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Category: Self Publishing Advice

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Self Publishing Advice

7 Lessons to Make Your First Self-Published Book a Success

Self-publishing is the ideal choice for any author looking to have total control over their novel and its publication. When you walk the path of self-publishing, you can cut months, even years, off the time required to share your book with the world.

But while self-publishing is the fastest route to market, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done before and after you launch your work. Without a traditional publisher, you’re pretty much on your own when it comes to finding an audience and marketing your book. 

Self-published author Evan J. Corbin knows this firsthand. He recently self-published his debut novel, Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes, and worked diligently to promote his own book… with plenty of trial and error. 

As his professional editing team, Evan kept us informed of what was and wasn’t working. He had so many valuable insights to share, we decided to interview him to share his wisdom with our audience.

About Evan J. Corbin

The author photo for writer Evan J. Corbin, he smiles at the camera in front of a vista of misty mountains. Evan currently practices law in Philadelphia, but he had always wanted to write a book. So when his first great idea came along, he leaned into it: 

What would happen if a secret third testament of the Bible was discovered, one that exonerated LGBTQIA+ people of any religious guilt for their sexual orientation or gender identity?

Writing from the perspective of a closeted fire-and-brimstone preacher, Evan explores the social changes that would come about from this revelation—namely, the titular “atonement camps” for the reeducation of Christian ministers and priests. One reader described these camps as “Alcoholics Anonymous meets sensitivity training meets RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

We were so impressed by the book and the hard work Evan put into marketing it that we knew we had to get him to talk about the whole experience. You can watch our whole interview below, or keep scrolling to read seven key takeaways from his journey.

Lesson 1: Focus on finding readers, not revenue 

“Some authors assume finding readership and finding revenue are the same thing—they assume that each sale earned is a reader earned, and think no further about it. 

“But if you’re a first-time author, you have to make peace with the idea that this is not going to make you rich.

“In fact, it’s probably not even going to pay for what you’ve invested.

“That’s why instead of chasing sales to earn readers, chase readers to earn sales. It’s a subtle change, but it makes a world of difference.”

Self-publishing is a highly competitive industry—something Evan learned quickly in his initial research: there are over a million new books published each year (though there are other claims that put this number much lower.) 

It’s not easy out there for first-time authors. When you’re just starting out, you have no fan base, no credibility, and no experience in the field. Too many self-published authors fall into the trap of thinking that all they need to do is pay for advertising and the rest will somehow take care of itself.

Evan was one of those authors. But after conducting some market research, he discovered the reason ads and marketing and discounted prices yield so little fruit for self-published authors: readers just don’t want to spend time or money on an author they know nothing about, no matter how interesting the book seems. 

Most people have been burned too many times before by the many unedited novels that find their way onto the major self-publishing platforms. 

Rather than focusing on sales, self-published authors should instead prioritize building an audience of readers. There are a few ways to do this, but Evan’s found that the most daunting method of all to be most effective: he gave his book away for free.

For Evan, it seemed no matter how much he reduced the price of his novel, nobody was interested in buying it. It was only when he made it free that he found the audience he was searching for. 

Writing a novel to get rich quick is the wrong motivation for entering this field—though, over time, as you build a body of work, you can expect to see some income. But when you start out, you should be writing because you’re passionate about your stories and want to share them with others. When this is the case, building a readership can be a very satisfying part of an author’s work. 

What Evan learned through the publication of Atonement Camp is that building a fanbase is much more important than making a few isolated sales. Those who read and enjoyed his free book will be much more likely to pay money for his work in the future, and to recommend the book to their friends, family, or book club. 

But how do you get those crucial first customers? Can you really spread word of your novel without blowing tons of money on advertising?

Of course you can. 

Lesson 2: Don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled when it comes to marketing your work. 

There’s more to building an audience than just handing out free samples. Before you can do that, you need to identify who you’re handing those samples to. One of the ways Evan did this was through social media marketing.

“Liam and I were talking about how I was going to market this book, and he suggested I should become active on a social media platform. He suggested Instagram, and I’m like, ‘Liam, ugh. I don’t even like using Instagram myself. Like, I don’t want to have to figure out how this works, and it’s a lot of time…’ but I decided to do it.”

And that decision paid off. 

The best thing about using social media to promote your first novel is that it can be done absolutely free. There are many ways authors can use the platform to catch the attention of potential readers.

With Instagram, it’s easy to use a product like Canva to design some interesting visual posts that will attract the types of readers you want.

But you won’t be the only author using this method. To be successful on social media, you’ve got to stand out from the crowd.  

“People on Instagram want to see content that makes them feel something. Whether it’s provocative, or thought-provoking, or shocking, or even just makes them smile for a bit… it’s got to be evocative. 

“But sadly there’s a lot of uniformity in the way people promote their books on Instagram.

“Most book marketing is pretty… lazy. It’s always, ‘Here’s a photo of the book with some flowers behind it,’ or whatever. And that’s fine sometimes, but if you really want to stand out, you need something different. I wanted to stand out. So I spent a while figuring out how before I started advertising.

“In my book, at these atonement camps, they have pool boys. Beautiful, scantily-clad men going around like bellhops, performing tasks like mail delivery for the campers. I decided I wanted to bring these pool boys to life for my marketing. I found some friends who were willing to pose in that get-up and got some shots of them in front of my blown-up book cover and some other fun props. 

“Even though those posts were clearly promoting the book, they were unique, and they were still relevant to the product. That meant Instagram users would be interested in it. Those who liked it would even follow me, and maybe go on to buy my book. I think that pool-boy campaign was a way for me to break through the noise a little bit and express myself through its promotion.” 

This doesn’t just apply to self-publishing either: Most people advertise in ways that are so safe, they fall on the wrong side of boring and end up attracting no one’s attention. 

People have gotten very good at tuning out ads that scream “NOTICE ME!” over the years. But leveraging organic, relevant, and unique content to market your product or art works incredibly well when building an audience.

Lesson 3: Leveraging existing audiences is the quickest way to grow.

When it comes to advertising your work, be careful what you pay for. For first-time authors, there are so many different ways to spend any budget you have to promote your book, and it can be virtually impossible to know which ones are legit and which ones are a waste of money—or worse, a downright scam. 

“I’ve probably spent a couple of thousand dollars on every possible way that I could market the book and get it in front of people. Pay-per-click advertising on Amazon. BookBubs is a good one too.

I could name a dozen or more that I’ve invested in, and absolutely none of them materialized in any discernible sales.”

Without an audience to build on, these big and indiscriminate pay-to-play options often aren’t worth it for your first novel. But Evan did find that there were some advertising options out there that were more personalized, and therefore more successful at helping him find and build his audience.

“I found out there are companies that’ll organize Bookstagram (the book-focused side of Instagram) tours for your book. My book caters to an LGBTQ audience, so I found a Bookstagram advertising company that works in that niche and reached out to them.

I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but it wasn’t any more than $50, and relative to a lot of advertising options out there, that’s pretty affordable. 

What this company does is reach out to their network of Instagram accounts—popular users who’d already reached out to them—and find individuals willing to adopt, promote, and share your book for a given period of time.”

An Instagram tour is one of the more novel ways to market a book. Using a service like Bookstagram, an author finds readers willing to read and review their book, or at the very least post about it on their public accounts. Over the period of a few weeks, their book will feature prominently on these readers’ accounts, showcasing their work to the accounts’ audiences. However, as with most methods of book marketing, this won’t be effective by itself. 

“And that got me no sales. I thought it would (it didn’t), but this is a two-step process.

“Once someone would like a post, what I would do is I would go and I would follow that individual. And then a pretty substantial number of the people I would follow, who already engaged with my work by clicking the like button, would follow me back.

“And that’s the start of a relationship. They’ve already been introduced to my work. They’ve already manifested their interest in it by clicking the like button. And then when I reach out to them with a solicitation, a fair number of them would either buy a book or we would engage in dialogue.

“It’s one thing to see a book on the shelf. It’s another to have a direct phone line through Instagram and direct messaging to the person who wrote it. “That makes it more personal. And I think that personal connection is what you need to build that authenticity.”

 Of course, Evan didn’t do all this himself.

“My time is valuable. No one wants to be hunched over their phone following Instagram users all day… so I used a program called Inflact instead. It’s a cheap subscription-based service that does quite a lot of stuff, but I only use it for one purpose: every time someone followed my account, I had Inflact send them an automated welcome message on my behalf.”

Over time, Evan saw results from this form of (paid) Instagram marketing on top of what he was doing organically. As people replied to his welcome message, and he developed a relationship with them, they’d sometimes go on to become readers. 

Lesson 4: The quality of your manuscript matters… a lot.

There’s a persistent stigma that self-published books are of a lower standard than traditionally published books. And honestly, there is some truth to that. Many self-published works don’t go through the rigorous “quality assurance” books taken by full-scale publishing houses do. As a result, there are plenty of error-ridden, poorly developed novels out there that make it harder to overcome the trust barriers between you and your audience. 

That’s why the only way to succeed as a self-published author is to apply the same strict standards of quality to your own work that traditionally published novels are subject to. 

And that means editing. 

When you type The End on your novel, don’t let your first instinct be to research publishing platforms. Finishing your first draft should be seen as just that—finishing a first draft. There’s more involved in the process of finishing your book.

“There are certain things that I did that I’m absolutely going to do again. Developmental editing, line editing, proofreading (essential), good cover design. The benefit is I don’t have to search the world now for these professionals to assist me with those things, because I’ve used them before. I’ve worked with them.

“I trust them. So it’s going to be easier and faster for me to go through that process.”

Evan worked with the team of book editors at Invisible Ink Editing to polish his novel draft and help him successfully launch his first self-published book. 

Lesson 5: Find real beta readers to give you feedback.

Beta readers are market testers for your novel. Typically, beta readers aren’t professional editors or marketers themselves. They’re laypeople, average members of your desired audience who can offer feedback and critique from the consumer’s perspective.

