Indie Publication – A Study in Patience and Pitfalls

Last month I released my first indie novella, Flare Up (yay! 🥳). In so doing, I joined the body of authors who have dipped their toe into (or for some, plunged right in!) hybrid publishing. Hybrid refers to an author who has some books released by a traditional publishing house, and some independently (self) published.

Some readers were super excited—not in the least because there was finally a story featuring Jett Faraday, a much-loved character from my Blaine Colton trilogy.

Various writing peers offered encouragement for venturing into the brave new world of indie publication. (And those with wisdom beyond my own kindly answered panicked questions as I stared at yet another gatekeeper option blocking my goal.)

I also had questions of whether I’d abandoned traditional publishing. Er, no. But I can assure you this process has given me renewed respect for my publishing house’s team.

So why go indie?

Simply, Flare Up as a novella wasn’t a suitable length for my traditional publisher. So, I decided to embark on the journey of indie publication. Sounds breezy, right? But no. This story had been latent in a file for a while, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. It took a lot of mustering for me to pluck up the grit to launch down this path.

The indie publishing market is growing incrementally and I can appreciate the appeal, especially for those who have a story that doesn’t quite fit with the majority of publishing houses. However, I can also see the pitfalls of temptation that could lure a writer to release their work too early or launch out without taking upon themself sound advice, such as a need to kill one’s darlings or restructure etc.

Image Credit Hermann Traub, Pixabay

As for the indie publishing process, I’ve bumped up against the “how hard could it be?” attitude. I’d even tiptoed down the self-publishing road a few times before, but swiftly found myself with more questions that I knew how to answer. For every step forward, there seemed to be even more blind stumbles back and questions I’d have to go away and dig into further.

It was only after my fourth (or was it fifth? 🤔) workshop on self-publication and after talking to numerous writing friends that I finally felt competent enough to at least give it a shot. Was it what I expected? Yes and no.

After my most recent self-publishing skills training, I felt reasonably confident I could bring a book to market—as to what quality it would be, well … The advantages I had included having my manuscript professionally edited and a beautiful cover designed by my talented friend, Kirsten Hart. However, on launching in, I was promptly required to consider production, distribution and market-related aspects I’d not even heard of, let along thought about.

I had no idea about distribution restrictions based on book dimensions, which also dictated the production options of paper type and finish. If releasing the book on multiple platforms, you could inadvertently double up on distributor for certain regions, and if the wrong box was ticked, it would make other distributors unhappy. (Insert stern emails about said book.) For example, agreeing to make your book available on Kindle Unlimited on Amazon means you cannot have it released on Kobo or other such e-sites. I also learned there were different breakpoints for pricing in relation to royalty rates.

Photo Credit: Bruno, Pixabay

My experience with traditional publication had at least given me knowledge of key words, catalogue descriptions and category codes (BIC, BISAC, Thema). Yet, just when it seemed I'd succeeded and the book was published, I’d receive a notification that something wasn’t right. For example, one time the cover wasn’t the correct dimensions—yet it was. The difficulty was that the way the layout is done means the file is not centred. Would it not make sense to centre a document designed to align from the mid-point out?

I’m still wrangling with Ingram Sparks, but slowly, slowly I’m creeping through the minefield of braille-like learning points. What I do know is I’ve figured out a lot and made some notable mistakes. Successful indie publication is not as straightforward as it sounds, but I’m certain with practise the process will get smoother. Most of all, I have a deeper appreciation for my wonderful traditional publisher. Thanks Rhiza Edge team!!! 💗💗

Adele Jones writes fringe and near young adult "Science fiction for the real world". Fuelled by her passion for family, faith, music and science, she tackles complex teen issues including self-worth, disability, loss, domestic violence, youth crime and more. To learn more visit: www.adelejonesauthor.com

How Do Genre Butterflies Focus Their Marketing? — Susan J Bruce

Photo by Karina Vorozheeva on Unsplash

I’m one of several authors in the Christian Writers’ Downunder group who are self-confessed genre butterflies—or genre rebels. I use the latter if I'm in an edgier mood 😎. I’ve written about this before in Confessions of a Genre Butterfly, but I wanted to revisit this subject today as it's relevant to me right now. 

How do I market two books—one coming soon and the other next year—when the audience for each of those books is different? Can this ever work?

I’ve been revamping my website as I prepare to release my debut young adult (YA) novel, Running Scared, in the next few weeks. [Bear with me if you head over there and get the 'coming soon' page. I'm having trouble with a couple of settings—it should be sorted soon so check back later.]

I wrote the first draft of Running Scared several years ago as part of my creative writing Masters degree. It’s had lots of nibbles from publishers over the years but hasn’t quite sold. I like this book and I’m proud of it. It’s a good story and deserves to be out there. In 2018, it won the Omega Writers Caleb award for an unpublished manuscript, but for the last year it’s been languishing—hidden from the world—on my computer’s hard drive. I've now decided to embrace indie publishing and send Running Scared out into the world.

