stop assuming the worst, when the idea you're most in love with doesn't fit into any of the popular slots, "Write to Market" can still feel more like a death sentence than good business advice. I can't tell you how many emails I get from authors--established and new--who are absolutely in love with ideas they are convinced won't sell because they're "too weird" or "not mainstream enough."
This is where the internet and indie publishing revolution comes in to save our bacon. Big publishers need big volume to make back their costs. That means they have to publish what's popular, but the game for small presses and indie authors is entirely different. With lower costs and a higher profit per book, the bar for success, even wild success, is much more forgiving in the indie world. You don't need to write in a giant popular market to sell well. Big or small, though, you still have to write a book that is going to sell to someone, and figuring out who that someone is is the secret to everything.
Writing To Your Market - Know Thy CustomerIf you want to sell anything, you have to know who you're selling to. Who is the customer for this product? For us writers, that question becomes "who is my reader? What do they want?"
I think about this question a lot, because writing is a constant decision making. Every time I'm trying to decide how I should turn the plot or if I should let this character run off on his really bad idea, the one question I always ask in addition to all the vital artist ones like "Will this be good for the story?" or "Would this characters actually do this?" is "How will my reader like it?"
Obviously, reader approval is not my only consideration. Stuff still has to make sense and play out logically and dramatically within the rules of my world. But since I'm not writing this story just for myself, potential reader reaction is a huge part of my decision making process. If I do this thing, if I let this character run off on his tangent, how will my audience react? Will they enjoy it? Will they get bored? Will they put the book down?
These are things I need to know, and the only way to get answers is to know what kind of person I'm writing this for. But honestly, that can be pretty tough. It's not like Amazon tells me who buys my books, and while I do interact with my fans all the time and get to know them that way, that's useless for a new writer who doesn't have a fan base yet. Even for established authors, though, our fans are wildly different. So what do we do? How do you write to an audience when you can't know who that audience is?
My solution to this problem is that I just pick a reader. One person that I want to please and entertain. And for my books, that person is me.
Not writer me. Writer me wants to do all kinds of crazy shit like write a book with zero major male characters just to see if anyone notices, or write a novel in second person just to prove it can be done. This is because writer me is a writer and thus cares about writer things like clever construction and interesting conceits like resetting Titus Andronicus in space. But while all that stuff sounds cool in theory, Reader Rachel doesn't give a shit. Reader Rachel just wants a good story, something that will keep me up way past my bedtime for the sheer joy of reading, and this is why Reader Rachel, not Writer Rachel, is my audience.
This isn't to say all the crazy shit I listed above can't be a good book. I'm a firm believer that any story well told will find its audience. But all of those ideas came about because I found them interesting as a writer, not because they were actually stories I wanted to read. This is why reader me, not writer me, is my audience, because the actual audience for my books are probably not writers. They're just people who want fun stories, People like me, so that's who I write for.
Despite everything I write in this blog about character motivation and proper plot structure, when I'm struggling with a decision in my book, the final vote always comes down to "would I want to read this?" If this was a novel I was reading in bed on my Kindle, would I like this twist/scene/critical character moment, or would I just go "meh."
This is a good time to mention that pleasing your imaginary reader is NOT THE SAME as listening to your Inner Editor. If you're at all like me, your inner editor is a bitch who only says negative things and should never be given the time of day (for tips on how to shut her up, click here). You inner reader, on the other hand, is the voice of your experience.
If you've read enough books to want to be a writer, you probably have definite opinions on what you like. Therefore, if you focus on writing something you like, something that makes the reader you happy and excited and ready for the next book, not only will you have a grand time writing the thing, you'll end up with a book that is, in fact, written to market. The market of you. Maybe that market is big, maybe it's not, but unless you are an extreme outlier, there is certain to be someone, probably a whole lot of someones, who will share your opinion that this book is awesome, and those people are your audience. That's your market, and if you do your darnedest to write books they're going to love, you will by definition be writing a book you love, exposing the trumped up battle of Writing to Market vs. Writing for Yourself as the false dichotomy it's always been.
No writer is an island. If you write the book you love the book where you re-read bits just because they're amazing, and you do it well, you will sell. Maybe not as much as you hoped, because doing it well is really hard. But if you keep practicing, don't settle for mediocrity, and keep your reader's enjoyment as your first priority, you will build an audience of amazing people who love the same things you do, and together, you and your audience of awesome will create a fantastic career full of books you all love.
It's win/win all around, and we should settle for nothing less.
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed my weirdly impassioned post about writing for yourself. If you enjoy my stuff, please follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+ ) to never miss an update, Thank you again, and until next time, keep writing!
