What do successful indie authors say about achieving success?

During the month of August I interviewed five successful Indie authors on this blog. You can click on them down the sidebar.

Here is a summary of of their advice to writer’s and similarities about their approach:

BE DILIGENT

~ Treat Writing Like work

It was clear from all of the authors interviewed that they took all aspects of writing novels, marketing and the publishing world seriously. Although many of us may not aspire to the dizzy heights of employing staff like Adam Croft ~ most of us commission people to do the cover art, formatting and editing. We aim for a professional product our readers expect of us.

I’ll let you into a little secret here. I met Adam when he was promoting his first ever crime novel, giving it away free on Amazon through Smashwords ~ and so there’s nothing wrong with aspirations of grandeur! (and possibilities)

Writing seriously IS HARD WORK!

BE CONSISTENT

~ Build your audience by expectation

Although many authors dabble in different genre and some are successful doing that, it is the consistency of publishing in a certain genre, an awareness of your audience and regular releases of books in a series that appears to build success. It may take time, but patience is then rewarded.

(If you click on the links below they will take you to the author pages on Amazon)

I know if I buy an Anne Allen book that it will be some kind of mystery, reflect a period in history and be set on the island of Guernsey, usually in at least two time periods.

Tony Riches writes historical fiction, researching characters in history who are less well known and it is obvious from his books that he has explored the places and well as also the lives of the people.

Margaret Skea is also a  competent historical fiction writer, often with some mystery adding a different dimension.

Adam Croft writes crime. His plots are quirky and increasingly complex, but all of his books are ‘a good read.’

Maggie Anderson writes Regency Romance which has a great following and are easy to identify.

Skimming over their author pages gives a clear picture of what to expect if buying their books.

BE CREATIVE AND AHEAD OF THE GAME

Adam Croft was into Audio Books well before they ‘took off.’ Margaret Skea has taken the opportunity during lock down of launching her books on audio too. With audio increasingly popular and profitable, why are more of us not taking up this opportunity? (note to self!) At first Audio books were mainly in the realms of libraries but not anymore.

Many of us are glad we ignored the doomsayers about e books and have always diversified into both paperback and e book. This is vital in today’s odd world.

BY GIVING YOU RECEIVE ~ IN MARKETING

I am a great believer in this message. No author is an island unto themselves. (a Diana mis-quote!)

Avenues for marketing are limited these days for those of us who were used to speaking to an audience, having stalls at craft fairs and book signing. There’s a plethora of different ways though, to promote your books on line. Margaret Skea, author of Historical Fiction, gives the good advice that it is essential to ‘give as much or more than you take’ when marketing on Social Media.

Help other authors out and they are more willing to support you.

I certainly feel the same. Author Tony Riches is always promoting other people’s work and because I love his books I trust his choice of books he promotes. It’s a win win situation. He has also given me tips along the way and pointed me in the direction of marketing opportunities, such as The Coffee Book Club Tour.

Maggi Anderson mentions the importance of a newsletter ~ so important and often overlooked.

… and finally just get writing!

If you would like to do a guest blog between now and Christmas on this blog then please read:

Throw a Dice for Memories of a Character in your novel

Then leave your contact details as a comment on my blog or email diana@dianamaryjackson.co.uk

Are you Receiving Me? – Do you need to worry about generating comments?

Of course I enjoy people taking the trouble to comment on my blog but, just because there are none left on the actual blog post each time, I am still cheered by the way people respond in other ways and other factors:

1. Statistics – Now that I am using Hootsuite to schedule tweets, (thanks to a member of my writer’s group for letting me know about that gem!) each post is read by between at least 50 to 100 people, sometimes many more. It’s great that WordPress gives me all of this information.
2. Many people just like to tweet a response. That’s brilliant because their comments come to my email so that I can respond when I am next on Twitter.
3. Others find it easier to comment on Facebook. That’s lovely too, because I put all of my posts on my Diana Jackson’s Author page on Facebook and it’s like a running time line of activity.
4. Then of course I get emails too if someone has a particular comment to make for my eyes only like the author who responded when I left a blog saying that their book was one of my favourite books of all times. It was a thrill to hear from him! Then there have been several people who have let me know how they found my blog via a Google search. That’s fantastic to know. Their remarks are treasured even more because someone has made an effort to get in touch.

So am I right not to get worried about getting comments actually on my blog?

Should I do something about the fact that the ratio of comments left per post is only 1 in 3?

I don’t really think so because as long as there are people out there enjoying what I write and I still gain pleasure in writing posts  then it continues to be a positive channel to release my thoughts and hone my skills as a writer.

What do you think?

 

 

‘Novel Publicity’

MARKETING YOUR NOVEL & EXCELLENT WRITING TIPS

As Social Media networking has exploded into the world of publishing and no author can now sit back and write in contemplative isolation, leaving the world of marketing their novel completely to their publisher, Novel Publicity has stepped in.

So many cliché’s spring to mind here which would make many cringe:

Seized the moment …..

In the forefront of……..

Market leader…………

In the right place at the right time ……………..

Ahead of the game…………………….

But that aside (there they creep in again), certainly as traditional methods of publishing have been supplemented by a host of alternative paths for the budding writer, where self publishing deals abound and partnership publishing is becoming less frowned upon and seen as a viable alternative, rather than as a cause for derision, Novel Publicity is already enjoying success.

What makes Novel Publicity so successful? (in my opinion)

ADVICE TO WRITERS

• Their web site has an abundance of interesting, free and useful advice for writers. See Novel Publicity
• Not only that, but Emlyn Chand keeps apace of her many contacts and if she sees a worthwhile Blog to add to her website, she asks for permission to include their ideas as a Guest Blog post on Novel Publicity, citing the author and website, giving valuable publicity to the author.
• They send personal advice to authors regarding their Blogs and Facebook pages. I have personally benefitted from Emlyn’s help in formatting ideas etc

SERVICES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

• Using an army of Guest Bloggers from all over the world Novel Publicity organises authors to post reviews of the novel of the moment. ‘The Blog Tour’.
• Tweeting reviews and retweeting reviews on Twitter
• Celebrating success and advertising Blog Tours on Facebook
• ………

GENERATING GOODWILL

• Novel Publicity have several ploys for generating goodwill and what they call ‘Positive Karma’. Keep watch this Friday on Facebook and you’ll soon see their influence in action.
• Encouraging writers to give of their time for free (eg writing a review on their own Blog of someone else’s novel) gives free publicity to the author of the post too, in areas where they might otherwise not reach, including Twitter and Facebook. The reach is boundless.

 Soon, when my novel ‘Riduna‘ is relaunched on Kindle, I hope enlist Novel Publicity’s services, but meanwhile next Monday I will be publishing my second post for one of Novel Publicity’s Blog Tours. Watch out for my review on:

‘In Leah’s Wake’ by Terri  Giuliano Long