There is no problem in publishing a book like this. The difficulty is marketing it when my work in progress (WIP), Dead Again, is a very different book.

Running Scared is contemporary YA, deals with social issues, and contains suspense, first love, and lots of domestic drama. While the romance is sweet, and the story imbibes a significant amount of hope, the circumstances have an edge. It's a story of courage and overcoming that will keep you on the edge of your seat rather than make you feel cosy and warm on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  

In contrast, my current WIP, Dead Again, is a lazy Sunday afternoon read. It’s a light-hearted amateur-sleuth mystery with a romantic subplot, for grownups. The characters change and overcome, but offbeat humour is mixed with the mystery and more poignant character moments. 

The above isn’t the final cover for Dead Again. It's a concept I created to help me write the book. But it should give you the general vibe. Since putting it together, I've added a cat to the story so she'll need to somewhere on my final cover 🐈. I'm only about a fifth of the way through the draft but I'm enjoying the challenge. 

With a mystery, you need to create the backstory of the murder, then weave it through the narrative in a way that brings the assailant to justice by the end of the book. You must give enough clues to give the reader a chance to work out whodunit, while hiding the identity of the murderer. Can I do this? I’ll give it a good go. If it doesn’t work, I’ll turn it into a romantic suspense 😁. Flexibility is one of the benefits of indie publishing! The point is, right now I feel like writing on the lighter end of the literary scale. 

I think this is partly because of Covid—and because I spent much of last year doing some intense non-fiction ghostwriting. Right now, I’m up for fun-filled murder and mayhem! I will write YA again—I have a couple of ideas simmering—but for now I’m craving the escapism of my amateur-sleuth mystery series. 

But. And it’s a big BUT. How do we market ourselves as authors, create an author brand, when our first and second books are for different audiences and have a different tone? 

The purest wisdom is to not mix different genres and age groups under one author's name. An eclectic range of books can create confusion among readers on distribution platforms like Amazon. Amazon remembers what books we like to read and suggests others we might like in the ‘also bought’ section of their website. In today’s digital world, authors and publishers must fight for every bit of visibility they can get. We need the right book being shown to the right reader! 

And then there's the mailing list and the website. My site has a mystery and suspense focus which can cover both novels, but how do I create a mailing list that attracts both sorts of readers? Should I create separate newsletters?

I have some non-fiction book ideas too. How do I handle that?

It’s tricky, isn’t it? 

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Would it be better to create a new pen name and another website? 

The problem is that each new site means more work, not just in building the site but in maintaining it and using it as a hub for marketing and social media. I’m not keeping up with social media as it is. And I do other things—animal art and author services such as editing and proofreading. I really should have a separate site for those too, but there is no way I could manage four sites.

There is no perfect solution to my problem—other than not publishing Running Scared—and waiting until Dead Again comes out next year. But I think this novel deserves its time in the light and if it inspires just one teenager to have hope when they're in a dark place, it will be worth it. And I do want to write more YA—just not right now. 

My decision? 

• I’m  going to publish Running Scared as Susan J Bruce and start building my mailing list with some freebies focused on that book. 

• Once that’s sorted, I’ll add another segment to my mailing list and offer a short story sampler that isn’t just YA focused. People can click on one or the other (maybe both?). I'll also send this out to my existing list.

• At this stage I’m also going to publish the mystery series under Susan J Bruce. I’ve seen authors successfully combine all sorts of books and services on one site, so it’s possible. Scottish author, Wendy H Jones, is a Christian who writes for the mainstream. Wendy has adult non-fiction, YA, crime, humour, and children’s books all on the one site, under the one name. She tells her readers she’s ‘got them covered from the cradle to the grave’. As I wrote this article I came across three different blogs that said the main consumers of YA books are adult women. So maybe Wendy’s onto something. Get the mother to buy her daughter the YA book (the mother will read it first of course) and at the same time she can pick up an amateur-sleuth mystery for herself. If Wendy can do this, why can’t I? It’s worth a try 😀.

• When I get time (ha!), I’m going to create a separate portfolio site for my art and possibly another for author services, but I’m going to keep life as simple as I can and run most things from the hub of my main author site. This may change in the future depending on how my creative business evolves, but it feels like the best way to keep myself sane for now.

This may not be the perfect solution and the marketing purists will groan, but it's the best I can do for now. I'm still early in my writing career and my book writing direction could change a couple of times before I find my groove. It would be different if I had ten books out and they were all different genres. That's fine if your writing is a hobby but not if you want it to be a key focus within your creative business.

