Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 178

How Much Attention Should You Pay to Book Design? A Q&A With Joel Friedlander

I’m very grateful to Joel Friedlander (@JFBookman), at The Book Designer, for taking time to answer a few questions about book design, especially as it relates to self-publishing.

I’m a firm believer in the power of design. I think it affects purchasing not just in obvious ways, but also on a subconscious level. So it often frustrates me when independent authors do their own design work to keep costs low. But I also understand the need to limit financial risk. Let’s say we have to make a compromise. What do you think an author might be able to accomplish reasonably well on her own (that has least potential to adversely affect sales), and what’s the No. 1 thing an author should hire a designer for (because of its potential to increase sales)?

Great question, Jane. Lots of authors want to “own” the process of creating their books, want to have a say in the overall look and feel of the book. After all, what good is having these great bookmaking tools if we don’t use them?

For people who write fiction, memoir, or narrative nonfiction, this question is easier to answer. Creating book interiors for these books is not as demanding, and the result won’t rely quite as much on the typographic sophistication of the designer.

Outside the typographic part of the design, it’s critically important for authors to construct their books properly. There are conventions that are hundreds of years old in book design, and expectations readers bring to books that must be recognized and respected.

So outside what font she uses for the text of her novel, your author will want to make sure all the other details of bookmaking, like the treatment of other page elements like running heads, page numbers, display pages like chapter openings, and so on, are treated properly.

Clearly, the one area where your author should look for professional help is in cover design. This is a specialized type of graphic design that demands good type treatment, the proper font usage, and an understanding of how browsers interact with the words and pictorial content on most book covers.

Because your cover is so important in positioning your book and attracting interest, it really pays to hire a pro.

What are the most common mistakes you see authors make when they design their own book interiors?

Here are some of the mistakes I see most often in self-published books:

Not using full justification for their text, so that both the right and left margin square up and create a rectangle on the page
Not hyphenating the text, resulting in gaps and spaces on the page
Putting the odd-numbered pages on the left, when they should always be on the right
Leaving running heads on display pages like part or chapter openers
Margins that are either too small to allow the reader to easily hold the book, or that don’t take the printing and binding of the book into account
Publishing a book with no copyright page

How can an author find a good interior designer who’s right for their book? How do you properly evaluate one?

Oddly enough, it can be a lot easier to find cover designers than it is to find interior designers. Part of the reason is that the cover designer only has to know how to create an effective cover. The interior designer needs to know all the rules of bookmaking, including how to present all the different kinds of information found within a book.

This is even more true for heavily formatted nonfiction books, because of the typographic and design skills needed to properly organize the hierarchy of information.

One of the best ways to find designers is by referrals from other authors. If you know someone who has published a book like yours, ask them who designed it. Local publishing groups can also be a great place to find designers and talk to authors who have worked with them.

Trade publications like the IBPA Independent are also good sources since it’s one of the few places book designers advertise their services.

We’re also seeing a growing category of websites that are sprouting up to help authors put together a “publishing team” by pairing them with service providers like book designers, but I think it’s a little too early to tell how these services are going to pan out.

And if you’re the author of one of those heavily formatted books we were talking about a minute ago, make sure the designers you’re querying have produced books like yours before. Ask to see samples or a portfolio of similar books.

When hiring a designer, how much should an author expect to spend for a typical trade print paperback novel (cover and interior)?

For novels and other lightly formatted books, you can expect to pay between $200 and $1,500 for interior design. At the low end you’re likely to get a “template” design. At the higher end, expect to receive several custom designs prepared expressly for your book. You’ll also want the designer to take responsibility for producing the reproduction files for your printer, and make sure there’s an allowance for “author’s alterations,” because I’ve never seen a book yet that went all the way from manuscript to press without at least some changes being made.

Make sure you have a signed agreement with the designer, and that your agreement states explicitly that you will own the copyright to all the work they produce, and that you’ll be able to get the original application files the designer created when the project is complete.

For cover designs, expect to pay between $200 and $3,500. This is a very large range, but it’s real. For many authors, just getting a pro to do their cover will help their book stand out. But there are also self-publishers with bigger ambitions, who want to mount a national campaign, attract real media attention, and perhaps establish a franchise. For these authors, investing in a top-quality cover designer can yield real benefits, but this has to be approached as a business decision, and demands that you go into publishing with a realistic marketing plan.

Should an author ever use design contest sites (e.g., 99designs.com)?

As you know, I run an e-book cover design competition on my blog every month, and I’ve been getting submissions from authors who have gone that route. Some of these covers are quite good, others not so much.

I don’t see a reason not to use these sites, but make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting before you sign up. And keep in mind that you should demand the same contract and materials requirements we talked about just above, because they still apply.

Do you think there should be a different cover design for print vs. electronic editions? What special considerations come into play for e-book covers?

Aha, one of my favorite topics! I started the ebook cover design competition to see what designers were doing with this new form, and to try to encourage them to look at the ebook cover as a separate opportunity to use it to their advantage.

From what I’ve seen, designers haven’t done much with this challenge. The requirements for ebooks are similar—but not the same—as the requirements for print books. All too often, what we see, particularly from larger publishers, is the print book cover reduced in size and used for the ebook.

This makes no sense. Print book covers use texture, finish, testimonials, subtle color palettes and other devices that simply don’t translate to the tiny graphic images you see on e-retailers’ sites.

And why should an ebook cover look like a print book cover anyway? The print book cover actually covers a book. An ebook cover could be more like digital music album covers, blog sidebar ads, or any other type of online product “packaging” or advertising.

What I’m really hoping to see is more designers exploring different ways to represent ebooks, and not slavishly follow the print book model. As long as the branding is recognizably the same—assuming you are producing both versions—then why not?

If an author wanted to educate themselves on what constitutes good book design, aside from reading your blog, what resources would you recommend?

Two other bloggers who write about interior design are Dave Bricker and David Bergsland at The Skilled Workman.

There are classic books on book design for people who really want to dive into this subject. Probably the most appropriate one for self-publishers is Pete Masterson’s Book Design & Production.

Also, pay attention to the books you read. Book design is design with type, so the more you know about typography the better your designs are likely to be.

There are lots of authors who are creating books in Microsoft Word. Although I tried for a long time to convince authors that Word was not intended for books and wouldn’t produce a truly “professional-looking” book, I’ve recently changed course.

To help writers who want to do their own book interiors, I’m now offering templates that authors can buy that will solve a lot of the problems we’ve been talking about in this article. The template is a pre-formatted container. You pour your text into the file, apply the styles that come with the template, and you’re done.

