Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 151

The Future of the Gatekeepers

I’m a proud contributor to an anthology releasing this week from the University of Chicago Press, The Little Magazine in Contemporary America, edited by Ian Morris and Joanne Diaz.

The collection features 23 prominent editors whose magazines have flourished over the past 35 years. You’ll find insights into how their publications sometimes succeeded, sometimes reluctantly folded, but mostly how they evolved and persevered. Other topics discussed include the role of little magazines in promoting the work and concerns of minority and women writers, the place of universities in supporting and shaping little magazines, and the online and offline future of these publications.

My essay, perhaps unsurprisingly, speculates on what’s ahead for little magazine publishing. It’s titled “The Future of the Gatekeepers.” (Read advance reviews of the entire book here.) Other contributors include:

Andrei Codrescu, Exquisite Corpse
Dave Eggers, McSweeney’s
Keith Gessen, n+1
Lee Gutkind, Creative Nonfiction
Amy Hoffman, Women’s Review of Books
Don Share, Poetry
Betsy Sussler, BOMB
and other excellent authors and editors

I’ll be discussing this topic at a panel this week at the annual AWP Conference in Minneapolis, on Friday, April 10, at 10:30 a.m. Official description:

The Little Magazine in America: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? (Jeffrey Lependorf, Don Share, Ian Morris, Jane Friedman). A diversity of literary magazine experts discuss and debate the sometimes secret history and roles of “the little magazine” in America. Where do literary magazines seem to be headed now? What other routes might they take?

You can catch me on another panel related to literary journals on Saturday, April 11, at 3:30 p.m.:

Literary Publishing in the 21st Century (Travis Kurowski, Daniel Slager, Jane Friedman, Emily Smith,  Gerald Howard). In 1980, Bill Henderson assembled The Art of Literary Publishing, an anthology that defined the challenges publishers would face for the next thirty years. In recognition of the seismic change in the industry over the past decade, Literary Publishing in the 21st Century brings together a diverse group of publishing professionals to explore challenges the next thirty years may hold. This panel assembles four contributors to the anthology to explain how publishing will thrive in the 21st century.

If you’re also headed to AWP this year, I’ve curated a list of sessions focused on the business side of writing and publishing.

The post The Future of the Gatekeepers appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

Rejection May Not Be Personal, But …

I’ve lately had a series of writers confide in me about rejections. It’s reminded me how much rejection is almost never a career setback, but a psychological one.

Author Aline Ohanesian (@alineohanesian) shares an excellent story about dealing with rejection. In the first part of the story, she explains how she’s tried to help her children overcome rejection by friends—which is dubbed the “shopping for fruit” story by the family:

We remind him that he is a ripe juicy apple and the person saying no is either allergic to apples, can’t handle any more fiber, or, more likely, just felt like eating oranges that day. Rejection is rarely personal, we tell them. It has very little to do with what’s being chosen or not chosen, and everything to do with the person choosing.

But when Aline gets a particularly difficult rejection, she realizes how ineffective the “shopping for fruit” story is. Click here to read about her realization.

Aline’s story is just one of several in the latest Glimmer Train bulletin, which offers insights into the writing life:

Vulnerability and Human Connection by Christa Romanosky
Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare by Andy Roe
This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Publishing Industry by Mojie Crigler

The post Rejection May Not Be Personal, But … appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

How to Improve Your Amazon Book Description & Metadata

Photo by t_buchtele via Flickr

Today’s guest post is by Penny Sansevieri (@bookgal) and is adapted from her book How to Sell Books by the Truckload.

Designate All 7 Keywords

Among authors who self-publish using Amazon KDP, most know that they can choose up to two categories for their book. But you also get seven search keywords, and though Amazon says it’s optional, it really shouldn’t be. When I asked ten authors to let me take a look at the behind-the-scenes of their Amazon book description, with the caveat that I wouldn’t add terms they didn’t need, none of them had search words listed.

Categories are always a given—all my authors had chosen their categories—but search keywords are often ignored. Start thinking about your keywords, because they matter—more than you know. Remember not to get stuck on single words. You can have entire keyword strings, as you see in the screenshot above, and yes, you should use all seven.

An example of category and keyword selection on Amazon

Use Keywords in Your Amazon Book Description

The book description, often overlooked as a means to drive traffic to your page, is also a great place to use keywords. A book description should draw the reader in, but authors tend to get too flowery with these. Here’s a screenshot of this book, How to Sell a Truckload of Books on Amazon. You’ll see I use keywords throughout the page—in the header, in the description, and in the bullets:

When it comes to fiction, the rules still apply, but you may have to be creative in using your keywords. Let’s say you find a series of keywords like this:

new romance ebooks
romance and sex
romance ebooks
romance and mystery

It’s pretty tough to fit these into a general description, but you could consider using them as descriptors for your reviews. For example, “Fantastic buy and among one of the best new romance ebooks!” Always check with your endorser and ask if it’s OK if you need to reword the review slightly. Don’t redo the entire review; ideally, you should only have to add a word or two to weave the keywords in. Use what feels and reads right; don’t overstuff your description just for the sake of inserting keywords. Spend your time creating a description that presents your book in the best possible light.

Pay Attention to Amazon Themes

According to Amazon, “themes” were implemented for fiction books because consumers were searching for things like the type of protagonist or where the book was set (beach, city, etc.). So themes are the various aspects of your book’s content. For example, if you have a gay protagonist, one of your themes would be “gay protagonist.” If you have a crime novel in a military setting, a theme might be “military.”

Here’s where your seven keywords come into play. If your book is fiction, your keywords will also be your themes. For instance, if you have a romance novel, you’ll replace two of your keyword strings with your theme. If you’ve written a mystery, you’ll replace three of them. Utilizing themes is optional, but you can bet that if Amazon is rolling this out, it’s probably based on hard data.

I highly recommend using theme words in your book description. If you want to swap out keywords with theme words, you can do this through your Amazon dashboard or ask your publisher to change them if you don’t have access to it.

Finally, if you have a KDP account, you can access the keywords Amazon encourages you to add to your book metadata in order to gain visibility for that particular search. I would, however, test these just as you would test other keywords because when I’ve used them, some work brilliantly while others do not. (Note: this URL only works if you have a KDP account and are logged in).

