Almost end of year wrap up
2017 has been quite a year. It’s been full of ups and downs, successes and failures, and I’m fortunate enough to say overall it was a good year. Certainly better than 2016!
April – well, technically 31st March – marked my passing from writer to published author. The Moroda eBook went live on Amazon on 31st March, and I responded by having a panic attack.
I remember it very clearly. People. Actual people. Strangers and friends alike would be able to finally read the novel I’d harped on about writing for years. Messages flooded in from people who’d pre-ordered it and now saw the eBook on their phones or kindles. Posts were shared on Facebook and Twitter, and congratulations sprouted throughout LinkedIn.
Not all smiles
I just felt a sense of dread. What if people thought differently of me after reading about my world and characters – something that had always been “hidden” within me? What if it was rubbish? What if people hated it? What if people “pity bought it” and didn’t actually care?
One by one, very slowly, reviews trickled in. When they came in from people who didn’t know me, who didn’t feel obliged to review, that’s when it hit me that this publishing malarkey was real. People liked the book on its own merit. They liked the cover and blurb enough to part with a few pounds and give it a read. And they enjoyed it. Actually, maybe, Moroda was a decent novel. The “biased” feedback I received from friends might actually be accurate. My confidence grew – both in myself and in my skills as a writer.
Even now, eight months on, I still get butterflies every time someone tells me they’ve bought a copy, or are reading a copy, or leave a review! Honestly those reviews are like the best chocolate ever. I can’t accurately describe how much they mean, or how much they help.
Book Reviews
Goodreads and Amazon are the two best places for book reviews. Goodreads because that’s where a large chunk of the internet reader community lives and actively posts, and Amazon because more reviews are fed into their algorithms and result in more sales. Fifty reviews is often cited as “the magic” number on Amazon, where it actually starts pushing your book to people. I’m slowly but surely inching towards that (I’m at 22 reviews on Amazon UK at the time of writing), and hope more will come through.
Goodreads is a bit more active – Moroda has 50 ratings and 31 reviews at the time of writing, but it’s a much more engaging platform and it’s easy to strike up conversations here. But both are hugely important.
If you have read Moroda and left a review, I’m eternally grateful. If you’ve left a review on either Goodreads or Amazon, could I ask a favour? Would you be able to duplicate that review on the other site, please? They are the best way readers can support authors and books (as well as purchasing their books, of course!), and they really do make my day!
If you’ve read Moroda but haven’t left a review, please could I ask you to take a minute or two and pen one? I know both Amazon and Goodreads requires you to register, and that’s a big ask. But it would allow you to go on to connect with other people in the Goodreads community – readers and authors – or leave further reviews on both platforms.
Paperbacks
While the eBook went live at the beginning of April, in May, I took delivery of my paperbacks. My initial print run was for 150 copies. The excitement of tracking the shipment on the van and finally seeing them all in their glory was overwhelming. Most people who’d said they wanted a copy of my book wanted it in paperback, so I spent that evening going through and signing those who’d asked for it, and shipping all my paperbacks out to those early buyers.
Having stock of paperbacks printed for a debut author is typically advised against. I don’t have an audience yet, I don’t have any guarantee they’ll sell, and it’s an incredibly high outlay of money. But I was adamant I wanted stock rather than using a print-on-demand (POD) service like Createpsace or Ingramspark. It meant I could keep a lot more control over the details and finish of the book (I could choose exact paper thickness, colour, overall size, and details such as embossing on the cover), I could self-distribute them and avoid paying a distributor’s fee, and I could take them to conventions.
(Not sure if you have a first or second edition print? First editions contain a number of typos that slipped through and my old website in the front matter [theartoftellingstories[dot]com], and second editions are more cleaned up with my current llmcneil author website in the front matter).
Conventions
By far the most fun I’ve had this year is going to conventions. I’ve been to three now, and I’ve had an amazing time at every one. Plenty of nerves, of course, but at the end of the day, I’ve been exhausted and in awe at the incredible community that makes up SFF. From the other writers and readers, to people who roleplay, play tabletop games, are artists and illustrators, cosplyers, other vendors, and everyone else that makes this “genre” such a wonderful, warm place.
I dipped my toe in conventions at Exeter Comic Con in October this year (see my review of the event here), and have since signed up to loads more! I went to London Gaming Market in November, and recently, Dragonmeet in December. My aim is to attend at least one convention a month in 2018, preferably two. The biggest convention by far will be London Film and Comic Con, which is in July, and runs for three days. I have an Events page where you can see all conventions I’ll be attending!
I sold out of stock at Exeter (which meant all my first edition prints had gone!), but thankfully I’d done another order of paperbacks, which I’m now about a quarter of the way through selling...
To read the rest of this blog post, please visit: my website!