What this means is that you can be sure you avoid a lot of the mistakes that new self-publishers make. Your book will be sized properly, have the right fonts, correct page numbers and section breaks, and will be industry standard.

Note from Jane: Through the end of April, Joel is running a sale on his Word templates for nonfiction books. You can find out more about these templates, and download a great resource that will help you build better books, by visiting www.bookdesigntemplates.com. Readers of this blog receive a 46% discount on any templates on the site. Just use coupon code template46 when you check out.

About Joel Friedlander: Joel (@JFBookman) is an award-winning book designer, a blogger, and the author of A Self-Publisher’s Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish. He’s been launching the careers of self-publishers since 1994 and runs a popular blog at TheBookDesigner.com, covering book design, book marketing, and the future of the book. Joel is also the founder of the online training course, The Self-Publishing Roadmap.

The post How Much Attention Should You Pay to Book Design? A Q&A With Joel Friedlander appeared first on Jane Friedman.

2 Strategic and Compelling Reasons to Keep Blogging—Plus When to Kill a Blog

Note from Jane: Today’s guest post is from Dan Blank (@DanBlank) and covers a topic that was recently addressed on this site by L.L. Barkat: the value of blogging. If you remember, Barkat advised writers to stop blogging. For the other side of the story, I’ve asked Dan to offer reasons to keep blogging.

In the past few years, social media has eclipsed blogging in terms of where many writers spend their time when online. Many now choose to tweet, post to Facebook, or review on Goodreads instead of blogging on their own website.

While social media delivers a potentially more immediate reaction from others, I am still a big believer in blogging. There are many reasons for this, but let’s just focus on two specific reasons. Then we’ll discuss how to deal with blogging exhaustion—or when to kill a blog entirely.

1. The long-term value of developing a body of work.

Yes, a blog becomes a body of work in and of itself. Just as with a journal, you and others can look back at what you have created over time. How does this differ from social media? Let’s look at an example.

Let’s say that you follow me on Twitter and connect with me on Facebook, and you remember that a while back, I shared a link to which podcasting equipment I recommend people buy—and you want to start a podcast for your readers.

Go ahead, try to find the link I shared on Twitter. You can’t. Twitter delivers zero tweets when you search on my name and the word “podcasting.” All it can do is recommend that you follow two people—me and some other guy:

 

Even if you try scrolling back through my 18,000+ Tweets, it isn’t long before Twitter simply stops you. You can’t dig into the full archive.

Let’s try that on Facebook:

 

The results aren’t any better on Facebook. Now, let’s try a basic Google search:

 

The result I am looking for is the third result on the page, along with other relevant results not just on who I am, but everything associated with me and the term “podcasting.”

Social media is amazing in the moment, but eventually disappears into a black hole. Blogging, like books, have a very long shelf life, and become more findable over time, not less.

2. When you blog, you get to control the message.

Were you comfortable when Amazon bought Goodreads? When Facebook decided to change how you can use their social network? When you learned of Pinterest’s terms of service of pinning your own photos?

While these services ARE valuable, and you should use them, why give them 100% control over your message, how people find you, and what you can and can’t do? For example, author Allison Winn Scotch has been blogging for years, and in doing so, built up findability on Google. When you search her name, this is what you see:

 

Yes, links to large websites such as Amazon, Wikipedia, and Twitter appear near the topic, but the first two links go directly to Allison’s own website, where she 100% controls the message. Regardless of what changes with Twitter or Amazon, Allison is findable on her own terms.

Blogging Exhaustion: Are You Running Out of Things to Say?

When Jane and I recently discussed blogging, she mentioned to me that some bloggers are facing “blogging exhaustion” and are running out of things to say.

I have a lot of empathy for writers facing this situation, because there is an unending list of things writers could be doing at any given moment. For the blogger who is feeling exhausted, consider the source of this. In that moment where you say, “Maybe we should see other people,” is it because of deep problems with your relationship to blogging, or simply that you need to reenergize it?

Be wary of jumping from a blog to the social media flavor of the week. It can be exciting to try something new, but it can also be a false promise. For example, if you find it a long, slow slog to grow readers on a blog or on Twitter, and hope that if you join Tumblr or Pinterest, that you will find immediate success …

That. Won’t. Happen.

Your motivation is—even more than time management—your greatest resource. If you are feeling demotivated, consider the following ways to keep the fire burning:

Be honest. Too many people take long lapses in their blog, only to feel guilty about it. Like any relationship, communication is critical. If you are experiencing doubts about the value of your blog, post some entries exploring this. In other words: work through it. But also: give your audience a chance to speak up and yell, “Hi! We are here and like you! This is why we would love for you to keep blogging.”
Bring in other voices. Sometimes it can be lonely to be the sole keeper of a blog. Find ways to involve others. Interview people who inspire you, collaborate on guest posts, or even post blog entries elsewhere. I found that when I approach writing a blog for someone such as Jane, or even a post for Huffington Post Books, I approach it wildly differently than on my own blog. It gets the juices flowing in a different way.
Mindmap it out. Consider what you blog about and how the dozens or hundreds of disparate posts work together. Find new threads for topics you want to write about.
Create an editorial calendar. Sometimes a little bit of structure can remove the anxiety of blogging. Consider how often you want to post, create different types of content, and begin filling out topic ideas weeks or months in advance.
Identify core messages versus secondary messages. Oftentimes, a blogger may stray from writing about that which matters most to them. Consider the key evergreen messages you want to hit again and again, and how you can explore them in new ways.
Repackage ideas into series. Instead of creating many one-off blog posts, create a series of five or ten posts that work together.
Try different types of media. Instead of writing a post, create a video and embed it. Or tell a story with photos. Find other ways to express the same ideas.
You do not need to post every day. I tend to feel that once per week is a nice posting frequency. That said, there are plenty of bloggers who post less frequently, but whose blog posts really stand out. Author Tim Ferriss tends to only blog when he feels he has something compelling to share. If you look at his archives, you find very little consistency in terms of frequency, but every post gets tons of comments.
Create templates for posts that you can fill in. Or brainstorm a laundry list of post ideas and headlines in one caffeine-fueled session per month.
Focus on unique value—often it is closer than you think. Instead of creating a master post on “5 ways authors can use Pinterest for explosive audience growth,” share a story from your life. Be honest with readers instead of trying to impress them. Oftentimes this is when people become closer to you and really begin engaging. Again and again, I find that posts I wrote quickly in a fit of passion get shared much more than posts that were more strategic.
Use the value of people’s attention elsewhere to fuel your blog. For example, if you are attending an event, you can do a series of posts before, during, and after that other attendees may appreciate.

When Do You Kill a Blog?

