Still watching the recordings from the conference and still learning a lot. I’ve especially enjoyed Sara Wigal’s session on creating your brand.
“Building Your Brand Before You Query” was an excellent session that provided concrete examples you can use to build your author brand. One of the suggestions was to include a “Brand Manifesto” on your website somewhere: “I write (genre conveyed) that introduces (audience segment) to (action step) to (core values communicated).” For example, “I write historical fiction that allows underrepresented women to envision an alternate history to that of dour textbooks, and thus begins to drown out colonialist narratives.
Let the following questions guide you as you search for your brand:
- What problem are you solving?
- What is the sexiest trait about your book or books?
- What would you never tell a book buyer about you on a first date?
- When potential customers say “no thanks,” what is generally the reason?
- What are the benefits and features to a reader of your book?
- What qualities do you want readers and the book industry to associate with you?
- What is your mission?
Other tips Sara suggested include:
- Brand as an AUTHOR, not a book, when it comes to social media, websites, etc. If you brand each book, you’ll never get finished and you risk your name getting lost in the shuffle.
- Author brand as a brand–your identity is separate. Your author self is a character you put on to deal with your public. Keep it separate from your personal (private) life.
- Use your author brand manifesto in your query letter.
- Allocate set time amounts to platform activities each week (or month). Treat your platform as one more job in the writing business and keep on top of it.
I’m still watching the recorded conference for the Historical Novel Society, and am learning a lot!
In Jane Freidman’s Self-Publishing class, we learned that self publishing is a good fit for the following:
- Romance & Erotica Writers
- Series Fiction
- Serials or Serialization
- Prolific Popular Fiction Writers
There are three categories of self-publishing: assisted/full-service, hybrid, and DIY/Indie. With a full-service publishing company, the author pays the company. Almost nobody is ever turned away because the company makes money from each author. There are many budget categories and packages available. With a hybrid self-publisher, the author pays the company up front, but the product is vetted in some way. This company pays royalties like a traditional publisher does. There’s a potential for greater marketing and promotion support (with a greater cost, of course). The DIY/Indie option has the author hiring any help needed instead of paying a company to do everything. There’s a greater chance of profit with this option, and examples include Amazon Kindle and KDP, and Ingram Spark.
The possible costs for a full-service company start at less than $5,000 for a basic package. A professional package may cost between $5,000 and $25,000, and an elite package could cost as much as $30,000 and up. It’s hard to earn your money back through book sales with a full-service publisher. Key attributes of DIY publishing include a (mostly) free upfront, non-exclusivity, instant updates, no gatekeeper, and the author controls pricing.
Here are a few approximate costs for the DIY publisher:
- Editing: up to $5,000 (including proofreading and copyediting)
- Cover Design: It’s doable for under $1,000 but easy to double or triple costs
- Interior Print Design: $1,000 to $3,000 if you hire it out
- For tight budgets, look for designers who offer all-inclusive packages!