Yours always,Rachel
March 23, 2016
Writing Wednesday: Postponed. Also Taxes
Hi Folks,
Travis here. There's no writing wednesday today as Rachel is writing the last inches of No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished. As such, she's sealed herself into the writing chamber. Woe be to me or any other mere mortal who seeks to breach that line.
Normally, I'd try to have a fun business or numbers post too keep things rolling but, well, its tax season. Which means that I'm spending all my time getting our taxes ready for the accountant. That's right, I'm not even actually doing taxes, just doing the questionnaire for someone else to do our taxes.
So, in the spirit of the season, here's a little window into what tax time looks like for us and, probably, other authors. USA based ones at least. I know nothing about other country's taxes.
Now, I can't give tax advice, so I'm just going to talk about Rachel and I. Hopefully you will benefit from our experiences.
The Dragon of TaxesThis tax thing is no joke. I spend a lot of time and effort to manage it. Why? Well, historically 90% of our income has no withholding on it. That means we have to pay all our owed taxes at tax time. I.e. April the following year of earning it.
Until last June, Rachel operated as an implicit sole proprietorship. That's what most authors are as its the default status if you do business, aren't an employee, and haven't formally created a business entity for your author stuff.
Sole Prop sucks a lot tax wise. Basically, all our income is personal income but we also have to pay self employment taxes too (15.5% roughly at time of writing). If someone is earning a middle-class living in America off book money, not impossible at all with self pub, then they are probably paying about 35% or more of their earnings in taxes when we add up every tax. (I'm aggregating a LOT for that number btw. Ad velorum, property, state, etc..)
I've seen studies that add up all the taxes paid by someone of our income bracket and it can be north of 40%. Now, before anyone thinks I'm anti-taxes, I'm not. I love police, fire departments, roads, the FDA, and so on. Big fan of civilization here. However, I think that 40% is an unfairly high level, hence my complaining. I mean, look at the social services they get in those 50% Scandinavian countries! We're kinda wasteful with our money in America.. but I digress..
What's important for authors here is the size of the tax bill that comes due in April. We'll have to shell out a single check that covers something like 25% of our income from the last year for this. If you make any real money selling books, this'll be you too most likely.
Lemme put a number on that to drill this point home. Say you're books do great and you make $60,000 in a year. Depending on your tax situation, that might result in a $10,000 to $15,000 tax bill.
I'm sure those of you starting out are like, "I'm not going to have to worry about this for years!". Just keep in mind that any tax bill can be a real shocker if you are used to a normal job with normal withholding and you usually get a refund from the govt at tax time. Earning even a couple thousand from an ebook will likely reverse this situation.
Given that most Americans (forgive me everyone else) have less that $1,000 in savings, this can be a big gotcha I feel and worth warning people about.
Prepare for Taxes or Death by TaxesA LOT of what I do for Rachel and I is financial. A lot of the financial work is making sure that we pass through the tax time window like an arrow instead of hitting it like a bird.
How I do this is both simple and complicated. I track our earnings on a monthly basisI estimate our tax burden as we go using a worst-case-scenario methodI make sure we save up enough money to meet our tax burdenIdeally I do this as the money is earned. We have a special savings account that I move income into to cover for taxes. This way the money doesn't show up in checking. Money in checking is always at danger of either (A) getting eaten on accident or (B) providing a false sense of security and wealth.
Typically in December, I'll get together with my accountant over email and get a quick estimate on our likely taxes, just to make sure I haven't totally messed up. If I have, well, its December and there's 4 months to try and fix it.
How is this complicated? Well, item #1 is complicated once you start getting into deductions, business expenses, non-writing income, and so on. Again, this isn't me giving tax advice, so if you want to do this, you'll have to go educate yourself, talk to professionals, and get the tools to do this tracking yourself.
My weapons of choice are a yearly tax guide on deductions, mint.com, and MS Excel. Mint is invaluable as I'm able to review transactions monthly and tag things as taxes, taxable, business expenses, deductions and so on. This is a huge time saver when March arrives and I have to start answering questions like, "how much did I spend on non-federal taxes in 2015?"
How the Business Changes ThingsEverything I've been talking about up till now is how Rachel as a Sole Proprietorship (that I file jointly with) have handled things. This year though, things are changed both for the more complicated and the better.
In 2015 we became Aaron/Bach, LLC. (with the S-Corp tax status)
Sadly it was mid-2015, so I have half a year of Sole Prop taxes combined with the new overhead of half a year of business taxes. This is the pain year, but next year's taxes should be a LOT easier for me to handle because of this division.
What are the benefits of being an LLC like this? There's a LOT, too many to go over here really. If you are interested, go read up, there's endless resources on the web.
