Here’s the post you’ve been waiting for – the one I
promised. My take on how the Summer Fire collection made it to the New York
Times list.
promised. My take on how the Summer Fire collection made it to the New York
Times list.
It’s complicatingly simple. We worked our fannies
off !! Maybe not everyone all of the
time. But we all kicked in some of
the time. And with 20 authors making the effort, it worked. We hit #13 and I’m
still a foot off the ground.
off !! Maybe not everyone all of the
time. But we all kicked in some of
the time. And with 20 authors making the effort, it worked. We hit #13 and I’m
still a foot off the ground.
This
is what you need:
is what you need:
An
organizer – who is not only savvy about organising,
but someone with a lot of energy and… who is willing to take on the bulk of the
work. No matter how much you believe that everyone will pitch in and help, most
of the group are only willing to do so much. They want to be led, told what to
do, how and when. If you have a vision of how everything should work, you
better be willing to either take charge yourself because you have experience or
join with someone who has done this before and knows the ropes.
organizer – who is not only savvy about organising,
but someone with a lot of energy and… who is willing to take on the bulk of the
work. No matter how much you believe that everyone will pitch in and help, most
of the group are only willing to do so much. They want to be led, told what to
do, how and when. If you have a vision of how everything should work, you
better be willing to either take charge yourself because you have experience or
join with someone who has done this before and knows the ropes.
Decisions
– should
be made by the person in charge as to how many people they want to have as a
part of the group. What type of a collection it will be – full-length books
versus novellas or even short stories – and which genre. And…another important
option is whether all the books should be brand new or already published work.
– should
be made by the person in charge as to how many people they want to have as a
part of the group. What type of a collection it will be – full-length books
versus novellas or even short stories – and which genre. And…another important
option is whether all the books should be brand new or already published work.
The
choice of authors – made a huge difference. I have no
doubt we were chosen because of either being a titled author (USA Today, New
York Times or Amazon Best-seller), someone with great sales or a social media
buff who had a huge following on Facebook, Twitter and a street team they could
bring into play. How did the organizers find these professionals? Most of us
were invited by another already recruited. For instance – I was invited by one
of the brides who I work with in those collections. And I’m sure the others
have a similar story – it’s a bit of who you know!!
choice of authors – made a huge difference. I have no
doubt we were chosen because of either being a titled author (USA Today, New
York Times or Amazon Best-seller), someone with great sales or a social media
buff who had a huge following on Facebook, Twitter and a street team they could
bring into play. How did the organizers find these professionals? Most of us
were invited by another already recruited. For instance – I was invited by one
of the brides who I work with in those collections. And I’m sure the others
have a similar story – it’s a bit of who you know!!
The
budget – whoever is in charge needs to have a realistic
budget planned in advance according to their marketing plan. Make a list of all
the promos, marketing and costly ads you want to put into play and then make
sure the others are willing to spend their share – both as a payment into the
promo pot and the individual expenses expected from them for giveaways,
Facebook ads etc.
budget – whoever is in charge needs to have a realistic
budget planned in advance according to their marketing plan. Make a list of all
the promos, marketing and costly ads you want to put into play and then make
sure the others are willing to spend their share – both as a payment into the
promo pot and the individual expenses expected from them for giveaways,
Facebook ads etc.
The
cover – was important. It needed to show the readers what
they could expect on the inside – the flavor of the books – and Summer Fire’s
cover did just that. Most of the stories are explicitly sexual and it was
certainly obvious when one looked at the naked chest of the male body on the
front and the words “Love when it’s Hot!” printed on the side. If a few of the
people in the group can make/organise a couple of covers – it’s best to hold a
poll and get it decided quickly. Covers can be a huge argument if it isn’t
nipped in the bud with majority rules.
cover – was important. It needed to show the readers what
they could expect on the inside – the flavor of the books – and Summer Fire’s
cover did just that. Most of the stories are explicitly sexual and it was
certainly obvious when one looked at the naked chest of the male body on the
front and the words “Love when it’s Hot!” printed on the side. If a few of the
people in the group can make/organise a couple of covers – it’s best to hold a
poll and get it decided quickly. Covers can be a huge argument if it isn’t
nipped in the bud with majority rules.
The
tittle – again you need to get everyone offering
suggestions and then take the best five and do a poll. Otherwise, this type of
differing can go on for far too long and create a deluge of unnecessary e-mails
– and trust me on this – the authors start zoning out if they get overloaded in
this way. What comes first the cover or the title? We did the cover first and
then the title (I think?)
tittle – again you need to get everyone offering
suggestions and then take the best five and do a poll. Otherwise, this type of
differing can go on for far too long and create a deluge of unnecessary e-mails
– and trust me on this – the authors start zoning out if they get overloaded in
this way. What comes first the cover or the title? We did the cover first and
then the title (I think?)
