DIVING INTO SELF PUBLISHING—Part II

If you missed Part One, you can read it here.

One of my pet peeves is an author putting out a product that isn’t professional. Your name is your reputation and it’s hard to build a name and brand that represents good quality and all too easy to damage with shoddy work. 


There should be certain expectations that come with the name on the cover of the book. The reader has the right to expect to get as good a story as they would if the book was traditionally published in both content, copy, and cover art. Content editing: does the story work, does it start in the right place, is the POV correct, is there enough tension, conflict, and motivation to carry the story? A good story is so much more than having a manuscript written without errors and in perfect English (copy editing). It’s about writing to entertain a reader and that’s much more difficult. Content is everything and that’s true whether you’re a small indie publisher or self-publishing a book.

In part One, Judi spoke about the whys of self-publishing and the need for self-published authors to put out a professional story and some of the downside.

 “self-publishing isn’t all wine and roses. Self-published authors now take on the role of publisher as well as author. That means no advances and all the up-front costs: Editing (story, copy, line…), a cover, formatting, ISBN, copyright, marketing. You have to be your own editor, art department, publicist, and marketer in addition to being a writer and businessperson.”  

Judi Fennell continues her thoughts on producing a professional looking product. Especially when it comes to the cover art and the technology of producing a high quality book to sell. 

Covers are arguably the best marketing tool you have after word-of-mouth. If the cover is appealing, people will “pick it up.” How many times have authors complained that their cover looks nothing like the book? I actually had to change my heroine’s hair color based on a cover because the Marketing Department loved the image they’d selected for the cover. Okay, I went with it (heck, she was a genie—she could change her hair color at will if she wanted), but guess what?

They changed the cover.

Luckily, they used another model with the same colored hair, but there you go. My vision altered. (I do love the cover, though, don’t get me wrong. And I’m fine with the hair color change; it’s just part and parcel of the TP business.)

BUY KINDLE ADDITION

But when I set out to do my cover for Beauty and The Best I knew there were elements I wanted on there. Definitely the hot guy. He’s headless because, sadly the face doesn’t always match the body… But I got to choose him. (And, yes, it was tough. Seriously. Think about all the hours I spent scrolling through pictures of half-naked guys. It was rough.)

I wanted to show the humor and the guardian angel element. That would be the cat with the cockeyed halo.

I wanted a white background. My work has been compared to a lot of contemporary authors whose TP covers are white, and even though this book has the guardian angel slant to it, it’s essentially a contemporary romance.

I wanted to capture Todd’s art and the paint-splattered drop cloth that plays a nice part in the story. But I couldn’t put all of these elements together.

Enter my cover artist, Kim Van Meter.

I’d done research, looked at different cover artists’ work and their turnaround times, and Kim was the one I went with, but there are others out there who do work that is just as amazing. I love the cover and have gotten awesome feedback from readers.

And it looks FABULOUS in print.

Print, you ask? How do you print books if you’re self-publishing? Doesn’t that cost an arm and a leg? Don’t you need to store thousands of books in a warehouse somewhere?

No. You don’t.

I use Createspace for my print versions and, while the books are a little more expensive than TP print books, readers who want the books in physical form are getting an awesome product (if I do say so myself). It’s gorgeous.

So how does one actually self-publish?

Write the story. I can’t stress that enough. You can spend hours, days, weeks, on the other aspects, but if you don’t have the story, you’re wasting your time. Use beta readers to get the story as best as it can be. Then hire an editor. Edit your book. Make it the best it can be. Those people who do no promoting and their books skyrocket? That’s because they’ve done their homework on the most important aspect of this business: they wrote the best book they could.

Get a cover. Whether you do it yourself or you hire someone, make this cover PROFESSIONAL looking. I can’t stress that enough. Nothing says “cheap product” than a sub-par cover. Research other books in the genre you’re writing. Take a look at the best sellers. What is it about their covers that grab your attention? Who are the cover artists? What elements do you want on your book?

