Book writers of PH
Discussion
Roy Lime said:
The other day I had a long phone call with a publisher, he told me my novel had just missed out. I've received a bit of feedback from the readers, quoted as follows:
"Generally the pitch and the book plot were well received. The ideas are topical - but also timeless, ruthless business men trying to claw their way to the top, the bad side of human nature. The book itself was easy to read, but I think the main problem came from the characterisation. Too many of the characters were stereotypes, which always makes them less than believable or realistic as most people are more complex."
They added a bit about forgetting dreams of being the next JK Rowling as it's mostly luck and then said,
"If however, you enjoy writing I say keep going - there is a book there - it just needs more development and a bit more work."
This gives me a couple of problems. The story is a satire; the characters were written to be stereotypes. Secondly, they've suggested I have the book edited prior to submission (not copy edited - there are no particular problems with grammar etc.). I've always wanted it editing, but worry that if I do so before submitting it anywhere else, I'm in exactly the same position - surely editing at that level is highly subjective.
I'm new to all this. What do people think?
I think you can clearly write and just need to develop the way you look at your work. You say your book is stereotypical characterisations, well, look at someone like Martin Amis. He writes book with stereotypical characters, but he does it in a way that makes them unusual and fresh. You want a character that isn't formulaic really. Like Keith Talent in London Fields, for example (a superb book)."Generally the pitch and the book plot were well received. The ideas are topical - but also timeless, ruthless business men trying to claw their way to the top, the bad side of human nature. The book itself was easy to read, but I think the main problem came from the characterisation. Too many of the characters were stereotypes, which always makes them less than believable or realistic as most people are more complex."
They added a bit about forgetting dreams of being the next JK Rowling as it's mostly luck and then said,
"If however, you enjoy writing I say keep going - there is a book there - it just needs more development and a bit more work."
This gives me a couple of problems. The story is a satire; the characters were written to be stereotypes. Secondly, they've suggested I have the book edited prior to submission (not copy edited - there are no particular problems with grammar etc.). I've always wanted it editing, but worry that if I do so before submitting it anywhere else, I'm in exactly the same position - surely editing at that level is highly subjective.
I'm new to all this. What do people think?
Getting published is not only hard, it is also subject to the whims and fancies of what publishers want that month, week, day or hour (just ask Ed Reardon). As a successful first-time author - that is your book nationally selling everywhere - you can expect to see a return of perhaps £12k if you're lucky for a first book. And huge success is not based on skill but luck - just try reading 'Fifty Shades...' or 'Twilight' to see evidence.
Once you have finished it, get friends who read to read it first, or try a site like 'youwriteon' who work a system of 'review one, get one of yours reviewed' on a chapter basis.
When enough people tell you they think it's good, consider paying for a good editor. If they really like it they may have contacts...
If you still fail, but are sure its awesome, self publish for under £1. You can always put up the proc on the second book if it takes off.
I've finally started writing after getting some help from this thread:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I spent years battling with literary agents and publishers before giving up. The whole ebook market has changed the entire dynamics of the book market and publishing and trad publishers are proving very slow to catch up. The days of getting a book deal and six figure advance as a unknown are long gone I'm afraid. Its all about 'author platform' these days. With bookshops closing at a fearsome rate and Amazon pretty much owning the book market going trad as a non established writer offers little advantages other than the kudos of being part of the big 6 firm and saying you are with a big publisher.
Some facts to consider
Royalties on paperbacks run at about 6.5 percent - hardcovers 15 and ebooks 25 if you are lucky, and that is net to the publisher. Ebooks are now accounting for a larger share of the market. compare that with self-publishing and you get 70 percent royalties on kindle, about 65 on barnes and noble and 70 on iBooks and 55 or so on google play (based on retail non discounted price). on a trad deal i would make about 2.50 on a 9.99 ebook, if i self pub it then at 70 percent i can cut the price to half that 4.99 and still make a better royalty. Both Amazon (Via createspace) and Ingram (worlds largest book distributor) have print on demand services where you can get your book into both trade paperback (createspace) and hardback (ingram spark) format. you can set the price and even with a standard 55 percent trade discount will make about 25 percent royalty - far better than a trad deal.