What often differentiates the blogger who succeeds and one who doesn’t is perseverance. The Onion recently had a funny video with a fake profile of someone who has updated Twitter for 2 years with 10,000 Tweets, and still had only 15 followers. Many bloggers can feel this way as well. 

So, when do you kill a blog? When it does not align with your long-term goals as a writer. I remember working with a writer who had blogged for awhile, and when we really outlined her long-term goals, we realized that her existing blog did nothing to serve it. So, we “retired” that blog and created a new one. Now, nearly two years later, she has a very active blog that is firmly focused on her goals and on attracting the types of people she loves speaking with.

When you consider a blog, don’t just think about what it delivers in the next 10 hours, but also the next 10 years. Your blog is a body of work. Treat it that way.

Note from Jane: If you are looking to begin a blog or want to find a way to revitalize your existing blog, consider Dan’s new e-book, A Writer’s Guide to Blogging. For a limited time, Dan is offering a 20% discount for readers of my blog. Just use the code janeblog20 at checkout.

The post 2 Strategic and Compelling Reasons to Keep Blogging—Plus When to Kill a Blog appeared first on Jane Friedman.

How to Publish an E-Book: Resources for Authors

Note from Jane: This Tuesday, in partnership with Digital Book World, I’m teaching a live, online class on e-book publishing for new authors. Click here for more details and to register.

About the only thing that remains constant in e-book publishing is that it changes—everything from the services to marketing strategies. Here, I’ve attempted to round-up all the good resources I know of related to (1) how to publish an e-book, (2) finding the right e-publishing services, and (3) staying on top of changes in the industry. If I’ve neglected to mention an important resource, please let me know in the comments.

Getting Started & Principles

5 Things Beginners Need to Know About E-Book Publishing (Jane Friedman)
The Basics of DIY E-Book Publishing (Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman)
How to Self-Publish an E-Book (C-Net, David Carnoy)
10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to Any E-Book Publishing Service (Jane Friedman)
Do You Hold E-Rights to Your Traditionally Published Book? (Jane Friedman)
Self-Published Authors Have Great Power, But Are They Taking Responsibility? (Writer Unboxed, Jane Friedman)
5 Things I’ve Learned From Self-Publishing (James Calbraith)
How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books (Copyblogger)
How to Make Money on E-Books (JA Konrath)

Sales, Marketing, and Promotion

A Checklist for Marketing Your E-Book (Jane Friedman)
How Readers Discovered a Debut Novel (Goodreads)
3 Keys to Successful and Sustainable Indie Authorship (Tay Nguyen)
Amazon KDP Select: Is It Worthwhile for Authors? (CJ Lyons)
Book Promotion: What’s Working at Amazon in 2013? (Lindsay Buroker)
Maximizing Digital Sales (Digital Book World, Carolyn McCray)
How to Get Reviews for Self-Published Books (Writer’s Digest, Joel Friedlander)
10 Ways to Find Reviewers for Your Self-Published Book (Empty Mirror)
The Indie Reviewers List (The Indie View)
3 Barriers You Must Eliminate to Maximize E-Book Sales (Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman)
Rethink Cover Design for a Small, Small World (Digital Book World, Elle Lothlorien)
How to Sell Self-Published Books: One at a Time (Cathryan Howard)
Stats From My Latest Book Launch (Nathan Barry)
Power Pricing: How Should I Price My E-Books? (Kobo)

Tools for Creating E-Books

Calibre (free conversion tool)
Sigil (free formatting tool, for more technically inclined people)
PressBooks (free formatting tool)
Apple iBooks Author (will limit you to Apple iBookstore)
Scrivener (not free, formatting and conversion tool)
AerBook Maker (makes sense for multimedia-driven work)
Apple Pages (formatting and conversion tool)
See this Wikipedia entry for more information on editing software
E-Book Creation: A Guide for Writers (LJ Cohen)

Major E-Book Retailers

Amazon. Sells 50-70% of all e-books, more for some authors and titles.
Kobo. Gaining ground, international presence.
Barnes & Noble Nook Press. Considered No. 2 e-book retailer.
Smashwords. Also a distributor; see below.
Apple iBookstore. Widely considered a hassle; most authors use a distributor to reach.

Major E-Book Distributors & Services

Smashwords. Authors often use Amazon KDP, then add Smashwords to hit all the other retailers.
BookBaby. A slightly different model than Smashwords—you pay upfront, then get 100% net sales.
eBookPartnership. Similar to BookBaby.
Vook. They keep changing their service, but they’re one of the few games in town if you want to create and distribute an enhanced (multimedia e-book) without using iBooks Author.
There are other major e-book distributors only available if you work with your agent or have a minimum number of titles, such as Argo Navis and INscribe Digital.

Authors Who Blog About E-Book Publishing

Joanna Penn
CJ Lyons
Joel Friedlander
Self-Publishing Podcast
JA Konrath
David Gaughran
Kristine Rusch
Dean Wesley Smith
Bob Mayer

News & Trends About E-Book Publishing

Digital Book World
Porter Anderson: Ether for Authors & Writing on the Ether
Mike Shatzkin
FutureBook

Note from Jane: This Tuesday, in partnership with Digital Book World, I’m teaching a live, online class on e-book publishing for new authors. Click here for more details and to register.

The post How to Publish an E-Book: Resources for Authors appeared first on Jane Friedman.

How to Publish an Ebook: Resources for Authors

Note from Jane: This Tuesday, in partnership with Digital Book World, I’m teaching a live, online class on e-book publishing for new authors. Click here for more details and to register.

About the only thing that remains constant in ebook publishing is that it changes—everything from the services to marketing strategies. Here, I’ve attempted to round-up all the good resources I know of related to (1) how to publish an ebook, (2) finding the right e-publishing services, and (3) staying on top of changes in the industry. If I’ve neglected to mention an important resource, please let me know in the comments.