Add Reviews to Your Description

Dressing up your Amazon book page should be a high priority. Previously, you were at the mercy of whoever reviewed the book on Amazon and whatever details the publisher decided to add. Not anymore. Now you can go in and add your own reviews to help dress up the page.

Here’s how: Login to your Amazon Author Central account (you’ll need to create an account if you don’t have one yet), and go to the Books tab. Click on any book there, and it will open to a page that lets you fill in more back-end detail. It’s that easy. Editing in Amazon is pretty sophisticated, meaning you can bold and underline portions of your descriptions and reviews (like headlines, names, etc.). It works like Word and makes it easy to draw the eye to a particular sentence or section of the review.

Enhance Your Amazon Headline

You can add some style enhancers to your book description headline when you upload your book through the Amazon dashboard, to make your book description more visually appealing. (See the screen capture of my book description above for an example of what style enhancers  can do.)

Here are some of the headline enhancers available:

Bolding: The text you want bolded
Italics: The text you want italicized
Headline: The text you want for a headline
Amazon Orange Headline: The text you want bolded

You can add in numbered lists and bullet points, too.

For more tips from Penny, check out her 2-book set, How to Sell Books by the Truckload.

What tips and tricks do you have to share about improving your Amazon book description and metadata? Share in the comments.

The post How to Improve Your Amazon Book Description & Metadata appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Penny Sansevieri.

What You Need to Know About Crowdfunded Publishing

by Rocío Lara via Flickr

Note from Jane: Today’s post is by guest Matt Kaye, who started his career in traditional publishing (Avalon, Wiley, FSG) and then spent the past four years at Amazon. He recently joined Inkshares, a crowdfunded book publisher, in large part due to his interest in how crowdfunding might positively impact the publishing landscape. I asked him to explain the basics of crowdfunded publishing as well as the difference among various crowdfunding opportunities.

As if deciding between self-publishing and traditional publishing wasn’t confusing enough for writers, you can now find publishing models that borrow elements from each. An example is crowdfunded publishing, an option that is growing in popularity.

Why Crowdfunding?

An obvious reason to crowdfund is to cover your cost of hiring professional editors, designers, and marketers to publish a quality book, while maintaining creative control. But for me, the most exciting thing about crowdfunding is the direct engagement between readers and writers.

Eric Ries described his decision to crowdfund as “an experiment designed to see how I can collaborate with all of you [the readers] as part of the research process for my next book.” Bringing passionate readers along for the publishing ride creates deeper fans and stronger advocates—and (ideally) grows the overall number of books sold.

Crowdfunding Options

If you decide to crowdfund your book, the next step is to figure out which platform is right for you. The options fall into two main camps:

Fundraising platforms that help you connect with your audience
Full-service book publishers that use crowdfunding to decide what to publish

Both camps provide direct reader engagement, so the decision comes down to your publishing goals. If you prefer to control every aspect of the publishing process yourself, and maximize your profits, then fundraising platforms are your best bet. If distribution into bookstores and editorial, production, and marketing support appeal to you, then the full-service publisher model may serve you well.

Fundraising Platforms

These platforms provide tools for you to raise money to publish your book and take a small cut of what you raise. You’re then responsible for finding and hiring the professional services you need (editors, designers, printers, marketers, etc). Here are the biggest ones you’ve probably heard of.

Kickstarter: Kickstarter is the most popular crowdfunding platform for creative projects, including publishing. While an open platform, they review projects before launch to ensure they’re in line with their rules. They take 5% of funds collected, in addition to 3-5% payment processing fees. If the project doesn’t meet its goal, the funds are returned to supporters.

Indiegogo: Indiegogo is a fundraising platform for any idea, not just creative projects. While they feature book projects, they don’t have a designated “publishing” category like Kickstarter. They also have no review process before projects go live. They offer an option for campaign creators to keep any money raised (4% fee if the goal is hit, 9% if not), or a 5% fee for the Kickstarter approach. They also have a 3-5% payment processing fee.

Pubslush: Pubslush is a crowdfunding platform devoted exclusively to books for authors to “prove their talent and market viability.” Pubslush also offers services for pre-order campaigns, distribution, community pages, and allows funders to donate to a literacy foundation. They take 4% of funds raised, in addition to a 3.5% payment processing fee.

Publishizer: Publishizer is also devoted exclusively to books. They plan to offer a feature that distributes successfully crowdfunded books to traditional publishers, but haven’t launched it yet. They charge a 5% fee on funds raised.

Book Publishers That Use Crowdfunding

Like fundraising platforms, these companies offer tools to raise funds to publish your book, but their role doesn’t end there. They are also full-service publishers, using those funds to pay for editorial, design, marketing, and an initial print run. They then work with a distribution partner like a traditional publisher would, to sell books into physical bookstores in addition to online retailers. They only make money when books sell.

Inkshares (my employer): Inkshares acts as a traditional publisher once books succeed in their funding goals. We use Girl Friday Productions for editorial and production services, R.R. Donnelly for printing the initial print run, Ingram for national physical and digital distribution into bookstores and other retailers, and a team of marketers to generate awareness. We have a rewards system (Inkshares Credits) for readers who refer books to friends or help fund books that go on to sell thousands of copies. We pay authors 50% of gross revenue on physical books and 70% of gross revenue on digital books. Authors grant Inkshares nonexclusive rights, meaning an author can publish elsewhere if they so choose.

Unbound: Unbound reviews all submissions before launching a crowdfunding campaign for a book. After a pledge goal is met, Unbound also acts as a traditional publisher, offering editorial, design, printing, marketing and traditional publicity, and distribution services. They are based out of the UK, with UK physical distribution into bookstores through Penguin Random House UK. They pay authors 50% of net profit on all books sold. According to their terms, they “usually own the worldwide or English language rights, but this can vary on a project by project basis as this can be negotiated in the contract.”

Take time to explore these sites and what they offer, just as you would if you were deciding between traditional publishers. They each have a different feel, different benefits, and a different approach for presenting your work and connecting with readers.