Making good use of beta readers is an essential part of the editing process. The order of operations we recommend is to finish a first draft, self-edit that draft at least once (if not more!) and then do a manuscript evaluation, which is sort of like a review of your outline. Only after all this is done should you think about beta reading. 

Evan has some insight on how he went about it himself.

“One of the first platforms I discovered in my research is BetaReader.io. It costs a couple of dollars a month, but it’s well worth the money.

“BetaReader.io is populated by individuals who’ve volunteered to beta read for writers. Once you sign up as an author, you can reach out to them and let them know a little bit about your work to see if they’re interested in reading it. 

“If they are, they read it through Betareader.io’s own platform, which lets them react in real time to your story. If they like a line, they can highlight it, respond with an emoji—thumbs up, heart, cry, laughter—or they can leave a comment. And at the bottom of every chapter, Betareader.io leaves a space for readers to give a mini review of each segment, telling the author what they liked or didn’t like about it, what they’re hoping to see next, etc.

“So once you’ve got a few beta readers, you can look at the document and see their collective comments and all the things they like, even the patterns of what works and what doesn’t. You can tell right away that, “Wow. You know, once people get to chapter seven, that’s when they’re all going to freak out, because there’s this big plot twist.” And sure enough, you see the evidence of that.

“And then after a while (and I noticed this later again when a lot more people read the book), the things that work and don’t work become much more obvious. You know instinctively what readers are probably going to like, because you’ve had seventy other people telling you the parts they enjoyed, many of which are the same parts!

It was so good because it gave me the confidence to know, ‘Hey, this isn’t a dumpster fire. People actually like this, even in its raw, unedited format’.

“So that gave me the confidence to reach out to an editor after that and say, ‘This is worth my investment for us to collaborate and turn my manuscript into a polished diamond rather than just an unpolished stone.’”

Lesson 6: Embrace the process.

 Writing is a skill like any other—it takes time to develop your style, and it may be a while before you’re recognized for your skill.  

For every breakout success you have—think Joseph Heller and his bestselling debut, Catch 22—you’ve got a Brandon Sanderson, whose eleventh book is the one that eventually got him an agent. We’ve all got different journeys as creatives, and for some of us, our roads will be riddled with potholes and roadblocks. There’s nothing you can do to get past them besides what you should be doing anyway: writing, working, and growing as a creative.

That said, you shouldn’t view your “roadblocks” as obstacles so much as steps on a ladder. Every mistake you make is another important lesson. Assuming you’ve got the courage to take ownership of them, there’s something to be learned from every one of your beautiful screw-ups. Evan has firsthand knowledge of this fact.

 “I think I had to make a lot of mistakes and go down a lot of dead-end roads just to prove to myself that, yeah, these are actually dead-end roads. Because you don’t know! Like, what’s going to happen if this ad gets 10,000 impressions on a website, surely that will work!

“Oh no, it didn’t.

“Maybe someone else would have had a different experience. For me, it didn’t work. But I needed to make those mistakes in order to know for sure that they were wrong for me. Even though there were wise voices at the time telling me that’s exactly what was going to happen.”

Mistakes are an opportunity for growth if you allow them to be. They’re a product of your actions, not a consequence of a universe that’s out to get you. Channelling their power will take your writing, your work, and your life to the next level.

Every mistake you make brings with it the opportunity to avoid making it again in the future. In Evan’s words:

 “I think the benefit is… I’m not going to make the same mistakes. I’m going to make different ones!”

Lesson 7: Stay positive

In this article, we’ve talked a lot about the difficulties of self-publishing. First novels don’t typically see massive sales, advertising takes a ton of personal effort, most paid advertising doesn’t produce results, brutally honest feedback is the only way to get your book up to snuff… it’s a lot. Especially if you’ve waltzed into this expecting an easier ride than traditional publishing. 

But that’s no reason to get disheartened. Just as writing, editing, and even beta reading are iterative processes—with multiple drafts, multiple readings, multiple chances to better yourself and your work—your journey as a creative is iterative too. 

In the end, the writers who quit before success are the only ones guaranteed not to make it. 

If F. Scott Fitzgerald had packed it in when his agent hated the first draft of his novel, we’d have never gotten The Great Gatsby.

For most of us, it takes time and effort to succeed—so don’t beat yourself up just because your journey’s taking longer than you’d like. Appreciate it for what it gives you. Learn to love the potholes; they’re the only way to find out how good your tires are.

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Beta readers: Why you need them and how to find them

Beta readers: Why you need them and how to find them 

When you finish the first draft of your novel, it’s easy to start daydreaming about book covers and release parties. 

But you’ve got to go through the editing process before you can cross the finish line. You may think the next step is to hire a book editor, but before you spend money on a professional editor, there’s another step you must take: beta reading. 

Beta readers are volunteers who will review your manuscript and offer high-level feedback to help shape your next draft and get it ready for a professional editor.

After spending months, if not years, working on your novel, you’ve become intimately familiar with your characters, plot, and other story elements. But that doesn’t mean you’re able to pick up on things like plot holes, repetitive phrasing, shallow characters, or other issues that are harder to see when you’re looking at your own work.

A fresh set of eyes (or many) can give you a different perspective, bring to attention obvious or subtle things you’d maybe want to change, and generally just give you an idea of how others will perceive your book.

What is a beta reader?

Beta readers are people who, you guessed it, read your novel (or parts of it) and give you their opinions. In most cases, they are simply avid readers, not necessarily professional book editors. They’re like a focus group, giving you an idea of any issues you may want to address before publishing your book. 

Perhaps the most obvious people to turn to for this task are other writers who are willing to beta read your draft, especially if you do the same for theirs in return. When two writers team up in this way, they’re often referred to as critique partners. 

If you’re part of a writing group, you already enjoy the perks of group feedback on your writing. In some cases, you may find beta readers there who simply enjoy the pastime and will jump at the chance to be involved in the development of a new story. 

How you work with beta readers is entirely up to you. You may want to provide them with a questionnaire to fill out as they read or ask them a series of questions once they’re done with your draft. Or you can simply have them provide their thoughts on what they did and did not like. You may also find it useful to share pages or chapters as you go, especially if you’re working on a second or third draft and using the same beta readers for each draft.

Asking specific questions can ensure you get the answers you want, especially if there are things you’re concerned about or areas where you know you can improve. But this can allow other issues to slip through the cracks, so be sure to give your beta readers the opportunity to provide their thoughts on things you may not have been looking for. You never know what others will catch that you may not have noticed.

Why do you need beta readers?

As we mentioned earlier, beta readers provide new perspectives to consider as you head into your next draft. You give your manuscript to a handful of people who enjoy or are familiar with the genre and they tell you what they liked and didn’t like—an ending that left them satisfied, believable characters, what they wish would have happened, what they were confused about … the list goes on and on.

Beta readers also give you a glimpse into how readers will receive your book, highlighting any issues you may want to address before seeking out a professional editor. They won’t read the intentions behind what you wrote because they don’t know them. To them, it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to convey. They simply ingest the words on the page. Beta readers can help you pinpoint those problematic areas, see them from a new angle, and then adjust and enhance them. 

It won’t always be negative feedback, of course. Beta readers can also tell you what parts of your novel they liked the most and what they want to see more of. They’ll give you feedback on your tone and style, and whether it’s working for them. All this information is incredibly valuable for the next draft of your manuscript. 

What to look for in a good beta reader

Before we get into where to look for your beta readers, let’s talk about what makes a good beta reader. 

First of all, a beta reader cannot be a friend, partner, family member, colleague, or anyone else you have a preexisting relationship with. The purpose of a beta reader is to get honest, direct feedback. Though your friends and family may say they are going to give you their honest opinion, their feedback won’t be as deep or rounded as someone who doesn’t know you already. 

In an ideal world, a beta reader has most, if not all, of the following qualities:

They represent your target audience

Above all else, the beta readers you choose should represent your audience as a whole. We recommend narrowing your search for beta readers to people who enjoy and understand your specific genre. This ensures that the feedback reflects what your larger, future audience will expect. 

They have experience giving feedback

Experienced beta readers know the drill. They give comprehensive, coherent, and honest feedback. If your contenders haven’t been a beta reader before, they should at least be avid readers of your genre or dedicated writers themselves. 

They’re interested in your plot

Before you start searching for beta readers, sit down and write out a strong synopsis of your story. You want your beta readers to make it to the last page of your manuscript, and they’re much more likely to do this if they know the basics of your plot before committing. 

They’re happy to share honest opinions 

Nothing is more frustrating than spending time finding a beta reader only for them to come back with vague or wishy-washy feedback. You want to find readers who will share their thoughts openly, without sugarcoating them or holding back. 

They are skilled critical readers

Of course, your beta reader needs to be able to read manuscripts critically. You want detailed, thorough feedback—not someone who simply says they loved it or that it wasn’t as scary/funny/heartwarming as they thought it would be. Look for people who know how to get into the nitty-gritty. 

How do you find a good beta reader for your novel?

Now that you understand the value of beta readers and what to look for, where the heck do you find them? 

Beta readers typically are not paid for this work—though some are, we’ll get to that—and you can’t just pick any random person off the street. So how do you tap into this wealth of feedback and insight to help you edit your novel and get it ready for a professional book editor?

Local writing groups

Before COVID-19, it was quite common for groups of writers to meet up and exchange work, often in a coffee shop, bar, or classroom. While many of these groups moved online to keep everyone safe during the height of the pandemic, in-person workshops might be starting up again (depending on your area). 

Check out the event calendars for your local library or community center, or visit Meetup, Craigslist, or local subreddits to find out if writers are getting back together to discuss and share their writing. If there isn’t one nearby, maybe you can start your own! 

Otherwise, there are so many virtual options, you still should be able to find a few good beta readers for your manuscript. 

Facebook groups

If you’re a Facebook user, then finding beta readers is as easy as logging in and searching for writing and reading groups. 

