Write Brain Notes: New Models in Publishing, An Indie Author Speaks

This is the third, and final, portion of my notes from the Write Brain workshop New Models in Publishing, presented by Pikes Peak Writers. Today, I will pass along notes from DeAnna Knippling, an independently published author.

DeAnna Knippling gave us advice on indie publishing. She pointed out that we should do research on self publishing, whether we're going traditional or not, so that we know what to look at. For instance, if you've done your research on what makes a good cover, you will know what to consider when a traditional publishing house sends you their design for your book cover. Is the font good? Will the colors stand out? Can you read the title? Is the image eye-catching? Studying up on details like this will help you insure your book is high quality, even if you're being traditionally published.

If you're being traditionally published, she stresses that you should READ THE CONTRACT CAREFULLY. Don't just sign it in a flurry because you're excited to be getting published. Read every nitty-gritty detail and make sure you're being treated fairly.

DeAnna pointed out that being consistent in the types of stories you're putting out can increase your sales. She'll be the first to tell you that she doesn't do this across the board, but that her children's series is consistent and sells better than some of the more varied offerings. People will come back to something they liked.

The following is summarized from her handout on Indie Publishing, and is what she feels is the bare minimum (for the full handout, please see it on the Pikes Peak Writers' official blog, Writing From the Peak, where there is fantastic information I did not pass along in this series of posts):

You need material that you own the rights to; a freelance business (properly set up) for tax purposes; various forms of marketing (an author website, social media, contact with reviewers (send them a free e-copy), contact with any specialty markets that may apply to your book (websites with related content) and writer's groups); proper editing, proper formatting, a good and legal cover design, e-publishing in all formats, validation of your product once published, announcements/marketing and limitless patience. **NOTE: All of this is further explained in the handout, linked above)**

Some links:
Goodreads
Library Thing
Nolo
Step by Step Self-Publishing
www.blog.deannaknippling.com
Smashwords Style Guide
Gimp.org
Scribus
Dreamstime free images and software
Smashwords
KDP Amazon
PubIt!
Zen Habits for patience

Some additional resources:
The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman (this comes highly recommended by her, and seems like an excellent resource, whether you're self-pubbed or traditionally pubbed).
Nolo's checklist: Start Your Own Business: 50 Things You'll Need to Do

DeAnna always has valuable insight, and can be found in the following places:

Her personal blog, deannaknippling.com
Her small publisher website, wonderlandpress.com
Her middle-grade pseudonym blog, dekenyon.com

She also does e-book and POD formatting for hire, so feel free to contact her at the above places. Her books can be found under the names DeAnna Knippling and De Kenyon.

Do you have anything to add to this?

This concludes my notes from the Write Brain workship, New Models in Publishing, by Pikes Peak Writers.

May you find your Muse.

Write Brain Notes: New Models in Publishing, What the Writers Say

There will be no [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday today. Instead, I bring you the second part of the three-part New Models in Publishing notes.

Last week, I posted ten notable comments from bookseller Natalie Johnson, owner of Black Cat Books in Manitou Springs. However, those comments were only a portion of the Write Brain workshop I attended. This is the second part of that workshop, and will detail my notes from Deb Courtney (Courtney Literary) and Robert Spiller (author). DeAnna Knippling's contribution will be passed along next Monday.

Deb Courtney, who now represents Robert Spiller, after he left the publishing company that put out the first three books in his Bonnie Pinkwater series, spoke about key points in publishing these days. Her new business, Courtney Literary, is not a publishing house, nor is she an agent. Instead, her goal is to help self-published authors make marketing plans and book-selling strategies. Basically, her job is to assist self-published authors and to do some of the legwork for them.

Deb pointed out that the things you need to insure are taken care of in self-publishing are the quality of your book, the editing and the graphics. As she said (and I'm not sure of the exact quote), it's worse to put out a bad product than no product at all. If you cannot properly edit your own words, pay someone else to do it or do an exchange with another author, where you each edit the other's work. As far as cover art, it is there to catch the eye and draw buyers in, whether on a physical book or the photo representing an e-book. This is something you should either be very good at, or that you should pay for. Expect to pay between $200 and $1000 for a good cover.

She reminded us to do our homework on format (Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, etc.) and to explore different product lines and revenue streams (audio book, short stories that are associated with your novel/series, and all distribution types). She recommends that you not limit yourself to just one type of format (such as just putting it out for the Kindle, but not the Nook).

One service Deb Courtney provides that Robert Spiller is pleased with is a marketing plan. She says you must have one. Set specific goals. How will you get yourself out there? Who will you contact? What is your time frame? She and Robert had made a list that filled several pages, just on places to contact. Consider author interviews on blogs and in newspapers/other media, get reviews, get your book placed in bookstores, do giveaways and guest posts, and get your book on Good Reads. If you absolutely can't find anyone willing to review your book, there are respected places that will charge you to do a review, such as Kirkus (costs around $500 or so). They don't guarantee a good review, though.

Deb Courtney has just launched her business, and Robert Spiller is her first client. At this time, they both seem very happy with the arrangement. In fact, Robert Spiller said he is having much more fun with this, his fourth Bonnie Pinkwater novel, than with the other three. They have great communication between them, and she works closely with him throughout the process.

