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The Write Publishing: Judge A Book By Its Cover

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They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover but in the world of self-Publishing the right or wrong cover can make or break you. In the saturated world of eBooks having an eye catching cover is everything.

Choosing the Right Cover

Research book covers in your genre – not saying you need to get a cookie cutter copy that will blend in with the masses but at least make sure that your cover has similar themes as the top books in your genre.

Consider your theme– Make sure your cover conveys the theme or tone of your novel. You don’t want to confuse readers before they even open your book. I made this mistake with my first covers. While I thought they were awesome they made my book seem like a comic or manga and possibly turned off readers in my genre, paranormal romance.

Repeat Covers– Unless you are writing a serial try not to use the same cover for all the books in your series. While they need to have some similarities to show that they are part of the same series. It’s not good form to keep the same exact cover for each. Also if you are using stock photos you would need to purchase a license for each book anyway so it doesn’t save you too much cost wise either.

Model Drama– There are only so many models available in the stock world. Especially if you are on a tight budget. If you use popular sites like iStock or Deposit Photos, don’t be upset if you see multiple books with your same model and pose.

DIY or Not– You may opt to create your own covers to reduce the production cost of your book. If that’s the case be sure to do your research on basic design principles like the rule of thirds. Don’t forget to check the licensing on any stock photos and fonts used in your work, especially from so-called free sites. Not all of the photos and fonts have free commercial use licenses and most have limits on how many copies can be made with the image even with a paid license.

Custom and Pre-Made Covers– If you don’t feel like figuring out how to make your own cover or just don’t have the required skills, there is nothing wrong with buying a premade cover or hiring someone to make the cover for you. A lot of authors, including myself choose this option. Premades can range from $25-$250 based on the detail of the work, quality of the stock photo, and type of cover (eBook, Print, audiobook). Custom covers vary in price based on the same criteria although custom artwork for your cover increases the cost exponentially. Custom covers range from $5-$500+.

Credit your artist– If you choose to buy premade or have custom work done, best practice is to credit the artist or firm in the front cover of your book as well as in the book data. Some artists even require this in their contract with you. As an author, it is important to credit those you have worked with not only to show support for your team and the other artists involved int he project but also to cover yourself in case of copyright issues involving the art.

The Write Publishing: ISBNs

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You may have seen a lot of this information floating around the interwebs but I’ve decided to put all of my knowledge and experience with ISBN’s here in an attempt to uncomplicate and facilitate new authors starting out.

Do you need an ISBN?

The short answer is YES!

Where do you get ISBNs?

Some publishing platforms offer free ISBNs but I prefer to get my own. There are many shady places that “sell” ISBNs but the only official and recognized source is Bowkers www.myidentifiers.com

Why should I buy my own ISBNs?

You should buy your own ISBNs if you want to have yourself listed as the official publisher of your work. If not the platform you publish on will be listed as your publisher and it can cause issues if you want to publish across multiple platforms with that ISBN.

Can you use an ISBN more than once?

Nope. Once you use an ISBN it is assigned to that book and that book only. That includes the same work in different formats. You will need an ISBN for your ebook, another for paperback, and another for hardback. eBooks thorugh Amazon will be assigned an ASIN which is not an ISBN and is not transferable to any place outside or Amazon.

Do I really need an ISBN for Ebooks?

That is honestly up to you. I personally rather have all my bases covered and have ISBNs for my ebooks.

How much do ISBNs cost?

On Bowker’s My Identifiers Prices are:

  • 1 ISBN $125
  • 10 ISBN $295
  • 100 ISBN $575

Those prices can be pretty steep for some and a lot of self publishers opt for the free ISBN from their preferred platform for that reason. I know I did when I first started. So if you are on the fence about where you want to go with your writing. If your self-publishing journey isn’t something you are pursuing as a career than having an ISBN isn’t necessary but I highly recommend getting an ISBN for your book if you plan to become a professional author.

The Write Publishing: Self-Pub Platforms

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Now that you have your marketing strategy and time management down. It’s time to talk actual publishing of your work. If you have followed along with The Write Process Series you should already have a good idea of what formats you would like to produce and how to format them. If not then here is a quick rundown.

eBooks– the most popular format for self-publishers because of the low production cost and ease of formatting.

Print– For self publishers who want to participate in direct sales or just want to provide more options for their readership. Not super expensive to produce but a greater cost because of stocking and storage.

