In my last post, I talked about how important it is to think carefully about what your goals are as a writer so that you take the right approach to publishing. But as I was riding the train home the other night, I realized that despite my key goal of just getting my book into the hands of readers who might like it, I also have a special dream that before now I didn’t even realize existed. It’s not to be on Oprah, or to see my book in Borders, or to be on the New York Times bestseller list. Instead, I realized that my secret dream is to be on the train one day during my regular commute and to see a stranger reading a copy of my book. I fantasized about how amazing it would be to look up and see the cover of Rising Shadow staring back at me, the reader deeply absorbed in it, tuning out the noise and bustle of the rush hour crowd, escaping into the world of The Soterians that I created. I’m not sure whether it even matters that they’re enjoying the book. Indeed, when I pursue the fantasy, I ask the person how they’re enjoying it, and they say “it’s pretty good.” And that’s it. That’s the whole dream.
So is this just a dream, or can it become a reality?
When I took time-management classes from FranklinCovey several years ago, one quote the instructor used that really stuck out for me was “A goal is a dream with a deadline” (Napolean Hill). We learned how to take our dreams and turn them into a series of tasks with deadlines, which suddenly turned a lofty “some day” kind of dream into something that was actually achievable. For example, we looked at how your dream might be to travel to Europe, and then we broke it down into tasks like researching where to go and how much it would cost, setting up a budget that would allow you to save enough money, getting a passport, and getting approval from your manager to take the time off. Suddenly, we had a set of achievable tasks that would allow us to make the dream a reality.
The instructor said that just about any dream you might have is achievable this way. But we were also cautioned that before you turn a dream into a goal, you need to evaluate why you have that dream and whether it’s really aligned with your core values. Because it’s our core values, she explained, that must drive everything we do, or else we are wasting our energy and our lives on things that don’t actually matter. And as you’ve probably noticed, when something doesn’t truly matter to you, you’re much less likely to do it.
So take a close look at your core values—anything from “I am a loving wife and mother” to “I work hard to hone my skills as a writer” and see where your dreams fit in. In my case, one of my core values is “I enjoy the process of writing and get satisfaction simply from getting my books into readers’ hands.” When I analyze my dream more closely, I realize that it doesn’t represent having become a great writer or making a sale on the book—it’s purely about having completed the exchange of writing the book and getting it into someone’s hands. Understanding this motivation goes a long way in helping me figure out how best to turn this dream into a goal and the tasks I need to complete to achieve it. I might set up a booth outside the train station and sell copies of my book. Or I might simply leave some copies on the train with a note on them asking people to take them home, read them, and then leave them on the train for someone else to read. Either way, I know I’ll achieve my goal some day, now that it’s no longer just a dream and I’m clear on why it matters to me. The next task is to figure out the steps I need to take and then assign deadlines to them.
What are some of your dreams, and how do they fit in with your core values?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Into the Fray: Self-publishers vs. Traditionalists
When I decided to self-publish, I knew that I was travelling a foreign road without a guide and that there would be bumps along the way. But little did I know that I’d be jumping into what is beginning to feel like a holy war, with self-publishers on one side and traditionalists on the other. I’m hearing the most interesting opinions bandied about, including the assertion that self-publishing isn’t really publishing and is no different from vanity publishing. That self-publishing is going to flood the market with crap, and readers won’t be able to find good reads anymore. That being accepted by an agent and then by a publisher is the only true validation that you’re a real writer.
But these same people are making some bizarre arguments that a writer has some sort of divine entitlement to write and then pass their precious words off to a machine that will package, market, and sell their book. That writers should never have to promote their work or pay a single cent toward its publication. If you pay anything at all, they insist, you’ve been swindled, and you’re not really a published author.
This is, of course, completely ludicrous. Last time I checked, it takes a lot of query letters, excerpts, drafts, rewrites, lost manuscripts, phone calls, and travel to bring your book to market with a traditional publisher, and none of that is free. How much have you spent on printing and postage alone? Let alone on antacids to counter the effects of waiting for replies from agents and then again from publishers? How many hours have you spent trying to perfect your query letters, time that would have been better spent revising your manuscript? Every author spends money, so I fail to see how spending $39 on a premium account with CreateSpace counts as being swindled.
Here’s the deal: there is a place for traditional publishing, self-publishing, and vanity publishing. It all depends on what your goals are. And I think as writers, we should think very carefully and honestly about our goals and why we hold them.
Let’s start with vanity publishing. If your friend told you that her dream was to swim with dolphins, you would think nothing of her spending a few hundred dollars on travel and expenses to make that dream a reality. If your friend’s dream is to write a novel and just hold it in her hands, but she has no skills to design a cover or do the interior, then a vanity press is the equivalent of the service that takes her swimming with dolphins. Her sense of accomplishment when she holds her book in her hands is worth the price of admission. There’s absolutely no reason for her to query agents or try to get a traditional publisher. HOWEVER, if her goal is to make money off the book, vanity publishers become a problem, because they are in the business of making money off of authors, and they will be more than happy to sell you thousands of dollars in services with the false promise of making you a success. This is where I agree with the traditionalists who hate the vanity presses. It’s easy to fall prey to upsell along the way, and a writer must be aware that in almost all cases, this is not a viable way to get your book out there, in large part because the quality of their cover design and editing services is pretty lacking. As long as you recognize these presses for what they are and don’t think they’re some kind of shortcut for “being published,” they’re a perfectly fine service.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are those who insist that going the traditional publishing route is the only valid choice. For some, the reason is simply that they don’t believe they are a legitimate author until they are accepted by someone they’ve never met--be it an agent, publisher, or critic--whom they assume is smarter than them. (Note that simply getting their book into the hands of readers they’ve never met doesn’t count, for some reason.) If that kind of external validation is necessary for you, then traditional publishing is absolutely the way to go. HOWEVER, if you think traditional publishing means that you’re going to sit back and collect royalties while someone else does publicity for you, you’re sadly mistaken. Publishers have a limited amount of time and money to spend on publicity, and chances are excellent that they won’t spend it on you. Many authors are surprised to discover that they get very little support from their publisher and that they’re back at square one doing their own publicity. So they’re paying a percentage of their royalties to an agent who did nothing but get them a contract with a publisher who printed the book and then left them to sell it themselves. Putting “publisher will handle all publicity” in your marketing plan is like putting “win lottery” in your financial plan.
