William Cook's Blog, page 4

News and #FREE book

 Hi there - well it's been a while since my last post as things have been very busy on the home front. I have nearly finished the final edits on my latest book - 'Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors,' and have been working on a couple of other projects (novel, collection etc). SOBSSPA is a non-fiction collection of interviews that appeared first here on my site/blog - (you can find all the interviews via this link) along with an analysis of the main interview points and a couple of essays on Growth Hacking for authors and Self-Publishing by yours truly. All things going well, this interesting little book should be ready pre-Christmas along with a collection of essays and a new collection of short fiction. Meanwhile, here is a freebie for you guys - hope you enjoy it.



#FREE Now! (3 Days only - 12-15/11) Dead and Buried - A Ghost Story (Please share/ #RT) - (U.S. & U.K. links below)

Ever been bullied? Ever been dead and buried? Ever been a ghost?
 
Donny is sick of everything, at home and at school. Most of all, he hates the bullies who have made his life a living hell. Strange things have been happening in the Cox household – Donny’s mother has mysteriously disappeared and his drunken father has been acting more strangely than usual. Donny’s little brother Max is relying on him to find their mother and to protect him from all the things little kids need protecting from. The local gang of thugs is intent on making Donny and Max’s lives as miserable as possible. They will resort to almost anything to make the Cox brothers’ suffer. What the bullies don’t consider, is the possibility that their cruel actions will have consequences far beyond their realms of imagination.

A supernatural coming-of-age ghost story that deals with the consequences of bullying.

Contains scenes of violence and low-level supernatural horror.

“This man is simply scary. There is both a clinical thoroughness and a heartfelt emotional thoroughness to his writing. He manages to shock as well as empathize, to scare as well as acclimatize, yet beneath it all is a well read intelligence that demands to be engaged. I loved Blood Related. Ordinarily I hate serial killer stories, but William Cook won me over. He is a unique and innovative talent.”
– Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Dog Days

#Ghosts #Ghost #Supernatural #Horror #Paranormal #Mystery #Suspense

AMAZON U.S. - http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Buried-Ghost-William-Cook-ebook/dp/B00IJMI8T6/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447286047&sr=1-14&refinements=p_82%3AB003PA513I

AMAZON U.K. - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Buried-Ghost-William-Cook-ebook/dp/B00IJMI8T6/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447286187&sr=1-13

Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #13 – Michael J Sullivan

Another fascinating interview is in store for you today and this time we have best-selling fantasy author, Michael J Sullivan in the hot-seat. A very interesting and generous writer who has taken the time to answer my questions about self-publishing and achieving success in today's tough publishing market-place. As usual, please make sure to check out Michael's links and books at the bottom of the interview and also take advantage of the subscription offer. His Amazon biography describes him as thus (abridged):

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend's house, Michael J. Sullivan inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night. He was just eight years old and mimicking the greatest (or only) writer he knew at the time...Snoopy. That spark ignited a flame and the desire to fill blank pages would become a life-long obsession. As an adult, Michael spent more than ten years developing his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote thirteen novels but found no traction in publishing. He did the only sane thing he could think of (since insanity is repeating the same act but expecting a different result), he quit and vowed never to write creatively again.

Michael stayed away from writing for a decade and returned to the keyboard in his forties...but with one condition: he wouldn't seek publication. Instead, he wrote a series of books that had been building in his head over his hiatus. His first reading love was fantasy, and his hope was to help foster a love of reading in his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who struggled due to severe dyslexia. After reading the third book of this series, his wife insisted the novels needed to "get out there." When Michael refused to jump back onto the query-go-round, she took over the publication tasks and has run "the business side" of his writing ever since.

Michael is one of the few authors who has successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big five. Some key accomplishments of his career include:

* Named to io9's Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors
* Sold more than half a million English copies
* Been translated into twelve foreign languages
* Spent more than a year on Amazon's Bestselling Fantasy Author's list
* His Death of Dulgath Kickstarter is the third-highest funded fiction project of all time.
* Had his books named to more than 100 "best of" or "most anticipated" lists including those compiled by Library Journal, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads.com, and Audible.com

Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages with nine released novels, six awaiting publication, and a new series in the developmental stages. 

 Here he is, folks. The inimitable, Michael J Sullivan:


Do you think that your life experience has gone someway towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre?


Yes, in many ways all that has occurred during my life has been a contributing factor to my success. It’s taken me decades to find my voice and polish my story-telling style, but more importantly the skills related to marketing, design, and promotion also took years to perfect. My “day job” before I became a full-time novelist was running my advertising agency. Doing that gave me experience in layout, design, and marketing.


You are what is commonly referred to as a ‘hybrid author.’ Can you please explain whether you agree with this and whether or not this was a conscious decision on your part?


Yes, a hybrid is the best description for how I approach publishing. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, it’s an author who utilizes both self-publishing and traditional. It would help to explain a bit about my publishing history.


·      2008 – Book #1 of The Riyria Revelations was published by a small press
·      2009  -  2010  Book #1 - #5 of The Riyria Revelations were self-published
·      2011 – 201 2: Book #1 - #6 of The Riyria Revelations re-released by big-five
·      2013 – Book #1 & #2 – of The Riyria Chronicles released by big-five
·      2014 – Hollow World – released by self (ebook) and small press (print book)
·      2015 – Book #3 of The Riyria Chronicles self-published
·      2016 – Book #1 of The First Empire released by big-five
·      2017 -  Book #2 of the First Empire released by big-five and at least one book self-published.


As you can see, I have utilized small presses, the big-five traditional publishers, and self-publishing over the course of the last eight years. It is definitely a conscious decision, as I think it diversifies my offerings and provides for the greatest amount of flexibility. For each project, I determine what I think would be the best for my career and evaluate potential income, and then I decide which route to take.


A common trait I have noticed, amongst the work of some of the biggest and best-selling authors who self-publish, is that they are ‘World Creators.’ You are no exception – your books are set in fantastical and futuristic worlds that envelope your readers. The fact that many of the top self-published authors create and write within these worlds leads me to believe that this way of writing lends itself strongly, to solid story strands that translate nicely into both extended series and devout fans and to a certain appeasement of the Amazon gods in terms of the promotion of those series. Do you write an origin story with a future series in mind or is it more of an organic process because of the way you build such a strong setting/world in the first book?


To date, I’ve written series mostly, but I do so in a very unusual way. I write all the books before publishing any of them.  For instance my first series, The Riyria Revelations was a six-novel story arc, and I finished writing the last book before the first one was published. I just finished a new series, The First Empire (5 books). Even though the first book, The Age of Myth, won’t be released until June 2016, I’ve finished all five books this April.


I do have one book, Hollow World, which is a standalone novel. That being said, I left some room to revisit that world and characters if the readership wanted more. It would appear that they do, so I’ll probably be writing a second story in that universe starting next year.


How important are books written within a series to your success as a best-selling author?


I think series are very important to my success. First, it is common in fantasy and science fiction to create epic tales that require several full-length novels to tell. But more importantly, it’s hard to make a living with just one book. Three seems to be the magic number as far as the number required to start obtaining a substantial readership. When they are all in the same series, it’s easy to get someone to go from one to the next (assuming the first one has entertained and/or touched them).  Otherwise, you have to find a new audience with each standalone book, and that is a lot more work.


Once you have decided that self-publishing might be your route, what financial and artistic considerations should you keep in mind before you begin?


I’m a firm believer that if you go the self-published route, you MUST produce a work that is every bit as good as anything coming from New York. That means an attractive, professional cover and flawless editing. A self-published book has to be twice as good to get half the credit. A typo or two in a traditionally published book is looked upon as a “minor mistake.” The same typos in a self-published book are held up as proof that self-published authors need better editing.  Going self doesn’t mean “taking the easy way.” It means just the opposite. So if you can’t produce a book with exceptional quality – I say don’t bother.  All that being said, you also have to keep in mind budgetary considerations. It doesn’t make sense to spend $2,000 releasing a book that will only net $500.  So you have to spend your money wisely.  If you shop around you can budget around $800 and get good results for both cover and editing. To me, that’s probably the lowest amount you should expect.


What kind of marketing did you do to establish your author brand and what do you think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors? Is there any one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books – i.e. could you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales method/s?


It’s impossible to sum up years of marketing experience in a paragraph. But I can point out some resources that should help. One of the areas that I’ve found the best results from is Goodreads. It’s a site dedicated to books and is a perfect environment to find readers. There’s a lot to do there:groups to join, giveaways to run, talking to people who have read and reviewed your books. It can be somewhat overwhelming. I suggest people check out an article I wrote in the Feb 2015 edition of Writer’s Digest as a good place to start. I also have some online guides on the right-hand side of reddit’s write2publish sub (https://www.reddit.com/r/Write2Publish/).


You have some fantastic book covers. How important do you think cover design is to a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your success to date? 


Nothing will hold back a good book more than a bad cover. If someone can tell a book is self-published by looking at it, then you’ve put yourself at a significant disadvantage. Remember what I said about producing a book using the same standards of traditional publishers. That means that the cover of your self-published book has to stand toe-to-toe with anything that comes out from New York. With a bad cover, you have to work so much harder to convince people that what is inside the covers is worth their time. A good cover clears that obstacle and puts the focus on the writing not its package.


Do you think it is important for self-published authors to identify and write in a niche market that they may have an interest in, in order to establish themselves as a leader in that genre and sell more books?


