It’s not so glamorous to be published…

It’s been almost a week now since The Natural Order was officially released.  Sometimes I feel like this poor sign-holder, begging for the one thing I can’t seem to get.

There haven’t been any agents knocking on my door yet, or through-the-roof sales.

Of course not.

Because the difference between invisible self-published authors (most of them) and successful self-published authors…is persistence.  Right now I’m invisible.  It’s exactly what I expected.  All I’ve done so far is advertise the book among my friends.  A few of them have bought it, and most haven’t.  Again, exactly as I expected.

If I could go back and do this publication thing over, with all of the knowledge I have now, I would start marketing the book months back.  I would have loved to get reviews from Publishers Weekly or The School Library Journal, but you have to submit the book 4 months before publication for that to happen.  And I should have sent out press releases ages ago regarding the book launch party.

But right now, that doesn’t matter.  After all, many authors and marketing experts say that the majority of books take time to build momentum.  A traditional publisher often can’t afford to give a book enough marketing attention to reach peak publicity…but I can.  Most of it just costs time.

Soon, the reviews from book bloggers will start coming in.

Soon, the book will be shelved in numerous bookstores.

And soon, we’ll go on a book tour to promote the book directly to schools.

But there have been successes along the way, instances where publishing has felt entirely glamorous.  These are the moments you live for!  Things like:

• Bookstores immediately guessing the cover and interior (which I designed myself) were professionally done
• Bookstores saying they’ll display the book in all sorts of prominent locations!  In the US you’d have to
  • A. have a publisher, and
  • B. be a bestseller (with a huge marketing budget) to get that sort of preference
• Signing books for your friends
• Hearing excitement from all quarters when you discuss the book launch party

My next post will be more about bookstores–how New Zealand bookstores work with consignment books, the successes I’ve had so far, and a few of the grim realities of bookstore business.

If you haven’t checked out The Natural Order yet, you can buy your copy now on Amazon!

Musings on the Eve of Publication

The Natural Order is officially released tomorrow.

I’ve come so far, yet I still have so far to go.  That’s a reassuring thing, in a way.  If I’d had just one plan or goal for publication, I would see that plan to completion…and then freeze.  What if that plan didn’t work?  What if it resulted in me selling all of 10 copies?  Would I give up, call this book a failure, and move on?

Even when this whole marketing deal starts to seem a bit overwhelming, I’m grateful for it.  The way I’m doing things now–throwing hundreds of darts at the wall and seeing which ones stick–I won’t be left directionless.  Even if a simple thing like submitting the book for review generates ten more tasks (signing up for a Goodreads account, making a Goodreads page, begging my early readers to post just one review, converting the book to a Mobi file, writing up a short blurb, etc.), every step I take is one that will serve me in the future.  Maybe it was annoying that I couldn’t submit to one of these bloggers until I had a Goodreads page, but I needed one anyway, so that was the nudge to get it done now.

The more I do, the more I realize how much remains to be done.

Between the release of the book and the book launch party, I’ll be inviting absolutely everyone to the party (we just visited the farmers’ market to invite vendors the other day, since they used to be associated with my cafe) and hopefully scaring up some media attention for the event.  If I could get just one journalist or reporter to attend, that would be fantastic.

After that, the real marketing slog begins.

My partner’s mother self-published a book years ago, and hers was a story of incredible success born from a great talent for marketing yet very little know-how.  She wrote a book that filled a gap in the market (a cookbook specifically aimed at teaching maids how to cook for their families–among expats living in Singapore at the time, it was a common complaint that their maids were both unsanitary and inexperienced in the kitchen).  Once published, she singlehandedly got the book into a whole host of stores frequented by expats, including a major cold-storage chain that a publisher had been trying to crack for years.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from her is that there’s no such  thing as aiming too high.  You might as well try everything, because there’s always a chance something highly unlikely might work out.

So far, I’ve had incredible success with New Zealand bookstores.

It seems that every bookstore owner I’ve spoken to is eager to support a local author, and willing to take my books on the spot.  I currently have physical copies of the book in two stores, with two more waiting for me to drop off copies and another three in the works.  And I haven’t been turned down outright by a single bookstore.

That gives me the courage to try for larger chains, including Whitcoulls (a stationary/book shop that mostly features Top 100 titles) and the Warehouse (a department store with a decent book selection).

And after that?  I’ll start visiting schools.

That’s part of the book tour I’ve mentioned briefly in the past.  My partner and I are hoping to drive all around the South Island, visiting bookstores in every town we come across, and stopping at schools to donate a book to their library.  When we do that, we’re hoping to leave a stack of bookmarks for kids to pick up if they’re interested.  That way they can learn more about the book…and grab a copy from their local bookstore.

