Hard Truths Every Self-Publishing Author Must Know (That Advocates Donʼt Tell You) Hard Truths Every Self-Publishing Author Must Know (That Advocates Don’t Tell You) By Jill Bennett About The Author Jill Bennett is LitFire’s spokesperson and publicist. She has several years of publishing and book marketing experience under her belt. Also under her belt is the mastery in taking care of three cats named Ginger, Pepper, and Marty. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author and publisher. www.litfirepublishing.com This guide is provided to you by LitFire Publishing, your lifetime self- publishing partner. If you would like to know more about our services, please contact us at 1-800-511-9787 or e-mail us at [email protected] Hard Truths Every Self-Publishing Author Must Know (That Advocates Don’t Tell You) With the current book publishing landscape, today has never been a more perfect time to write. Times are better for writers than they used to be. True. However, if you dream of a blossoming career as an indie author, you need a reliable plan in place, or else your work may end up down a hole where it will never see daylight again. Also, because almost everyone has discovered the viable and popular route to publication that is self-publishing, there’s been a lot of noise obscuring the entrance to that route. Understanding the tough truths about self-publishing will help you build a firm foundation for the publishing journey ahead of you. Truth #1: You are responsible for your success (or failure). This is both a reward and a significant deterrence. The moment you decide to self-publish, you must think like an entrepreneur. While writing is an art, publishing is a business. Authors are in the bookselling business, and no matter how you look at it, business will always be business. When cartoonist Lars Martinson submitted the first of a series of webcomics to Reddit, his site’s visitors jumped from 100 a day to 48,342 within a single day. That’s a 25,000 percent increase in website traffic. He took this spike as an opportunity to sell shiploads of eBooks. You’d think he would sell a ton of books, yes? Well, actually, no, he sold 23. That means only 0.048% of the extra visitors purchased. Here’s the thing about advertising on the Internet: you can tweet, blog, and use Facebook to tell everyone to buy your book, because that’s what you want them to do. You can do all these things but still make little progress. To increase book sales, what you need is: • Dedication • Consistency – stay active in your book marketing efforts • A multitude of bookselling methods Below are bookselling tips and tactics to help you maximize your book’s sales potential. 1. Social Media Marketing When it comes to social media marketing, your target should be audience engagement and brand awareness. With these goals in mind, you can create and share content that can attract clicks, reads, and even book orders. So, the first step should be to grab attention. You can do this by posting a photo of the vintage car your character drives on Pinterest; sharing an article about the historical event that inspired your story; or tweeting a link to a review from a book blogger. There are endless things you can do. Always post interesting, inspirational, or entertaining pieces of content and use a compelling headline so people will like, share, favorite, and comment. On Facebook, always like and comment back when people comment on your posts. They will appreciate the attention from you, and this will encourage them to interact with you. 2. Blogging/Author Website Think about the last author or book you really liked. What did you want to do after finding this brilliant writer or great read? Probably follow the author’s blog; like their Facebook page; watch their interviews on YouTube, etc. This is one of the many reasons to blog – give people a place where they can learn more about you. A blog is a staple of all authors these days. This is where you can provide valuable information about yourself and your book; link to social media; offer details about the next giveaway or promo; and post about anything to your heart’s content. Don’t just blog about your thoughts; post writing tips, book recommendations, and posts about your experiences in writing and publishing. These posts are the kind that book fans, writers, and authors like to read. 3. Book Reviews Reviews are influencers. Even negative reviews can arouse people’s curiosity about your book. Word of mouth has been a huge advertising tactic for most of the popular books in the history of literature – how did Fifty Shades of Grey received so much fame? Nothing propels word of mouth advertising better than getting a reviewer with authority say that everyone should read your book. 4. Book Festivals/Exhibits There are all kinds of people who visit book exhibits, namely, literary agents, publishers, librarians, educators, and of course, book lovers, all of whom are there to find new authors and titles and to buy books. Book festival facilitators often seek authors to showcase their book and give talks, and they usually have several events throughout the year. If you miss an event, go for the next one. If you have a physical book, don’t let opportunities to join book festivals slip away. Use a mixture of online and offline tactics to increase exposure of your book. 5. Get Involved with the Community Book clubs are everywhere on the Internet. Such groups are usually comprised of authors and bookworms who love talking about book recommendations, books they’ve penned, and anything related to their interests (we all want someone to talk to about our interests after all). Some of the websites where you can find them are Goodreads, LinkedIn, and Meetup, as well as Facebook Groups and Facebook Pages for authors. The best part is that members often help each other out to promote books from other members. Befriend, get involved, and network with these groups. Note that most book clubs using Facebook Groups are exclusive and closed to the public. Only when you befriend individual members who will vouch for you to be invited can you join a group. 6. Media Exposure If you get picked up by the media, they can do the information dissemination on your behalf. Seeking media exposure can be as simple as writing a guest post for blogs or as effortful as seeing TV, radio, or print interviews. The secret to garner media exposure is telling your story in an intriguing angle and finding your platform or niche. Start from there and you’re bound to draw attention. Truth #2: Many self-published authors earn less than $500 a year. Of course, this would imply that most of these authors have bookselling as their night job and that superstar authors like Amanda Hocking are an exception. With Hocking raking in millions in book sales, Fifty Shades author E.L. James exploding into mainstream America, and a bunch of other self-published successes, it seems like the self-publishing sector is a goldmine for authors. However, a survey of 1,007 self- published authors conducted by The Guardian found that half of writers are earning less than $500. On the other hand, many authors don’t measure their success by reaching the 1,000 or 50,000 mark in sales; money isn’t always the primary goal. They see success based on achieving specific goals. Your goal might be selling 10 books a month, and that’s already a measure of success. The same survey by The Guardian found that only 5% of respondents considered themselves “unsuccessful.” Most of the surveyed writers were still eager to continue with self-publishing and release more books. Survey findings aside, the question now is: How can you reach your bookselling goals? What can you do to be one of the authors who found fame and fortune in the self-publishing business? First, look at how traditionally published books are presented, distributed, and marketed. Traditionalist books are professionally packaged to make them the best they can be. So: • Invest in a good cover design – A great cover that accurately reflects your book and your title can make the difference between a professionally constructed book and an amateurish attempt at writing a book. Consumers actually judge a book by its cover. Get a cover that will leave an impression, particularly a good one, on whoever chances upon your book. • Use multiple distribution channels – Distribution will allow authors to actually get their books in front of readers. Examples of distribution channels are Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There are thousands of book distribution channels, whether you have eBook or a print version of your novel, but for optimal visibility, make sure to target the major ones, such as Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Program, Kobo, and Apple iBooks. • See tips in Truth #1 – It doesn’t end with just distributing your book; you also need to promote and market them. The list of marketing methods in #1 will definitely help you get the most out of every source of sales. • Implement professional copyediting and proofreading – You may want to remain artful and maintain a particular writing style, but remember that you’re also writing for an audience.