I've got lots of writing friends who are considered mid-list - they get no back up from their publishers, no marketing and no promotion - its still down to you to market the book so all you are really gaining is some negligible distribution to trad outlets for several months before they yank your book.
So this is my advice to aspiring authors based one experience:
Publishers are increasingly using self-pubbed authors as a slush pile. they keep a eye on the bestseller lists and if you are clearly getting traction then are likely to offer you a deal. They've figured that rather than investing in stone cold dead new writers self pub bed writers take a lot of risk away, they can see how much platform they have built, check out their customer reviews and determine if they are already a commercial success or not without investing a penny.
Therefore if you get rejected for an agent or book deal I would do the following:
Get yourself your 'author platform' - this takes several months to build so start it long before your book is out. You need a website /blog, Facebook fan page. twitter account and account on goodreads. your aim is to get as much visibility as possible in advance.
There are lots of channels to put your book through. Aim to get your manuscript ready in word format. You can hire a freelance editor, cover artist and get your book DTP'd for press all for under a grand, just go to the relevant book sites like kboards to find well priced recommended freelancers DO NOT USE ANY OF THE AUTHOR SERVICES!!!! the ones such as authorsolutoons or other ebook aggregators are a complete con. they charge 1000's of dollars for services that you can get done for much cheaper.
If you are handy with the inter webs a ebook is basically a xhtml packaged format. you can get freeware software - sigil for epub and calibre for mobi (kindle). if you have some design skills you just need a PDF press version of your cover (if you are going to POD it) and a JPG version for the cover art. If you have the skills adobe indesign is the tool of choice for putting together a print PDF - an adobe cloud subscription can be had for about 40 quid a month for the entire adobe creative suite.
Once you have your epub, PDF for print and cover art then:
Use either createspace (from amazon) or Ingram Spark for print distribution. I'd recommend Ingram spark simply because most bookshops won't stock anything with amazons fingerprints on it. Ingram is more technical but you can get a professional hardback out and done for a 49 dollar registration fee. you will need to get a ISBN (get a block they are cheaper) from Nielsen. Ingram will then distribute your book globally to all the online retailers such as amazon, Barnes & noble and others and it will be available to order through all other book retailers such as waterstones - they won't actually stock it unless customers ask for it but they can order it so its down to you to get it into shops. Make sure you put a standard 55 percent trade discount on the cover or they usually won't but it in.
For the Ebook
Amazon KDP is your first port of call. DON"T ENROLL IN SELECT!!! they demand exclusivity and give you little back in return. Through Amazon you can distribute your kindle (.mobi) edition across amazon globally, majority of markets you will get 70 percent royalty and the rest 35 percent. Make sure you write up a good blurb, get some good keywords and setup your amazon author page.
Next stop is iTunes (rather ibooks) this is more of a hassle because Apple demand you have a EIN number to go direct. the quickest and easiest way is to use a aggregator (i'd recommend Draft2Digital who will also take care of Barnes and noble Nook). Get an account with D2D and you can upload your book to the global iTunes store and they will pay you the full royalty via paypal (less 10 or 15 percent of your royalty). its worth the small commission tbh to avoid the hassle of dealing with apple direct.
For Barnes & Noble Nook - you can only go direct with a US company or tax number and bank account, again i would use Draft 2 Digital to aggregate it for both iBooks and Nook so they will take care of Nook for you.
Next up is google play. they have a bookstore for android devices - do a search for google play book publishing and you will get an account. there is a good thread on boards.com on the process to get your book up but once you have your epub file its fairly straightforward. they will distribute your book globally on their platform and you get about 55 percent of the retail price you set (they swallow any discount out of their margin). they pay about 4 days from the end of the month.
After you've done google last up is Kobo. they retail ebooks through lots of partners including WHSmiths. go to kobobooks.com and hit the writing life link. create yourself an account and follow the same process with the epub you used for apple, google and nook.
