Information and tips, focusing on publishing, publicity, promotional ideas, author profiles, design resources and more.
Recently we were commissioned to design a set of playing cards featuring legendary Antarctic explorers. The card set was well received and they have made their way to surprising locations at extreme north and south…
Per my client Lewis Levitz:
I received this letter from Sarah.
Our cards are now being sold at a camp in Antarctica and also in Svalbard
Kind regards
Lewis
They have also been used to while away the time during flights over the Antarctic ice cap.
Draft2Digital offers a very cost-effective distribution route for ebooks (print on demand also, but that service is still in beta, for various reasons). Its sale channels cover all of the large ebook retailers. It has a very simple and attractive service proposition:
We are Self-Publishing with Support. Your book is your priority. Our priority is you. We build tools and services that let you focus on writing while we take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more. Keep writing. We’re here for the rest.
In a long and very informative blog post, author services firm Reedsy describes them as “The gold standard for self-publishing aggregators, Draft2Digital distinguishes itself with excellent customer service and a user-friendly interface. They’re the best way to sell your book with dozens of retailers without tearing your hair out.”
Kindlepreneur also has a largely positive review that dives into the details of uploading a new title and how the royalty payments and update fees work.
Users discuss vcry specific pros and cons of the service on a reddit thread. Important note: the 10% Draft2Digital fee is charged on retail price, not on profit, and comes on top of the share taken by the end seller.
Writers Weekly has published a number of very negative user reviews that indicate some administrative problems.
Plenty of users had complaints about the non-payment of royalties.
Draft2Digital books cannot access Amazon advertising or other Amazon sales tools.
In summary, a service that will be useful to many authors, but go in with your eyes open and aware of the moderate drawbacks, especially the Amazon advertising issue.
Google is gunning for cookies — those intrusive and unloved snippets of code that track your browsing habits and transmit said data to unscrupulous marketers. Cookies also allow other bad actors to snoop on your privacy and form a pretty good personality profile of any given web user. But being Google, and living on advertising dollars, they are still going try mightily hard to keep advertisers happy by building in more privacy-friendly settings. One suspects much of this zeal for privacy is driven by the European Union’s much more stringent privacy regulations. Falling afoul of the EU can be an expensive business.
“As we work to make the web more private, we’ll provide businesses with tools to succeed online so that high quality content remains freely accessible — whether that’s news articles, videos, educational information, community sites or other forms of web content. With Tracking Protection, Privacy Sandbox and all of the features we launch in Chrome, we’ll continue to work to create a web that’s more private than ever, and universally accessible to everyone.”
Local author and academic Trevor Hay’s book The Library of Lost Horizons has been reviewed at some length in Quadrant magazine (subscription). Two brief excerpts:
“Hay speaks fluent Mandarin and since 1975 has journeyed widely to study Chinese literature,
theatre, and folklore. A compulsive collector, his library holds a multitude of forgotten stories from
travellers along Silk Roads in remotest Asia. In The Library of Lost Horizons, Hay recounts stories
garnered from the many archeologists, ethnographers, scientists, historians, anthropologists, and
inveterate dreamers who passed through deserts and harsh mountain passes to the soaring peaks
and mysterious valleys of Tibet and on to fabled Shangri-la. He adds reflections arising from his own
last trip to Dunhuang and the remarkable ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ on the edge of the great
Gobi Desert.
”
“Hay was soon captivated by China, a country that haunts him still. As he
notes,’…for nearly fifty years I have been in love with a much older woman. She likes to be called
Han. Sometimes she will answer to Tang’. He continued to be drawn to her languages and cultures
as he collected books ‘in English or in translation about the places that have contributed to the
formation of her character’. The Library of Lost Horizons takes you into the world of these books.”
The Library of Lost Horizons is available from Australian Scholarly Publishing, along with several of Trevor’s other titles.
Serious independent authors spend time checking out their competitors, the so-called ‘Comps’ or comparable titles. It is a great way of getting a sense of a particular genre, prevalent trends, the key cover design elements that signal a particular fictional niche. A writer should have a good idea of their specific target readers — and, spoiler alert, it is not ‘anyone who can read’. If you have read a lot in the genre you are writing in (always a good idea), you will already have a fairly good idea of how your title/s relate to the existing literary landscape. Making a list of comparable titles, whether bestsellers or midlist, can also be helpful for book cover designers looking to get a more specific feel for your title. At the same time it gives the author a better sense of the overall commercial literary landscape.
