PUBLISHING: THE NEW ORDER

Indie publishing: For cowboys or for real?

By Jocelyn Watkin ©2012

Jocelyn Watkin

When other writers ask WHY I went down the indie publishing path in 2007 instead of approaching a traditional publisher, they assume it was because I had no choice. 

But, I deliberately chose to indie publish (self-publish, indie is short for independent) as I knew I would make more money and have more opportunities and control.

My book, which was co-authored with a financial planner, was called Keeping the Faith - Travel the World. I used my business skills to find a financial planning company to sponsor my website and some of the printing costs. This sponsor also paid for the book launch, to which they invited a number of their customers and I made a lot of sales.  [Click on this link to buy Keeping the Faith - Travel the World: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/keepingthefaithtraveltheworld-p-677.html]

The book was a commercial success for two main reasons - it had a ready-made audience and because this audience was willing and able to buy the book, it was profitable.

Access to willing buyers (an audience) is critical for all publishers, whether traditional or indie, and is essential for any book regardless of its genre or format (print or e-book). As such, it is the main theme of this article.

While the need for an audience hasn't changed, there have been significant changes in the publishing industry recently:

• Traditional publishers are cutting down the number of print titles they sell, partly due to the rise of the e-book but also because of demand for a particular genre from bookstores.
• Bookstores are squeezing publishers for work about celebrities - famous names that are usually not writers but have market and media visibility (an audience), which therefore brings in buyers.
• The focus on New Zealand writers, books and themes is lessening as more of our local publishing houses are bought by global publishers. Therefore, the chance of getting published by a traditional publisher in New Zealand is decreasing.
• Lack of opportunities and rewards with traditional publishers means that most writers will have to find other solutions to publishing and marketing their books.

That's mostly the negative news. Here's the positive news:

• People haven't stopped reading.
• Print-on-demand technology has vastly reduced the cost of indie publishing and the difference in quality between traditionally published books and the best indie-published books is minimal.
• E-books are taking off, as e-reader devices become cheaper and far more user friendly.
• Promotion and distribution via websites and social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) is easy and very cheap. Smart writers and others in the creative industries are using these platforms to build their readership and audience while writing their opus or creating their works. 
• Writers now have the option to talk and sell directly to their readers, as most of the barriers between them (especially those imposed by traditional publishers and book sellers) can be removed.

A similar transition happened in the music business, which has changed beyond recognition in the last 15 years. Successful musicians and bands grabbed the opportunity to escape from what they felt was the tyranny of recording companies. They recognised the benefits of taking control - not just the chance for greater profits but to gain freedom of creative expression and to build a fan base that supported this. This example has provided a model to follow.

However, some writers are reluctant to adapt to changing technology or take advantage of these opportunities, perhaps worried by what they have to learn to embrace this new world.

The questions that writers usually asked in the past were:

·         ‘How can I get a publisher to publish my book?’ Or more recently:

·         ‘Why can’t I get anyone to publish my book?’

They should now be:

·         ‘What do I need to learn and do to get my work published?’

·         ‘How do I reach a new audience for my writing or reach my audience in new ways?’

Most writers grasp the idea of having a website or some form on online presence to sell their books

However, even with a book listed on Amazon buyers won't magically discover it, nor will they automatically want to buy. A writer needs an audience to sell to.

Writers struggle to learn from the music industry model because they feel they don't have the option to perform like musicians do. Most understand that musicians can give their recordings away (as free downloads) on the basis that they'll build an audience in the process, which they can then sell tickets to for their gigs. But, what can a writer do instead of a gig? 

The answer lies in the fact that writers do perform but not in the same way. Musicians give their music away and sell their performances (gigs). But it is the opposite for writers - because their writing is their performance, writers need to perform for free in order sell their books.

For example: While the online buyer can read the back cover blurb and view the e-book's cover on a website, they can't flick through the pages in quite the same way as a print book. So the author has to 'perform' by offering a free sample in order for the buyer to see the quality of the writing and to get interested in it.

However, the 'performance' needs to be on-going to keep the buyers engaged longer-term. To survive in the indie publishing world, writers can't go into hibernation until they emerge with their latest book. Continuing success for the indie published writer requires them to work on building their audience while writing their books. Marketing can't be put aside until each book is ready.

Before spending a lot of time, money and energy on promotion, a writer's first task should be to prepare and write content (articles/material) on their website that will sufficiently interest their readers so they will tell their friends about it. This is the writer's way of performing! A writer should continue to add fresh content to their website to continually build a bigger audience.

Once they get the hang of adding regular content, the writer can then work on promoting their website in order to get people to visit it.

Writers might give part of a book away for free or offer a number of related articles (blogs) to encourage a reader to buy the rest of the book.  Or, the writer might give away the first book of a series to drum up interest in themselves and their work, and then build on that interest in order to sell the rest of the books in the series.

Here's the payback of giving some of your work away for free (performing). You can:

·         Build an online profile before you publish your work.

·         Build your own readership, a network of potential readers and customers.

·         'Road test' your book in progress and get feedback on it before completing it.

·         Get your readers to promote you through their networks and social media (by telling others about you they do a lot of the marketing for you). 

·         Showcase your work as a writer which leads to other work - articles, writer in residencies and, yes, even offers by traditional publishers.

Examples of writers who have performed (provided free content online) and who then went on to sell their writing are:

·         American Julie Powell documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This resulted in book and film contracts. The film Julie and Julia became the first major movie to be based on a blog.

·         Irish writer David Gaughran: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com One year ago he had had 300 rejections from agents in Ireland, UK and the US for his first novel: A Storm Hits Valparaiso. In his words: "I made the right decision to self publish my novel. In my first twelve months, I sold 3,482 books and made well over $8,000.          