Is Crowdfunded Publishing the Future?

If you’re tired of new trends coming along claiming to “reinvent” publishing, know that crowdfunding isn’t anything new. As Unbound author Paul Kingsnorth described, “The idea of funding books by subscriptions is actually something that was very popular in the 18th century. We’re really going back to a time before we had big, central publishers who were able to give writers big advances, and using the web to attract readers to a project.”

In a landscape that can feel increasingly polarized between self-publishing and traditional publishing, my hope is that the crowdfunding option adopts some of the best traits from both sides—that it can be democratic, open, and financially lucrative for authors while also inviting the participation of a broad community of booksellers, publishing professionals, and readers.

Do you have experience with crowdfunding? What happened? Or what questions do you have about crowdfunded models? Let us know in the comments.

The post What You Need to Know About Crowdfunded Publishing   appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Matt Kaye.

MBA for Writers: March 31 Is the Last Day to Early-Register

This spring, I’m running a 6-week course, MBA for Writers, that serves as a foundational course in book publishing and digital media for authors. All students who register by March 31 get the early-bird rate of $199. On April 1, the price increases to $249.

Why I created this course

While knowing about the business of publishing won’t help you sell bad writing, or skip important stages of creative development, it can help reduce your anxiety and frustration. I see too many writers led astray by trends, loud opinions, and industry stereotypes. My goal is to help you understand the most important concepts of the business you want to work in, and evaluate news and trends with wisdom and clarity.

While there aren’t any “rules” to this game—you’ll find many eccentricities and exceptions to every formula—it helps to know the principles behind successful authorship and publication. This 6-week course focuses on concerns most relevant to writers who seek a career focused on publishing book-length work.

When the course runs

Each 90-minute lecture will take place live at 7 p.m. Eastern on Mondays, from April 20 through May 25. I’m using the BigMarker platform to deliver the instruction and store the recordings. If you miss the live event, you’ll have access to the recording for a full year.

Writing an Effective and Professional Query Letter and Synopsis (April 20, 7 p.m. ET)
Writing a Strong Nonfiction Book Proposal (April 27, 7 p.m. ET)
Author Platform 101 (May 4, 7 p.m. ET)
Best Practices of Author Websites and Email Newsletters (May 11, 7 p.m. ET)
Understanding the Self-Publishing and Digital Publishing Landscape (May 18, 7 p.m. ET)
How to Be an Effective Online Writer—and Understand SEO (May 25, 7 p.m. ET)

Read more and register for this course
Scholarship opportunity for creative writing students

I’m offering three full-tuition scholarships, eligible to students enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate program in creative writing. Please complete and submit this form to apply; the deadline is also March 31. Scholarship recipients will be notified no later than April 7.

 

The post MBA for Writers: March 31 Is the Last Day to Early-Register appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

The Basic Components of an Author Website

I strongly advocate all authors start and maintain a website as part of their long-term marketing efforts and ongoing platform development. But one of the first questions raised when you get started is: What exactly goes on your author site—especially if you’re so far unpublished?

Before I answer that question in detail, I’ll set a few ground rules:

Use WordPress. Especially if you need to maintain the site yourself over the long term, I recommend building your site with Wordpress. It’s a robust system with good search engine optimization right out of the box. Perhaps more importantly, it now powers 20% of the world’s websites, so it’s easier to find help and ready-to-go functionality when you need it. Too many people use WordPress for it to fail or disappear any time soon, and the WordPress core is consistently updated. Also, the core system is open source and free. (Note: DO NOT confuse using WordPress.com with using WordPress the content management system or technology. A customized version of Wordpress underpins many sites you frequent—including The New York Times, The New Yorker, TechCrunch, CNN, etc.)
Buy your own domain. The domain is the URL where your site lives, and it should be based on the name you publish under, not your book title. Your author name is your brand that will span decades and every single book you publish. If you can’t get yourname.com, then try for yournameauthor.com, yournamebooks.com, or yournamewriter.com. If that fails, consider something other than .com (like .net or .me).
Self-hosting is best, or use free WordPress.com hosting to get started. I comment more on the self-hosting question here. Self-hosting gives you far more functionality, control and ownership over your site. Serious career authors self-host, while new authors or unpublished authors may want to ease into site building and management by using a free account at WordPress.com.
Social media doesn’t replace having an author website. It seems crazy I have to say this, but I do. In the past, some publishers have told authors that Facebook pages can replace author websites. Even though I think most publishers are no longer saying this (fingers crossed), it’s hard to put to bed this terrible advice. For background, see my post Why Don’t Publishers Believe in Author Websites?

OK, so let’s assume you have a fresh install of WordPress and you’re ready to start building your author website from scratch.

1. Collect the following assets for your website.

Your professional bio. If you don’t already have one, write a 100-300 word professional bio in third person that would be appropriate if used to introduce you at a reading or event.
Book cover images. For every book you’ve published, obtain the highest resolution image you can find. While you’ll be using lower resolution images for most of your site (to ensure fast loading time), it’s helpful to make the high resolution version available for download or as part of a media/press kit.
Brief descriptions of each book. Your book’s Amazon page probably has a brief description of your book that you can start with. If not, develop a 25-100 word description.
Long descriptions of each book. This would be the back cover copy or flap copy for your book. It’s probably around 200-300 words, or the full-length Amazon description.
Links to all major online retailers where your book can be purchased. At minimum, consider linking to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. Consider adding Apple, Google Play, and Kobo as well.
Contact information for your agent or publicist, if you have them. Or whomever else fields requests on your behalf.
Links to your public social media profiles. If you have an official Facebook author page, or accounts with Twitter, Google Plus, Goodreads, etc., collect all of the direct links. Don’t bother with accounts where you’re not open to being friended/followed by the general public.
Your best blurbs or reviews. Collect any praise that appeared on the front or back cover of your book, or official (positive) reviews your book received from the media.

