Category: Why?

Here’s another post discussing what I’m doing publishing-wise and why I’m doing it, for those who care. Which, granted, aren’t that many of you, but hey.

As before, this discussion is set in a woodland clearing I rented for the occasion and is attended by a variety of woodland creatures who are all prospective indie authors.  Once again, it is my hope that my dialog with these furry and fluffy prospective authors will make this post worthwhile (aka entertaining) for the massive blog audience of non-writers.

But I’ve been wrong before.

Let us begin….

 

*Betsy is sitting on a large boulder in a clearing in the middle of a forest* *She looks up when one bunny, two squirrels, an opossum and a hedgehog enter the clearing*

Wait, this is it? Goldarnit! They promised there would be flyers this time! There are less of you this week than there was last week!

*The woodland creatures exchange a look* *Shrug* *Settle down around the boulder*

Whatever. *Betsy mutters as she flips through her papers* So, this week we’re going to talk about going exclusive with Amazon and why I decided to do that for now for my Hardy Falls ebooks.

*Tapping from various tablet computers*

*Betsy settles back* An independent author basically has two options for publishing ebooks. We can publish them with a wide distribution, or we can be exclusive with Amazon through their KDP Select program.

*Hedgehog raises his paw*

Yes?

You mean that an independent author can publish ebooks other places besides Amazon?

Oh, my yes. An independent author can publish ebooks on almost every ebook platform known to man. That’s what we mean when we say “wide distribution.” You can publish your ebook everywhere on every site you can find, either by yourself or through an aggregator like Draft2Digital. Amazon’s definitely the biggest ebook store out there, but you can also publish on Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and everywhere else.

*The aggressive squirrel from last week spits out an acorn cap* So, that’s good, right?

Well, sometimes. But not always.

*The squirrel frowns* Being everywhere is better than being in just one place.

*Betsy chuckles* That’s what I thought too. However, I recently pulled the books I have control over (the Hardy Falls books) from the other stores and went exclusive with Amazon.

*The bunny stares* What? They were in all the stores, and you decided to pull them back? Why do that? And why now?

Yeah. *The opossum looks up* I thought you have trust issues.

Oh my, but I do. I hate the thought of putting all my eggs in one basket. Especially an exceedingly large and perhaps even soulless basket owned by a major corporation. But I think it’s the best choice for me for now.

*The hedgehog shakes his head* I don’t get it.

*Betsy smiles indulgently* I completely understand. There are a couple of good reasons why I switched for now. But first, let’s talk about the differences in the way the major online stores work, at least as far as I know.

*The other squirrel frowns* Don’t they all work the same?

No. Nook, iBooks, and Kobo all operate more like traditional bookstores. There are humans involved in deciding which books get featured on the site and which books get promoted to readers. Think of it like books being displayed at the front of a bookstore.  If a writer has name recognition or a personal connection with the sales representative (like maybe they met at a conference), their books have a better chance of being put forward because the sales rep knows the book exists. That’s wonderful – but not for me since I don’t have connections at this point. I’m sure momentum can build, even for a new author without the rep’s attention, but it is much harder.

*The squirrel continues to frown* So, what about Amazon?

Amazon doesn’t work that way, and that’s one of their big advantages for an author like me. Amazon is really much more of a data company than a traditional bookstore. Each time you go on their site, they track every move you make, every breath you take. Their recommendations are for you specifically, based on the data they’ve gathered about you. They have sales reps too, but they’re less important.

*The opossum looks concerned* That’s kind of creepy.

*Betsy shrugs* It sure is, but it’s Big Data. It also means that someone like me can still get in front of readers, even though I don’t have the name recognition or backlist of a Nora Roberts. If the Amazon algorithm thinks a customer will like my book based on their past purchases, that customer gets an email recommendation. That’s why “also boughts” are important. The Amazon algorithm looks at what the people who bought your book also bought; then it links your book to that other book. It will promote your book to the people who bought that other book because they are linked.

Okay. *The aggressive squirrel looks uncertain* But that still doesn’t explain why you went exclusive with Amazon. That “also bought” stuff is for every book.

Yes, but Amazon offers some major benefits for going exclusive with them. I was giving up those benefits to have my book available in all the other stores.

*The bunny hops* But your sales in the other stores made up for that, right?

*Betsy laughs so hard she falls off the boulder* *Scrambles back up* Sorry, sorry. Give me a second. *Wheezes* Okay. Did you listen to the part about my books not getting attention on the other stores? In the time since “Handling It” has been out, I think I’ve sold three copies on the other stores – and I know who I sold them to.