                Aside from those 3,482 paid sales, I gave away well over 30,000 books.

                I’ve been growing sales month-on-month. I’ve sold around 500 books in each of the last two     months. And, in a couple of weeks, my 2012 sales will overtake my total for all of 2011. Read           more: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/was-self-publishing-the-right-            decision/

·         My own second book Faith Speaks Money Talks (in 2009) was a compilation of free financial planning articles I had written for my website to keep my readers engaged. The articles were chosen for the book because they had consistently rated highly with readers in my website statistics. I approached my online readers with a special pre-publication offer and received enough orders in advance to pay for the entire first print run - even though the majority of these buyers had already read the material for free. Click on this link to buy Faith Speaks Money Talks: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/faithspeaksmoneytalks-p-676.html

In all of the above examples the writers built their audience by providing free content that:

·         solved problems for the reader, or

·         made them laugh, cry or think, or

·         made them curious to come back, read more and to tell their family and friends about it.

This is good news for all who put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Writers already have the best skills for preparing website content - the ability to write and write well. 

In summary, traditional publishing options are changing and there are fewer opportunities for New Zealand writers. This is not expected to improve but indie publishing offers a viable alternative.

Having a website or listing an e-book on Amazon won't be enough - you need access to a willing audience. This is the same whether you're a traditional or indie publisher. You need to be a performer as well as having books for sale on your website. Build both your audience and your credibility with content such as blogging, articles, short stories, quizzes, "how to" guides and keep this content going.

You don't have to do this all alone. As the publisher all you have to understand is what you want to achieve. You can get help with the activities and tasks that you can't do, e.g. by hiring designers, formatters, printers and marketers.

In time the indie publishing industry will become like the indie film industry with writers forming co-operative partnerships with others who have the skills needed for certain projects.

It's asking much of the writer to be so much more than a writer, but to get your work out there it's time and effort well spent.

Discover more about indie publishing:  (‘What do I need to learn and do to get my work published?’)

·         Refer to the NZ Society of Authors www.authors.org.nz leaflet Getting help with your Manuscript (which explains the role of agents, assessors and editors and how they can help you get your work to a publishable standard) or the booklet Getting Published (described as: "everything you need to know about the publishing process"), both available from the NZSA Online Bookshop.

·         Print books: Talk to any specialist book printer (not a general printer) about what you want. Ask for a quote from at least 2 - 3 printers. For example: PublishMe www.publishme.co.nz Don't fall into the trap of thinking that a book printer or formatter is the publisher. If the writer is paying for assessment, editing, text layout, formatting and/or printing, then it is the writer who is the publisher, not the person that you are hiring to provide these skills. While they should be paid a fair price for their work, they are not entitled to call themselves the publisher or take a percentage of the profits.

·         How to get the ISBN (International Standard Book Number, which is a worldwide identification code (fingerprint) for books that allows book suppliers and libraries to easily locate and order a book): An ISBN is free to New Zealand publishers of books and other print, electronic or multimedia publications and is available from the National Library of New Zealand www.natlib.govt.nz It can be applied for online or by post and takes 7 - 10 days. (If you are the publisher, then make sure the ISBN is registered in your name and not that of the printer or text formatter.)

·         E-Books: Buy Digital Publishing Guide online from NZ Society of Authors www.authors.org.nz  This guide will introduce you to digital publishing, explain how you can produce an e-book and sell it in New Zealand and internationally.

·         Free indie publishing tips and ideas are available on The Story Bridge website www.thestorybridge.co.nz or sign up for their free e-newsletter to receive on-going advice.

What to do next/make a start: (‘How do I reach a new audience for my writing or reach my audience in new ways?’)

·         Begin a blog. With www.blogger.com you can have a website up and running for free in less than 15 minutes. Perform on your site (i.e. write new content/interesting material/blogs) every week to build credibility and your audience. Remember: make your readers laugh, cry or think and wanting to come back for more. Ask readers to leave comments on your site.

·         Promote your site - at the very least put the link to your blog site/website at the bottom of your email signature and also on your business cards. Ask your readers to promote your site to their networks and via social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

·         Get business cards if you don't already have them. Cards from www.vistaprint.co.nz are quick, cheap and look professional. Give your business card to everyone you meet.

·         Have a go at one form of social media (more if possible) to promote your blog site. Twitter www.twitter.com is one of the easiest to use, is free and it's good practice for any writer to learn express their thoughts in 140 characters or less. It's also a great way of learning more (from others) about writing, indie publishing, blogging and selling online. For an example, check out The Story Bridge on Twitter: @TheStoryBridge  

·         Finish your book and get it edited. Decide on print book, e-book or both formats. Promote your book by email and social media and make a special pre-publication offer to your audience. Don't forget to promote your book launch, too.

·         Publish your book, upload it onto a book selling website (e.g. Amazon, Fishpond or other) and link to this from your own blogsite/website. While all this is happening, keep blogging to continue to build interest in you and your book.

·         Rinse and repeat. If in doubt about what to do at any time go to Google www.google.co.nz and type in "How to [insert what it is that you want to know]".  E.g. "How to write a blog" provides pages of links that will tell you exactly how to do that.

Note: Jocelyn Watkin is a co-director for The Story Bridge.

Buy Jocelyn's books

Keeping the Faith - Travel the World: Click on this link: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/keepingthefaithtraveltheworld-p-677.html

Faith Speaks Month Talks: Click on this link:

www.publishme.co.nz/shop/faithspeaksmoneytalks-p-676.html

Jocelyn Watkin, © 2012