2. Create key informational pages for your website.

We’ll get to the homepage next, but aside from the homepage, you’ll want the following:

About page. Add your professional bio. Also include a professional headshot if you have one; if not, a casual shot will do fine. Your about page can have several sections if you like—mine does.
A page dedicated to each of your book titles (or all titles). Always show the cover image, but keep the resolution low (e.g., less than 500 pixels across) for basic display on your site. If you like, make the high-resolution version available for download or as part of a media kit. Add a brief description of your book; layer in blurbs, quotes, or praise that help indicate it’s a great book; and add buy buttons leading to all the major retailers. If you want, add the long description, too, and/or include a link to an excerpt—usually the introduction or chapter one. If there are any ancillary materials related to your book (book club guides, FAQs, etc), make sure those are readily available and linked to from the book page.
A page dedicated to each book series (if applicable). Make it easy for readers to see the order of books in the series and figure out which ones they’ve read. Plain chronological order (the order of release) typically works best.
Contact form. Unless you’re super famous and trying to avoid new opportunities, make it clear how you can be contacted. I recommend a contact form, which is easy to add if you use WordPress. If appropriate, add your agent or publicist’s contact info as well—or anyone who might handle communication or requests on your behalf.
Links to your social media profiles. If you’re active elsewhere (e.g., Twitter, Facebook), make it clear either with social media buttons in the header, footer, or sidebar—or by using widgets and badges that reflect your activity. As an example, my social media buttons are in the footer.
Email newsletter signup. Every author should have an email newsletter to keep readers updated on new releases and events, at minimum. Many authors put the signup very prominently in the middle of their homepage. My signup is in the sidebar and footer of my site.

Pay special attention to areas of your site where consistent elements appear on every single page, such as your header, footer, and sidebar areas. These are typically where you want critical information or calls to action. For example, my book cover appears in the footer section of every page on my site.

3. Craft your homepage.

If you’re using WordPress, be careful that your homepage doesn’t automatically default to showing blog posts—especially if you’re not going to blog! (For instructions on how to have a static homepage when using WordPress, visit my post here.)

What appears on your homepage will be highly dependent (at least at first) on the WordPress theme that you choose. A simple homepage design will have the following elements:

A header with your name, tagline (“New York Times bestselling thriller novelist”), and possibly a headshot. This header will likely appear on every page of your site, depending on your theme.
A brief description of who you are. Here’s the description on author Scott Berkun’s site: “Scott Berkun is the bestselling author of six books on many fascinating subjects. Please hire him to speak, ask him a question or follow him on email, Twitter and Facebook.”
The cover of your most recent book (or even all your books). Berkun’s site has images of all his recent book covers. Similarly, Alain de Botton’s homepage manages to encompass the author’s many different interests at a glance.
A call to action, such as an email newsletter signup. See Michael Hyatt’s site for an example of an email signup front and center. Novelist Claire Cook’s site has a similar call to action as Hyatt’s.
Social proof. This can be as simple as a brief quote from a brilliant book review. Or let’s say one of your books was an Oprah selection—that would go front and center. Some authors just stick with “New York Times bestseller” (assuming it’s true).

Homepage design tends to be very subjective. The most important thing is that the type of author you are—and the type of work you produce—be recognizable quickly. You don’t want visitors guessing at who you are; you have about 3-7 seconds to convey a message before they leave. So don’t get too clever or cutesy with how you state your identity.

Make the homepage navigation or menu system absolutely clear—which usually means having a clear path for people to find out more information about who you are (“About”), how to contact you (“Contact”), and what books you’ve authored (“Books”).

4. Customize and personalize your site.

You might not have the resources to do this right away, but in the long run, it’s helpful to hire a designer to create a custom header image, or otherwise create a custom look that fits your personality and books.

This post by Simone Collins offers insight into what this means and what you should consider to transform your cookie-cutter Wordpress template into something uniquely your own.

5. Continue improving your site over time.

The great thing about WordPress? It’s easy to update your site as you have new ideas or new ways of communicating what you do. Don’t expect to get it perfect the first time; expect that you’ll improve the site incrementally the longer you live with it. You’ll visit other authors’ sites and begin to pick up on subtle details you never noticed before; you’ll want to incorporate their bag of tricks into your own site.

For instance, notice how Michael Ellsberg and Michael Hyatt incorporate “social proof” into their header images—you see the logos of major media outlets that have featured their work. You might not really take notice of this until you have your own site, and realize you want to reflect the same kind of “social proof” that your work has earned.

This is so important I’ll state it again: improve incrementally. Your website is never finished. It is always a work in progress. You’ll improve it, tweak it, experiment with it, and hopefully take pride in how it showcases your work.

If you’re unpublished

All the same principles apply, except you might have a more stripped down version of your site than outlined here. You might not have dedicated pages to your published books, but perhaps you’ll have a page devoted to projects in progress, or shorter works that have appeared online or in print. It’s better to get your site started now, while you’re unpublished, so you own your domain early on, learn how to use the tools, and begin the journey of expressing who you are within digital media environments.

For more on author websites

Self-Hosting Your Author Website: How and Why to Do It
3 Ways to Improve Your Author Website Today
Do You Need to Rethink Your Website’s Key Elements?
10 Ways to Build Long-Lasting Traffic to Your Site or Blog
Is Your Author Website Doing Its Job? 6 Things to Check

For more on website design

Your Homepage Is Not As Important As You Think
How to Hire the Right Website Designer
3 Ways to Improve Your Website Design

For more on using WordPress

Building Your First Website: Resource List
The WordPress Plug-ins I Can’t Live Without
5 Free WordPress Themes for Writers

The post The Basic Components of an Author Website appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

5 On: Anne Perry

In this 5On interview, author Anne Perry discusses (among other things):

what plot is not
what to look for when looking for a good editor
the professional process for an author who writes two to three books per year

Anne Perry is an English author of historical detective fiction, best known for her Thomas Pitt series and William Monk series. Her publishing career began with The Cater Street Hangman. Published in 1979, this was the first book in the series to feature the Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife Charlotte. It was filmed and broadcast on ITV featuring a young Keeley Hawes. This is arguably the longest sustained crime series by a living writer. Death On Blackheath, the latest in the series, appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list.

None of her books has ever been out of print, and they have received critical acclaim and popular success: over 26 million are in print worldwide. Her books have appeared on bestseller lists in a number of foreign countries, and The Times selected her as one of the 20th Century’s “100 Masters of Crime.” Anne’s most recent stand-alone is The Sheen on the Silk, set in the exotic and dangerous world of the Byzantine Empire.

