Write This Way Indie Author Fest #Dallas

Shondra Quarles emailed me with news of this free event in Dallas, Texas. Alas, that I live nowhere near Dallas, Texas, 'cause this sounds like fun:

Write This Way: Indie Author Fest is hosting our 2018 Authors of the Future Contest. This is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of poetry, novelettes, children’s books or short stories of any genre . No entry fee is required. Contest is open to writers 12 and older. Entrants retain all publication rights. Finalists MUST be present at our 2018 Write This Way: Indie Author Fest in order to win prizes. The 2nd Annual Write This Way: Indie Author Fest is a FREE EVENT & will be held March 24th 12 noon -4pm at Ponchaveli Studios. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Top Prize: Ponchaveli Studios will design a book cover, $600.00 - $1600.00 value. 2nd & 3rd Winners will receive gift cards to help with publication expenses.

LOCATION

Ponchaveli Studios 914 West Commerce Street Dallas, TX 75208 The organizers are Shondra M. Quarles and Latrenda Chirell Bailey-Rush To register, go to their Write This Way Eventbrite page.

Marian Allen, Author Lady
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Exciting Times for Indie Authors

Those who follow my blog know that I’m always interested in the data released by Hugh Howey and others through his Author Earnings Reports. Howey’s research began nearly two years ago, and with each report he uncovers a little more to better reflect what’s happening with Amazon sales to indie and traditionally published authors.

In his latest report, Howey notes that he’s uncovered plenty of info that hasn’t shown up in earlier data. This time, he and his team have gone beyond Amazon’s bestsellers list to collect data. They’ve scoured the also-bought recommendations and authors’ complete catalogs. Howey states that this resulted in a million-title dataset that allowed his team to look at the earnings of a wide range of authors.

As is normal for Author Earnings reports, Howey also incorporates detailed charts about the ebook market share. In the past, the reports have focused on ebook sales, but this report takes things to a whole new level by including hardcover, paperback and audio sales on Amazon (note that the study still doesn’t include sales from other platforms).

Rather than repeat all of his results, I encourage you to read the report here. It’s detailed but easy to understand and the charts really help visual learners. But I will share Howey’s summary because I believe it to be true. Based on his research, it is certainly possible to earn $50,000+ a year from fiction writing without ever sending out a single query letter to a traditional publisher. A growing number of indie writers are doing just that.

As Howey says, these are indeed exciting times! Oh, and one eye-opening hint, literary fiction isn’t doing as poorly as some might think!

Debra

My Two Cents for Indie Authors

As someone who self-published her first book twenty years ago, I’ve seen a lot of changes in indie publishing. Last year, I conducted several presentations and workshops, where the same types of questions cropped up from writers interested in self-publishing. “How much does it cost? Will I make any money?” and so on. Needless to say, there’s plenty of advice everywhere, and I’ve given my share in the past. But I still see big mistakes being made.

First, let me refer to some terrific tips for indie authors by KristenPainter, who discusses the importance of staying focused, being willing to accept advice, and remaining patient, among other things. These are difficult, but necessary goals for any writer.

One of the questions I’ve also been asked is “Do I really need to promote?”. The answer is yes, but not as much as one would think, especially if you’ve only released one title. I recently read some great advice from well-known New York literary agent Donald Maass. Although his book, The Breakout Novelist, addresses writers who intend to be traditionally published, the advice applies to indie writers. He says to spend less time promoting one’s first book and more time writing the second and third. Writing an original, action-packed story that you’re passionate about is the best promotion you can do in the long run.

I want to share a couple of things that I’ve noticed while reviewing books. Please spend the money to hire a decent editor and cover designer. I’m still reading too many great premises that are ruined because of poor editing. None of us can spot every single error in our work, and I’m not just talking about typos, but inconsistencies, lack of logic and subplots that simply don’t work. We all need help with this stuff.

Here’s another tip. Too many indie author are brooding about Amazon rankings or why Kindle Unlimited readers aren’t reading past the first page of an author’s book. Is this the best way to spend your time? Are the numbers even accurate? A recent article in WritersWeekly presents a strong argument that Amazon’s sales numbers aren’t reliable. There are so many forums and groups on social networking sites with mixed messages and information that it’s so easy to become distracted, confused, and even depressed. The best fix is to keep writing, find a great critique group (or start your own), then polish that manuscript to the best of your ability. It’s exciting to read an author whose work improves with every novel. Why shouldn’t it be yours?

Debra

A Tough Year Ahead?

After last week’s review of 2014, I’ve been reading a number of predictions about this year, and let me tell you, it’s not a cheery picture.

As Mike Shatzkin reports in his popular blog, he suspects that many (but not all) indie authors will continue to lose income possibly due to a serious supply and demand problem. In other words, readers have either loaded up their Kindles with far more than they could possibly read or they’ve joined Kindle Unlimited’s (KU) subscription service to borrow books. It appears that a growing number of indie authors are earning significantly less per book on borrows than they would have through sales. He makes a good point that readers who were willing to try a lower priced, indie book by an unknown author are the same readers who are opting for KU. Simply put, there too many books and not enough readers.

These points are also referred to in a gigaom blog, which says that KU is facing strong competition from Scribd and Oyster subscription services. These two offer a wider selection of books to borrow as they have agreements with a couple of big five publishers HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, which KU doesn’t have. As the blog notes, it will be interesting to see if these subscription services will also hurt traditional authors’ income.