After thats done you should within 2 weeks have your books for sale in paperback or hardback (or both), Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Google Play for Android and Kobo format.
Now comes the hard bit. DISCOVERABILITY
lots of the book stores based your search rankings on things like also boughts, review stats etc. the more reviews you get the better your rankings. Don't be tempted to sock puppet and put up fake reviews. Your best bet is to seek out book bloggers and reviewers and offer them a review copy. Also get everyone you ever met to read your book and write a honest review on it. the more reviews you get the better. you will get natural discovery reviews over time but its a slow process, it takes a couple of years from being a unknown to get anything like starting traction.
Use your blog, twitter Facebook etc to drive interest in your book but don't hard sell it, people hate that.
Hit up your local press or anything you can do to get the word out. You'll get royalty payments direct from all your books all being well within a couple of months.
I've got 2 books out direct in all of the above, sales are in the low thousands and its provided a nice enough income to do it full time now. I'm currently working on my third.
If you do a professional cover and get a good editor there is no reason for your books to look any different than the big six. people buy the stories not the publisher, the advantage of going indy is you get a much bigger chunk of royalties which means you have to do less volume and also you can put out books as quickly as you wish to build your readership faster.
It really comes down to what you want to achieve - getting a big 6 book deal is a huge ego boost but not always the best commercial decision. going it alone and building your readership should be your primary goal, if you make a big enough splash then the agents and publishers will come to you not the other way round.
edit to add, any questions feel free to ask.
Some facts to consider
Royalties on paperbacks run at about 6.5 percent - hardcovers 15 and ebooks 25 if you are lucky, and that is net to the publisher. Ebooks are now accounting for a larger share of the market. compare that with self-publishing and you get 70 percent royalties on kindle, about 65 on barnes and noble and 70 on iBooks and 55 or so on google play (based on retail non discounted price). on a trad deal i would make about 2.50 on a 9.99 ebook, if i self pub it then at 70 percent i can cut the price to half that 4.99 and still make a better royalty. Both Amazon (Via createspace) and Ingram (worlds largest book distributor) have print on demand services where you can get your book into both trade paperback (createspace) and hardback (ingram spark) format. you can set the price and even with a standard 55 percent trade discount will make about 25 percent royalty - far better than a trad deal.
I've got lots of writing friends who are considered mid-list - they get no back up from their publishers, no marketing and no promotion - its still down to you to market the book so all you are really gaining is some negligible distribution to trad outlets for several months before they yank your book.
So this is my advice to aspiring authors based one experience:
Publishers are increasingly using self-pubbed authors as a slush pile. they keep a eye on the bestseller lists and if you are clearly getting traction then are likely to offer you a deal. They've figured that rather than investing in stone cold dead new writers self pub bed writers take a lot of risk away, they can see how much platform they have built, check out their customer reviews and determine if they are already a commercial success or not without investing a penny.
Therefore if you get rejected for an agent or book deal I would do the following:
Get yourself your 'author platform' - this takes several months to build so start it long before your book is out. You need a website /blog, Facebook fan page. twitter account and account on goodreads. your aim is to get as much visibility as possible in advance.
There are lots of channels to put your book through. Aim to get your manuscript ready in word format. You can hire a freelance editor, cover artist and get your book DTP'd for press all for under a grand, just go to the relevant book sites like kboards to find well priced recommended freelancers DO NOT USE ANY OF THE AUTHOR SERVICES!!!! the ones such as authorsolutoons or other ebook aggregators are a complete con. they charge 1000's of dollars for services that you can get done for much cheaper.
If you are handy with the inter webs a ebook is basically a xhtml packaged format. you can get freeware software - sigil for epub and calibre for mobi (kindle). if you have some design skills you just need a PDF press version of your cover (if you are going to POD it) and a JPG version for the cover art. If you have the skills adobe indesign is the tool of choice for putting together a print PDF - an adobe cloud subscription can be had for about 40 quid a month for the entire adobe creative suite.
