Striking the Right Balance Between Marketing your Book and Writing - A Guest Post

I'm delighted to be able to share this fabulous guest post with you by Donna Marie Oldfield

Find Donna on Goodreads at: www.goodreads.com/donnamarieoldfield

Read her blog here: http://donnamarieoldfield.wordpress.com/


Follow her on Twitter: @donnamalena 

  

How to Strike the Right Balance Between Marketing 

Your Book and Writing the Next One

As any indie author knows, publishing your book is only the beginning of the long road to getting lots of people to buy it. If you want readers to discover and (hopefully) enjoy your novel, then you need to market it to make sure they know about it in the first place.

However, marketing is so time consuming that it can take over your life. Before you know it, you’re spending the whole day placing ads, posting tweets and statuses and contacting bloggers about reviews. And let’s not forget checking your sales stats regularly to see if your hard work is paying off.

While it’s important to put your book out there, don’t let it be at the expense of writing your next masterpiece. Not only is it important to keep writing for the sake of your creativity, but many experts claim that publishing more books is an important part of any marketing strategy. So by making time to keep writing, you’re also promoting in the long run and killing two birds with one stone.

 Here are a few tips about finding the perfect balance when writing and marketing.

 Do an initial marketing blitz

Once your book is published, dedicate a couple of weeks to solely promoting your book. Follow a strategy that includes sending out enquiries to reviewers and bloggers, placing adverts in prominent places and implementing your own social media campaign. If you have the time to send out advance review copies and post teasers, begin this blitz in advance of release day. If you’ve hit the publish button already, don’t worry you can start right now instead.

It’s OK to take time off from writing at this stage because when you’ve just finished writing a book, it’s wise to give your brain and creativity a rest before moving onto the next one.

Set a time limit

Once your promotion blitz is over and you start writing the next book, set yourself a marketing time limit each day. 

How long is down to you, but an hour is a good figure to aim for. 

Use this time to focus on marketing research, sending emails, buying advertising space etc. 

You can pop onto social media sites throughout the day to make regular posts, but if you do it at your desk, be tough with yourself and limit it to ten minutes before returning to your writing.

Take advantage of ‘dead time’

Keep a diary to find out when pockets of dead time occur in your schedule, such as while waiting for a bus to arrive. Use this time for social media marketing, so you have more time to write during the rest of the day. Alternatively, you can utilise it for writing by making notes about your plot and characters or proofreading some draft pages.

Schedule social media posts

If you have one of those days when you can’t write a single page of your book, create a back catalogue of blogs, Facebook posts and tweets instead. WordPress and many other blogging platforms allow you to schedule posts in advance, so you could write four posts today and put up one a week for the next month.

The Facebook Pages application also allows you to write a post now and set it to appear at a set time later. Alternatively, try out social media management tools such as Hootsuite, which allows you to schedule future Twitter, Google+ and Facebook posts.

Scheduling is a great way of managing your time and it allows you to make regular contact with your audience even when you’re busy. This way, you can plan for posts to pop up at suitable times too, such as on a Sunday afternoon when people might be looking for a new book to read. You will get much better results when you have a captive audience than at 2am when everyone is asleep.

Monitor results

The strategies that work will depend on your target audience and genre, so it’s important to track which actions result in actual book sales for you. When you place adverts on websites, note down how many extra sales or downloads you received that day so you know if it’s worth using the same site again in future. If you want to find out how many people are clicking on your social media links, use bitly.com to create them. If you open a free account on the site, it allows you to track how many clicks each shortlink receives, so you know when someone has engaged with a post you placed on Twitter, Facebook, forums and blogs etc. Once you discover which methods and websites convert to clicks and sales for you, focus your time and money on them.

Do one thing each day

No matter how busy you are, try to do at least one thing to market your book every day. 

Even if you’re rushed off your feet, on holiday or engrossed in writing the next book, you’ll still have time to send a review request or tweet. 

365 day inspiration - 'Operation Author'

 

This keeps your brand out there and makes sure you don’t lose momentum too. 

Marketing is like writing – it can be easy to fall out of the habit and before you know it, one day of inaction turns into a month. 

Above all, figure out what works for you, get the balance right and keep at it. 

Your hard work will pay off in the end and it will get easier with each book.

