Marketing Options Beyond the Fridge

I recently had a burst in ebook sales. Okay, so 11 purchases of "Flung" in four days may not be a big deal, but it is somewhat satisfying considering my marketing efforts have been zilch + zero = nada these past few months as I focus on getting "Flicker" (book II in the Whirlwomen Trilogy) finished, edited and ready for publishing. I can only imagine what my sales would reflect if I was actually doing some marketing.
Sometimes, you have to pay for what you need. So, I've been doing some scouting for marketing services that are affordable, target e-savvy readers, and have a proven track record. I've found a few options that meet these criteria and thought I'd share.
Duolit is a team of two women who describe themselves as an author and a geek. Together, they blog regularly about self publishing, offer an impressive amount of ePublishing information on their website, and provide support services for indie authors. Services range from an hour-long phone consultation to a three-month long, intensive coaching program designed to boost indie publishing success. The first option will cost just under $100; the second, just under $1,000.
The book promotion services offered by Joey Pinkney provide different options. I found this brother via Twitter. His social media game is tight with 25-30K visits to his website monthly and more than 70K Twitter followers, and more than 3K Facebook friends. His pricing starts at $5, which will get you a banner advertisement on his web page for three days; an author interview will cost you $25; and for $100 you'll get an author interview, a book review (good rating not guaranteed), a review trailer and social media campaign. View his full marketing menu on his website.

A more traditional approach is the press release service offered by Piece of Cake Pr . As a journalist, I know the value and the pitfalls of the press release. It will either land in the right hands or be super SEO friendly and rank high on Google search, which could lead to a published book review read by thousands. Or, it will be used for scratch paper and be buried on page 10 of a Google search. Either way, every author should have one for each book release (even if it ends up being an addition to your refrigerator art which I'm sorry to say is as far as mine got though it is an inspiration every time I refill my wine glass). Piece of Cake PR offers two press release packages priced at $89 and $159 respectively.
There are lots of other choices out there, as well as some good books that can guide do-it-yourself efforts. The operative word, however, is effort. A concerted effort at that for a successful campaign. Effort takes time and for me I'd rather shell out a little cash than take time away from writing.
(On a side note, consider this: ePublishing is revolutionizing the publishing industry. Indie authors have created a niche market for editors, graphic designers, and other support services. In effect, we are creating jobs. Let's support each other's efforts so that everyone can do what they do best and we can all have a little change in our pockets.)

ePub Countdown: A How-to for All

I admit. I am stumbling through this first independent publishing venture. Despite hours of research and picking the brains of other indie authors, I still find myself feeling overwhelmed by the entire process. I am sure I am not alone. That being the case, my next few blogs will detail my publishing experience with the hope that others will find it useful.

Presently, I am in the thick of editing. Rather, I am in the thick of being edited. This is a critical step (and a good editor will kindly suggest that crucial works better than critical) and you need to be prepared to shell out a few coins for a professional job. I started my search for an editor at www.manuscriptediting.com. This website has lots of great information for writers. More importantly, you can submit a portion of your work for a quote as well as a recommended level of editing.

Editing costs vary and may be calculated per word, per page (industry standard for words-per-page is a firm 250), or by the hour. The per word range is anywhere from ¢.01 to ¢.20. Hourly rates range from $20 per hour to about $80. For the lower rates you can expect basic copyediting and proofreading; the higher rates will include varying levels of developmental input. Rewrites and ghost-writing will cost you significantly more. My advice is to have your manuscript in the best shape possible before seeking editorial help.

My manuscript is roughly 95,000 words. I knew that I wanted line-editing and some light developmental input. When I ran the numbers, I was looking at spending more than a few thousand dollars, which was not in my budget. So I took a chance and put a free ad on Craigslist. I was surprised at the numerous responses I got from freelance editors willing to work for less. I corresponded with about a half dozen respondents, asked them to provide a sample edit of the first 10 pages of my manuscript, and based my decision on their credentials and their proven ability. It's also a good idea to make sure the editor you select is familiar with your genre.

I chose a MFA grad student who edits a literary journal and reads fantasy and sci-fi for pleasure as my editor. I have not been disappointed. For a third of what I would have spent had I gone through an agency, I feel like I landed a great editor with a keen eye for detail and consistency, grammar, syntax, POV, dialogue and style. She even throws in the occasional compliment to keep my frail writer's ego from collapsing under the weight of all the other editorial notes.

Be sure to enter into a written contract with your editor. The contract will outline specifics such as type of editing, delivery dates, payment terms and number of readings. For the latter you want to at least negotiate two readings--the initial reading where editorial comments are input and a second reading after you respond to your editor's comments. Feel free to download and copy the contract that I used. You can find it at www.slavetradepublishing.com under Resources.

Depending on the length of your work and the speed of your editor, the editing process can take a few weeks or a few months. Factor that into your production schedule. Also, be mentally prepared to do more rewriting. Yes, more rewriting.

Coming up: Pre-pub marketing, formatting for ePublishing and book covers.

