Time to Write

People DO judge a book by its cover - 3 bad examples

The stigma of self-publishing and assisted publishing (in which you pay a publisher to produce your book) is long gone. Many good and successful books have been self-published both traditionally and as ebooks. But one thing that seems to have persisted is the tradition of terrible covers.

People DO judge a book by its cover. If the cover is not inviting, they are unlikely to check out the rest of it.

I hope I'm not being cruel by including these three examples. Just to be clear, I'm not saying these books are bad in any way other than their cover design.  Their content may well be brilliant but I find the covers a turn-off. Let's take a look:

Any idea what this one might be about?

No, me neither.

It's actually a science fiction thriller. 

Less can be more, but in this case, it's less.

It reminds me of the joke, "Not only is the food terrible, the portions are way too small." In this case, not only is the type boring, it's way too small.

 

 

 

 

At least the title of this one gives you some clue as to the genre, but since the protagonist is an 11-year-old boy I assume it's geared to young readers. Do you think they'd be curious to turn to the first page?

Could the designer have made the secondary print any smaller? It says, "A boy trying to find his meaning in the universe unexpectedly saves it." Not a bad logline. Too bad you need a magnifying glass to read it. Ditto for the line telling us this is "The First Book in the Secret Agent Series."

 

 

Didn't ANYBODY notice that the image makes it hard to read the title and the name of the author? Making the text white would have solved that, although it wouldn't have made it a good cover.

Based on the title ("To Slight the Jacket Blue") and image, what kind of book do you think this is? 

My guess was poetry.

The blurb is, "When Ned is sent to the Caribbean to hunt pirates, he hopes to avenge the death of his best friend, Sam."

Pirates! Adventure! Danger!

Too bad all the cover says is, "Waves on a gloomy day."

These three are all from a company called fastpencil. Their design services include custom cover design for $299, Custom PLUS cover design for $599, and Premium Cover Design for $899. The covers of most of their books are case studies in what not to do. If any of the three authors above paid a penny for their cover designs they should ask for their money back.

 

 

 

 

 

If you're a writer, there are no opportunities

In his book, Creative Mischief, advertising genius Dave Trott writes:

"I hear people complaining that there are no opportunities.

That no one will give them a chance.

There's nothing they can do and it's not their fault.

Here's a thing. 

There have never been any opportunities.

No one was ever feeling sorry for themselves, when someone knocked on the door and said, "How would you like me to show you a way out of this?"

It doesn't happen like that.

Never has, never will.

That's like sitting around hoping to win the lottery.

It's about hope. 

And hope is putting your problem in somebody else's hands,

Hope isn't very creative."

THE ALTERNATIVE TO HOPE IS ACTION

Trott goes on to give some examples of people in the advertising world who took action when there were no opportunities. I've done it a few times myself:

When I moved to Hollywood and had no contacts, I started a newsletter about screenwriting and interviewed agents, producers, and experienced writers. Through those contacts, I was able to get an agent.

When I noticed that there was a new person appointed to be the head of a publishing division for business personal development books, I called to find out her email address. I congratulated her and mentioned that I happened to have an idea for that kind of book and described it in a couple of lines. She asked for more information, then to meet, and eventually published three of my books. 

And one non-business example: When I was a teenager I read in the paper that Rod Serling, the producer, writer, and frontman of my favorite TV series, The Twilight Zone, was ill and in the hospital. I wrote him a letter care of the hospital and got a handwritten thank-you note from him. I cherished that note until it burned up in my house fire, and I still cherish the memory of it.

WHAT IF YOU DON'T FIND THIS EASY?

In case you're thinking, "Sure, you're the kind of person who finds that sort of thing easy." 

Not true.

I've always suffered from what these days is called social anxiety.

One time, I had the chance to go to a basketball game with Walter Matthau and some of his friends--a great networking opportunity. I was too shy to go.

Another time, I signed up for a residential writers' conference sponsored by the Writers Guild. It was a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. I drove all the way there, panicked, and drove all the way back.