As relates to this post, taxes, there's three big advantages to forming a company like this,We have company accounts and a ledger. This nicely puts all our business transactions in one place and divides business from personal most excellently. Its SO much easier to hit up QuickBooks for our financial reports than it is to build them by hand in excel using Mint.com data.100% of our revenue is no longer subject to self-employment tax. This is the TL;DR version but businesses only pay employment taxes on payroll. LLCs and S-Corps can distribute money to employees and members in more ways that just payroll. We can do withholding on our payroll, which off loads a lot of tracking and money management chores from me.By setting reasonable salaries for Rachel and I, we only have to pay those extra taxes on our salaried income. This is a very big savings and it'll get bigger as we get bigger.
That said, there's a ton of benefits that I'm not talking about here. One of them that does need to be talked about is my own salary.
Protecting Your PartnerI spent all of 2014 working for Rachel and not anyone else. I work easily 80 hours a week being her marketing guy, financial guy, story helper, alpha reader, sounding board, secretary, IT guy, researcher, house husband, and general leg work person. If its not writing-related or Rachel-only, I try to take it on so she doesn't have to.
According to the IRS I made basically $0 in 2014. This was a HUGE problem for us as banks and certain desirable tax deductions thought that I was basically unemployed for that year. The problem goes well beyond that legally and socially but its too much for today.
Now though, as part owner of Aaron/Bach, LLC, I have a real job again and real salary again. This protects me and our family in many ways. As Rachel's partner, it protects my economic value both for myself and for her.
Lastly, its more fair to me. I work hard for Rachel's and my dream. I may not write the actual books, but I have put a lot of time and effort into them here in the background.
Anyway,If this stuff interests you, and I hope it does, you need to look before you leap. Go read up in detail on how LLCs and S-Corps work. At least talk to an accountant before you do anything. Preferably also a banker and a lawyer. LLCs are not simple and there's a lot you can mess up through ignorance.
I read through LLCs for Dummies after starting ours and I wish I'd done so beforehand. Fortunately, we have a wonderful accountant who's helped keep us from making any regrettable mistakes so far.
A short post today, yeah rightIf you read this far.... thanks! I know this isn't the most exciting Writing Wednesday material. Its important stuff to know though and I hope that you can benefit from hearing about our experiences.
In the end, surviving taxes as an author comes down to being prepared. That's the whole point of this post really. Know what's coming and prepare yourself for it. The methods I use work for me, but they aren't the best or only methods out there. Find something that'll work for you.
We have more posts on managing author money and taxes on the blog, so please check them out if you want to read more on the different topics that I touched on today.
Lastly, would anyone be interested in an in-depth post about LLCs and such? I brushed by a lot of material today and am curious if you all want to hear more on this from Rachel and I.
As usual, if you like the post, please share it around.
Cheers,-Travis
Travis here. There's no writing wednesday today as Rachel is writing the last inches of No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished. As such, she's sealed herself into the writing chamber. Woe be to me or any other mere mortal who seeks to breach that line.
Normally, I'd try to have a fun business or numbers post too keep things rolling but, well, its tax season. Which means that I'm spending all my time getting our taxes ready for the accountant. That's right, I'm not even actually doing taxes, just doing the questionnaire for someone else to do our taxes.
So, in the spirit of the season, here's a little window into what tax time looks like for us and, probably, other authors. USA based ones at least. I know nothing about other country's taxes.
Now, I can't give tax advice, so I'm just going to talk about Rachel and I. Hopefully you will benefit from our experiences.
The Dragon of TaxesThis tax thing is no joke. I spend a lot of time and effort to manage it. Why? Well, historically 90% of our income has no withholding on it. That means we have to pay all our owed taxes at tax time. I.e. April the following year of earning it.
Until last June, Rachel operated as an implicit sole proprietorship. That's what most authors are as its the default status if you do business, aren't an employee, and haven't formally created a business entity for your author stuff.
Sole Prop sucks a lot tax wise. Basically, all our income is personal income but we also have to pay self employment taxes too (15.5% roughly at time of writing). If someone is earning a middle-class living in America off book money, not impossible at all with self pub, then they are probably paying about 35% or more of their earnings in taxes when we add up every tax. (I'm aggregating a LOT for that number btw. Ad velorum, property, state, etc..)
I've seen studies that add up all the taxes paid by someone of our income bracket and it can be north of 40%. Now, before anyone thinks I'm anti-taxes, I'm not. I love police, fire departments, roads, the FDA, and so on. Big fan of civilization here. However, I think that 40% is an unfairly high level, hence my complaining. I mean, look at the social services they get in those 50% Scandinavian countries! We're kinda wasteful with our money in America.. but I digress..
What's important for authors here is the size of the tax bill that comes due in April. We'll have to shell out a single check that covers something like 25% of our income from the last year for this. If you make any real money selling books, this'll be you too most likely.