Getting Started & Principles

5 Things Beginners Need to Know About E-Book Publishing (Jane Friedman)
The Basics of DIY E-Book Publishing (Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman)
How to Self-Publish an E-Book (C-Net, David Carnoy)
10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to Any E-Book Publishing Service (Jane Friedman)
Do You Hold E-Rights to Your Traditionally Published Book? (Jane Friedman)
Self-Published Authors Have Great Power, But Are They Taking Responsibility? (Writer Unboxed, Jane Friedman)
5 Things I’ve Learned From Self-Publishing (James Calbraith)
How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books (Copyblogger)
How to Make Money on E-Books (JA Konrath)

Sales, Marketing, and Promotion

A Checklist for Marketing Your E-Book (Jane Friedman)
How Readers Discovered a Debut Novel (Goodreads)
3 Keys to Successful and Sustainable Indie Authorship (Tay Nguyen)
Amazon KDP Select: Is It Worthwhile for Authors? (CJ Lyons)
Book Promotion: What’s Working at Amazon in 2013? (Lindsay Buroker)
Maximizing Digital Sales (Digital Book World, Carolyn McCray)
How to Get Reviews for Self-Published Books (Writer’s Digest, Joel Friedlander)
10 Ways to Find Reviewers for Your Self-Published Book (Empty Mirror)
The Indie Reviewers List (The Indie View)
3 Barriers You Must Eliminate to Maximize E-Book Sales (Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman)
Rethink Cover Design for a Small, Small World (Digital Book World, Elle Lothlorien)
How to Sell Self-Published Books: One at a Time (Cathryan Howard)
Stats From My Latest Book Launch (Nathan Barry)
Power Pricing: How Should I Price My E-Books? (Kobo)

Tools for Creating E-Books

Calibre (free conversion tool)
Sigil (free formatting tool, for more technically inclined people)
PressBooks (free formatting tool)
Apple iBooks Author (will limit you to Apple iBookstore)
Scrivener (not free, formatting and conversion tool)
AerBook Maker (makes sense for multimedia-driven work)
Apple Pages (formatting and conversion tool)
See this Wikipedia entry for more information on editing software
E-Book Creation: A Guide for Writers (LJ Cohen)

Major E-Book Retailers

Amazon. Sells 50-70% of all ebooks, more for some authors and titles.
Kobo. Gaining ground, international presence.
Barnes & Noble Nook Press. Considered No. 2 e-book retailer.
Smashwords. Also a distributor; see below.
Apple iBookstore. Widely considered a hassle; most authors use a distributor to reach.

Major E-Book Distributors & Services

Smashwords. Authors often use Amazon KDP, then add Smashwords to hit all the other retailers.
BookBaby. A slightly different model than Smashwords—you pay upfront, then get 100% net sales.
eBookParternship. Similar to BookBaby.
Vook. They keep changing their service, but they’re one of the few games in town if you want to create and distribute an enhanced (multimedia ebook) without using iBooks Author.
There are other major e-book distributors only available if you work with your agent or have a minimum number of titles, such as Argo Navis and INscribe Digital.

Authors Who Blog About E-Book Publishing

Joanna Penn
Joel Friedlander
Self-Publishing Podcast
JA Konrath
David Gaughran
Kristine Rusch
Dean Wesley Smith
Bob Mayer

News & Trends About E-Book Publishing

Digital Book World
Mike Shatzkin
FutureBook

Note from Jane: This Tuesday, in partnership with Digital Book World, I’m teaching a live, online class on e-book publishing for new authors. Click here for more details and to register.

The post How to Publish an Ebook: Resources for Authors appeared first on Jane Friedman.

3 Ways to Improve Your Author Website Today

 

Note from Jane: This Thursday, I’m teaching an online class with Writer’s Digest on how you can improve your author website and overall online presence. Click here for more details and to register.

To maximize the effectiveness of your author website, it’s necessary to study the data behind how people find your website, navigate it, and use it. This is typically done via Google Analytics, a free tool available to anyone with a Google account. On the day you install it, you’ll immediately start collecting data on your website traffic and visitors; while you won’t be able to see into the site’s past, you’ll start collecting and storing analytics data indefinitely.

Note: WordPress.com users cannot implement Google Analytics, and may find it difficult to get the level of data they need via WordPress’s own analytics.

1. Analyze your “calls to action” on your static pages or post pages—or most popular pages. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the appearance of your homepage, the front door to your website. In Google Analytics, take a look at your Site Content Overview: your homepage may represent only 25-30% of new visits. The long tail of visits may be spread over dozens or hundreds of pages, especially if you have a blog.

For instance, on this website (which is very blog-centric), the homepage represents only 5% of my total pageviews. Most people visit a blog post and only a blog post. That means the page design template of my blog post page is critical.

So make a list of the most popular pages on your website (by using Google Analytic’s site content overview), and imagine you’re a new visitor to those pages. Then ask the following questions.

If the goal of your website is to introduce people to your books, is it easy to see what your latest book is from your most popular pages?
If you want people to subscribe to your blog, is it easy to immediately find the subscribe buttons or links from anywhere on your site (especially on the top half)?
If you want people to sign up for your e-mail newsletter, is that prominent on your most popular pages? 
If you want people to find you on social media, are those links immediately available?

Whatever No. 1 goal (or call to action) you have for new visitors, make sure it’s clear regardless of what page they first land on; don’t expect people to visit more than 1 or 2 pages of your website.

Bonus tip: Study the well-worn paths on your site. When people visit your homepage, what’s the No. 1 page they are most likely to visit next? Go to Visitors Flow in Google Analytics. This exercise should tell you a lot about what your readers are interested in and how they perceive your website.

2. Start tracking the most popular outbound links.

It’s exceptionally instructive to understand how and when people leave your site. Google Analytics will give you data on exit pages for visitors (go to Site Content > Exit Pages), but it won’t automatically tell you if and when people actually click on a link to exit (e.g., a link to Amazon to buy your book).

Screenshot from my Mint analytics

To do that, you have to help make it happen in 1 of 2 ways.

Add a WordPress plug-in. (This post mentions a variety; scroll to the last third of the post.)
Purchase and install Mint, which can track popular outbound links (as well as provide many other wonderful metrics and site analytics).

When I discovered that my No. 1 most popular outbound link was to an article I wrote on nonfiction book proposals at another site, I immediately wrote a new post on the topic and replaced the link, to retain visitors longer at my site.

Knowing what people click on gives you in-depth insight into what interests your readers and at what points they’re inclined to make a purchase (e.g., clicking on a discount code link to make a purchase at a retailer).

3. Install an SEO plug-in (if using a WordPress-based site), such as Yoast.

If you’ve heard about the importance of SEO, but don’t know anything about it, that’s OK, especially if you’re on a WordPress-based site. First, WordPress is very SEO friendly right out of the box, so it doesn’t take much work on your part to do good by the search engines.

But also WordPress users have access to plug-ins that help you do your absolute best on SEO. I recommend installing this one from Yoast. (It’s the one that I use.) It will not only help you understand SEO principles as you put together pages and blog posts, but it will give you additional functionality and fine-tuned control, such as being able to craft specific excerpts that are used in social-media shares and search engine display. (See screenshot below.)

I’d love to hear about any secrets you’ve learned that have meaningfully improved your author website. Please share in the comments!

If you found this advice helpful, this Thursday, I’m teaching an online class with Writer’s Digest on how you can improve your author website and overall online presence. Click here for more details and to register.