By the way, to get a look at the growing author discontent about Kindle Unlimited, read this blog from The Digital Reader. The blog states that authors not in the KU program have also noticed a drop in sales. In other words, it’s quite possible that subscribers are borrowing so many books that they’re not buying anything right now. Will this change? Is a drop in authors’ income fixable, or is the beginning of the end for authors, especially those who aren’t interested in writing better books, just more books? (See last week’s blog referring to the number of indie authors who have apparently quit publishing.)

Since we’re discussing the year ahead, take a look at Mark Coker’s Smashwords blog. He provides twelve predictions for 2015, although I don’t agree with all of them. For instance, he says that more authors will aspire to indie publishing. Well, maybe more authors will choose Smashwords, given the trouble KU has caused. But it won't change the fact that there are too many books for sale and not enough readers willing to buy them.

As far as me, I’m mainly interesting in writing better books and short stories. The goal this year is to try a new genre and build a larger body of work. Honestly, I can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

Debra

The eBook Revolution and Independent Authors

If you're an independent author or a writer who has thought of publishing on your own, take heart in knowing that the book industry has had its virtual doors blown right open by the evolution and revolution of ebooks. Over the past three to five years, we have seen huge changes in the industry as traditional-style publishers imploded their usual models and ways of doing business, laid off employees, consolidated imprints under one roof, and basically went into full panic mode. Amidst this chaos, ebooks swept in, gathered hoards of loyal readers, converted the technically challenged into switching to ereaders, and forever changed the face of publishing.

There has never been a better time for you, independent author, to publish your own book!

You know, the one you have dreamed of publishing for the past X years; the one you have slaved over in the wee hours of the night while your kids were sleeping. Gone are the days when "self-publishing" was something to scorn or steer clear of. The negative stigma that self-publishing once held has evolved into the journey of a writer to fulfill his dream, to get his work published and read. Just look at the success of 'Donovan Creed' creator John Locke or Amanda Hocking, two superstars in the indie world. 

Sure, there are always people who will demote an indie author to the realms of "hack." Some will even tell you, "Don't become an indie author; it'll ruin your chances of getting a 'real' publisher." But there are far more who are willing to give you a chance.

My journey as an author started in self-publishing. I paid a subsidy company for a package and they helped get my trade paperback into the hands of readers. That was back in 2003. That book was Whale Song. People told me I'd ruined my chances for a career as a writer. People told me I was crazy, that no one would buy my book. I was told that a traditional publisher would never re-publish Whale Song, that film companies would never consider it for a movie. With all that negativity, you would think I would've crumbled and given up. Sadly, many writers do just that.

I am a dreamer. My motto has been: 'Dare to Dream...and Dream BIG! And if that doesn't work, Dream BIGGER!!!'

People tried to kill that dream with their negativity, but I kept pushing on, believing that I could make it work. And I did. Whale Song was re-published by a traditional publisher. It has been considered by a half-dozen filmmakers, and while there hasn't been a movie deal, that's still more than what most authors see. Whale Song is a National Bestseller in Canada. And it is now indie published by me again, in ebook and trade paperback.

Every bestselling author started where I did. With a dream. And a story. Just like you, independent author. We all start at the bottom and it's up to us to start moving up that ladder of success.

I'm not saying that traditional publishers don't have something to offer; they do. What I'm saying is, why wait around for years when you can publish now and see success now. Perhaps your next book will be picked up. Or the one after that. Or never, and you'll be fine with that because you'll be earning more as an indie author anyway. However, if you do find a traditional publisher, make sure they are riding the ebook wave and embracing the technology. Too many of my friends had their ebook rights tied up by their publishers, with nothing to show for it. And often when they did see an ebook edition, it was priced so high that readers steered clear.

Readers love that they can now get books for under $5. They don't care as much about waiting for the hard cover editions; they'll happily dive into the ebook. Some will even buy a print copy afterward if it's a favorite. And they don't look for just the 'big name' authors anymore. Why should they? You'll pay $8 or more on average for a well-known author's ebook. You can buy 4 or more of mine for that same price, depending on the titles you choose. My ebooks are all priced at $4 or less. Right now, they're all priced at $2.99 and less during the Imajin Books Summer eBook Sale.

My latest novel, Divine Justice, hasn't made an impact on readers or other publishers or movie companies. YET. But that is going to change. Why? Because this Christmas people are going to be finding ereaders in their stockings and under the Christmas tree. I predict ereader sales will triple that of last year's sales―at least. And those people are going to want one thing―CONTENT. They're going to spend Christmas day loading up their new Kindle. They'll read more ebooks over the holidays than they have in the last year. They're going to be looking for good deals, and indie authors can give them that.

Ereaders are the gifts that keep giving. Not only will Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony ereader owners stock up on great books, they'll tell their friends and families that they now have an ereader. This makes gift giving a cinch. This past year, I bought a Kindle for my father and a Kobo for my mother. Guess what they're getting this year for Christmas? Ebooks! I can gift titles directly from Amazon and Kobo Books to their ereader. I can give them Divine Justice.

Sales are only going to grow with my latest thriller. People will get hooked on Divine Intervention, book 1 in my Divine series starring a covert team of psychic government agents. Next, they will pick up Divine Justice, book 2. Then they'll discover I have 6 other ebook titles just waiting for them. And best of all, they're priced from FREE to $3.99 on Amazon or Smashwords.

If readers can find my books―and they are―then they can find yours, dear independent author.

Just visit http://www.imajinbooks.com or http://www.cherylktardif.com to check out my titles and view the stunning book covers. You can also watch some sizzling book trailers, follow me on Twitter or 'Like' my Facebook page.

~ Cheryl