Deal with the technology. Or, if you don’t want to figure out formatting and uploading and ISBNs and Bowker’s site, and whether to do KDP Select or Nook First, or free books, or giveaways… hire someone.

*** Full disclaimer: I have a formatting site: http://www.formatting4U.com. Check me out. Many satisfied REPEAT clients and reasonable prices. Referrals for other services. Excellent turnaround time. And hand-holding all the way. ***

Self-publishing is a business all on its own in addition to the writing business. That’s very important to remember. You have to switch hats from the comfortable creative author hat to something that’s maybe outside your comfort zone. Join some indie and self-pub loops; the information you can find there FOR FREE is priceless.

But most of all, write. Having one book up is nice, but it’s the multiplier factor of having more than one, especially if it’s a series, that will bump up your sales to where you might be able to leave the Day Job and focus solely on your writing. I’m not there yet, but I’m hopeful.

Am I still pursuing TP? Yes. Why, if self-publishing can be the way to Day Job and artistic freedom? Because, as with anything else, having all your eggs in one basket might not be the best thing. Publishing is constantly changing; no one knows what will happen next. I’d hate to ditch the security of a Day Job for the Wild West of Publishing only to have a tornado come along and turn that Wild West into a dustbowl. But that’s my path; it might not be yours. I know other authors who say they’ll never traditionally publish again. Why give away 64% of their royalties? It’s a compelling argument and may change my mind as I bring the next books to market. (Look for If The Shoe Fits, book #2 in the Once-Upon-A-Time Romance series after Beauty and The Best, and Through The Leaded Glass, a RenFaire time travel romance coming soon!)

And a peek at Magic Gone Wild which comes out August first: 

You can read a short excerpt Here.

Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to "get outside!" instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad's hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she's more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she's still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends' books.

PRISM and Golden Leaf Award winner and ARe best-selling author, Judi loves to hear from her readers. Check out her website (www.JudiFennell.com) for excerpts, reviews, contests and pictures from reader and writer conferences, as well as the chance to "dive in" to her stories.

DIVING INTO THE SELF PUBLISHING POND

This is part one and I'll be running part two on Monday, June 4th.

A 'Round the cup discussion. 

Most writers, who want to be published, are reaching for traditional publication. That's their goal. These authors have worked long and hard to be traditionally published. Now, we have traditionally published authors who are self-publishing many books in addition to their traditionally published work. Why?


I asked a friend, Judi Fennell, to give me her thoughts on why she chose to also self-publish a series of books. What's the appeal? How hard is it? Now that she has books in both markets, I was curious about what conclusions she drawn. So she shared her thoughts on why she chose to dip into the self-publishing market. One thing stands out in these articles—these authors (I know many) have a different mindset when it comes to the business of writing. They have to be to make it a success.

Those of you who have seen my Tritone Trilogy (Mermen off the coast of the Jersey Shore), may recognize the “dive into the romance!” tagline. It was funny, punny, and tied the series with the romance, but now I’m using it to talk about the fact that I’ve dipped my toes into the self-publishing pond with Beauty and The Best. 

Why, you ask?  I mean, I’ve worked so hard to be traditionally published (5 books, #6, Magic Gone Wild, comes out August 1 and is available for pre-order I'll have a sneak peek of this one on Monday!), why go the self-pub route? 

I’m like a lot of other traditionally published writers, and those who haven’t yet been traditionally published (henceforth TP): we have books that NY just doesn’t know what to do with. Self-publishing gives us the opportunity to share our books with readers.

NY has big rents. They have overhead. They have salaries. They used to have marketing budgets and editors who could grow an author.

Not anymore.

Nowadays, it’s all about the bottom line, especially with the new kids on the block: Amazon. To achieve those bottom lines, NY needs to make sure they’re going to make money on a book. It’s not always advisable, then, for them to take a chance on a new author, or a new subgenre, or a storyline they haven’t seen before, or finish out a lackluster series. Tried-and-true is pretty much the way they hang.