Lemme put a number on that to drill this point home. Say you're books do great and you make $60,000 in a year. Depending on your tax situation, that might result in a $10,000 to $15,000 tax bill.
I'm sure those of you starting out are like, "I'm not going to have to worry about this for years!". Just keep in mind that any tax bill can be a real shocker if you are used to a normal job with normal withholding and you usually get a refund from the govt at tax time. Earning even a couple thousand from an ebook will likely reverse this situation.
Given that most Americans (forgive me everyone else) have less that $1,000 in savings, this can be a big gotcha I feel and worth warning people about.
Prepare for Taxes or Death by TaxesA LOT of what I do for Rachel and I is financial. A lot of the financial work is making sure that we pass through the tax time window like an arrow instead of hitting it like a bird.
How I do this is both simple and complicated. I track our earnings on a monthly basisI estimate our tax burden as we go using a worst-case-scenario methodI make sure we save up enough money to meet our tax burdenIdeally I do this as the money is earned. We have a special savings account that I move income into to cover for taxes. This way the money doesn't show up in checking. Money in checking is always at danger of either (A) getting eaten on accident or (B) providing a false sense of security and wealth.
A real example that happened - one time I had to tell Rachel that we couldn't afford something we wanted. I forget what it was, a modest vacation probably. At the time though, we had $25,000 in the bank. Why was I putting on the brakes? Well, because I knew how much we'd earn and spend and owe over the next 6 months and, basically, that $25,000 was already spent as most of it was to go to taxes in April the next year. In the end, I was right and we did need it.
Typically in December, I'll get together with my accountant over email and get a quick estimate on our likely taxes, just to make sure I haven't totally messed up. If I have, well, its December and there's 4 months to try and fix it.
How is this complicated? Well, item #1 is complicated once you start getting into deductions, business expenses, non-writing income, and so on. Again, this isn't me giving tax advice, so if you want to do this, you'll have to go educate yourself, talk to professionals, and get the tools to do this tracking yourself.
My weapons of choice are a yearly tax guide on deductions, mint.com, and MS Excel. Mint is invaluable as I'm able to review transactions monthly and tag things as taxes, taxable, business expenses, deductions and so on. This is a huge time saver when March arrives and I have to start answering questions like, "how much did I spend on non-federal taxes in 2015?"
How the Business Changes ThingsEverything I've been talking about up till now is how Rachel as a Sole Proprietorship (that I file jointly with) have handled things. This year though, things are changed both for the more complicated and the better.
In 2015 we became Aaron/Bach, LLC. (with the S-Corp tax status)
Sadly it was mid-2015, so I have half a year of Sole Prop taxes combined with the new overhead of half a year of business taxes. This is the pain year, but next year's taxes should be a LOT easier for me to handle because of this division.
What are the benefits of being an LLC like this? There's a LOT, too many to go over here really. If you are interested, go read up, there's endless resources on the web.
As relates to this post, taxes, there's three big advantages to forming a company like this,We have company accounts and a ledger. This nicely puts all our business transactions in one place and divides business from personal most excellently. Its SO much easier to hit up QuickBooks for our financial reports than it is to build them by hand in excel using Mint.com data.100% of our revenue is no longer subject to self-employment tax. This is the TL;DR version but businesses only pay employment taxes on payroll. LLCs and S-Corps can distribute money to employees and members in more ways that just payroll. We can do withholding on our payroll, which off loads a lot of tracking and money management chores from me.By setting reasonable salaries for Rachel and I, we only have to pay those extra taxes on our salaried income. This is a very big savings and it'll get bigger as we get bigger.
That said, there's a ton of benefits that I'm not talking about here. One of them that does need to be talked about is my own salary.
Protecting Your PartnerI spent all of 2014 working for Rachel and not anyone else. I work easily 80 hours a week being her marketing guy, financial guy, story helper, alpha reader, sounding board, secretary, IT guy, researcher, house husband, and general leg work person. If its not writing-related or Rachel-only, I try to take it on so she doesn't have to.
According to the IRS I made basically $0 in 2014. This was a HUGE problem for us as banks and certain desirable tax deductions thought that I was basically unemployed for that year. The problem goes well beyond that legally and socially but its too much for today.
Now though, as part owner of Aaron/Bach, LLC, I have a real job again and real salary again. This protects me and our family in many ways. As Rachel's partner, it protects my economic value both for myself and for her.
Lastly, its more fair to me. I work hard for Rachel's and my dream. I may not write the actual books, but I have put a lot of time and effort into them here in the background.
Anyway,If this stuff interests you, and I hope it does, you need to look before you leap. Go read up in detail on how LLCs and S-Corps work. At least talk to an accountant before you do anything. Preferably also a banker and a lawyer. LLCs are not simple and there's a lot you can mess up through ignorance.
