On Writing : Ask Me Anything (AMA) Wednesday 6/5 to Thursday 6/6- Self-Publishing & Marketing Your Novel by Brian Smith

Hey, Brian Smith. Hope you're doing great. I appreciate you having this AMA. What's one major misconception about self-publishing a novel?

Hi Brian Smith - good to see you on this AMA. What is your typical budget for marketing alone? What marketing tools have you found work best for you? Thanks in advance!

Can I self-publish and later republish with a publishing company like Andy weir did with his debut "The Martain"???

Thank you for doing this AMA Brian Smith. I had a publisher for my first book. What are your thoughts about publisher vs self-publishing? Thoughts about marketing -- wow, it can be expensive to bring a book into the workd, even when you have a publisher.

Brian Smith Hi Brian, I hope you are well and thriving! Thanks for doing the AMA.

My novel was published by a boutique publisher, but I hold the copyright to it. For reasons I can’t go in to here, it was deleted from the Amazon site. I’m thinking about republishing it and wondered if you had any wisdom to share about the process? All the great reviews were lost of course, but I copied them to my Notebook and could use them on social media to publicise it. I’m reticent to republish at Amazon and it is currently only on the Apple Books store. Also, how would I navigate the process and sell a book to people, knowing that it’s not a new story? Or is that only a problem in my mind? Apologies for the ramble!

Hi Brian Smith - thank you so much for doing this AMA. When self-publishing a novel, does it make sense to court testimonials or reviews of some sort before you start your marketing campaign?

I have 7 self- published out ( 6 in a crime series) and would like to hear anything on how to sell more with a positive ROI. I am starving!

Hi Brian, I have a chapter book similar in style of "Dipper and Mabel" or Aaron Blabey's "The Bad Guys" (but with more writing). The story is done and now wondering, what's the next step? Join clubs/organizations? Approach an agent? Build a network of authors and other creative people to learn from and share it with, and in return, help them with my journalism and communications experience?

Brian Smith, what an excellent AMA! For clarification, what are the pros and cons of using Amazon vs. self publishing or a combination of both? Thanks in advance!

Maurice Vaughan Thank you for the question! I think the biggest misconception these days is that you won't be taken seriously as an author when you self-publish. Related to that, there's a misconception that you're not a serious author when you self-publish. Those things might have been true twenty years ago, but it's a different world today. You can draw similarities to the music industry in that technology now offers artists the opportunity to connect directly with their listeners. The same is true with authoring. Authors now can now connect directly with their readers.

Leonardo Ramirez thanks for your question! I spent several hundred dollars marketing my first book with limited results. In the chat rooms I'm a member of, I'm hearing more and more that people are getting frustrated with both Facebook ads and Amazon ads. I'm going to try a different tack with my next book. Since it's a YA novel, I need to know where my audience is, and that is on TikTok. My marketing strategy this time is to spend as little as I can on Amazon. I probably won't spend anything on Facebook because I just don't think my audience is there. TikTok is great because you can get followers and make videos that cost little more than your time. Time will tell how that strategy works, but I have seen it work for other authors.

That's a great question, Toussaint Amaru. I think it depends on a couple of things. Some publishers will require that you unpublish your book with Amazon before they publish it, and Amazon can make that challenging. I had to sign an exclusivity contract in order to publish on Amazon KDP, but I'm not sure how iron-clad it is.

Thank you for your question, Maria Baltazzi. I don't have a ton of experience dealing with publishers, but I know several writers who went the self-publishing route because they found that, even with a publisher, they still had to do all or most of the leg work for marketing, publicity, etc., but still had to give a percentage to the publisher even though the publisher did next to nothing. That is one of the things that makes self-publishing so attractive to up and coming writers is that you don't have anyone else with whom to share the "wealth."

Thanks for the answer, Brian Smith. Glad things have changed with self-publishing. If I ever publish a book, I'd probably try self-publishing first.

Hi Geoff Hall . I understand your dilemma. Do you have a website for your novel? That would be a great place to put your reviews. You can also build a mailing list that people can sign up for and that's another way to contact your fans directly. As far as republishing it, you'll probably have to speak with individual publishers to find out how they feel about republishing already published work.

Hi Sam Sokolow , not only does it make sense, but it's crucial, especially if you're on Amazon. Getting reviews helps with the algorithm by adding more activity to your page, which makes it more visible. Obviously, it's better to get positive reviews, but getting any reviews will help more people see your book.

Jed Power, I'm right there with you. It's already challenging, and the market gets more competitive every day. This might be cold comfort, but the word I keep hearing is "Persistence." There is a Facebook group called 20 Books to 50K, and there is a lot of truth in the fact that it often takes people as many as 20 books until they reach that ROI. It sounds intimidating, but the payoff can be huge. I have a friend who writes time-travel romance books. She worked very hard to build her brand, connect with her audience, and write good stories. It took about five years or so, but now writing is her primary source of income. Her husband is in the entertainment industry, and she was able to sustain their family on the income from her books. Just like in many other walks of life, there is no substitute for hard work and perseverance.