Audiobooks– The most expensive to produce, even if doing DIY. Not very lucrative without a dedicated following who prefers audiobooks. Complicated setup and high fees can be discouraging to some. I won’t be discussing Audiobooks in this post.

With that in mind we can now get into publishing platforms. There are many different options out there but I am only going to discuss the ones I have experience with.

Kindle Direct Publishing/Createspace– Amazon is by far the largest distributor of eBooks in the world. Their set up is very user-friendly and a bonus it’s free! Even the royalty rates are more favorable to authors than other platforms with both 30% or 70% options available. Most self-publishers use this platform for that very reason, but it isn’t without its flaws.

New updates to reviewing criteria that denies or removes reader reviews, the demand for exclusivity to participate in their on-site promotions and kindle unlimited, and ever-changing algorithms that can either boost or bury your work make succeeding in sales on Amazon tricky.

Another thing to consider before doubling down with Amazon is if you want to see your work in brick and mortar stores. A lot of them see Amazon as a competitor and don’t stock books only available through Amazon. Especially if you choose to use the free Amazon ISBN. More on ISBNs Here.

Ingram Spark– The indie publishing arm of the massive Ingram complex, Ingram Spark provides quality print and ebooks with the backing of Ingram’s extensive distribution network (which includes Amazon). The downside, it’s expensive compared to other option running $50-$100 to upload your work. Formatting is much more involved for Ingram as well, and the provided tutorials aren’t very helpful. Ingram also has a dismal royalty rate compared to Amazon.

For example, the print version of my novel Ferocious is listed at a price of $8.99 but subtract the wholesale discount of 50% and the print cost and I only get roughly $0.30 per book. To get a larger cut I can raise my price, but being a lesser known Author I risk out pricing my audience by doing so.

At this point, you are probably wondering why I chose to use Ingram over KDP for my book. The reason is that I wanted to see my book in Brick and Mortar stores, have greater distribution into libraries, and I honestly feel the color and print quality of Ingram is better than Amazon if only marginally so.

Draft2Digital– This is basically a giant agreggation site. You upload your work to them and they take care of all the different criteria required by various sites. I have not used the print side of draft2digital nor their audiobook services but the ebook side is similar to Amazon in ease of use and cost.

I’ve only been on Draft2Digital for a week at the time of writing this article so I can’t say if it’s a better option than Amazon for ebooks. I can say that it is nice to have a single link to all of the places my books are available. No more giant lists of links for each format and platform. I will provide an update when I have more experience with this site.

Other sites that I have little to no experience with:

I highly suggest checking out each platform and deciding which best suits your needs and wants as far as distribution and offerings. Where you publish and how your book is distributed can really make the difference in how professional you come across in your publishing endeavors. If you have any questions, comments, or additions to this post please feel free to add them to the comments section.

The Write Publishing: Self-Pub Socially

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So you want to go for it on your own? Let me tell you that self publishing is definitely not a solitary act. You will need a solid support base in order to achieve your goals of self made stardom.

Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Self Publishing is not a get rich quick scheme by any means. It is a lot of hard work but with the right attitude and effort, it can be a very rewarding experience.

In part one of Self-Publishing I will discuss mostly the marketing and budgeting aspects of self publishing. Even though its called self publishing to be successful, however that looks for you. There is a heavily social aspect to the job.

Things to Consider

1.) Self Publishing is not an excuse to produce sub par work!

Your reputation as an author is everything in Publishing. So don’t skimp out on editing to meet some arbitrary deadline. One of the perks of being self-published is being on your own schedule. If you need more time to put out a quality product take it. If it’s an issue of money, that can be worked around too. There are tons of blogs like this one with ample resources to help you put forth a quality product no matter you time and budgetary constraints.

2.) How good are you with budgets?

You aren’t going to have the privilege of an advance or the resources of a major company behind you. All of your production and marketing costs will come out of your pockets. That’s why it’s important to set a budget, figure out what services you are willing to pay for and which ones you can DIY. The lower your costs, the higher your profits if any. Gig sites like Fiverr can come in handy for discount book covers, and marketing graphics but I wouldn’t suggest them for an editor.

You will also need to learn to budget your time. It’s very easy to get caught up in the social media and marketing aspect and lose sight of the actual writing, or vice versa. Setting a schedule for writing, marketing, and networking will go a long way in easing the burden of the multi hat wearing self publisher.

3.) How are you with self promotion?

