Tag: business

Self-Publishing: The Business of Writing 101 (6 Basics)

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When I published my first book, I didn’t see my writing as a business. It was just me doing what I’ve always wanted to do. However, as I began to learn and as I continue to learn, I quickly discovered why Self-Publishing requires so much work: It’s a business.

That doesn’t take away from the fun of it, but the realization did help me to become more organized. I quickly learned why no one was buying: I wasn’t working! Writing is working, technically, and I was doing plenty of that. However, I was not working on the skill of writing, researching my industry, understanding tips to help me to write better books, promoting, marketing, and everything in-between. I was writing, sure. But the business of writing? I didn’t even know it existed. I was a writer and that was all. When I got into the business of writing however, that’s when I  became an author.

From The Online EC Dictionary:

Writer – (noun) a. a person who writes b. a person who writes stories, letters, books, manuscripts, manuals, c. a creative person who enjoys writing things down d. an artist who paints pictures with words

Self-Published Author (noun) – a. a person who finances, publishes, markets, and promotes their writing; b. a writer whose job is to publish books, may include attending book signing events, interviews, applying for grants, entering contests, etc., c. entrepreneur d. writer who paints pictures with words and then sends them out into the world.

The Business of Writing 101: The Basics

  • Author Platform – This is by far the most important part of your journey. BEFORE you publish your book, make sure you have either a blog or website that showcases your writing and personality to some extent. This is the most powerful way for people to get to know you. Why should people get to know you? Because you are not just a writer. You are going from Writer to Self-Pub Author my friend. No longer do you just paint pictures with words, but you are about to send them out into the world. But first, you need to introduce yourself to all of your potential readers. (I suppose you don’t need to start a blog but in my experience this blog plays a critical role (more so than a website and FB) in helping me to run my writing business by giving me a platform where I can receive instant feedback and constructive criticism on my work before I publish. I mean, look at all those faces subscribed to The PBS Blog, we can’t let them down now can we?) Below are the 10 Best Blog Websites of 2016:

Top Free Blog Sites

  1. WordPress (Yes, we’re number one baby!)
  2. Tumblr
  3. Blogger
  4. Medium
  5. Svbtle
  6. Live Journal
  7. Weebly
  8. Postach.io
  9. Pen.io
  10. Ghost
  •  Social Media – Set up your social media pages BEFORE publishing your book, not after. Primarily, set up a Facebook Page or Group, Instagram,  and Twitter account. These are the 3 basic social platforms but do not be deceived by the hype: They may not all work for you. Play around with what’s out there and stick to the one that works for you. YouTube is another platform, and Pinterest is another. I’ve found Twitter is my best home base. By Home Base I mean that place where I receive the most interaction. For you that may be Facebook or Instagram. Find the right platform for you, not for others. In fact, you want to be on the platform your readers are on. This means identifying your Target audience and then placing yourself in the places they are. In any event, start your social media craze before your books is born.  This will give you another easy way to share your writing and also connect with others.
  • Newsletter – Place a newsletter sign up form on your blog or website and start to collect emails early on. How to ensure people are actually reading your emails is a separate post. Right now we’re focusing on the basics and basically, get that newsletter up and running early on. Some people say not to worry about the newsletter if you have a blog. I say do worry about it. Look at it this way: Your email list is a permanent tool because if your website goes down or your blog or your social media pages you still have access to the group of readers who love your work. By collecting emails, you can reach people on a most personal level (Tip: Don’t sound all businessy (< Yes, made up word) in your emails. Let your personality shine. People like to connect with other people so be yourself). The link below is a good start for researching the email newsletter service that is right for you:

The 25 Best Email Marketing Newsletters and Apps

  • Investment – Save your money. I know, not a lot of people talk about this when it comes to Self-Pub and it was the furthest thing from my mind when I set out to publish my first book but you can do better than I did. It’s a mistake to think about the financial aspect of book publishing during the publishing process. Everyone remember the 6 ps? Say it with me: “Proper Planning Prevents Pissed Poor Performance.” There’s nothing like a strong foundation and so yes, save your sheckles. Investment doesn’t have to be a scary term. It’s not like you’re buying stocks. Investment just means to put money toward a product, or service for profitable or material gain. I don’t like fancy smanshy words so let’s keep it simple: You’re saving money to go toward your writing to increase the chances of you making a profit because as with any business you have to be willing to invest in your work.  You will need to pay for book cover design, editing, formatting, and the cost of print books, business cards, book marks, and promotional items (all of which increases the books chances of selling and i.e. you making a profit). While there are tons of free ways to produce all of these to some extent, for a truly professional outcome it’s going to cost you some investment. Let’s face it, no one wants their books to look bootleg. Createspace’s available book cover freebies? I don’t think so. There’s just too many Self-Pub books to read to take the easy route. Cover design is the difference between me deciding to read your book and make a sandwich. (The most important investment is time. At the end of the day the books that sell are the books that are well written. At the end of the day it is still about the story so make sure you’re putting time into your writing).

The most important investment is time. Make sure you’re putting time into your writing.- Tweet This

  • Streams of Income –  Authors aren’t rich. Well, most of us aren’t (Can’t speak for you six figure Indie Author makers. Y’all better work!) So, for this reason, if you’re deciding to quit your job and write books, first you need to take the time to invest the money you have into your book publishing business. Yes, I said publishing business. No, I won’t explain, we’ve been over this. Writing is a business. So, back to the point, before you throw in the towel you may want to  seek grants or enter contests where the prize is large sums or even small sums, of money. The most wise thing however, is to take the money you’re making from your 9-5 and invest it into your writing. (I think those with jobs who want to write books are in a great position. You have the financial resources to save!) Writing a book doesn’t mean you can’t get a part time job or offer other services that is going to put money in your pocket to dedicate to your books. One of the first things you’ll notice as you begin your journey is that the money you do make from writing books is going to often go back toward your work. Everything made is going to go back in and it’s going to be many years before you start to see some real profits. However, you can avoid the feast of famine with proper planning, investment, and multiple streams of income.

Cover design is the difference between me deciding to read your book and make a sandwich. – Tweet This

  • Less Talk, More Action – I’m a workaholic for a reason. In fact, many entrepreneurs are. There’s a saying I try to always keep in mind as I work. It helps keep me motivated and planting seeds: “Bad boys hit hard, but move silent”. Self-Publishing is the “IT” thing right now. Everyone wants to show that they’ve written a book even though the reality is that not everyone has the skill. While it’s exciting to boast of having written a book, make sure you’re also sharpening your writing skills, and doing the hard labor on the back end that ensures proper presentation and production of the end product. Make sure  that your books are actually reaching people. I’m not saying to quit because no one read your book because that’s not the reason (I’d hope) that you write in the first place. What I am saying however,  is that I love to write, but I refuse to keep pushing out work without also monitoring the growth and development of that work. As part of the Self-Publishing process, I do not just write books and neither should you. I also study the writing field, calculate the financial cost of publishing a book, surround myself with professional men and women who could help me, surround myself with family members and friends who will support me, and write books that will expand conversations and start discussions.

Bad boys hit hard, but move silent. – Tweet This

Making Money in a World Addicted to FREE—What Do Writers DO?

Most excellent article. Worth the read for Authors and Aspiring Authors.

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

Might I suggest one of these... I think we need to renegotiate the terms…

One of the reasons I did such a detailed post about the pop culture and how it’s impacting artists (A Culture Addicted to FREE) is that for us to make any solid plan, we need to gain a good understanding of how things are being run and also grasp current consumer habits.

To fix any problem, we must be aware of what are called operational constraints.

Operational constraints are any real or potential roadblocks in the way of our goals. If you ever do a S.W.O.T. Analysis, which I strongly recommend, it stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Any time we do business—which writing IS a business—we need an accurate picture of the terrain so we make wise business decisions and can plan ahead.

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia

The entire reason for me blogging about the impact streaming could…

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Social Media Intelligence: Why Your Boss is Reading Your Blog

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I was reading my scriptures when I decided to check my phone (a habit I’m trying to kick.) As I did so, I saw a post that struck my attention. Colleen, as she always does, posted a link to another great author resource, and I could not wait to get the juicy details of why Authors should watch out for this one dangerous trait from literary agents. As I scanned the article, nodding my head and wondering how long it would take my pizza to finish baking and how the beef sausage I sliced on top was going to be the bomb, I was struck by the following statement:

“In and beyond the writing and publishing industry, the way someone uses social media is often a window into that person’s work attitude and style, and a signpost as to how a potential working relationship will evolve.” – Aine Greaney

I stopped thinking of pizza and thought, “Wow, that is so true!”