Author services site Reedsy conduct a semi-scientific test into the relative marketing merits of a better designed cover. The signal seems pretty clear, though one would want to make such tests on a much larger scale to fully quantify the effectiveness. But of course there is a reason mainstream publishers invest a lot of effort into eye-catching genre-appropriate cover designs — it very much works, and catches the segment of the buying public interested in that specific kind of title.
Kathryn Gauci writes gripping historical novels set in Europe, with a particular focus on Greece, France and Turkey. She researches her work in great detail, often travelling to the regions in question, and picks up many online awards. She posts regularly on Facebook and Instagram, and has racked up thousands of reviews and ratings on Goodreads. She is an excellent example of the value of persistence, networking, participation in the online communities relating to her genre and cross marketing of her books.
If learning and managing all the intricacies of Amazon’s advertising engine in order to promote your book/s seems just too hard, perhaps you might consider hiring a consultant through the outsourcing websites Fiverr and Upwork. You can check reviews of each consultant’s work in order to see if any of them might be a good fit. Packages start at quite low rates, so you could experiment without committing huge amounts of money.
Author Bill Poulos has been getting plenty of press for his excellent new book Bush Tragedies. Bill has been using Facebook and Instagram to good effect and tapping into his community connections.
https://arr.news/2023/09/01/new-release-bush-tragedies/
https://www.nswcountryandpicnicracing.com.au/former-racing-writer-launches-new-book/
https://www.netimes.com.au/2023/08/20/new-crime-book-from-moree-author-accidental/
Author Frank Burkett has set up a simple, effective long-scrolling author wordpress website. The site includes a blurb, book thumbnail, author bio, an order form and some local context, and a comments capability. A navigation bar to go to different sections of the page abd back to the top would have been helpful, but perhaps was not an option for this build of WordPress.
Frank’s biography reads as follows:
Frank Burkett lives in tropical Queensland, which is the setting of his second novel, The O’Connor Protocol. His previous novel, View from the Clock Tower, was shortlisted in 2006 for the British Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger award. Although raised in Queensland, Frank has travelled extensively, including three years in the United Kingdom where he studied at the University of London for a Diploma in Dramatic Art. He spent three years in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he worked in the field of land conservation. In 1980, back home, he completed a journalism major at the University of Queensland. Following a successful career in news media, he wrote and published The Tropical Son, a biography of country music singer Graeme Connors. Frank is now retired and working on his third book in which, once again, sugar cane, rainforests and coral reefs provide an exotic setting.
Available here and direct from the author. Published by Sid Harta Publishers.
If you are serious about optimising your online presence as an author, K-Lytics is worth checking out. Their site asks the following rhetorical question:
“Do you want to sell more books, face less competition, and achieve a higher return on your publishing investments?”
Their paid market reports burrow into the details of hundreds of genres and micro-genres. Seeing the maths underneath the book markets is a bit disconcerting, but in a world governed by algorithms and visibility, these insights are essential. The specificity of some of the genres and sub-genres is almost comic: Scottish Romance (what about Scottish Time Travelling Romance?); Cosy Mystery; Urban Fantasy, etc.
“You do not have to be afraid of numbers. We will help you to understand and use them to your advantage.”
“Amazon is more than just a retailer: it is a search engine as well as a book discoverability website. In fact, it’s the world’s leading search engine for books, where the majority of buyers go to find their next read.”
Reedsy is offering a short, free introductory course for those interested in using Amazon advertising for their books. The course covers the following topics:
The fundamentals of how the algorithms work
How to optimize your product page for the algorithm
How to pick the right categories and keywords
How to ascend the various lists on the Kindle store
The right way to launch your book
Thorpe-Bowker publishes an interesting newsletter on the independent publishing scene. Free subscription link here.
Boxshot invites users to upload their book cover and spine, then fiddle with a variety of controls to arrive at a striking 3D rendering of said cover. The basic offering is free, with a paid version offering more bells and whistles.