The post 3 Ways to Improve Your Author Website Today appeared first on Jane Friedman.

5 Ideas for Using Pinterest as an Author

Today’s guest post is by Amanda Luedeke (@amandaluedeke), a literary agent with MacGregor Literary, Inc., and author of The Extroverted Writer: An Author’s Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform.

Social media sites come and go, and Pinterest is the most recent one to see a major usage spike. Consequently, businesses and brands and marketing teams are feeling the pressure to infiltrate the site and use it for their purposes of getting you to buy, want, and need things or experiences that you normally wouldn’t consider.

And people in publishing—including authors? We’re feeling the same push to be present on that platform.

Let’s be clear about what Pinterest is: Pinterest is a site that allows users to “pin” images found on the web to virtual pinboards. There’s minimal text involved because it’s a visual site. It’s all about virtual scrapbooking and visual inspiration. To give you a better idea of what/how Pinterest is used, I’d say right now it’s probably the biggest fad among brides-to-be. They can have their wedding pinboards where they gather all of the pretty photos they see online and use them as wedding inspiration.

So, why are authors feeling the pressure? I honestly can’t say, and if you’re reading this, baffled by corporate America’s desire to turn Pinterest into a marketing mecca, then you and I can have a drink sometime and shake our heads at marketing teams who feel they have to have all these online presences. Personally, I think your time would be better spent with more tried-and-true sites.

But if you really connect with this medium and want do some professional pinning, here are five ideas.

1. Create a novel inspiration pinboard.

Tease your fans by creating a pinboard that showcases photos of people and locations that inspired your upcoming book. This would also be a great thing to pass on to your publishing house’s design team. It would give them a helping hand when creating the perfect book cover. (I’ve also heard of authors looking to their fans to help “cast the roles” of their favorite characters. It’s a neat game.)

2. Create a novel comparison pinboard.

Think of the authors within your genre who write stories similar to your own. Gather their book covers, author photos, and whatnots, and put them on a pinboard. This can be your “If you like ________, you’ll also like my book!” board. (If you have a published book, be sure to add it to the pinboard as well!) You never know when it might hook some potential fans.

3. Create an upcoming cover art pinboard.

Fans love leaked images, so when you begin working through cover designs with your publisher (or even if you e-publish!), be sure to “leak” the images to your pinboard. Ask for fan input and make them feel part of the process. Plus, Pinterest is designed to make it easy for users to share images. If you start seeing your book’s cover appear on multiple boards, you know you’ve got a winner.

4. Create a blog pinboard.

Some authors see success with Pinterest when they consistently pin photos from their blog posts. This requires you to (a) maintain a blog, (b) include photos with each post, and (c) properly pin those photos. But the general idea is that if you end up with some photos that attract attention, people will click through to see where they originated. 

5. Encourage wish lists.

This is an idea I stole from the clothing store Express. During the 2012 holiday season, they offered a shopping spree to one lucky Pinner who put together an Express wish list. At the time this was written, Pinterest’s search engine was totally unreliable, so if you try this idea, you’ll need to develop some way for Pinners to let you know their boards exist. But the basic idea is that you ask Pinners to create holiday (or Valentine’s Day, etc.) wish lists in which they pin books that they want, including some of yours. One lucky winner will receive a prize. The ultimate payoff with this tactic is that it encourages family and friends of these Pinners to actually go out and purchase some of these wish list items as gifts. That’s what happened to me. I made my Express pinboards, and though I didn’t win anything, I received three Express items that holiday season from family and friends.

Proper Pinning 101

Create great, concise descriptions of each pin, using hashtags, keywords, links, and more.
Pin book covers from sites in which the book can actually be purchased.
Tag every book cover pin with genre, author, and title information.

What ideas do YOU have for using Pinterest? Let us know in the comments. 

Follow Amanda on Pinterest
Follow Jane’s Publishing Industry Stats board on Pinterest

Want to learn more about author marketing? Check out The Extroverted Writer from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

The post 5 Ideas for Using Pinterest as an Author appeared first on Jane Friedman.

Worry About the Writing, Not About Being a Writer

If you could write a letter to your younger writing self, what would you say? Author Allison Amend has imagined and written such a letter. Here’s how she starts:

I see you worrying endlessly about your future, and I just wanted to write you a letter and reassure you that fifteen years from now you will still worry endlessly. But you will be worrying about the writing, rather than about being a writer.

Read the entire letter over at Glimmer Train.

Also, check out these other pieces from the latest bulletin:

The Political Lives of Characters by Siamak Vossoughi
Humming Fiction by Joshua Henkin

The post Worry About the Writing, Not About Being a Writer appeared first on Jane Friedman.

Amazon KDP Select: Is It Worthwhile for Authors?

Note from Jane: I am enormously grateful to author CJ Lyons for her valuable guest post today, which offers clarity and insight on the popular strategy of offering free e-books through the KDP Select program to improve sales. If you’re not already familiar with CJ, please read my interview with her from earlier this year.

There’s a lot of turmoil right now in the self-publishing world regarding the Amazon KDP Select program. I’m not sure it’s warranted. The Select Program is just that: a program, a tool, a tactic.

In other words, it’s not a promise, a guarantee, or even a long term strategy—for authors or Amazon.

It’s a program. Subject to change. And it might not fit your needs now—or later—or ever. Or it might be the catalyst you need to engage new readers and propel sales.

For those who don’t know, here’s what Amazon KDP Select is in a nutshell:

In exchange for giving Amazon exclusive use of a piece of digital content for 90 days, you receive five days (any five you choose) to make your digital content available for free, and you also get paid for any of your e-books that are lent through the Amazon Prime library.

Let’s break that down.

Amazon KDP Select: 90 days exclusivity required

Depending on your audience, that could be a deal breaker right there. Or it could be an opportunity.

If your readers buy a significant number of your books from other venues, then you probably don’t want to anger them by providing content only to Amazon. If you have no readers yet, then building an audience on Amazon before branching out to other venues might be an excellent choice.

Established authors with several titles might rotate content through Select if they’re finding that they get a significant number of paid lends and new readers from the program. They could also use Select to launch a new project, receiving feedback and reviews via Amazon before distributing a title elsewhere.

Newer authors with limited readership probably have nothing to lose by granting Amazon exclusivity while they use Select to build their audience. Select becomes a tool to build a presence on the bestseller lists, reviews, and solid sales figures, along with an income before expansion, much in the way that smaller presses can serve as a stepping stone to larger publishers.

What about the income from lending? 

