Month: October 2018

SFFMP 205: Writing for Star Wars, Podcasting, Patreon, and if Awards Help with Marketing

Author Interview, Podcast

Our guest for this week’s show is long-time podcaster and slightly less long-time science fiction and fantasy author Mur Lafferty. She is the author of the Nebula and Hugo-nominated Six Wakes, The Shambling Guides, and I Should Be Writing: A Writer’s Workshop. Her most recent publication is Solo, the Star Wars movie adaptation, which we asked her all about during the interview. She also hosts the popular I Should Be Writing and Ditch Diggers podcasts (the latter is about the publishing industry, not actual ditch digging, FYI!).

Here are some of the specifics that we discussed:

  • How Mur got started in podcasting in the early days and created audio versions of some of her fiction.
  • Whether she’s an outliner or a pantser.
  • How the Forest app (here’s the link) helps her avoid distractions.
  • Talking money, agents, experiences with publishers, and the stuff that doesn’t always get mentioned on her Ditch Diggers podcast.
  • Getting involved on Patreon as a podcaster and a writer.
  • Finding the right rewards for Patreon subscribers of different levels.
  • A reminder that it’s tough to make any headway on Patreon or Kickstarter without an existing fanbase.
  • How Mur got involved in the Star Wars universe and landed the Solo gig.
  • The process of writing a novelization of a movie for Star Wars.
  • Whether the pay for movie-tie-in stuff is comparable to a regular traditional publishing deal.
  • How publishers and agents look to see if you have an established platform and following before taking you on as an author.
  • A reminder that the publishing industry is quite small and that the professionals all know each other, so it’s important to be courteous on social media and at conventions.
  • Which social media platforms Mur likes for marketing.
  • Some of the numerous awards she has received and been nominated for and whether they’re helping to sell books.
  • How authors can use podcasting for marketing.

Don’t forget to visit Mur on her website and follow her on Twitter.

 

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SFFMP 204: Selling 10,000 Copies of Your First Novel with Joseph Malik

Author Interview, Podcast

Today, we were joined by fantasy author, Joseph Malik, who published his first novel, Dragon’s Trail, in 2016 and has managed to sell 10,000 copies over the last two years, despite being a new author and new to marketing. We talked to him about some of the things he tried that didn’t work, plus what he tried that did.

*Note: a couple of swear words slipped out in this episode, so be careful if you’re listening in the car with young and impressionable kids (or dogs).

Here are some of the specifics that we talked about in the show:

  • Trying out a lot of hobbies such as sword fighting and martial arts to better learn how to make your fantasy novels seem realistic.
  • Tips for authors who wouldn’t mind trying to learn some of the combat stuff even if they’re busy with life and not athletically inclined.
  • Balancing including details and strong world building with keeping the story moving along and readers entertained.
  • Diana Wynne Jones’ Tough Guide to Fantasyland (and why your characters probably shouldn’t be eating stew after a long trek).
  • Publishing on a more traditional release schedule (Joseph published his first two novels about two years apart) and keeping the books selling when it’s a while between releases.
  • How his experience as a panelist at NorWesCon helped a lot with book sales for him.
  • Why Joseph publishes hard cover copies of his books and where he sells them.
  • How he’s sold most of his books at full price and intends to stick with that going forward.
  • Some of the marketing things he tried early on that didn’t move the dial much and what did work.

If you want to learn more or check out Joseph’s books, please visit his website: http://josephmalik.com/

 

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SFFMP 203: Staying Motivated, Advertising, and How to Market a Stand-Alone Novel

Group Discussion, Podcast

This week, the guys answered a couple of questions about staying motivated and finishing projects, even when your oh-so-appealing sink full of dishes is distracting you. They talked a bit about their adventures with Amazon advertising and what’s actually working for them now in 2018. They also discussed marketing a stand-alone novel, since Lindsay recently released Fractured Stars, a new space adventure story unrelated to her other series. She shared her numbers and what she did for the launch.