Regardless of what succeeds and what fails, I have an endless list of directions to pursue.  Book publishing is not a single event–it’s a journey that can last (now that books are available online and print-on-demand) pretty much as long as you keep working at it.

On that note, here’s to the end of the pre-publication journey–and the start of an entirely new venture.

See you on the other side!

So many tasks, so little time!

It is now three days before the release of The Natural Order!!  I started working on this project two months ago, and the time since then has gone by unerringly fast.

Once the book has come out, I’ll change modes: I’ll begin to report what has worked and what hasn’t worked in the realm of marketing.  You’ll hear about the book launch party, the book tour, whether I’ve been able to get the book into any local bookstores, and how my other attention-getting pursuits have panned out.

Oh, and I’ll let you know how many crocheted animals I end up making!

Remember, if you comment before August 31st, you could win a stuffed animal of your choice.  (1 in every 5 comments wins)

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And the process…

For all of you who are curious, this is what the lead-up to a book release looks like:

• Ordering copies of the book.  I’ve ordered 200 copies, which will hopefully be enough for the book launch party and a subsequent book tour.  I would be thrilled if they sold out, though!  Shipping to New Zealand is extremely expensive, especially when they add the customs tax, so I’ll be planning very carefully before I order another shipment of books.

• Planning the book launch party.  The party is now listed on Eventfinda, and I’ve printed out a set of party-invite cards that I’m giving out to absolutely everyone.  I’ve been inviting my coworkers (from the cafe where the party will be hosted), the regulars from the cafe, and the staff at the local bookstore (I also left a stack of invites next to their till, for customers who are interested).  I’m hoping to visit a couple more bookstores and the farmers’ market before the date of the launch party

• Submitting the book to bloggers.  There are 238 bloggers who read and post reviews of self-published books, so I’ve been going through the list and submitting mine to everyone who accepts YA fantasy.  Unfortunately some of the most popular and well-suited sites are closed for submissions, given a backlog of TBR (to-be-read) books, but it’s still an exciting chance to get the word out.

• Requesting reviews.  I’m hoping to have 10 reviews up on Amazon before June 1st, though this seems unlikely (I’m currently at 3 reviews).

• Submitting the book to local bookstores.  Christchurch has one local bookstore, Scorpio Books, and the owners are very friendly and willing to check out The Natural Order.  As soon as the shipment of books arrives, I’ll bring one straight over to them so they can read it and make their decision.  I’ll also be trying for a spot at Boulder Bookstore, my favorite local bookstore ever (in my hometown), though this one is a bit trickier since I can’t present the book myself.

Now I’m just crossing my fingers that the books arrive in one piece!  It will be a very exciting journey from here on…

Countdown…15 days to publication!

As I sit here with just 15 days left until the release of The Natural Order, I can’t help thinking of everything I still have to do.  So this post will serve as a bit of an inventory: things I’ve finished, things I’ve started, and things I haven’t even touched yet.

It will give you a bit of an overview of my marketing scheme so far, and of course, if you have any further suggestions of something I have missed, I would love to hear in the comments below!

Things I’ve done: 

• Finished the final read-through of The Natural Order, correcting all of the typos that somehow got ignored in the past (I’m a stickler for proper grammar, so I don’t let much slip!)
• Designed the cover
• Set up my website (though some of the pages are still incomplete)

Things I’ve started: 

• The blog!  I’ve been more consistent with this than I expected, though I don’t know how long it will take to see results (such as an expanded readership).
• Getting the book ready for online release.  I’ll work on formatting it for Kindle tomorrow.
• Spreading word to everyone I know.

Things I haven’t even touched: 

• The book tour.  I’ve been putting this off, so expect updates sometime in the next week when I finally get around to planning it.
• The book launch party.  I still have to pin down the date, so I can’t decide any specifics until then.
• My author brand.  I need to decide on one, but I’m having trouble coming up with anything specific.  (Suggestions welcome!!)
• Most of the extra pages on my website.  I have to work on an author Q&A, a sales page, and several other book tie-in pages.

The most exciting news, though, is that I’ll be ordering my first set of copies tomorrow!  They won’t arrive by the official release date, but I definitely need them before the book launch party.  If you have any questions you want answered in my first Q&A page on the author website, let me know in the comments below.

Is Anyone Listening? Public speaking as a (sneaky) way to sell your book

I’ve been reading Rob Eagar’s Sell Your Book like Wildfire, and one of his chapters is all about how valuable public speaking opportunities are—both for your book sales and for your career as a writer.  He was very persuasive!  Unfortunately, most of the speaking opportunities he described are related to nonfiction books.