5 Questions on Writing

CHRIS JANE: You said once, “A lot of people think, ‘Well, I would like to be a writer. I have a great use of language.’ I don’t think that’s what makes a writer. It certainly helps, but you can have pretty basic language, and if you’ve got something to say, then you can be a writer.”

What did you feel you had to say when you began the early version of Tathea, your first effort at a novel?

ANNE PERRY: What I wanted to say when writing Tathea did not change from one draft to another. I wanted to write my beliefs in strong form as powerfully as possible. Who are we, where do we come from, where are we going? What are our possibilities, our responsibilities?  What is the purpose of life?  Is there one?

I wanted it to be an exploration for myself, and a message for others that would make them think, consider them our beliefs, and perhaps find much common ground.

The first one published was The Cater Street Hangman, and in that I wanted to explore all the secondary things we discover about those we love or don’t love, and above all about ourselves, under the stress of investigation.  That is, to me, an even bigger revelation than who committed the crime.  How do we deal with disillusion?

What mistakes did you make as a new mystery writer that you’ve since mastered (or at least corrected)?

Mistakes in early mystery writing days? I hope, since mastered! Not pacing the plot as well as possible, so losing some of the opportunities for tension, conflict, tying all the ends in without the mechanism showing. I am always delighted if I surprise people at the end, because I don’t expect to. But more than surprise, it must make sense. The mystery is only the vehicle for the real story, which is the moral dilemma, the social ill, the exploration of what went wrong.

What plotting advice would you give someone about to write their first mystery?

Write a very detailed outline so that everything makes sense. No character at all ever does anything without a reason—good or bad. I would give quite a bit of time to the “back story”—everything that happened before your first page. And don’t forget that villains must be “human” and that they keep on reacting, as well.

You recently adapted Southampton Row, one of the books in your Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, for the screen. What challenges and what freedoms did you experience when writing the adaptation?

In a screenplay you will have to reduce possibly 500 pages of manuscript down to 100 or 120 pages of script. Inevitably that means cutting out some complete story lines and several characters, possibly combining two or more characters into one. Almost all description goes, which helps. Any interior monologue, trains of thought, etc., go.

Pick out the main story and stick to that. Remember that this is about scenes, not words. A good scene will serve several purposes. Actually, it should in a book, also!

Learn to sacrifice! It hurts, but it will be far stronger in the end. In a book one can reread anything you find hard to understand. In a film you get it once, then move on to the next.

But it IS fun, a second chance to tell your story. How often do any of us get a “second bite at the cherry”? It’s a wonderful opportunity to explore what you could do differently, more powerfully, and in another medium. Pick out the guts of it, what is it really about? Go for it!

You’ve stepped outside of the historical detective/mystery genre now and then, but that’s the genre that’s been most successful for you. Do you ever feel chained to it as a result?

Historical mystery has given me wonderful opportunities and it is a very wide field. Tathea and Come Armageddon (its sequel and conclusion) are fantasy, The Sheen on the Silk is more straight historical, the mystery is minor. At the moment I am happy to be “chained” as long as I can move into thrillers as well.

5 Questions on Publishing

The Cater Street Hangman was the first mystery you wrote—and the first of your books to publish. But you had written several novels prior to that. Had you tried to get those earlier novels published, and if so, what did agents or publishers say was the reason for their rejection?

Yes, I had tried several novels before getting published, but unfortunately I did not receive any advice as to what was wrong with them. On considering it, I believe they were not strongly plotted. This happened, then that happened is NOT a plot! A plot is this happened which caused that to happen—and so on.

What important lessons have you learned through error or by happenstance while promoting your work?

Listen to your readers, and if several say the same thing, they may well be right!

When an editor once suggested that you not reveal some of the character’s back story in a Monk novel you were writing, you went along, you said, because you agreed. What would have happened had you not agreed with the suggestion?

If you have a good editor, then listen to them, discuss the problem, come to a compromise as long as it is not a moral one—never do that! But every editor that I have had has been pretty good and taught me much. I did have ONE moral compromise, and I refused to make it. I was prepared to give back the advance rather than change. Fortunately, I compromised on a different issue and we came to an agreement.

If you haven’t got a good editor, see if you can change! How do you know if you have a good editor? Reputation helps. See what is said about her. Or him. See who else they edit, if possible. But mainly, take their advice and see if it works. It can be surprising how something works that you wouldn’t expect. Your idea may be good, and hers even better. And good luck.

You’ve said that even if someone offered to pay you double what your books earn, you wouldn’t quit writing. If, for some reason, publishers stopped publishing your novels, could you see yourself self-publishing?

If publishers refuse my manuscripts I would have to learn why and attempt to fix it. I have confidence that my publisher knows what they are doing. If they said the work was well written, but that they do not like the subject, or the period, then yes, I would consider self-publishing.

You write up to three books per year. How does the system of writing and publishing work for you at this stage in your career? Do you begin writing when you have an idea, or do you first have the outlines approved?

Three in a year is my limit, and that is working 6 days a week, 52 weeks. I plan all books in detail, work with my agent who tells the publisher the outline, and it is agreed before I begin. I never assume that what I write will necessarily be acceptable. I take very little for granted—fairness, help, yes, but not acceptance. I am always trying to improve. Aren’t we all?

The post 5 On: Anne Perry appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Chris Jane.

My 5 Philosophies of Social Media

by Niklas Wikström

This year I’ve been running a 12-week course focused on social media; now that we’re reaching the end, I’ve begun to reflect on my personal approach to social media and how much of it might be applicable to others. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Social media represents your community, not a marketing bullhorn.

Community is something of a warm-fuzzy term these days, perhaps over-used and also vague.

In this particular case—for authors—I use the word community to mean your readers, other authors in your genre, the larger publishing community (at least to some extent), as well as the organizations and businesses involved in book publishing. (Think: booksellers.)

You don’t “own” or control a community, and you don’t necessarily build one either. You do participate in one, or engage with one. And to be an influential or recognized community member, it means operating so as to generate respect and trust.