If you'd like to see more of Donna's work check out her   

YA book on Amazon:  

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/product/B00LOVXEU2 

Out of Time

 

Also, her contemporary adult fiction book - 

Instant Karma

 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LZ83W5Q/

Message from me:

Some great tips and ideas here from Donna and a massive thank you for contributing.

I've highlighted the parts that really stood out for me.

I wholeheartedly agree on the importance of doing something every day, even if it's only a small thing, and this was the reason I embarked on...

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

Accountability and sharing ideas and inspiration are the driving forces behind this blog.  

If you're a writer and would like to be part of Operation Author by guest blogging - 

get in touch : amy@tomcatdesigns.co.uk

Book ordering and beerhouses

This week my seven actions for...

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

...have been related to the final stages in the process of getting Solomon's Secrets complete and ready to publish.

My first action has been continuing to read through the final proof and I have rewritten a few scenes as a result of the editorial report. 

It's now finally finished - Hoorah!

My second action has been uploading it onto Amazon for review.

My third action was to order copies of the book - they'll be delivered mid October.

My fourth action has been to put an update on the crowdfund marking this milestone and explaining what happens next.
 

https://www.fundsurfer.com/project/independently-publishing-solomons-secrets/update/its-alive-the-creature-lives

My fifth action was going to a start up drinks networking event. I took flyers with me and talked about my writing to several people there.


I left one of my mini manuscripts at the Engine Shed, where the event was being held and have had 2 tweets from people who've found it there.

My sixth action was booking the venue for my launch party. 

The event will be on the evening of Saturday 22nd November at the Bavarian Beerhouse. 


Get in touch if you'd like to come to the...

Solomon's Secrets Launch Event Treasure Hunt.

I added an image to the Fundsurfer update about the idea behind the treasure hunt

My seventh action this week has been making contact with other writers to write a guest post for me. The fabulous Donna Marie Oldfield has come through for me an sent me a guest post on balancing the time you need to write with the time it takes to do book marketing. I'll publish the post mid-week, so look out for it.

Open doors, boxes, libraries and avoiding the road to hell

'The road to hell is paved with adverbs'

Stephen King

My first action this week for

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

Is that I am re-reading 'On Writing' Stephen King's memoir of the craft. It's one of those books that every writer should read, at least once and preferably several times at different points in their careers. It grounds you and forces you to reflect on your writing practice.

It is also a useful book to be reading while you are in that all important copy editing stage of your latest work.

My second action this week has been to go through the latest proof of Solomon's Secrets and do my final re-writes, based on the feedback from the editorial report. 


My third action has been starting to formulate my plans for my launch event. I've decided on the ideal date, I now have to find a venue. I put a few enquiries out this week, so far without success but I have some more places in mind. 

I also got a bit carried away in the SS Great Britain gift shop and bought 3 miniature versions of the box I bought in Bulgaria. The plan is to put some keys in these and leave them in 3 locations that participants must follow clues to find.

I went to a couple of Bristol Doors Open day events at the weekend.

The coolest was doing the behind the scenes tour of the Brunel Institute at the SS Great Britain.This action, my fourth action, was the most fascinating to me.

I had no idea they did such amazing work there. They have a library of antique books and a team of specialists who curate, maintain and restore old texts and artefacts with a maritime, engineering or Brunel link. And, the best part, as long as you book in, it's open to the public.

This will be a great source of inspiration and research for my next book, with a working title of Gabriel's Game. 

In this book, one of the key characters is a rare book collector and the search for the manuscript continues.

I shall definitely go back for inspiration and to chat to some of the experts. I also requested a copy of a leaflet the Leather Conservation booklet on Caring for Books and Archives. One of the team at the institute emailed a copy to me.
Awesome!

My fifth action and the one I'm most pleased with this week, was my interview on Bristol urban radio station, Ujima.

Here it is, have a listen;

http://listen-again.ujimaradio.com/index.php?id=18635

I start talking 6:40 in.

Action number six was attending a writing critique group this week. We meet once a month in the King William pub and give each other feedback on work that we email out a few days before. I emailed out my short story 'Interview with an agent' that you can read in a July entry on this blog. It went down well and the other writers in the group liked the idea of interviewing a main character like this. But they all agreed that I could have gone further, and dug deeper into Tom Sheridan's psyche. I'll do some re-writes once I've finished with the final draft of Solomon's Secrets and re-post it here.