It’s been averaging around $2 a lend, which might be more than you make on a sale if you price your books below $2.99. Above $2.99 and you’re losing money compared to an actual sale.

In my own experience, both times I tried Select, my lends were neglible compared to other authors. But as I polled other authors, I realized that the lending trends fall into two groups: relatively unknown authors were receiving higher numbers of lends while more established authors weren’t.

My guess is that the better-known authors with established series, good reader reviews, and bestseller status were actually being bought rather than borrowed. In my case, I could calculate the higher number of sales I received via Select and compare it to the lends as well as what I would usually sell of those titles via other venues.

For the two 90-day periods I was in Select, it was a virtual wash financially.

(Note: I’d also guess that Prime readers are smart enough to assume that any author in Select might be going free in the near future and many of them are starting to wait before buying or committing to a lend until they see if the book goes free or not. If this is the case, then the financial advantages of Select will be quickly erased, especially for established authors or those selling at a higher price.)

What about those 5 free days?

Don’t they make Amazon KDP Select an even better deal, worth the exclusivity? Or are the rumors true, and free isn’t working any more?

Yes and no. Free definitely worked better when Select first began and your free downloads jumpstarted your paid ranking. Now, after an algorithm shift, those free downloads don’t help your paid ranking as much, so unless you hit the top of the free list with a massive number of downloads (probably at least 20,000), it won’t place your book very high on the paid bestseller lists.

But if your free days land you on the Top 20 (first page) of the free bestseller list, that exposure might be worth it in terms of increased sales for the days following a free promotion, not to mention the number of readers who now have your book. This could lead to more reviews and increased sales of your other books, especially if you created an easy way for them to access the rest of your list via links in the back of the free book.

There are many ways to go free and to benefit from it. The important thing is to decide why you want to go free and what it’s worth to you. If you want reviews, offer free reads to your existing readers. If you want to build a list, offer free reads to those who sign up for your mailing list. If you want to hit an Amazon bestseller list and increase sales there, then Select is your best bet.

Who should be using Amazon KDP Select’s free days?

1. Established authors who want to jumpstart a title whose sales are lagging.

2. Authors with a new release that’s part of a series—and want to bring new readers on board quickly—could use Select’s free days for the first in the series, hoping that it will lead to sales of the following books.

3. New authors with only two or three titles who are trying to grow their readership. This group will probably find the Select program the least restrictive and most help as they can earn income via both sales and lends while rotating their books through free days.

Note: I would NOT use Select if I only had one book. You might see increased sales but once readers read that title where are they going to go next?

Income versus exposure

Select is a tool, a tactic to help you achieve your goal. But first you need to decide on the goal. Are you aiming for income or exposure?

If your book attracts a lot of lends and/or sales, then Select may help grow your income. You want to also compare the income potential of other venues for your genre before committing, or cycle in and out of Select with different titles so that you don’t totally lose readers from other venues.

If you’re looking for new readers and exposure for your other books, then Select’s free days might make the exclusivity worthwhile, especially if you use it as part of an overall promotional strategy. There are other ways to use free besides Select (such as via Kobo, Smashwords, Apple price-matching or your own site in the form of giveaways), so weigh your options carefully.

The future: Do readers EVER have to buy another book?

The bottom line with any discussion of free books isn’t so much the venue supporting free as much as the readers embracing it. Some readers feel that Amazon is the equivalent of their public library, providing a never-ending stream of free titles.

I’ve noticed a few things about these readers who are constantly grazing for free:

They tend to fill their e-readers but often don’t actually read the books, instead using free as a way to create a large sampling library.
Since they have no investment in the books, they often leave one-star reviews for anything they read that isn’t to their taste. (Why did they grab it in the first place? Not because the title/cover/subject/genre appealed to them, but simply because the price was right: free.)
They often don’t buy future books. I’ve received e-mails from readers hooked by a free book asking when the next in the series will be free. When I let them know that it won’t be available for free, some go ahead and buy the next books, thanking me for keeping my prices reasonable, but many don’t.

I’m not alone in noticing these trends. I asked the hosts of the Self-Publishing Podcast, Johnny Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright (if you’re not listening to these guys, you should!) about their experiences with Select and this is what Sean told me:

“David and I owe a lot of our early success to KDP Select and are appreciative for all it’s done for us. It was a terrific program, and still is if used well. When we first published Yesterday’s Gone, no one besides Amazon had the reach. Coupled with the ability to flip a switch and make our titles free, it was an easy decision. Originally, we were on Nook and iBooks as well as Amazon, but they accounted for almost none of our sales.

The program now puts most authors at a disadvantage. The exclusivity was once offset by the chance to gain mass exposure and a healthy aftermath of sales, but changes in Amazon’s algorithms (which now lend negligible weight to free titles) have dimmed the results of free promotions. This, along with a throttling of free sites and their ratio of free-to-paid promotions, have drastically reduced the effects of KDP Select.

The market is saturated. There are too many authors screaming for the same six seconds of spotlight. Free isn’t converting to paid like it once was, and worse, authors are creating a culture of readers who are being nurtured away from paying. Those authors who can still be served best by KDP Select are the ones with smart funnels and using free promotion to direct readers toward other paid titles.”

Johnny had a similar experience with his latest release:

“My last launch that happened inside of Select, for Fat Vampire 4, was a total flop. I’d been getting e-mails and tweets from fans who were ravenous for the book, and when I launched it free, it felt like all I did was to give it away to people who were dying to pay for it. In the past, putting a book later in a series as free would drive sales of the prior volumes, but that didn’t happen AT ALL this time. I sold almost no previous volumes, which led me to believe that everyone who saw Fat Vampire 4 and might have been interested in Fat Vampires 1-3 already had those volumes. Which meant I wasn’t reaching anyone new; I was simply proving a fixed pool of people with free content. I can attribute maybe $50 total (across all Fat Vampire books) to that promotion, and I netted only 6 reviews. That simply isn’t equitable or reasonable. ”

Bottom line: 3 questions to ask before any free campaign

Can I obtain the level of engagement I’m looking for via Select? For a standalone book with lagging sales or to bring new readers to an established series by giving away the first book, the answer might be yes.
Will enrolling in Select anger my readers? Know your audience and have a plan in place to gift them a version if they shop at a different venue.
Will this help me increase sales/make a bestseller list/grow my audience? Don’t try to do all three at once, but instead choose one goal for this particular title at this particular time.

When Amazon KDP Select first began, the choice was easy. But now it may not provide the one-stop marketing solution it used to.

One thing about this business, it’s always changing. Keep your options open and don’t be afraid to experiment. Find what works best for you and your readers. Treat your readers right, but make sure they are the right readers for you!