April – well, technically 31st March – marked my passing from writer to published author. The Moroda eBook went live on Amazon on 31st March, and I responded by having a panic attack.
I remember it very clearly. People. Actual people. Strangers and friends alike would be able to finally read the novel I’d harped on about writing for years. Messages flooded in from people who’d pre-ordered it and now saw the eBook on their phones or kindles. Posts were shared on Facebook and Twitter, and congratulations sprouted throughout LinkedIn.
Not all smiles
I just felt a sense of dread. What if people thought differently of me after reading about my world and characters – something that had always been “hidden” within me? What if it was rubbish? What if people hated it? What if people “pity bought it” and didn’t actually care?
One by one, very slowly, reviews trickled in. When they came in from people who didn’t know me, who didn’t feel obliged to review, that’s when it hit me that this publishing malarkey was real. People liked the book on its own merit. They liked the cover and blurb enough to part with a few pounds and give it a read. And they enjoyed it. Actually, maybe, Moroda was a decent novel. The “biased” feedback I received from friends might actually be accurate. My confidence grew – both in myself and in my skills as a writer.
Even now, eight months on, I still get butterflies every time someone tells me they’ve bought a copy, or are reading a copy, or leave a review! Honestly those reviews are like the best chocolate ever. I can’t accurately describe how much they mean, or how much they help.
Book Reviews
Goodreads and Amazon are the two best places for book reviews. Goodreads because that’s where a large chunk of the internet reader community lives and actively posts, and Amazon because more reviews are fed into their algorithms and result in more sales. Fifty reviews is often cited as “the magic” number on Amazon, where it actually starts pushing your book to people. I’m slowly but surely inching towards that (I’m at 22 reviews on Amazon UK at the time of writing), and hope more will come through.
Goodreads is a bit more active – Moroda has 50 ratings and 31 reviews at the time of writing, but it’s a much more engaging platform and it’s easy to strike up conversations here. But both are hugely important.
If you have read Moroda and left a review, I’m eternally grateful. If you’ve left a review on either Goodreads or Amazon, could I ask a favour? Would you be able to duplicate that review on the other site, please? They are the best way readers can support authors and books (as well as purchasing their books, of course!), and they really do make my day!
If you’ve read Moroda but haven’t left a review, please could I ask you to take a minute or two and pen one? I know both Amazon and Goodreads requires you to register, and that’s a big ask. But it would allow you to go on to connect with other people in the Goodreads community – readers and authors – or leave further reviews on both platforms.
Paperbacks
While the eBook went live at the beginning of April, in May, I took delivery of my paperbacks. My initial print run was for 150 copies. The excitement of tracking the shipment on the van and finally seeing them all in their glory was overwhelming. Most people who’d said they wanted a copy of my book wanted it in paperback, so I spent that evening going through and signing those who’d asked for it, and shipping all my paperbacks out to those early buyers.
Having stock of paperbacks printed for a debut author is typically advised against. I don’t have an audience yet, I don’t have any guarantee they’ll sell, and it’s an incredibly high outlay of money. But I was adamant I wanted stock rather than using a print-on-demand (POD) service like Createpsace or Ingramspark. It meant I could keep a lot more control over the details and finish of the book (I could choose exact paper thickness, colour, overall size, and details such as embossing on the cover), I could self-distribute them and avoid paying a distributor’s fee, and I could take them to conventions.
(Not sure if you have a first or second edition print? First editions contain a number of typos that slipped through and my old website in the front matter [theartoftellingstories[dot]com], and second editions are more cleaned up with my current llmcneil author website in the front matter).
Conventions
By far the most fun I’ve had this year is going to conventions. I’ve been to three now, and I’ve had an amazing time at every one. Plenty of nerves, of course, but at the end of the day, I’ve been exhausted and in awe at the incredible community that makes up SFF. From the other writers and readers, to people who roleplay, play tabletop games, are artists and illustrators, cosplyers, other vendors, and everyone else that makes this “genre” such a wonderful, warm place.
I dipped my toe in conventions at Exeter Comic Con in October this year (see my review of the event here), and have since signed up to loads more! I went to London Gaming Market in November, and recently, Dragonmeet in December. My aim is to attend at least one convention a month in 2018, preferably two. The biggest convention by far will be London Film and Comic Con, which is in July, and runs for three days. I have an Events page where you can see all conventions I’ll be attending!
I sold out of stock at Exeter (which meant all my first edition prints had gone!), but thankfully I’d done another order of paperbacks, which I’m now about a quarter of the way through selling...
To read the rest of this blog post, please visit: my website!
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Cody
(new)
Dec 19, 2017 11:54AM
I'd probably have similar feelings if I ever managed to get a book published. Here's to much success for you now and in your future writing endeavours! :)
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Thank you very much! That's very kind! :D Wishing you success with your writing, too! Publishing something is quite an un-explainable feeling!