Being shy about promoting yourself and your work will not go over so well in the self-publishing world. A lot of your sales will come from people who feel connected to you in some way. There are ways to maintain a level of anonymity, but the more outgoing you are, the easier it will be to reach and attract an audience. On the flip side, you also don’t want to be that person that doesn’t interact with others but is constantly posting promotional material. You will quickly be labeled a spammer or worse a scammer.

Outside of the digital realm, be sure to have some sort of card or flyer to hand out to people who may be interested in your work. The boots on the ground method is often more effective than wading through the depths of social media. Cards can be placed at local businesses (with their permission of course), handed out by your personally, and/or given to friends or family to help spread the word in your community.

4.) Are you good with social media?

Social Media will be your number one avenue for marketing. You don’t have to be an expert or a master of all platforms. Just find one or two that you are most comfortable with and start building your audience. By audience I mean readers! While having a bunch of writing friends is excellent, and some authors do support other authors. You don’t want to get caught in a trap of groups and spaces of authors promoting their work without reaching actual readers.

Not so good with social media? Having an active mailing list is often more valuable than a thousand followers on social media. So focus on building a list with a simple newsletter format. My newsletter is weekly but monthly is just fine if you don’t have a lot going on. Update your readers about your writing process, share some funny memes with anecdotes to your writing or daily life, inform people of upcoming appearances and events both your own and other writing-related events. There are plenty of options to keep people invested in what you have to say.

Here’s a sample of my newsletter. Feel free to join my mailing list as well!

I am one of those people who happens to be fairly social so I’m across multiple platforms. You can check me out at the following links and don’t be shy about being friendly!

My Social Media Links in Order of Activity

Facebook

www.facebook.com/stellawilliamsauthor

Instagram

www.instagram.com/stellalove4life

YouTube

https://bit.ly/2RRbd9f

Twitter

www.twitter.com/stellalove4life

Pinterest

www.pinterest.com/stellawilliamsa

Tumblr

http://serpentinecreative.tumblr.com

Let me know if this article has been helpful and post any other questions you may have in the comments. Happy Self-Publishing!

The Write Publishing: Traditional

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I am not a traditionally published author. I have never sought out to be a traditionally published author. It has honestly not been something I’ve taken into serious consideration, but if you plan to publish at all its good to take stock of all the options in order to make the best decision for you. This article I will list a few of the steps to getting Traditionally Published.

Just a few guidelines to get you in the right head space for the Traditional Publishing Journey.

#1 Be Prepared to Wait

Very rarely will your first attempt at being picked up by a publisher will be sucessful. There are many steps and many gatekeepers that make the process long and tedious.

#2 Don’t Get Discouraged

Rejection comes in many forms and will most likely come often as you submit your work. Try not to take it to heart. Even JK Rowling was rejected at the beginning of her career.

#3 Be open to criticism and change

If you are lucky enough to receive feedback from your submissions, take the criticisms and work them to your advantage. There is something to be said for creative integrity and freedoms, but if you need to change your manuscript or a minor character to get in the door, it may be in your best interest not to fight it.

With that out of the way, let’s talk process!

1.) Have a completed manuscript– I know some people will try and start the publishing process before their manuscript is complete, but how are you going to sell something that doesn’t exist. We all know that writing doesn’t always go as planned. If you are serious about getting picked up by a publisher, you need to put your best foot forward. In this case that means having a completed manuscript and a complete picture of where you intend to go with your work.

2.) Build your readership– Having an already established readership will go a long way in enticing Agents and Editors to give your work a shot. So get on social media and make some reader friends. Entice them to join your email list and share a few shorts or excerpts for your work to have them clamoring for your full length projects.

3.) Find an Agent – this step is not always necessary but comes recommended by the few of my traditionally published friends. They key is to find someone who understands your work and will passionately promote you and your best interest. Remember an Agent works for you so if you aren’t jiving with their strategy don’t feel obligated to stick around.

4.) Submit where you fit!– Do your research to mitigate rejections. Make sure wherever and to whoever you submit your work, that they specialize or are at least open to your genre and style of writing.

5.) Submit a Query– This is a widely covered topic that I have no experience with, but I found this awesome blog by Jane Friedman that covers all the important stuff.
https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/

6.) Wait and Resubmit– Most companies have a long waiting process when it comes to submissions. You will be lucky if you even get an acknowledgment of your submission in some cases. Don’t stress yourself out if you never hear back. If you do choose to resubmit after waiting an appropriate amount of time be sure to be professional about it. No one likes a snarky writer in real life.

That covers what I know about Traditional Publishing. If you are a published Author or just more knowledgeable about the process feel free to comment any additional tips!

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