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7 Way To Engage Readers

April 24, 2011 in Reflections | 1 comment

Here’s a post from a year back on reader engagement. It’s a little dated – who remembers Tony Blair and Brangelina now? – but the advice still holds. Maybe I should re-read it too.

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Fame Costs - Book cover

This is the book I’ve been reading lately. Bet you didn’t think I was into that kind of thing. To be honest, nor did I, when Lena set it down next to the computer a couple of weeks back.

- It was only 20p at the stall in the market.

- Was it?

- Thought it might give you a few ideas.

Uh-oh. Been spending too much time on the damned book recently and not paying enough attention. So she buys me a Mills & Boon. Why didn’t she just say something?

- Look here – under the smiley man. ‘A true story of the author’s struggle to break into print.’ Useful?

- Um, yeah. Maybe.

Humour her.

 

Fame Costs is the true story of F.T.Unwin – or Pimbo, as he liked to call himself. He was from these parts, a Cambridge man, and it was Cambridge he wrote about. Not the university town. Not the tourist town. His books were full of stories of the people who have always lived here, and probably always will. Sentimental, nostalgic stuff. ‘He was, undoubtedly, an awful writer – which is all part of his naive charm’, that’s how he was remembered recently. Not much to appeal to today’s reader.

Unless that reader happened to be me.

Pimbo had a life-long ambition to be a writer, paid for writing courses, submitted to magazines, and after 30 years of rejections decided to go it alone with his first novel, using a vanity publisher. He managed to place a few copies in local shops, did some signings, and sold less than 100 books. So what to do with his stock?

Here’s what. He gets on the bus with a bagful of books, heads for one of the outlying villages, and starts selling door-to-door. Sets himself a small target every day and doesn’t take the journey home till he’s hit the target. Writes in the morning, gets the bus in the afternoon. He’s around 60 years old.

The first year was hard, but he began to attract attention, with a little press and radio coverage. Then it was local TV. Pimbo did it his own way. He was a character.

And the next year, when he took his new book on the same routes, people remembered. They invited him in, told him their own stories – which of course were then featured in his next novel. Pimbo’s readers began to have a personal stake in his books.

By 1987, with around 20 titles to his credit (nobody seems to know exactly how many), he had sold 80,000 books. Did his readers love them? Well, just about every review I can find includes the word ‘awful’, but as one commentator puts it:

Fred Unwin probably had a larger readership amongst local people than any better known author, and certainly amongst those who might not normally read books … He built up a list of regulars, brought great pleasure with his visits, and when he had made enough money from selling one book he would write another. He commands huge respect for that.

 

So what am I recommending? Write slush? Get out there selling door-to-door? Neither. But the lessons of reader engagement in Pimbo’s story still hold true today just as they did then, 30 years ago. Just one thing has changed. We don’t have to wait for the bus any more. Because we’re on the magic bus – the web – and we all have a free pass. This bus is especially magic because although you still need to start by going out to find your readers, you can soon get them coming over to your place – it takes just a second – if they enjoy spending time with you.

This is what I’ve learned from old Pimbo:

  1. Know who your readers are. For him, it wasn’t people who went into bookshops, or the city’s temporary residents, but the people who had lived in Cambridge all their lives.

    2.  

  2. Go find those readers. We shouldn’t expect people to buy our books just because they’re in the bookshop. Once we’ve identified our typical readers, we need to find where on the web they hang out, and spend some quality time with them. Not selling all the time: people hate that. But chatting, discussing, commenting, sharing, becoming one of the gang. And then when it’s time, inviting them back to our place – or places. (Different places for different types of reader.)

    3.  

  3. Make the visits frequent. Pimbo’s visits were once a year. Everyone would know when he was due back in the neighbourhood. Times have changed, and now our visits are two-way. When your friends drop in to visit you on your blog or website, there needs to be something new every day. Maybe not a major new post like this. But latest updates, new links, anything to keep the content fresh. And you need to be going out visiting every day, too, or people will quickly forget you. Of course, there’s not time to visit all those great sites you’ve bookmarked and leave comments. Only the key ones. But you can remind friends of your presence by posting regularly to Twitter or Facebook, at least a couple of times a day, maybe three or four.

    4.  