I read through LLCs for Dummies after starting ours and I wish I'd done so beforehand. Fortunately, we have a wonderful accountant who's helped keep us from making any regrettable mistakes so far.
A short post today, yeah rightIf you read this far.... thanks! I know this isn't the most exciting Writing Wednesday material. Its important stuff to know though and I hope that you can benefit from hearing about our experiences.
In the end, surviving taxes as an author comes down to being prepared. That's the whole point of this post really. Know what's coming and prepare yourself for it. The methods I use work for me, but they aren't the best or only methods out there. Find something that'll work for you.
We have more posts on managing author money and taxes on the blog, so please check them out if you want to read more on the different topics that I touched on today.
Lastly, would anyone be interested in an in-depth post about LLCs and such? I brushed by a lot of material today and am curious if you all want to hear more on this from Rachel and I.
As usual, if you like the post, please share it around.
Cheers,-Travis
March 16, 2016
Writing Wednesday: Planning Your Edit Like a Pro
Good news, everyone! In a complete surprise to me, Romantic Times Magazine has picked my second Heartstriker's book,
One Good Dragon Deserves Another
, as their Editor's Choice Award Winner in Indie Urban Fantasy!! In case you missed my freakout on Twitter yesterday, I am very excited about this!! Not only does it feel great to win my first industry award for a book I produced all by my lonesome, but since I was already going to the RT Booklovers Convention in Las Vegas, this means I now get to attend an honest-to-God awards ceremony!!
Naturally, I'm pretty happy about all of this!! Thank you to the editors at RT Magazine for taking a chance on a self published book about dragons, and thank YOU ALL for reading it and spreading the word!! You have made me the happiest author ever ^__^!!
Whew, okay, gushing completed. Let's talk some writing!
In the spirit of mining my email box for blog content (what? Y'all ask the best questions!), I found this gem of a conundrum that really got my brain going.
So, without further ado, here's my solution to the age old question of "just how long is this edit going to take?"
Writing Wednesday: Planning Your Edit Like a Pro
One of the biggest variables in being a pro-writer that you can actually control is how long your novels take to write and edit. But while I talked about how I estimate my own writing times (and how you can learn to estimate yours) in the original 2k to 10k post, editing is a very different animal.
Unlike first drafts, which all tend to follow a pattern (plot, write, realize you did something wrong, go back, replot, push forward until done), no two edits are ever the same. If I got everything right the first time I plotted and don't have to go back and change any major scenes, I can knock out an edit in a week. If a book gave me serious trouble, though, or if I changed my mind several times about the plot mid-project, editing can take a good deal longer. And if I end the novel with a completely broken book, the editing can easily take as long or longer than the original draft did.
As you can read in detail on my post about editing, my editorial style is to make a list of book's problems and tackle them from most challenging to least. I vastly prefer this method to starting an edit on page one because 1) focusing on individual problems like "main character is unlikable" or "no tension in the middle" lets you keep your attention on that issue rather than going through the book chronologically and keeping everything in your head while you wait for the broken scenes to come up, which I feel makes me keep too many things in my head at once, and 2) I'm normally sick of the book by now and getting to see it in a different order is more fun.
For me, this is the only way I edit. By chopping up broken novel into a list of problems to be addressed, I can turn even the most daunting edit into a neat, completely conquerable checklist. That said, since this method relies on editing scenes out of order (and sometimes more than once when you're working on different problems that happen to touch the same scene), it can be very difficult to estimate time on. Just because I can write 10,000 words a day doesn't mean I can edit that much. Every broken scene has its own challenges. Sometimes I fly through two chapters a day, other times I spend an entire afternoon fixing a single conversation. It's also not uncommon for the items on my to do list that I assumed would be the easiest to fix to end up being the biggest bears of all, taking days longer than I'd thought they would.
With all these variables, estimating how long a book will take to edit, even after you've broken it up into a list of problems-to-be-solved, can feel impossible. But there is hope! Despite the wild swings, so long as you know what's on your plate for this edit (ie, you've accurately identified everything you're going to have to fix) and you know generally how long it takes you to edit a scene, you can still make a pretty accurate guess as to how long the overall edit will take. Just like when it comes to estimating how much you can write in a day, the key is all about knowing yourself and your own work flow.
When it comes to writing, Twilight Sparkle is my spirit animal.
Organization will set you free!
If you're interested in estimating how long an edit will take, my advice to you is to go edit a difficult scene and time yourself. When you're done with that, go edit an scene you're very happy with and time how long it takes you to do that. Once you've got these two times (and the word counts for the scenes), you'll have a ballpark measure for how many hard and how many easy words you can edit in a given hour. From there, it's just a simple matter of looking at the scenes in your to do list, making your best guess at which ones are going to be bears and which ones are going to be simple fixes, and applying your new estimated times to each one according to wordcount.