I don’t know that I’m expert on selling books across a broad spectrum. All I can speak to is what has worked for me. First and foremost I think you have to write what you love. Otherwise, the lack of passion will show in your work. For instance, erotica has always done well in self-publishing, and if I cared only about money, I might consider writing for that audience. But I’d fail in that genre as (a) I don’t know the market well and (b) they aren’t the stories I want to tell. The people who do well in that market do so because they are passionate about those stories. There are going to be writers whose books are going to be “too niche” or “too broad” and they will probably struggle, and may never be commercial successes. It’s just a fact of life. If that describes you, then you need to find your rewards by the journey rather than the destination, and there is nothing wrong with that.


What avenues of self-promotion did you find to be most effective and affordable? What’s the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’ advertising you have employed?


Without question, a Goodreads Giveaway is the best “bang-for-your-buck.” For the cost of printing and shipping a book you can get hundreds, or even thousands of people to know it exists.  I just concluded a giveaway for my new novel, The Death of Dulgath which had 4,186 people interested.  The one before that (The Age of Myth (previously called Rhune) had 9,243 people sign up.  Now, a new author can’t expect that kind of result. But even when I was an unknown author, I was pulling in 500 – 800 readers. That’s quite a bit, especially considering that I could message each one afterward and offer them a free short story. Doing that was very successful in getting people into my series.


In your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of self-publishing?


No, I don’t think traditional publishing is on the way out, but I do think self is now just as viable as traditional. It depends on what your goals are and what capabilities you have. If, for instance, you can’t put out a high-quality self-published book, then I think you should go traditional. Yes, you’ll lose a big cut of the profits, but the book will be professionally produced, and you have to start with that or you have nothing.  As for traditional “keeping up” with self-publishing…the answer is they can’t...but they don’t need to.  Let me explain. “Keeping up” implies they can match the output of self – and that’s just not possible. There are only so many books they can curate in any given year, and it will always be a very small fraction of the self-published books released. Traditional publishing’s business model is much different than self. It has always had a limited bandwidth, and that works for their model. The bigger concern to traditional publishing isn’t an influx of self-published titles. If anything, that helps them out.  The danger is a decrease in readership as people turn to other forms of leisure…video games, television, movies, etc.


Would you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or will you always manage some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?


I would like to have more self-published titles then I currently do. There were times in my career that I was 100% self, and that provides a great deal of freedom and a lot fewer hassles. When I sold my first self-published works to the big-five, my intension was to self-publish all future books. So far, that hasn’t happened. The first offer I got on my second series had me heading for self-publishing, but then an offer came in that made traditional a better choice.  For my third series, I also intended to take that self, but again another offer came along that I just couldn’t pass up.  Still, my most recent work is going out the self-published route and I do have several new projects I plan on self-publishing. Whether they will or not will depend on many factors including how my career is progressing and which route I think will make the most amount of sense.  But no, I don’t suspect I’ll ever be 100% traditional.


Have you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?


There was a three-week period back in 2010 when I put my second novel to free. In general, I’m not a fan of free novels as it is a large potential loss for the author.  What I do believe strongly in is free short stories. I have two shorts free on Audible (The Jester and Professional Integrity). And I have some free shorts in ebook (including the Riyria Sampler, which has four little shorts in it).  But I say all that with regards to my writing. For some authors, the free first book is essential for their careers, and it works well for them. Each author is going to be slightly different. The best advice I can give is to be self-aware about your audience and what you need to do to lower the barrier for them to try your stuff. At the beginning of your career, free books may be a needed incentive, but as your readership grows, you should be able to go without it.


Do you feel there’s a good sense of community within the self-publishing industry?


Absolutely. I find the self-published authors are extremely open and share a great deal, something I’ve not seen much of with traditional authors. In particular, the Writer’s Café of Kindle boards (kboards.com) is especially helpful.


Many self-published authors (and many traditional authors) have a strong support network, the most important member usually being a spouse or partner who provides financial stability in the early stages of the author’s career. Your wife has been instrumental in handling the publishing tasks and runs the ‘business side’ of your career which gives you the freedom to write. Do you think this is an essential aspect of successful writers’ careers and do you think you would have the success you have enjoyed to date without such support?


There is no doubt that I couldn’t have been successful without Robin’s support.  Does every author have that? Sadly, no. Can you be successful without it? Yes, but it will be harder. I find the “business side” overhead to be about the same in self and traditional…the tasks are different, but the time away from writing is about the same. So, it’s not like there is more burden with self than traditional on that front. I’m fortunate as I don’t have to concern myself with agents, publishers, publicists, etc. Robin handles all that. It puts me in an exceptional position for writing. Bottom line. I wish every author had what I do, and no you can’t have Robin. She’s mine.


What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to self-publish?


Control. I just spoke about the “overhead” being about the same between the traditional and self. A lot of that has to do with constant conversations Robin has with the publisher about things we would like to do but can’t.  Want to lower the price temporarily?  The publisher says no.  Want to distribute the books free of DRM? The publisher says no.  Would you like the book included in a Humble Bundle? Nope. Don’t like the cover created?  Too bad, you don’t have a say.  Would you like a different format (say hardcover or mass market paperback)? Again you don’t have any input into such things.  When you are with a traditional publisher, there is a lot of “hoping” they’ll do things you want them to do. Sometimes they do, but many times they do not.  And it can be extremely frustrating.


You have successfully used crowd-funding (Kickstarter) to drive some of your projects forward in the past. What are the main pros and cons for a self-published author in using such platforms to fund their projects?


The pros of Kickstarting is the sense of “community” that the backers generate. They feel a part of the creation process and are as proud as I am with the success of the book. They are enthusiastic, and it’s great seeing everyone pulling to meet that next stretch goal. They also provide early reviews and help with generating pre-release “buzz.”


The cons are that it won’t work for everyone. People who have no audience will find it difficult to fund. So, my suggestion is you shouldn’t Kickstart your first novel.  Once you get a few under your belt, and you have a following that’s when you should consider one.


You have many of your books available in audio format – do you think audio books are worth investing in for self-published authors? I.e. is it a revenue stream that pays dividends in your opinion?


Again, it’s hard for me to discuss generalities, as I’m only an expert with regards to my books and my career. For me, they surpassed my wildest expectations, but I’ve also been on the top of the bestsellers there and one thing about the top – is not everyone is going to get there. The best thing I can say is if you have a good strong ebook/print audience the chances of a good audio audience is good as well. But when you do it, do so with that same attention to professionalism I spoke of elsewhere. That means hiring a top-notch narrator and using a professional studio for recording and mastering. If you try to do it “on the cheap.” I don’t think it will be successful.


How important do you think social media and a strong active online presence is, to becoming a success as a self-published author?


It depends on how you define “social media” – if you define it as having a Facebook page and tweeting to “buy my book” I think that will tend to be counterproductive.  If you mean having tools that help you connect with your readership…well that’s a whole different story.  I think authors today are fortunate in that they have so many ways to CONNECT with readers. To me, such venues help to do that, and I think making connections is just as important to a self-published author as it is a traditionally published one. It comes down to what you do with those tools.


Are you in regular contact with other self-published authors and how important was any input you may have received early on in your career?  Do you have a mentor in terms of your self-publishing success – someone who may have inspired you to ‘give it a go’?


There are a few authors I’m in touch with regularly, some are self-published, some are traditional, and a very few do a bit of both.  All of my contacts came after I started publishing, so it didn’t help build the career…but now that I have a career it’s nice to chat, compare notes, and talk about what’s going on in the industry. As for mentorship, it has tended to be the other way around. I mentor a lot of people, but I was a bit of a trailblazer, so my work was pretty much on my own.


Do you think self-published authors need to become effective business people, by treating self-publishing as a business, in order to succeed and secure their financial independence?


Yes, I do believe self-published authors have to concern themselves with both the “craft of writing” and the “business of publishing.” As I said above, you have to put out something with every bit of quality that “real” publishers do – so you need a bit of entrepreneurship in you. Those that prefer “working for the man” probably will never be a good fit for the type of maverick nature that good self-publishing requires.


Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working with any publishers on future projects?


I recently changed agents, and am currently represented by Joshua Bilmes’ JABberwocky Agency. Just prior to signing on with them, I sold four books to Del Rey. This includes the first three books of The First Empire series (Age of Myth will be released in June 2016), and one more yet to be determined book to be set in my fictional world of Elan.  That could be a fourth Royce and Hadrian Riyria book or one of about a half-dozen other books I already have planned out in that world.  Del Rey will be releasing my books yearly, so I’ll be writing (and probably self-publishing) other books as they do their releases. As I said, I have all five of the First Empire novels written, and I’ll have plenty more finished over the four years of that contract.  Currently, I’m in beta with my third Riyria Chronicle (The Death of Dulgath) which I plan on having out before the end of the year via self-publishing.


Can you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?


The only thing that I think I did wrong was when I gave up. I had spent about a decade writing and had thirteen completed novels. When I couldn’t find any traction in publishing, I quit.  I didn’t start writing again until a decade later, and I only did so with the belief that I wouldn’t be publishing. Ironically, it was those books that put me on the map. So I guess my best advice is to realize that the only way to ensure failure is to quit trying. If something doesn’t catch…write something else.  Keep working on improving your skills and keep telling stories, and that will significantly increase your chances of success.


Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is the best place for readers to find your books?


Thanks for having me, and for asking such great questions. This is where people can connect with me.


