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August 09th, 2015

8/9/2015

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Two Years Out - What Was I Thinking?

9/18/2014

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It’s been two years since I started Bacon Press Books. Like almost anything in my life, when I look back I marvel at how young and naïve I was. Mostly ignorant and a little dumb. I thought I could learn how to turn books, hardback and paper, into eBooks. It seemed simple enough. It seemed like the future of books. And once I learned, I could teach people how to do it. I’m not a marketer, don’t have great business sense, can’t even spell entrepreneur correctly half the time. I’m a writer and a teacher.

I’m also a reader. I’d read enough very decent manuscripts that never got published to believe there were a lot of books out there that deserved to be published. EBooks seemed the answer.

Then I started learning about independent publishing. Without exaggeration, I have spent at least 4-5 hours a day for the past two years learning about independent publishing. And I still don’t know the half of it.

But here’s what I’ve picked up so far.
  • It’s better to have both a paperback and an EBook, rather than an EBook alone. 
  • It costs money. To do it right costs even more money. 
Unlike starting a freelance writing business, independent publishing requires some capital. I’ve seen estimates ranging from $2,000 to $30,000 per book. That’s for editing, cover design, interior design, promotion, and marketing. We’ve been doing it for less, but I don’t know how long that will be true.
  • It’s all about the authors. 
While publishers can do some things to promote a book, the real push has to come from the authors. They’re the ones who can connect with readers. They’re the ones who have a story to tell. Readers really don’t care who publishes a book. Sure, writers get a boost from being selected by a prestigious, traditional publisher. But readers? All that matters is a good story. They do care about their favorite authors. Sometimes passionately.

But the corollary is:
  • Many authors hate promotion. 
They want, hope, and expect someone else to do it. Can't fault them - I'm the same way. Call it the fantasy of being a published author. Somehow the world should know about their books without having to be told.

And the conclusion is:
  • If an author won’t promote a book, it won’t sell. 
No matter how much we do to gain exposure for a book, if the author isn’t in it with us, we can’t get very far. 
  • There are thousands of services out there to help authors promote their books. 
They all cost money. Only some are effective. 
  • Sometimes reviews help sell books. Sometimes they don’t. 
The issue of paying for reviews isn’t as simple as it first sounds. And it sounds awful. Worse than having your mother write a glowing review. But the truth is professional reviewers get paid to write reviews. Whether the money comes from traditional publishers paying a yearly fee, or independent publishers and authors paying a one-time fee, reviewers need to be compensated for their time and expertise. There is no quid pro quo. Four hundred dollars doesn’t guarantee a rave review. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t get you much of a review at all.

The corollary here is:
  • Most readers won’t bother to write a review. 
Even if they’re willing to send the author a letter saying how much they loved the book. There is no magic formula for getting readers to comment publicly. Sometimes that's a good thing. 
  • Sometimes radio interviews help sell books. Sometimes they don’t. 
The same is true for offering the book for free, offering giveaways, participating in blog tours. Books aren’t like toothpaste. You don’t need them every day, even if you love them. And the way readers buy books is individual, quirky, and unpredictable.
  • Only a handful of authors make it to the major leagues. 
True in every field. But at least in other fields the second stringers can make a living. 
  • The independent publishing community is great for offering free, useful advice. 
That's why I've been able to spend all this time learning. 


The corollary here is:
  • Many of those who have spent years giving free advice are now trying to monetize that with webinars, special reports, training, and products. 
The advice is still good but it just makes the whole publishing enterprise more costly. 

And in case it needs to be stated:

  • There is not a lot of money to be made publishing books. 
At least not yet. 

Here’s what else I’ve learned.
  • I’m not seeing as many wonderful manuscripts as I had expected. 
A friend who’s been in traditional publishing for more than 30 years told me recently that he no longer believes there are great books languishing out there. The good ones find a home. The rest don’t and shouldn’t. He asked me to come back in a few years and tell him he’s wrong.

So far, I can’t. Many of the manuscripts I’ve received aren’t ready to be published. That won’t stop the authors. They’ll go ahead and find some place to get published, rather than spend the months, maybe years, it would take to rewrite the books and make them publishable. I can’t change that and I’m not sure I want to. After all, that’s what this new publishing world is all about. The freedom to get your books in print.

The bottom line: 
  • When I get a really good manuscript, it’s a thrill. 
  • When I read it again after the author has spent some time working with our gifted editor, I’m even more pleased. 
  • When I see what our brilliant cover designer has come up with, it’s a kick. 
  • When I see how our incredible interior designer has laid out the words in a way that is very much like an art itself, I’m delighted. 
  • And when I hold the finished book, looking as professional as any I’ve seen, I’m still amazed. 

I could do that every day for the rest of my life. 

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What Value Proposition? Why all that marketing advice is blowing smoke

6/15/2014

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As we’re getting ready to launch a new book--The Clear Blue Line by Al Sprague--we’re re-reading the marketing advice we’ve collected for months. At first, it all sounds good and we’re sure it must be the way to go since everyone seems to say the same things.