Speaking of your financial plan, if you think a traditional publisher is the only way to go because your primary goal is to be a rich and famous author, think again. Bestselling authors are starting to reveal just how little money they actually make, which is the best gift they could have given to aspiring writers. (Meghan Ward has written some excellent posts about this lately in her Writerland blog.) Say it with me right now: there will never be another J. K. Rowling. The money you make off writing supplements your income. It’s not going to be your bread and butter unless you’re a) a technical writer, journalist, or other non-creative writer (although I’d argue that much of the technical writing I do is highly creative), or b) extremely lucky. See above point about winning the lottery.
Lastly, some people complain that they’ll never get on the bookstore shelves if they self-publish. News flash: few authors with traditional publishers get on the bookstore shelves, either. There is a highly limited amount of space on those shelves, whereas online bookstores have unlimited catalog space. So you need to ask yourself why it’s so important to be on the shelves of Borders, especially since more and more people are doing their shopping online. Sure, it’s important for discoverability, and as one blogger put it very astutely, you’ll never be a best seller unless your book is in as many places as possible (and at a discount). But it’s still a long shot, and you risk paying back a lot of royalties when these stores return all your books in shabby condition so that you can’t resell them.
In between using a vanity press and trying to get a contract with a traditional publisher is the world of self-publishing. This can mean anything from creating your own publishing company to simply uploading your files to a print-on-demand (POD) service. Again, the route you choose depends on your goals. If you are going to publish multiple books and want to make a business out of it, it makes sense to create your own publishing company. But if you just want to publish one or more titles and get them into the hands of interested readers, you can go with a POD service like CreateSpace or Lulu, which costs nothing up front and makes your book available on Amazon. With CreateSpace, if you pay a one-time fee of $39 for the premium service, you get higher royalties and have access to the distribution program, which will make your book available via distributors such as Ingram and Baker and Taylor. (NB: I found that Lightning Source offers a better deal on distribution than CreateSpace and that CreateSpace gives a higher royalty on books sold via Amazon, so I use both.) If you need help designing the interior and cover of the book, most POD publishers offer additional services for a fee. But be careful: as soon as you start purchasing services from these places, you’re stepping into the vanity press arena where the business model is to make money off of you. I think it’s far better to find a professional editor, graphic artist, web designer, and any other professional service you need by getting recommendations and evaluating samples of their work before hiring them. You don’t have this option when purchasing services from POD publishers, so you have no idea what kind of quality you’ll be getting. Of course, the same can be said for using a traditional publisher: you don’t have much say over the editor and graphic artist they assign to you.
So in a nutshell, here are the strategies you might take depending on your goals:
Goal:
Make millions of dollars.
Strategy:
1. Use any publishing model.
2. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
3. Buy a winning lottery ticket.
Goal:
Get on the bookstore shelves.
Strategy:
1. Try to go with a traditional publisher for best chances at distribution. If you self-publish, be sure to price your book high enough to cover costs and to give megastores the 55% discount they want.
2. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
3. Work with local bookstores, who are more willing to stock local authors and will often sell books on consignment.
4. Publicize the hell out of your book so that the store will order more copies from you.
Goal:
Write a great book and get it into the hands of interested readers.
Strategy:
1. Work with a great editor and spend a good deal of time editing and polishing your book.
2. For best results, work with a graphic designer to design a compelling cover that will also look good as a small image online.
3. Self-publish through a POD service.
4. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
5. Send review copies to bloggers who write about your genre to help generate buzz directly with your audience.
6. Do a virtual book tour through blog sites that offer them.
Goal:
Finish a novel and hold it in your hands.
Strategy:
1. Write a page a day. In a year, you’ll have your novel.
2. Use the templates on CreateSpace or Lulu to design your interior and cover.
3. Upload your files and order your proof copy.
4. Order additional copies as desired for family and friends.
In summary, the most important thing is to honestly assess your goals, be realistic about why you have them, and forget about winning the lottery. Through hard work both before and after publishing your book, you will get it into hands of people who want to read it, which is really what this whole writing thing is supposed to be about in the first place. No matter what approach you choose, enjoy the ride, because whether you write a best-seller or just print one copy, there really is nothing like holding your completed book in your hands.
But most important of all, forget about the money and fame and just write.
But these same people are making some bizarre arguments that a writer has some sort of divine entitlement to write and then pass their precious words off to a machine that will package, market, and sell their book. That writers should never have to promote their work or pay a single cent toward its publication. If you pay anything at all, they insist, you’ve been swindled, and you’re not really a published author.
This is, of course, completely ludicrous. Last time I checked, it takes a lot of query letters, excerpts, drafts, rewrites, lost manuscripts, phone calls, and travel to bring your book to market with a traditional publisher, and none of that is free. How much have you spent on printing and postage alone? Let alone on antacids to counter the effects of waiting for replies from agents and then again from publishers? How many hours have you spent trying to perfect your query letters, time that would have been better spent revising your manuscript? Every author spends money, so I fail to see how spending $39 on a premium account with CreateSpace counts as being swindled.
Here’s the deal: there is a place for traditional publishing, self-publishing, and vanity publishing. It all depends on what your goals are. And I think as writers, we should think very carefully and honestly about our goals and why we hold them.