You can be as anal as you like about this step. Personally, though, I prefer to work in broad strokes. After I've made my list of the novel's problems and all the scenes where they appear, I just down the list and assign each one a designation of H (hard) or E (easy). Unless I'm dealing with a very thorny issue, scenes I've already edited once to fix another problem are Easy by default, where anything dealing with nebulous issues like "character is unlikable" that are going to take a lot of out-of-book thinking to solve are automatically Hard. Once everything has a label, I simply count up the scenes for each estimation, H and E, and multiply by the appropriate time estimation.
For example, if I've marked 50 scenes to be edited, and 25 of them are Hard and 25 are Easy, and I know I can do 2000 words of easy editing an hour vs 500 words of hard editing per hour, and I know my scenes tend to be about 2500 words on average, basic math will tell me that I'm looking at 125 hours of hard editing (25 scenes x 2500 words per scene / 500 words per hour) and 31 hours of easy editing (25 scenes x 2500 words per scene / 2000 words per hour) for an estimated 156 total hours, or 26 six-hour work days, of editing before I'm done.
I know all of that seems like a lot of math just to figure out a time line, and obviously if this is your first time editing a novel, how long it takes is completely secondary to the hard and important work of learning how to edit your books in the first place (because editing is a skill! Just because you're a good writer doesn't mean you're also a good editor. Just like you had to practice your prose to get better, you have to hone your editing skills before this stuff gets easier, and the only way to do that is to jump into your novel and start trying to fix things!).
That said, when you're trying to pin down a release date or make a deadline on your edit, knowing how roughly many hours it's going to take can be a life saver. This is especially true if you're self publishing and need to book a spot on your editor's calendar in advance, meaning you're going to have to have that first draft edited and ready to go by a specific date or risk losing your window and perhaps even your deposit to poor planning. And accurate planning is even more important if you're trying to take advantage of KDP's preorder window. Just speaking personally, pre-orders are a huge part of my income, but the KDP preorder deadline is the hardest in the industry. If I don't have my book ready to go by the date I've chosen, not only will I look like a moron, but Amazon will revoke my right to accept preorders for a full year!!
With that much money on the line for getting the book done on time, a day or so spent getting organized for your edit and accurately estimating how long it will take is a very small price to pay for the security of knowing when you'll be done within a decent margin of error. Again, this kind of detailed estimation is absolutely not necessary if you're still working on your first novel or if you're in the early stages of your career where publishing deadlines are still soft and the price for screwing up isn't so high. You're already working on much bigger problems like learning your craft and figuring out how to get your career off the ground, and this kind of hyper detailed estimation process is just another level of complication you don't need.
THAT SAID, it's never too early to start being really professional about this stuff. If your dream is to write for a living, then knowing how long it takes you to write and edit a novel is a huge advantage no matter how you're publishing. If you get a book deal, and your editor asks you "how long will it take to complete these edits," you'll be able to give her an accurate answer and come off looking like the pro-est pro that was ever pro. Or, if you're self publishing, you'll be able to set a pre-order or book launch date with the absolute certainty that you can meet it without having to rush or risk quality, because you know how long this shit is going to take. You've already done the math! Your deadlines aren't randomly chosen out of a hat. They're based on real world numbers, which means--if you give yourself enough padding to account for unforseen disasters--you should be able to meet them with none of the panicked scrambling and up-all-night writing that writers are famous for. You, my friend, will be the cool-as-a-cucumber pro, turning in your finished manuscript with days to spare.
That is not a feeling to be taken lightly, and it is absolutely worth the few hours of extra effort it takes to do an estimation. So whether you use my method or come up with your own, I hope you'll give estimating your editing time a try. If nothing else, merely labeling to-be-edited scenes as Hard or Easy will give you a clearer picture of just how much work you have to do.
Again, none of this is necessary to have a successful edit. It's just a tool I use to keep my own publishing timelines accurate. Otherwise, if I just went by my gut for how long I think things should take, I'd have myself scheduled for a book deadline every 4 months and miss every single one. This system is more than just a prediction tool, it's also there to keep me honest and make sure my optimism stays firmly in rooted in reality. And for someone who spends 90% of her waking hours playing God in made-up worlds, that's a very good thing.
And so ends a very granular and technical answer to what should have been a simple question. I hope you got something out of seeing my process, or, if not, that you were at least entertained by my freakish love of organization. If you enjoyed this post, I do one every Wednesday plus other stuff in between! Follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+ ) to never miss an update. And if you're interested in my fiction or my writing book about how I went from writing 2,000 words to over 10,000 words a day, I have everything you could ever want to know up at www.rachelaaron.net (which is coincidentally also where you can go if you want to ask me a question like the one that kicked off this entire post!)