Email: Michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com Website: www.riyria.com Twitter: @author_sullivan Social media: Facebook • goodreads • 
 A small selection of Michael's books (click image to purchase)



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Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #12 – Rachel Abbott

Today's interview is with best-selling U.K. thriller author, Rachel Abbott. Rachel has received a lot of good press recently about her rise to the top of Amazon's best-seller lists. This from her Amazon biography: "Rachel published Only the Innocent in November 2011. It raced up the UK charts to reach the top 100 within 12 weeks and quickly hit the #1 spot in the Amazon Kindle chart (all categories) and remained there for four weeks.
Originally, Only the Innocent was a self-published title, but since the success of the early version, the novel was re-edited and the new version was launched in the US by Thomas and Mercer in paperback, audio and Kindle versions on 5th February 2013, hitting the number one spot in the Kindle Store in August 2013. Her second book, The Back Road, was also published by Thomas and Mercer.

Her third book, Sleep Tight, was published in February 2014."
Here is the interview, please make sure you check out Rachel's books and website and also subscribe (see link below) to this website to stay tuned for the next interview in the Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors interview series (next interview will be with best-selling fantasy author, Michael J Sullivan).





Do you think that your life experience has gone someway towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre?

An interesting question! I haven’t met many murderers as far as I know, but my books tend to be about the extremes of relationships – the dilemmas people face when they realize that things are not the way they thought they were. On that basis, I do think that my life experience has helped enormously. I like to people watch, and for my characters I take small personality quirks and expand them until they become threatening. Take the guy who watches his wife’s every move - he can’t take his eyes off her. What triggers would have to be pressed for this to become a dangerous obsession?


Did you try to get publishing contracts for your books early on with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or, if not, what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your work?

I didn’t try very hard because I originally wrote for my own pleasure. Family members suggested I should try to find an agent, so I sent a few enquiry letters. The responses were encouraging, but nobody was actually ready to take my first book on. I didn’t do anything with it after that for quite a while, but when I saw that you could upload to the Kindle in the UK, I just thought I would give it a try – just to see what happened. I wasn’t expecting anything much at all, and so it wasn’t an active decision based on weighing up the options. It was merely the idea of ‘having a go’.


Many other successful self-published authors have established themselves and hit the best-seller lists with ‘Series Books’ – your novels follow this trend in that the lead character of Detective Inspector Tom Douglas drives the story forward with each new book. Usually, authors/publishers brand their books along the lines of “A Detective Tom Douglas Thriller” etc. You seem to have bucked this trend by not labeling your books as a series, despite their obvious connections. You have had great success with your books but I wondered why you haven’t been more obvious about calling your books a ‘series’? What are your thoughts on this and how important do you think series books are for self-published authors in establishing themselves and in regards to hitting the best-seller charts?


I love Tom Douglas, but I don’t consider my books to be principally about him. They are about the victims or the perpetrators of the crimes. Because most of my books involve murder, I usually feel the story is helped by the involvement of a policeman, and I have kept to the same character throughout. But when I think of ideas for my books, Tom doesn’t figure in the thinking. It’s the relationships and the crime that drive the books.


Having said that, I have introduced quite a bit of Tom’s personal life, and readers seem to enjoy it. And so for now I will continue to do that.


I am not sure whether it’s necessary to have a series. I think if you like an author’s writing style it doesn’t matter whether the same characters are in all of them or not. That only begins to matter if they have a developing story of their own – so the reader becomes interested in what is going to happen to them next.


Is diversification something you see as a growing necessity for contemporary self-published/indie authors, or is specialization (genre focus) more important in your opinion? If so/not please explain why.


It differs for each individual. In my case, I have an incredibly loyal band of readers who enjoy my books. If I suddenly started to write in some entirely different genre, I think they would be confused. If a writer has achieved success in a genre, it makes sense to continue writing for the same audience. But at the same time, if you enjoy the whole process of writing, you need to write from the heart and if that leads you in a different direction, you may feel you have to follow it.


You have previously written about how you go about soliciting reviews for your books. Has the way you gather reviews changed since you started publishing or is there still one method you find to be of the most use for getting good quality reviews?


There are three main sources of reviews for my books, and without a doubt the most important source is the reader – the person who has bought my book, has sat down and read it. But it takes time for those reviews to appear, and it is very useful to have some reviews available at launch. With that in mind, I use two sources – early readers and bloggers. The early readers are people who have been quite chatty about their enjoyment of my books, and I choose a small number for advance copies in return for an honest review. I also approach bloggers – I have a database of them – and ask if they would consider writing a review.


Is there any one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books – i.e. could you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales method/s?


I am asked this question more than any other, and the truth is that the most successful sales method changes with every single book – because things move on so quickly. The most important thing is to raise awareness of your book – and you need to use whatever means you can. People say to me that Facebook and Twitter ads are a waste of time, because they cost as much as you might make on a book sale. But that is slightly missing the point. I recently ran an experiment with Twitter ads. One of my books was in a US promotion, so I ran some ads. The book rose up 300 places in the charts overnight and sales tripled. However, the number of click through on Twitter was far LESS than the increase in sales. The fact is that as the book rose up the charts with the small number of Twitter click through, it became more visible – more people became aware of it. So the majority of additional sales were from people who, until that point, hadn’t noticed the book.


Who designs your book covers and promotional material? How important do you think cover design is to a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your success to date? 


My book covers are designed by a young man who used to work for me when I ran an interactive media company. I gave him his first job after university, and he’s still working for the company at a very senior level twenty years later. He’s a complete star! But he’s a very busy man, and so while he does the cover design, he no longer has time to do the promotional material. We’re currently looking for somebody to take on that task.


People often say that you don’t sell books because of the cover, but I disagree. It’s back to the awareness point. If your cover is attractive, people will notice it and begin to recognise it – and hopefully will be sufficiently interested to take a look.


In your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of self-publishing?


I don’t think for a minute that traditional publishing is on the way out, and I would be very sad if that were the case. Traditional publishers do a great job, and when I am asked for my advice from other writers I often say that they should try traditional publishing first. Self-publishing is not going to work for everybody, and the traditional route is tried and tested.


Do you use other online publishers as an alternative to Amazon’s KDP and Createspace platforms? I.e. do you feel that it is necessary for self-published authors to use as many avenues in order to widely publicize and market their books to potential readers?

I used to make my books available on as many eBook retail sites as possible. But I now only sell on Amazon because in return for that I get better opportunities to promote my books. I don’t tend to use CreateSpace – although I have done. I now have my books professionally printed in bulk, so that I am able to distribute to bookstores.


Would you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or will you always mange some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?

I never say never! At the moment, things are going well for me – but it is hard work. I am at my desk seven days a week, and sometimes the idea of somebody taking all of the extra stuff off my hands is very appealing.


Who knows what the future will bring? Five years ago I hadn’t published my first book, so I have no idea what the next five years will bring.


Have you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?


I have never given my books away for free (other than to people I meet or know, of course). I haven’t found it necessary. I do know that some people have gained success that way – they have found that by giving away some of their books they build a readership who will then buy their books – but it’s not something I have ever been tempted to try.


Lots of changes have been occurring within Amazon’s KDP program/s (Select, Unlimited, Countdown etc.) over the past couple of years – do you feel that it is still possible for hard-working, self-published authors who write great stories, to become best-sellers by remaining exclusively with Amazon?


Absolutely. But it’s not necessary to remain exclusively with Amazon. There are advantages, and for the moment – for me at least – they outweigh the disadvantages. But if the story is good and captures people’s imagination, in the end it comes down to the ability to get the book noticed. And that’s the hard bit.


What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to self-publish?


I suppose I would have to say it’s being my own boss. I work in conjunction with my agent who gives an amazing amount of advice based on her extensive experience. But between us we can decide not only the right schedule for publishing new titles, but also the right time to put books in promotions. We choose the cover, the title, write the blurb – and I might find it difficult to relinquish control.


I have to admit that also it is commercially very viable for me to be self-published, and at present that is attractive.



You took early retirement from a career in law and began your new career as an author. The fact that you took early retirement and moved to the Mediterranean begs the question as to whether your success has been helped by having a generous budget at your disposal to market your books. I.e. the old adage seems to apply that one has to ‘spend money to make money’ as evidenced by the likes of Mark Dawson who is quite open about spending 3-500 $/£ a day on Facebook advertising to boost his profile and his book sales. Do you think that a self-published author has to have a decent marketing budget in order to achieve success and hit the best-seller charts with the amount of competition out there currently?


It may surprise you to know that I had no marketing budget at all when I started writing. I do have now, but when I launched Only the Innocent I had just me – nobody helping me at all – a very old computer and a lot of extremely hard work. I don’t think I spent a single penny on marketing for at least a year, and now I spend very little on advertising. The majority of my marketing budget goes on people now – I have a couple of part time assistants who take away a lot of the day to day work leaving me free to write.


How important do you think social media and a strong active online presence is, to becoming a success as a self-published author?


It’s definitely one way of doing it – and the way that people seem to prefer. But there are other ways too. I have met people who have come up with totally different marketing ideas based around the content of their books. They write articles on an appropriate subject from their stories, aimed at those interested in the background to the content, rather than the genre of book, and they target clubs and groups who have similar interests. Social media is the means most often talked about, but I think self-published authors need to be open-minded about all marketing options.


Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working with any publishers on future projects?
I was signed by Lizzy Kremer of David Higham Associates when Only the Innocent became a best seller, and having an agent is probably the best decision I ever made. She is a huge help to me in so many ways, from editing my work to advising me on publicity, jackets, titles and generally keeping me focused.



For the moment, the plan is to remain self-published because it seems to be going well and so it’s probably best not to make too many changes. But who knows what will happen in the future.


Can you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?


