Self-Published: my journey

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profen4

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You are very ambitious. There is no way I could ever write that fast. I'm amazed at those who can. Write on!

Thanks, Ann. I actually have the books written, it's just that I usually think on the route I want to take them before I dive in. So I have this 8 book series that my agent is considering, I hadn't actually thought about them as a possibility for the trade market but I'm keen to get some feedback all the same. Plus, I have the title I wrote for my agent to pitch. If that doesn't sell I'll put it out on my own, and then I have the 4th book in my Dean Curse series (sig), as well as the 2nd book in my Cambridge Files series (sig).

Lots of writing, but I tend to believe that it's a numbers game. You can make it as a writer by knocking one out of the park, or you can make it by building up the back-list.
 

Ann Joyce

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That's all very interesting. Good for you, and I hope it all unfolds in a way that gives you the most momentum!
 

profen4

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One thing I will share, I was told early on that I should set up google-alerts or 'mentions' for my name/book titles/ etc. and ensure I was maximizing exposure each venue that popped up had to offer. And while that might make sense for some authors or titles, I didn't feel it was the right move for me.

What I did instead, was set google-alerts and 'mentions' for book titles LIKE mine (i.e. same market, same genre... etc). When I receive hits, I investigate and determine if I could benefit from the same source. It has proven to be a very effective move.
 

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congrats on the newest release. I hope you get the increase in sales! I wish I could find that focus for writing. What is your secret? I get distracted, especially now that it's summer and my kiddies are home.

Can't wait to see your update on sales.
 

Judy Koot

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This thread is chock-full of good advice, thanks for sharing your journey, Steve!
I really admire the way you go about this, you seem to be very focused and professional, creating a solid and consistent "Whibley brand".
Good luck with the sales of your new book(s)!
 

Mclesh

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I have book two in the series on NetGalley right now. I believe that Netgalley is one of the most effective tools I've used to help build sales. I highly recommend it, at least for kid-lit. I split one slot with another writer and 6 months a year is perfect for me. Next year I might take a whole slot just because the plan is to have 13 titles out by then.

Profen, this is something I've been considering. I've heard pluses and minuses from authors about using NetGalley. Honestly, the price is the main barrier for me. I'd like to release book 1 of my MG paranormal/humor series in mid-October, but I'm waiting for my husband (the creative force) to get his act together on the layout and design. (Aaaah!)
:Shrug:
If you don't mind, can you explain how one goes about splitting the cost with another author or even a group? How does that work? (I've heard of people doing this but don't really "get" it.)

Thank you in advance!
 

profen4

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Hi Mclesh,
I don't mind at all.

So you'd be looking for a co-op which is basically this: one person has taken on the responsibility of a full 20book Net galley slot, and then they sell the slots they don't want to other authors. So usually you have 20 authors for 20 slots.

Each slot is $300 and it's good for 12 months, and you can switch the title you have in the slot. So when you split one slot with another author, you're just saying you'll pay $150 for 6 of the 12 months. You need to establish what months you want.

All you do is go in before the end of each month (log in) and set up the book page/information sheet. Then you email the administrator with a cover and eBook attached, and they add it to the page you created. Then you archive whatever title is presently occupying the slot, and activate the new title.

It's really simple - the hardest part is finding someone who wants to split a slot with you.

As for the good vs. bad: I heard netgalley reviewers were harsh, and I've found that to be true, but I really am not bothered by negative reviews. Also, the crossover of reviews to Amazon is pretty small. For me, as an example, not a single netgalley review has crossed over to Amazon. The crossover to Goodreads are quite high.

But for kid-lit, the biggest plus is the librarians. As long as you have the infrastructure in place before you dive in, you can get some pretty good orders/contacts that way. If you can sort out how the whole smashwords/overdrive connection works that would be another major score.

Good luck! Your book sounds fun. Looking forward to seeing it. If you want me to clarify anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers
 
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Literateparakeet

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McLesh, I did a shared co-op with these guys:

http://www.patchwork-press.com/class-of-2013-2014/

It was easy and worked out great. I sent them the info and my $, they handled everything else and forwarded the reviews.

The only thing that I didn't like about the experience was a review that said, "Well I didn't read the blurb, so I thought this would be different and I didn't like it" etc, etc.