Let’s start with vanity publishing. If your friend told you that her dream was to swim with dolphins, you would think nothing of her spending a few hundred dollars on travel and expenses to make that dream a reality. If your friend’s dream is to write a novel and just hold it in her hands, but she has no skills to design a cover or do the interior, then a vanity press is the equivalent of the service that takes her swimming with dolphins. Her sense of accomplishment when she holds her book in her hands is worth the price of admission. There’s absolutely no reason for her to query agents or try to get a traditional publisher. HOWEVER, if her goal is to make money off the book, vanity publishers become a problem, because they are in the business of making money off of authors, and they will be more than happy to sell you thousands of dollars in services with the false promise of making you a success. This is where I agree with the traditionalists who hate the vanity presses. It’s easy to fall prey to upsell along the way, and a writer must be aware that in almost all cases, this is not a viable way to get your book out there, in large part because the quality of their cover design and editing services is pretty lacking. As long as you recognize these presses for what they are and don’t think they’re some kind of shortcut for “being published,” they’re a perfectly fine service.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are those who insist that going the traditional publishing route is the only valid choice. For some, the reason is simply that they don’t believe they are a legitimate author until they are accepted by someone they’ve never met--be it an agent, publisher, or critic--whom they assume is smarter than them. (Note that simply getting their book into the hands of readers they’ve never met doesn’t count, for some reason.) If that kind of external validation is necessary for you, then traditional publishing is absolutely the way to go. HOWEVER, if you think traditional publishing means that you’re going to sit back and collect royalties while someone else does publicity for you, you’re sadly mistaken. Publishers have a limited amount of time and money to spend on publicity, and chances are excellent that they won’t spend it on you. Many authors are surprised to discover that they get very little support from their publisher and that they’re back at square one doing their own publicity. So they’re paying a percentage of their royalties to an agent who did nothing but get them a contract with a publisher who printed the book and then left them to sell it themselves. Putting “publisher will handle all publicity” in your marketing plan is like putting “win lottery” in your financial plan.
Speaking of your financial plan, if you think a traditional publisher is the only way to go because your primary goal is to be a rich and famous author, think again. Bestselling authors are starting to reveal just how little money they actually make, which is the best gift they could have given to aspiring writers. (Meghan Ward has written some excellent posts about this lately in her Writerland blog.) Say it with me right now: there will never be another J. K. Rowling. The money you make off writing supplements your income. It’s not going to be your bread and butter unless you’re a) a technical writer, journalist, or other non-creative writer (although I’d argue that much of the technical writing I do is highly creative), or b) extremely lucky. See above point about winning the lottery.
Lastly, some people complain that they’ll never get on the bookstore shelves if they self-publish. News flash: few authors with traditional publishers get on the bookstore shelves, either. There is a highly limited amount of space on those shelves, whereas online bookstores have unlimited catalog space. So you need to ask yourself why it’s so important to be on the shelves of Borders, especially since more and more people are doing their shopping online. Sure, it’s important for discoverability, and as one blogger put it very astutely, you’ll never be a best seller unless your book is in as many places as possible (and at a discount). But it’s still a long shot, and you risk paying back a lot of royalties when these stores return all your books in shabby condition so that you can’t resell them.
In between using a vanity press and trying to get a contract with a traditional publisher is the world of self-publishing. This can mean anything from creating your own publishing company to simply uploading your files to a print-on-demand (POD) service. Again, the route you choose depends on your goals. If you are going to publish multiple books and want to make a business out of it, it makes sense to create your own publishing company. But if you just want to publish one or more titles and get them into the hands of interested readers, you can go with a POD service like CreateSpace or Lulu, which costs nothing up front and makes your book available on Amazon. With CreateSpace, if you pay a one-time fee of $39 for the premium service, you get higher royalties and have access to the distribution program, which will make your book available via distributors such as Ingram and Baker and Taylor. (NB: I found that Lightning Source offers a better deal on distribution than CreateSpace and that CreateSpace gives a higher royalty on books sold via Amazon, so I use both.) If you need help designing the interior and cover of the book, most POD publishers offer additional services for a fee. But be careful: as soon as you start purchasing services from these places, you’re stepping into the vanity press arena where the business model is to make money off of you. I think it’s far better to find a professional editor, graphic artist, web designer, and any other professional service you need by getting recommendations and evaluating samples of their work before hiring them. You don’t have this option when purchasing services from POD publishers, so you have no idea what kind of quality you’ll be getting. Of course, the same can be said for using a traditional publisher: you don’t have much say over the editor and graphic artist they assign to you.
So in a nutshell, here are the strategies you might take depending on your goals:
Goal:
Make millions of dollars.
Strategy:
1. Use any publishing model.
2. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
3. Buy a winning lottery ticket.
Goal:
Get on the bookstore shelves.
Strategy:
1. Try to go with a traditional publisher for best chances at distribution. If you self-publish, be sure to price your book high enough to cover costs and to give megastores the 55% discount they want.
2. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
3. Work with local bookstores, who are more willing to stock local authors and will often sell books on consignment.
4. Publicize the hell out of your book so that the store will order more copies from you.
Goal:
Write a great book and get it into the hands of interested readers.
Strategy:
1. Work with a great editor and spend a good deal of time editing and polishing your book.
2. For best results, work with a graphic designer to design a compelling cover that will also look good as a small image online.
3. Self-publish through a POD service.
4. Have a damn good marketing plan and commit to spending lots of time on publicity.
5. Send review copies to bloggers who write about your genre to help generate buzz directly with your audience.
6. Do a virtual book tour through blog sites that offer them.
Goal:
Finish a novel and hold it in your hands.
Strategy:
1. Write a page a day. In a year, you’ll have your novel.
2. Use the templates on CreateSpace or Lulu to design your interior and cover.
3. Upload your files and order your proof copy.
4. Order additional copies as desired for family and friends.
In summary, the most important thing is to honestly assess your goals, be realistic about why you have them, and forget about winning the lottery. Through hard work both before and after publishing your book, you will get it into hands of people who want to read it, which is really what this whole writing thing is supposed to be about in the first place. No matter what approach you choose, enjoy the ride, because whether you write a best-seller or just print one copy, there really is nothing like holding your completed book in your hands.
But most important of all, forget about the money and fame and just write.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Surprising Joys of Marketing
This was the part I was dreading.
The writing I could do. Editing--no problem. Creating a web site? Been there, done that. A little research on self-publishing was all that was needed to fill in the gaps to get Rising Shadow printed and out the door.
But when it came to marketing the book, I was sure it was going to be horrible. I hate asking my closest friends and family for favors--how much more awful would it be to ask complete strangers to take the time to read my book and write something about it?
What I discovered was that marketing is different from selling, and if you focus on that distinction, you can end up having a lot of fun. Here's what I mean: the point of marketing is to bring a product to the marketplace, to make people aware of it. The key is to do targeted marketing--you wouldn't go door-to-door asking people to read your book. Instead, you want to get the word out to people who would be interested in it and actually want to hear about it. This is actually easier than it sounds.