Some resources she passed along are:

http://allindiepublishing.com
http://selfpublishingresources.com
http://barryeisler.blogspot.com
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com
Huffington Post

Any advice to add?

May you find your Muse.

Helpful Links: NiNoCon, Formatting Help, Free Reader & Author's Houses

Before I get to today's links, I need to announce that Monday's post on New Models in Publishing will be moved to Wednesday, in place of [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, due to the opening of official sign-ups for the A-to-Z Challenge. I misplaced my days, but didn't want to make you wait another week for the informative notes from the Write Brain.

Onto the helpful hints:

I swear by THIS for formatting during that crunch before submission. I searched it out this week to format a short story for submission, and realized I hadn't passed it along before. It's a fantastic resource.

And, because I was doing a lot of editing this week, I did some looking around and heard about Natural Reader. It's a free program that allows you to listen to your words instead of just reading them over and over. I have, of course, read my novel out loud in editing, but my voice was hoarse and my throat sore for the next day or so. Plus, having sat in a Read & Critique at conference, I know that it sounds different in someone else's voice. I haven't actually tried this yet, but plan to within the week. It came highly recommended, though.

It seems there are a lot of online conferences I keep missing, but I lucked across this one ahead of time: NiNoCon begins Saturday, February 4. Click on the link for more information.

This link is just meant to be frosting. There was an article on Flavorwire about "15 Authors' Beautiful Estates". I was rather partial to Stephen King's house (I'd love to see it decorated for Halloween), Mark Twain's house and Kurt Vonnegut's house.

Finally, some weekly reminders:

Don't forget the A-to-Z Challenge. Even if you don't want to participate in the blogging challenge portion, there is currently a video challenge for your video-making pleasure. We are also looking for anyone interested in guest posting in the lead-up to the challenge.

The NLAPW (Pen Women) Flash Fiction Contest is ongoing. The theme is Are You Devious At Heart?; it is a micro-flash, 100 word maximum contest with a cash prize.

Pikes Peak Writers is accepting submissions (unpaid) for an anthology, to benefit their scholarship program. The theme is Moving Mountains.

And, of course, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference is open for sign-ups, and has scholarships available for those who need help with the fee. The sooner you sign up, the more likely you are to get a pitch session and/or a Read & Critique session.

That's it for today, folks! I hope you'll be back to sign up for the A-to-Z on Monday. Next Thursday, I hope to include a Project 52 update with my links. Also, don't forget that the continuation of my notes for New Models in Publishing, a Write Brain workshop presented by Pikes Peak Writers will be moved to Wednesday of next week, in lieu of [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday.

Which author's estate was your favorite? Any helpful links, information on readers or online conferences to pass along?

May you find your Muse.

Write Brain Notes: New Models in Publishing, A Bookseller's View

Last week, I attended the Write Brain session, offered by Pikes Peak Writer's. It was a great workshop, which I promised to pass along.

The wonderful folks who ran it were Deb Courtney (Courtney Literary), Robert Spiller (author), DeAnna Knipping (author) and Natalie Johnson (Black Cat Books). For this post, I am going to cover just the first part of the workshop, as it will otherwise be too long.

Natalie Johnson went first, as she had to leave. She is the owner of Black Cat Books, a small bookstore in Manitou Springs. She was quite reassuring on trends in publishing, as far as her store was concerned, and said she'd only seen a drop-off in physical book sales in the last few months. She feels e-books reach a different audience than the physical books in her store. Here are a few of the notable things she said:

1. When contacted by a local author to do a signing/carry a book, she will always do a signing first, which introduces the author to her patrons and lets people know she will be carrying the book. After the signing, she carries the book continuously.

2. When you contact a bookseller for a signing/to carry your book, make sure you know how to get them copies of the book and are prepared to give them your distributor/sales information(they are not just going to buy them from Amazon).

3. Booksellers, both big and small, are more likely to carry your book if it is returnable through the distributor. This is one of the reasons self-published books are often not carried by local stores. Black Cat Books will still give you a chance, but you will be expected to provide your own books.

4. When doing a signing, it is a good idea to also have information to hand someone on how to purchase an e-book format of your book. Whether that's a bookmark, a business card, or something specific to the e-book, this is something authors frequently overlook.

5. Once a store is carrying your book, she recommends you call to check up every six months or so. For her, this reminds her to re-stock the book if it is sold.

6. Booksellers have the right to turn down your book. This might happen because it is badly edited, because it promotes hatred, or for any other reason. Make sure you are bringing a quality product to the bookseller.

7. When doing a book signing, promotional items are great. However, make sure they are not too big; there is limited space in a store, and something smaller will likely be kept out longer than something large and unwieldy (like a large sign/banner, for instance). Bookmarks and small items like that are the best.

8. Speaking of promotional items, if you can come up with something that is unique to you or specific to your book, it can help you get an edge. One author had his information printed on nail files, because people often need a nail file in a pinch. Another author gave out guitar picks, which had bearing on his novel. Sweet treats are good, especially if geared toward something in your book.

9. If you can get an award sticker on your book by submitting it for contests/awards, that book will sell.

10. People come into bookstores knowing what they want, most of the time. She is rarely asked for recommendations by patrons. Have your information out there.

This is the end of the first part of my notes. Come back Monday for the next portion.

Any other pointers for authors when it comes to getting your books out to booksellers, whether big or small?

May you find your Muse.