“This 3D book cover generator is constantly rendering a realistic book model with the pictures you loaded. Every time you move the camera or change a parameter — the rendering starts from the beginning. It may take some time for the noise to come away and you get a nice and clear 3D image.”
Author of Red, Angela Dawson reports on her recent promotional activities and opportunities:
ABC Radio Melbourne: Angela Dawson publishes her novel Red - ABC
Plus, as well as Readings bookstores, I managed to get books into Dymocks, Camberwell after being part of a panel of authors presenting to a packed audience at Rivoli Cinemas, Camberwell, for their 'First Tuesday Book Club'. Catherine Deveny was one of them! Fun, but quite nerve racking! I got to speak for 15 mins, and afterwards we all sat in the foyer for book signings, like real authors!
I've entered lots of competitions, and so far have managed to get short listed in the Santa Fe Writers Project 2022 Literary Awards (27 selected out of 2000!)
This was their feedback:
Thank you for participating in the 2022 Literary Awards Program and, again, congrats on making it into the finalist lists! You beat out nearly 2000 manuscripts to get where you are.
While you did not make the winners' circle, your manuscript showed strong promise and shined through a rigorous judging process. Congratulations!
I'm still waiting for a few more comp results, some of which come out at the end of the year.
I have a few things I want to pursue - I've joined this FB page, which might help with getting some online traffic:
I even wrote a short blog today, after a massive hiatus!
There are definitely some great opportunities out there for writers to get their work critiqued. I found a few legitimate sites, including an American one which frequently has competitions with no entry fees - usually for short essays, poems. I'm on their monthly list for the newsletter. Their site states they are, 'One of the Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers'.
Winning Writers, Inc.
351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222
Northampton, MA 01060-3998
USA
Her website can be found here.
Independent authors appearing at author events sometimes need additional branded material. Kathryn Gauci wanted her banners to stand out, featuring the covers, an atmospheric background, a selection of her awards and her web address. She kindly sent us a few photographs taken at a recent event.
Radio is an excellent medium for authors promoting their work — there is a significant overlap between readers and listeners (and a perfect overlap when it comes to audiobooks). Author Angela Dawson conducted a ten minute discussion with ABC presenter Jacinta Parsons.
During the depths of the pandemic Afternoons listener Angela J Dawson rang the talkback line and told Jacinta Parsons about the novel she was working on. Now the book, Red, is finished and published. Angela dropped into the studio for a chat about her humorous tale of a Top Gun obsessed pilot, and how she published it.
Guest Post contributed by Farlyn Lucas, Podcast Advertising.
Promoting your book can be a challenge. With the abundance of content available online, it can be difficult to get your book in front of the right people and generate buzz. This is where podcasts come in.
Podcasts have become increasingly popular, and there is no shortage of listeners. In fact, the number of podcast listeners increased by 15% during the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia, and an estimated 424.2 million listeners worldwide.
This presents a unique opportunity for independent authors and self-publishers to reach a wide audience and promote their books. With the right approach, podcasts can be an effective tool in maximizing your reach and promoting your book to a wider audience.
There are several benefits to using podcasts for book promotion. First, podcasts allow you to reach a targeted audience. You can connect with listeners who are already interested in your subject matter. This makes it more likely that they will be interested in your book as well.
Second, podcasts offer a more personal connection than other forms of marketing. When you appear on a podcast, you have the opportunity to talk directly to the listeners and engage with them in a way that is not possible with other forms of marketing. You can build trust with potential readers and increase the likelihood that they will purchase your book.
Third, podcasts can help to establish you as an expert in your field. When you appear on a podcast and share your knowledge and insights, you are demonstrating your expertise to the listeners. Through this, you can increase your credibility and build your reputation as an authority in your subject matter.
Podcast advertising can be a powerful tool for independent authors and self-publishers looking to promote their books and reach new audiences. Let’s cover the basics of how to get started with podcast advertising, including what you need to know, what to expect, and how to make the most of this promotional channel.
The first step in finding the right podcasts for your book is to research your target audience. Consider who your book is written for and what their interests and hobbies are. What types of podcasts do they listen to? What topics are they interested in?
You can find podcasts that cater to their interests and may be more likely to feature your book.