However, the times I managed it have accounted for some real breakthroughs, so it's worth the push. If you are frustrated because there don't seem to be any opportunities, try thinking of how you can make some--even if it's a challenge.

On ambitious dreams...and when to get help to make them come true

"I think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. Since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition. In fact, there are so few people this crazy that I feel like I know them all by first name." 

Larry Page, quoted in Re-Invent Yourself, by James Altucher

One of the stories from that book is about how Mick Ebeling saw a report about a young boy in the Sudan who had both arms blown off by a bomb. Ebeling, without any relevant experience, got together a bunch of experts who helped him figure out how to 3D-print prosthetics for the boy. 

START BEFORE YOU ASK FOR HELP

He asked Intel to sponsor this work, but not until he'd gathered the necessary information and started experimenting. Altucher writes:

"Too many people say, 'I have an idea. Now I need funding.'

Don't do that anymore. Stop it!

Say instead, 'I'm already doing this. Here are the 10 or 20 things I've done so far. Here are the results. Are you in?""

WHY THIS IS DIFFICULT

That's great advice but I know it can be difficult to follow. If you're like me, you'd like somebody to endorse your idea right away. Then we feel more confident going ahead. But if we're reluctant to take the plunge on our own idea, I guess it's no wonder other people will be even more so.

Something to work on...

 

Authors, this could be a way to get paid to write your book

How has an author recently raised over $1 million to fund the publishing of a book that tells the stories of 100 inspiring real-life women?

The answer is Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site.

Better known for raising money for tech gadgets, Kickstarter has become a powerful presence in funding self-publishing and independent publishing in the US and the UK.

MANY BOOKS, BIG MONEY

As reported in an article by Richard Lea in The Guardian, in 2015 there were 1,973 successfully-funded publishing pitches, plus another 994 for comic ands and graphic novels. 

That added up to $32.5 million. To date in 2016 another $20 million has been raised for such projects.

There are other crowdfunding sites that raise money for publishing books, but they are dwarfed by Kickstarter. 

HOW IT WORKS

The people doing the pitch set a goal sum and a time limit within which they hope to raise it; if they fail, those who did pledge money are not charged and the project doesn't get any money. On some other sites, if a project raises only part of the goal, the people doing the pitch get that amount.

Kickstarter takes a 5% fee, and payment processing charges. If funding doesn't reach the goal, there are no fees.

THE SECRETS OF KICKSTARTER SUCCESS

Some successful projects have an author who already has a following he or she can tap. Without that, you have to work much harder.

It's vital that the pitch video is compelling and that the goodies on offer are attractive to the target audience. 

There is usually a range of rewards tied to various levels of pledges, from a thank you postcard if you pledge a very small amount, to one or more copies of the publication, to signed copies, to bonus posters, to having a character named after you, to spending a day with the author. 

Even when those elements are in place, the author or publisher has to drive people to the Kickstarter site. This requires a lot of marketing, usually via social media.

The Kickstarter site says, "The majority of initial funding usually comes from the fans and friends of each project. If they like it, they'll spread the word to their friends, and so on."

THE BENEFITS (BEYOND THE MONEY)

Of course, not every pitch gets funded. One of the benefits of using the site is that it gives you a good indication of whether there will be enough demand for your book. In many cases the books haven't been written yet when their Kickstarter campaign starts. If there is a lacklustre response, the author may decide not to go ahead with the project. 

For the projects that succeed, it's a great way to guarantee a good number of readers who, if they like the book, may help spread the word. Rebel Girls, the book about inspirational women, will start its life with 20,000 readers in place, from 71 countries. 

WANT TO CHECK IT OUT?

If you have a book that you think might be suitable for crowdfunding, check out this page on the Kickstarter site: https://www.kickstarter.com/learn?ref=nav.

For a more general overview, take a look at their FAQ page.