These forums are filled with people who are just as passionate as you are about writing, your genre, and your subject matter. To help you choose the right group, think about who your ideal readers are and then search for groups related to that topic. 

Let’s say, for instance, you’ve just finished the first draft of your zombie apocalypse thriller. Your first move should be to search for fans of zombie books, but you could also look into doomsday prepping groups or fans of dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories.

When you join these groups, be sure to follow their rules. Most groups will regulate who can post, what they can post about, how often, and in what format. Before diving in, take a moment to read all the information about the group and observe how members interact with one another. 

Writers forums (including subreddits)

You can find loads of forums and message boards and subreddits dedicated to writing in general as well as by genre. These can be great places to ask for beta readers, but you can’t just create an account, spam the group with requests to read your book, and expect volunteers to come flooding in. 

To use these groups properly, you have to participate in these groups and establish a presence. It shows you’re not just there to reap the benefits without offering anything in return. The more you participate, the more people will be more willing to help you out.

The fastest way to offer something of value is to beta read yourself and provide the kinds of honest feedback you expect from others. There is a lot of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” going on in these groups. Just be sure that if you promise to read something, you follow through—otherwise, you’ll end up developing a bad reputation.  

If you’re ready to start looking for beta readers, here are a few places worth exploring:

Betareader.io

This website is worth a special mention because it’s an easy way to find beta readers for relatively no cost—or a very low cost. The service allows you to sign up as a writer, a reader, or both. Once you do, you’ll have access to a database of beta readers who are willing to look over your manuscript. 

With the free version, you can submit one manuscript and have up to three readers. You’ll be able to track your beta readers as they go, and they can even leave highlights and emojis to let you know their reactions to certain passages. 

The upgraded version is still affordable at only $10, and allows you unlimited manuscripts and readers. If you have the budget and plan to write more than one novel, this may be a good option for you.  

Should you pay for beta readers? 

If you have a solid plot and premise, you should be able to find beta readers at no cost using the methods we mentioned above.

That being said, reading a manuscript or detailed outline is no small task, and providing feedback, whether written notes or a conversation afterward, is even more of a commitment.

If you find a beta reader who goes above and beyond with their feedback, you may want to consider providing a small token of appreciation like a gift card or a signed copy of your book once it’s published. 

But if after all that you’re still struggling to find volunteer beta readers or writing partners, you may want to try the following paid beta reading options.

Paid beta reading options

As we mentioned above, Betareader.io has a great free version and an affordable paid version that allows for multiple manuscripts and readers. 

There are also sites like Pro Beta Reader, where you can pay a small fee to have a professional beta reader review your work. 

You’ll also find beta readers and sensitivity readers for hire on sites like Fiverr and Upwork. These sites allow you to search for people by genre, budget, and other parameters, and you can read reviews from other authors who’ve used them in the past to find the right fit.

What should you ask your beta readers?

You’ll get more mileage out of a beta reader if you give them some direction when you hand over your manuscript. You don’t want to get too specific, as this can paint them into a corner and narrow their perspective. An expansive, outside perspective is what we’re looking for, so do your best not to limit them.

Instead, give them broader, guiding questions to get the wheels turning:

  • Did you identify with the main character?
  • Did you find the world believable?
  • What did you think of the dialogue?
  • Was there anything you wanted to see happen that didn’t?
  • Did the ending leave you satisfied?
  • Were there any scenes you found boring?
  • Were any characters unnecessary?
  • Do you have any lingering questions now that you’re done? 

You have two options when it comes to your list of questions: 

  1. Give them to the beta reader along with the manuscript.
  2. Wait until they’ve read the book and then hand them over. 

The first option allows them to focus more closely on these details as they read. The second option gives them a chance to read without anything in particular in mind. They can then look back and assess how they felt about each topic.

There’s no right or wrong way to go about this, so try each method with different beta readers or different manuscripts. You can also leave the choice up to the beta reader. Would they like questions before they read, or would they prefer to go in blind?

How many beta readers do you need?

You don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen, but no one beta reader can represent the reception of an entire genre of actual readers. Always shoot for at least three beta readers per manuscript for more well-rounded results, and no more than five or six. More than six beta readers and you’ll have too much feedback on your hands, which can easily cross the line from helpful to overwhelming. Three allows for the possibility of concurring opinions, a clear sign that you should keep or reevaluate what your beta readers bring up.

What to do with beta reader feedback

Once you’ve gotten your beta readers’ feedback, read it carefully and determine what you want to change about your manuscript. 

Look for feedback your beta readers had in common. Were there any scenes, plotlines, or characters that more than one reader called out? Was it for the same or similar reasons as the other or others?

Reading feedback is never easy. Don’t take anything personally. The important thing is to consider the commentary, be it a concern about a particular character or plot point, or a suggestion for a different direction. Think about why the reader reacted in this way and how making that change could impact the story, good or bad. 

If you’re on the fence about whether to take a suggestion, just take it. Make some changes and see how you feel about the outcome. You may even want to reach back out to your beta reader and ask them to read a revised scene.

You can also ask the beta readers to anonymously weigh in on each other’s feedback. Let’s say that Beta Reader A tells you that a certain character should come into the story earlier. You aren’t sure, so you ask Beta Readers B and C whether they think that change would be good. Their opinions can help you decide what to do. 

After you’re happy with the draft, it’s time to find a professional editor. Curious to learn more about that process? We’ve got you covered. You can read more about what goes into hiring the right editor here.

Finished with the beta reading process? You can submit your manuscript for a free sample below.

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Why a Mailing List is an Author’s Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Many authors have found success using email marketing to sell their books. But for new authors, growing an email list can seem quite difficult.

However, once you get things going, a healthy email list makes marketing and selling your book easier and easier.

Before we get into the ways an email list can help you make more sales, let’s start by talking about something called “email stacking” and how this affects your marketability.  From there, you’ll see how starting your email list now could pay off big time when it comes to your writing career.

Stacked Marketing Efforts

Let’s imagine in your first book launch, you have 100 email subscribers.  However, over the course of that launch, you end up gaining another 200 email subscribers.  Now, when the time comes, you will have 300 email subscribers for book two.

But the gains don’t stop there. With each consecutive book launch, you’ll gain more and more subscribers to help with your marketing efforts.

Chart showing email subscription growth

This is one of the driving factors that helps series writers gain so much marketability. They have a steadily growing fanbase—with a large portion being perpetuated through email.  So, now that we see this in motion, let’s discuss the many ways you can use this ever-increasing list to help with your book sales.

Increased Sales with Each Book

The most obvious effect you’ll see from growing your email list is increased sales for each progressive book launch. By proactively reaching out to your subscribers, you can reach more dedicated fans than ever before—fans who are more much likely than others to buy your new book.

However, it’s not just your latest book that can get more sales. A larger email list can also boost the sales of your older books. That’s because not everyone who subscribes between your later book launches has been around from the beginning. And if they become staunch fans, there’s a good chance they’re going to check out your previous writings.

So, by aggressively building your email list, it’s possible to see an increase in book sales across your entire body of work.

Improve Your Book’s Bestseller Status

Increasing book sales can have a cascading effect. Aside from just generating more income, higher book sales will greatly improve your book’s visibility in the marketplace.

For instance, if you’re an Amazon self-publisher, you’ll see your book’s Amazon ranking increase with the greater amount of sales. This can ultimately lead to your book obtaining the coveted status of Bestseller in your category.

Having a book as a Bestseller is a definite advantage. Bestselling books are always shown before competitors, giving even more visibility to the title. It’s proven that 80% of all Amazon clicks happen on the first page alone, with the top three receiving at least 60% of them. So it would behoove you to strive for Bestseller status, and taking advantage of an extensive email list can greatly improve your chances of getting there.

Improve Your Grade and Number of Reviews

One of the singular most important steps to having a good book launch is getting early reviews. The more book reviews you get when you launch, the better your chance of success will be. And your established email list is an excellent place to start.

Those on your email list are much more likely to not only buy and review your book but give it a positive rating as well. They’ve already subscribed to your style of writing and are part of your fan base. So don’t be afraid to use your email list to reach out and ask for honest reviews.

The best time to do so is right after your launch. You can either send out an email blast to all your subscribers, or simply write out an email in your autoresponder. Be sure to promote your book—in case they haven’t gotten it already—and ask them to drop a review on Amazon after buying it.

Finding the right spot to leave a customer review on Amazon can be a pain. It’s often buried underneath listing information, images, blurbs, and other data. This process alone can discourage your readers from leaving a great review. However, there is a smart way around this.

You can create your own link that will direct your readers straight to your review page. To find out how, check out this great video from Dave Chesson, author of this blog and the man behind Kindlepreneur. He takes you through the step-by-step process of creating your book’s special review link. This will further your chance of one of your readers dropping a juicy review.

Tactics for Growing Your Email List

Hopefully by now you understand that an email list can be a very useful tool for authors. But what are you supposed to write in these emails? And how do you get people to sign up in the first place?

For starters, make it easy for people to sign up by featuring your email list on your website with popups and sign-up forms. These can be built using tools⁠—Dave Chesson has broken down the four best email services for authors, complete with in-depth comparisons in order to help you select the ideal choice.

When building these sign-up forms, use enticing imagery and language to entice people to sign up.  You could also offer a discount code for your novels if someone signs up⁠—just send them the code in the confirmation email you send through an automated email platform.

You should also promote your mailing list on any social media sites you use, linking to it in your bios and reminding people when you post.

You also want to make sure your email list doesn’t go stale⁠—sending regular emails will keep people engaged and won’t cause them to unsubscribe when you reach out to them after a long period of silence.