This got me thinking about blogs, Facebook and Twitter. I started to think about how we use them all so loosely. I also began to think about businesses or upcoming businesses. As an author, I thought of how being a published author is likened to a business in many ways. Furthermore, this made me think more deeply about the social media world.

The Boss. Who is he? This doesn’t have to be your actual boss but it is someone out there with the potential to take you to that next level. Facebook and Twitter may seem like harmless entities but the fact that professionals are trolling through pages and timelines is no conspiracy theory. For those of us online for fun, have at it. But for those of you seeking to become authors or to use your blogs for anything slightly professional, you may want to consider that the blog posts that go viral are usually the ones we least expect to do so. Personality is key of course. It is always good to let your personality shine through and to let us all know that you’re a real breathing person with passions and concerns and joys just like the rest of us. That personal touch brings people together and builds a bridge of commonality that helps us to get to know one another better, which in turn works well with building professional relationships.

And now we’ve come all the way back around. How you present yourself online should be a representation of who you are, but it should the best part of who you are. Cursing people out on Facebook and engaging in arguments and being nasty to people may be fun now but one day you will grow up. And when that happens you’ll want to explore new things and maybe you’ll even want to put some of those talents to good use. The problem is that the past image of you is still saved in social media files and although you have industry knowledge, Mrs. Smith, your future boss, just can’t get over how vulgar your language is. Mrs. Smith can’t see someone fitting into her communications department who can’t control something as close to them as their own tongues.

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I’ve actually experienced this myself. A long time friend of mine (who I am not in communication with but who I have known a while) was launching a new business and sought out support. For the sake of identity I’ll just call this person a she. She promoted across all of her social media accounts and the business itself looked really promising and got some good reviews. As for my friend, having known her for about nine years now, I know her to be very intelligent and knowledgeable about that particular field. In fact, I always knew she would be a business person some day. However, as I scrolled through her Twitter timeline, the one with the beautiful website layout and crowdfunding campaign and call to action, the more I scrolled the worse it got. Eventually, I had gone back a couple years and there was everything there from the use of profanity to sexual language. If I was a professional looking to hire someone with her skill set for my company, I would have been instantly turned off. Even as myself I was turned off. It was as if none of the prior things I saw attractive mattered anymore. My advice to my friend is to create a business account specifically for the business itself without linking it to her private account. Sadly, I’m not sure if that will even work this far in the game. The lesson is a brutal one.

In the end, we all enjoy what we do and I don’t want to leave without stating this fact. Whenever I talk professionalism I get feedback that suggest that in the end blogging should be fun. Of course it should be, but I wouldn’t take it lightly. Nothing on the internet can be. Employers and agents search social media accounts, such as blogs and Facebook, because social media is the largest data collection service to date for collecting and gathering intelligence and people tend to be themselves on these platforms more than they actually are in person. Social Media therefore becomes a valuable platform for employers to seek out potential clients in their natural state.

It’s not about being phony and fake, its about being mindful of your behavior. It’s OK to be yourself on social media. In fact, I would hope that you are yourself. Showcase pictures of your family, display the music you like, or speak about something that is passionate to you. However, keep in mind that thousands of people are potentially reading your blogs everyday and one of them, just one of them, may turn out to be your boss.

Note: This is an older post and is in need of much editing! A revision will be applied soon. Thank you for your time!

Self-Publishing: Target Markets

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Though it’s a lot of work, one of the many reasons I chose to Self-Publish is the control. One thing that I did not want is to be categorized. If for whatever reason I chose to include biblical text or any spirituality in my writing I did not want my work labeled Christian Fiction or anything unrelated to the kinds of books I represent even if it did contain biblical insight. I use this as an example to show that what I wanted was to produce books according to how I was being led and to not be held back by society’s precepts or interpretations. This does not, however, exclude me from the discipline this field requires, one of which is identifying target markets.

What is a Target Market?

A target market is a specific group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed. This group of people would also be referred to as your target audience. They are the group of people who your work is specifically targeted to. In this way, you can position yourself to be around this group of people off and online more so than any other group because they are the people who are interested in the kinds of books you write or rather, the kind of service you provide.

