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My social writers and their online presence

May 4, 2012 by 4 Comments

I read and article (complain) not long about writers who develop a social following via Facebook and Twitter mostly, if not entirely, to promote themselves. I would say the blogger was partially right. After all, that’s what authors have to do. Even big publishers expect their signed authors to go out and promote themselves. It can be time-consuming work, which obviously takes away from the true passion of an author.

So, I’m all for the authors I’ve met online who are working hard on their craft and then hoping to share their work with readers. It’s kinda what we have to do.

But . . .

Connections online are not about rising to the top by climbing over as many connections (friends and followers) online as you can get. For many of us, the people we meet online become friends in the true sense of the word as well as resources and best of all, It think, inspiration.

So, to all my inspirational friends, keep on getting your name out there!

Filed Under: Marketing, Publishing, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Big publishers, little readers, and indie authors

April 20, 2012 by 5 Comments

I have found the debate over the DOJ stepping in with a suit against Apple and five of the largest publishers interesting, if not confusing after reading debates over the matter. As an author, a book reader, and a former publishing employee, I have mixed feelings about the lawsuit, but I also realize this is a dusting-out period for the publishing industry. It should definitely be a wake-up call. Here are a few of the issues I see that have brought us to this point:

Digital revolution versus tradition:
I get that Amazon is a big, giant machine that threatens the existence of traditional book marketing and publishing. But, this wasn’t a problem until digital books were here to stay, largely, I must say, because Amazon almost single-handedly created the eBook market. I actually wish the largest publishers had had more foresight and accepted that digital was the future. There was certainly a lesson to be had with the music industry, after all.

Amazon knows how to make the customer feel good:
Amazon knows how to make money, and it didn’t do it by repeatedly telling its customers why it has to charge high prices. Amazon makes money by giving customers a better price. In the case of the $9.99 eBook, Amazon found a price point that made customers feel they were getting a good deal compared with the alternatives. Despite the loss on each book, Amazon made money selling the much more expensive (than a book) Kindle. Obviously, it’s not about money, its about perceived value.

My thoughts? Given the expense of creating an electronic book, why does $9.99 even sound like a good deal? For big publishing to come along and tell customers  they can’t make money selling eBooks for even $9.99, they faced an uphill battle. It’s a hard sell to convince consumers that an electronic book costs as much to produce as a hard cover book. Perception is everything, and publishers were unable to make a convincing argument.

Indie authors, the other elephant in the room:
While the DOJ, big publishers, and Amazon are still fighting over eBook pricing, indie authors are the next issue on the horizon for traditional publishing.

Back when I worked in the publishing industry, the idea of digital books had a sputter of a start with the eRocket ereader. I realized then that digital books would become the future of reading. The publishing industry, however, didn’t. Despite that first real trial, traditional publishers didn’t prepare for the future, didn’t develop a game plan, and amazingly, are still behind. Enter stage left, the indie author and self-publishing.

Traditional publishing used to decide who it signed as authors and how the product was edited, marketed, and sold. Now that publishers have been called out on collusion over the prices of eBooks and are still struggling to hang on to an old paradigm, I wonder if they recognize the threat from authors who are more interested than ever in self-publishing.

I think many authors realize they are the important commodity in the publishing world, which is the way it should be. Furthermore, authors today are savvy business people who embrace technology. They are obviously persistent, creative people—which as far as I know, is a dangerous combination. They are developing ever more publishing options. I am very interested to see how indie authors turn publishing on its head . . . again.

I welcome your thoughts on what is happening in the publishing industry.

Filed Under: Authors, Books, eBooks, Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: , , ,

Tweeking Twitter: Why pushing a sale isn’t for me

April 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

I realized something today. My welcome greeting was all wrong. By all wrong, I mean, it’s not really the way I wanted to project myself as an author. What prompted the realization was a post by Nick Thacker, a blogger I respect and who is creating, I think, a positive influence in the world of self publishing.

Nick has a post titled, The Ultimate Social Media Guide for Writers. The general theme of the post is that Twitter, and other forms of social networking, can be a pleasure and benefit to use if you figure out how to use them effectively. Nick refers to it as “add[ing] value to the conversation.” He draws from his experience in marketing and what he professes were a lot of mistakes starting out, but what he brings to the table now is certainly worth noting.

There’s something about Twitter that’s always bugged me. It’s a great platform, don’t get me wrong, but it seems like so many people treat it like it’s a gigantic networking event.

You know the type–slick salesmen walking around throwing their business cards at people like ninja stars, and forty thousand Avon or Sensy candle reps trying to get your attention.

Sometimes people treat Twitter like that as well. For those of you who think Twitter exists solely to slam your wares down other people’s throats, let me be clear:

Stop.

Sure, I would like to sell a few (more than a few) books. But, I know those books will eventually sell themselves because they are well written and have an interesting story. They probably won’t sell themselves, however, if all I do is tell people to buy them, which is why my greeting became something of an embarrassment to me.

I didn’t really want my first interaction with someone to be for them to check out my books. After all, I know how it feels to receive a greeting telling me to buy something. I don’t think I have yet clicked on a “buy this” link someone told me to go to. I have, however been intrigued through my interactions with fellow social media users to see what they’re all about.

I certainly have been pleasantly surprised by many of the people I have met through Twitter. And after meeting many of you, I decided that the best use of a greeting isn’t to push you to buy something, but to wish you the best in wherever life takes. you. After all, no one ever gets there alone.

Filed Under: Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: , ,

Authors, where to go from here

March 26, 2012 by 3 Comments

With an eBook put up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, I have entered the world of promotion (which should probably have happened before now). And right now, I don’t feel I have entered that world very effectively. I’m thinking I’m one of those writers who writes because he isn’t very good at talking about himself.

I’m sure many of you have come across books with substandard writing and editing, and yet you marveled at the sales the author was able to generate. You shake your head and murmur: how did that happen?

Darn good marketing and self promotion!

Autheteering
Entering the world of the marketer, one can instantly become overwhelmed. It appears to be a viscous circle of people marketing their wares. Indie authors, if you have spent any time at all studying how to market your work, then you know everyone wants to sell you something in an effort to help promote your work. And as an indie author, you probably don’t have a budget to spend on cover design, editors, advertising, and marketing. Now, not only do we have to be good writers, we may have to be even better marketers.

Get with the program
As authors, promoting our books isn’t a new idea. Even a publishing company expects its authors to self-promote. But it is one thing to answer questions about your work, shake hands, and sign books during an organized event. It’s another matter entirely to learn how to effectively use social media, organize your own events, and create the discussion in the first place. It’s not all that easy to learn. I will say this, though, it sure makes the difficulties of plotting and character development seem easier.

Filed Under: Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: , ,