You can use your emails to talk about any subject you like, but try to keep it relevant to your readers. Here are some ideas for emails:

  • Promote your books
  • Give sneak-previews of what you’re working on
  • Send out “deleted scenes” from your novels
  • Write unique short stories that feature your characters or style
  • Display your book covers and other promotional materials
  • Give insights on your personal life
  • Provide insights on your writing process

Many of the email platforms out there allow you to schedule emails automatically. You can try using templates like these from DripScripts to generate a few emails and set them up to go out one after another, so you don’t have to worry about writing emails every day. Keep an eye on which emails perform well, and tailor your email marketing strategy to feature more of that kind of content.

Leveraging Email Lists from Other Sites

It’s not just authors who use email lists for marketing.  Book promotion sites and book review sites use their email lists to reach readers who are interested in reading more books in a genre.  For example, TopSciFiBooks.com has generated over 1,200+ email subscribers who are fans of LitRPG thanks to their compilation of LitRPG books article.

Engaging with these websites and submitting your work to them could help you get featured on those email lists. This will in turn help you grow your profile, and you will find new audiences looking for your books (and signing up for your email list).

So, Does an Email List Matter?

Yes. Having an email list makes a huge difference and can definitely help pave your way towards success.

It can help you sell more books, give you a better chance at being a bestseller, and even provide an early advantage for getting early positive reviews. The power of your email list is real, folks. In fact, it provides one of the highest ROI channels when it comes to marketing.

But what if you don’t have an email list? Well, it’s not too late to get started. And if you’ve already got an established fanbase—say on social media—they’ll probably more than happy to sign up once given the chance. So, if you’ve thought that email just wasn’t the right choice for you, think again. It can prove to be an invaluable tool for success in a highly competitive world of book writing.

About the Author

Image of Dave Chesson, from Kindlepreneur.com

Dave Chesson is the creator of the wildly successful Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching advanced book marketing. Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker, and more, his tactics help both fiction and nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.

Categories
Resources for Authors Self Publishing Advice

What’s in a name? An author’s guide to pen names

Nom de plume, pseudonym, pen name… whatever your choice of synonym, at some point in our writing careers we all contemplate choosing a fictitious name to attach to our writing.

If you’re a new indie author getting ready to publish your manuscript, you may be wondering whether you want to plaster your own name across the title, or take the Mark Twain, S.E. Hinton, or George Orwell route. (Yes, all of those are pen names!)

In this article, we will answer these four questions about pen names:

  1. Why do writers choose pen names?
  2. What makes for a good pen name?
  3. How do you go about choosing your pen name?
  4. What are the potential legal issues you need to know about when it comes to pen names?

Why do some writers choose pen names?

“Whatever may be the success of my stories, I shall be resolute in preserving my incognito, having observed that a nom de plume secures all the advantages without the disagreeables of reputation.” ~ George Eliot

An author’s reason for choosing a pen name will vary, but they tend to fall under four categories:

Using a pen name to maintain anonymity

There’s something to be said for anonymity in writing and the security it can bring.

We live in a world where our lives are brandished across social media for anyone to see. For those authors who still toil away at a day job or are presently job hunting, (potential) employers may frown at your choice of genre or worry that you won’t devote the necessary time and energy to your job. It’s happened!

Or perhaps your significant other works in a conservative industry, and the fact that you spend your days writing about serial killers or intergalactic erotica could have a negative impact on their ability to keep and do their job.

Or you may simply be a very private person and prefer the ability to maintain your privacy through a certain level of anonymity.

Using a pen name as part of a brand strategy

To be a successful author, you need to have a strategy for book marketing⁠—and a big part of that strategy has to do with your brand. Your brand is everything that represents you as an author⁠—your writing style, your genre, your book covers, your website, your social media presence, and more.

For some authors, a good pen name is the crux of their book branding strategy.

In the author world, your brand is based on the stories you write, how you want your readers to perceive you, and how readers identify with you and your work.

Keep in mind that your brand comes with expectations for readers: the expectation that when they buy an Insert Name story, they will get what they’re expecting—whether it’s an edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller, a laugh-out-loud satire, or a swoon-worthy romance.

Creating a brand for your pen name will take work. You’ll need to carefully study your audience and other authors in your genre to see what works well for them. Then you’ll need to add your own unique spin on things to stand out⁠—and the right pen name could help you do just that.

Pen names for different genres

It’s not uncommon for authors to experiment with more than one genre. You might start out writing a horror novel, but later move on to mysteries or sci-fi.

If you’re worried that your genres are so different that you won’t be targeting the same readers, choosing to use a separate pen name for each genre will allow you to differentiate your brands and build a separate audience for each one. This is a strategy used by authors like Stephen King (who writes as Richard Bachman) and Agatha Christie (who wrote romance under the name Mary Westmacott).

Many writers, one pen name

In some cases (more often than you might think) multiple writers working together may choose a shared pen name to publish under. This may be the case for a group of friends or a writers’ group.

Often, this method is used by book publishers or book packagers. What are those?

A book packaging company works on books from start (concept development, story outlines, project assignments) to production (writing, editing, cover design) to publication (marketing and distribution) to create stories that readers simply can’t put down. In some cases, book packagers hire freelance writers who are established authors in a specific genre. These freelancers may be looking to expand their writing into other genres without having to create a new brand.

What makes for a good pen name?

Genre fit. Does the pen name resonate with readers of your genre? A name that fits perfectly for a slow-paced cozy mystery may not have the same effect for a hard-boiled thriller. If you’re gender crossing (a male writing in a female-dominated genre, for example), you might choose a female or non-gendered pen name to avoid unintentional bias.

Research. If you’re already a reader in your chosen genre (as you should be!), then you’ll have an advantage here. Think about the names of some of your favorite authors in the genre you’ll be publishing in.

What tone do they have?

What image do they conjure up in your mind?

Can you create a similar tone and image using your chosen pen name?

Think about the persona behind the name—the person you’re presenting to a reader. It’s okay to have a fictitious bio to add some color, but avoid adding in expertise or experiences you can’t back up. While readers are willing to accept pen names, they tend to draw the line at falsified resumes.

Questions writers should ask if they are considering a pen name

If one or more of the above options sounds like a good fit for your writing, it may be time to start coming up with a pen name.

Some authors choose a pen name similar to their own. Maybe they have a common first name (say, Jennifer, but they go by Jenny), so they might choose to make “Jennifer” their first name and a different last name to hide their identity.

Others may choose their initials. For example, S.E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders, is actually named Susan Eloise Hinton.

Choosing an author name similar to your own does have its advantages. For starters, you will find it easier to respond to email inquiries or questions during in-person events if you have a pen name that sounds similar to what you’re used to hearing.

You may instead choose a name that is very different from your own. A pen name is a good chance to go by that name you wish your parents had chosen, or to simply try out a new identity.

No matter what name you land on, it’s vital that you do your research before you make it official. Here are the questions you should ask:

Is the name already taken? Use Google to check out the name you’re considering to be sure it doesn’t already belong to someone famous. Then do the same on Amazon and Goodreads, checking that the name isn’t the same or too similar to others already out there. Not only are duplicate names difficult for readers, but it could end up making it harder for you to make a name for yourself and untangle your work from similarly named authors.

Are there multiple ways to spell the name? It could become annoying if you constantly must spell out the name to others.

Is the name easy to remember and catchy? You want to make it easy for your readers to recall your name when they’re at the book store.

Is the name associated with any cultural issues? You need to be careful to avoid any racial or cultural insensitivity when selecting your pen name. Avoid names associated with a particular ethnic background or culture, unless you yourself are a member of that group.

Are there legal issues associated with pen names?

Using a pen name is a legal and well-established practice in the publishing world, so generally, a nom de plum isn’t going to cause you any legal problems.

However, for tax purposes and when signing contracts, you will need to use your legal name.

There are also steps you will need to take in order to secure your use of your chosen pen name. If you intend to set up business accounts using that pen name (including banking and possibly even a business name), you will probably need to obtain a legal business name. Check with the appropriate local government agency to find out what you need to do.

Keep in mind that whatever pen name you choose, it will become a part of you and the persona you show to the world. So above all, make sure you like it, because you’re going to see it, a lot.

“Perhaps what’s most remarkable about the nom de plume, and rarely talked about, is its power to unlock creativity—and its capacity to withhold it. Even when its initial adoption is utilitarian, a pen name can assume a life of its own. Many writers have been surprised by the intimate and even disorienting relationships they have formed with their alter egos.” ~Carmela Ciuraru

So, go forth and create. Enjoy the anonymity a pen name affords and expand your creativity with the reassurance that your secret is safe.

This article was written with Harry Wallett, Managing Director of Relay Publishing. Founded in April of 2013, Relay has published a catalog of over 750 books, with a focus on YA fantasy, science fiction, and romance, among other genres. They also offer book publishing and packaging services, helping turn creative concepts into full-fledged novels. 

 

Categories
Resources for Authors Self Publishing Advice

Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing: Which Is Right for You? You wrote a book... Now what?

It’s done.

After dreaming about your book for years, you finally sat down and wrote it. 

Your plot is everything you wanted, and the story itself is a literary gold mine. But what’s next?

Thirty years ago, there was a simple answer to that question—you sent your manuscript to an agent or publishing company and crossed your fingers.

Today, traditional publishing isn’t the only kid on the block.  

Make no mistake, traditional publishing still exists, but if you want to bypass all the waiting—and the lower profit margins if your book is accepted—you can self-publish. 

But is self-publishing really everything it’s cracked up to be? Which method of publishing is the best way to get your future best seller into the hands of dedicated readers? 

In this post, we’ll walk you through what self-publishing and traditional publishing are, the pros and cons of each, and, ultimately, what the best option is for you.

Traditional or self publishing
Both options have strengths and weaknesses. Which will prevail for your book?

What is self-publishing?

Self-publishing is when you (the author) bear the full responsibility and expense of editing, publishing, and marketing your book. Authors who self-publish use programs such as Kindle Direct Publishing or Smashwords to publish their manuscripts and get them out to the public.