If you try to use the community to fulfill only your own goals (like selling a book), and focus on your own marketing messages, the community will respond less and less enthusiastically over time.

Even though you may have seen others using the bullhorn approach, I can pretty much guarantee their success is limited.

2. Social media is creative work.

Unfortunately, the amount of angst generated by social media is all out of proportion to what skills or involvement it actually demands. While it’s often characterized as a sales and marketing communications tool, I believe it’s equally a creative medium. Meaningful updates or posts can involve artful research, writing, and design—which then get more engagement. When you post to your favorite network, it can be part of your daily practice rather than a distraction from it. See Debbie Ohi for an excellent example via Instagram; she posts daily doodles.

For more on this idea, read my post How to Avoid the “Extra” Work of Social Media.

3. Enjoy yourself first.

You know how the airline safety demonstration goes: “Put the oxygen mask on yourself first before assisting others.” You have to find what works for your own personality (and sometimes skill level) or what shows off your colors best to increase the chances you’ll enjoy what you’re doing and flourish while doing it. It makes little sense to participate on any social media channel, regardless of its strategic benefit, if you do it grudgingly. That sucks all the potential creative joy out of it. People will move a few steps away from you. But enthusiasm and energy are infectious. So is any effort that sets out to create meaning. And I find that writers, when they can focus on what’s meaningful to them, are among the most superlative users of social media anywhere. They offer substance and insight.

4. The more engaged readers you have, the more freedom you have.

Social media, combined with your website and email newsletter, help you reach readers directly. The more readers you reach, the less you have to depend on any third party to help you. That’s not to say that publishers, agents, and good marketing plans don’t matter if you have a large following. But you depend less on other people to spread the word on your behalf; you yourself are able to seed word of mouth, to get the ball rolling.

5. The rules are exactly what you make them.

Those who’ve been reading my blog for a long time know that it all started at Writer’s Digest—where I launched There Are No Rules. I still believe there aren’t rules—but good principles or best practices, yes. Ultimately social media use is as distinctive as a person’s fingerprints. It’s hard to copy someone else’s use exactly and see the same results. To some extent, everyone finds their own way—what fits their personality, their work, and the audience they hope to find or engage.

To find your own way, I recommend you loosen up (especially if you need to find your voice), not take it all too seriously, and experiment to find what works. If you need a place to start, then focus on talking about or posting about others you admire. Because social media when done well isn’t about focusing wholly on yourself; it’s about focusing outward.

The post My 5 Philosophies of Social Media appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

How 7 Literary Authors Collaborated to Launch a Box Set

by ScantheVan / Flickr

Earlier this year, I noticed a group of literary authors from ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) created a limited edition box set of novels. While collaborative efforts like this have been fairly common among genre fiction authors, this is the first box set I know of that represents a marketing collaboration for full-length literary novels. (If I’m wrong, please comment and let me know what I’ve missed.)

The box set is called Women Writing Women, and it’s only available until May of this year. The authors’ hope is to reach new readers, of course, but also to prove that literary writers are self-publishing, too—and producing work of high literary quality. This particular box set isn’t 99 cents, a typical price point for the genre box sets. Instead, it’s $9.99 (still a bargain, I might add, for seven novels).

The seven authors are: Roz Morris, Orna Ross, Joni Rodgers, Jane Davis, Carol Cooper, Kathleen Jones, and Jessica Bell. I asked Roz and Joni if they’d be willing to participate in a Q&A about their effort, and I’m delighted they said yes.

Jane: I’m always interested in how these collaborations work on a logistical level–so many details! Was there one person who acted as the leader or manager? How were responsibilities divided up?

Joni Rodgers: This project was Jessica Bell’s brainchild and she was handling the major design and execution tasks, so she cracked the whip until we’d crossed that initial swamp of details where a lot of good ideas die. Since then, however, we’ve worked pretty seamlessly as a team. 

This has been a fabulous experience for me—and I think my boxmates would agree. Each member of the group quickly stepped up with ideas based on her unique area of expertise, and those ideas were received with candid, respectful feedback. It’s always been about what we can do, not what we wish we could afford, so individual tasks fell organically to whomever was best suited.

Roz Morris: To start with, we discussed everything in lengthy emails, which created an utter headache for anyone who was offline for more than a few hours. So we set up a private Facebook group to manage each conversation. Jessica was the first to realize we could argue about some points forever, so she drew up an outline agreement with deadlines and a commitment to publicize as much as was reasonable for our individual platforms and contacts. No one was expected to do anything that would annoy their readership and followers—we’re all wise enough in social media not to compromise our precious relationship with readers and online friends. But we all had genuine ways to promote with integrity.

We created a spreadsheet for marketing efforts, and reported our progress each time we’d approached one of our contacts. That generated momentum in itself as we realized how far we could spread the word.

We made a master to-do list, and seized the roles we were qualified for. Jessica designed a cover for the set. She had four concepts, and we were pretty unanimous on the one we wanted. That decision seemed to give us a real sense of camaraderie; our team colors, if you like.

Joni also has a fantastic eye for design, and knows her way around websites. By chance, she had already bought the URL www.WomenWriteWomen.com—perhaps in a prescient moment. She’s also experienced in audio editing, so she created the book trailer, using one of Jessica’s songs—so we even managed to home-grow our musical signature. (Jessica has a parallel existence as a singer/songwriter.)

Jane was tireless about contacting bloggers and arranging tours. She drafted press releases, which Carol polished for newsworthy angles. Then I waded in with a red pen as I’ve worked in newsrooms and understood what editors look for. I also wrote an email to get the interest of the national press.

Making the book was a laborious undertaking. Jessica is the most adept at formatting, so she put our seven text files into one giant volume and gave us a deadline to check the text and the chapter and scene breaks. Despite us each taking our share, the bulk of the hard labour fell to Jessica as certain tasks have to be controlled by one person.