But. When we take time to think about it . . .

Stress the value
Let’s start with the admonition to tell people the benefits, the what’s in it for them, the value proposition. Here’s the thing. What are the benefits of a novel? For us it’s part of our lives. It's getting lost in other places and other lives. It’s a good way to spend a weekend or a rainy day. It’s better than the 11 o’clock news. But do we really have to tell people that? Don’t most people have their own reasons for why they’ll spend their time on fiction?

Create an Email List

Then there’s the advice to create an email list. Yes. This is a very good way to let people know that we’re launching a new book. But to be honest, at this point we regret at least half the mailing lists we’ve signed up for. We don’t want emails every day or once a week or maybe at all from all these experts saying the same thing, and then sneaking in a way to sell us something. To be honest, we don’t have enough to report every week or even every month.

Give Something Away

We're not all that keen on give aways either. It's nice to get something free. But we've got so many free marketing guides and lists that they're just not worth much.


Get Active on Social Media

No list would be complete without the constant instruction to get active on social media. To post on Facebook, for example, once or twice a day, on Twitter five times a day, on LinkedIn whenever possible. And so on. But like the emails that arrive too often, so do all those posts. They don’t make us feel all that connected to the people posting.  

Clearly, we’re suffering from information overload. But experts need to keep giving advice, otherwise they’re out of business. When they get tired of saying the same tired things, there are the infographics that prove email lists are better than social media. Or that the best time to post on Twitter is the weekend. Or that people like posts with photos and videos. Ho-hum.

Use a Call to Action
The last, and maybe most repeated, is that every post, tweet, blog, whatever needs a call to action. Buy my book, like my page, join my network. Which seems to run counter to what sophisticated advertisers are doing these days. Sure, there are still the mattress guys who shout at us to hurry on down. But we don’t because we think those guys are obnoxious.

And yet all of us eager to find the real secret to generating interest in a new book, are being told to act like it’s the 50s again, when consumers were innocent enough to believe advertisers had our best interests in mind.

The Take Away

The truth is a book is not the same kind of commodity. Reading is personal, no matter how much book groups or social sharing sites want to pretend it isn’t. If you like erotic vampire thrillers you may not go for classic dystopian westerns.

Our new book is about three friends who are crazy about free diving and spearfishing. It’s set in Panama in the 70s. There’s lots of action and adventure, romance, sex, sharks, and pirates.

We don’t need an email list, a social media presence, a brand and a platform to tell you whether or not this is for you. You already know what you like.


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The Selfie Interview

3/31/2014

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There’s a lot to get used to in this new world of indie publishing.

Take interviews. They used to be part of the daydream of getting published. One day, after you’d received glowing reviews on your third or fourth book, after you’d been accepted into the elite circle of known and accomplished writers, someone, maybe a newspaper reporter, would call you for an interview.

You’d be on guard, of course, because you’d heard they could trick you or twist your words. And if you met over breakfast or lunch, you’d be careful not to order something messy.

A few weeks later, there you’d be, in the Style or Entertainment Section, below the fold, with a photo in front of your bookshelves holding your cat. A writer.

But the point was, you’d earned the interview. Through your work. Either several well-written books or one breakthrough, debut novel that was breathtaking.

In other words, an interview meant something. It not only meant you’d achieved something in your writing, it also meant that people would be interested in learning more about you. Readers who’d loved your book, other authors who hoped to achieve the same success.

The Selfie Interview

Cut to today’s world and it’s a whole different story. You can interview yourself on your blog or on Smashwords or in your press release that you send out yourself. Or you can answer pat interview questions on hundreds of book-promoting websites.

It doesn’t matter if this is your first book, if you’re only beginning to gain readers, if your book, to be honest, isn’t all that great--you get an interview. And your interview gets published.

You get to reveal your inspiration. Your favorite books. Your thoughts on life and literature, even philosophy and the economy if you want.

Years ago I read an excellent article in Esquire and unfortunately never saved it. It was about the difference between being serious about yourself and taking yourself too seriously. The writer said it better than I can, but the gist was that it’s okay to be serious about your work, to set aside time to write, to keep on improving, but not so much to take yourself as a “Writer” too seriously. Self-inflation gets in the way of being creative.  

When I read through these current “interviews,” I keep thinking about that article. So many writers taking themselves so seriously so soon in their careers. So eager to talk about their influences and where they came up with titles for their books, what they like best about writing, and what writers they admire. As if there’s an audience.

Much as I love most of what’s happening in publishing today, there are aspects of it that give me pause. How can a writer keep on improving if he or she is already granted the privileges that used to come from really learning what it takes to write a really good book?

To answer my own question, building a platform isn’t the same as honing your craft. Maybe it’s not serving anyone--readers, writers, publishers--to place so much emphasis on marketing so soon in a writer’s career. Good books are still worth much more than great platforms.  

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