But the person from Patchwork Press had warned me because the same thing happened to her. So be aware of that. Still I plan to do it again for my second book because I think it's good exposure. And it's better not to have all your reviews be five stars anyway, LOL!
 

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What I did instead, was set google-alerts and 'mentions' for book titles LIKE mine (i.e. same market, same genre... etc). When I receive hits, I investigate and determine if I could benefit from the same source. It has proven to be a very effective move.

I love this idea! Thanks, you are full of really helpful ideas.
 

Mclesh

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McLesh, I did a shared co-op with these guys:

http://www.patchwork-press.com/class-of-2013-2014/

It was easy and worked out great. I sent them the info and my $, they handled everything else and forwarded the reviews.

The only thing that I didn't like about the experience was a review that said, "Well I didn't read the blurb, so I thought this would be different and I didn't like it" etc, etc.

But the person from Patchwork Press had warned me because the same thing happened to her. So be aware of that. Still I plan to do it again for my second book because I think it's good exposure. And it's better not to have all your reviews be five stars anyway, LOL!

Oh, great. Thank you for that link! Profen mentioned that he doesn't mind the tough reviews. I'm developing a thicker skin. It's good to be able to ignore them, but I admit they do bum me out a little. ;)

This gives me a lot to think about. :)
 

profen4

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Oh, great. Thank you for that link! Profen mentioned that he doesn't mind the tough reviews. I'm developing a thicker skin. It's good to be able to ignore them, but I admit they do bum me out a little. ;)

This gives me a lot to think about. :)

I think it's a mentality thing when it comes to reviews, not so much thick skin. If you ONLY get bad reviews, that might not be easy to take, but if you have a mix it's a sign that your book is getting out past those people who know you.

I would love for more people to cross-post their reviews to Amazon, but not because I want more reviews for the sake of having reviews, rather X# of reviews are required for certain promo opportunities.

And while the reviews can be quite pointed on NetGalley, I've found them to be unusually thoughtful too (as in, they lay out what they don't like).

One thing that you need to do (or at least what I found helpful) is to indicate in the description what the target age group is (actual ages). I was getting some reviews for my book that said, "Maybe I'd like this if I were 14, but I don't know why it would be in the YA category if that's who the author is writing for" And while writers know that 14 is YA, readers expectations and experiences with "YA" can vary.

As soon as I indicated target age group, the reviewers were more targeted and the feedback was a lot better.
 

Mclesh

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I think it's a mentality thing when it comes to reviews, not so much thick skin. If you ONLY get bad reviews, that might not be easy to take, but if you have a mix it's a sign that your book is getting out past those people who know you.

I would love for more people to cross-post their reviews to Amazon, but not because I want more reviews for the sake of having reviews, rather X# of reviews are required for certain promo opportunities.

And while the reviews can be quite pointed on NetGalley, I've found them to be unusually thoughtful too (as in, they lay out what they don't like).

One thing that you need to do (or at least what I found helpful) is to indicate in the description what the target age group is (actual ages). I was getting some reviews for my book that said, "Maybe I'd like this if I were 14, but I don't know why it would be in the YA category if that's who the author is writing for" And while writers know that 14 is YA, readers expectations and experiences with "YA" can vary.

As soon as I indicated target age group, the reviewers were more targeted and the feedback was a lot better.

I think that is really important--getting the categories right. I will definitely give a target age range for my books. (I've been thinking 9 through 12 for mine.)

I read some reviews on Goodreads for a YA book that was compared to a literary classic in its blurb. The NetGalley reviewers ended up leaving 1-stars because of the comparison and the book not fulfilling its promise. So, yeah, we need to be careful and not oversell. Yikes! (In the case of the book with the 1-stars, I'm guessing it was the publisher and not the author who wrote the jacket copy. I did feel for the poor author.)
 

profen4

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I've come to believe the hardest part of self-publishing is timing. Deciding how best to split your time between writing and publishing, and family and work is a real struggle. Everything can be terrific, and you might have a system down-pat, and then your child gets sick and your scrambling to play catchup. - that's just a random thought I kind of needed to get out. Back to it :)
 

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One thing I will share, I was told early on that I should set up google-alerts or 'mentions' for my name/book titles/ etc. and ensure I was maximizing exposure each venue that popped up had to offer. And while that might make sense for some authors or titles, I didn't feel it was the right move for me.