Next, look for podcasts in your niche or related to your book's topic. These podcasts are likely to have an audience that is interested in your book and may be more likely to share your book with their followers. You can use podcast directories such as iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher and search podcasts in your niche.
Another way to find podcasts for your book is to check out popular podcasts in your genre or niche. These podcasts may have a large following and a large reach, which can be beneficial for your book promotion.
Next, determine your advertising budget. Podcast advertising can range from a few dollars per episode to hundreds of dollars per episode, depending on the popularity of the podcast and the length of your ad. Keep in mind that podcast advertising can be more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods, so it's important to determine what you're willing to spend.
Step 4: Connect with Podcasters
Once you've identified a few podcasts that you're interested in advertising with, it's time to connect with the podcasters. This can be done through social media or email. Be professional and respectful in your approach and clearly explain how your book fits into their audience's interests. If the podcaster agrees to work with you, they will likely provide you with specific instructions on what you need to do next.
Your ad should be concise, attention-grabbing, and memorable. Most podcast ads are around 60 seconds long, so be sure to make the most of that time. Consider using humor, storytelling, or a unique angle to make your ad stand out. If you're not confident in your ability to create an effective ad, consider hiring a professional to help.
Once your ad is ready, it's time to launch your campaign. This is when you'll start hearing your ad on podcasts and reaching new audiences. It's important to track your results and make adjustments to your campaign as needed. This may include adjusting your ad, changing the podcasts you're advertising with, or adjusting your budget.
Hosted by veteran indie author, Dave Chesson, this podcast is perfect for self-publishers looking to learn more about book marketing, book promotion, and book design. Dave covers a wide range of topics, from ebook formatting to advanced book promotion strategies, making it a valuable resource for any indie author.
Host Joanna Penn is a bestselling author and entrepreneur who shares valuable insights and advice on publishing, marketing, and entrepreneurship. She covers a wide range of topics, including book design, book marketing, and the business of self-publishing, making this podcast a must-listen for indie authors.
Hosted by multi-published author, Christine Stinson, this podcast provides tips and insights into the writing and publishing process. Christine covers a wide range of topics, including writing techniques, publishing options, and book marketing, making this podcast a valuable resource for any Australian author looking to publish their book.
Hosted by best-selling author, J.A. Mellon, this podcast provides practical advice and inspiration for self-publishers. J.A. covers a wide range of topics, from writing and editing to book marketing and promotion, making this podcast a must-listen for any Australian author looking to take their publishing journey to the next level.
Using podcasts for book promotion can be a highly effective way to reach new audiences and promote your book. With the right preparation and research, you can find the right podcasts and make the most of your appearances. The podcast industry has experienced substantial growth, providing numerous and dynamic opportunities for book promotion. Regardless of whether one is a self-published or traditionally published author, the integration of podcasts into a comprehensive book promotion strategy is highly recommended.
Addictive short video service TikTok might look like another nail in the coffin of traditional publishing, but there is a corner of that frenetic online realm that celebrates a love of reading. BookTok is a very popular and active sub-community on TikTok, an aggregation of accounts interested in books and reading. Books that achieve ‘buzz’ on Booktok often go on to very respectable sales, a development that the big publishers are acutely aware of and attempt to exploit. There is room in BookTok for savvy independent authors and several examples of impressive success. Wikipedia has a good summary with plenty of links.
In April 2022, I released my debut novel, ‘The King of Rhye,’ after a productive six months working alongside Sid Harta Publishers. It entered the world to a fair reception (for an untested indie author); though as anticipated, it did not smash any records or win any Nobel Prizes. Nearly a year later, it will be receiving a shot in the arm, with the imminent release of an audiobook likely to find another modest reader base.
By my own estimation, the true success of ‘The King of Rhye’ has been its permeation into various corners of cultural awareness. It has moved sideways, into several other forms of media, both auditory and visual, to create not so much a story as a multisensory experience. There now exists an official soundtrack of original music, produced for songs lifted directly from the story. A rich (and expanding) gallery of bespoke ‘canonical’ art adorns social media pages, clothes, other merchandise, the cover of vinyl records and the walls of my house. It is also soon to receive its second language publication, having been diligently translated to French. It is anticipated that the French version will hit the market later in 2023.