But publishing is changing. Reading is changing. And the reading public is changing with them. E-Readers are now on our phones. Kindles, Nooks, iPads are all over the place. I was one of those who thought I’d never give up on paperback books, but I have to say, that One-Click buy button makes everything sooooooo easy. Especially if I finish a really good book at 11 pm and just have to find out what happens in Book #2. I can get it instantly.

We were on vacation two years ago and on the plane, Kid and I were talking about a book I recommended. We opened up the eReader and downloaded that book before the “Turn off your electronic devices” call sounded. Kid was entertained the entire plane ride (which meant Mom got to enjoy her book…)

You can read more HERE

But back to the reason I self-published. My first book (and yes, there will be more) was my American Title III finalist, Beauty and The Best. This book had come this close to being picked up by TP, but two editors left the day I’d submitted revisions to them. Yeah, two at different houses at different times. I’d gotten that far and then nothing. My current editor has seen it twice, but she didn’t “know how to market guardian angels.”

Um, okay. I will.

Readers have seen this story for years. It was in the American Title contest. It was in the Gather.com/Simon & Schuster First Chapters Contest (the only Romance to make the Top 20 finalists out of over 2,600 manuscripts). Its won contests. The opening line is a keeper:

There’s a naked man in my kitchen.

Now, finally, I have the ability to bring it to my readers.

I’m on a lot of self-pub and indie loops and I see the same thing with other writers. Their editors didn’t know what to do with this new subgenre they’re writing. The editors didn’t want to change what was working. So the authors have put these stories up themselves and, finally, they’re able to make a living at being a writer. I say finally because a midlist TP author really can’t, not with one or two books out a year and a 6% royalty rate.

Plus, authors can now bring out more books a year, at a lower price, which is not only to their benefit, but also their readers’. Compare my TP book prices of $5.38, to the $2.99 I can offer Beauty and The Best at. Self-pub authors see sales figures HOURLY rather than twice a year.

What’s the appeal of self-publishing?

1. The ability to actually make a living as a writer
2. The ability to put out more books a year.
3. Self publish backlist rights to books the author has written 
4. Ultimate control over our story from editorial to the cover (something most TP authors have ZERO say in. 
5. See monthly income rather than twice a year—as TP contracts pay 
6. Self-published authors are paid 70% of the cover price (compared to 6% TP) 
7. Write the stories we've always wanted to write but no one “knew what to do with.”

Of course, self-publishing isn’t all wine and roses. Self-published authors now take on the role of publisher as well as author. That means no advances and all the up-front costs: Editing (story, copy, line…), a cover, formatting, ISBN, copyright, marketing. You have to be your own editor, art department, publicist, and marketer in addition to being a writer and businessperson.

Sure, there are stories of people putting a story up and doing nothing else and the book takes off, but that isn’t the norm. You have to get the word out. You have to have a good, professional product. Your story could be great, but if you don’t have a clue about spelling or grammar or leave plot holes wide-open, readers will call you on it.

Covers are arguably the best marketing tool you have after word-of-mouth. I’ll talk about that more on Monday with part two. How to choose the right cover, editing, and how to actually self publish a book.

• Writers, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on publishing—whether you've gone both ways or by passed traditional publishing altogether. What are you seeing?

NUDITY… IT’S WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST.

JUDI Fennell is my guest today, Over Coffee. She's here to talk about her newest romance and how it came to be. Considering her topic I've decided to add Iced Coffee to today's coffee bar.

There’s a naked man in my kitchen.

(Don’t I wish!)

Sadly, there is no naked man in my kitchen at the moment. Which is probably a good thing, given all the teenagers milling about my first floor with their, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” “Is the laundry done?” “Can I have money for lunch tomorrow”-isms. Imagine their looks if there was a naked man in my kitchen. Especially one who looks like the cover model on my latest release.

Go ahead. Imagine. I’ll wait.

(You sooooooooo weren’t imagining the teenagers looking at him, now, were you? J)

Ladies, you were just perusing the fine form of Todd Best. Otherwise known as The Best. Name fits, doesn’t it?