Note from Jane: If you found this post helpful, I encourage you to check out CJ’s website for writers, which offers more information, workshops, and resources for all types of authors.

The post Amazon KDP Select: Is It Worthwhile for Authors? appeared first on Jane Friedman.

Best Business Advice for Writers: March 2013

Best Business Advice for Writers is a monthly link round-up where I share the best online articles focused on the business of writing and publishing. Share any best reads you’ve found lately in the comments.

Anatomy of a Successful Kickstarter Campaign by Tom Allen (@tomsbiketrip)

It sometimes feels as if everyone is running a Kickstarter—and that the world might be better off if not everyone ran immediately to their friends and strangers to fund their next project. Still, if done properly, it’s powerful. Of the various articles I’ve read about Kickstarter campaigns, this one is among the top three or so in terms of usefulness. Snippet:

In case you’re wondering what ‘direct traffic’ (the single biggest source of funds) consisted of, I can tell you: it was clickthroughs from my email newsletter. … I’ve been blogging for 6 years now, and I’ve always made it easy to subscribe to email updates. Admittedly, my original mailing list was composed entirely of friends and family, and my early writing was utter codswallop. But as a result of working on my craft, telling compelling stories and dishing out whatever lessons I gleaned, I’ve now got a list of about 2,000 subscribers who have actively requested that I contact them directly about what I’m doing.

Click here to read the entire post at Tom’s Bike Trip.

Your Guide to 11 Types of WordPress Pages by Joel Friedlander (@jfbookman)

It’s easy to overlook how versatile WordPress is, and how dynamic your website can be on the WordPress platform. First of all: You have much more than a blog on your hands. You can create all types of static and interactive pages to inform, sell, and offer subscriptions. Joel Friedlander details 11 common types of pages. He calls them “blog pages,” but I just call them pages. That’s because I categorize WordPress as a content management system, not a blogging platform. In other words: You can run a WordPress-based website and not blog. Remember that. Click here to read Joel’s post.

30 Terrible Pieces of Social Media Advice You Should Ignore by Ellie Mirman (@ellieeille)

Sometimes bad social media advice is worse than none at all. That’s why I heartily recommend this post that debunks some myths. For example:

You need to be on every single social network. Especially if you have limited time and resources, don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to maintain an active presence on every single social media site. Research and learn about the makeup of the audience that populates each social network so you can figure out where you should focus. If your audience isn’t there, don’t waste your time. And as new social networks pop up (as they do all the time), feel free to experiment with them, but be ready to let them go if they don’t work for you, and let your analytics be your guide.

Click here to read all 30 terrible pieces of advice you should ignore.

Publishing Reversion Clauses by Dean Wesley Smith (@deanwesleysmith)

The most in-depth post you could hope for on one of the most important clauses in any publishing contract: the reversion clause. Your agent will negotiate the best deal for you on this clause, but if you find yourself reviewing a contract without an agent, put this article on your must-read list.

10 Ways to Find Reviewers for Your Self-Published Books by Empty Mirror (@emptymirror)

This post offers an excellent overview of how to approach reviewers (do’s and don’ts), as well as a list of resources for finding them. Snippet from the “don’t” section:

Don’t expect an answer to your query. I know—that almost seems unreasonable, doesn’t it, not to expect the reviewer to reply. The reason that some don’t reply is that many reviewers, especially popular and highly-ranked ones, get so many review queries that it takes too much time to reply to them all. So, they wind up only replying to those they have an interest in reviewing.

Click here to for the full article plus resources.

Why I Don’t Self-Publish by Charlie Stross (@cstross)

This is a well-reasoned, tempered post on why one career science-fiction author chooses not to self-publish. Highly recommend if you struggle with the self-publishing question. Click here to read the entire article.

10 Ways Proven to Draw Readers to Your Novel’s Website by Thomas Umstattd (@authormedia)

Many novelists ask me what belongs on their website, or what content would draw repeat visits. Author Media offers some wonderful (and, yes, proven) ideas, including:

Deleted Scenes & Alternate Endings. Often when authors go through the editorial process, the editor cuts scenes out of their book. These scenes may not fit in your book, but people would love to see them on your website. Especially if you mention at the end of your book, “You can find deleted chapters and scenes on my website.” This will make people curious to see what got cut from the book.

Click here to read about all 10 methods.

Book Promotion: What’s Working at Amazon in 2013? by Lindsay Buroker (@GoblinWriter)

A detailed post about the latest strategies for selling your e-books on Amazon. What’s not working any more? Tagging, the sales bounce after making your books available for free, using keywords in the title field, and more. What IS working? Having some work available for free and making it available everywhere, advertising, and writing more books. Get the in-depth analysis here.

7 Ways Writers Can Build Online Authority With Google+ by Demian Farnworth (@DemianFarnworth)

This post explains how Google is using verified authorship of online content to help determine search rank—and if you want to play the game, it all begins with your Google Plus profile. Click here to read the entire post at Copyblogger. Note: If you don’t frequently write/blog online, this isn’t particularly important to you.

Legal Issues in Publishing: What Authors Need to Know by Bernard Starr

A fabulous discussion about permissions and other issues that impact writers. This is an especially important post for self-publishing authors. Paul Rapp, an attorney specializing in intellectual property law, says:

If authors have legal questions and want peace of mind they should get a legal opinion from an attorney. Because of the expansion of self-publishing there are an increasing number of lawyers who will assess legal issues in a book and tell you how to address the problems for a fairly nominal fee. For example, I just finished reading a book on branding. It took a couple of hours. Many lawyers will charge for how long it takes to read the book and prepare an “opinion of counsel” letter. Unless there is a huge systemic legal problem with the book, the letter should generally be one or two pages long.

Read the full interview with Rapp at The Huffington Post.

The post Best Business Advice for Writers: March 2013 appeared first on Jane Friedman.

Agent-Assisted Self-Publishing and the Amazon White Glove Program

Today’s guest post is from bestselling author Melissa Foster (@Melissa_Foster).

With independent author success on the rise, the role of agents has taken a precarious turn for the unknown. Many agents are seeing fewer sales and lower advances (which equates to lower income), and are looking for ways to keep their heads above water. One path that some have taken is agent-assisted self-publishing.

What is agent-assisted self-publishing?

Agent-assisted means different things to different agents. Some agents help an author self-publish, literally. This means they format the files for publication and upload them, and take 15% of the sales revenue. Those scenarios may still call for the author to pay for editing, cover design, marketing, etc. Some authors think that the agent bond they create, by paying that 15%, will make their path to traditional publication easier, while other authors simply don’t understand how easy it is to self-publish. Fear can guide writers to hand over their income because it’s easier than learning to format an e-book, or understanding what is needed to self-publish.

