Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?
Because I haven’t spent as much time on social media as I should, especially at this point in my writing career.
I haven’t finished my first book yet, but this is the time I should be ramping up my social media presence. If I wait until the book is ready to be published, I’ve waited too long. In keeping with my New Year’s resolutions, I reached out and connected with other authors in my genre, but upon reflection, I haven’t done nearly enough to facilitate those connections. I read their posts and tweets, but don’t respond or retweet as often as I should. I need to develop a strategy and stick with it.
Moving on to this month's question:
What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?
I suspect I will probably self-publish. Not that I have anything against trad publishing, but the time frame for finding an agent and/or a publisher seems rather daunting. Not to mention that finding an agent and publisher strikes me as a crapshoot at best. And even were I to make it past these hurdles, it would still be years before the book was published.
Marketing considerations: Whichever route I choose, I’ll still be the person responsible for most of the book marketing, so that’s a wash, but with everything I’ve read on the subject, one of the most important tools at a writer’s disposal is flexibility. Flexibility to change e-book prices at a moment’s notice, the ability to give books away at strategic times. Deciding when to stay in Kindle Unlimited and when to go wide. I suspect publishers aren’t going to give me that kind of flexibility. Besides, I think most of my sales will come from ebooks, and most big publishers these days price ebooks higher so as not to cut into their print book business.
Cover design: My book isn’t finished yet, but I already have a pretty good idea of what the cover will be. I don’t pretend to be an expert on cover designs, so I’ll be hiring a cover designer who knows the fantasy genre and can guide me in the right direction. But if I were to go trad publishing, I wouldn't have much of a say on the cover. Since this will be the first of hopefully many books, it's important to get the branding correct from the very beginning.
Have a great IWSG Wednesday and be sure to stop by this month's co-hosts: Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J. Fifield, and Tara Tyler!
ChemistKen
Traditional publishing does seem like a shot in the dark anymore. You're right about the marketing. Either way, we have to dig into that. And I hear you on the social media presence front. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to bring life back into my blog. Ideas are happily seen ;)
ReplyDeleteAnymore it seems like social media is not necessarily the magic bullet. I don't know what it is, but there's definitely and ever-evolving method for reaching readers, and there really are different platforms for different genres of readers. Here's wishing you all the success the universe can grant, but definitely finish the book first. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot to tackle but you have resources available to you to help. Hire a great cover designer so it rocks!
ReplyDeleteHappy IWSG Day!
ReplyDeleteSocial Media is important to a degree, but be sure to finish the book too. While self-publishing isn't for everyone, it's still a viable option. Best of luck with your pursuits.
It's more important to write than be on social media. I keep telling myself the same thing, and I spend way too much time flipping through Facebook and Twitter. I try to spend only 30 minutes a day on social media, but sometimes I get lost on there. Keep pushing forward. There's a lot of support for those of us who self-publish. :)
ReplyDeleteI am working on my first published book and a serial series I plan to start publishing this January. Just like you I like the way being self-published gives you the freedom to decide how your book will look and what price it will be. I am in a similar boat with the the social media. I am just starting to get myself set up and noticed. It is a work in progress but will be a long road ahead. I wish you luck on your journey...also I love Hogwarts also. :) The books rule not much with the movies though.
ReplyDeleteI'm still making this decision as well. I'm with you on the reasons you've listed, but I do like the thought of having an agent & editor in my corner too :) We'll see!
ReplyDeleteWriting and getting our label out there is such a tug-of-war. I self published a small collection of flash fiction, but nothing else since then.
ReplyDeleteWeigh all your options. Smaller publishers give you a bit more leeway than the big ones. (Although DLP will NEVER use Amazon exclusively. We make too many eBook royalties elsewhere.)
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you're thinking about all the right things, but don't agonize over the social media stuff too much. Social media is supposed to be fun. My theory is that if I'm not having fun, people can tell, and that's more likely to drive potential readers away.
ReplyDeleteMost people who go the Indie route cite "time" as the reason for their choice. I do understand that. Traditional publishing is definitely the slow, slower, slowest way to go.
ReplyDeleteAll great considerations, and a lot of the same as what went through my mind when I decided my route.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry too much about social media yet. Just keep in touch with your friends as you would normally. When the time comes, create author pages, on Amazon, on Facebook, a normal author website and on your publisher's site. But beware. Nothing is worse than the screamer COME AND BUY MY BOOK. You need subtlety.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though you've done a lot of research and know the pros and cons and what's expected. And that's great!
ReplyDeleteMost of my sales come from eBooks, too. I only actually sell books when I buy them for book events/signings.
P.S. I published this article about authors and social media that you may help to lessen your insecurity on that front. Not sure if you saw it yet or not. Sorry if you did. http://www.damyantiwrites.com/2018/06/06/social-media-chrys-fey
Lucky for you the IWSG has a bunch of experienced people to call on. Don't be shy about it. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
There are certainly lots of resources for self-publishing. While my blog is a great social media platform, I've been thinking like you that I need to increase my social media presence. For me, it's Facebook and Twitter.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to retweeting, start a list in Twitter (in your settings) and mark it private, and add anyone who retweets you, or those who you don't mind retweeting, and when you have something important you want to tweet, go and retweet those people, and a certain number of them will remember to reciprocate.
ReplyDeleteAll good considerations. One of the reasons I quit screenwriting is that, no matter how good a script you write, you need about a million people to say "yes" before anything comes of it, and that takes years. The same feels true of traditional (or "legacy") publishing. Now many screenwriters are taking the initiative and directing their own films, and similarly authors are publishing their own books. I don't have the money to make my own movie, but I can afford covers and editing and the important pieces of publishing what I hope are quality books. So that's something, at least. Good luck to you on your manuscript and publishing journey!
ReplyDeleteI don't do any social media except my blog, though I believe I will do an author Facebook account once I have a book published. I'm super bad about all of that stuff. Twitter doesn't make sense for authors because we need space to WRITE.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have options! I think you've laid out the pros for self-pub really well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your book and congratulations on getting this far! I fall on the side of self publishing, personally. :)
ReplyDeleteReally good point about the flexibility, Ken. I agree--Indies get that in bucket-loads. And I love it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I do enough on social media either, but with how it's been lately (with everyone angry and yelling) I'm not sure it's all that helpful anymore.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've got it under control. All your reasoning is sound. I wish you all success. Stay with it and your friends on social media will understand your priorities!
ReplyDeleteI always tell myself I should do more on social media and then I don't. Heh. I've heard that social media is more to attract the fans you have, not necessarily to find new fans/sell your books. In the end, the writing of books should come first. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy belated IWSG Day! I will probably self publish or Indie publish but not worrying about that yet. Congrats on finishing and the book.
ReplyDeleteI love self publishing. I'd be happy to help you when the time comes. Networking with other authors helps a lot. There's a lot of facebook groups for that. The most effective are those that I have a connection somehow with the others. Still, networking can be a powerful marketing tool.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're on the right track, it's just a case of getting your strategy together. I definitely think self-publishing is best if you want the flexibility for quick changes.
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ReplyDeleteThe author of Shatter Me (YA dystopian/superhero series) had a pretty good social media following before she published her first book. If I had it to do over again, I think I'd focus more on finding a group of readers who liked my work, find out what they liked about it, then tried self-publishing. Sounds like you're starting out right. Good luck!
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