Kick starting 2012

It's taken me more than two months to launch my pitch on kickstarter.com for funding to publish "Flung," the first book in the Whirlwomen Trilogy. The first week, I was paralyzed by acceptance. The second week, I had to talk myself into it being okay to ask people for their hard-earned dollars. The third week, I started shooting the video, which took me two weeks to edit and is still "imperfect in many ways." But I'm a writer, not a videographer.

I spent another two weeks going over and over, and then completely rewriting the prologue which is available for download as part of my proposal. It would have taken me another two weeks if I'd included Chapter One as well, so I made an executive decision to move forward with just the prologue. Here you'll meet the sisters--Rhutnya, Yasmina, Vashia and Laila-- learn why they must flee and get some insight into their developing powers.

You will have to buy the book to meet Duffle, a street-wise, nunchuck wielding teen who lost his family in Katrina. Or Dr. Weiss, a respected and accomplished academic with b-girl roots. Nomi Seerge should pique your interest as well as she's lived many centuries and hungers for the Whirlwomen blood to enhance her own powers.

If fantasy fiction is your thing, I think you'll enjoy my tale.

Rewriting and funding are my focus now. Being successful on kickstarter.com will be a huge boost and allow me to move the project through its final stages. As usual, I'm scared crapless that I'll fail, but trying not to let my thoughts gain any momentum in that direction. (Breathe, downward dog, tripod, balancing stick, savasanah...shanti....)

So, support if you can at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/289275151/book-i-of-the-whirlwomen-trilogy. Every dollar helps and you can donate just one if that's what you have handy (then tell 10 friends to donate one, too;-). Prayer, positive, successful, creative, courageous energy and love are accepted as well, though they are not tax write-offs. Thanking you in advance. Here goes....

Planning for Success

The last couple of days I revamped my website, edited some pages and made it to several yoga class. All of these were things on my "get it done" list, so I feel pretty good about checking them off. I also feel pretty good that I did everything myself--particularly revamping my website. While somewhat technically savvy, I am no webmaster. I relied solely on the "easy builder" program available as part of the hosting platform I chose as well as one quick call to the techie colleague who convinced me I was bright enough to do it myself. So emphatic was he that I not give up the airline miles equivalent to two domestic or one international airline ticket that was to be my payment for web-building services (yes, I am a barterer and proud of it) that he volunteered to do it for free if I failed.

I realize now that I was baited, but the intention good and the job got done. By me!

My website is very simple and temporarily not optimized for touchpad technology (sorry iPad), but it gives me, my company, web presence. That's a must in today's business and creative world. I'll jazz it up when there's a budget for that, which, of course, is in the business plan.

Yes, I said it, business plan. To some creative folk creativity and business plans are oxymorons. Two things that have no relationship whatsoever. If the muse wants you to succeed, you succeed. A Business Plan is just a distraction from doing any REAL writing.

If I wasn't creating my own financial freedom, this reasoning might have stuck. But I realize that creativity is nothing without a good plan for what to do with it. I've got lots of pages that attest to that.

A business, whether a creative venture or capital investment, needs a plan. A plan keeps things in perspective. A plan keeps you from wasting too much time. A plan keeps you cognizant of all those areas in which you need to plunge in and do those things that seem impossible--like build a website.

You can check out my company website at www.slavetradepublishing.com. Now, in the words of Jay Z "on to the next one."

-30-

If you write, you know how good typing --30-- is. It means you've finished a manuscript of some sort be it a book, a screenplay, a pilot....I recently typed that on "Flung" the first book in the Whirlwomen Trilogy (out 1/2012) and my first novel-length foray into fantasy fiction. In fact, I finished the book about the same time Steve Jobs made his transition (R.I.P genius). One minute I was jumping on the beds of my hotel room like a seven-year-old, the next I was crying on the edge of it after hearing the news about Jobs on the BBC.

For the next 24 hours, I was more obsessed with reading about Jobs and catching snippets of his speeches on the news, than reveling in the fact that I'd finished another book. I inundated myself, with the help of the rest of the Mac loving world, with Jobs' quotes on creativity, management, the consumer, life and, yes, daydreamed that through some magical mishap I'd be a beneficiary of a small part of Jobs' fortune which reminded me that, unlike Jobs, I had yet to see any substantial fruits of my labor.

I turned my attention back to my new creation with Stewi in my head saying: "You know you're just procrastinating because the real work has yet to be done. I'd bet Bryan's book is better than yours." And that evil little laugh.

A finished book, is not a finished book until its been read and re-written so many times that if you're in a busy deli and they call out "174!" you think "that's the page where the shape-shifter stuck in the form of a rat realizes his soul's been snatched" AND you discovered you morphed his name into something different than what's on page 82. You may also remember that means your sandwich is up.

The mourning is over and that process is underway. It's almost as exciting as finishing, especially when I read through bits of it that actually shut that infernal Stewi/editor in my head up and make the corners of my mouth curl north. "Hey!" I think "Maybe one genius had to go to make room for another," then I LOL until I have to go and pee. Then its back to the Mac.