You see, the whole reason someone will book you as a speaker is because you can provide value.  Talking about the fact that you just published a book, and isn’t that great!, and you should buy it!—that’s not value.

It’s easy to see why nonfiction authors can demonstrate value.  Maybe they’ve written a self-help book, and they can teach the audience some of the lessons included in the book.  Maybe they’re a relationship coach, and they can help people with their struggling relationships.  Or maybe they’re a food writer who can give a cooking demo.

Fiction authors have a much harder time with this.  I was completely stumped, until recently.  The Natural Order is a YA novel, so it’s aimed at middle school and high school students.  What on earth could I talk about that would interest them?

Then my partner and I got to talking. 

We’re hoping someday to do the Te Araroa, which is a hike that runs the length of New Zealand, and while we’re hiking, he wants to stop at schools along the way and give wilderness first-aid talks to the kids.  See, we’re both big hikers, and on top of a paramedic and nursing degree, he used to be part of the ski patrol in Montana.  Plus, he was a firefighter.

Kids love that sort of thing.

As it turns out, The Natural Order is set in the Canadian wilderness, and the characters occasionally have to survive disasters of their own—the same sort of things you would talk about in a wilderness first-aid class.  Things like avalanches (especially a problem in New Zealand, with the extremely steep mountains!), hypothermia, and getting lost in the woods.

My partner could do a wilderness first-aid talk for middle-schoolers and high-schoolers, and reference The Natural Order for examples of situations that you could find yourself in while hiking in the woods!

Perfect.  It’s useful for teachers, fun for kids, and not obviously a sales ploy.

We’ll give it a try in mid-June (it’s winter here in New Zealand, so they won’t be on summer break), shortly after the book has been released, and see if it generates any results!

Why on earth would anyone self-publish a book?

10 or 15 years ago, self-publishing was the stupidest idea any writer could come up with.  I remember reading a silly children’s book, The Great Mom Swap, where one of the characters has dreams of publishing a book…and is then devastated when she realizes the publisher who has noticed her is a vanity press, meaning they want her to pay a ton of money to print her book, without any distribution whatsoever.

That is what self-publishing used to look like: authors wanted to see their name on a book cover, and didn’t realize that a genuine publishing company was necessary to actually sell that book.

But things have changed a lot in 15 years.  For one, the internet has become the biggest marketing platform ever to exist.  Now, if a customer wants to find your book, they don’t have to walk into Barnes and Noble.  They can just order it on Amazon.

I’m not saying publishing houses are outdated.  They’re not.  If you want your book to get major bookstore distribution, a publisher is your best bet.  And no Amazon service can replace the benefits of a professional editor, proofreader, and cover designer.

However, there are actually some downfalls to traditional publishing.  I definitely hope to be published by a traditional house someday, especially when I am ready to unveil my epic fantasy world, but even with a traditional publishing house, I can’t escape the fact that I am woefully ignorant in the ways of book-marketing.

That’s one big problem authors face even when their books are traditionally published–they assume the publisher will do all of the marketing and promotional work for them, when this really just leads to your book sliding by unnoticed.  Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, most of the marketing burden falls on your shoulders.

The Natural Order is a chance to educate myself, to see what works and what doesn’t.

And here are a few reasons why self-publishing can actually be better than traditional publishing:

• The biggest one, for me, is that when your book is traditionally published, you have no way of seeing the results of your marketing efforts…until months after they have happened.  If your publisher hosts a big giveaway or contest, or you go on a book tour, or you invest in a paid placement, how can you tell if the money and time was well-spent?  With traditional publishing, you can’t.  You can only see results in the form of infrequent royalty checks, which might speak more about a general trend than about the success of a particular effort.  As a self-publisher, you can track your sales in every form on a day-to-day basis, which shows you whether sales spiked after a particular event or just grew (or declined!) in a general trend.  That way you can give up on marketing efforts that didn’t work, and invest more in the ones that produced results.
• You can’t be lazy.  With no publisher to supposedly market your book, you have no excuse to sit around and wait for sales.  It’s up to you to build the buzz, find people who care, and make it happen.
• You could make more money from each book sale!  This is only helpful if your book sells well, though, because a traditional publisher gives you an advance payment whether or not your book sells.
• You get to design the cover.  Whether that’s a good or bad thing can be left up to debate, but I know many authors wish they could design their own covers.  Instead, most of them aren’t even given a choice in the matter.  Even your title could be changed!  I’m betting most writers would benefit from a publisher-designed cover, but who hasn’t dreamed of putting their own cover on a book?

By the way, rjvickers.com is currently being redesigned–stay on the lookout for the fancy new site!  And when it is unveiled, I’ll add a few exclusive goodies on the site!