Joni: Here’s what’s really blown me away about this group: We share such a wealth of both old-school and new-universe publishing experience that, together, we’re every bit as qualified as a senior team at a traditional publisher— and far more qualified than any team that includes junior members and interns. As a ghostwriter, I’ve done a range of projects including high-profile memoirs and fiction, working with wonderful Big 5 publishing teams. I have to say, we hold our own. We’re just as competent as the New Yorkers, but more important, the seven of us share a publishing values system of artistic integrity and craft excellence. Ironically, this makes Team OTB a lot more traditional than most traditional publishers these days.

Did you all sign an agreement that spells out who owns the work and how much you get paid?

Roz: We kept everything simple. We each own equal shares in the box set, but keep all individual rights for our own books. We did not withdraw our books from other platforms, and we agreed that the box set was to be available for a limited time. On May 24 it vanishes.

We discussed everyone paying into an advertising kitty, but that wasn’t possible for some. So we decided that anyone who funded advertising would get paid back first—which is not unlike an advance against royalties.

Joni: Here’s where that indie agility is such an asset for us, individually and as a group. I’m a very greedy reader, so I would love to see Soft Skull, Unbridled Books, Jaded Ibis and some of my other favorite small presses do box sets like this. It’s a great deal for readers and a fantastic opportunity for authors. Unfortunately, I’m not sure even a small press would be able to get around the paperwork as deftly as we did.

Speaking of paperwork: How do you handle dividing the profits, since services such as Amazon KDP only pay out to one author?

Roz: We discussed a range of options, and decided the least complicated solution was to have Jessica handle uploads and payments through the accounts she uses for her journal Vine Leaves Press, with a subset imprint Women Writing Women. She uploaded to Amazon & Kobo directly and to the rest via Draft2Digital.

Joni: It’s like movies, where you would see a title imprint within a production company. We chip in on promotions and receive royalty payments from Jess through PayPal. Here again, I’m giving thanks for our indie agility. I can’t speak for the others, but I would never operate on this level of trust in a mainstream publishing gig.

How did you decide on the pricing? Your pricing is higher than the typical box set.

Roz: It’s much higher. Thus far, most of the box sets have been genre, but one of our agendas was to stress that quality writers are self-publishing. Pricing was probably the single biggest issue we discussed, and the one on which there was the most argument. Some of us were very sensitive to the notion of free and very cheap books and how that affects readers’ perception. (I freely admit I was one of the annoying people who insisted that putting my book in a “cheap” set would make it look cheap.)

We priced at USD $9.99—a little more than the price of the most expensive of one of our books, but great value for a set of 7 novels.

Pricing was one of the decisions that would have taken forever if we’d argued in a forum atmosphere, so once the various positions were clear, Jessica emailed each of us privately to get a final view.

Joni: Again, I’m a very greedy reader, and I definitely felt my American showing on this issue. Here in the US, consumers have been trained to expect moonlight madness and bargain bins, so I worried that, at this price point, we wouldn’t turn over the volume needed to score spots on bestseller lists. But I agree with Roz on the image we’re projecting, and when you do the math, it really is an amazing deal for readers—more than 75% off the combined cost of the ebooks, which is up to 90% off original hardcover and paperback prices. Ultimately, we’ll make more money at the higher price, so it’s hard to argue.

The harsh reality is that a few people on the leading edge of the self-publishing revolution introduced the idea of 99-cent books to the marketplace like Victorian sailors introduced syphilis to the indigenous Hawaiians. They had a great time and went on their way; those who live with their legacy bear the brunt of the damage. I understand that without that wave of crazy cheap books, the transition to e-reading would have been much, much slower, but now we have to shift that paradigm back to the reality that you get what you pay for.

Are there certain marketing efforts that each of you are committed to?

Joni: We all came to the table with different press resources. We all keep one eye on the Facebook discussion, and when someone puts out a call for a blog post or podcast interview, someone else is there to grab the baton and run with it. So far, it’s worked well to keep media responsibilities fluid, because we all have our complicated lives, and shit happens, as they say. I was really moved by the response when, during launch week, one of our sisterhood had a death in the family. All of us were immediately there with loving words and practical offers to pitch in and pick up the slack—not that there was much slack. I’m continually amazed by the plate-spinning act we’re all doing in order to make this thing happen.

What have been the lessons along the way?

Joni: I’ve learned a lot about marketing and production, and that’s something I’ll gratefully take with me when our 90 days is done. On the tech side, we wanted to come up with a fresh idea for giveaways that would cost very little but treat the winning readers to something of genuine value. My daughter (Jerusha Rodgers of Rabid Badger Editing) worked with me to create an awesome digital swag bag that includes a critically acclaimed novel, a free music album download and a host of delightfully fun and artsy surprises. We’re also giving away a couple of Kindle Paperwhites, but I’m all about the digi-swag bag. It’s a super cool way to deliver a memorable prize to readers on any continent.

Giving away upscale prizes in a promotion builds awareness, and brings us email addresses and other takeaway benefits, but we need to do something more interesting than throw money at the situation. 

Roz: Certainly I learned that promotion in a group gives you more courage. I find it agonizing to write assertive press releases on my own behalf, but it was dead easy for our ensemble. I’ll channel that when I start bumbling through a release for my next book.

My biggest lesson was what goes into a proper pre-release campaign. Like most authors who are not natural marketers, I’ve always been too mired in the writing and production to consider it. I finish the book, share some high-fives with my usual crowd, look around for publications or blogs that might be interested, then I’m into the next book.

I now see how much dedicated time you have to put into a launch and how early you have to start: at least a few months ahead.

In indies’ case, that presents an interesting problem. We could finish the book and then sit on it while we build a campaign, but it’s hard to be that patient. The alternative is to start marketing while the book still badly unfinished, and hope we hit the release date. (Not unlike traditional publishing, I admit. Some of the lessons we’re learning are perhaps not so new.)

For this project we started introducing ourselves around the market two-and-a-half months before launch. Even so, we were already too late for print magazines, which put their books and features pages to bed three months before publication. Also, some, although enthusiastic, had a policy of reviewing or featuring only books that were new. Newspapers, though, had a faster turnaround, as did radio and TV, and the two months’ notice suited them well. We were seriously considered for a couple of BBC Radio 4 arts programs but didn’t make the final cut. However, we got a few write-ups in the UK national press.