My seventh and final action this week is later today. I am going to a self publishing event at Foyles in Bristol, so I'll report back on that another time.
 

Unleash the hermit and progressing towards publication

Another bumper crop of two weeks worth of tips and ideas for 

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

I was on holiday in Bulgaria last week and didn't have access to the internet. There was something very freeing about dropping off the radar for a week. The world didn't end because I couldn't pick up emails or tweets!

My 14 actions are a bit of a blur so I'm going to round them up as two weeks of activities instead.

Our week abroad allowed me to embrace my inner hermit and use her as a force for creativity. 

That week, all of my actions were writing notes, ideas, bits for books and streams of consciousness. 


I wrote them on scraps of paper and coloured card and when I got back, I bound them together in a book made from fabric scraps:

My top tip from that week: 

Escape for a while and just write. Write anything and everything and don't self edit.

The only other action from that week;

While shopping for souvenirs I saw this awesome box that I had to buy. I plan to use it to lock a prize inside for the treasure hunt launch event that I'm planning.

 
This week, my seven actions have been:

Action 1: 
I've been giving some thought to what I'd like to do for my launch event for Solomon's Secrets.

I don't want to do the usual book launch where people mill around a book shop with a glass of wine, I want a proper party.

I originally wanted to use the crowdfund to raise money to run a spectacular event with music and actors and all sorts, but realistically, I'm going to go for something smaller scale and lower budget!

I made some notes while in Bulgaria that are now stitched up in the little book pictured.

My plan is:
Sometime in November, date TBC. We gather in the function room of one of the bars around the old town of Bristol UK. Everyone will get a set of clues leading them to 3 further watering holes in the vicinity. At each location will be a little box of keys. We split up and have an hour to visit the 3 locations. Everyone takes one key at each location and returns to base, therefore each person will have 3 keys and 3 chances at the prize. Whoever has the key to the box gets the prize inside. 

Action 2:
I've started writing out the plans in more detail for the Solomon's Secrets launch party.  I've been researching the history of some of the bars in that area and forming some clues for the treasure hunt.

Action 3:
I published a great guest post from Marla Madison this week:  
http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/top-ten-tips-for-independent-author.html

Thanks Marla, you're a legend!
 
Action 4:
I've been spreading the word that I'm looking for other guest posts for this blog. I've started discussions on LinkedIn and tweeted writers, whose work interests me, directly to ask them. I now have a few emails to send out to willing participants

Action 5:
I had a telephone meeting for a feedback and advice session with the literary consultant that I sent sample chapters of Solomon's Secrets too, Lucy from Arc Editorial & Literary Consultancy in Bristol.

The key points on her report were about more character development in these early chapters and more description of the locations. 

Great advice and a really useful process. After this experience I'd never consider self publishing again without some professional support, especially after my first attempt with The Bronze Box.

Action 6:
I received the latest proof copy of Solomon's and I'm now working through it based on the advice from Lucy. I have a lot of work to do and will need to look at my schedule at work and book some time off so I can get this book out and ready by the end of October, which is my current planned timetable.

Action 7:
I published an update on the Fundsurfer page, briefing all my backers

 
I also emailed those who asked for a copy of The Bronze Box as a reward from the crowdfund. 

When we returned to work following our holiday in Bulgaria there was the beautiful sight of a great big box full of copies of the 2nd edition of The Bronze Box waiting for me.


Bonus little fact here that gave me a boost:

I did some research about the state of the publishing and book industry and found a really useful Cobweb Information factsheet  for novelists.

170,000 books were published in the UK in 2012 and this figure has risen since.

More that half of all the books published in the UK sell fewer than 200 copies. 

I've sold almost 900 copies of The Bronze Box, and that makes me happy.

Top Ten Tips for the Independent Author - A special guest post by Marla Madison

One of my recent actions for 

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

has been to put calls out for writers to guest post for me.

The fabulous Marla Madison has come through for me and sent over this great piece.