Before you start to go down this road you need to ask yourself what success looks like to you, and then base your business plan on that. What matters most to you – number of readers, amount of money made, critical success? Once you know that, you can work out how to pursue that dream. But you need a plan. If I could do it all again I would do two things differently – I would write a marketing plan before I started, rather than two months after launch – and I would eat far fewer chocolate biscuits, the only thing that kept me going as I sat at the computer for fourteen hours a day trying to market my book!


Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.


Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is the best place for readers to find your books?


All my books are available in both eBook and paperback from Amazon, but the printed books can be ordered from most good bookstores.


The following links go straight to your local Amazon online store.


Only the Innocent
The Back Road
Sleep Tight
Stranger Child
Make sure you check out Rachel's website (and sign up for her newsletter) and connect via the links below:


Rachel Abbott's websitehttp://www.rachel-abbott.comRachel Abbott's bloghttp://rachelabbottwriter.wordpress.comTwitter account #1https://twitter.com/_RachelAbbottTwitter account #2https://twitter.com/Rachel__AbbottFacebookhttp://facebook.com/rachelabbott1writer

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#books, #selfpub, Amazon Best-sellers, Indie, Interview, Rachel Abbott, Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors, Self-Publishing, William Cook, writing, Thriller Fiction

Gaze Into The Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison - Now Available in Paperback and EBook

Very pleased that my latest book has just been released officially. Gaze Into The Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison, is now available in Kindle and Paperback via New Street Communications. Please share with Doors and Jim Morrison fans and groups etc. Much appreciated :)


Doors Photographer & Intimate Paul Ferrara Joins Others To Praise New Study of Jim Morrison's Poetry Creator of iconic Doors images and personal friend of Jim Morrison teams with Doors expert David Shiang and Doors biographer James Riordan to endorse William Cook's GAZE INTO THE ABYSS: THE POETRY OF JIM MORRISON PRESS RELEASE:
NEWPORT, R.I. - Sept. 3, 2015 - PRLog -- Pop culture icon and sixties rocker Jim Morrison considered himself a poet first and foremost above all other things.

In Gaze Into the Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison, William Cook brilliantly examines Morrison's written work in all its beauty and complexity, providing rich insight into Morrison's influences, themes, and poetic vision.

Iconic Doors photographer Paul Ferrara, who was also one of Morrison's best friends, says of the book: "No other rock poet went so deep into his soul. That is what separates Jim Morrison from the rest. Jim and his words were timeless and reached deep into those people who got it, turning them into worshipers. Even the new generations get it. This book by William Cook finally address the phenomena that was Jim Morrison the poet."

Ferrara is seconded by internationally-known Doors expert David Shiang, who in his Introduction comments: "William Cook has written an admirable analysis of Jim Morrison’s poetry, taking us far beyond the sophomoric judgments of most music journalists and critics."

Finally James Riordan, author of Break on Through: The Life & Death of Jim Morrison (called the most objective and definitive Morrison biography by the New York Times Book Review), has this to say: "Gaze Into the Abyss ... offers new and valuable insights into Morrison's writing. Jim's poetic gift was often ignored and certainly not fully appreciated while he lived and I, for one, am grateful for this in-depth look."

All in all, Gaze Into the Abyss comprises a work no serious Doors or Jim Morrison fan will want to pass up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William Cook lives in New Zealand and is best known as the author of critically-acclaimed macabre fiction. His books include the novel Blood Related, the short story collection Dreams of Thantos, and the poetry collection Corpus Delicti.

Gaze Into the Abyss is available in Paper ($14.99) and Kindle ($2.99) editions.

For more information visit: http://newstreetcommunications.com/new_street_literary/ga...
Contact
Monica Wister
***@newstreetcommunications.com


"No other rock poet went so deep into his soul. That is what separates Jim Morrison from the rest. Jim and his words were timeless and reached deep into those people who got it, turning them into worshipers. Even the new generations get it. This book by William Cook finally address the phenomena that was Jim Morrison the poet." - PAUL FERRARA, photographer and Doors intimate.

"William Cook has written an admirable analysis of Jim Morrison’s poetry, taking us far beyond the sophomoric judgments of most music journalists and critics." - DAVID SHIANG, President at Open Sesame Marketing & Communications, also Sales & Marketing Consultant to the Big Data Consulting marketplace Experfy at the Harvard Innovation Lab, and generally recognized as the world's leading authority on Jim Morrison and The Doors.

"GAZE INTO THE ABYSS ... offers new and valuable insights into Morrison's writing. Jim's poetic gift was often ignored and certainly not fully appreciated while he lived and I, for one, am grateful for this in-depth look." - JAMES RIORDAN, author of "Break on Through: The Life & Death of Jim Morrison," called the most objective and definitive Morrison biography by the New York Times Book Review.

Grab your copy now - links below AMAZON LINKSKINDLE, U.S. - http://www.amazon.com/Gaze-Into-Abyss-Poetry-Morrison-ebook/dp/B014RM9K98/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

PAPERBACK U.S. - http://www.amazon.com/Gaze-Into-Abyss-Poetry-Morrison/dp/0692509240/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

KINDLE U.K. - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaze-Into-Abyss-Poetry-Morrison-ebook/dp/B014RM9K98/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1441750915&sr=1-1&keywords=gaze+into+the+abyss

PAPERBACK U.K. - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaze-Into-Abyss-Poetry-Morrison/dp/0692509240/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441750868&sr=8-1&keywords=gaze+into+the+abyss
Jim Morrison, James Douglas Morrison, New Jim Morrison, The Doors, The American Night, Lords and New Creatures, Wilderness, Literary Criticism, New Release, New Street Communications, Ed Renehan, Paul Ferrara, James Riordan, David Shiang

Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #11 – Ruth Ann Nordin

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mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} p.NormalbestCxSpLast, li.NormalbestCxSpLast, div.NormalbestCxSpLast {mso-style-name:NormalbestCxSpLast; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black; mso-font-kerning:16.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} @page Section1 {size:595.05pt 841.7pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.3pt; mso-footer-margin:35.3pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1 </style><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">Today we have a very special interview with best-selling Indie author, Ruth Ann Nordin.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span>Ruth lives in Montana with her husband and four sons. When she's not playing wife and mother, she's reading and writing. She has written over sixty books, and about fifty of those are romances. Her romances include Regencies, historical westerns, and contemporaries. To find out more about her and her books, please visit her website (link at the end of this interview). Meanwhile, grab your favorite beverage and dive into this interesting and informative interview:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz70N3HY1EM..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz70N3HY1E..." width="365" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">Who are you and where do you come from? Do you think that your life experience has gone someway towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre? </span></b></span></span></i> </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">I’m Ruth Ann Nordin, and I was born and raised in Ohio.  I’ve lived in several states since I was 18, my favorite ones being North Dakota, Alaska, and now Montana.  To a point, having moved around and checked out different areas of the United States has influenced my decision to write historical westerns, so you could say it has helped to some degree.  However, a person can live in one place their whole life and be successful.  There is no limit to the imagination. </span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">Did you try to get publishing contracts for your books early on with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or, if not, what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your work?</span></b></span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">I did, but only because people in my writing groups said it was the only legitimate way to be a writer.  I didn’t receive rejections, per se.  I was given feedback on things to change in my stories, and I was encouraged to resubmit them.  This was with two different publishing houses.  So it wasn’t like I was submitting all over the place or submitting a lot.  I barely managed the <span style="font-family: inherit;">enthusiasm</span> to submit to them since my heart wasn’t in it.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-NZ">My heart wasn’t in doing the changes they wanted, either.  The stories would significantly change, and I wouldn’t have liked them the way the publishers wanted them.  I decided to go on my own and self-publish, much to the dismay of the writers in those groups.  Some people warned me I was making a huge mistake and some refused to acknowledge any of my self-published books.  This was back in 2008-2009.  I can tell you the attitude has changed so much toward self-published authors.  Ironically, the writers who once argued with me about my choice are now self-publishing their own books.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></i><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>With over fifty published works, you write mainly Historical and Contemporary Romance but also dabble in other genres. What drew you to primarily write in the Romance genre/s and why do you also write in other genres?</b></span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">I love reading a wide variety of books.  The same is true for watching TV shows and movies.  Writing in other genres helps me stay creative.  If I only did romance, my work would become stale.</span></b><b></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Is diversification something you see as a growing necessity for contemporary self-published/indie authors, or is specialization (genre focus) more important in your opinion? If so/not please explain why. </b></span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">I guess it depends on whether you’re going after a trend or not.  Romance sells well regardless of trends, so it’s easier to diversify between Regencies, historical westerns, and contemporaries (the three subgenres I write in).  I remember when serials were big, and now I barely hear anything about them.  I never did serials because I like writing standalones or a series where each book can stand by itself.  </span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">I think what might be a good strategy is to find a genre you enjoy, find out what elements are in the bestselling books in that genre, and putting those elements into your stories.  For example, when I branched out to Regencies, I read the descriptions of the top sellers in the genre and picked out things they had in common (a forced marriage, a scandal, and the hero and heroine not liking the arrangement).  I put all three into my first Regency, and it was one of my bestselling books of all time.  I created my own story using those three things.  I think that technique can be done in any genre.  You’re not writing someone else’s story.  You’re telling your own, but you’re using similar elements.</span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">I would also make the title and cover something the readers in the genre expect.  If you do something different for the sake of being different, I don’t think that’s going to send the right message to your target audience.  The audience has learned to expect a cover to look a certain way.  As for titles, I would use something that would naturally catch the target audience’s attention.  So having a woman in a beautiful gown on the cover with a title along the lines of “Bride” or “Marriage” or “Mail Order” attract romance readers, esp. for historical westerns.  The books I use with those </span></b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">elements</span></span><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;"> on covers and titles sell the best long-term.  </span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">The genres I write outside of romance barely sell anything.  For experimentation, I would say go ahead and spread the net wide.  But write most books that fit within the platform you’ve built for a better chance at a sustainable income.</span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Most of your books have positive reviews and lots of them (reviews, that is). How do you go about soliciting reviews for your work, or is it a more organic process for you in that you put the books out there and the reviews come on their own accord? Do you have any advice for indie/self-published authors as to the best way to gain reviews?</b></span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">I don’t solicit reviews unless it’s a book with my publisher.  In that case, I offer a free book in exchange for an honest review.  (I only have five books with the publisher.)</span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">For my self-published titles, I rely on an organic process for acquiring reviews.  I don’t like asking for them because I’m so busy that I have trouble making it over to Amazon to review books.  Readers are busy, too.  Some have been burned by authors who’ve actually</span></b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">harassed</span> </span><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;">them over a review.  I don’t want to add pressure to a reader to review my books.  I prefer it to be their idea.  Having the first in a series at free has helped to get a lot of those reviews, but mostly, it’s been time that builds up the number of them<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> . . .</b></span></span></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></b></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><i><span><span lang="EN-NZ">For more of this fascinating interview, please visit <a href="http://www.selfpublishingsuccessfully..." target="_blank">Self</a><a href="http://For more of this fascinating interview, please visit Self-Publishing Successfully for full transcript." target="_blank">-Publishing Successfully</a> for full transcript.</span></span></i></span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle amzn_view_checked" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="amzn_view_checked" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="amzn_view_checked" 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Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #10 – Jeremy Bates