So how does the naked man sentence above relate to Todd Best? Well, other than the fact that you probably wouldn’t mind seeing him naked… Todd is the hero of Beauty and The Best, the first release in my Once-Upon-A-Time Romance series. (And for the record, I came up with that title long before ABC put the show on the air. But of course I’m watching that show. It practically has Judi Fennell written all over it!)

Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes. Todd. He’s the hunky hero in the story, but when we first meet him, well, he’s not so heroic. He is however, hunky.

Naked and hunky.

Naked and hung over but still hunky.

Yeah, hung over. “What kind of romance novel hero is that?” you ask.

I’m hoping he’s one you’ll feel for. (No, not feel period, but feel for.) There’s a reason for his nudity and it’s a doozy. So please forgive him the hangover. Our heroine, Jolie, does.

Jolie Gardener is Todd’s new personal chef. The reason he has a personal chef is tied in with the hangover thing, but for the moment let’s just go with it. Jolie’s there, all ready to prepare his breakfast when Naked Guy walks in and gets her all flustered. Things start burning (read all the double entendres into that that you want) and breakfast is shot. So is Jolie’s composure. But from this, um, interesting beginning, a romance is born.

Beauty And The Best

Jolie Gardener, personal chef by day, aspiring romance writer by night,

likes to talk and does it a lot. She has to because if she stops, all the pain, disillusionment, and abandonment of her AWOL mother, question-mark father, and foster-care childhood will rise up like a chocolate soufflé on steroids, sweeping away the fragile infrastructure of her life.

But she's fine. Really. She is.

Or so she thinks. 

Todd Best isn't fine. He knows it. And doesn't care.

After his wife died—the woman who believed in him when he was a struggling artist—he put painting aside, moved from their home, and lost himself in the minutiae of daily life. 

Alone. Private. The way he likes it.

The last thing he needs is some chatty cook seeping into the perfectly bland canvas of his life.

Or so he thinks. 

So when Jonathan, a guardian-angel-in-training, turns himself into a kitten to help these two lonely souls find a happily ever after together, it ought to be a piece of cake.

Or so he thinks… Excerpt

Pick up Beauty and The Best at:

Amazon Barnes & Noble Smashwords 

This story holds a special place in my heart. I can’t say it’s my favorite story because, like my kids and my dogs (I’d say husbands, but since I have and only have had one, there’s no contest there), I don’t have favorites. But just as you like your kids for different reasons, so, too, do I have a special reason for liking this story.

It was in Romantic Times Magazine’s American Title contest. Then it went on to be the only romance in the Top 20 finalists of 2700 entries in the Gather.com/Simon & Schuster First Chapters contest. My writing got a lot of exposure (pun not intended, but I giggled, so you might as well, too) to the reading public, so much so that people have been emailing me for years asking me when this story would be published.

I can finally answer, “Now!”

Below is an excerpt from the story that you can’t get on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or any other online retailer, but if you want to check out the naked man in my kitchen scene, the links below will take you to the Look Inside/Sample feature on the sites.

What you won’t find out is why Todd’s naked. For that, you’ll have to read page—

Nah. You’ll have to read the whole thing because just like love scenes shouldn’t be read out of context, Big Reveal scenes shouldn’t be either. And, yes, I meant that pun.

Bon appétit!

CONTEST: JUDI FENNELL and DANA MARTON are doing a drawing for signed original manuscripts, tote bags, and a few other goodies for readers who LIKE both their FB pages. 

PRISM Award and Golden Leaf Award-winning author, Judi Fennell, has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did—right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite writing spot, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

Author of “fairy tales with a twist,” pun-filled, tongue-in-cheek, contemporary paranormal romances, starting with the Tritone Trilogy about Mermen and the Humans who love them, her Bottled Magic Series about genies and magic and falling in love, and now her Once-Upon-A-Time Romances, those twisted fairy tales that were the inspiration for her tagline.

Dive into the romance on her website, www.JudiFennell.com, for excerpts, deleted scenes, reviews, contests, and pictures from reader and writer conferences, or check her out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Judi-Fennell/325890415256