What I did instead, was set google-alerts and 'mentions' for book titles LIKE mine (i.e. same market, same genre... etc). When I receive hits, I investigate and determine if I could benefit from the same source. It has proven to be a very effective move.

Can you explain this concept or how to do a little more? :)
 

profen4

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Can you explain this concept or how to do a little more? :)

Sure. So google alerts and mention.com are good tools. (if you find more, please let me know) So what I'd do, for example, is set alerts for books like mine, and then when alerts pop up, I'd try to get the same source to read my book.

But it's actually a bit trickier than that. I could set an alert for the Alex Rider series, for example, which is a good comparable for my target audience, but not all that useful for trying to get the same marketing opportunities since it's already a huge success.

What I did instead was first seek out publishers who are small, or new imprints of larger presses, but who publish the kind of stuff I write (I would make sure the people behind the scenes knew what they're doing). Then I set alerts for books in their catalog - new books - and I waited for the alerts to start. If you've picked a well regarded press, it won't take long (they'll have marketing people working hard).

I'd get hits from reviewers, schools (who had picked the titles up for reading challenges), reading/book groups, etc etc, and you just approach professionally and offer your book for their consideration.

If you get the book alert set up quick enough, the first hits are going to be those targeted by the marketing team.
 

profen4

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If you can find some self-published authors killing it in your genre/market that person would be worth watching too. But they might have blogs/twitter etc where they explain a lot of what they do.
 
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I just wanted to post and say Thank you for the very informative and helpful report! You seem like a man with a plan! I'm sure you are already well on your way to reaching your goals!
 

profen4

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Okay, so I decided to make my first title GLIMPSE, free for November/December. And I've done that. Now, moving eBooks has never been something I've done well. I've moved a lot, but with a few thousand sales a large percentage of them have been print. I wondered if making book 1 free would translate into more ebooks sold.

I just noticed that GLIMPSE is *almost* in the top 100 for free books, and that there has been some cary over. But more than that, I've seen an increase in print sales... I'll update at the end of the month when I see the numbers for a full month (set the book to free a bit earlier than Nov01 just to make sure the price change propagated).

Cheers
 

Judy Koot

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Profen4, a while back I won an ebook and a hardback edition of "Disruption".
Haven't read it myself yet, but just wanted to let you know that I gave the hardback to my sister, who absolutely loved it.
She told me she couldn't stop reading and sometimes even neglected her kids to finish a chapter... heheh.
She's looking forward to your next book.
 
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profen4

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Profen4, a while back I won an ebook and a hardback edition of "Disruption".
Haven't read it myself yet, but just wanted to let you know that I gave the hardback to my sister, who absolutely loved it.
She told me she couldn't stop reading and sometimes even neglected her kids to finish a chapter... heheh.
She's looking forward to your next book.

That's great to hear, Athena. Thanks so much for sharing. Book 2 is done, actually, but you know, one of the struggles of self-publishing is picking which title to invest in next. I tend to spend a bit more on my titles than other SP'ers, and as a result book 2 won't be out until next year. But not too far away, and baring any unforeseen circumstances #2 will be followed quickly by book #3

Thanks again! (and please tell your sister her comments made my day :))
 

profen4

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A couple updates: First, I am giving Kindle Unlimited a try for all my books. This was a tough decision and it's resulted in a dramatic drop in sales, but I'm hoping once I start doing some promotion (in the coming weeks) it'll prove to be a smart move.

Second, after over a year of writing, I'm finally gearing up to release a few books. The first few will be part of a new series for which I've got the first 8 done. It's going to be a good experiment to release so many books all at once (or rather, in quick succession). I'm thinking I'll release one ever 2 weeks starting in a couple months. Since I'm a bit cover-art obsessed, I'll share the before and after cover mockup that will be part of the series. The pencil drawing is what I sent to the designer I'm using, and the other is what he came up with.

sketch20of203.jpg
BOOK20320A20GAME20OF20THORNS-a-E-BOOK-small.jpg
 
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