What about you? Are you a rebel genre butterfly? If so how do you market your books? How do you bring focus to your website and mailing lists? What solutions have you found? Please let me know in the comments below. And feel free to leave a link to your website so everyone can see your awesome genius at work 😃.

Susan J Bruce, aka Sue Jeffrey, spent her childhood reading, drawing, and collecting stray animals. Now she’s grown up, she does the same kinds of things. Susan worked for many years as a veterinarian, and now writes stories filled with mystery, suspense, heart and hope. Susan also loves to paint animals. Susan won the ‘Short’ section of the inaugural Stories of Life writing competition and won the 'Unpublished Manuscript' section of the 2018 Caleb prize. Susan is the editor of'If They Could Talk: Bible Stories Told By the Animals' (Morning Star Publishing) and her stories and poems have appeared in multiple anthologies. Her e-book, 'Ruthless The Killer: A Short Story' is available on Amazon.com. You can check out some of Susan’s art work on her website https://www.susanjbruce.com.

CWD member interview: Catriona McKeown

Today’s interview: Catriona McKeown

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.

1. After reading who this interview is with, you may be wondering how to pronounce my first name. It is pronounced the same as Katrina - so yes, that ‘o’ is silent. When I went to uni, for simplicity sake, I became Cate - and it stuck. This has been quite handy, as I now go by Catriona as an author, which helps separate my ‘author’ life from my real one.

2. Some would call me a Queenslander, since I live on the Fraser Coast. But I am a Victorian at heart, evidenced by the fact I can’t quite bring myself to call ‘bathers’ ‘togs’. I’ve been living in Queensland for five years.

3. I am a secondary school teacher who has the privilege of working with students with disabilities, many of whom have autism. My current work-in-progress is based around the unique struggles autistic teenagers can have during this stage of life.

Question 2: Tell us about your writing. What do you write and why?

I write Contemporary YA fiction. My first novel, The Boy in the Hoodie, was published late last year by Rhiza Press. Some CWD members may know the novel’s name from when it won the Omega Writers CALEB (unpublished category) award in 2016.

I write YA because I have a heart for the plight of teenagers. It is such a pivotal time in a person’s life, and so difficult to navigate on your own. I hope that through my writing, young people will be encouraged to make decisions that are true to the type of person they want to be, chose friends who will support them and care for them in the journey, and to ultimately feel free to become the person they were created to be.

I also write Short Stories and have had a number published, including one in the Glimpses of Light anthology. A favourite short story I’ve written was inspired by my grandmother’s struggle with Dementia. If anyone is interested, you can read it here.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

The Boy in the Hoodie is a Young Adult novel (so aimed at a teenage audience), but my readers include parents of teenagers and I’ve had a number of teachers tell me they’ve read and enjoyed it, despite how frustrating some of the teenage characters can be. I had some teenagers read the novel before I sent it out to publishers and was incredibly encouraged by their enthusiasm for the story.

The people I would most like to read my novel are teenagers who are finding the road to adulthood difficult, especially if they are struggling to find ‘their tribe’. I’d like them to see the hope offered between the pages, as well as realise the importance of finding friends who will really care about them, and accept them for who they are becoming.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

I started off my writing journey as a ‘panster’ writer, meaning I would just sit and write and see where the story would take me. I still write like that when writing a short story. But I am now a strong advocate for heavily planning out a novel before writing, as it saves a bucketload of editing afterwards.

The main challenge I face as a writer is the inner-critic, who very easily convinces me my writing is pathetic and I may as well give up. I counteract it by rereading what I have written so far. It helps remind me that I love my characters, that my dialogue is pretty good, and that the story is workable. But it takes time to reread my work over and over – so time is my other big challenge.

I’ve written about my journey to being published on my blog, if anyone would like to see what some of my experiences and processes have been for The Boy in the Hoodie.

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?

KM Weiland has been such a God-send to me. I especially love two of her writing books, Structuring Your Novel and 5 Secrets of Story Structure. In my first manuscript assessment, I was told structure was the main problem in my writing. KM Weiland’s books have given me the tools and confidence to get the structure right in my writing. It really helped me to find out what my main weakness is in my writing, and to then have a clear process to help counteract it.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

A number of CWD members have been influential on my writing journey. Iola Goulton taught me a lot about my own writing when she appraised my first (never published) manuscript a number of years ago. Also Jennette O’Hagan, Adam Collins and Linsey Painter, in particular, have been a great support through our online writing group.

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?

My main goal is to finish (before March *insert white face with mouth open and eyes wide*) my current YA manuscript, so I can get it out to some beta readers. I’m aiming to complete my masters degree this year, which includes a 12,000 mini thesis, so I’ll include that in my writing goals. And I’m in the midst of writing a Novella; I’m keen to continue working on it during the times when Uni might be a little quieter.