An example of Target Markets, according to an example given by Google is: “Schools are a key target for apps.” Why is this so? Education and how children learn is evolving just as quickly as technology. The aged old chalkboard is really not as effective in my opinion as interactive whiteboard systems. That said computers and teaching go hand in hand. In this way, schools are one of the major institutions who could support many of the learning apps available to be used in the classrooms. So for app developers, schools are a key target market meaning this is a group that they strive to appeal to in their promotions as the most likely to purchase their product. But to go further, they can break schools down into what kind of schools they are targeting. Public? Private? Magnet? Charter?

The easiest way to break down a Target Market without the confusion is to think about the kinds of readers who are interested in the kinds of books you write and to break these groups down into their smallest group. You can start broad but try to get it down to the most specific group possible: For example:

Women readers between the ages of 18 – 45. To define this further, I may choose to target online fiction readers of African American ancestry who are interested in history and short stories. This market can be broken down into two-three niches: online short story readers, historical fiction readers, and African American women readers. This example can also be broken down even further but I suppose we pretty much get the point. This does not exclude men from having a target market does not leave out everyone else, but it helps you to closely market your books to a group who, more so than others, will support it.

Everyone

Target-Audience-Promotional-Audience

Although technically speaking anyone who desires to make a profit is targeting everyone, everyone is not a Target Market. It is very unlikely, especially as a Self-Publisher, that everyone will buy your books. That said you have to break reader groups down into the most specified group possible and that’s basically what a Target Market is if you strip it of all the technical language. You are pointing to certain consumers and saying “I choose to market my product to you because we share the same interest.”

While I am still striving to understand the business side of publishing myself, I do know that Indie Authors must realize that their goals should be directly related to their purpose, but that this does not exempt any of us from basic business knowledge and implementation. Meaning that despite passion we still have to target a specific group of people because they are going to be the ones to support our work. We have to do this more so than anyone else because of the stigmas that, though fading, still exists for Self-Publishers. To determine your Target Market, ask yourself:

  • Who are my current customers?
  • Why do they buy from me?
  • Which ones bring in most business?
  • What characteristics and interest do they share?

3 Reasons I am Not a Professional Author

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I strive to implement levels of professionalism in everything that I do whether it includes monetary compensation or not. In which case people who know me are already familiar with my level of organization and from that end, professionalism. However, I do not consider myself a professional author in the traditional sense of the word. Here’s why:

I’ve heard my share of advice from author blogs, books, tweets, Facebook, Twitter, articles, the list goes on and on (and on). I’ve taken valuable advice under my wing and even incorporated some into my day to day schedule and strategic writing techniques since it is, after all, wise to consider the advice of others. But the truth is that I will never be a professional author because my writing process is not the same as what is perpetuated in the mainstream.

The professional says:

  • Use the same business name across all accounts. This is the easiest way to brand yourself and to get people used to associating you with that name.

Makes sense, but I totally transgressed this rule! My blog, author website, and social media sites, for the most part, all have different names which I heard is bad. To balance this, I have taken to using one picture to represent every account. This photo you see associated with this blog will probably never change because it’s attached to all of my accounts: My personal Facebook Page, Twitter, Blog, IG, You Tube, LinkedIn, etc. I believe images are a strong form of communication and that many people have already become used to seeing this picture and associating it with Yecheilyah Ysrayl. I have also taken to using the same email address to represent these accounts across the board (with a few exceptions).

The professional says:

  • Plan out your book before you write it. Create an outline for your new masterpiece.

Umm, I think I’ll just go ahead and skip this step. I do not write outlines before each book. I just write and organize as I go along. Once I start to build on a story idea and start to write and develop some kind of form to the story, then I know what it is I need to research or the books I need to read for better clarity of this particular genre. It only makes sense to me that you write something down first and get an idea of how the story will develop, only then will you be able to clearly see what kind of information you will need for this story and can thus move on from there. For instance, its not until I start writing the story that I am able to create a Family Tree of my characters.

I know, I just said something else different didn’t I? Yes, a family tree. I found it easiest to organize my characters (after I’ve written about them) using a Family Tree. I’ll speak more about this in a separate post, but after I’ve written the characters into the story to some extent, I sit back and think about how to better develop them as real people. Not just by way of physical attributes (ethnicity, hair, eyes, relationships, persona, etc.), but also lineage. Where did this person come from? I do this by using a Family Tree, which can be created easily using Microsoft Word. The reason I choose this method is because the one rotating around blogs and professional websites is boring to me. (You know, that long list of questions you ask yourself about the people in your story: Hair:__________ Eyes:_________ Nose Shape________ …just kill me now). Not to mention I’m a visual learner. I have to see it to better understand it and laying out the family in this way helps me to accomplish this. Far as outlines go for the entire story, the first draft is the outline.

