"Roundheads and Ramblings"

indie authors

The Tasks Ahead of Me

Posted on Saturday, January 16, 2016 3:17 PM

I've been fussing at myself about the total inertia that has settled over my life in the last few days. I have a bazillion things to get done and can't force myself to do any of them. Part of the problem, of course, is the fact that it's January and the first anniversary of Floyd's last illness and death. I had expected to feel wretched, but not totally immobile.

The rest of the problem, however, has to do with the whole business of being an indie author with a brand new book just launched. Knowing that I am the only one responsible for getting it noticed is a heavy burden. Marketing has never been my strong point, but a new launch brings demands that I've been finding overwhelming. So I have taken comfort today in discovering that I am not alone in this particular struggle. Joanna Penn passed on this link to a blog post that makes the size of the problem more understandable. Elizabeth Craig's suggestion is to start doing more outsourcing of responsibilities, which probably isn't going to happen, but at least seeing this list reassures me that I'm not losing it. I really AM overworked.

Here's what Elizabeth Craig has to say about how indie authors spend their time:

I was reflecting on the past year with a friend and I admitted that a lot of my problem is that I can do (nearly) everything myself. I can do rudimentary (not cover) design. I can format books. I can update my website. I can create newsletters and schedule updates on social media. I know how to upload to retail platforms, share my calendar, create a slideshow for a lecture.

And, because I know how to do it, because I have the skills, and I’ve a tendency toward frugality, I do it all myself.

There were a few exceptions. I hit the wall with my own accounting ability and stopped doing my own taxes a couple of years ago. I’ve always had freelancers to help me out with covers, narrating audio books, formatting print and digital books, and editing. Sometimes I need help with my website issues (or just don’t have the time to figure out how to fix the issue myself).

I’ve mentioned in other posts that I’m something of a control freak. I don’t think I wasalways this way, but over the past 5-10 years, it’s definitely become more obvious. I like things done a particular way. To ensure it’s done this way, I do it myself.

I’m frequently advised by both writer friends and non-writer friends to outsource some of what I do. I have been very hesitant to do this. But, in 2016, I’m going to give it a go.

I made a list of as many different things that I could think of that I do on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, annually). I kept saying I felt overwhelmed, but I also couldn’t completely account for my time or what I was spending it on. Some of the tasks on my list I almost enjoy. Some I dread doing—and the dread frequently isn’t equivalent to the size of the task….I dread updating Facebook, for instance. Where are my readers? They’re on Facebook.

Some of these tasks overlap. Some take only a minute or two (after I remember to do them). Some can take many hours to complete. See if this list sounds familiar to you.

Update Amazon Author Central (US and worldwide)
Update my website with new books, new copy, new author photos, new bios.
Update Goodreads books and author info.
Run Goodreads giveaways
Update Facebook
Update Google Plus
Curate and schedule content for Twitter. Collect it and share on the blog.
Blog (3x weekly). Respond to comments. Visit other blogs
Promote my author newsletter
Send newsletters out to readers
Advertise on Facebook.
Respond to reader emails
Create author notes for Amazon and for the backs of my books
Update end matter in my digital books. Keep a copy
Mentor
Respond to guest post requests
Learn new software
Watch webinars for business-related information (promo, learning software like Scrivener, etc.)
Respond to emailed requests for me to beta test software
Connect with and coordinate with editors, formatters, cover designers
Track sales and run promotions
Distribute new books to each platform: ACX, Amazon, Draft2Digital, Smashwords, IngramSpark, CreateSpace, etc.
Update stories weekly on Wattpad
Secure narrator for audiobooks. Listen to finished audiobook for errors. Upload to ACX.
Send promo copies and signed copies to readers.
Participate in Skype/podcast/written interviews. YouTube interviews
Update social media banners
Coordinate speaking engagements
Write guest posts and respond to comments when the post runs
Set up annual headshot and update social media with the new picture
Create PowerPoints for speaking engagements
Count 4 and 5 star reviews on both active series to use in the Editorial Reviews section of my book pages
Write blurbs for other authors
Write cover copy and ad copy
Update series bibles with each book
Pull tax-related items together. Pull year-end things together for accountant.
Organize items on the computer: Covers in one folder. Manuscripts in format-specific folders.
Back up. Back up my backups.
Maintain and use Amazon Affiliate links for all my books
Research for books and for promo

Why Writers Must Learn to Love the Internet

Posted on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 6:49 PM

Is the internet really all that important? You bet it is! Especially for those whose books are not handled by the traditional big five publishers. If you are an Indie author and/or publisher, your books appear in two formats: Print on Demand and electronic editions. They are seldom to be found on the shelves of a traditional book store, so where will your readers go to purchase your book? The internet, of course. Your readers are people who use the internet. They have Amazon accounts, or Apple iBooks apps. If they look for your book in a Barnes & Noble storefront, they’ll end up looking in an electronic catalog. Make no mistake. Without the internet, you won’t be selling many books unless you spend your time going door to door or hosting wine and cheese parties.

The formula is simple. You go where your readers are. And your readers are sitting in front of a computer, or using a tablet or smart phone to find and order their reading material. Your readers are people who send e-mails or text messages, keep track of their friends’ birthdays on Facebook, make snarky comments on Twitter, send out job applications on LinkedIn, and turn to Pinterest for ideas for tonight’s dinner.

Some of them – the most dedicated readers – will turn to Goodreads for guidance on what to read, check all the reviews of a new book on “Ask David,” and play silly matching games on Freado in hopes of snagging a free copy. They will Google your name to find out who you are, and they will expect to find a website featuring your books.

There’s no way to avoid this. You need to start right now to build your internet presence. This may not be exactly what a big-name publisher means by demanding that an author have a “platform,” but it comes close. You must become active, friendly, and clever on the social media sites. You need to join Goodreads (which is now a part of Amazon) because your readers will expect to find you there. You need a great website – attractive, appealing, easy to find, easy to use, and full of interesting tidbits about yourself and your books. And finally, although possibly most important, you need a blog -- one like this, where you can talk directly to your readers, offering them quality information they can only get from you.

You won’t become an overnight internet sensation. It takes a long time to break into this latest club, which is why it is vital that you start right away. My blog started with 75 readers a month. After the first year, that number increased to 200 a month. The third year it jumped to a thousand, then ten thousand. Now in its fifth year, I regularly get 1500 readers a day. Do they all buy my books? Of course not. But lots of them do.

If you have to choose between establishing your internet persona and writing your book, I suggest you hone your writing skills on internet posts. Save the book manuscript until you know readers out there are waiting for it.

The Indie Author's Manifesto

Posted on Sunday, May 4, 2014 7:32 PM

This needs to circulate as widely as possible. Please share.

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indie authors

The Tasks Ahead of Me

Why Writers Must Learn to Love the Internet

The Indie Author's Manifesto