Not too bad, for a book less than one year old.
I attribute this ‘lateral progression’ to a combination of two main factors. The first: a consistent and front-loaded assault on selected social media. The second: an awareness of target audience, and a reasonable understanding of how best to capture that audience’s attention.
For completeness, it is worth highlighting that Lady Luck certainly played a role (I should have included her in Acknowledgements). One or two steps of the journey came courtesy of the right people stumbling over my work at the right time. I guess that is something that may or may not happen to any author, in their fledgling career.
A few words, then, about my approach to social media. I am now a man in my early forties. I am well aware that a plethora of social media platforms exist these days; every time I turn around, the youth of today have launched a new one (most of which, I’ll be honest, I don’t understand). I am most active on Facebook (being somewhere on the cusp of Gen X and Gen Y). As it turns out, my target demographic also use this as their go-to place for doomscrolling. Of course, I did know this before I started, so it was no accident that I chose Facebook as the main place to launch my campaign.
I also started early, which I think a lot of wannabe authors don’t think to do. They write their book, then they start trying to sell it to an audience. I started over a year before the eventual release date. I told people what I was aiming to do, what I hoped to achieve with it, and what they might expect from it. From humble beginnings, I built a following. Slowly. It still isn’t huge, but it has grown consistently. That takes time – there are almost no ‘overnight sensations’, despite the illusion.
I don’t pay for Facebook ads. That worked, exactly one time, right at the beginning. Eventually, the algorithm only shows your sponsored ads to people who already follow you. So, it was necessary to use other platforms to increase exposure that way. I have a Reddit presence (useful), an Instagram page (quite useful), a LinkedIn profile (useless) and am dabbling in YouTube – which has the potential to be the most useful of all, if I actually had the time to produce a series of videos.
I’m aware that TikTok can work, but I’m horrible at dances, so I’ll leave it alone.
Next, to discuss target audience. One might say that I had the advantage of being able to ride on the coattails of one of the world’s largest rock music fandoms, in finding people who might pay attention to my book (‘The King of Rhye’ is an ode to the wonderful music of Queen). But it is more complicated than that: linking your work to an existing cultural phenomenon only works if you also know how to harness the connection.
It needed to be clear in my language, in my visual style, and in the way I presented my project, that I understand what fans love about the band. I also needed to reach for the stars themselves, and see just what support I might be able to garner from the inner sanctum. I contacted Queen, via the International Fan Club. Whilst guitarist Brian May has been too busy with the endless stream of commitments, I did learn that he is generous and willing to embrace the efforts of fans to further Queen’s legacy. He did offer to help promote ‘The King of Rhye’; an offer that was seen by many, and not only gave me a boost of confidence, but also gave the project credibility in the eyes of others.
To broaden the potential reader base, I had to also emphasise that this is not just a book for Queen fans. It is at its heart, a fantasy epic in the ‘Hero’s Journey’ tradition. To that end, I became involved in a number of online fantasy author groups, getting involved in discussion as often as I could; helping other budding authors with editing, and taking opportunities to introduce myself and what I was doing in return. It all helped.
Once ‘The King of Rhye’ was finally released, I focused my attention in again, to invest some energy in my local community. I live in a town of strong social connections, so I found that pursuing radio interviews and a showing at the regional library was also beneficial. Word of mouth travels quickly.
To speak of ‘people stumbling over my work at the right time’: the Queen connection brought British illustrator Luc Hudson, and French musicians Louis Henry Chambat and Thibaut Sergeant (‘Fat Bottomed Boys’) into my sphere of awareness. They introduced themselves to me; gentlemen in completely separate walks of life, on the far side of the world, due to a shared interest and a united sense of purpose. They found me because I made my mission statement clear, and because I highlighted the strengths of my work – the worldwide love for a classic rock band.
Where has all of this gotten me? I travelled to Europe in late 2022, to present my book at a convention. I built more of an audience. Demand for a follow-up has swelled. Certainly, another story was in the offing; but now that promotion has produced momentum, I draft my second novel knowing that a hum of anticipation already builds.
I have loved this journey. It has been worth every moment of effort.
Craig Mulhall
‘The King of Rhye’ © 2022 Sid Harta Publishers