Welcome to the tenth interview in the popular series, Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors. Today's guest is award-winning author Jeremy Bates. Jeremy is a Canadian/Australian author. His work typically explores the darker side of human nature and the novels in his "World's Scariest Places" series are all set in real locations, such as Aokigahara in Japan, The Catacombs in Paris, and Helltown in Ohio. He is also the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller White Lies, which was nominated for the 2012 Foreword Book of the Year Award. Without further ado, here he is, the talented Jeremy Bates:


Who are you and where do you come from? Do you think that your life experience has gone someway towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre?
Hey, Will. I was born in Canada but now live in Australia. In between I’ve lived all over the place, including Japan, Korea, the Philippines etc. And, sure, I think my life experience has shaped me as an author. Most of my books are set all over the world: Japan, France, Africa, and so forth. I like different places, exotic places. Also, the characters are often from all over, whether they are Japanese, German, British, Australian, French. Part of this is because of where the stories are seat, but I also like using international characters because a lot of people I’ve met, a lot of friends, are from different countries. And you write what you know about, right? I should also mention that living in Japan got me into the horror genre, which is what I write now. My first novel was straight up suspense. My second was more an action thriller. I only started writing horror because I knew about Aokigahara in Japan and thought it would make a great setting for a story. And, given the subject matter, it sort of had to be horror. Anyway, it kicked off the World’s Scariest Places series.


Many of your stories feature elements and tropes from different genres. For example, thriller, horror and travel adventure styles and themes populate most of your work – would you call yourself a slip-stream author? What genre do you most identify your work with?
I would call myself a horror writer, but I focus more on the story than on the genre. Simply put, if I get a good idea for a story, I’ll probably try to write it, regardless of genre. For example, I’ve written several novellas which I would broadly classify as horror, but they could just as easily be dark suspense, or psychological suspense. One even borders on sci-fi.


Where do you get your inspiration from for your writing and for the way you brand yourself as an author?
This is an easy question. I get my inspiration from scary real life places. If you do a google search on “scary places” you get pages and pages of results. As far as branding goes, I guess I’ve just branded my books as horror set in real locations.


Your stories are many things –  adventurous, violent, terrifying –   if you could pinpoint one thing in particular that has grabbed readers of your work, what would you say it is?
The settings. People seem to like that they are set in real locations that they could visit, if they so pleased.


You have enjoyed best-selling status on Amazon – is there a particular moment in your career as an author that you realized that you had done something right to get where you are now? Can you pinpoint what it was that spiked your success to date?
Deciding to self-publish. It’s been great to have complete control over everything. Also, I’m no longer writing for my publisher, or agent, or what I think they think will sell. I’m writing what I want to.


Your first novel was traditionally published. Did you try to get publishing contracts for your other books early on with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or if not what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your work?
My first two books were traditionally published. White Lies hit #1 overall in the Paid Kindle Store. But this didn’t translate into a huge windfall of cash for me because traditional publishers take a massive chunk—especially if you’re a first-time author and have a crappy contract. Having said this, I still tried to get Suicide Forest traditionally published. I had a great agent work on it, and he sent it out to the Big Five and others. That was back in late 2013. But I finally got fed up with was all the waiting. It’s a long process if your book doesn’t get picked up right away. So by the time we decided Suicide Forest wasn’t going to sell, it was late 2014, and I already had the next book, The Catacombs, finished. My agent for that one—a different one at Curtis Brown—sent it out to do the rounds. He mentioned if The Catacombs sold, the publisher would probably want to pick up Suicide Forest too. But by then I’d already begun to think about self-publishing Suicide Forest. The way I saw it, even if The Catacombs sold right away, it wouldn’t be published for over a year, so I was looking at a 2016 release date. And if Suicide Forest sold as well, it wouldn’t come out until 2017. That was sort of nuts. I’m a pretty fast writer, and I realized I was going to have this big backlog of titles if I didn’t start self-publishing. So I self-published Suicide Forest. And it did well, sold well, got good reviews. This was when I gave up on traditional publishers. I realized I didn’t need them. I got the rights back to The Catacombs, and released that. I finished up a third book, Helltown, and put that out too. I also wrote four novellas. So instead of having maybe two new books out by sometime in 2017, I now have 3 novels and 4 novellas out in mid-2015. Come 2017 I’ll have a couple more novels out on top of this, plus more novellas etc.


Once you have decided that self-publishing might be your route, what financial and artistic considerations should you keep in mind before you begin?
I don’t really have any financial/artistic considerations. I do the covers and interiors myself. I have an editor I pay, of course, but it’s not too much.


What kind of marketing did you do to establish your author brand and what do you think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors?
One, I put links to my Amazon page in the back of all my Kindle books, making it easy for readers who have just finished one book to get the next. And two, I have one book permanently free. This is a big plus because it gets 1000 or so downloads a day, which is a great way to build a readership and far worth the money the book might be making if it weren’t free. Also, I offer a free novella on my website to people who subscribe to my newsletter. I’ve gotten about 5000 subscribers this way since January who I send emails to regarding new releases and so forth . . .


For more of this fascinating interview, please visit Self-Publishing Successfully for full transcript.





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Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #9 – Armand Rosamilia

Hi again and welcome to the next fascinating interview in the popular series, Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors . This interview is with the very interesting Armand Rosamilia. Armand is a staunch indie author who has been at the coal-face of digital publishing for many years. Along the way he has written many great horror books and has supported and implemented many initiatives in the indie publishing world, especially in his favorite field of zombie horror fiction. Anyway, before we kick off this interview, just a quick reminder on some of the wickedly good interviews lined up for you over the next month, including VIP guest interviews from best-selling indie authors David Moody, Jeremy Bates, Michael Bunker, J. Thorn, Michael Bray, Michael J Sullivan, Ruth Ann Nordin and Michale Thomas. Don't miss any of these interviews, make sure you subscribe now to get on the mailing list for all updates and new-release information (there is a link with a special offer at the end of this interview if you'd rather get straight into it). Here he is, the talented Mr Armand Rosamilia.

Do you think that your life experience has gone some way towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre? Where do you get your inspiration from for your writing and for the way you brand yourself as an author?

I think life is definitely a great motivator for writing, and especially for my horror work. I use an old joke that I’ve killed my ex-wives over and over in stories, and it isn’t far from the truth. I can channel some of the negatives from my past and find closure in horrible thoughts and people. And kill them. In a story.


You write across a number of different genres, how important do you think diversification is for the survival and success of an indie author?

Build the Brand that is you. I am a horror author who’s had much success writing zombie books. I also write horror erotica, erotica, thrillers, contemporary fiction, ghostwritten a military romance… as long as you stay true to your voice you’re just writing a story with horror or thriller or erotica elements to it. The reader needs to love your writing style and voice first and foremost.


If you could pinpoint one thing in particular that has grabbed readers of your work, what would you say it is? I.e. what is it about your books that keeps your readers coming back for more?

I’d like to think the readers care about my characters and not just the main ones. They are invested in what happens to these people. They cheer for the ‘good guys’ and sneer at the ‘bad guys’ although sometimes it’s hard to tell who is really who. My favourite compliment was from a reader who read my “Dying Days” zombie book and said she dislikes zombie books and at a few points forgot it was a zombie book because the characters are so interesting.


Is there a particular moment in your career as an author that you realized that you had done something right to get where you are now? Can you pinpoint what it was that spiked your success to date?

I believe in Karma and helping others. I learned through trial and error simply yelling ‘buy my book, buy my book’ might get you a few initial sales but it pisses off many, many potential readers. I sell more books by helping other authors now, like my two massive zombie blog tours each year, Winter of Zombie and Summer of Zombie. I also love guest posts on my blog, I belong to several retweet groups and I collect author-signed books for soldiers in remote areas called Authors Supporting Our Troops. I am a mentor to a couple of new authors and try to answer every question anyone asks. I also do two podcasts on Project iRadio interviewing other authors to promote them. 

You formed your own publishing company (Rymfire Books) to independently publish your books – would you advise other authors to set-up a publishing company to publish their own books, or do you think that the same results can be achieved by a self-published author without forming a publishing company?

