Hello and Welcome to the Focused on Story Blog
AND the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop
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| Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop |
Always on the first Wednesday of the month.
#IWSGbloghop
Happy IWSG Blog Hop Day!
What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link: Insecure Writer’s Support Group
The purpose of the group is
* to share and encourage.
* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak.
* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance.
*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. Click here to sign-up and join.
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Thank you to the awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting of the IWSG: J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!
June 2 question - For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?
The quick and easy answer to this question is, "I don't know." I never thought about planning on a time to re-visit the first draft. Again, I don't know if the timing depends on my writing experience. I believe it depends more on how frustrated I am with the finishing of the draft. If it has been difficult, then I leave it until I can't sleep because ideas of how to fix it keep me awake at night!
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Money and Marketing
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| Money and Marketing Bag of cash Image by Mudassar Iqbal from Pixabay |
My memoir was released in January. I was pleased it reached #1 in the new releases category, so I decided while the buzz was around the release, I would pay a person to do the promotion for me. I added my humble attempts of doing it too. I did sell copies with the paid marketing. Plus I bought a FB ad and ran it for 5 days. I broke even after splitting the royalties with my publisher.
The virtual book tour ended in February. Big thank you to my friends I have met through IWSG for getting the word out about the release. The hoopla around the release has disappeared even though I have been pretty consistent in shouting about the memoir on FB groups. But, sales have dropped, really dropped.
I have a few presentations scheduled for this summer and am considering attending craft fairs and festivals. But to reach readers on a larger scale, I have pretty much reconciled I will have to spend cash to get the book in front of them. But will it be worth the expenditure?
I have seen reports on how much the NY publishers spend on making their books into best-sellers and how much successful indie authors allocate 1000s of dollars to advertising to make their books #1.
Do authors have to pay their way to sell books? I guess I have been naive all these years thinking a well-written story, a well-designed book cover, catchy description and the right keywords will do it. But, I am doubting that assumption now.
Selling books is like selling shampoo or cars. The more advertising, the more sales. We have to recognize we are in business, and our books are our products.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you rely on free, organic, word-of-mouth advertising or do you pay for ads? Where is the best place to get the most bang from your marketing buck? Thank you.
Click here to visit more bloggers in the IWSG Hop.
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| Arranging a Dream: A Memoir by J.Q. Rose Heart-tugging and Inspiring |
And speaking of marketing...😊😎😉
My books, released by BWL Publishing, are 30% off with the code RK43L during the Spring into Summer Smashwords event during the entire month of June!!
Click here to download them now!
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24 comments:
Glad your release went well. I've never sold a book so I don't know the answer to your question from experience. But I do think it's hard for authors to keep up the momentum of sales without some promotion, like ads or paying a blog tour company and going on a blog tour. I think this is a problem for published authors too. There's attention focused on the book when it releases but then many other books get released and get the attention of reviewers and readers. It will be interesting to see what other people with more experience than me think.
Number one - that's great!
It can get expensive. Thing is - what is the advertising that will work for your book?
Hi JQ,
I am a member of RRBC (which stands for Rave Reviews Book Club) and they have wonderful authors that they promote. Perhaps you would like to check them out or know more about them. Send me an email if you would like to here more.
Have a lovely month of June.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thanks, Natalie.
Thank you! I know why amazon updates rating hourly because the ratings change so quickly. I was at #1 for a short period of time, but at least it was for a bit and I can brag about that. That is the question. And how do you really know for sure what is bringing in the buyers?
Hi Pat. I've seen your posts about authors in that group. When I googled it a while back, it sounds like you have to be invited into the group.
You're absolutely right, being a novelist is a business and we have to treat it as such. Congratulations on all your successes, Janet.
Hey, J.Q. Congrats on the # 1 ranking. That's awesome and it doesn't matter for how long you were there. It counts. Shout it out. I don't pay much for advertising. Like I've never done a FB add. In the past I've paid for blog tours which hopefully gain you reviews. Mostly now I depend on friends for blog spots. :) I have paid some marketing groups that will get you new newsletter followers. And I'm thinking of paying someone to "fix" my website. Years ago, I paid a marketing group to set up my newsletter and to keep up my FB and Twitter accounts. They did great work, but it was way toooo expensive. I got a bit burned by that experience, so I'm leery of plopping out $ for a service. I know the concept is I should make up enough in sales to make up for the paid marketing and then some. Not sure that has happened yet. LOL Though of late, I've seen an uptick in sales. So happy for you, JQ, about the Memoir. That's really super. :)
Well, first here's a big congrats on hitting #1. That's quite a tribute to your work. Second, the minute I don't push my books, I don't sell. The competition is huge and books are soon buried under the newest ones published.
#1!!! That's awesome, cuz. You should be very proud!
I agree. The pub from friends is wondrous, and necessary.
But after the initial excitement dies down, I feel like you need paid advertising to keep it out there. I use newsletters.
Thank you, Joylene.
My greatest fear is spending a lot of $ and not making enough to cover the expense of it. Not good business practice. I believe that is called the ROI--Return on Investment. Good to see an uptick in sales!! Especially with your new release!
Thanks. I was so burned out after the virtual book tour, I quit pushing.My book sales really suffered. Trying to do better now.
Thanks for the input. I think I'll try that soon. Any one more effective than another?
I have started treating my writing like a business too. It makes a difference and I am moving forward--slowly but moving. Great advice.
The most effective tool I've found is writing more books. Each new one by its very nature promotes prior ones. I like the idea of trilogies--or series--because readers get to like the characters.
A memoir--well, maybe a series of how other female entrepreneurs made their dream come true. Best of luck Janet!
Lots of authors do Amazon ads. I want to learn to do them. I have scheduled new release ads with places like Fussy Librarian and Digital Book Today. Those have been hit or miss.
I don't know about thousands of dollars.
But I'll say this:
We just had a general election. A bunch of people ran for school council. I'm one of those voters who will look someone up to see what they stand for/against before I'll vote. There were three candidates that had NOTHING. Didn't answer the newspaper questions. Didn't make a website. There was nothing about them.
I'm not saying they had to spend a ton of money to run for that office. But there are plenty of ways to make a free website. Or even a very cheap website. A blog. Something.
So I guess, imagine wanting to buy a certain kind of book. You'd type in whatever kind of search, and whoever sounded like a near enough match, that's who is going to get the sale.
Though I don't know if a lot of people shop for books that way. I think it's more like, "my friend likes this, so I'll read it," or "that's the third time I've seen people I know mention this book, I guess I should read it too!"
Sorry, *school board director* - I mixed that up with school council.
That's great about the number 1 spot, JQ! There aren't many authors who can say that, and the US market is even more crowded than here in the UK. One of your commenters, Jacqui Murry, said the best promo is writing the next novel, and I agree. You also have to try and stay on top of the sales of the books you have. It's very hard work, and I totally sympathise. You do a great job with your blog and newsletter. Best of luck with your writing!
Moving forward is important and slowly is fine. Congrats!
Thanks. I agree with the series idea. I never wrote a series because I'm sure I'd mess up the next books with incorrect info. I don't want to upset the readers who look for those things.
Sounds like 3 candidates didn't care if the won or not. Word-of-mouth is the best advertising.
Thank you, Helena. Yes, we always said you can't sell out of an empty wagon. Hopefully, we can keep piling the books in the wagon!
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