Two biggest drawbacks to agent-assisted self-publishing

This depends on the contract, but in general:

Authors lose their ability to directly manage their books (e.g., pricing, files, distribution)
Authors lose 15% of their sales revenue indefinitely

There are no “rules” for agent-assisted self-publishing, and before authors give away their hard-earned money, they should think about these points and try to negotiate what is in their best interest.

For authors ultimately seeking traditional publication, remember that what sells books to publishers is the writing, and that writing doesn’t change if your agent is earning zero dollars or thousands of dollars from your work. Publishers don’t appear to be interested in self-published works unless they’ve sold over 50,000 copies—in some cases, even higher—or hit the e-book bestseller lists. Having your book repped by an agent means nothing unless the writing is good enough for a publisher to purchase it in the first place—and if that were the case, you probably wouldn’t be considering the agent-assisted option. That’s the harsh reality.

Those who are moving in this direction should ask more experienced friends for help, take a course on e-publishing, or seek one-time, fee-based services to help them through the self-publishing process. My own company, Fostering Success, offers a self-publishing 101 course for under fifty bucks, and you can find other reputable courses or guidebooks from places like Writer’s Digest or successful independent authors such as CJ Lyons and Joanna Penn. You’ll spend a lot less than 15% over the lifetime sales of your book.

What about foreign rights, film rights, and the like?

Agents can sell such rights without earning income through self-assisted self-publishing. Put another way: Agents do not need to earn 15% of your total income to sell subsidiary rights. Know this before you leap into giving away your royalties.

Amazon KDP’s White Glove Program

Another agent-assisted self-publishing option now being pushed by Amazon KDP is the White Glove Program. Amazon KDP’s need for exclusivity is the driving force behind the White Glove Program (WGP), but they’re being smart about it. The program is only available to agented authors—their gatekeepers for quality assurance—and offers a modicum of promotion to represented authors. A WGP book is promoted on three Amazon pages in rotation with other WGP books for a period of thirty days. In return, Amazon KDP requires a 6-month or a 12-month period of exclusivity (merchandising changes with contract term). Some authors see a spike in sales during that 30-day period, while others see little, if any, difference.  

The complicated part of the WGP scenario is that to benefit from this 30 days of promotion I’ve just described, you must sign a portion of your royalties away indefinitely to your agent. Having twice taken part in the WGP, I have seen the benefits and negative outcomes of this program, and while it can be a beneficial program, 30 days of promotion are not worth the life-of-the-book revenue grab by agents.

Important note: When you are exclusive to one reporting venue, such as Amazon KDP, you cannot make any of the bestseller lists outside of Amazon’s Top 100. The New York Times and USA Today both require two or more reporting venues, so even if you sell 100,000 copies on Amazon, you will not make the lists that can lead to large advances with traditional publishers. Make your choice wisely.

Below is an agent contract proposal developed specifically with the WGP in mind. All authors should consider using this as a starting point for contract negotiations with their agent if they decide to pursue WGP.

Establishing Agent-Author Contract Terms: Amazon White Glove Program

Agent remains the Agent of Record for 3 years for work published through the WGP. For sales of foreign rights, audio rights, film rights, or a future publishing contract, the standard agent contract applies.
Agent earns 15% commission on all sales from the book for the life of the WGP contract plus one year. After that period terminates, all royalties and rights revert to the author. (Most sales happen in the first two years of publication.)

Remember, if you go with the WGP, it is a KDP contract that only affects your digital format. There is no need for your paperback to be under the agent’s control at all. Digital and print formats are handled separately.

Book Distribution and WGP

If the agent holds the ASIN (Amazon’s unique product identifier) and the rights revert to the author, it requires re-uploading of the e-book on a separate KDP account, which means losing hard-earned rankings. In addition, because a new book page will be created on Amazon, all back links pointing to the book page are also lost, as that page will be removed.

Since starting over is not easy or beneficial, the author should put in place a system that allows for the book to remain untouched after the life of the contract, thereby allowing the author to maintain the value of their marketing efforts.

To build on the terms stated above:

Agent remains in control; however, author has access to accounts. The agents create and hold a new and separate account for each author client. This account is set up using a new joint e-mail address. Both author and agent have access to the KDP account. Agent remains in control of finances to manage income (financial payment data is hidden by KDP automatically). Authors have access to pricing, files, and reporting, to better manage their promotions.
Account reverts to author upon completion of the WGP contract plus twelve months. After the term of the contract is up, the KDP account reverts to the author. The password is changed to one chosen by the author, and the author changes the financial info to their own. Voila—no future connections and no reason to re-upload the book or lose rankings. In my opinion, this is vital.

Bundling Your E-Books

Bundling of books is very popular, but creates difficulties when you have a range of titles available, some under an agent-assisted contract and some that are not. It is best if you can exclude bundled e-book sales from your agreement with the agent; however, if you are unable to negotiate such a deal, and if you choose to include an agent-assisted title in a bundle, then I suggest the following:

Agent shall receive 15% of whatever percentage is appropriate in that bundle. For example, if there are three books in the bundle, the agent would receive 15% of one-third of the sales. This is the most complicated piece of the puzzle, but should be addressed prior to signing on the dotted line, and I suggest thinking about an outside bookkeeper to handle it so there is no question about honesty.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla that can make or break your book, but what I’ve discovered is that if you write a good book and market it well, your book will sell incredibly well with or without WGP. It’s the Amazon algorithms that make the difference, and you can reach them without WGP—although for some, WGP can provide a great start.

If you don’t understand publishing contracts, or if you have yet to be exposed to them, seek advice from those who are knowledgeable in the industry. Take control of your career so your income is not mismanaged, and most importantly, remember that success only comes overnight for very few people. In reality, it takes years to become a recognized name. Manage your expectations, and think long term.

A personal thought on managing expectations: There is no secret to selling good books. I see two big issues with the mindset of indie authors today: (1) their expectations seem to be out of whack because of the false hope given by KDP Select after-free promotions, and (2) they’re looking for the easy path to success. With the advent of Select freebies, authors have forgotten that learning to market and have a professional, active presence is vital. It will be interesting to see what happens when Select freebies go away.

The bottom line: Authors should not give away their royalties indefinitely in exchange for a short-lived sales push. Authors are so desperate to show sales that they’re giving away (literally) thousands of books every month instead of learning about marketing and working on exposure. Before signing on for agent-assisted self-publishing, weigh your options carefully, and don’t be afraid to negotiate.

The post Agent-Assisted Self-Publishing and the Amazon White Glove Program appeared first on Jane Friedman.