Feb 25

Five Reasons Why Today is the Best Time to be a Writer

Authors, publishing, Retail No Comments »

Last fall, I attended the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference in Dallas Texas, and had the opportunity to present a seminar titled: ‘Authors and Retail – How does it all work?’ During the past 18 months, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to a number of author’s groups at industry events about the ‘business side of publishing,’ which is a subject that most authors do not understand.

Publishing, after all, is a business. Authors whether or not they are getting the opportunity to publish through a traditional publishing contract,

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or are choosing to self publish their work, need to understand how the business works, especially when it comes to retail. Authors have the opportunity to dramatically affect their sales by working with retailers and understanding their needs. I will write about this topic in next week’s post.

While at the ACFW conference, I had the privilege of hearing Michael Hyatt address a room full of authors, and his topic was encouraging. I recently ran across my notes from Hyatt’s session where he shared five reasons why TODAY, is the best time to be a writer.

  1.  It is easier than ever to do the writing. More than ever before, there are conferences to attend and books to read, that teach writers how to craft their projects. Word processing and other computer programs have made is easier to get the words on paper, and go back and edit and polish without have to start over.
  2.  It is easier than ever to do market research, and engage with readers. The internet has provided a virtually limitless supply of research tools, and Google has made it possible to find almost any information a writer might be looking for. Social media, through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, have made writing and engaging with other writers and fans, a personalized experience.
  3. It is easier than ever to get into print. Traditional publishing with its royalty advances, editing schedules, marketing cycles, and traditional distribution channels, is no longer the only option. Self publishing is a viable and thriving industry for writers who choose to go this route. Self publishing is not the best option for everyone, but the same can be said for traditional publishing. Traditional publishing is also far from dead, however, the model must continue to change with the times rather than run from new ways of doing things. Both of these models are providing writers with new opportunities, which translate to more readers in more places.
  4. It is easier than ever to build a tribe. Authors can talk to their fans and have direct access to them through blogs, websites, and social media. Reading has now become a social activity and people engage around content like never before. Authors are engaging readers around their book platform.
  5. It is easier than ever to build a business around author content. This is only true, however, if authors take the time to understand the industry, and how to build their business model. The first step in the writing process, before outlines, character development, and research, must be a business plan that helps an author identify a sustainable market (group of buyers), where they can be reached, and what they are looking for.

This is a great lead-in for next week’s topic on the publishing business. Would you add anything to this list?

 

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Sep 24

This is the best time to be a writer

Authors, Industry Events, Leadership, Social Media, Uncategorized 3 Comments »

I just returned from my trip to the American Christian Fiction Writers conference (ACFW). It was a great opportunity to meet with authors and talk with them about the publishing world. I had the privilege of presenting a seminar on retail, and the state of publishing, especially as it concerns authors. For many authors, the business side of publishing is hidden behind the curtain. And yet, the author is critical to a publisher’s success, not only getting the book into the retail channel, but through the retail channel to the end consumer.

The keynote speaker for this year’s conference was Michael Hyatt. Michael is the former CEO and Chairman of the Board at Thomas Nelson. He has spent the last year and a half writing and speaking full time, although he is still very engaged with authors and the publishing community.

Michael shared these encouraging words in the first session, and I thought they would be helpful to share with all of the authors that I work with on a weekly basis.

Michael Hyatt’s five reasons why ‘today is the best time to be a writer.’

  1. It is easier than ever to do the writing. The tools have never been easier to access, from conferences and books about writing to specific software for writers and other technology.
  2. It is easier than ever to do market research. Google made it possible. Facebook and twitter have made it personal. Authors can research their characters and scenes with a few key strokes. Understanding the target audience for a book has never been easier with tools on the internet. ‘Group-think’ is facilitated by creative groups engaging each other through social media and writing circles. Authors can engage readers directly like never before. Authors have the tools to figure out what their platform is, and to build a tribe around it.
  3. It is easier than ever to get into print. Traditional publishing is no longer the only option. Self publishing is viable. It is not necessarily the best option for everyone, but it can be a great option for some. Traditional publishing is far from dead, and if traditional publishers learn to ‘lean into the changes’ being brought by the self publishing phenomenon, it can be an exciting place to be. Traditional publishers need to ask: What do these tools and this model make possible? What are the new opportunities? How can I find new readers in more places?
  4. It is easier than ever to build a tribe. Authors can engage their fans directly. There are new tools like the recently launched bookshout.com site, where authors can interact real-time with readers inside of their own book. Another new site called bookjolt.com, allows readers to read whole books for free online, and interact with authors. These are part of a new concept called social reading, and literally, an author’s book becomes a platform.
  5. It is easier than ever to build a business around your content. After all, it is great to write for writing sake, but most authors would like to earn some income from their writing too. Websites and blogs help you build your platform, engage readers, offer free content, and sell books. A small book business can be a sustainable business.

Michael also echoed something that I share with authors all the time. Authors have never been in a stronger position to make things happen than they are now. Authors can go after traditional publishing, or they can do it themselves. All of the tools are available for them to compete, in almost all cases, with everyone else.

This new model is a far cry from the stigma that used to be attached with what people called vanity publishing. In fact, a recent article in the Huffington Post, makes an interesting point that what we call ‘traditional publishing’, might be in fact, the new ‘vanity publishing.’

All of this change and opportunity is encouraging news for the content industry.

If you are an author, do you agree, or disagree with these thoughts? Let us hear it!

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Feb 02

Blogging and social media is critical for any author

Authors, Marketing, Uncategorized 1 Comment »

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a local chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in Minneapolis called MN NICE (Minnesota Novelists Inspiring Christian Excellence). The topic was blogging, and the general consensus was that authors benefit when they blog. Blogging is a key ingredient to build a tribe of people who follow you and are the same people who are more likely to buy a book that you write.

Courtesy of stock.xchng.com and jaylopez

The group facilitators did a nice job presenting a list of tips for both new and experienced bloggers to consider.

Here is a short list:

  1. Blog regularly
  2. Create a schedule and stick to it
  3. Your blog should have a focus…people will expect certain things when they come to read it
  4. Create posts with intriguing titles that capture people’s attention
  5. Write quality content
  6. Allow people to subscribe to your posts
  7. Do not rant about the publishing business
  8. Find links that also draw people into the website
  9. Tag each post with key words for the search engines
  10. Use your social media to promote your blogs
  11. Highlight links within the posts
  12. Keep your page simple
  13. Keep your blogs short – between 500-600 words
  14. Comment on other writer’s blogs
  15. Participate in the conversation with people who are commenting on your posts
  16. Include pictures in the blog post
  17. Use easy to read fonts
  18. Host giveaways. Be unique
  19. Use analytics to gauge what works
  20. Use unique techniques like vlogging (video blogging) to create unique content

You may also be interested in some aspirational blog numbers posted by Amanda Luedeke, who is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. In her post, she says that authors should have 30,000 unique visitors every month on their blog. In addition, authors should have 5,000 Twitter followers; 5,000 Facebook followers; and if you are public speaker – you should be speaking at least 30 times a year to at least 10,000 people.

It only takes a spark, to get a fire going, and if you don’t start with something, you will also end up at the same place. Nowhere.

What other blogging ideas or suggestions do you have?

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