Once you have your epub, PDF for print and cover art then:
Use either createspace (from amazon) or Ingram Spark for print distribution. I'd recommend Ingram spark simply because most bookshops won't stock anything with amazons fingerprints on it. Ingram is more technical but you can get a professional hardback out and done for a 49 dollar registration fee. you will need to get a ISBN (get a block they are cheaper) from Nielsen. Ingram will then distribute your book globally to all the online retailers such as amazon, Barnes & noble and others and it will be available to order through all other book retailers such as waterstones - they won't actually stock it unless customers ask for it but they can order it so its down to you to get it into shops. Make sure you put a standard 55 percent trade discount on the cover or they usually won't but it in.
For the Ebook
Amazon KDP is your first port of call. DON"T ENROLL IN SELECT!!! they demand exclusivity and give you little back in return. Through Amazon you can distribute your kindle (.mobi) edition across amazon globally, majority of markets you will get 70 percent royalty and the rest 35 percent. Make sure you write up a good blurb, get some good keywords and setup your amazon author page.
Next stop is iTunes (rather ibooks) this is more of a hassle because Apple demand you have a EIN number to go direct. the quickest and easiest way is to use a aggregator (i'd recommend Draft2Digital who will also take care of Barnes and noble Nook). Get an account with D2D and you can upload your book to the global iTunes store and they will pay you the full royalty via paypal (less 10 or 15 percent of your royalty). its worth the small commission tbh to avoid the hassle of dealing with apple direct.
For Barnes & Noble Nook - you can only go direct with a US company or tax number and bank account, again i would use Draft 2 Digital to aggregate it for both iBooks and Nook so they will take care of Nook for you.
Next up is google play. they have a bookstore for android devices - do a search for google play book publishing and you will get an account. there is a good thread on boards.com on the process to get your book up but once you have your epub file its fairly straightforward. they will distribute your book globally on their platform and you get about 55 percent of the retail price you set (they swallow any discount out of their margin). they pay about 4 days from the end of the month.
After you've done google last up is Kobo. they retail ebooks through lots of partners including WHSmiths. go to kobobooks.com and hit the writing life link. create yourself an account and follow the same process with the epub you used for apple, google and nook.
After thats done you should within 2 weeks have your books for sale in paperback or hardback (or both), Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Google Play for Android and Kobo format.
Now comes the hard bit. DISCOVERABILITY
lots of the book stores based your search rankings on things like also boughts, review stats etc. the more reviews you get the better your rankings. Don't be tempted to sock puppet and put up fake reviews. Your best bet is to seek out book bloggers and reviewers and offer them a review copy. Also get everyone you ever met to read your book and write a honest review on it. the more reviews you get the better. you will get natural discovery reviews over time but its a slow process, it takes a couple of years from being a unknown to get anything like starting traction.
Use your blog, twitter Facebook etc to drive interest in your book but don't hard sell it, people hate that.
Hit up your local press or anything you can do to get the word out. You'll get royalty payments direct from all your books all being well within a couple of months.
I've got 2 books out direct in all of the above, sales are in the low thousands and its provided a nice enough income to do it full time now. I'm currently working on my third.
If you do a professional cover and get a good editor there is no reason for your books to look any different than the big six. people buy the stories not the publisher, the advantage of going indy is you get a much bigger chunk of royalties which means you have to do less volume and also you can put out books as quickly as you wish to build your readership faster.
It really comes down to what you want to achieve - getting a big 6 book deal is a huge ego boost but not always the best commercial decision. going it alone and building your readership should be your primary goal, if you make a big enough splash then the agents and publishers will come to you not the other way round.
edit to add, any questions feel free to ask.
nyxster said:
(Awesome post snipped)
Yes I have some questions hope you don't mind answering:1) You said you'd "given up". I presume this means print publishing but you are still ebook publishing right? Are you allowed to reveal the name of your books (if advertising is not allowed, feel free to PM me, I'm curious to read your stuff)
2) How far do you think pirating hurts you and other author's sales? I've heard a lot of writers saying they are giving up because of pirating. I could get virtually any book downloaded from Pirate Bay, then transferred over to my iBook app in approx 10 minutes of downloading an ePub file if I wanted to.