Publishing
plans – need to be decided on – the release date and whether
the book will be self-published by someone in the group, say on a multi venue
such as Draft 2 Digital, or will you go with an organiser like Indie Writes who
looks after all the formatting and does the publishing for you – and takes 15%
off the top. There is a lot of work involved in the formatting area so you want
to make an informed decision.
plans – need to be decided on – the release date and whether
the book will be self-published by someone in the group, say on a multi venue
such as Draft 2 Digital, or will you go with an organiser like Indie Writes who
looks after all the formatting and does the publishing for you – and takes 15%
off the top. There is a lot of work involved in the formatting area so you want
to make an informed decision.
Pre-orders
– are now a big deal whereas not too long ago, they didn’t exist for the lowly
Indie authors. But because it makes a difference to sales and that’s really
what this whole effort is about, it’s best to decide when the book should go
out on pre-order, (keeping in mind that Amazon requires you to have the final
submission published 10 days before the release).
– are now a big deal whereas not too long ago, they didn’t exist for the lowly
Indie authors. But because it makes a difference to sales and that’s really
what this whole effort is about, it’s best to decide when the book should go
out on pre-order, (keeping in mind that Amazon requires you to have the final
submission published 10 days before the release).
Social
media campaigns – are hugely important and it’s where
the bulk of the work comes in for the rest of the authors rather than just the
chief. She needs to be able to rely on everyone kicking in at this point. That
compelling cover needs to be seen by as many people as possible and multiple
times so they finally make the decision to push the buy button. As you all
know, there are so many ways to do this and I will cover all the ones we used
in a later post. Needless to say, you need worker bees and this is where the chosen
authors come into play.
media campaigns – are hugely important and it’s where
the bulk of the work comes in for the rest of the authors rather than just the
chief. She needs to be able to rely on everyone kicking in at this point. That
compelling cover needs to be seen by as many people as possible and multiple
times so they finally make the decision to push the buy button. As you all
know, there are so many ways to do this and I will cover all the ones we used
in a later post. Needless to say, you need worker bees and this is where the chosen
authors come into play.
Paid
promotions – will make or break your chances of hitting the
lists. It’s the area I consider that is the most important to benefit the
collection. There are a huge number of places willing to take your money but
they need to be set up in such a way as to keep the traction high on the final
week. If you have someone who knows the owners of these promotional places and
can set up your anthology before it’s even released on pre-order, then you have
a shot at the number of sales it will take you to make it big. You cannot wait
until you have the live links for the different venues (unless you put the book
out on pre-order months in advance and then you may jeopardize the reader
making the decision for not wanting to wait so long. Once she/he’s said no to
it once, it’s easier for them to do so again.) This is where ‘who’ the authors are comes into play.
Well-known names have a lot of fans who would be willing to wait to get a hold
of their next book – of course that’s only if it’s never before released.)
promotions – will make or break your chances of hitting the
lists. It’s the area I consider that is the most important to benefit the
collection. There are a huge number of places willing to take your money but
they need to be set up in such a way as to keep the traction high on the final
week. If you have someone who knows the owners of these promotional places and
can set up your anthology before it’s even released on pre-order, then you have
a shot at the number of sales it will take you to make it big. You cannot wait
until you have the live links for the different venues (unless you put the book
out on pre-order months in advance and then you may jeopardize the reader
making the decision for not wanting to wait so long. Once she/he’s said no to
it once, it’s easier for them to do so again.) This is where ‘who’ the authors are comes into play.
Well-known names have a lot of fans who would be willing to wait to get a hold
of their next book – of course that’s only if it’s never before released.)
Release
day hype – is something that needs to be well-planned and
worked toward with a kind of frenzy to get the pre-order buyers excited for
their new collection and the potential buyers willing to jump on the same band
wagon of those who already bought. A lot of giveaways will be made around this
time.
day hype – is something that needs to be well-planned and
worked toward with a kind of frenzy to get the pre-order buyers excited for
their new collection and the potential buyers willing to jump on the same band
wagon of those who already bought. A lot of giveaways will be made around this
time.
Reviews
– have been discussed so much it makes my head spin until I contemplate banging
it against the nearest wall (except I’d be scared of the wall repair costs LOL). As to whether they’re important – what do you
think? Of-freaking-course they’re important. Hugely so! That’s where I learned
a big lesson while being a part of this collection. Again, I’ll share in
another post. Just know that there are ways that authors can get the reviews
where it costs you nothing.
– have been discussed so much it makes my head spin until I contemplate banging
it against the nearest wall (except I’d be scared of the wall repair costs LOL). As to whether they’re important – what do you
think? Of-freaking-course they’re important. Hugely so! That’s where I learned
a big lesson while being a part of this collection. Again, I’ll share in
another post. Just know that there are ways that authors can get the reviews
where it costs you nothing.
**Okay
– that’s it for now! I don’t want you getting keyboard marks on your foreheads
when you doze off from reading such a long post. I promise to break down these
different sections and give you all the details I can remember.
– that’s it for now! I don’t want you getting keyboard marks on your foreheads
when you doze off from reading such a long post. I promise to break down these
different sections and give you all the details I can remember.