The first thing I did was to start a fan page for The Soterians on Facebook, and then I created a couple of display ads that are shown only to people I believe fit into my target audience. I started getting fans right away, and then the fun part began: every day, I post a status update or a link to something that's related to my books, writing, music, heroes, or just anything I think my readers might be interested in, and I get to see their reactions. The first time a fan clicked the "Like" link on one of my updates, I was so excited I literally jumped out of my chair.
Next, I started emailing young-adult bloggers. This was fun, because you can't find a more targeted audience than people who subscribe to a blog about the genre of your book. The amazing thing was that almost everyone I emailed was very receptive to reviewing the book. I sent them review copies and sometimes a second copy to use as a giveaway (having good giveaways drives more traffic to their blog), and the reviews are starting to be posted (the first is on one of my favorite blogs, Coffee for the Brain). Similarly, I did a giveaway on goodreads, and over five hundred people signed up. I got some very good reviews and ratings that way.
I've also written a couple of press releases and sent information about Rising Shadow to publications whose audience would have something in common with the characters in the book. Since the story takes place at UCSB and the protagonist is a vegetarian, I sent an email to the Santa Barbara Independent, the UCSB Nexus, Vegetarian Times, and a couple of local vegetarian mailing lists. All but Vegetarian Times replied and ran articles or info about Rising Shadow. The beautiful thing is that all of this has felt very natural...it's not about trying to find the right angle to get on Oprah or in the New York Review of Books. It's about looking for publications that will be glad to know about the book because it would interest their readers and give them something to write about. Once I really focused on it from that perspective, marketing became much easier.
One of the amazing things that happened when I started the marketing process was how people came out of nowhere to help me. My friend Christi, a VP of Marketing in software, wrote up a whole marketing plan for me. A friend of my mom's reached out to me and spent an hour on the phone talking about her experience and suggesting strategies. My friend Ginny put me in touch with an author friend of hers, who gave me some great suggestions. Friends I hadn't seen in years came forward, buying copies of the book to give to friends, posting about it on Facebook, and so on. And my friend Meghan posted an interview with me on her awesome blog, Writerland. It's been a truly humbling and joyful experience to watch people step up to help get my book out there.
But without question, the part that has surprised me the most has been the incredible people I'm meeting as a result of marketing. Writing is a somewhat lonely and isolating endeavor, but when it comes to marketing, suddenly you're in touch with people all over the world. In addition to meeting friends of friends, I've had wonderful exchanges with bloggers, readers on goodreads, fans on The Soterians Facebook page, and people who read this blog.
Case in point: the Coffee for the Brain blog is written by a teacher to promote reading amongst his students. I was blown away that a teacher would go to all the effort of creating a blog with great content and funny video posts just to help his students. I exchanged several emails with him, and I was just as amazed at how excited he was to work with me. He wrote a review of Rising Shadow, interviewed me, and set up a book giveaway for his students. I love his blog, and I never would have known about it if I hadn't been "marketing" Rising Shadow. Meeting people like him who donate their time, skills, and humor to improve other people's lives brings me so much joy and helps balance all the negative stories we hear about people every day.
So don't be afraid of marketing your book. Don't decide you're going to do "just one more editing pass" because you're afraid of what comes next after you publish it. You might find that the marketing process is just as rewarding as the writing itself. The only danger is that you might get so carried away with marketing that you forget to write your next book.
The writing I could do. Editing--no problem. Creating a web site? Been there, done that. A little research on self-publishing was all that was needed to fill in the gaps to get Rising Shadow printed and out the door.
But when it came to marketing the book, I was sure it was going to be horrible. I hate asking my closest friends and family for favors--how much more awful would it be to ask complete strangers to take the time to read my book and write something about it?
What I discovered was that marketing is different from selling, and if you focus on that distinction, you can end up having a lot of fun. Here's what I mean: the point of marketing is to bring a product to the marketplace, to make people aware of it. The key is to do targeted marketing--you wouldn't go door-to-door asking people to read your book. Instead, you want to get the word out to people who would be interested in it and actually want to hear about it. This is actually easier than it sounds.
The first thing I did was to start a fan page for The Soterians on Facebook, and then I created a couple of display ads that are shown only to people I believe fit into my target audience. I started getting fans right away, and then the fun part began: every day, I post a status update or a link to something that's related to my books, writing, music, heroes, or just anything I think my readers might be interested in, and I get to see their reactions. The first time a fan clicked the "Like" link on one of my updates, I was so excited I literally jumped out of my chair.
Next, I started emailing young-adult bloggers. This was fun, because you can't find a more targeted audience than people who subscribe to a blog about the genre of your book. The amazing thing was that almost everyone I emailed was very receptive to reviewing the book. I sent them review copies and sometimes a second copy to use as a giveaway (having good giveaways drives more traffic to their blog), and the reviews are starting to be posted (the first is on one of my favorite blogs, Coffee for the Brain). Similarly, I did a giveaway on goodreads, and over five hundred people signed up. I got some very good reviews and ratings that way.
I've also written a couple of press releases and sent information about Rising Shadow to publications whose audience would have something in common with the characters in the book. Since the story takes place at UCSB and the protagonist is a vegetarian, I sent an email to the Santa Barbara Independent, the UCSB Nexus, Vegetarian Times, and a couple of local vegetarian mailing lists. All but Vegetarian Times replied and ran articles or info about Rising Shadow. The beautiful thing is that all of this has felt very natural...it's not about trying to find the right angle to get on Oprah or in the New York Review of Books. It's about looking for publications that will be glad to know about the book because it would interest their readers and give them something to write about. Once I really focused on it from that perspective, marketing became much easier.
One of the amazing things that happened when I started the marketing process was how people came out of nowhere to help me. My friend Christi, a VP of Marketing in software, wrote up a whole marketing plan for me. A friend of my mom's reached out to me and spent an hour on the phone talking about her experience and suggesting strategies. My friend Ginny put me in touch with an author friend of hers, who gave me some great suggestions. Friends I hadn't seen in years came forward, buying copies of the book to give to friends, posting about it on Facebook, and so on. And my friend Meghan posted an interview with me on her awesome blog, Writerland. It's been a truly humbling and joyful experience to watch people step up to help get my book out there.