3) Do you have to write a series of books to make any decent money? I've got 2 genres that interest me, crime fiction and science fiction. I like the idea of alternating between the 2 , but not sure if writing a series about the same character might not bore me. What do you think?
4) Is it possible to publish and get paid under a pseudonym?
5) I read the following comments by a science fiction writer called T.R. Harris (http://bytrharris.com/) on the comments page in a Salon article:
trharris said:
TR Harris
SATURDAY, MAR 16, 2013 10:37 PM +0100
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions in this article. First of all, I am a successful indie ebook writer selling my books on Amazon, and I can tell you, Amazon does not keep all the money. I sell my books for $4.99 and I receive royalties of approximately $3.22 per book, or about 65% of the cover price of the book. Another thing, I sell around 7,000 books per month over six titles and make around $20,000 per month, and I have never even been close to making the Top 100 Bestsellers on Amazon. When Colleen Hoover was #1 on Amazon in December with Hopeless, she was selling around 12,000 copies PER DAY. The author may have been #1 in his category, but not on Amazon overall, not with 4,000 copies sold. If you have a traditional publishing contract, then you get paid the royalty through your publisher, not Amazon. These agreements usually carry a much lower royalty. I'm making a very good living as an indie author. I wouldn't fault the system. The system works, at least for me.
http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/hey_amazon_wheres_...
So he reckons he's making about $240,000 gross per annum across 6 books in his series without being a bestselling author. Do you think his figures are credible? And do you think this is about an average that an author could expect?SATURDAY, MAR 16, 2013 10:37 PM +0100
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions in this article. First of all, I am a successful indie ebook writer selling my books on Amazon, and I can tell you, Amazon does not keep all the money. I sell my books for $4.99 and I receive royalties of approximately $3.22 per book, or about 65% of the cover price of the book. Another thing, I sell around 7,000 books per month over six titles and make around $20,000 per month, and I have never even been close to making the Top 100 Bestsellers on Amazon. When Colleen Hoover was #1 on Amazon in December with Hopeless, she was selling around 12,000 copies PER DAY. The author may have been #1 in his category, but not on Amazon overall, not with 4,000 copies sold. If you have a traditional publishing contract, then you get paid the royalty through your publisher, not Amazon. These agreements usually carry a much lower royalty. I'm making a very good living as an indie author. I wouldn't fault the system. The system works, at least for me.
http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/hey_amazon_wheres_...
Thanks for your help
ATV said:
So he reckons he's making about $240,000 gross per annum across 6 books in his series without being a bestselling author. Do you think his figures are credible? And do you think this is about an average that an author could expect?
Thanks for your help
I hit #33 overall and #2 in category last year and made about £2,000 in a couple of days, so it is possible if you're holding a solid position all year on all six of those books. As soon as you drop off the top 100 though it is freefall if you don't have a platform or somewhere for the reader to go ( backlist etc,)Thanks for your help
LeftmostAardvark said:
I hit #33 overall and #2 in category last year and made about £2,000 in a couple of days, so it is possible if you're holding a solid position all year on all six of those books. As soon as you drop off the top 100 though it is freefall if you don't have a platform or somewhere for the reader to go ( backlist etc,)
Thanks for the clarification.In your experience, what sells better: crime books or sci-fi?
I'm about four chapters in to my first novel and I'm keeping a separate plot log so that I can make sure I don't just randomly insert a conversation between two people that haven't met before, plus a note of stuff as I write to make sure it sounds reasonable as my idea isn't exactly original.
i haven't gone back to it for such a long time though now.....
it's blunt 10 point doggerel any way
i haven't gone back to it for such a long time though now.....
it's blunt 10 point doggerel any way
Great topic this, with some very helful advice and ideas.
I have finally just started work on my own book, (non fiction) I have been thinking about it for a while and have finally decided to give it a go.