  4. Make every visit pleasurable. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, if you want people to come back to your place again? But how? There are some great ideas from Misty Belardo in The 8 Types Of Posts That Get Maximum Comments. She suggests how-tos, competitions, personal experiences, showcasing your work, resource lists, thought provokers, creative work, humor. I’ll add only two things – there should be a place for most of these in your website or blog – and that the content needs to change quickly enough to keep it feeling fresh. Nothing turns people off faster than a static site.

    5.  

  5. Keep it personal. Pimbo met people face-to-face. We’re not actually going to meet most of our readers, but we can still engage with them personally, by encouraging questions and comments and reactions. I don’t think it’s necessary to respond to every comment individually – not if you’re busy – but we should be acknowledging the feedback we get, and we should aim always to answer questions. Within 24 hours. You might want to encourage readers to post their questions via Twitter – because all interactions will be less than 140 characters long. Nobody will expect long email answers.

    6.  

  6. Make the experience interactive. For Pimbo, this meant gathering stories from those he visited. In A Real Writer, I want to encourage everyone to assist with the research – by helping me, everyone helps themselves. And if readers do get involved, they’ll feel they have a stake in my success.

    7.  

  7. Remember that you’re part of the story. Pimbo’s novels were pretty awful, remember. And yet he sold 80,000 books. Let’s face it, my writing friends, a book very rarely stands or falls on its quality alone. Pimbo sold because he was a character. Then there’s this Tony Blair fellow – the one who’s book has won him a £4.6 million advance because, as his US publisher says, he’s ‘such an exceptional writer’. Would anyone have given him £1000 for a book in 1982, when he stood for Parliament in a by-election, won only 10% of the vote and lost his deposit? Unlikely.

    For your book to succeed, it really helps if you have a compelling story for yourself. I’m not suggesting that you necessarily need to start a war or two. And please don’t start telling your readers what you had for breakfast this morning, unless your name is Brangelina. But what is it that makes you stand out from the crowd? Start preparing that story too.


Have you found any new ways to engage with potential readers recently? Did you actually engage with any new readers today? How?

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Hunting Down Writing Talent

April 20, 2011 in Rapscallion | 2 comments


Rapscallion

In yesterday’s post, Read it – Love it – Forget it, I suggested that the best way for a creative writer to find new readers was … to be a creative writer. And that, since digital readers are changing our way of life, making it easy for people to grab half-an-hour’s content at the break-points in a busy day, the short story is an ideal platform.

There are certainly other ways to stay in the spotlight. Constantly showing up on message-boards for example. Participating in writer groups. Pumping a novel on Twitter, Facebook. But as Joy Campbell commented not long ago, sometimes writers begin to feel they’re pimping their books. And if they think that, then it probably won’t be long before readers notice too.

Even if the writer’s self-publicity campaign is discreet, comments on a forum show who they are, whereas a free short story shows how they write. There’s a much better likelihood of a good match between reader and writer if the reader’s already familiar with the likely content, style and interests before she pays her money and downloads the novel.

And that’s why I’m planning to reduce my blog posts somewhat, aiming instead to publish one or two free shorts per month.

But it won’t just be my short stories I’m featuring here. I’m planning to point you towards other emerging writers you’ll probably enjoy if you like my work.

Let’s be honest. My motives are not entirely altruistic. Right from the start of this writing adventure, I realized that with a million other novelists out there, my chances of making an impression on readers were somewhere between nil and infinitesimal. But maybe I could do better if I carved out my own niche, and filled it with writers, readers and reviewers who shared a common interest: searching for new writers whose work we’d be proud to display in our permanent libraries. Timeless books and stories that we found first.

What exactly am I looking for?

Stories that:

  • transcend or transform their genre (or perhaps have no genre at all – personally, I’m something of a genre-jumper).
  • leave an indelible impression – I know I’ll still remember them in a few years’ time.
  • twist the kaleidoscope, revealing new patterns, shapes and dimensions.
  • compel me to participate, not just observe.

Writers who:

  • paint a whole picture with just a few deft brushstrokes.
  • write their characters so large on the page that I’m only dimly aware it’s a fiction, or that a writer even exists.
  • craft every word with care, yet never try to overwhelm me with technique.
  • push the envelope, showing new possibilities for the short story or the novel.