 

How I Found My Publishers

People sometimes ask me how I found the publishers of my non-fiction books. In recent years, I've had two publishers: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, which now is part of Hachette, and Pearson. 

In both cases, the process was the same: I asked.

I sent Nicholas Brealey a query letter, he invited me to meet him here in London, and he published my two writing books, Your Writing Coach, and Your Creative Writing Masterclass. It was a very personal process and a real pleasure to work with Nick and his staff. After selling his company to Hachette, he stayed on as a consultant for a year but now is leaving. I'm not sure what adventures he has planned next, but I hope our paths will cross again.

In the case of Pearson, I noticed a small article indicating they were starting a new line of business/personal development books. It mentioned the name of the editor, so I got in touch with her and briefly described a book I had in mind. Again, that led to a meeting here in London. They wanted a slightly different direction so I adjusted my outline, and they published Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done. It was selected as the W. H. Smith Business Book of the Month and sold very well. It now has more than a dozen foreign editions.

Pearson asked me whether I'd be interested in writing Marketing for Entrepreneurs and also doing cartoon illustrations for a line of the other books in that series. Unfortunately, those books came out just as the economy went into a tailspin and I got the feeling that Pearson never put their full weight behind the books. 

However, they were also receptive to my pitch for a book I'd been thinking about for a long time, Creativity Now, and published it in a very nice color edition with glossy paper. That one now exists in a number of foreign editions as well. 

At Pearson there was a lot of turnover during the few years I worked with them, and maternity leaves played a big role. They were all pleasant to work with, but I missed having one consistent point of contact.

Anyway, the moral of the story: Ask. They may say no, but if you don't ask, they can't say yes.

For authors who want to be read, is free the answer?

The argument for free

As a comment on one of my older posts, a reader asked which would you rather have: a handful of book sales of your self-published book on Amazon, or thousands of readers gained by giving the book away?

The limitations of free

People download tons of free ebooks and never actually read any of them. I was on the mailing list of several free ebook services but I've unsubscribed because my Kindle is full of books (mostly not free ones) that I haven't had time to read yet. So going free may lead to thousands of downloads, but nobody knows how many of those will ever be read.

Free as a way to prime the pump

If you can manage to target readers effectively and if you have several books in the same genre, it can make sense to give the first one away free in hopes that readers will then go on to buy others.

However, targeting readers these days costs money. One expert I talked to feels that currently Facebook ads are the best medium for this. You can risk a relatively small amount of money to see whether the ads lead to sales and justify the investment.

In his opinion, free social media doesn't work for unknown authors of fiction (although I'm sure, as always, there's are exceptions). 

Do shoemakers do this?

The other point this raises is why this choice seems to come up only for writers and artists. I don't think shoemakers debate whether it's better to charge for their shoes or give them away so they can have the satisfaction of seeing more people wearing them. They expect to be paid for providing something of value, and I think it's reasonable for authors to expect the same.

Of course, that requires authors to convince potential buyers that what they are offering does have value. That's going to require us to be as creative in marketing as we are in spinning stories.

 

 

 

Writing success: a band shows the way

What can writers learn about success from a band?

The band X Ambassadors has some lessons for writers about how to get ahead.

USA Today quotes band member Sam Harris as attributing their progress to "perseverance (playing any and all gigs available), connections (people who like you may help you later) and remembering who's really important" (the fans). 

The writers' version would be taking any and all writing gigs available, networking with a variety of people connected to publishing or film or TV production, and remembering we are writing for an audience, not for ourselves.

Harris added the important proviso, "Obviously the music [or the writing] has to come from a personal place...but at the end of the day, these fans are the ones that are doing everything for you."

Writers don't have the same relationship with fans until their writing is published or produced, but we can substitute whoever is our primary audience--which, in the first instance, could be agents, producers, or publishers. 

Think outside the box to get attention for your writing

Harris also revealed that when the band kept getting rejections from venues, he made up a fake manager named Paul Lewis. The clubs were more responsive to a manager than to a band member and eventually they were able to get a real manager.