Related: Publishing tips for indie authors

Self-publishers don’t have to deal with lengthy querying processes, painful rejection letters, or large commission fees. But they do need to handle all their own marketing, hire editors, book formatters, cover designers, and build their own audience. 

What are the pros of self-publishing?

Pro #1: You work according to your own timeline

Instead of waiting weeks, months, or even years for an agent or publishing company to accept your manuscript, self-publishing lets you immediately dive into the editing, publishing, and marketing process. 

If you’re very eager to get your story out there, you can design your own cover and get the novel live on the major platforms in a day or less.

Alternatively, you can take your time working with an editor, promoting your book before its release, and finding the perfect designer for your cover. With self-publishing, you get to set your own deadlines, and you can extend them as you see fit. 

Pro #2: You guarantee the publication of your book

When you go through traditional publishing, there are no guarantees. 

You could submit your manuscript to a hundred different literary agents or publishing houses and still get rejected every time. In the end, traditional publishing could sequester your book instead of putting it in the hands of thousands.

Or…

You can publish the damn thing yourself—and to hell with the naysayers and the gatekeepers. Self-publishing puts your book out there and lets it live or die by its own merit. You don’t need anyone else’s permission to share your story with the world, and if it is successful, you’ll have your pick from the flood of traditional publishers who, upon learning the error of their ways, will break down your door with pens and contracts wet with ink.

Sure, a traditional publisher will help you market your book to a wide audience in ways you couldn’t alone, but publishing directly to Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s e-book marketplaces will still get your novel in front of a lot of eyeballs.

Pro #3: Self-published books can be wildly successful

The Martian, written by Andy Weir, was originally a self-published e-book on Amazon. It went from being a $0.99 e-book to getting picked up by Crown Publishing, becoming a New York Times Best Seller, and earning the honor of being the highest-grossing blockbuster from Fox in 2015. 

E.L. James’s 50 Shades of Gray, a notorious and much-loved erotic romance novel, was originally a self-published piece of Twilight fanfiction. Eventually, the author eliminated the Twilight references and made it available on her website chapter by chapter for free. It, too, was found by a publishing company, turned into a New York Times Best Seller, and transformed into a hit movie. 

E.L. James and Andy Weir
Not sure if self publishing can lead to success? Just as E.L. James and Andy Weir how they’re doing.

And these two books aren’t the only examples: The Shack by William P. Young, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and No Thanks by E. E. Cummings were all originally self-published before becoming massive successes. 

Of course, you might not achieve the same level of success as The Shack or 50 Shades of Gray (especially not on your first try!) but one thing’s for sure: All these authors proved that self-publishing can help you build a faithful audience. 

Pro #4: Higher profit margins

When you self-publish, the profits are split two ways—between you and the platform you’re selling on.

Many self-publishers go through Amazon (Kindle Direct Publishing)—in fact, Amazon owns 72 percent of the online retail book market, which includes both digital and printed books. Amazon also generates 80 percent of all online book sales.

Amazon offers book royalties of 35 to 70 percent. For example, if you sold your novel for $10 on Amazon, you’d be earning $3.50 to $7.50 per sale. 

When an author goes through a traditional publisher, however, the profit for the book is split between the author, the publishing company, the literary agent, and the platform that sells the book.

Traditional publishing companies typically offer 6 to 25 percent of profit (with an average of 10 percent) earned on the book. You may sell more books, but you’ll likely receive lower revenue on each book sold. 

Pro #5: It’s easier than ever before 

Though self-publishing is as simple as uploading your book and clicking Publish, it does take more effort than that if you want to be successful.

This is a pro and a con—while it takes hard work to get your book ready for its self-publishing debut, it’s easier than ever to take on this challenge yourself, with help from platforms and agencies whose sole purpose is to ensure self-published books hit professional standards.

What do you need to do to self-publish?

If you’re ready to take publishing your book into your own hands, there are a few things you need to do before you can release your first novel on Amazon: 

Book editing

To get your book ready for its debut and ensure it is at professional standards (grammatically correct, free of typos, with a cohesive plot and correct syntax), you will need to hire a book editor. Fortunately, there are many professional editors available for hire online.

But how do you choose which one? We’ve put together a quick guide on how to find a book editor for your novel. (You can also submit your manuscript to us, and we’ll provide you with a free sample edit along with a price quote and estimated turnaround time.) 

Publishing

Kindle Direct Publishing, which now encompasses CreateSpace, allows you to create both print books and e-books through Amazon. You can also use the platform’s cover-design templates and book promotion services. The site even provides a step-by-step guide to publishing on Amazon. 

Kindle Direct Publishing also offers great programs for new authors, such as KDP Select. This service makes your book part of the Kindle Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited, services that help readers discover new authors more easily.

KDP Select even helps with marketing. They promote books through discounts and countdown deals. This service does require ninety days of exclusive rights to Amazon, but if you find success in KDP Select, you can re-enroll your book as many times as you want.

Amazon’s CreateSpace makes physical book publishing stress-free. It is print-on-demand, which means you can sell as many or as few copies as you want. 

Self publishing platform logos

If you choose to go with a service other than Amazon, there are multiple self-publishing companies available:

  • Lulu—One of the oldest online self-publishing companies around, Lulu retails books through their own bookstore and distributes them to other online stores (including Amazon) and book distributors (Barnes & Noble and Ingram). Lulu also offers both hardcover and paperback formats for print books. 
  • Smashwords—Similar to Amazon, you can upload your own novel, with your custom-made book cover, right to the Smashwords platform for direct sale. 
  • Barnes & Noble Press—Formerly known as NOOK Press, Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing platform offers print-on-demand publishing. But if you self-publish with them, your work will be restricted to their own e-book devices and physical bookstores. 

Book design

Don’t like the templates of covers made by your self-publishing company? Want to hire someone else to make the absolutely perfect cover for your book? There are plenty of online book cover designers to choose from. 

One of the top names in book cover designs right now is Damonza. They have been vetted by hundreds of authors, and their gorgeous covers speak for themselves. 

If, however, you want to hire a freelancer to design your book cover, here is a great article by TCK Publishing to help you figure out how much you should pay and how to find a freelance book cover designer. 

Book Marketing

Once your book is on the platforms of your choice, you’ll need to shift your focus to getting it sold. There are many independent book promoters out there who will help you get your book in front of the right people, but this is another cost you’ll have to cover out of pocket if you’re self-publishing. 

You can also do some marketing on your own—virtual book tours, social media, and reader exchange programs are all popular options, but they do take time and effort.

Pro #6: Creative Freedom

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of self-publishing is creative freedom.

You get to decide what is included in your book.

You get to decide what types of edits you make to your novel. 

You determine exactly what you want your book to look like.

This kind of creative freedom does not exist when going the traditional route. Your agent or publisher will have demands about how you edit your novel, what the cover looks like, and how you market it, and that can be very difficult for some authors. 

What are the cons of self-publishing?

Con #1: You are responsible for everything

Since you are the sole person in charge of producing your book, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort on things you may not find interesting.

To be truly successful, you’ll have to either learn a lot about marketing and design or hire someone else to help you. 

For some authors, this is an exciting opportunity to expand their skills while maintaining control over their work. For others, the long list of tasks required to self-publish saps the joy out of the writing experience, and may end up preventing them from ever publishing at all. 

Related: 5 useless fears all writers should dismiss

Con #2: High up-front costs

Even though your profit margin is higher as a self-publisher, getting your book to professional standards can become expensive quickly. 

You will need to make a budget for editing, cover design, and marketing. 

If your book is 55,000 words (the standard word count on a teen novel—an average word count for an adult novel is 90,000), you can end up with a budget that looks like this: 

Book Cover: $100 to $200

Developmental Editing: $800 – $1,200

Line Editing: $1,500 – $2,000

Proofreading: $600-$800

For marketing, Amazon has a minimum daily budget for Amazon Sponsored Ads of $5.00 per day ($155 a month) even if you do not make any sales. 

Of course, you can look for ways to skip or save on some of these services. For example, you may want to find alternative, more affordable ways to market your novel (a virtual book tour) or create a book cover (Canva or Photoshop). 

This can help you save on the investment needed to self-publish, but remember that readers want a professionally edited book with a well-designed cover. Cutting costs at the start could impact your sales later. 

Con #3: Your audience will be limited

With a traditional publisher, you’ll have immediate access to an audience. Publishers have relationships with book sellers who will stock your novel. With self-publishing, you’ll need to build your own audience.

Most sellers won’t stock physical copies of self-published books, and popular book publications are not likely to promote them, so you will need to create your audience using clever book marketing strategies.

Although this can be challenging, services like KDP Select and Goodreads are available to help you find and connect with readers.

What is traditional publishing?

Traditional publishing means submitting your book to a literary agent or publishing company, who will then bear most of the responsibility for editing, marketing, and distributing your book. 

Though traditional publishing comes with a wider audience for your book, you must share the control, rights, and financial profit of the book with the publisher.

It’s also important to note that traditional publishing is extremely competitive, and many authors never receive an acceptance for the manuscript, even after months of waiting. 

What are the pros of traditional publishing? 

Pro #1: Money up front

Unlike self-publishing, you do not bear the financial responsibility of getting your book to professional standards and producing/distributing your book. 

So if you’re tight on cash, getting a traditional publishing deal can be very helpful, as most publishing companies will pay authors an advanced royalty, and your up-front costs of producing the book (editing, marketing, design, and distribution) are all covered by the publishing company.

Note: There are some costs involved in the querying process, as many publishers charge a fee for submission (not to mention printing and mailing costs if they don’t accept electronic submissions). 

Pro #2: Production help

Instead of you captaining the production of your book alone, a publishing company will provide a team to assist you. This team helps eliminate some of the early stress of ensuring your book meets professional standards. 

They will edit your manuscript multiple times. They will design the best possible aesthetic for your book cover and layout. They will help you publish and market your book (often as an e-book and audiobook), then distribute it to various sellers, which lets you focus on the sole reason you became an author: writing.