Here are a few of the specifics from their discussion:

  • Difficulties with piracy and copyright issues.
  • Using CoverVault.com to create your own 3D boxed set covers.
  • Getting personalized video shoutouts from celebrities through Cameo.com.
  • Jo’s jump into Patreon and what he’s offering for subscribers.
  • Getting the reviews from old editions of books on Amazon when republishing all-new versions.
  • Tips for keeping yourself from getting distracted when you work from home.
  • Write or Die software and writing sprints.
  • What to do when the story seems boring or bad or just isn’t coming together.
  • The challenges of making Amazon advertising work.
  • Scaling AMS ads once you do get them to work.
  • Why the guys are still big fans of running promos on free Book 1s in long series.
  • How to price a stand-alone novel and whether to try KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited or start out wide.
  • Deciding on cover art when your book wasn’t written to any particular market so there aren’t a lot of examples.
  • Writing a free tie-in short story or novella and publishing it at the same time as your stand-alone novel.
  • When and how the guys use boosted posts on Facebook.
  • Using newsletter bonuses to encourage sign-ups at the end of your novel (even a stand-alone novel) so you’re not starting from scratch with the next book.
  • Why the mailing list trumps all when it comes to advertising and marketing and is the most valuable asset you can build.

If you want to support Jo on Patreon, you can find his page here.

 

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SFFMP 202: Lessons Learned from Putting Together Anthologies and Donating to Charity

Author Interview, Podcast

This week’s show should be of interest to those authors who have considered putting aside the author hat temporarily to don the publisher/editor hat for a project or two.

Our guests were science fiction romance authors Veronica Scott and Pauline B. Jones, who also happen to be the editors and publishers of the Pets in Space series of scifi romance stories (with a pet theme, naturally). They just released their third one (Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3) and talked to us about recruiting authors for anthologies, publishing and marketing them, and what’s involved in donating a portion of the proceeds to charity.

Here are some more of the specifics that we covered:

  • How they got involved in this series of anthologies.
  • How they go out and recruit authors (some newer voices and some well-known authors with large followings).
  • Why they only accept original fiction rather than reprints.
  • What’s involved with giving part of the proceeds to charity (and why you need to check with a charity before using them in your marketing material).
  • Why it’s a good idea to sign a contract with a charity.
  • How they determine the order of stories in their anthologies.
  • If there are any stigmas from readers who are suspicious of authors/publishers who “use” a charity for marketing.
  • Their experience with hiring a PR person and why it’s been useful and worth the money.
  • Balancing earnings with their marketing spend to make sure there’s money for the charity and also that the authors get paid for their stories.
  • Why they’re releasing the stories wide instead of focusing on Amazon and KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited) for now.
  • Some of the challenges of marketing science fiction romance outside of the Kindle Unlimited ecosphere where romance of all kinds seems to thrive.

You can visit Veronica on her website, Pauline on hers, and check out the Pets in Space website. Or just pick up a copy here.

 

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SFFMP 201: Bookbub Ads Update and Cultivating a Successful Author Mindset

Author Interview, Podcast

This week, we had return guest, crime-fiction author Adam Croft, on the show. We asked him about changes to Bookbub ads that have come about in the last year (he joined us in 2017 for Episode 151 All About Bookbub CPM Ads and Becoming a #1 Bestseller on Amazon), what he’s been up to, and why he’s written a book on author mindset.

Here’s some of what we covered in the show:

  • Adam’s latest releases and what he’s working on now.
  • How Bookbub ads have changed in the last year and why he still likes them, especially for advertising to the Apple iTunes store.
  • How he’s found some great success using Facebook ads on some of his novels but hasn’t gotten them to work well on others.
  • Why he’s a fan of thinking long-term and not going exclusive with Amazon.
  • The challenges of selling non-fiction as well as fiction and building platforms to draw in both types of readers.
  • How well non-fiction audiobooks can do.
  • The different things authors should be focusing on to turn writing from a hobby to a business.
  • Some of the struggles authors have when it comes to mindset.
  • How to decide who you’re going to listen to in the indie author space when it comes to taking advice.
  • How flexibility when it comes to pricing, packaging, and marketing a book can help you.
  • Striving to get multiple income streams coming in, even from a single book.

You can visit Adam on his website and check out The Indie Author Mindset at your favorite store.

 

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