Rymfire Books was formed by a man who had money and thought he’d get rich in the publishing business about 5 years ago. He put out my book and some anthologies, got bored and handed it to me. I put out a few anthologies and some of my work but it got to be too much work. I sold the anthologies to Charon Coin Press, who does an excellent job with the “State of Horror” series. I concentrate on my self-published work through it now. In today’s world no one cares if you are self-published and don’t hide behind a pseudo-publishing name. I kept Rymfire Books around because I like the name…


You have collaborated with many different authors, do you think that collaboration is key to growing your audience or do you just enjoy working with other writers on projects?

Both. I really enjoyed working with Jay Wilburn, Brent Abell and Jack Wallen on the “Hellmouth” trilogy. I just finished the first book in “The Shocker” trilogy with Frank Edler. I’m also writing 3 other projects with other authors I can’t talk about just yet. It helps grow the audience because you get your name in front of other readers who might not know who you are, and it is a fun challenge to see if you can work with someone else and if your ideas mesh. 




You have your own radio/web show – is this part of your promotional strategy or is it just something you enjoy doing? I.e. would you do it if you weren’t an author and/or do you utilise it to help publicize your work to some degree?

I used to do a local radio show for about a year and loved it. Another author and I would talk about writing and have authors guests on but it became too much work for me to travel to the studio. The easiest move for me was doing a podcast, because I’d been interviewed on a few and loved the experience. It goes back to helping others and, in turn, helping yourself. I get to talk to other authors about their work, who they publish with, the craft and business part of writing, and anything else I want to learn about. I do it because I love to talk ‘shop’ as well.


You have been writing for many years now and have remained staunchly independent for the most part - what kind of marketing did/do you do to establish your author brand and in your opinion (in light of your experience), what do you think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors?

I can’t stress enough to help other authors. We are in this together. There is no competition because readers don’t read one book a year. They want to read all of the interesting ones. As far as marketing [goes], I will try anything once, but don’t put too much stock in running expensive ads. I’ve never seen a return on them. Word of mouth and having so many releases out (150+ to date) keeps me out there. I believe in building you as a brand naturally and just being yourself. It’s what sells more books for me than anything else.


Are you a trend-watcher in terms of what’s selling and what’s not? Do you write for the market in any genre you might not necessarily enjoy reading? I.e. do you think that successful indie authors should be prepared to write genre fiction in order to pay the bills?

I think you need to choose your path based on what you think is important. I write book adaptations of movies for a Hollywood company, and it pays the bills most months. It also allows me to write what I want to write and not worry too much about what pays the bills. I think chasing a trend is worthless because by the time you finish your ’50 Shades of Twlight’ book, the market has moved on to something else. And you’re stuck with a book a reader can tell you weren’t 100% committed to writing.


How important are ‘series’ books to your success as a self-published author?

Very important. My “Dying Days” series is easily my biggest seller, but I have many series going right now. I think a reader wants to immerse themselves in a world or setting they enjoy and keep reading about these characters. I know I always do.


Do you design your own covers? How important do you think cover design is to a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your success to date? 

I learned early on I was horrible at making covers. I mostly use Ash Arceneaux for my covers, especially my zombie stuff. She also now does the Hollywood book covers, too. You truly judge a book by it’s cover. so it better be great.


In your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of self-publishing?

I don’t think we’ll ever see it truly die. It will eventually adapt but still lag behind independent publishing, in my opinion. But who really knows? So much has changed in the last four years since I began writing full-time. Would I work with a traditional publisher? Of course. As long as the deal was good. I do a mix of self-pub and small-press publishing right now. I work with as many different models as I can to get my work into as many reader’s hands as possible.


Would you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or will you always manage some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?

I enjoy self-publishing and the marketing and everything that comes with it, like 70% royalty and doing it on my own schedule. But I wouldn’t be opposed to having some of my titles with a major publisher in hopes it would open up my readership for my independent work as well.


Have you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?

I have done free giveaways in the past and they used to work quite well, but I think it’s no longer a viable option long-term unless you have a real reason and plan for it. For instance, my “Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer” eBook is perma-free. It’s the prequel to my “Dying Days” zombie series, and once I put it as free I saw a huge rise in sales of the series. It gets people in to read me and they seem to like it enough to pay 99 cents for the first “Dying Days” book and $2.99 for 3 through 5 (I’m writing 6 and it will be out in early 2016).


Do you feel there’s a good sense of community within the self-publishing industry?

I do. For the most part, people are trying to help one another. Sharing blog posts, mentioning fellow authors who would be good for my podcasts, recommending other writer’s books and just being friendly to other authors and fans.


What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to self-publish?

The freedom to not worry about deadlines and contracts and when/if you’ll get royalties. Again, I’m lucky because I have several different revenue streams so I can better balance the sporadic royalty checks from small-presses with my monthly Amazon payments and my movie payments.


Are there things you feel as though you missed out on by not going down the traditional publishing route (working alongside an editor, for example)?

I think working with a major editor once in my life is on my bucket list. I want to see through their eyes what my work is like. I think if I’d gone through a traditional publishing route and was accepted I’d potentially have a ton of new and different readers, but I have enjoyed the path I’m on and wouldn’t trade all of this fun for a big paycheck… unless we’re talking six zeroes at the end!


You use social media a lot and interact with your readership – how important do you think this is to becoming a success as a self-published author?

It has made all the difference. I am usually not a very social guy in real life. I get panic attacks in crowds. Author Brian Keene said it best at a convention I recently attended with him: ‘I turn on the writing persona when I’m out of the house so I can interact with others’ and I thought it was fitting. Online I can have fun, answer questions, support others and have a great time.


Your books are published both independently and traditionally – do you think it is a crucial way of staying afloat as an independent author to have more than one income or publishing option? I.e. do you think that the successful self-published author needs to be prepared to work alongside traditional publishers in order to maximize their readership and income?

I never want to put all my eggs in one basket. Like I’ve said, I want to diversify my revenue streams (it sounds impersonal but this is a business and I do pay my bills with it) and see what other ways I can make money and get more readers. Audiobooks are beginning to pick up for me, too. If there’s a new way to market and sell your work I want to check it out.


Are you in regular contact with other self-published authors and how important was any input you may have received early on in your career?  Do you have a mentor in terms of your self-publishing success – someone who may have inspired you to ‘give it a go’?

When I first got serious about writing I asked many questions of author Scott Nicholson, and read the entire blog of JA Konrath. I am in contact with so many self-published authors because we help one another, I do the book drive, the podcasts, the blog tours, the guest posts, etc. etc. It gives me great pleasure when an author asks me questions and I’m able to help them.


Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working with any publishers on future projects?

I have an agent interested in one of my horror novels. Nothing definite yet. I’m always working on 5-7 projects at a time, and should have at least 4 of my short stories released before the year ends in anthologies as well as a dozen of my self-pub releases. Shopping 2 different book series right now to small-presses and finishing the first books in 3 more by year’s end. I like to keep busy.


Can you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?

Read. A lot. Make time for it. Then start writing and never stop. It doesn’t matter if it sucks. Finish stories. Keep writing.


Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is the best place for readers to find your books?
I am everywhere on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and just search my name and you’ll find me.


My blog is http://armandrosamilia.com


My podcasts are on ProjectiRadio.com http://www.projectiradio.com/shows/arm-cast-podcast/
http://www.projectiradio.com/shows/arm-n-toofs-dead-time-podcast/




E-mail me at armandrosamilia@gmail.com if you have a question or just want to chat!
Make sure you check out Armand's wicked books and subscribe to his blog and podcasts. See you soon for the next interview with up-and-coming indie horror/thriller star, Jeremy Bates.



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Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors #8 – Iain Rob Wright

The previous interviews I conducted in the popular series, 'Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors,' were such a hit with visitors to this site I decided it would be crazy not to continue them. I have got some wickedly good interviews lined up for you over the next month, including VIP guest interviews from best-selling indie authors Iain Rob Wright, Armand Rosamilia, David Moody, Jeremy Bates, Michael Bunker, J. Thorn, Michael Bray, Michael J Sullivan, Ruth Ann Nordin and Michale Thomas. If that wasn't enough, I hope to have a book from the first series of interviews ready for release by the end of August. The books is titled (surprise, surprise!) 'Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors.' It contains all the authors interviewed in the first series (Russell Blake, April M Reign, William Malmborg, Mark Edward Hall, Matt Shaw, Michaelbrent Collings and Matt Drabble). Included in the book is a lengthy analysis of their recommendations for self-published authors and for those thinking of self-publishing, along with useful tips and resources. The book will be available for pre-order early August and is essential reading for those interested in self-publishing. Make sure you subscribe now to get on the mailing list for all updates and new-release information. 

 

Right, let's get into it. Today's special guest, is best-selling indie author, Iain Rob Wright. Iain is from the English town of Redditch, where he worked for many years as a mobile telephone salesman. After publishing his debut novel, THE FINAL WINTER, in 2011 to great success, he quit his job and became a full time writer. He now has over a dozen novels, and in 2013 he co-wrote a book with bestselling author, J.A.Konrath. The three most important things in his life are his wife, his son, and his fans. His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He’s an active member of the Horror Writer’s Association and a massive animal lover. Here's the interview:



Who are you and where do you come from? Do you think that your life experience has gone some way towards making you a successful author in your chosen genre?


I am Iain Rob Wright, a horror author. What has helped make me a successful author is that I am a fan first, writer second. My books are the things, as a horror fan, that I would like to read.