Pro #3: Street cred

If the publishing company accepts your manuscript, it’ll put its fancy logo on the spine and title page of your book.

But why does that matter? 

The symbol is the golden ticket to being sold at major book sellers. In fact, most well-known book vendors won’t even sell a book unless it is backed by a publishing company.

It also creates brand reliability—it lets your future readers know that this book was good enough to be picked over thousands of others by industry experts.

This doesn’t mean that only the best books get picked up by publishers. Traditional publishing involves a lot of luck—there are plenty of famous authors who were rejected time and time again before finally landing on the right publisher’s desk. Many of the best books out there may still be sitting on their authors’ computers, untouched, because their writers grew tired of reaching out to agents and publishers. 

What are the cons of traditional publishing?

Con #1: Lots and lots and lots of waiting

Unlike self-publishing, where you work on your own schedule and at your own pace, traditional publishing leaves you at the mercy of others.

To begin, you will need to wait for a literary agent to agree to take you on as a client. They receive thousands of interested clients annually, so it can take months or even years to be accepted.

Louisa May Alcott
Even beloved authors like Louisa May Alcott have gotten rejected by traditional publishers.

You’ll also need to grow a thick skin, as you will almost certainly receive multiple rejections. Before she published Little Women, Louisa May Alcott received a rejection letter from a publisher who stated quite plainly, “You can’t write.” Fortunately, most rejections aren’t as personal as that, but you’ll still need to get used to hearing the words not interested. 

If and when your book is accepted by a literary agent, you are looking at about a two-year process before it will hit shelves. You have to wait to receive a contract, agree to it, sign it, deliver your manuscript, work on edits and revisions, and wait on the design team to create a proper cover and layout. 

In short, self-publishing is often faster than traditional publishing because the author is in control. But we still recommend taking advantage of having complete control and spending as much time as you need working with editors and book cover designers on making the best edition of your novel possible.

Con #2: Limited creative freedom

Just because you are the author doesn’t mean you get a complete say in what is or is not included in your book.

When you sign your contract with a publishing company, you give them the right to help adjust the contents of your novel. They may tell you to lose a certain subplot, change things about the characters, remove entire sections of the novel, or write in plot twists and turns you hadn’t planned on. 

Though you can negotiate with them on some of these changes, it’s not uncommon for publishers or agents to set ultimatums—if you refuse to make a change they request, you could lose your contract entirely. 

Con #3: Smaller profit margins

All the wonderful help you received getting your book to a professional standard doesn’t come for free.

Any profit you receive on your book will be split among you, your agent, your publishing company, and the bookseller. 

So instead of profit margins of 35 to 70 percent (the standard e-book profit margin through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon), you will receive a profit margin somewhere between 6 to 25 percent. 

If your book becomes a massive best seller, this may not be a big deal. However, if sales are on the conservative side, you may find yourself pining after that greater royalty share you could get from Amazon or other online platforms.  

Should I self-publishing or traditional publish?

So which is better, self-publishing or traditional publishing?

Ultimately, it all depends on what works best for you. 

If you enjoy setting your own schedule and having complete control, higher profit margins, and full creative freedom, then self-publishing is probably your best course of action. 

If, however, you became an author to write; if you have no interest in things like marketing, design, and publication; if you don’t mind sharing responsibility and creative control, then traditional publishing is the path for you.

You can also choose to do a combination of these two processes. You can start out reaching out to traditional publishers, and if you grow weary of waiting or can’t find the right fit, there’s nothing to stop you from taking the self-publishing route later on.

The book is yours, and so, too, is the decision of how you publish your book.

Which will you choose?

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Resources for Authors Self Publishing Advice Writing Advice

How to find a book editor for your manuscript

For first-time authors, finding a book editor can be nerve-racking. It takes a lot of courage to show your work to someone else—especially someone you don’t know personally. However, finding the right editor can make the difference between a book that sells well and gains a wide audience and one that flops before it even makes it to market.

For full transparency, Invisible Ink Editing is a group of book editors, so of course we would recommend submitting your manuscript to us for review. We also know that a good editor-author relationship is vital to your success, and if we feel you may be better suited for a different type of editor, we will tell you right away.

We’ve outlined a few questions you can ask as you try to find an editor for your novel, whether you find the best book editor at Invisible Ink or elsewhere.

What type of book editor do you need?

The first question you want to ask is, “What type of book editor do I need?” Consider the type of manuscript you have written; many editors specialize in certain types of writing. For example, Invisible Ink Editing is primarily a fiction editing group. Other editors may focus on nonfiction, and as such, have a fact-checking process beyond that of a fiction editor. You’ll also find editors who work in specific genres—there are sci-fi editors, romance editors, young adult editors, and so on. (We take all genres at Invisible Ink, in case you’re wondering.)

You also need to consider what level of manuscript editing services you need. If your book has already been edited and just needs a sweep for typos and minor grammatical mistakes, then you will need to find a copy editor or proofreader. If you need help developing your novel’s plot, characters, and other big-picture details, you’d be better suited for a developmental edit. If you aren’t sure what you need yet, a good editor will be able to advise you after reviewing a sample of your work.

Key questions to ask your book editor

Once you know what type of editing you’re after, you can start to narrow down your search for the perfect book editor. There are several questions you should ask any potential editors you’re vetting. Most editors have a website or portfolio they’d be happy to share, which may contain much of this information. Here are a few questions you might want to ask at the start:

  • What sort of experience do you have? Some freelance book editors come with decades of experience, while others are just starting out. Although there’s no harm in going with a new-on-the-scene editor if you feel they’re a good fit, it’s probably best to make sure your book editor has edited at least two or three other novels, preferably ones similar to yours.
  • What certifications/training do you have? Not all editors are certified, but those who are will be happy to share the details. Many independent book editors in the US are part of the Editorial Freelance Association (EFA) or another professional organization. Others will have attended a university, college, or graduate school and received a relevant degree. Still other book editors may not have any formal certifications—this isn’t necessarily a red flag, as they may have work experience or informal training where they’ve developed their editing skills. If they seem like they’d be a good fit, you can always ask for a sample edit as well as a testimonial.
  • What editing standards do you follow? Your editor should be able to tell you the basic standards they use for editing. In the US, this is commonly the Chicago Manual of Style, a popular guide among fiction editors. Most book editors will also have a preferred dictionary as well. (For us, it’s Merriam-Webster).
  • Can you tell me more about your editing process? A good editor is an organized editor. Though your potential book editor may be working on several projects at once, they should still have a formal process they use to make sure their work is done clearly, consistently, and on time.
  • Have you ever edited a book in my genre? Similar to the first question about experience, it’s a good idea to gauge whether your editor has worked on books in your genre before. Many editors specialize in particular genres, and if you’re focused on marketing your book to a specific subset of readers, then an editor who knows your genre well is an asset.

The importance of a sample book edit

Many editors offer a free sample edit of your manuscript before they take you on as a client. Though the number of words they’ll edit varies (at Invisible Ink we do around 750 words), and some editors may charge a small fee, sample editing is commonly offered within the industry.

A sample edit allows you to see what kinds of changes the editor would make and how they tend to communicate feedback. It also gives your editor a chance to get to know your writing style and assess your manuscript, which helps them determine a quote and turnaround time if the project is accepted.

Go with your gut

At the end of the day, the only person who will know when you’ve found the right book editor is you. You know your own work better than anyone else ever could, so let your instincts guide you to the best book editor for you. You can learn a lot about your editor through the way they communicate and how they treat you as a potential client. It’s always a good idea to shop around and weigh your options, but once you think you’ve found the right book editor, then it’s time to make your move.

Still looking for the perfect book editor for your novel? Get in touch with Invisible Ink.

Categories
Self Publishing Advice Writing Advice

Joanna Homer, author of the Encounter series, gives inspiration and advice for writers

Joanna Homer, author of the sci-fi romance Encounter series, lives in London with her husband, her five-year-old son, and her basset hound. In addition to writing, she works in human resources for the NHS.

Since Joanna was young, she’s loved losing herself in the magic of stories, and any free time she has (which isn’t much!) is spent curled up with a book or at the movies.

We interviewed Joanna to learn more about her inspiration, her process, and what she has planned for the future of her series.

 

Tell us how you conceived of the Encounter series. Have you always been fascinated by the idea of extraterrestrials?

The idea of aliens has always interested me, and movies like Independence Day and shows like Roswell are among my past favourites.

The Encounter Series, however, was originally an idea about a guardian angel begrudgingly tasked with protecting a teenage girl. The bank raid scene with Dray came first, and once the time-freeze happened, the story moved to sci-fi and aliens pretty quickly.   

Do you think aliens have been to Earth?

My son has been learning about planets and the solar system at the moment and the sheer enormity and vastness of the universe really is mind-blowing. Whenever I find myself being cynical, I remind myself of how small we are. Why shouldn’t there be more intelligent beings out there who have visited us?  

You’ve done a lot of world-building in your books. How do you keep track of all of the different types of aliens, cultures, and histories in your novels?

I’ve created a series bible to keep track of all the history, alien races, locations, and characters. It has been really useful so far and saved me a lot of time. When I finish the series, I may add in some extra/deleted scenes, maybe some character artwork, maps, et cetera, and give all that to my readers.

I also created a glossary for my website, a quick and easy way to remember the names of Aethian words and what they mean.

Your books are a blend of romance and sci-fi. How do you think those two genres work together?

Personally, I enjoy a little bit of romance with all my genres. In my eyes you can’t beat two characters with amazing chemistry. Having relationships face challenges and obstacles makes it all the more exciting.

And if those obstacles happen to be of an otherworldly nature, then the possibilities are limitless.

Tell us about your book editing process.

Once I have completed my first draft I don’t look at it again for a while. My aim is to wait a couple of weeks, but I usually crack before that. I read though the draft and, aside from making some notes here and there, I just read to give myself an idea of how well it flows. Next, I go through and make my corrections and edits until I feel it is in good shape.