But without question, the part that has surprised me the most has been the incredible people I'm meeting as a result of marketing. Writing is a somewhat lonely and isolating endeavor, but when it comes to marketing, suddenly you're in touch with people all over the world. In addition to meeting friends of friends, I've had wonderful exchanges with bloggers, readers on goodreads, fans on The Soterians Facebook page, and people who read this blog.
Case in point: the Coffee for the Brain blog is written by a teacher to promote reading amongst his students. I was blown away that a teacher would go to all the effort of creating a blog with great content and funny video posts just to help his students. I exchanged several emails with him, and I was just as amazed at how excited he was to work with me. He wrote a review of Rising Shadow, interviewed me, and set up a book giveaway for his students. I love his blog, and I never would have known about it if I hadn't been "marketing" Rising Shadow. Meeting people like him who donate their time, skills, and humor to improve other people's lives brings me so much joy and helps balance all the negative stories we hear about people every day.
So don't be afraid of marketing your book. Don't decide you're going to do "just one more editing pass" because you're afraid of what comes next after you publish it. You might find that the marketing process is just as rewarding as the writing itself. The only danger is that you might get so carried away with marketing that you forget to write your next book.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Six Tips for Writers
Several readers have approached me recently asking if I have any tips for them on writing. Funny you should ask, because I have advice to give on just about everything, regardless of whether I actually know anything about it. Luckily, I do know something about writing, and although I don't claim to be a trained mentor in this area, I'm happy to share what I've discovered along the way.
1. Don't Try to Impress Anyone
I think the number-one most important writing tip is to focus on telling a great story about something you really care about, and not to focus on trying to write pretty words. When I was a teenager, I remember focusing a lot on trying to write beautiful prose with not enough emphasis on the story and the characters, because I figured if I wrote enough fancy words, I'd sound smart, and people would like my stuff. It took me a while to realize that I didn't really care about "being taken seriously" as a writer and just really wanted to write great stories, and that made me a much better writer. You really have to write for yourself and not with the idea of whether someone else will think what you're writing sounds good.
2. Think the Story All the Way Through
It's also important to think the story through before writing it. Before I started writing Rising Shadow, I sat and thought a lot about all the characters and their back stories, who their families were, when their birthdays were, and so on. Then, I outlined all five books in the series (not in excruciating detail, just at a high level) before I started writing, and this has worked out great, because I'm planting little seeds in book one that won't mean anything until book five. I think J.K. Rowling does this amazingly well in the Harry Potter books, and I want to provide that same "aha!" moment when you go back and re-read my books as you recognize the little clues I'm laying out.
3. Don't Edit as You Write
The next most important tip is never to try to write perfectly in the first draft. Just get it down on paper. I wrote Rising Shadow in about six weeks and then spent nine months revising it. Just write. Really.
4. NOW Edit
I think the most important part of writing is the editing process, which thankfully I really enjoy. I have no problem slashing out whole sections, and I love getting criticism. This can be hard for a lot of writers--they feel that their words are precious or channeled from above, which makes it very hard to cut things that don't work. It's very important that you get over that barrier. If a scene really doesn't work but you love it, just cut and paste it into another file "for later" so you don't feel like you're throwing out your hard work but you're not keeping stuff that doesn't work in this particular story.
5. Don't Try to Force Inspiration
This is a hard one for control freaks, but really, you can't just say "I'm going to write a novel now" and pluck a topic out of the air. To put in the time and effort required to write a book, you have to write something you really care about, something that lights a fire under you every day. Otherwise, you'll quit after five pages and think you can't do it. If you've tried to write before and didn't get anywhere, you probably didn't have a good story to tell.
So how do you give your muse a little nudge? Read books, see movies, talk to people about what interesting things they're doing, and, my favorite technique: listen to people on public transit and start imagining them as characters and what their lives might be like. One of my favorite characters, Jesse, was inspired by a guy I heard talking to his friend on the train.
If you're at home and can't get out to stare at strangers, think of a topic that you are interested in and sit down to research it. Pretty soon, you'll start stumbling upon stories that spark an idea. This is the part where your family and friends think you've gone mad. "I was thinking about plows, because, you know, I like plows, and I found this story on the Internet about a man who found a thousand year-old plow buried on his farm, and then I started thinking, hey, what if there was a strange message carved on the plow that lead the man to solve a mystery that had been buried for a millennium!" Like that.
6. Learn the Rules
Lastly, get a good book on grammar and punctuation and learn the ins and outs of the mechanics of writing. I recommend The Elements of Style by Strunk & White. Learning the different between that vs. which, its vs. it's, your vs. you're, proper use of commas and semi-colons, and so on will make you a better writer, as you'll have the tools you need to express yourself without struggling. It allows the words to flow out of you much more smoothly, and it saves you a heap of time in the editing phase, allowing you to focus on editing the content, not the mechanics. You can also check out a blog like Meghan Ward's Writerland, which lists all kinds of writing tips including grammar and punctuation. If you want to break the rules, great! But you better have a good reason, and you better know the rules so that you can break them intelligently.
So there are six tips that I think are important for writers. Check back here for more tips in the future. I'm only blogging about once every week or two, because despite what all the experts say, I don't think you have to blog every single day to have a good blog. On the contrary, I think it's important to blog only when you have something important to say. But then again, I tend to disagree with the experts on a lot of things.
Or maybe I just like breaking the rules.
1. Don't Try to Impress Anyone
I think the number-one most important writing tip is to focus on telling a great story about something you really care about, and not to focus on trying to write pretty words. When I was a teenager, I remember focusing a lot on trying to write beautiful prose with not enough emphasis on the story and the characters, because I figured if I wrote enough fancy words, I'd sound smart, and people would like my stuff. It took me a while to realize that I didn't really care about "being taken seriously" as a writer and just really wanted to write great stories, and that made me a much better writer. You really have to write for yourself and not with the idea of whether someone else will think what you're writing sounds good.