Where do you get your inspiration from for your writing and for the way you brand yourself as an author?


My inspiration comes from the other people in my genre. I read a lot and learned to love horror from enjoying the work of Stephen King, Richard Laymon, James Herbert and many more. I also love movies and television, and get many ideas whenever I watch a particularly original film. After watching Legion, I gained the idea for The Final Winter, my debut novel.


If you could pinpoint one thing in particular that has grabbed readers of your work, what would you say it is? I.e. what is it about your books that keeps your readers coming back for more?


I think readers point out my characters as the part they most enjoy. I reuse characters across multiple books and like to have them change and grow. I also try to be original with my ideas. All of my books are different and I don’t just write about one thing.


Your first book, ‘The Final Winter,’ was very successful – how did you achieve such an impact with your debut novel and have you managed to replicate it since?


I have no idea. I published it and got a few sales, and then those sales kept increasing. What helped me in the early days is gaining a couple of really amazing fans who recommended my work a lot. They helped get my name around very quickly. A writer is nothing without readers, so I was very lucky to get those early fans.


You have enjoyed best-selling status on Amazon and have had your books adapted for Graphic Novels, Audio Books and foreign audiences – is there a particular moment in your career as an author that you realized that you had done something right to get where you are now? Can you pinpoint what it was that spiked your success to date?


When I started earning more from my books than I had been while working a full-time job. When I started earning enough to pay all the bills I realized that writing was my “job” now and not just a dream. Also, when I wrote a book with JA. Konrath, who I had been a fan of before I was a writer, it was pretty amazing.


Did you try to get publishing contracts for your books early on with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or if not what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your work?


My second book, Animal Kingdom, was published by an American Press. Eventually I bought the rights back and self-published it. I’ll let that speak for itself.


I noticed that many of your kindle titles are published under the imprint of Dead Pixel Productions – is that your own publishing company or a collective? Do you think it is important for self-published authors to establish their own publishing company to publish their works? Do you think that the same results can be achieved by a self-published author without forming a publishing company?


Dead Pixel Publications is something I have just become a part of. It is a collection of authors all working beneath a single banner, dedicated to finding mutual success. It is very important to have allies in this business and far easy to find success with help. I’m always very happy to offer assistance so joining a group such as DPP made sense to me. It’s not vital for an author to start their own publishing group, but it is important to become a brand in their own right. Stephen King is synonymous with horror because his name has become a brand. That’s what an author should aim for.


Once you have decided that self-publishing might be your route, what financial and artistic considerations should you keep in mind before you begin?


Do the best w

What do you see as your most innovative promotional strategy?


Bookbub is the current number 1 sales promoter, but I have been testing Facebook ads with mixed success. The biggest mistake I made in the last few years was not maintaining an mailing list. It’s a big focus for me now and it’s a big tool being able to email a thousand people each time I have a new release. Trying new things is the key to success. You look at guys like Hugh Howey, J.A.Konrath, and Mark J.Dawson, and you see that they all got rich by being the guy to hit upon something first. Find the opportunities for yourself and you will reap maximum advantage. If you are a follower then you are forever chasing diminishing returns.


What kind of marketing did you do to establish your author brand and what do you think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors? Is there any one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books – i.e. could you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales method/s as?


Freebies work best in the early days. People don’t like risking their money so take the risk away for them and give them something for free. If they like your book then you will gain a fan (which is worth far more than a single books sale). The early days is all about getting exposure, so focus on that, not making money. Once you have exposure you can flip things around towards making profit. Set up a mailing list and give people free books for joining.


How important are ‘series’ books to your success as a self-published author?


I’m late to jump on the ‘series’ bandwagon and have only just started. I know, from, other authors that their series are the most lucrative books they have, so it seems a wise business decision to write books in a series rather than stand alones. I intend to write a mix.


Do you design your own covers? How important do you think cover design is to a potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your success to date? 


Nope. With the exception of my short stories, I never design my own covers. Artwork is the first chance you get to catch a reader so why compromise? Get a professional and look at the best sellers in your genre.


In your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of self-publishing?


No way. Traditional publishing is just adapted but it will be just fine. It still turns over billions of dollars each year and have all the big name authors. I think over time the indie scene and ‘professional’ scene will be linked, in the same way indie musicians gig on their own until a big label takes notice. I see that the indie writing scene will eventually become a feeder for the Big 5 who will start buying ‘brands’ rather than books. As long as authors are making money and readers are getting books, who really cares?


Would you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or will you always mange some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?


I imagine I will eventually have some published and some released myself. ‘Hybrid’ seems to be the word of the day. I would sign over all my books if it made sense for me and my family.


Have you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?


Freebies are the best way to grab new readers. I make heavy use of giveaways. It does devalue books  slightly, but if a reader likes me then they should hopefully have no problem paying for my books that are not free.


What avenues of self-promotion did you find to be most effective and affordable? What’s the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’ advertising you have employed?


Bookbub always makes me a profit when used in conjunction with Kindle Countdown deals. Now that Kindle Unlimited has changed its payout scheme, I quite like being a part of it. Facebook ads also work, but they are difficult to get right.


Do you feel there’s a good sense of community within the self-publishing industry?


Yes, definitely, but there are also a few arrogant assholes who try to spoil it. Some start to make a little bit of money and start believing they are celebrities, but for the most part, authors are very kind and generous people. Most of the favorite people in my life are other authors on Facebook who I have never met in person. It’s one of the perks of the job for sure to be a part of such a friendly community.


Was it always your intention to self-publish, or would you have considered the traditional publishing route had the opportunity presented itself?


I have always been open to traditional publishing, but it is a business decision. My books have worth, and if a publisher is willing to pay me what they are worth then they can have them. Problem with traditional publishers is that they try to get away with undervaluing author’s work. I have a traditional publisher for my German titles, because they are giving me something I can’t do myself. Most English language publishers can’t offer me anything I need.


What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to self-publish?


I love all the creative stuff, so working on covers, layout, editing etc is really fun. I also enjoy the closeness with my fans. When they are good to me I can be good to them-there’s no 3rd party interfering.


How important do you think using social media is to market your books, (and interact with your readers)? Has social media been crucial to you achieving success as a self-published author?


It’s a pain in the behind and a massive time-sap, but social media is the most powerful tool an author has. It’s the best way to spread news, the best way to be contacted, and the best way to give back.  It’s what separates the modern author from those in the twilight of their careers and it’s becoming vital to success.


Are you in regular contact with other self-published authors and how important was any input you may have received early on in your career?  Do you have a mentor in terms of your self-publishing success – someone who may have inspired you to ‘give it a go’?


I have many friends in the same sphere as me. I have J.A. Konrath’s phone number, and speak with many other authors such as David Moody, Aaron Warwick Dries, Ian Woodhead, Scott Nicholson, Mark J Dawson. I’ve had advice from Hugh Howey and Russel Blake. The most helpful in my career (and in many other author’s) is the great J.A. Konrath. A lovely man.


Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working with any publishers on future projects?


Nope, no agent (except my co-write with J.A.Konrath). I foresee that I will have an agent at some point. I have just signed a deal with Egmont LYX who are a large German publisher. I also have a couple of irons in the fire in regards to screen writers adapting my books.


Can you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors.

The best advice to any author is to write as much as possible. It’s great gaining fans on social media or running promotions, but the simple fact is that the more books you have, the easy it is to make both fans and money. You will also improve every time you release a book.


Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is the best place for readers to find your books?


At the moment, readers can take advantage of a great offer on my website. If you sign up to my no-spam newsletter you will get free copies of: The Picture Frame, Animal Kingdom, 2389, Sea Sick, and D is for Degenerate. Five books for free. My website address is: www.iainrobwright.com or you can go immediately to the sign up form by going here: http://eepurl.com/baDkyT
Cool interview, huh? Make sure to click on the book covers to check out Iain's great stories. And, of course, you'd be crazy to miss out on his bunch of freebies when you subscribe to his newsletter. Also, please share this post as much as you can and remember to subscribe now to this website so you don't miss the next amazing interview (see below for special subscription offer). Next interview is with the brilliant Armand Rosamilia. Stay tuned.


 
 
 



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Blood Related Now Available in Print & Ebook + FREE Book Promo & News

Hi everyone  - hope all is well with you and life is going swimmingly. I have some exciting news to share today. Finally, the redux version of my debut novel, Blood Related, is available in both print and EBook exclusively through Amazon (U.S. & U.K. links below). After getting the rights back from my previous publisher I decided to self-publish through my imprint, King Billy Publications. With much research and debate I decided to go for it! I had it professionally edited and formatted, I cut and trimmed and shaped it, into a more fast-paced, tension-filled, thriller novel. I am very happy with the results and hope you guys will like it too. If you're uncertain, check out the free preview on Amazon to get a taste for the novel. Hopefully you'll enjoy it enough to leave a review which would be a great help (wink, wink). I have set the price low for the first month on Amazon ($2.99 - Kindle, $12.99 - Amazon print) so get in quick before it goes up at the end of August.