There’s an argument that traditional media doesn’t generate book sales, but it certainly reinforces the idea that we’re worth taking seriously—and it led to review spots and interviews on blogs that don’t generally accept indie work. And that’s definitely progress.

Outside The Box: Women Writing Women is available until just May 24 for $9.99 at all major online retailers. 

The full line-up:

Orna Ross, Blue Mercy
Joni Rodgers, Crazy For Trying
Roz Morris, My Memories of a Future Life
Kathleen Jones, The Centauress
Jane Davis, An Unchoreographed Life
Carol Cooper, One Night At The Jacaranda
Jessica Bell, White Lady

Visit WomenWritingWomen to find out more.

The post How 7 Literary Authors Collaborated to Launch a Box Set appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Jane Friedman.

Publishing With a Small Press: Straddling the Indie-Traditional Gap

Today’s guest post is by author and entrepreneur Eliot Peper (@eliotpeper).

Yesterday I went on a hike with a good friend who is polishing up the rough draft of his first novel. This is his fourth rewrite and he’s almost “done” (veteran authors know this should say “started”). We talked through some aspects of the story that he’s still wrestling with: character development, tone, and pacing. But the plot thickened as he started asking about his publishing options.

The internet is a black hole for aspiring authors. There’s enough conflicting advice out there to overwhelm even the most enterprising soul. Self-published wunderkinds like Hugh Howey and Barry Eisler demonstrate the possibilities of forging your own path. Big-name authors like James Patterson staunchly defend the merits of traditional publishers. Vicious battles over distribution deal terms with Amazon muddy the picture further.

If you want to send off your manuscript to the Big Five or jump on CreateSpace yourself, countless guides, tips, and checklists will show you the way. But what about the middle road? What if you’re neither self-publishing nor under contract with Random House? What if you work with a small press?

There are heaps of independent publishing companies out there. Many focus on specific niches. Some specialize in investigative nonfiction. Some in steampunk erotica.

My publisher, FG Press, focuses on entrepreneurship. They were founded by a major tech venture capital investor and their readers care about the world of business building. My first novel, Uncommon Stock: Verison 1.0, features a startup CEO who gets sucked into a money laundering scheme in the midst of founding her first company. They liked the story and bet that their audience would get a kick out of it too. As an author, I have benefited greatly by working with FG Press, but I’ve run into a number of specific challenges as well.

Small presses often have more flexible contract terms than the Big Five. Traditional publishers typically offer somewhere between 5-15 percent gross royalty to authors and 25% net royalty on ebooks. I received a 50/50 net royalty split and retained many subsidiary rights to my work. If you have specific priorities you want to negotiate, you’ll probably be able to find a healthy middle ground.

Small presses run the production and distribution processes for you. One big benefit of working with a publisher is that they handle the editors, proofreaders, designers, typesetters necessary to produce a high-quality book. They also invest the capital required to cover the associated costs. If you’re cash strapped or hate project management, this can be a panacea. The Big Five have production schedules that often go on for more than a year. My second novel took three months to go from rough draft to launch with production values that rival any Big Five thriller.

Small presses can kickstart your marketing and aren’t afraid to think outside the box. If you’re not already a big name author, Big Five publishers will slot your title into whatever standard marketing package they offer. Often this might mean just a few hours of an intern’s time and a few small ad placements. Self-published authors have to shoulder the marketing burden all on their own. With a lot of gumption and the assistance of FG Press, I set up guest posts and interviews on top blogs and podcasts, a Twitter battle with a tech celebrity, reviews and blurbs from real life startup CEOs, partnerships with blue chip organizations like TechCrunch and Techstars, and more. The typical pattern was for FG Press to introduce me to the relevant person via email, and I would follow up, brainstorm, and execute from there.

With FG Press, I have been able to accomplish many things that I never could have done on my own. But there have been plenty of hiccups along the way. My first novel was their first title, so while the first book was in production I was constantly working with their CEO to muddle through the vagaries of starting a new publishing company. We went back and forth on the title of my second book for weeks. I often felt that they weren’t pulling their weight on promotional efforts (I have yet to meet an author who felt their publisher excelled in this area). I had to get approval to do things that I knew needed doing. It took months to resolve some unanswered contractual questions. We argued over investments like extra rounds of proofreading that I felt were necessary but they didn’t. Plus there were the normal frustrations that come with any kind of collaboration: misconstrued communications, occasional personal friction, competing priorities, etc.

To their credit, FG Press gave me 100% editorial control. If I wanted to change something, I could. Few publishers afford authors this luxury. They also gave me a mandate to experiment and be transparent. We did things no traditional publisher would approve, like serializing the entire first book and releasing it for free on Medium. I also have their blessing to share both the highs and the lows of my experience working with them as an author. Many publishers would balk at the preceding paragraph.

Working with a small press is an option many authors never consider. It’s the shadowy middle ground between self-publishing and a Big Five contract. Authors need to bring the same level of rigor to evaluating their publishing options as publishers bring to evaluating manuscripts. If you don’t hold the tiller, someone else will grab it.

If you’re considering working with a small press, keep these questions in mind.

What will you be able to accomplish by publishing with them that you can’t do alone?
What promotional efforts will they commit to a priori?
Do they have a specific audience or relationships with influencers that are relevant to your book?
Do you get along on a personal level and do you want to cultivate a long term business relationship with their staff?
Is their contract clear and fair?
How will working with them impact your career as an author?

Publishing with a small press isn’t a silver bullet. Authors need to weigh the pros and cons and go into the relationship with the ultimate consequences in mind. The grass may always be greener but daydreaming about paths not taken isn’t going to get you readers or improve your craft. For some, straddling the indie/traditional gap can be a great fit.

The sun was setting over the reservoir as my friend and I finished our hike. A little knot of guilt tightened in my stomach. He had been hoping that with the rough draft almost done, it was going to get easier. Our conversation had thrown a wrench into that notion. Bursting someone’s bubble isn’t fun, but the sooner that authors understand the complexities of the book business, the sooner they can embrace it and get on with crafting stories that touch people’s lives.

The post Publishing With a Small Press: Straddling the Indie-Traditional Gap appeared first on Jane Friedman and was written by Eliot Peper.