Sometimes my manuscript goes through a few beta readers, depending on timescales. Then I hand it over to my book editor at Invisible Ink for a developmental edit to look at the pace, tone, characters, and so on. I always book an editing bundle, which includes a developmental edit, a line edit, and a final novel proofread, as the improvement to the quality of my novels is invaluable. Plus, I learn a bit more from the feedback every time.  

Your latest novel in the Encounter series, Alliance, is vastly different from the first two novels in the series. Without giving anything away, it’s fair to say that you took the world you built and turned it upside down. What was that experience like? Was it difficult to do that to Eliza and her world?

I intended for things to go that way right from day one, and I was looking forward to doing it. Yet I was surprised to find that, when it came down to it, wreaking havoc in the world I had created was more difficult than I had imagined. Having your characters operate on such a high level of fear and anxiety without losing impact is hard to maintain, too. But as a reader I think I would enjoy going on the adventure with Eliza.

Any hints at what’s up next in the Encounter series?

Well, the title of the next book is Aether, and, considering how Alliance ended, I expect you can imagine where things are headed, but I probably shouldn’t give away anything else. One thing I can say, though, is that Eliza finally comes face to face with Queen Aylaiana, which will certainly be interesting!

Are you working on anything else at the moment, outside of the next installment in the Encounter series?

Yes. Alongside Aether, I have started writing Dark Fire, a new Urban Fantasy series. It begins when a girl teams up with a couple of demon-hunting brothers in search of the monster who murdered her family. Initially it will be a trilogy, but I have a whole range of books/spin-offs planned in the same world. So far it has been strange yet fun to write different characters and create a different world.

What advice would you have for other writers getting started? What do you wish you had known when you were in the early stages?

Thinking back, the main piece of advice I would give myself is something I still tell myself all the time:

Just write.

I am constantly looking into the latest software that helps writers, or reading up on social media fads, or things I can add to my website.

While this can be helpful, at the end of the day you need content. If a reader enjoys your book they will want to read more from you. You need words on the page, which means you need to set aside time to sit down and write.

It can feel overwhelming at the beginning of a novel, but even if you only do a little bit each day, it all adds up.

 

You can read Joanna Homer’s Encounter series and learn more about the author by visiting her homepage: www.joannahomer.com. Connect with Joanna on social media via Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Categories
Self Publishing Advice Writing Advice

How to edit your own novel

A guide to self-editing a manuscript

When a new author submits their manuscript to us, one of the first questions we ask is, “Has this manuscript been edited before?” It may seem like a funny question coming from a group of book editors—after all, isn’t our job to take an unedited manuscript and clean it up?

Not exactly. In fact, we turn down a significant portion of manuscripts that have never been edited before. This isn’t because we don’t think new novelists have potential; rather, we know that even the best authors have to revise their own work before submitting it to a professional book editor.

How to self-edit a novel | Invisible Ink Editing

RELATED: An author’s guide to the editing process

The self-editing process is just as important as the editing process you go through with your Invisible Ink editor. Submitting your novel before you have given it several self-revisions will waste both your time and your money. Instead, you should aim to make the novel as good as it can be on your own, then seek a professional second opinion.

Below are our top tips for editing your novel on your own.

Already done editing? Submit your manuscript for editing here.

When to begin self-editing

When in the process should you begin self-editing? The answer is different for every author. Some authors prefer to do long bouts of writing before rereading any of the work. Others have a more methodical approach, stopping to read each page or chapter after it’s complete.

Whichever style you prefer, self-editing slots into every step along the the editing process. You should self-edit your work before it goes to beta readers, and then again after you make changes based on their feedback. Another round of self-editing should happen between the beta reader stage and submitting your novel. From there, any time you write something new or make substantial changes to your manuscript, you’ll need to self-edit your work as it moves toward the final stage of novel proofreading.

Read your novel as you go

You may have heard stories of authors who do their writing blindfolded—literally—to stop themselves from reading (and subsequently cringing and deleting) their own writing. This may seem like a romantic idea, but reading your own work as you go is vital for several reasons. (We do recommend, however, going easy on your delete key when you’re self-editing if you find yourself deleting large passages.)

Rereading what you wrote recently helps you maintain continuity throughout your novel. It’s easy to forget small details, like what a character was wearing at the beginning of a scene, if you take breaks between writing sessions. Best practice is to at least reread the last few pages before you begin writing a new section of your novel.

You may also find that rereading small portions of your novel is a great way to help you overcome writer’s block. Not sure where to take the novel next? Go back and read a few chapters—ones you haven’t worked on in a while, or the last one you wrote. You’d be surprised how your own words can lead you in new directions if you’ve allowed them to “cool off.”

Finally, rereading as you write may help you pick up on some of your own writing quirks—phrases, punctuation marks, or words that may be too common in your prose. Eliminating these issues before you submit to your book editor will allow him or her to focus more on the meat of your book and less on correcting small issues.

Perform a final read-through

Editing while you go is important, but when you’ve finally written the last few words, it’s important to do a final read-through of your novel from start to finish. We’ll be honest: this can be a very painful process, not unlike hearing your own voice on a recording. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a vital step when it comes to editing your own manuscript.

Reading the novel from start to finish will allow you to pick up on the smaller issues we mentioned above (like repetitive phrasing), but also on larger issues that may be plaguing your manuscript, such as undeveloped scenes, plot holes, or missing information.

Read your words out loud

It may feel silly, but reading your words out loud is one of the best ways to catch mistakes that you missed your own rereads. 

 

When you read words out loud (even if you do it in a whisper), you’re less likely to skip over those errors, because you’ll stumble over your own words as you’re reading. It may be too much to reread the entire novel out loud, but doing so for at least the parts of the novel that you spent the most time on can make major improvements to the quality of your manuscript.

Perform a search for common writing mistakes

When you’ve read and reread your own words and can no longer bear to look at the page, it’s time to perform a search for common errors. The search function on Microsoft Word is an author’s best friend, so don’t be afraid to run a full search for issues like these:

Double spaces. Industry standard is a single space after a full stop, so running a search to eliminate errant double spaces is a wise self-editing tip.

Numerals. Do a search for the numerals 1 – 10 (we mean the actual numerals, not the written-out words like “one.”) There are many rules about numbers, so if you’re unsure, check your Chicago Manual of Style or ask your book editor for advice. (If you don’t have a book editor yet, give us a shout.)

Capitalization. The find-and-replace function on Word allows you to search specifically for words that are capitalized or uncapitalized. (Look for the box that reads “Match case.”) If you have a word that you know should either always be capped or always be uncapped, use this function to find any that you may have missed.

Your own common mistakes. Every writer has common typos. If you know you commonly misspell a word, such as using the wrong form of “compliment” vs. “complement,” then run a search for all variations you can think of to clear them up.

Online editing tools for writers

You’ve probably already run spell-check through Word a number of times on your manuscript. If you haven’t, that should be top priority! Unfortunately, Word’s grammar and spell-checker is far from perfect, and so using a few different tools can help make a big difference.

Before we get too deep in our recommendations of software to use, one caveat to note: none of these tools are foolproof or able to work on their own. There is no “set it and forget it” tool for checking grammar and spelling; for all of these tools, you must be an active part of the process. These tools will make recommendations to you, but you must be the final judge on whether you want to make the suggested changes.

Grammarly

Let’s start with what is arguably the most common online editing program out there: Grammarly.  While the software still has its flaws, its grammar and spell-checker is far better than the one built into Word. It will likely find errors and mistakes Word missed, and if you sign up for an account, it will start to learn your most common mistakes and even provide you with stats on your writing.

Grammarly integrates with Word, but it can also be installed into your browser. This makes it not only useful for editing your manuscript but also any email or social media marketing you may be doing to promote your book and connect with fans.

Hemingway App

The Hemingway App is less focused on strictly grammar and more on things like sentence structure, passive voice, and repetition (issues your book editor would address during the line editing stage.) The free online app allows you to cut and paste in your own text, or you can pay a flat $20.00USD fee for the desktop app if you find you like it.

Our recommendation is to use the Hemingway App on passages that don’t feel quite right to you—perhaps they are too clunky, or too long, or have been called out by your beta readers or book editors as problematic.

Autocrit

This is one online editing tool that was designed specifically for fiction writers. Autocrit gives you a full report on a number of factors involving your writing, from repetitive vocabulary to sentence variation and even to volume of unnecessary filter words. It also gives handy recommendations on how to adjust the issues it calls out.

You can get a free report on a section of your manuscript, or upload the full document to get an overview on your first draft. However, the free report generated is only an overview—to get the full rundown, you would need to buy a subscription. Still, the overview is a great way to identify areas where you can improve your writing.

Slick Write

Unlike AutoCrit, Slick Write isn’t just for fiction writers, but it’s still a very useful tool with an intuitive and simple interface. Many of its features are similar to those mentioned above—you of course have a grammar checker, can run vocabulary checks, and get detailed, personalised statistics on your own writing.

The text reader is free—you simply need to copy paste your text to get information. On top of that, you’ll see some fun tools that help combat writer’s block and expand your vocabulary prowess.

One thing to note—Slick Write is made with students in mind, so some of the information is more applicable to academic writing than fiction writing, but it’s still a great tool.

What to do after you’ve finished self-editing

It can be tricky to know when the self-editing stage is over. Many writers feel like they could self-edit forever. While it’s a good idea to adjust your manuscript continually over a long period of time, there must be a moment when you decide you’ve done everything you can and are ready to move on to the next step of either submitting to your beta readers or your professional book editor.

If you find yourself feeling burnt out, or you are starting to feel discouraged and like you want to delete major sections of your novel, then it’s probably time to step away from your computer and leave your manuscript in the hands of someone else (namely, your editor).

Be sure to make a list of the issues you think are outstanding with your manuscript—writing out these kinds of insights will not only be cathartic but also will help your editor know what particular issues you’d like them to focus on.