2. Think the Story All the Way Through
It's also important to think the story through before writing it. Before I started writing Rising Shadow, I sat and thought a lot about all the characters and their back stories, who their families were, when their birthdays were, and so on. Then, I outlined all five books in the series (not in excruciating detail, just at a high level) before I started writing, and this has worked out great, because I'm planting little seeds in book one that won't mean anything until book five. I think J.K. Rowling does this amazingly well in the Harry Potter books, and I want to provide that same "aha!" moment when you go back and re-read my books as you recognize the little clues I'm laying out.
3. Don't Edit as You Write
The next most important tip is never to try to write perfectly in the first draft. Just get it down on paper. I wrote Rising Shadow in about six weeks and then spent nine months revising it. Just write. Really.
4. NOW Edit
I think the most important part of writing is the editing process, which thankfully I really enjoy. I have no problem slashing out whole sections, and I love getting criticism. This can be hard for a lot of writers--they feel that their words are precious or channeled from above, which makes it very hard to cut things that don't work. It's very important that you get over that barrier. If a scene really doesn't work but you love it, just cut and paste it into another file "for later" so you don't feel like you're throwing out your hard work but you're not keeping stuff that doesn't work in this particular story.
5. Don't Try to Force Inspiration
This is a hard one for control freaks, but really, you can't just say "I'm going to write a novel now" and pluck a topic out of the air. To put in the time and effort required to write a book, you have to write something you really care about, something that lights a fire under you every day. Otherwise, you'll quit after five pages and think you can't do it. If you've tried to write before and didn't get anywhere, you probably didn't have a good story to tell.
So how do you give your muse a little nudge? Read books, see movies, talk to people about what interesting things they're doing, and, my favorite technique: listen to people on public transit and start imagining them as characters and what their lives might be like. One of my favorite characters, Jesse, was inspired by a guy I heard talking to his friend on the train.
If you're at home and can't get out to stare at strangers, think of a topic that you are interested in and sit down to research it. Pretty soon, you'll start stumbling upon stories that spark an idea. This is the part where your family and friends think you've gone mad. "I was thinking about plows, because, you know, I like plows, and I found this story on the Internet about a man who found a thousand year-old plow buried on his farm, and then I started thinking, hey, what if there was a strange message carved on the plow that lead the man to solve a mystery that had been buried for a millennium!" Like that.
6. Learn the Rules
Lastly, get a good book on grammar and punctuation and learn the ins and outs of the mechanics of writing. I recommend The Elements of Style by Strunk & White. Learning the different between that vs. which, its vs. it's, your vs. you're, proper use of commas and semi-colons, and so on will make you a better writer, as you'll have the tools you need to express yourself without struggling. It allows the words to flow out of you much more smoothly, and it saves you a heap of time in the editing phase, allowing you to focus on editing the content, not the mechanics. You can also check out a blog like Meghan Ward's Writerland, which lists all kinds of writing tips including grammar and punctuation. If you want to break the rules, great! But you better have a good reason, and you better know the rules so that you can break them intelligently.
So there are six tips that I think are important for writers. Check back here for more tips in the future. I'm only blogging about once every week or two, because despite what all the experts say, I don't think you have to blog every single day to have a good blog. On the contrary, I think it's important to blog only when you have something important to say. But then again, I tend to disagree with the experts on a lot of things.
Or maybe I just like breaking the rules.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Avoiding Fame and Fortune
People who know me might describe me as a wee bit obsessive. And nothing feeds that side of my nature quite like stats. Oh, the joys of Google analytics! The ability to pore over my clicks and how long people stayed on each page. Oh look, I finally have some readers in Scotland! But shoot, they only stayed on the site for two seconds. Wait, I can cross-reference everything with the cPanel report! Hey, I have four new fans on my Facebook page today, but page interactions are down. How can I better target my ads? And on and on and on.
And then yesterday, I found myself getting depressed. Now, it might have had something to do with working too many hours at my job despite having mono, but a big part of it was the endless racking my brain trying to figure out how to break into a wider market, to make the book go viral, to really give my book wings.
And that's when I realized the hard truth: the only thing that was flying away was the fun. And wasn't that what this was all about in the first place? How did I start out with such noble intentions and still fall prey to the lure of rosy fantasies of fame and fortune? It happened one statistic at a time, that's how.
I think stats are important. They help you see how people are finding your book and who your audience is, all of which helps you make better decisions about advertising. Also, searching the web every morning for my name and book title has helped me find reviews and be able to respond quickly when there have been mistakes. But stats are a tool, not a drug. Looking at them frequently in hopes of getting a rush of excitement is setting yourself up for an ugly crash. And more importantly, it's taking you away from the really important work: writing.
So instead of wasting spare mental cycles thinking about how I can cross the chasm and make it to the big time, rather than daydreaming about getting fan mail and being asked to do book signings, I think my new approach is going to be to try to avoid fame and fortune. I'll check my stats every couple of days to make sure my ads are on target, but with the goal of making the book available to those who want to read it, which was my original intention. I'll keep posting interesting links on my Facebook page about volunteerism, physics, World Toilet Day, and all the other topics I find interesting, not because I'm trying to increase interactivity but because I find something cool I want to share. And most importantly, I'll get back to work on book three, which has been subsumed by my work on marketing book one and trying to finish book two.
So give it a try with me. Put away your book-signing pen and get back to writing. Avoiding fame and fortune isn't easy, but as long as you remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint, you'll have a much better time doing it.
And then yesterday, I found myself getting depressed. Now, it might have had something to do with working too many hours at my job despite having mono, but a big part of it was the endless racking my brain trying to figure out how to break into a wider market, to make the book go viral, to really give my book wings.
And that's when I realized the hard truth: the only thing that was flying away was the fun. And wasn't that what this was all about in the first place? How did I start out with such noble intentions and still fall prey to the lure of rosy fantasies of fame and fortune? It happened one statistic at a time, that's how.
I think stats are important. They help you see how people are finding your book and who your audience is, all of which helps you make better decisions about advertising. Also, searching the web every morning for my name and book title has helped me find reviews and be able to respond quickly when there have been mistakes. But stats are a tool, not a drug. Looking at them frequently in hopes of getting a rush of excitement is setting yourself up for an ugly crash. And more importantly, it's taking you away from the really important work: writing.