Brian Smith thanks Brian. Yes, I do have a website for the book: https://www.worldofowl.co.uk/the-ow1-novels I was thinking of republishing it myself. The edoc needs a few changes, e.g. the old publishers info and logo need removing and someone noted two typos and so me being a little OCD, I have to get those sorted! You probably know what I'm talking about, yes? :-)

Mario Boucher, I would say, all of the above! Agents can be tricky because if you don't have a prior relationship, it can be difficult to get them to accept unsolicited material. There are a lot of online groups, especially on Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, and TikTok, that are filled with writers sharing their experiences. I have found the community to be a very giving and supportive one. I think one other thing to do would be to create a website with a link to where the book can be found on Amazon or any other marketplace you're selling it. The challenge for many writers is that marketing your book is a completely different skill set from writing the book, and it's just as much of a commitment from a labor and time commitment standpoint. You need to work just as hard, and sometimes harder, on marketing your book than you did on writing it. And that sucks for a lot of writers because writers want to write, not double as door-to-door salesmen, But unfortunately, that is the nature of the business we've chosen.

Geoff Hall yes, I do, unfortunately. I had a few people point out some type-o's that I missed, my editor missed, and my proofreader missed. That's the beautiful thing about self-publishing, though, is that you can always go in and edit the file!

Eon C. Rambally, what I like about Amazon is that most of the work is done for you. People who have Kindle accounts can read your book for free and Amazon pays you by how many pages the customer reads. They track all of that for you, and it's clearly reported on your author page. If a customer wants to buy a copy, whether it's hardcover or paperback, Amazon prints it and sends it, so there is no need for an outside publisher. You can also order paperback and hardcover copies for yourself and you only have to pay the cost of the printing and the shipping. You can then use those copies for book signings or to sell through your own website. Going through a traditional publisher means printing a set number of copies and hoping you sell enough to make your money back. Then reprinting once you run out. Personally, going through Amazon is the only way I currently want to work. I'm sure there are other ways that work better for other people, but I like the way Amazon does it.

the one issue I have is getting people to read my stories and I have them up on amazon if you would like to see them?

Brian Smith, if you're self-publishing, how did you seek out and begin working with an editor on your book? Do you have any tips for what writers should be looking for in a successful editor/writer relationship?

Brian Smith: I know the advice is connect with your readers, build relationships, etc. etc. But my experience has been that because I'm an older female with an obviously female name/profile, would it be better to use pseudonym and an avatar? Isn't that short changing the reader? Most readers assume my creative non-fiction, for example, will be about family, grandkids and petting kittens (cozies). I think that's bilge, but how do I overcome stereotypes on my author page? Which is better Wix, Wordpress,or? Suggestions please.

Brian Smith, I'm thankful for the information! This is truly helpful to make a lot of assessment and planning in confidence, towards projects. Again a really great AMA!

Sure, Gregory Barone . Send me the link and I will look for them.

Ashley Renee Smith that's a great question. I was lucky enough to have an editor recommended to me by another writer, and it worked very well for me. Having a good editor is key. They need to edit your work dispassionately, giving suggestions that they feel will improve the story. It's also key for the writer not to take anything personally. I always tell writers, be they novelists or screenwriters, that you have to love your writing enough to cut it. If an editor suggests a cut or a change, be it significant or on the margins, it's important to consider it objectively. When looking for an editor, it's important to find one who's opinion you trust and respect but who also isn't looking to change your voice.

Jenean McBrearty I'm dealing with a similar issue. I'm a middle-aged white man writing YA with a teenage girl protagonist and her mother as the antagonist. In fact, my wife and I were just discussing this morning about whether I should continue to use my real name or just use my initials. Perhaps I'm an idealist, but I believe that if the work is good, the audience will find you. If someone has a problem with the fact that you are who you are and you're writing on a topic they don't think you should be writing about or don't expect you to write about because of who you are, and it makes them uncomfortable, well, that's their problem. But at the same time, you still need to sell books, so you need to follow whatever strategy feels better for you. I use WordPress for my websites. Again, different people like working in different ways, but WordPress is pretty intuitive, and that works better for me. I'm not really a fan of Wix.

Brian Smith do you want me to send you a link to what I have on amazon or AO3?

Gregory Barone Amazon is good.

https://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Fiction-Novel-Lester-Grimpen-ebook/dp/B0CVJRDGHX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KRFGPBGQWK6O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oFhshsc-rsY7POy0NXc5mQ.9crJqvMBwKXaWoxNDRsRg8Fo8fPtBMRRbrKyJ5g4kYU&dib_tag=se&keywords=lester+grimpen&qid=1717771824&s=books&sprefix=lester+grimpen%2Cstripbooks%2C76&sr=1-1

here you go.

Thank you for doing this AMA, Brian Smith. I've written a sci-fi novel. You believe having a good editor is key. Where do you recommend finding a good editor and what is a reasonable price for editing a novel?