Obviously, you have to be careful with things like this--sometimes the line between a prank and fraud is a thin one. But it certainly demonstrates creativity in marketing.

They also went $30,000 in debt to produce their second self-funded EP. A great example of self-belief because it paid off. Naturally, if it had failed we'd be calling it delusion.

Hang in there past the "no"

One final useful comment from Harris: "The business is built on no. That's the sad part. It's just the land of discouragement. But there's that amazing feeling when you get that yes...If you want it easy, go work at a library and just shelve books."

The way libraries are going, that may not be a great career choice, but if Harris ever gets tired of music, he should apply for a job teaching at Harvard Business School.

Why book trailers are not a good idea for self-published fiction authors

I see that somebody is selling a course for self-published authors on how to make "Hollywood-style" book trailers. 

I don't think that's a very good idea. Reading a book is a different process from watching a movie. A trailer is a sample of the full movie-viewing experience, it's not a sample of the full reading experience.

Authors of non-fiction have it easier. If, for instance, your book is about cooking, you can make a trailer that includes some cooking tips. Viewers will know that if they like those tips, they'll get more like them in your book.

If your book is about space travel, you can build a few fun facts about that in your trailer. If they buy your book, they'll learn more about that topic.

However, if you've written a novel, there's not the same kind of link. Yes, if it's a mystery in which the protagonist is a chef, you could include a cooking tip but people don't buy fiction for tips. Similarly, viewers wouldn't read a sci-fi novel primarily for facts.

I've seen book trailers in which authors are interviewed (or interview themselves) about what inspired them, their research process, etc. Unfortunately, people are likely to find that interesting only if they've already enjoyed the book or know you from other things you've written. Sorry to be brutal, but otherwise nobody cares. 

Even non-fiction authors who make a trailer for their book are left with the big question: how do you get people to watch it? Put it on YouTube? Here's a little quiz:

In 2014, Youtube said 300 hours of new videos were uploaded every:

A. Week

B. Day

C. Minute

You probably guessed right--300 hours every minute! That's not to say you can't get your target audience to watch your YT video, just that it's not easy.

The bottom line: if you're a self-published author of fiction, there are better ways to spend your money than learning how to make a book trailer or on a trailer itself. 

 

 

Related articles

How can authors promote their novels without tweeting or blogging?

Why social media doesn't work for unknown novelists

Why social media doesn't work for unknown novelists

If you're a novelist who expects social media to lead to book sales, the truth may shock you. 

After all, everywhere you look you're told to get on Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest and other social media outlets to attract people. Get a lot of followers, then when your book comes out they will buy it.

"YES, MY  FOLLOWERS WILL BUY MY BOOK!"

A friend recently told me about one of her friends who started a blog about how to write children's books. He posted almost every day and the blog became quite successful.

Then he published a children's book of his own and mentioned it frequently on his popular blog.

Very few of his followers bought his book. 

The reason isn't actually all that surprising. They go to his site to learn how to write their own books. A few may appreciate his effort enough to buy his book as a token of thanks, but not many.

If your blog posts or tweets or pictures are not directly about your book, the odds are there will be little crossover.

"THEN I'LL BLOG ABOUT MY BOOK!"

I have more bad news...very few people will want to read a blog about a book by an author who isn't already known. 

I see advice all the time suggesting that novelists blog about the setting of their novel, or write posts in the voice of their protagonist, or reveal the true-life inspiration for the book.

I'm sorry to be so blunt (especially since this is true for anything I would write, too), but...who cares?

 "OK, I'll PUT A BOOK TRAILER UP ON YOUTUBE!"

Again, who cares? What's going to make people want to watch a book trailer for a book they've never heard of? 

"SO I SHOULD GIVE UP?"

Yes.

Just kidding. I think there are a few things that can work, and I'll cover them in the next post.

 

How can authors promote their novels without tweeting or blogging?

in the previous post I wrote about why social media generally doesn't work for new novelists. What does work?