The professional says:

  • Stick to one specific genre.

I write in whatever genre the story that just popped into my head falls in. I heard this is a no no. According to the rules, in order to brand yourself it’s important to stay within a certain genre because it’s easy to become known for it. But in my opinion, brains don’t work like that. Well, at least mine doesn’t. What am I gonna say, “Sorry totally awesome story idea, I can’t use you right now because your Sci-Fi and I only write Romance”. That’s like telling me to write one kind of poem. Yea, that’s probably never going to happen. I mean sure, every idea is not meant to be built on. Some of them should just stay ideas until it is time for that idea to be brought forward. However, because the creative mind is not one dimensional, I find it hard to believe that I can force my thoughts to only create stories that appeal to one category.

The truth is that I will probably never do exactly as the professionals say do. If the world says this is how it is to be done, you can rest assured that chances are Yecheilyah’s over here doing something completely different…and maybe even a little weird. 🙂

Word to the Wise

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As we approach the month of August, when teachers return to work and students go back to school, I couldn’t help but to get excited that in just a few short weeks (mid August) I will be publishing another book. I’m really excited about this one and this excitement led me to a thought which in turn led me to something I think all Self-Publishers should take into consideration. I know that finances are a big deal to Self-Publishers and we are always looking for the most cost effective, yet professional, way to produce so here goes:

Never use POD (Print on Demand) services like LuLu and Createspace for anything other than Printing your books. Do not use POD editing services, POD promotional services, or POD book cover design services. Why? Because you can save a lot of money not doing so.

The most effective and creative action we can take as Self-Publishers is to use Print on Demand Companies as Printer Companies for our books, and then sell them from our own Author websites. Let people buy your books from YOU and you take a percentage of that income to pay the Printing Company (Createspace) to print the book AND if you don’t have the funds to buy your books in bulk from the POD, you can still send it to the buyer directly from the POD service. Remember to apply wisdom to everything that you do, so remember that you still have to pay the POD to print the book and to ship it so set your prices high enough to actually reap a profit but low enough to be reasonable. When people have to go to YOUR website this helps build you as an Author brand.

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However, there are some exceptions  to be understood when considering these methods:

  • You’ll never make Amazon’s Best Sellers List using this method because your buyers are not buying from Amazon they’re buying from you. If making Amazon’s Best Sellers list is important to your writing goal (which is understandable) I suggest you ignore this post, carry on and not use this method. (It would be wise to use Amazon to sell your e-books and your Author site to sell your print books, kill two birds with one stone).

*Here’s another secret*

Amazon, Createspace, Kindle Select etc., is extremely popular right now. When people hear your book is on Amazon they go and inquire, they get excited and you feel like you’ve accomplished something great, AND YOU HAVE. But, it’s not really that big of a deal. If you really want to build yourself as a Self-Publisher, invest in your own Self-Publishing Company and make YOUR name the one people get excited about. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just your name alone will do. (I will draft another post for another day on building a Self-Publishing Company and creating a name brand in the most cost effective way possible).

  • If you don’t buy in bulk and are shipping directly from your POD, you won’t have the chance to include promotional products with the book since it ships directly from the POD, which doesn’t help you with promotion.

BUT …

(OK so I’m really letting all the cats out the bag, gonna have to get a dog)

…you can send readers a separate gift with the money you saved AHEAD of the books arrival with these special offers (bookmarks, flyers, business cards, gifts etc.). Make sure to expedite the mail so that it gets there BEFORE the book for a professional outcome. Include a little note that thanks them for the purchase and that you hope they’ll enjoy the free gift. Don’t forget to include your contact information (business card) and to also inform them that their book is on the way! Readers will appreciate this, trust me. Why? Because, who doesn’t like to get mail filled with free goodies? Plus, if your readers are anything like yours truly, they’re extremely anxious for the book’s arrival and a little something ahead of time will help calm their nerves while they wait .

I hope this information has been helpful. Now, get off the internet and back to writing :).