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| Step 1—Do everything! |
What's a good launch strategy for a
fantasy ebook? Stick to Amazon? Open wide on amazon and smashwords? I'm reading
article after article, several books, too. I can't decide. Keep in mind that I
only have the one book. It's going to be remain in my editor's hands for a
month or so longer, and i want to be prepared, have a plan ready.
Wow!
This is like asking, “How do I write a book?” In fact, this is what the entire publishing
world is all about—launch and sell strategy.
It’s why you get an agent to help you sell to a publishing house, and
why you get a publishing house to help you sell to the rest of the world. It’s why you go to conventions and book
signings give away advanced reader copies and cozy up to reviewers.
So let’s start small, shall we?
Format
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| Decisions, decisions, decisions! |
Format only matters when considering how
it will limit your audience. If you only
go with Amazon (and really, if you're going to pick just one, they're it) then
understand that you cut out all the Kobo and Nook readers. There are some benefits to only going with
Amazon, because they’re building a publishing world that answers to their
whims. As the author/owner/publisher you
can take advantage of free days to build readership, and then maintain a low
price ($0.99 or $1.99) to maintain that momentum and make a little beer money.
Unless, of course, you're also offering
your book in print—but then price for a self-pub can become a barrier to
purchase. Most print-on-demand shops
will charge you a reasonable amount for binding a paperback book, somewhere in
the neighborhood of $9 to $12 per book.
That is literally a fair amount for clear, full-bleed, color cover art
and your story printed to decent acid-free paper all bound together
professionally and ready for your shelf.
The big publishers manage this themselves or outsource at a discount,
operating on an economy of scale. If you’re
buying ten-thousand copies, it’s easy to come down a dollar or three per
book. Still, a paperback book today will
run about $7 to $8 and a trade paperback about $12, with the profit margin
added. So be aware that your novel will
likely need to be somewhere just north of $10 to $12 to make any kind of profit
in a self-published market.
Big
and Bigger Considerations
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| Don't worry. I've lit the Ab-Signal! |
Format is actually one of the easier
questions to answer. The 8 million ton
elephant in the room is how you market the book. Getting the word out is such a big job that
it can become a full-time job in itself.
I could probably write an entire book about this alone. Others certainly have. Please keep in mind that I'm a small press
author, not indie. A lot of the
responsibilities/efforts are the same, but I do get some help here and there. Here's a few tips:
1- Consider what your monthly budget for marketing is (and yes, monthly) and then start
looking into both the free places to advertise, the discount places, and the
premium. Have a strategy built around at
least a year of marketing your book until it can walk (or stumble or run) on
its own.
2 - Build your
base as big and fast as you can. Get
a blog, an author Facebook page, get on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.,
and start marketing. I've found that
HootSuite provides a pretty decent platform to handle tweets and blog
posts. Start building an email list for
reviewers and fans.
3 - Work it
every day, and every day work it.
Yeah, redundant there, but it's true.
You need to do a little (or a lot) of work every day. Have business cards and bookmarks printed up
with buy links, get on interviews, reach out to bloggers, submit for contests, build
up your review counts, etc.
There's more and so much more!
Location,
Location, Location
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| Just keep swimming! |
The publishing industry hasn’t just
exploded—it’s Big Bang Level 13 on a stellar scale. There are, literally, millions of self-published
authors now competing for eyes and wallets, and you are, at best, a little fish
in that vast, uncharted, stormy sea.
Consider that there is something like 32 million books currently in
print, and more being added every day.
While there is potentially an infinite number of stories, there is a
finite number of readers, and a finite number of books that can be read by
those readers. Even putting in the time
and effort, won’t see immediate or vast returns. Be very prepared for disappointment if you
think you can move 10,000 copies in the first year.
Keep
Writing
Finally, your first book is likely not
going to be your first best-seller. If
it is, congrats and I hate you! Nor is
the second book. Again, same sentiment,
you lucky bastard! But barring that kind
of fortunate exposure, you'll get more traction each time you release another
book, and life will get a little easier.
Your base will grow organically, but you'll still need to keep at it,
which can overshadow the real effort—KEEP WRITING. While marketing is certainly part of the job,
you're still the talent.
People want to read what you write, so
keep writing it.
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