1: Get the book to the attention of book reviewers, mostly bloggers and podcasters who have a large following. Not easy, because they are approached by a lot of novelists, but possible. Follow them, make intelligent comments, praise them (ideally, mean it). In other words, let them get to know you a little before you ask them for anything.

2: Get an endorsement from a celebrity whose followers like to read. This eliminates most pop stars, many actors, etc. but that's fine. Set up your book as print-on-demand as well as an ebook so you can print some copies to send to celebrities who might find your book of interest.

Try to find some relevant link between them and the book--did they grow up in that location, did they play a role similar to that of your protagonist, have they expressed interest in helping end domestic violence (if that features in your book)? These may or may not be enough to pique their interest, but it's worth a try.

The ideal is if they Tweet about it, but if they have one of their minions send you a message saying, "Thanks for the book, I enjoyed it!" you can use that quote.  

3. Create a video that is so entertaining that people will want to pass it along to their friends. Another challenging task, because in addition to being entertaining, it has to be relevant to your genre. A funny video of people slipping on banana peels might get a lot of views but I doubt that it would help sell a detective novel. 

 If yours happens to be a children's book, then a charming short video with a little story featuring the same characters might work. 

If you happen to write romance novels, send your trailer to Robin Covington, who features selected romance book trailers at her USA Today site:  send the link to [email protected]. Any subgenre is fine as long as it is a romance!

4. Do something that gets major media attention. The media don't care that you've written a book, so forget about trying to interest them in that per se.

Recently one publisher was lucky enough to have Facebook refuse to accept their book trailer ad because it included nudity--in the form of medieval and Renaissance paintings, drawings, and sculptures of female biblical characters. After Abel and Other Stories, by Michael Lemberger, is a series of Bible stories reimagined from the perspective of women. The Facebook explanation: "Ads are not allowed to promote the sale or use of adult products and services, including toys, videos, publications, live shows, or sexual enhancement products." 

Naturally the publisher, Prospect Park Books, immediately fired off a press release and the resulting publicity will help them more than the Facebook ad ever would have. 

In this case, it was just good luck. Generally you have to make an effort to get attention. Let's say you've written a funny novel about blind dates. You think of a blind date-related stunt--maybe a speed dating event in an unusual location, or one where singles bring their dogs, and if your dog likes the other person's dog you have to go on a date. That could get media coverage. Somewhere in that coverage it will mention your novel and its title. How many people who read the story will actually buy the novel? That's anybody's guess, but if the story makes a national news, it could pay off. 

Will people pay for a book you gave away?

There are a variety of sites on which authors can showcase their work and get feedback from readers. At one of the biggest, Wattpad, readers can comment on your work, follow you, and vote for their favorites.

The site is geared mostly toward fiction for teens and young adults. One of the stars of Wattpad is Jerilee Kaye. She had more than ten million readers and more than 11,000 comments for Knight in Shining Suit, her chick-lit/romance novel.

That attracted attention from some traditional publishers, but she decided to go the independent route. She self-published the ebook using Smashwords (a popular self-publishing site), with a price of $2.99. She left ten chapters on Wattpad as a sample and to ensure the book’s continued presence on the site. She also created a trade paperback edition with CreateSpace (an arm of Amazon).

If ten million people had already read it on Wattpad for free, would there be anybody left to buy it?

The answer was a resounding yes. It is one of Smashwords’ top twenty-five bestselling titles ever.  That didn’t happen by accident, though. Kaye told Publishers Weekly that getting reviews from bloggers, advertising on Goodreads and doing a paperback giveaway with them, and interacting with her readers online all were critical to her success. She also posted more material on Wattpad, which found new readers, some of whom then bought her book. 

This is not the usual experience for a self-published author but it shows that having had free exposure for a book on a site like Wattpad can work for you rather than against you.

Writers and Artists are not Beggars! (Don't make the corn flakes cry)

I'm working on a new online course, Profit from Your Creativity, and one section is about mindset.