Oh. *the woodland creatures exchange a glance* *tap on tablets*

Which means that, although 99.99% of any sales I’ve made have been on Amazon, I’ve been giving up the perks Amazon offers for exclusivity to be in wide release.

*The bunny waves her hand* What are the perks?

Primarily for me, it’s Kindle Unlimited. That’s a subscription service where people pay a monthly fee and can read as many of the ebooks in the program as they like for free.  Only books exclusive with Amazon can be in Kindle Unlimited. The author still gets paid for the number of pages read – not as much as a sale, but something – and the borrow counts as a sale for author rankings. That’s a wonderful program for an author who doesn’t have a lot of name recognition or a backlist. It encourages people – in my case the avid romance readers in KU – to check out a new author without any risk. But there is also the Prime borrowing program, countdown deals, free days and other programs you have access to by being exclusive.

Ohhhhh. *The hedgehog nods* Do you think you’ll be exclusive with Amazon forever and ever?

No. I want to be in the other stores. I want to be everywhere. But for now, until I have more books in the series finished, I’ll probably stay exclusive.

*The aggressive squirrel looks unconvinced* What about print books?

This is for ebooks only. The print books are still available everywhere. I think we’ll talk more about print books some other time because they are their own animal. Um, excuse the expression.

*Frowning squirrel is frowning* But it means that Amazon is, like, really, really important now.

*Betsy winces* I know. But I didn’t sell any books on the other platforms anyway, so what do I have to lose? And it’s not forever. Until I have more books published, Amazon will be friendlier to me than the other vendors (and Amazon’s not terribly friendly).

*The opossum raises paw*

Yes?

Do you think you might be making a huge mistake?

Oh. *Betsy sighs* The possibility is excellent. But for now, I’ll see how it goes.

*The woodland creatures exchange a look* *Gather up their tablet computers and leave the post*

 

As I mentioned in a prior blog post, I’ve had a number of people ask me about independent / self publishing.  I decided to write more posts about what I’m doing regarding said publishing, why I’m doing it, and what I’m doing wrong in the hopes it may help others.  This is one of those posts.

In order to write this post, and those that might follow, I have reserved a meeting space in the woods (for the fairly high price of four bags of non-genetically modified corn) so I can reach out to the little furry woodland creatures in the area who are interested in indie publishing.  Hopefully this will generate some synergy and dialogue to make these posts more worthwhile (aka entertaining).

Let us begin…

 

*Betsy is sitting on a boulder in the middle of a clearing, deep in a forest*  *After a moment, small woodland creatures enter and settle around the boulder*  *Specifically, there are two bunnies, four squirrels, an opossum, and a  hedgehog*

*Betsy looks at her audience and frowns*  This is it?  There were supposed to be flyers.

*The woodland creatures shrug*

Well, okay.  *Betsy clears her throat*  Today’s presentation is about why it is better to write a series, and to have more than one book in the series written before you publish the first book in the series.

*The creatures all pull out their various tablet computers and dutifully tap a few notes* *The hedgehog raises her paw*

Yes?

Why should we listen to you?

*Betsy smiles*  Because I did it wrong.

*The hedgehog frowns*  That’s not good.

No, it is.  Because I did it wrong, I can tell you why it was wrong and why I did it anyway even though I knew it was probably wrong and what I’m thinking I’m going to do about it now.

*The hedgehog keeps frowning*  What if you’re doing other things wrong?

Oh, I’m sure that I am.  *Betsy smiles confidently* But I can only talk about what I know I did wrong now that I know I did it wrong.  If I’m still doing it wrong, and I don’t know it’s wrong yet, then I can’t tell you it’s wrong.  Right?

*The woodland creatures look at each other*

Okay. *The hedgehog sounds uncertain*

*Betsy adjusts papers*  Good.  So when you first think that you’re going to be a fiction writer, most experts tell you that you should write a series, and that you should have several books in the series ready before you publish.  Does anyone know how many books you’re supposed to have finished before you publish?

*Paws are raised*

Yes? *Betsy points at the opossum*

Lynn Kurland said you should have at least three books ready.

*Betsy points at a squirrel*

Liliana Hart said you should have at least five books done.

That’s right.  *Betsy nods*  I would say that Liliana Hart is more correct.  I’ve heard multiple authors say they didn’t start to make any sales at all until the fifth book was out.  So, let’s say the more books you have ready in a series, the better.