Find Marla on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarlaAMadison

Her second novel of suspense, Relative Malice, is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/mQebPH

Read her blog here: marlamadison.blogspot.com

TOP TEN TIPS

for the Independent Author

1)  Read, read, read:

Being an advocate of reading for writers, I was thrilled to see this was one of Stephen King’s first tips for writers. See all twenty of his wonderful tips at,

 http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html

Read the most successful print and eBook writers in your genre, paying special attention to those whose style is most similar to yours. Familiarize yourself with what appeals to readers.

 2)  Hone your skills:

The best promotion campaign in the world cannot sell a book that is poorly written. If you’ve already published, take your poor reviews to heart and use them to improve your next piece of writing.

3)  One of the biggest errors new indies make is publishing too fast:

Yes, you’ll learn what not to do from that first attempt, but in the end it will cost you, as readers have long memories and will avoid your later work. Get it right first!

4)  Bone up on backstory:

One of the most common errors new writers make is thinking the reader must know everything about their characters right away. There are numerous blog sites giving tips on how to handle backstory. Pick one and refer to it when you plan your next novel.

5)  Make your first chapters grabbers:  

A boring beginning will lose your readers. Many of our readers are those who we’ve lured in by using free or discounted promotions. They don’t have a very big investment in your book. The delete key on a kindle is easy to find. I’m an avid reader and seldom read beyond the first chapter if the beginning is boring or poorly written.

6)  Follow blogs of successful writers:

Joe Konrath has sold millions of eBooks. He did an interview in which he gave writers forty-two tips for success. Take time to read them at, http://daringtolivefully.com/writing-tips-from-j-a-konrath

7) Konrath’s main tip:

Butt in chair. Take time to write! The more you have published, the greater your chances of building an audience. Konrath himself writes a minimum of 3,000 words a day and will stay up as late as necessary to accomplish that if he has a day filled with other demands on his time. Pick a time and a number that works for you.

8)  Beware of spending too much time on social sites:

Rather than trying to maintain a presence on every site, pick two and use them wisely. There are many helpful advice blogs out there for specific use of them, especially Twitter and Facebook. My own picks are Twitter and blogging. I have a presence on many sites, but don’t spend a lot of time on them. Trying to do them all will make you crazy and also bite off too much of your valuable writing time.

9)  Join others who write in your genre:

Romance Writers of American and Sisters in Crime are two of the most popular. Find a group in your genre and learn from others’ experiences and advice. Critique groups too are an excellent source of aid if you can find one in your area or though a genre group.

10)  Hire a proofer:

Unless you are an experienced proofer (and even then it is dangerous) do not try to do your own proofing. If you absolutely cannot afford to, remember that it is hard to see your own errors so do it slowly. Read your work out loud. A story can be edited too much but cannot be over proofed. EBook readers can forgive an error or two, but more than that will cost you readers and therefore, sales.

Message from Marla:

Hello writers,

I think the most common mistake we authors make is publishing too quickly. It is easy to get caught up in our eagerness to publish and put our work out before it is polished. I had to re-proof my first novel twice after it was already on Amazon. It was costly in many ways. I don’t do my own formatting so I had to pay my formatter to make the changes and had to pay a copy editor to point out my style errors and mistakes. The time and money involved in getting it right after the fact was considerable.

I’ve been self published for more than four years now and have gathered these ten tips from my own experiences. They are still, and will remain, sensible advice. Hopefully, you will adopt a few that work for you.

Wishing you the best in your writing career

Marla Madison works part-time doing arbitrations for the State of Iowa and the Federal Mediation Service. Working full-time as an author, Marla is busy penning her fourth novel of suspense. She’s Not There, and Relative Malice are now available on Amazon.com in eBook and print form. Her latest, Trespass, is a sequel to She's Not There and will be available soon.

Marla lives on Prairie Lake in northwest Wisconsin with her significant other. Other family members are a dog and cat adopted from a local shelter. Some of her favorite things are playing duplicate and tournament bridge, golfing, reading, and taking long walks with her dog.

Contact her at: mam887@gmail.com

Her blog: http://marlamadison.blogspot.com

 

Marla's books

A final word from me, referring to tip 1 - I highly recommend Stephen King's 'On Writing' - he passionately advocates reading a lot if you want to be a writer.

I'd like to say an enormous thank you to Marla for contributing, (and what's not to love about a lady who wears such a great hat!)

If you're a writer and would like to guest blog for me - get in touch : amy@tomcatdesigns.co.uk