Practicalities of Being an Author

Practicalities of being an Author

Introduction:

· JK Rowlings – 4th book I heard about her, by the 6th book shops in Sri Lanka were shipping. Why people were reading it and it reached a tipping point. UK Sales – Book 1 – 4.2 million, Book 7 – 4.5 million, Book 2,3,4 3.2 million (450 million world wide) Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone did nothing initially. Chamber of Secrets – 1 month at number 1 in hard back, Prisoner of Azkaban to press acclaim and book 1 went to number 1.)

· Hugh Howey – has sold 1,000,000 books but you have never heard of him

· How many books on Amazon? 11,273,755. How are you going to stand out?

· An Extra-Ordinary beginning – 2,000 something was my highest and No.1 in two categories

Activities:

· So you write a book and it is great. What do you do next? Elicit responses. Check it, format it, give it to a critical reviewer. You may not like what they say but listen to them. Mrs Pesova posted a review which helped me.

· Two routes you can take – 1. Be an independent author 2. Find an agent 3. Find a publisher. List pros and cons from my perspective.

· Your book is now perfect, no mistakes, trial readers have given it up the thumbs up. Next, create your own website, tell everyone you are an author on it (Show website), build content (you are trying to attract people to buy your book – if your site is crap they won’t continue). Give your site the right name, get an email address again with the right name, start social media accounts (facebook, twitter, linkedin, Instagram) but only choose what you want to use. These are all tools that should help you, not restrain you. Encourage people to subscribe to you – give analogy of people in a room – shouting at them and the talking 1 to 1.

· Create a buzz. Get people excited by the release of your new book. DIY or pay someone to do it for you. I did both. Tell BBC and WRS stories. Tell PR Newswire story. Start small, don’t try and take over the world.

· Now release your book – eReader or paper copy. Last year ebooks 60% of world sales, but 20% of income. My ebook retails for 2.50 but I make 70%, paperback copy 7.99 but I get about 49p if Amazon have not reduced it, which they do

· Amazon Select or Everywhere – pros and cons

· Marketing. How? What can you do? Elicit ideas. You need to get people talking about it. So what have I done – facebook, blogs, twitter, youtube, ransom notes, target groups (I have sent 9000 emails to school in UK since November), contacted actors, indie bloggers, pay for adverts on blogs, interviews (ask some questions that I got asked and talk about rubbish Washington radio station interview), social media competitions, I have more ideas but I will be putting these into action.

· You need to have an action plan so you know where you are going.

· Track what you are doing – but beware Google Analytics is 20% to 80% accurate and your website server will be more accurate if they offer this service. Review, try and work out what worked (e.g. a d winch interview vs alien talk show vs snail draw) and try something else

· Use blog post when I talk about promoting my book

· Due to other commitments (being a Dad!) I have 6 hours a day. I try to divide this between marketing and writing but due to the release of my second novel 90% of the last 35 days I have only written on 4 days! I never expected this.

· Some tips –don’t sit the computer all day. I work 50 minutes, 10 minute exercise and 30 minutes for lunch. If you work at home separate your work time from your personal time e.g. I have work clothes which are comfortable, never listen to my albums, or watch TV or do personal things during my work time. I also only work on the kitchen table. Make sure you get out and meet people – it is a solitary job, don’t become a hermit.

Conclusion (To make it):

· No one knows you – accept it and appreciate every new person that comes about you

· Start small

· Be prepared that you won’t be writing all the time

· You are going to make mistakes – accept it, don’t dwell on them and learn from them

· Organised

· Self-disciplined

· Creative

· Be confident in what you do

· Set targets

· Longevity/Time

· Resilience

· Cheery disposition and celebrate your successes

· Word of mouth

· Ask for help

· Be helpful

Making it as an author (Blog post) 16/01/2014

1. You have to NEED to make it - Wanting to make it is not enough. You need to make sacrifices.

2. You have to have written a great book - Make sure that everyone knows that it is great.

3. You can't do it alone - A PA would be great, so would a marketing team but to begin with you are going to have rely on your friends. Finish the book and then spend the time getting your name out there by approaching people and asking them for help.

4. Money - You are going to need to spend some, in order for people to notice you above all the other aspiring authors.

5. Believers/influencers - You need people with power to believe in you. They need to put your name out there on their blog, tweets, social media pages, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV

6. Sustaining - Great, your first book is a hit but how are you going to make sure people buy your second book? A good start is to build an email list. This ensures that your fans know when your new book comes out

7. Learning - You must learn from the mistakes you make and the advice you have been given. Find a critical friend who will tell say when you are great and when you stink. Don’t worry when you cock it up

8. Pay little attention to those who are popular - Be yourself, not someone else. By the time you have finished your book about a boy wizard who falls in love with a vampire while fighting in gladiator style games, people will have moved on to something else.

9. Publicity - We see publicity as evidence that someone believes in you.

10. Word of mouth - Is still king, but use your friends and family to promote you beyond the people you know.

11. Popularity – Means people like you and your books, but not everyone will Ignore the bad reviews. A product on amazon with nine good reviews and one bad one will outsell a product with ten good reviews.

12. Longevity - Work hard on your writing but, in equal measure, your marketing. Try out new things (they won't all be successful) make a name for yourself and build 'you' as a brand.

13. Be nice and be helpful - Say please and thank you, be grateful and offer people your help. If you can assist someone then they are more likely to help you to say good things about you to other people.

14. Sour grapes/Be positive - To be a successful author is going to be difficult. On the way people who you think can't write at all, are going to make it. Ignore them, concentrate on your own successes (keep a success list - no matter how small they are), celebrate your achievements and be positive.

15. There are no guarantees - Every book has it time and this is finite. Harry Potter was massive, then Twilight was huge and now The Hunger Games. You will hit the top for only a short amount of time. Enjoy it

Writing Checklist

1. Leave it for a month

2. Reread it for enjoyment

3. Read it again. Check for:

· Continuity errors

· Chapter errors

· Missing words

· Grammar/Spelling words (I recommend Grammarly)

· Thematic omissions

· Factual checks(if you need to)

4. Give it to people – someone who you know will love it, someone you’re not sure about, and someone who is very critical

5. Make corrections/changes

6. Reread it again

7. Create your website

8. Create a buzz

9. Get a book cover

10. Re-format for Createspace

11. Re-formant for eReaders (use Smashwords/Amazon)

12. Decide categories

13. Decide keywords

14. Decide price of book

15. Contact people to put reviews up for you

16. Release your book

17. NOW THE WORK BEGINS!

Your Website

What do you need?

Create a buzz/Marketing

Discuss in groups how you are going to get your name out there. Write ideas below.

What do you need to make it?

(e.g. qualities, personal attributes, ideas)