So instead of wasting spare mental cycles thinking about how I can cross the chasm and make it to the big time, rather than daydreaming about getting fan mail and being asked to do book signings, I think my new approach is going to be to try to avoid fame and fortune. I'll check my stats every couple of days to make sure my ads are on target, but with the goal of making the book available to those who want to read it, which was my original intention. I'll keep posting interesting links on my Facebook page about volunteerism, physics, World Toilet Day, and all the other topics I find interesting, not because I'm trying to increase interactivity but because I find something cool I want to share. And most importantly, I'll get back to work on book three, which has been subsumed by my work on marketing book one and trying to finish book two.
So give it a try with me. Put away your book-signing pen and get back to writing. Avoiding fame and fortune isn't easy, but as long as you remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint, you'll have a much better time doing it.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Have I Turned Into a Megastore?
I've heard a lot of horror stories about how megastores buy books at 55% off the retail price and then sell them for well below what they paid for them, just to get people to come into the store and buy other stuff. Because they can charge a large markup on other items, they make their money in other ways and use books as bait. Customers want to get the best deal on a book, so they go to the megastore instead of the local bookstore, which doesn't sell items like lawn chairs at a nice profit. The independent bookstores can't compete, they go out of business, and the megastores become the only game in town.
I've been thinking about this a lot, as I've been trying to decide what percentage to set for my wholesale price as I get ready to sign up with Lightning Source, which appears to be the answer to my quest for distribution. I don't want to lure people to a megastore with my book, and I'd prefer that they not be sold in places like that at all, so I'm probably going to set my wholesale price at 50%, which allows independent stores to make a small profit (they actually only get a 40% discount after Lightning Source takes its 10% cut), and it means that Rising Shadow won't be carried by megastores, which insist on a 55% discount before they'll carry your book.
But as I was smugly thinking about how cool I was for turning down potential sales from the megastores, I got to thinking about how I give my book away for free as a PDF on my web site. I might lose some sales this way, but it means that people who can't afford to buy the paperback can still read it, and other people will still buy the paperback because it's annoying to read a 380-page book online. As I've said in previous posts, I'm not trying to maximize my profits. I get my paychecks from my technical writing career, not from writing fiction. But what about people who are trying to make it as a full-time author? Aren't I essentially doing the same thing as a megastore, undercutting other authors by giving my book away for free?
I was especially troubled by this when I read a comment to Cory Doctorow's article in Publishers Weekly, in which he talks about his latest project that involves giving away content for free. The reader blasts Doctorow with the following comment:
Certainly, one could argue that this writer's poor grasp of grammar, punctuation, and spelling is a much bigger barrier to his success than the fact that "old cory" gives away content. But does he have a point? Am I contributing to the ruin of my fellow writers? In short, have I become a megastore?
I finally concluded that it's not a comparable situation, because I'm actually only competing with myself. I'm not giving away other writers' content--I'm giving away my own. The fact that Rising Shadow is available for free might stop someone from buying it in paperback, but it's not going to stop someone from buying another writer's book any more than having a copy available in the local library is undercutting my competition.
The key to all this is quality and content. If you write a great story, people are going to buy it. Even if they read it online or borrow it from the library, many will still buy it. They might put it on their Amazon wish list and request it as a gift. Or they might decide they just have to have it on their bookshelf (or Kindle). Either way, I don't think we should be afraid of giving away content out of a paranoid protectiveness of profits*. I'm certainly doing things a little differently (see the subtitle of this blog), but I'm not harming other writers along the way. In fact, I'm hoping this blog is helpful to writers figuring out this self-publishing thing for the first time.
So I'm relieved to conclude that I'm not a megastore (and neither is "old cory"). Although now that I think about it, maybe my sales would improve if I gave away a lawn chair with each copy of Rising Shadow.
*Disclaimer: alliteration intentional. I liked the way it sounded. Please don't make a snarky comment about it--snarky comments are my job.
I've been thinking about this a lot, as I've been trying to decide what percentage to set for my wholesale price as I get ready to sign up with Lightning Source, which appears to be the answer to my quest for distribution. I don't want to lure people to a megastore with my book, and I'd prefer that they not be sold in places like that at all, so I'm probably going to set my wholesale price at 50%, which allows independent stores to make a small profit (they actually only get a 40% discount after Lightning Source takes its 10% cut), and it means that Rising Shadow won't be carried by megastores, which insist on a 55% discount before they'll carry your book.
But as I was smugly thinking about how cool I was for turning down potential sales from the megastores, I got to thinking about how I give my book away for free as a PDF on my web site. I might lose some sales this way, but it means that people who can't afford to buy the paperback can still read it, and other people will still buy the paperback because it's annoying to read a 380-page book online. As I've said in previous posts, I'm not trying to maximize my profits. I get my paychecks from my technical writing career, not from writing fiction. But what about people who are trying to make it as a full-time author? Aren't I essentially doing the same thing as a megastore, undercutting other authors by giving my book away for free?
I was especially troubled by this when I read a comment to Cory Doctorow's article in Publishers Weekly, in which he talks about his latest project that involves giving away content for free. The reader blasts Doctorow with the following comment:
yup old cory, you made your nut and so you can give it all away for free
now. You're selfish cory, other writers like us havent made it like you
have. We now have your mud rut to follow after your tickertape
parade... so new writers will not be able to make a living at their
writing...becuase you see, according to CORY, everything is FREE. While
he lays in his piles. Your conceit is stunning
Certainly, one could argue that this writer's poor grasp of grammar, punctuation, and spelling is a much bigger barrier to his success than the fact that "old cory" gives away content. But does he have a point? Am I contributing to the ruin of my fellow writers? In short, have I become a megastore?
I finally concluded that it's not a comparable situation, because I'm actually only competing with myself. I'm not giving away other writers' content--I'm giving away my own. The fact that Rising Shadow is available for free might stop someone from buying it in paperback, but it's not going to stop someone from buying another writer's book any more than having a copy available in the local library is undercutting my competition.
The key to all this is quality and content. If you write a great story, people are going to buy it. Even if they read it online or borrow it from the library, many will still buy it. They might put it on their Amazon wish list and request it as a gift. Or they might decide they just have to have it on their bookshelf (or Kindle). Either way, I don't think we should be afraid of giving away content out of a paranoid protectiveness of profits*. I'm certainly doing things a little differently (see the subtitle of this blog), but I'm not harming other writers along the way. In fact, I'm hoping this blog is helpful to writers figuring out this self-publishing thing for the first time.