One myth I'm writing about is that somehow people who publish your book or give your paintings space in their gallery are doing you a favor. Let's go to the supermarket to see if this is true...

At the supermarket you are confronted by an entire aisle of cereals. There are more cereals competing for your attention than can ever win it. It's a buyer's market.

If you choose the shredded wheat, are you doing it a favor?  No, you're choosing it because you think it will taste good and/or be good for you.

It's a win for the shredded wheat and for you.

DON'T MAKE THE CORN FLAKES CRY!

Should the corn flakes take your rejection personally? Does it mean they should slink back to the Kellog's factory, knowing that nobody else will ever buy them?

Silly, right? Yet that's the attitude a lot of writers and artists have when their work is rejected. 

All it means is that the person who rejected your work doesn't get it. It's their opinion that your work can't make any money for them. They may be right. If they are not excited about your work they wouldn't be any good at selling it to a publisher (if the rejector is an agent, for instance). By rejecting you, they are disqualifying themselves. They have shown they were not the business partner you were looking for.

If they do accept your work, they are doing it because they think they can profit from it. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but it underlines the fact that it's a transaction from which both parties can profit. It's a relationship of equals. 

WHAT KIND OF GIRL SCOUT ARE YOU?

You may think that your attitude is not that important--it's the work that will determine whether or not it is accepted. However, the way you present it, for instance in a query letter or pitch, can have a major influence as well. Certainly it can influence whether or not the other person ever reads or looks at what you are offering. Three girl scouts will show you how that works.

At some point or another you've probably been approached by Girl Scouts selling cookies. Imagine three Girl Scouts with three different opening lines and think about how you'd respond:

Girl Scout A: "Hi, we're selling cookies. You don't want to buy any, do you?"

Girl Scout B: "Hi, we're selling cookies. Do you want to buy some?"

Girl Scout C: "Hi, we're selling cookies. Which do you like better, chocolate chip or brownies?"

It's really easy to agree with Girl Scout A: "No, I don't, thank you."

Girl Scout B's approach is better, but it still makes it very easy to say no.

Girl Scout C doesn't give me the chance to answer no right away. Instead, she prompts me to think about cookies. Which do I like better? If I like brownies, her question probably makes me think about (and maybe visualise) eating a brownie. Yes, please!

Unfortunately, a lot of writers are like Girl Scout A. Their query letters include negatives, like "My work hasn't been published yet, but...." Or in a pitch they say something like, "I haven't worked out all the details yet, but..." If you do that, nobody is going to buy your cookies.

THESE COOKIES WILL [not really] CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

I'm not suggesting that you go to the other extreme: "This book will outsell Harry Potter because it's the most exciting blah blah blah!" That's a turn-off too. It smacks of delusion or desperation, neither of which looks good on a writer or artist.

Instead, you want to use a form of presentation that reflects your enthusiasm for your project...and a potential win-win for equals. 

 

(Would you like more useful information about writing, all the way from the idea through to publication? You'll find lots of useful help in my book, Your Writing Coach. It's published by Nicholas Brealey and available from your favorite bookseller.)

Writing a non-fiction book? The sales figures contain a lesson.

The sales of paperback non-fiction have been declining and it's easy to assume that this is the result of the advent of e-books. However, figures provided by Neilsen Book at a recent digital publishing conference suggests that the decline started before that.

The most likely reason is that so much information is available free on the internet. People who formerly might have bought a reference book look to Wikipedia and other online sources now.

I think this suggests an important lesson for anybody who is writing a non-fiction book, namely that you have to make sure that either the content or the presentation of your material is different from what people can find easily on the net.

Here are a few ideas on how you could differentiate your non-fiction book. 

DECIDE: BEAT THEM OR JOIN THEM?

Authors have responded to the rise of internet content in two ways: the "if you can't beat them, join them" strategy, which entails having bite-size content, colorful graphics, sidebars with comments that resemble Tweets, etc.; or the "do what they can't/don't do" approach, going in-depth and being unashamed about demanding the concentration of the reader.