It's going to be a big mountain to climb as I have never attempted anything like this, and as I've been a lorry driver for the last 21 years and my current computer skills are limited but hopefully it isn't to late to learn. My current abilities are limited to internet surfing and emails, told you that mountain was big
So i'm using an old laptop that a friend has given me to make a start with, and i've started writing the book using office world 2003, (I know, I know.) Well at least I've made a start, and word seems to work well for a beginner like myself.
I started Sunday evening and last night finished my first chapter, (this won't be the first chapter of the book) and after reading it through and tweaking it, and then repeating that several times I am now happy with it
Its contains 3817 words, I have no idea if this is enough to warrant it as a chapter though? Any thoughts?
Obviously I know I am such a long way from even thinking about getting the book proof read, edited, or even published but thats not in my mind just yet as i'll just take everything 1 step at a time. I'm quite happy for now just to get 1 chapter done, and will make a start on the next 1 today.
I have finally just started work on my own book, (non fiction) I have been thinking about it for a while and have finally decided to give it a go.
It's going to be a big mountain to climb as I have never attempted anything like this, and as I've been a lorry driver for the last 21 years and my current computer skills are limited but hopefully it isn't to late to learn. My current abilities are limited to internet surfing and emails, told you that mountain was big
So i'm using an old laptop that a friend has given me to make a start with, and i've started writing the book using office world 2003, (I know, I know.) Well at least I've made a start, and word seems to work well for a beginner like myself.
I started Sunday evening and last night finished my first chapter, (this won't be the first chapter of the book) and after reading it through and tweaking it, and then repeating that several times I am now happy with it
Its contains 3817 words, I have no idea if this is enough to warrant it as a chapter though? Any thoughts?
Obviously I know I am such a long way from even thinking about getting the book proof read, edited, or even published but thats not in my mind just yet as i'll just take everything 1 step at a time. I'm quite happy for now just to get 1 chapter done, and will make a start on the next 1 today.
coppice said:
I guarantee that when you next reread the chapter you will want/need to edit it. It is all part of the fun. Chapter length - shortish but no matter. Just write and write and write and then worry about stuff like that when you start honing the final draft(s)
Thanks, and you are right as I have indeed edited it everytime so far.I stopped the chapter at a point where I could go nicely from that 1, and start the next but the 2 could be linked to make 1. Its only a rough guess in my head at the mo, but i'm 99% certain the next chapter will certainly surpass the word count from the first. I guess as a complete novice i'm probably over thinking things a bit to much at the moment.
I'm happy with my 'flow rate' (if that makes sense?) as everything for the book is from memory and 20 years worth of diaries I have kept along the way. The hold ups come from just double checking certain facts online to make sure that what i'm about to write is 100% correct.
What works for me is just getting the text down when I am on a roll- I don't fuss too much about spelling and punctuation being right as all that can be perfected later. But if the words are coming then don't stop to check stuff on line - that comes later too. The key point is that writing a chapter is a process - and that only starts when you have the first words down and doesn't finish until your final edit. So don't fret about getting each chapter just so before you move on the next and remember Ernest Hemingway's advice about writing - and that is don't stop when you run out of ideas and words but stop when the flow is still going well and you know what to say next . That way you return to it knowing what happens next.
Quick update to the thread. My novel was published a few months ago and has been on sale in as many independent local bookshops as I've been able to persuade. It wasn't edited in the end as the publisher liked its 'raw' style (it was, however, thoroughly proofread - a necessity that will be glaringly obvious to anyone who has read any of my posts on here).
It's been available to order through the Waterstones.com website for a while but has today been taken on a trial basis by one of their stores. Bad news in that it's only one but good news that it's the Manchester Deansgate store.
Marketing, as ever, remains the killer. As an unknown author the budget is pretty much zilch and, as I'm woefully short of work, I can't afford an advertising spend myself. If anyone has any low-cost ideas I'm all ears.
Best of luck to all.
It's been available to order through the Waterstones.com website for a while but has today been taken on a trial basis by one of their stores. Bad news in that it's only one but good news that it's the Manchester Deansgate store.