So I'm relieved to conclude that I'm not a megastore (and neither is "old cory"). Although now that I think about it, maybe my sales would improve if I gave away a lawn chair with each copy of Rising Shadow.
*Disclaimer: alliteration intentional. I liked the way it sounded. Please don't make a snarky comment about it--snarky comments are my job.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Finding Time to Write
One of the things that amazes me is hearing people say "I've always wanted to write a novel, but I just don't have time." The belief that you don't have time to write is absurd. I work at a very demanding job in software where 50- to 60-hour weeks are typical, and I just finished an 80-hour week (no, I don't get overtime pay...don't even ask). I practice martial arts a few times a week. I see a couple of massage clients a week. I'm a managing member of a holding company for a patent. I help my daughter with her homework and all the trials of being thirteen. I spend quality time with my husband. I help out friends and volunteer at my daughter's school. And when I'm not tweaking my web site, writing blog entries, tweeting about cool stuff that's happening in the world of volunteerism, or sleeping, I work on my books.
The one thing I don't do is watch television. There's your answer. Almost everyone can find time to watch a couple hours of TV every night. When's the last time you heard someone say "I've always wanted to watch television, but I just don't have the time"?
In all fairness, writing comes pretty naturally to me. I type ridiculously fast, and the words usually flow out only slightly faster than I can type. But I spend a lot of time editing (it took me about six weeks to write the first draft of Rising Shadow and another nine months to edit it), and that's just all about sitting down and doing it. So even though writing may feel like a lot of work, it's really a matter of facing the blank page, taking a deep breath, and just starting.
Here's the part where people usually say they don't have a quiet place to write. Neither do I. I write on the train on my way to and from work. I write at the dining room table in the middle of the house where all the action is going on around me, specifically so I can be around my family when I'm writing. By deliberately making writing a part of my life and a daily habit, I don't have to drum up the energy to write. It's just what I do.
The real question is not when will you find time to write, it's what will you write about? If you don't have an idea you feel passionate about, you won't write. If you have a cool idea but you're having trouble writing the first page, start in the middle. Just start writing. You can always throw it out later, and you don't have to show it to anyone. Just start. Right now.
Also, if you have a fun scene in your mind that you can't wait to write, you can either dive in and write that first, or you can save it and use it as a carrot. In my third book (which is now about 70% written), I knew I was driving the plot toward a major crisis point that was going to be a lot of fun to write. I was tempted to just write that scene, but I decided to save it as a reward instead, and it encouraged me to write an extra page or two a day so I could finally get to the fun part of writing that scene.
So please don't say you don't have time to write. When you tell yourself that, you basically say that life has prevented you from doing this thing you really want to do. Write a page a day, and in a year, you'll have a novel. And if you don't have a great idea, then just be honest with yourself that it's not that you don't have time, it's that you're still waiting for inspiration to strike. But when it does strike, seize it with both hands and run with it, because there really is nothing quite like writing your first novel.
Most of all, enjoy the hell out of the process. Holding your first finished novel in your hands is an amazing feeling, but it's the process that's so much fun. Every time you write, it's like journeying into another world. It's a mini-vacation at your computer, in the midst of all the craziness of your regular life. Maybe that's why the train and the dining room table are such great spots, because if I were sitting in a tranquil paradise, I would be much more interested in looking out the window than escaping into the world of The Soterians that I've created.
So go, create your own alternate reality, and write yourself into that adventure you've been wanting to have. It's a wonderful way to escape. And best of all, there are no commercials.
The one thing I don't do is watch television. There's your answer. Almost everyone can find time to watch a couple hours of TV every night. When's the last time you heard someone say "I've always wanted to watch television, but I just don't have the time"?
In all fairness, writing comes pretty naturally to me. I type ridiculously fast, and the words usually flow out only slightly faster than I can type. But I spend a lot of time editing (it took me about six weeks to write the first draft of Rising Shadow and another nine months to edit it), and that's just all about sitting down and doing it. So even though writing may feel like a lot of work, it's really a matter of facing the blank page, taking a deep breath, and just starting.
Here's the part where people usually say they don't have a quiet place to write. Neither do I. I write on the train on my way to and from work. I write at the dining room table in the middle of the house where all the action is going on around me, specifically so I can be around my family when I'm writing. By deliberately making writing a part of my life and a daily habit, I don't have to drum up the energy to write. It's just what I do.
The real question is not when will you find time to write, it's what will you write about? If you don't have an idea you feel passionate about, you won't write. If you have a cool idea but you're having trouble writing the first page, start in the middle. Just start writing. You can always throw it out later, and you don't have to show it to anyone. Just start. Right now.
Also, if you have a fun scene in your mind that you can't wait to write, you can either dive in and write that first, or you can save it and use it as a carrot. In my third book (which is now about 70% written), I knew I was driving the plot toward a major crisis point that was going to be a lot of fun to write. I was tempted to just write that scene, but I decided to save it as a reward instead, and it encouraged me to write an extra page or two a day so I could finally get to the fun part of writing that scene.
So please don't say you don't have time to write. When you tell yourself that, you basically say that life has prevented you from doing this thing you really want to do. Write a page a day, and in a year, you'll have a novel. And if you don't have a great idea, then just be honest with yourself that it's not that you don't have time, it's that you're still waiting for inspiration to strike. But when it does strike, seize it with both hands and run with it, because there really is nothing quite like writing your first novel.
Most of all, enjoy the hell out of the process. Holding your first finished novel in your hands is an amazing feeling, but it's the process that's so much fun. Every time you write, it's like journeying into another world. It's a mini-vacation at your computer, in the midst of all the craziness of your regular life. Maybe that's why the train and the dining room table are such great spots, because if I were sitting in a tranquil paradise, I would be much more interested in looking out the window than escaping into the world of The Soterians that I've created.
So go, create your own alternate reality, and write yourself into that adventure you've been wanting to have. It's a wonderful way to escape. And best of all, there are no commercials.
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