As always, thank you so much for reading! If you haven't yet, I very much hope you'll check out my *ahem* award winning Heartstrikers Urban Fantasy series! Julius and his crew are doing me very proud at the moment ^__^.
I'll be back next week with more writing stuff and hopefully news of a finished Heartstrikers book 3! Until then, I remain your friendly neighborhood Spiderman writer,
Rachel
Naturally, I'm pretty happy about all of this!! Thank you to the editors at RT Magazine for taking a chance on a self published book about dragons, and thank YOU ALL for reading it and spreading the word!! You have made me the happiest author ever ^__^!!
Whew, okay, gushing completed. Let's talk some writing!
In the spirit of mining my email box for blog content (what? Y'all ask the best questions!), I found this gem of a conundrum that really got my brain going.
Hi Rachel -- I apologize if you have already answered this question-- I have just started following your blog and books. In your book on increasing writing speed, you discuss tracking words/day or words/hour when writing a first draft, but what about the tracking the editing phase? Do you have any good metrics on that?This is a very good question that, to my amazement, I've somehow never touched on here at the blog. I've gone over how I edit my books and how to shut up your inner editor when you're trying to write, but I've never actually touched on how I figure out just how much work an edit's going to be. Given that editing is easily half of any writing process, being able to estimate how long it's going to take is vital to any author's publishing schedule, trad or indie. That said, it should come as a surprise to no one who reads this blog that I do, indeed, have a metric for estimating how much time my edit will take!
So, without further ado, here's my solution to the age old question of "just how long is this edit going to take?"
Writing Wednesday: Planning Your Edit Like a Pro
One of the biggest variables in being a pro-writer that you can actually control is how long your novels take to write and edit. But while I talked about how I estimate my own writing times (and how you can learn to estimate yours) in the original 2k to 10k post, editing is a very different animal.
Unlike first drafts, which all tend to follow a pattern (plot, write, realize you did something wrong, go back, replot, push forward until done), no two edits are ever the same. If I got everything right the first time I plotted and don't have to go back and change any major scenes, I can knock out an edit in a week. If a book gave me serious trouble, though, or if I changed my mind several times about the plot mid-project, editing can take a good deal longer. And if I end the novel with a completely broken book, the editing can easily take as long or longer than the original draft did.
As you can read in detail on my post about editing, my editorial style is to make a list of book's problems and tackle them from most challenging to least. I vastly prefer this method to starting an edit on page one because 1) focusing on individual problems like "main character is unlikable" or "no tension in the middle" lets you keep your attention on that issue rather than going through the book chronologically and keeping everything in your head while you wait for the broken scenes to come up, which I feel makes me keep too many things in my head at once, and 2) I'm normally sick of the book by now and getting to see it in a different order is more fun.
For me, this is the only way I edit. By chopping up broken novel into a list of problems to be addressed, I can turn even the most daunting edit into a neat, completely conquerable checklist. That said, since this method relies on editing scenes out of order (and sometimes more than once when you're working on different problems that happen to touch the same scene), it can be very difficult to estimate time on. Just because I can write 10,000 words a day doesn't mean I can edit that much. Every broken scene has its own challenges. Sometimes I fly through two chapters a day, other times I spend an entire afternoon fixing a single conversation. It's also not uncommon for the items on my to do list that I assumed would be the easiest to fix to end up being the biggest bears of all, taking days longer than I'd thought they would.
With all these variables, estimating how long a book will take to edit, even after you've broken it up into a list of problems-to-be-solved, can feel impossible. But there is hope! Despite the wild swings, so long as you know what's on your plate for this edit (ie, you've accurately identified everything you're going to have to fix) and you know generally how long it takes you to edit a scene, you can still make a pretty accurate guess as to how long the overall edit will take. Just like when it comes to estimating how much you can write in a day, the key is all about knowing yourself and your own work flow.
When it comes to writing, Twilight Sparkle is my spirit animal. Organization will set you free!
If you're interested in estimating how long an edit will take, my advice to you is to go edit a difficult scene and time yourself. When you're done with that, go edit an scene you're very happy with and time how long it takes you to do that. Once you've got these two times (and the word counts for the scenes), you'll have a ballpark measure for how many hard and how many easy words you can edit in a given hour. From there, it's just a simple matter of looking at the scenes in your to do list, making your best guess at which ones are going to be bears and which ones are going to be simple fixes, and applying your new estimated times to each one according to wordcount.
You can be as anal as you like about this step. Personally, though, I prefer to work in broad strokes. After I've made my list of the novel's problems and all the scenes where they appear, I just down the list and assign each one a designation of H (hard) or E (easy). Unless I'm dealing with a very thorny issue, scenes I've already edited once to fix another problem are Easy by default, where anything dealing with nebulous issues like "character is unlikable" that are going to take a lot of out-of-book thinking to solve are automatically Hard. Once everything has a label, I simply count up the scenes for each estimation, H and E, and multiply by the appropriate time estimation.