*A small squirrel looks up from his tablet*  Is that what you did?

*Betsy smiles benevolently*  Good heavens, no!  Can anyone guess what I said to myself when I was starting?

Oh!  Oh!

Yes?  *Betsy points to the gesticulating bunny*

*She clears her throat*  You said, “Dear God, if I wait until I have five books ready, I’ll be a hundred years old! I’m not going to wait!  I’m putting it out now!”

*Betsy nods* Yes.  Yes, I did.

*A large, aggressive squirrel frowns*  So that was wrong?

*Betsy leans back on the boulder*  Oh my, yes.  The experts are right.  If you can wait, you should have several books in a series written before you publish the first one.

*The aggressive squirrel persists*  So then it was bad.

Not exactly.

*The squirrel shakes his head* Huh?

*Betsy smiles*  I don’t really regret what I did.  I was so terrified of publishing, that if I’d waited I probably would never have followed through. For me, it was definitely more important to get the books out there. And for the Hardy Falls books, publishing has helped me work my way through the learning curve of independent publication. But it really wasn’t the best idea to put the books out one at a time, with a year (or years) in between.

Why does it matter anyway? *The opossum is squinting*  So what if you don’t have them all done?

*Betsy shakes her head sagely*  Think about the age we live in. In the same way that people binge-watch Netflix or Hulu, they pack their Kindles with books and binge-read. We love book series in the same way we love television series. We want to invest in characters or a place for multiple books, not just one. We want to live with these people. That’s especially true in romance, where series and trilogies have a long history, but it’s equally true for every genre.  Think “Lord of the Rings.”

Ooooohhhhh.  *Tapping from various tablets*

So, not only do you want to put out a series, you want to have multiple books in the series ready to go when you start. In our world, there are just too many distractions competing for people’s attention. Too many movies. Too many shows. Too many games. Too many books. If you can’t deliver new books relatively quickly, you are forgotten and lose any momentum you might be building. Millions of authors are publishing books every day, there are plenty of other things for people to read. They will forget you in a heartbeat.

Like you.  *A squirrel looks up*  You aren’t delivering quickly at all.

*Betsy squirms*  Well, um, no.

So do we have to take years and years and have the whole series ready first?  *One of the bunnies is frowning*

Well, no.  But if you have a couple of books ready, you can publish them every month or every two months for a while. That keeps your name out there in the new release column and gives you time to be working on the next books while you’re finding your audience. And if people like your books, you have a backlist for them to work through.

Instead of just one or two.  *The hedgehog mutters*

Right.  And if you are a reader like me, you’ve waited to start a series because you wanted to see if the author would let it drop or if they would persevere. There’s nothing I hate more than starting a series and being left hanging because the author doesn’t continue. I often don’t even start reading a series until there are at least three books out there.

*The frowning bunny continues to frown*   Which is why it was stupid for you to write the prequel to “Handling It” first, instead of immediately writing Hardy Falls book 2

*Betsy fidgets*  Um, right.  But I had my reasons.  *Woodland creatures stare at her*  I did!  Except, um, at the moment I don’t have any proof that the series is going to move forward, because I kind of took it backward.

So what are you going to do now?  *The hedgehog sounds a little dubious*

*Betsy beams*  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Hardy Falls Book 2 takes place in the time leading up to Thanksgiving. Book 2.5 takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So instead of rushing to get them published, I’m planning to release them in the fall.

Assuming you get them done.  *The frowning bunny frowns*

Then I can release them in the appropriate season, and I’ll be able to release 2 and 2.5 closer together.

If they’re done.  *The frowning bunny crosses her arms*

And I’ll be working to make sure Hardy Falls Book 3 can come out soon after Book 2.5

If you get it done.  *The frowning bunny taps a foot*

*Betsy winces* Uh, right.

But you won’t have any new books until the fall, then. *The hedgehog is frowning too*

*The aggressive squirrel shrugs*  Does it matter?  She doesn’t have any momentum anyway.

*Now Betsy is frowning*  Hey! I need to have things to publish.  Then I’ll worry about momentum.

*The opossum looks stern*  As long as you actually get the books done.

Right.  *The frowning bunny agrees*

Yes!  Yes!  *Betsy throws up her hands*  It all depends on whether or not I get the books finished.

*The woodland creatures exchange looks*  *They all shake their heads and gather up their tablet computers*  *One by one, they leave the post*

*Betsy calls after them*  Don’t forget to come back now!  Lots more to say!

*silence*