I believe that books that aren't clearly in one camp or the other are less likely to succeed.

BRING YOUR PERSONALITY

Bring your personality to the subject. The one thing you can offer that nobody else can is your unique experience or perspective. When appropriate, include anecdotes and other personal touches. 

A good example of this is the Freakonomics books, which make a traditionally dry topic (economics) entertaining and bring in the authors' experiences and views. The first book was subtitled: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

FOCUS ON THE DIFFERENCES

In your marketing, including the title, cover image, blurb, etc., reflect what makes your book different. Again, Freakonomics had a cover very different from that of most books on economics.

THINK ABOUT SEQUELS

Finding people who buy your book is hard work, so think ahead to how you can keep them and what else might interest them. It could be a sequel or just a related topic. If you put your website address in the book and offer the reader an incentive (e.g., an extra chapter) for signing up, you'll have a list of people to whom to market your next book. If you already have the next book in mind you can mention it in the current one. 

Here's an example, continuing on from Freakonomics, of a book that gives more of the same:

Then they went on to a book that uses what went before but goes off in the direction of self-development:

CONSIDER OTHER FORMATS

Rather than assuming that a book is the best format for your project, consider whether other ways of presenting it might be better or easier to market. For example, although I've written a number of books on writing, my next project will be an online course. That allows me to integrate videos, audios, quizzes, etc. I will also be offering free webinars to people who buy the book, which will allow me to interact, answer their questions, and of course let them know of future projects that could be of interest to them. This creates a product with added value to the user, and also allows me to charge more than I would for a book.

BE CREATIVE

All of these tips have one thing in common, namely that they encourage you to be creative about how you approach a marketplace in flux. 

 

 

 

 

 

d

 

Why self-publishers are selling less--and what to do about it

At TheDigitalReader.com, Nate Hoffelder summarizes the challenge that self-publishers (and even traditional publishers) are facing:

"As 2014 draws to a close indie publishing finds itself at a crossroad. There's a growing consensus that the supply of indie e-books is beginning to exceed demand, leading to the textbook micro-economics result [falling revenues]."

WHAT WORKED ISN'T WORKING 

He lists three conclusions:

"One, the days of releasing the first title in a series as permafree have passed. All that accomplishes now is to flood the market and make it harder to sell e-books.

Two, the idea of writing and publishing your next book as the best marketing strategy is also going to have to be reconsidered.

Three, getting into or out of Kindle Unlimited isn't nearly as important as some thought it was a few weeks ago. As I noted when I first reported on this story, this problem is affecting authors both in and out of KU."[Kindle Unlimited is a plan in which, for a monthly fee, readers get free access to many of the e-books available on Kindle. Authors have reported that joining this plan has resulted in lower sales and that the revenue they get from KU has not been enough to make up the difference.]

To this I would add that, for most authors, using social media to promote their fiction doesn't work unless they put an enormous amount of time and effort into it. Yes, you can do blog tours, take part in forums, have a blog about your book, etc. but all those face exactly the same problem as the books themselves: too many people doing the same thing. 

Also, just as giving away your book in hopes that this will attract readers to other books you have written or will write doesn't work now, neither will lowering the prices--that will just result in a race to the bottom. 

SO WHAT WILL WORK?

I don't have a magic plan, but I think based on what's happening now we can safely say to get attention in this ever more crowded marketplace you have to do something different. A few examples:

* Some authors have used crowdfunding as a way to create an audience for their book before they finish writing it. They set the financial bar low to help ensure that their target will be met. However, getting attention for your funding effort also requires a lot of effort, and works best for high-concept books. Two important elments are how creative you can be with the pitch video that you put on the crowdfunding site and the kinds of rewards you come up with for the people who pledge funds. (I'll be doing a series of posts on crowdfunding at some point.)