For example, if I've marked 50 scenes to be edited, and 25 of them are Hard and 25 are Easy, and I know I can do 2000 words of easy editing an hour vs 500 words of hard editing per hour, and I know my scenes tend to be about 2500 words on average, basic math will tell me that I'm looking at 125 hours of hard editing (25 scenes x 2500 words per scene / 500 words per hour) and 31 hours of easy editing (25 scenes x 2500 words per scene / 2000 words per hour) for an estimated 156 total hours, or 26 six-hour work days, of editing before I'm done.
I know all of that seems like a lot of math just to figure out a time line, and obviously if this is your first time editing a novel, how long it takes is completely secondary to the hard and important work of learning how to edit your books in the first place (because editing is a skill! Just because you're a good writer doesn't mean you're also a good editor. Just like you had to practice your prose to get better, you have to hone your editing skills before this stuff gets easier, and the only way to do that is to jump into your novel and start trying to fix things!).
That said, when you're trying to pin down a release date or make a deadline on your edit, knowing how roughly many hours it's going to take can be a life saver. This is especially true if you're self publishing and need to book a spot on your editor's calendar in advance, meaning you're going to have to have that first draft edited and ready to go by a specific date or risk losing your window and perhaps even your deposit to poor planning. And accurate planning is even more important if you're trying to take advantage of KDP's preorder window. Just speaking personally, pre-orders are a huge part of my income, but the KDP preorder deadline is the hardest in the industry. If I don't have my book ready to go by the date I've chosen, not only will I look like a moron, but Amazon will revoke my right to accept preorders for a full year!!
With that much money on the line for getting the book done on time, a day or so spent getting organized for your edit and accurately estimating how long it will take is a very small price to pay for the security of knowing when you'll be done within a decent margin of error. Again, this kind of detailed estimation is absolutely not necessary if you're still working on your first novel or if you're in the early stages of your career where publishing deadlines are still soft and the price for screwing up isn't so high. You're already working on much bigger problems like learning your craft and figuring out how to get your career off the ground, and this kind of hyper detailed estimation process is just another level of complication you don't need.
THAT SAID, it's never too early to start being really professional about this stuff. If your dream is to write for a living, then knowing how long it takes you to write and edit a novel is a huge advantage no matter how you're publishing. If you get a book deal, and your editor asks you "how long will it take to complete these edits," you'll be able to give her an accurate answer and come off looking like the pro-est pro that was ever pro. Or, if you're self publishing, you'll be able to set a pre-order or book launch date with the absolute certainty that you can meet it without having to rush or risk quality, because you know how long this shit is going to take. You've already done the math! Your deadlines aren't randomly chosen out of a hat. They're based on real world numbers, which means--if you give yourself enough padding to account for unforseen disasters--you should be able to meet them with none of the panicked scrambling and up-all-night writing that writers are famous for. You, my friend, will be the cool-as-a-cucumber pro, turning in your finished manuscript with days to spare.
That is not a feeling to be taken lightly, and it is absolutely worth the few hours of extra effort it takes to do an estimation. So whether you use my method or come up with your own, I hope you'll give estimating your editing time a try. If nothing else, merely labeling to-be-edited scenes as Hard or Easy will give you a clearer picture of just how much work you have to do.
Again, none of this is necessary to have a successful edit. It's just a tool I use to keep my own publishing timelines accurate. Otherwise, if I just went by my gut for how long I think things should take, I'd have myself scheduled for a book deadline every 4 months and miss every single one. This system is more than just a prediction tool, it's also there to keep me honest and make sure my optimism stays firmly in rooted in reality. And for someone who spends 90% of her waking hours playing God in made-up worlds, that's a very good thing.
And so ends a very granular and technical answer to what should have been a simple question. I hope you got something out of seeing my process, or, if not, that you were at least entertained by my freakish love of organization. If you enjoyed this post, I do one every Wednesday plus other stuff in between! Follow me on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Google+ ) to never miss an update. And if you're interested in my fiction or my writing book about how I went from writing 2,000 words to over 10,000 words a day, I have everything you could ever want to know up at www.rachelaaron.net (which is coincidentally also where you can go if you want to ask me a question like the one that kicked off this entire post!)
As always, thank you so much for reading! If you haven't yet, I very much hope you'll check out my *ahem* award winning Heartstrikers Urban Fantasy series! Julius and his crew are doing me very proud at the moment ^__^.
I'll be back next week with more writing stuff and hopefully news of a finished Heartstrikers book 3! Until then, I remain your friendly neighborhood Spiderman writer,
Rachel