If you’ve recently finished self-editing your manuscript, we’d love to hear from you. Just submit your novel manuscript, and one of our editors will be in touch.

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Self Publishing Advice Writing Advice

Bradley West, author of the thrilling Lies series, talks process and inspiration

Bradley West is an American expatriate who has worked and lived in Asia since 1983. His website, www.bradleywest.net, hosts the True Lies blog, which showcases conspiracies and mysteries featured in his fiction, plus deleted scenes, and book reviews. He also has an author webpage on Facebook at Facebook Bradley West.

Bradley West | Invisible Ink Editing

West is the author of Sea of Lies (2016) and Pack of Lies, which comes out on October 11th (though you can pre-order now). The culmination of the Lies trilogy, End of Lies, is scheduled for release at the end of 2018.

He lives in Singapore, where he writes, exercises, and drinks red wine on a daily basis. 

Your book series centers around a real event: the disappearance of Malaysia Airways flight 370. How did this event inspire you to write this series?

Remember the scene in The Godfather when Michael Corleone was hiding in Sicily and saw Apolonia, the village beauty, for the first time? One of Michael’s bodyguards observes to his companion that the boss just got hit by the thunderbolt. That was what happened to me on March 8, 2014—the day MH370 disappeared. Three and a half years later, I’m two books deep into MH370, with many, many other conspiracies addressed as well. The tragic irony is that the actual plane hasn’t been found in all that time. So now I’ll still be able to use MH370 as a subplot of the third book in the Lies series.

What interests you about this genre of novels—conspiracy thrillers?

Shortly after I moved to Asia, I shared a flat with a newly single businessman, and a year later a regional newspaper named him as a senior CIA operative. “What was appearance versus reality?” became one of the core questions of my life.

In business, you’re always trying to infer or deduce the truth from imperfect information. Over the years, I collected stories about weird goings-on, mostly in Asia. Who knew that the secret war in Laos in the early 1970s saw the US drop more tonnage of bombs than in all of WWII in Europe? More recently, we have had regional prime ministers with unexplained billion-dollar bank balances, Osama bin Laden hid in plain sight for six years a kilometer away from the front gates of Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point, and there’s still what I would consider a multi-government-led cover up in respect of MH370’s fatal descent. Since the 1980s, I’d had all these unanswered questions bottled up, so when I shifted to writing as a career the first order of business was to research them. If I found a novel suggested by the material, then that would be the natural next step.

Talk us through the process from conceptualization through to edits.

I’m new to writing novels, and as a result my process is also in flux. I started Sea of Lies with a twenty-eight page book outline. That took at least two months after I’d spent three or four months researching the real-world conspiracies featured in the True Lies blog. Outlining proved to be an enormous time-sink, but I’d always outlined before writing a business report, so that’s how I approached the first novel.

Soon enough, I realized that Steve King was right: the characters begin to take on lives of their own. Somewhere early on, maybe chapter four or five, Bob Nolan and his cohorts weren’t sticking with the script. What I’d thought they were supposed to do no longer rang true. Characters that were supposed to end up allied to Nolan ended up enemies, and vice versa. Eventually I threw away the outline and moved to a chapter-by-chapter, modified “panster” approach. The majority of Sea of Lies and all of Pack of Lies ended up written on a Lego-block basis.

I have a quote from a thriller writer written on a sticky on the bulletin board next to my desk. It reads, “Determine what is the worst thing that can befall your protagonist, and then make it happen.” Words to write by!

Pack of Lies was written faster with less waste than Sea of Lies. I’m still using Lego blocks, but abandoned large-scale outlining for an accretive process called the Snowflake method that places more emphasis on characters and slightly less on story.

Bob Nolan is far from the typical action hero. What prompted you to create someone like him?

I created Nolan to be a pure anti-action hero. Modern bookshelves are full of Jason Bournes, Jack Reachers, John Rains and other hyper-capable secret agents. I wanted to write about a younger analog of George Smiley with maybe a little Walter Mitty thrown in. Ordinary readers can pick up my books and say, “That could be me in that impossible situation!” instead of, “I wonder how many years you have to study to achieve a 7th degree black belt in karate?”

Nolan also has a strong moral compass. He’s not a goody-goody—in fact, he’s a lawbreaker when it suits him—but he tries to do the right thing (at least in matters other than adultery). He shares my deep cynicism in respect of the competence of many arms of the US intelligence community, but never gives up. Being a physically weak man, his survival in these harrowing circumstances is due to a combination of high intelligence and strong support from people who are more adept in martial matters.

As time progresses, Nolan grows in self-confidence and competence. By the time we get to the end of Pack of Lies, Nolan is out of his shell and no longer the introvert we met in Sea of Lies. Nevertheless, you won’t see Bob fighting anyone hand-to-hand or taking sniper shots from a mile away in End of Lies.

What can we expect from Pack of Lies, out on October 11th?

Pack of Lies starts off just weeks after Sea of Lies concluded with a happy ending. The first few chapters take everything good away from Nolan. In short order the action shifts from Singapore to Pakistan before winding up in Sri Lanka. Four threads interweave, led by MH370 and then a corrupt Malaysia prime minister, Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, and Osama bin Laden’s lost years.

You’ve also got a third book in the trilogy scheduled, End of Lies. How about a sneak preview?

I’ve got an entire magazine holder full of plastic folders with typed up scenes, handwritten pages for plot lines and ideas scribbled on beer mats. It’s still very much up in the air. We know that Bob Nolan will remain the focus, the action shifts largely to the US, and in addition to finally tying up MH370 we’re going to address the recent history of the Deep State in the US, going back to the 1960s and the Secret Team, and then the more recent incarnations. Nolan’s children are back in the picture, as are his nemeses Chumakov from Russia and Yu Kaili from China. I think you’ll like it, but I won’t know how it ends until April next year.

Any closing advice for fellow novelists?

My best advice is to write about topics you feel passionate about, and then try hard to discover a readership with similar tastes. As is always the case with building a brand, most of the work is done by word of mouth, which always takes time. You need to be in this for the long haul and resist the temptation to buy into the “instant success” hype.

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Resources for Authors Self Publishing Advice

Publishing tips for indie authors: Setting a book launch date A guide to launching your novel

We asked indie author and publisher Nelson Suit to answer a question we often see from our authors. Nelson is editor of the e-journal Inkspokes.com, which showcases authors, illustrators, and other creatives working in the world of independent children’s publishing.

Q.: How do I choose a release date for my novel? Setting dates often increases stress for me, and I am afraid I’ll miss my own deadlines. Any tips?

  A.: Since you are choosing the release date for your novel, I’ll assume you’ve decided to independently publish your book. Congratulations, by the way, for not only taking on the task of writing but also the challenge of publishing. For us as indie publishers, choosing a book launch date is a really exciting part of the publishing process. It’s the first bit of planning for the coming-out party for your book! It’s important to understand though that you’ve now taken on two roles. Even as your novel writing comes to an end, thinking about the release date (your ever-exciting book launch) means your publishing role has now come to the fore. book launch advice There are a couple things that might be said about setting book launch dates. First, when setting such a date, it makes sense to think like a traditional publisher. But, second, as an indie, you should also not be afraid to think like yourself. Here’s what I mean. There are many resources both online and otherwise on setting a timeline for a book launch that looks at what large publishers do. One of the first considerations might be whether you want to have your book launch tied in to a particular window or season within the retail calendar. For example, a lot of books are sold in November and December during the year-end holidays. So a book might have to be released by Halloween so that there is buzz leading into this busy buying season. Or some books might tie in to summer beach reading, or a self-help book might tie in to January sales as readers attend to their New Year resolutions. Consulting editor Alan Rinzler has a terrific post on his blog about seasonal tie-ins for book launches. Another important consideration traditional publishers look at is really just time—how much time do you need to have your novel ready for launch? And this timeline encompasses more than just having a book printed. If you wanted to do all the recommended items (as a publisher might), you might have a timeline that might run eight to twelve months from the time you substantially finish your manuscript. Why such a long lead time? There’s a long list of tasks to consider, but to name a few:
  • Beta reading
  • Novel editing
  • Book cover design
  • Illustrations (if you will have any)
  • Book design and layout
  • Proofreading
  • Connecting with your super-fans who may be able to spread the word about your new book
  • Preparing marketing materials (including your back-cover blurb)
  • Developing and executing a social media plan for the release
  • Identifying early reviewers and people who might endorse your book with a quote
  • Contacting local media sources to publicize your book release
The list goes on, and Joel Friedlander has a helpful checklist to look through as you think about how much time you will actually need. It is, of course, easy to be overwhelmed as you look at the checklist, but don’t be. That’s where my second thought on the topic comes in. This is your book. You are also the publisher, and so, while you consider all the things you might do, you decide how much time you need and which tasks you will do without. You can add in creative alternatives to what others have done that work better with your temperament. You decide what tie-ins you would like based on what you know about your book and your own schedule. The good thing about being indie is that you can be you as you go about this process. Truth to tell, we’ve done what many indie authors and publishers do, which is to hurry the process and skip more book launch tasks than we should—which, of course, we end up regretting. Books, like babies, are only born once (well, at least first edition books!), and you realize later what a unique opportunity a book launch really is to generate exposure for your new creation. Tailor the timeline to what is comfortable for you. Make it your own. Make it fun. Create special days in it for silliness and time off. That in turn might help with the stress. It’s not an easy process. Both writing and publishing take dedication and a lot of time, but you can also make it your own. In addition to editing Inkspokes.com, Nelson manages Inkspokes Media, an independent publisher, and is on the board of directors of the Independent Publishers of New England. Nelson Suit has written his own middle grade children’s book series and has spent many days and nights thinking about books, book making, and publishing. He loves handmade books and is ever curious about what other indie authors and publishers are doing (because they are mostly fun, creative, and more often than not, crazy passionate about what they do). You can connect with Nelson Suit on Facebook and Twitter (@inkspokes).