* When everybody is trying to use new media, it may be the right time to go back to using old media. Local newspapers, local radio, magazines, and other old media are still alive and get a sizable audience. The hook for getting their attention usually is something extreme about the work or about you. Think of oldest, youngest, longest, shortest, cheapest, most expensive, an unusual origin, an unusual experience, etc. 

* There may be piggybacking opportunities, but usually you have to create them yourself. For instance, if you have written a romance in which one of the protagonists suffers from an illness or medical condition, is there a charity or support group that might help you promote the book if you donate 10% of your profits? Obviously this would work only if they felt your portrayal was accurate and might help promote understanding. 

* There may be unusual sponsorship opportunities. For instance, hotels, restaurants and even train lines have had writers in residence. The main value isn't that residence, but the opportunity to leverage it for publicity. Again, you need to be proactive--why not suggest such a scheme to a business that's not doing it now, rather than waiting to hear about one and then having to compete for it?

 DON'T LOSE HEART!

In any crisis, there is opportunity. I'm convinced that authors who are as creative about their marketing as they are about their plots and characters will find a way to cut through all the noise. 

(To find some great techniques for coming up with creative ideas, see my book, Creativity Now, published by Pearson. For 100 case studies of unusual and inexpensive market techniques, see my book Do Something Different, published by Virgin Business Books. Both are available from your favorite bookseller.)

Want to pitch an idea? The one most important thing to remember.

The other day I got an email from a writer who had an appointment to pitch her movie idea to a producer and she was in a panic. She asked what tips I could offer. The biggest one:

Keep It Simple!

When I was in a position to hear pitches the most common problem was that the person telling the story knew it so well that he or she went into far too much detail.

Since I'd never heard the story before I couldn't tell which of the many details related to the core story and which were parts of the subplot or just digressions.

THEY SNORE, YOU LOSE! 

When you confuse people hearing your pitch you've lost them and it's very hard to get them back.

Of course how detailed you get will depend partly on whether you're giving the "elevator pitch," the two or three-minute version, or the complete story. But even for the latter it's a good idea to stick to the spine of the story.

If your story moves back and forth in time, often it's better to indicate that but tell the story in a more linear way.

For instance, you might say, "As Maria's relationship with Andre disintegrates, we see episodes from her childhood that reveal the abuse she sufferend at the hands of her father. When she is five (describe what happened), and on her tenth birthday (describe what happened). Finally, on the day she graduated from junior high school, she found the courage to resist and (describe what happened)."

Even though those episodes may be spread out in your screenplay or novel, grouping them in the pitch can make the story easier to follow.

THE KEY POINTS TO REVEAL

You might be surprised to hear how often people pitching a story leave out one or more of these essential bits:

What is the genre?

Who is the protagonist?

What's happening at the start of the story? This may or may not be the first thing that happens chronologically in your character's life. For example, you may want to bookend the story with someone remembering a major incident that had led them to a dramatic moment in the present.

What are the key problems the protagonist encounters and how does he or she respond?

Who or what represents the obstacles--sometimes the obstacles are internal but especially if you are writing a screenplay you have to find something external to represent them.

How does the conflict escalate and what is the highest point of conflict?

How does it turn out?

Ideally the story itself will reveal the underlying theme but sometimes it doesn't hurt to allude to it as well. The danger is that themes can sound quite banal when stated straightforwardly, as in "crime does not pay," or "once lost, trust is hard to regain."

However, you might say something like, "(Title) is a thriller about two brothers and the price of lost trust," and then go into your story. 

A QUERY LETTER IS A PITCH, TOO

These essentials also work in a query letter. However, that format is closer to the elevator pitch and you would not go into as much detail about the escalating conflicts and you may just set up the final conflict but not reveal how it turns out.

As I know from experience, writing a synopsis that covers the key points and also sounds interesting rather than like a list of plot points is challenging, especially if you've already written the whole novel or script. In fact, it may be the hardest thing you write!

(For a supportive guide from idea right through to publication, get a copy of my book,Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from your favorite bookseller.)