Marketing, as ever, remains the killer. As an unknown author the budget is pretty much zilch and, as I'm woefully short of work, I can't afford an advertising spend myself. If anyone has any low-cost ideas I'm all ears.
Best of luck to all.
Roy Lime said:
Quick update to the thread. My novel was published a few months ago and has been on sale in as many independent local bookshops as I've been able to persuade. It wasn't edited in the end as the publisher liked its 'raw' style (it was, however, thoroughly proofread - a necessity that will be glaringly obvious to anyone who has read any of my posts on here).
It's been available to order through the Waterstones.com website for a while but has today been taken on a trial basis by one of their stores. Bad news in that it's only one but good news that it's the Manchester Deansgate store.
Marketing, as ever, remains the killer. As an unknown author the budget is pretty much zilch and, as I'm woefully short of work, I can't afford an advertising spend myself. If anyone has any low-cost ideas I'm all ears.
Best of luck to all.
Congratulations of getting your book into waterstones, that's no easy feat. Concerning to hear about the lack of copy editing though--I don't think a book exists that doesn't need it. Copy editing pares back the unnecessary, clarifies the confusing, streamlines the flow. Being as you are in your own head, it's impossible to get this right without external help. It's been available to order through the Waterstones.com website for a while but has today been taken on a trial basis by one of their stores. Bad news in that it's only one but good news that it's the Manchester Deansgate store.
Marketing, as ever, remains the killer. As an unknown author the budget is pretty much zilch and, as I'm woefully short of work, I can't afford an advertising spend myself. If anyone has any low-cost ideas I'm all ears.
Best of luck to all.
But anyway, about marketing. If your book is online, I can help you, if not, I can't! Here's a post I wrote about promoting books online (specifically for a launch, but the info still translates): http://www.michaelgrumley.com/guest-post-andrew-mo...
I hope it's of some use to you, and good luck.
Good to hear. Hope the books do well. What are the stories about?
Whilst this thread has been brought back to life, I thought I'd ask how the PH writers who contributed are getting on. Have we had any successes and more books published?
I have so far failed to do anything writing wise. I'm putting it down to becoming a dad last year and changing jobs. However, I'm fed up with working for others and feeling like a piece of dirt, so I'm going to make a big push and crack on with some writing over Christmas. Will see how it goes.
Happy Christmas all.
Whilst this thread has been brought back to life, I thought I'd ask how the PH writers who contributed are getting on. Have we had any successes and more books published?
I have so far failed to do anything writing wise. I'm putting it down to becoming a dad last year and changing jobs. However, I'm fed up with working for others and feeling like a piece of dirt, so I'm going to make a big push and crack on with some writing over Christmas. Will see how it goes.
Happy Christmas all.
Top thread and some great advice! I've just finished the manuscript for my first book, a travel adventure/comedy set in South America, and am struggling to decide what to do as a next step. It sounds like the best route to take would be to invest in a professional copy editor then submit it to a range of publishers, and if I get nowhere after 3-6 months go the self publishing route. Reading the comments above though I'm half tempted to go direct to self publishing as I'm quite technically proficient.
My main weaknesses are having no experience in this field and not knowing any other authors or people in the book industry. I've thought about attending clubs/events for aspiring writers but not actually done anything about it yet.
My main weaknesses are having no experience in this field and not knowing any other authors or people in the book industry. I've thought about attending clubs/events for aspiring writers but not actually done anything about it yet.
I just had my first journal article published in an american journal and had a call from the APA, about potentially writing a textbook which is flattering.
Thinking about it today I may do it if I can keep the digital rights and let them do the print version and I can self pub the all singing and dancing interactive ebook version. I love what you can do with an epub 3 files these days.
I used to work for the biggest STM publisher and know exactly how bad publishers are at digital, including some of their more dodgy practices.
Thinking about it today I may do it if I can keep the digital rights and let them do the print version and I can self pub the all singing and dancing interactive ebook version. I love what you can do with an epub 3 files these days.
I used to work for the biggest STM publisher and know exactly how bad publishers are at digital, including some of their more dodgy practices.
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