I will achieve (she says with with an air of confidence believed by everyone except herself) my writing goals through sweating blood and crying tears. I have an incredibly supportive family, so as long as they can stand me sitting at my desk a whole heap, I may be in with a chance.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

There is not an aspect of my writing that hasn’t been impacted by my faith. If I didn’t feel God was calling me to write for an audience (no matter how big or small that audience is), I wouldn’t. But writing from a Christian world view for the secular market has its challenges. It can be quite tricky writing YA and not having, for example, any swearing in their talk – especially the rougher characters, like Paige in The Boy in the Hoodie.

A few years go God gave me this verse from Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I wouldn’t be able to write, work, study, raise 3 daughters, and stay married, without His help.

I firmly believe it is the Spirit’s guiding hand that creates those moments where things all seem to come together and just ‘work’ in my writing. A recent example of this, is with my current WIP. I named my main character Graceland (yes, there is a bit of an Elvis theme running through it). The story is about a teenager who is determined to create a new legacy for herself, and not follow in her family’s footsteps of addiction, low social standing and never having any money. At about 40,000 words, I stopped to do some research about Elvis and in particular, his mansion, Graceland. I learned how for many Americans, the mansion is a symbol of rising out of the poverty cycle and ‘changing your stars’. The connection between the two Gracelands was perfect. It was a uh-ha moment for me - a confirmation God is with me even if I’m unaware He is in the midst of it.

Catriona McKeown lives on the Fraser Coast in Queensland, Australia, with her husband and three daughters. She is passionate about issues of social justice and often writes with such ideals in mind. She is also passionate about education that allows every child to reach their full potential and has a particular heart for children with autism. Catriona hails from country Victoria, lived a short stint in Western Australia, and has now settled on Queensland as her home state. Her first novel, The Boy in the Hoodie, is available in all good bookstores and online. ​Find out more at her website or connect with her on Facebook.

CWD Member Interview - Lynne Stringer

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

My name is Lynne Stringer and I was born in London but am now an Australian citizen. We moved to Australia in 1973. My mother is Australian and my father English. They met in the bookshop where they both worked while she was on a working holiday. Isn’t that romantic?😊

Question 2: Tell us about your writing.  What do you write and why?

I write because I have stories knocking on the inside of my head, demanding release. They have to come out. I write mainly for the young adult market and more for the secular market than the Christian one, although my stories are, of course, influenced by my Christian faith.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

My books are written mainly for young adults and I find that many are drawn especially to my debut novel, The Heir (Verindon #1). I’ve also found that people of all ages, even ones who don't like science fiction, usually love it once they've read it. 

I think the most exciting encounter I've had with someone who loved my books was the day I was walking my son to school when I was wearing a t-shirt dedicated to The Heir. I knew that the school’s book club had read my book and one of the high school students came up to me and said, ‘Are you Lynne Stringer, the author of The Heir? I loved it so much!’ It was very exciting!

I’d love my books to be made into movies so if anyone with industry clout read them I would be happy.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

Because I’m also a professional editor, I find there are times of the year where I become exhausted from reading and writing and need to take a break. That might sound strange but that’s the way it is. I usually find it kicks back in again after I’ve had a holiday but sometimes writing can feel like work. 

However, as I once worked as a journalist, I’ve learnt how to write in spite of that. For example, I know that if I really need to write and can’t think of what to say I just write complete and utter rubbish, knowing that, sooner or later, I’ll find my way and then I can go and fix up the rough parts later. It’s hard but it’s a great way to break through something like writer’s block.

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?

I don’t really have one. I usually find I don’t learn well from what I read in instructional books. I'm more of a 'hands on' person.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Can I say two? Jeanette O’Hagan and Adele Jones. Both are fantastic writers and they’ve become good friends. We go to events together and complement each other well in what we write.

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?

I am hoping that my latest manuscript will be published and perhaps another as well. I’ll be trying one with a new publisher so that will be an adventure. I have also just started writing a new manuscript. I hope it will be my best work yet.

 

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

Everything I write is written with the idea that the God I worship has a high standard. However, I’m also writing about people who will never meet that standard, so I walk the line between honouring God and writing realistic scenarios in speculative fiction settings. It’s an interesting mix.

Lynne Stringer has been passionate about writing all her life, beginning with short stories in her primary school days. She began writing professionally as a journalist and was the editor of a small newspaper (later magazine) for seven years, before turning her hand to screenplay writing and novels. She now works as a professional editor and proofreader.



Lynne is the author of the Verindon trilogy, a young adult science fiction romance series released in 2013. The Heir was the first in the trilogy, followed by The Crown and The Reign. Her latest novel, released in October 2016, is Once Confronted, a contemporary drama. Visit Lynne's website for more information.

You can follow Lynne on:
Facebook
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Amazon
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You may also enjoy the following sites:
Wombat Books
Rhiza Press