I have had the good fortune to receive some fantastic blurbs/reviews from some of the leading authors in the Horror and Thriller genres. This is what Graham Masterton, best-selling author of The Manitou and The House That Jack Built, says about Blood Related: "William Cook tells a gruesome story with a sense of authenticity that makes you question with considerable unease if it really is fiction, after all." Joe McKinney is another best-selling author who read Blood Related and offered this fantastic blurb: "This man is simply scary. There is both a clinical thoroughness and a heartfelt emotional thoroughness to his writing. He manages to shock as well as empathize, to scare as well as acclimatize, yet beneath it all is a well read intelligence that demands to be engaged. I loved Blood Related. Ordinarily I hate serial killer stories, but William Cook won me over. He is a unique and innovative talent." 
*Personal invitation: if you are a best-selling (paid, not free rankings) self-published author and would like to be part of this project, please leave a comment below or email me here. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black; mso-font-kerning:16.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} p.MsoNormalCxSpFirst, li.MsoNormalCxSpFirst, div.MsoNormalCxSpFirst {mso-style-parent:""; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black; mso-font-kerning:16.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} p.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle, li.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle, div.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle {mso-style-parent:""; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black; mso-font-kerning:16.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} p.MsoNormalCxSpLast, li.MsoNormalCxSpLast, div.MsoNormalCxSpLast {mso-style-parent:""; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black; mso-font-kerning:16.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-NZ;} @page Section1 {size:595.05pt 841.7pt; margin:3.0cm 72.0pt 3.0cm 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.45pt; mso-footer-margin:35.45pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -</style></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><style> </style><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"> </span></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b-ap_mx2Ak..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b-ap_mx2Ak..." width="460" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ">Thanks again for reading my blog/website and I hope you take advantage of the various things on offer today. If you haven't subscribed already to this site, please do so now and receive a FREE copy of my popular collection of macabre tales, <i>'Dreams of Thanatos.'</i> Just click on the image below or click this link <a href="http://www.williamcookwriter.com/p/su..." target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.williamcookwriter.com/p/su..." target="_blank"><img alt="Grab Your FREE Copy Now!" border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qLdOuy4U7I8..." width="566" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"> As a final bonus, here's another freebie for you. Have a great week. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ">Until next time.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b3rIfENiQm8..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b3rIfENiQm8..." width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ticket-Suspense..." target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qdZgaq6lcX8..." width="448" /></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="amzn_view_checked" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="amzn_view_checked"><i><u><b><span class="amzn-taggable-text amzn_view_checked">PERMA-FREE - GRAB A COPY NOW! </span></b></u> </i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br /><div class="amzn_view_checked" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="amzn_view_checked"><i class="amzn-taggable-text">Fast Train To Hell . . . </i><br /><b class="amzn-taggable-text">From the belly of the swamp issues forth a visit in the middle of the night from a force as dark and unimaginable as hell itself. Poor pig-farmer Abel Laroux, must battle the demons of his past as well as the nightmarish reality of the present, as he confronts a devilish visitor who has come to collect on an outstanding debt, inherited by Abel from his forefathers.</b></span><span class="amzn_view_checked"><br /><b class="amzn-taggable-text">Bonus Features: Includes an excerpt from the author's novel, 'Blood Related' + the long poem 'The Temper of The Tide', in its entirety.</b></span><span class="amzn_view_checked"><br /><u class="amzn-taggable-text">Warning: contains adult content + themes of supernatural & psychological horror.</u></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br /><div class="amzn_view_checked" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="amzn_view_checked"><u class="amzn-taggable-text"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ticket-Suspen..." target="_blank">AMAZON U.K.</a> </u></span></span></h2><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: center;"><h2><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="36" style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">#Amazon<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>#FREEKINDLE<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #Horror<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #Kindle<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #mystery<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #novel<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>#psychologicalthriller<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #thriller<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> #ThrillerNovel<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> @Amazon, Amazon, Blood Related, Secrets of Best-Selling Self-Published Authors, </span></span></span></span><span class="36"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="color: black;"></span></span></span></span></span></h2></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>

News and FREE BOOK Promotion.

Hello everyone! Apologies for the lack of regular posts lately. Life has been very busy - we are packing once again for a move into a new house amongst other things. I have also been furiously editing and pruning my debut novel (Blood Related) into shape after having received the rights back recently. With a few more years of writing experience under my belt and a fresh perspective on a work that was published over three years ago, I have been merciless in my edits/rewrites and I think my readers will agree - it is a vastly improved story. I plan on an early July release in both Print and EBook. I feel really excited about the redux version and have a strong way forward with the sequel - yes, there will be a sequel, tentatively titled 'Blood Trail.' Another exciting development is that I have received a wicked blurb from one of my favorite horror authors, Graham Masterton (The Manitou, The Sleepless etc). A truly generous author and a great inspiration. Here's the blurb:

"William Cook tells a gruesome story with a sense of authenticity that makes you question with considerable unease if it really is fiction, after all." - Graham Masterton, author of The Manitou and Descendant






In other areas, I have been tweaking my EBook (only) covers and have finally settled on a font-set/style that should carry my books through into the years ahead. As a largely self-published author (now), cover design is a major consideration when presenting books to the public. It is very hard to have a style and a 'look' that stands out from the thousands of other authors doing the same thing. The font/title design that I'll use across all my titles now, while not original or unique (many authors have a similar title placement and font style), my point of differentiation will be in the art that I use for my covers. Some of it will be from other talented artists, but mostly I will be using my own creations to incorporate into the design of my covers. I'd be interested in hearing feedback from you as to your thoughts on the cover art/designs below. Good or bad, please leave a comment below - always open to fair critique of both my art and my written work. Anyway, check out the new covers below (click on the covers if you want to buy a copy of the Kindle version of the book - most are only $0.99 if they're not free. U.K. Links are at the foot of this post). At the bottom of this post you will find direct links to two FREE BOOKS. My gift to you. 

All the best and stay safe, until next time, best wishes.










 Burning Horror . .
A young pyromaniac battles her demons as her insatiable pursuit of the flame threatens to turn her world to cinders. Becky's life spirals out of control as she struggles with an abusive step-father who will not leave her alone. A fast-paced short horror story that will keep you on the edge of your seat as it races to its thrilling and horrifying conclusion. From the author of Blood Related and Dreams of Thanatos
Bonus Features: includes an additional short story and a recent interview with the author.
*Please Note: This eBook short story is also part of the popular collection, 'Dreams of Thanatos.'
Warning: contains adult content + themes of psychological horror and domestic abuse. 

 Be careful who you get into a car with, even if that car is a taxi! A dark story of a young girl's date with death. CREEP is a story that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the gripping climax which is unexpected and will leave the reader cheering for more. Serial Killers don't always get away with murder, no matter how hard they try.
CREEP, is the first story in an exciting and gritty new psychological thriller series. Cassandra: Hunter of Darkness, is a hero to the victim and a merciless angel of death to the evil ones. A killer of killers, she strikes fear into the hearts of those who get their kicks off hurting others. Join Cassandra on her quest for justice and revenge as she begins her journey into the dark underbelly of serial murder and takes care of business as only she knows how.

From CREEP:
“Cassandra pounded on the window and frantically tried to push the rear doors open, first with her shoulders and then with her heels, to no avail. She peered into the dark confines of the garage and saw nothing except her frightened reflection looking back at her in the window, bathed in the dim yellow interior light of the cab. She cupped her neatly manicured hand across her brow and looked out the window again, her button nose touching the smeared glass as she did so.
She thought she heard a deep growling noise somewhere nearby outside the cab and then her window was filled with bared teeth and the blackest, evil eyes, she'd ever seen. The huge head of the Rottweiler retreated into the shadows before launching itself back at the vehicle, the razor sharp canines crunching against the window and sending a trail of cracks across the glass. Steaming froth and saliva dripped down the webbed glass as the dog began to bark and thud its massive head against the side of the cab. Cassandra scuttled across the back seat as she wet herself, waves of fear shrinking her into a ball, as the crazed dog leaped at the cab again . . .”

Recommended for Adult readers. Horror, Violence, & Implied Sexual Violence  
 A young girl must face her biggest fear – her father. As she struggles to protect her mother from the man who she once idolized, young Hope must confront her situation and the possibility that they may not get out alive. A fast-paced short horror story with a twist that will keep you on the edge of your seat. From the author of Blood Related and Dreams of Thanatos
Bonus Features: includes an additional short story and a recent interview with the author.
Warning: contains adult content + themes of psychological horror and domestic abuse.  
NOW FREE!!! GRAB A COPY QUICK. OFFER ENDS 23RD JUNE. In the tradition of EC Comics, The Twilight Zone and Tales From The Darkside, Devil Inside is a spine-chilling short horror story that will leave you wanting more. Graphic and descriptive, this supernatural tale winds itself around a disturbed young boy who discovers that when you make a wish, you better make sure you really want it. After all, monsters are sometimes real.
From Devil Inside:
“Jacob had no doubt as to what it was. It was the night-Beast under his bed, that lurked in his closet – the Beast that now raged before him, out in the light of day. It had escaped. ”
Recommended for mature readers. Horror, Violence, Supernatural, M15+
Short Story + 4 x Poems + Excerpt from Blood Related (novel).

PERMA-FREE - GRAB A COPY NOW!  Fast Train To Hell . . .
From the belly of the swamp issues forth a visit in the middle of the night from a force as dark and unimaginable as hell itself. Poor pig-farmer Abel Laroux, must battle the demons of his past as well as the nightmarish reality of the present, as he confronts a devilish visitor who has come to collect on an outstanding debt, inherited by Abel from his forefathers.
Bonus Features: Includes an excerpt from the author's novel, 'Blood Related' + the long poem 'The Temper of The Tide', in its entirety.
Warning: contains adult content + themes of supernatural & psychological horror.
AMAZON U.K. QUICK LINKS 
One Way Ticket Creep Burnt Offering Hopeless Devil Inside  #horror #freebook #free #indie #selfpub #readers #books #thriller #kindle #amazon #Goodreads Horror, Free book, Free, Indie, Thriller, Kindle, WIlliam Cook, Amazon, @Amazon, @Goodreads, Goodreads