Perhaps an example helps. I introduced you to Suki Michelle‘s work a couple of day’s back. ‘Daddy’s Machine‘ is a short story told from the viewpoint of a Down’s Syndrome sufferer – but with an IQ of 165. The story is multi-threaded with issues: the balance between intelligence and understanding; scientific research and morality; our responsibilities as carers; how we assess criminal responsibility. But what I find extraordinary is Suki’s ability to put us in the position of the sufferer – we look out on the world as a Down’s Syndrome child. In other writers’ hands, it might have become mawkish; not a chance of that with Suki, who just tells it like it is.

It’s hard to believe that the story I’m introducing today, ‘Mirage‘, could be from the same writer. In an edgy black comedy set in a post-apocalyptic world, Drew Randim, a smooth-talking reality show host is down on his luck. But maybe there’s one last payday. It’s a totally different genre, world, and character-set. Suki’s there, masterfully pulling the controls to make unlikely circumstances utterly believable, yet she hides like a chameleon behind her characters. Where’s the author’s voice? There isn’t one. She just lets her people do the talking. And then asks us draw our own conclusions, compelling us to think.

Notice that both these stories, like my published work, bear the Rapscallion imprint. I don’t intend Rapscallion to be a publisher, although I did contribute a little towards the editing – Suki’s so good that not much input was required, and it was more a question of a second opinion; and I did help to get the stories into their e-format. I’ll continue to use Rapscallion as a marque ( – there’s been a recent design-change, as above) which invited writers can use if they wish to, indicating that a story’s got the full five-stars from me.

The stories I feature here in the blog don’t need to be from Rapscallion, but there are a couple of other considerations. My interest is in discovery, so I generally won’t be featuring writers who already get plenty of coverage elsewhere. The recommendations need to be complete short stories, take 30 minutes or less to read, and be available as free ebook downloads – as you’d expect for a sample of work.

Do I want writers to send submissions? Absolutely not. I don’t intend to get into the business of disappointment and rejection. I’m simply doing what I believe agents and publishers should: scouting for talent, not waiting for it. My objective is to find work that sits well alongside mine, so that we can begin to build the outstanding team of writers, reviewers and readers I described in Listening to Lombardi, drawing strength from one another.

But I can’t do it all alone. So if you’re a reader or a reviewer and you’ve come across writing that meets my criteria, then I’d love to hear from you.

Scroll back to the top of the blog and Click on ‘Talent Hunt‘ to keep up with the complete list of writers worth discovering.

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New cover design for The Lebanese Troubles

March 15, 2011 in News | 4 comments


The Dog River – Nahr Al Kalb

Our little rubber boat swirled and twisted in the boiling, ice-cold water. Circling above us dizzily, the thick green pines and the mountain peaks, here and there flashes of snow gleaming in the spring sun. The Dog River – Nahr al Kalb. Somewhere up here last year, they said, a father had hacked his daughter to death because she’d run off with her lover. Now that same blind fury was sweeping us down from the primitive heart of Lebanon, down towards its narrow rich Mediterranean plain.


Well I’ve finally gone ahead and done it. Changed the cover design for The Lebanese Troubles. And this is it. I’ve left the original cover over on the right for you to make comparisons.

Why not until now? Two reasons. First, I absolutely love Tom Young’s painting which I used on the original cover. When I first saw ‘Twenty Years’, it seemed almost to have been painted for TLT, perfectly reflecting the mood at the end of the book, even if it shows a scene that never actually happens.

But what I’ve learned in the past year is that artistry and appropriacy is not enough for a good front cover, especially for ebooks. The reader normally only sees a thumbnail sketch of the cover; nevertheless the impression it creates will very often determine whether the purchase is made or not.

My problem was that the original cover was bleak, and it seems that readers don’t buy bleak. Worse, it gives the impression that the whole book is about war. Today’s readers want blood and guts, that’s true, but only when the perpetrator is a vampire. Reading for many is a form of escapism: they want to suspend their disbelief, not be confronted with grim realities.

I haven’t managed to slip a vampire into the story yet. But if you’ve read the book, you’ll know that there’s a good deal of humor and energy, and that was not reflected in my cover.

The second problem was that I couldn’t find a good alternative. But today I found it – the picture I’ve used – license free, in that great resource, Wikimedia Commons. A little bit of work to do with the titles, using the free design tool, Paint (here’s a tutorial on how to create your own book cover), and we were good to go.

Several readers told me they thought the book would sell better with pictures of Monique and Claire on the front cover. As you can see, I didn’t. I thought long and hard about it, but in the end decided that I just didn’t have the skill, the time or the money to do it well. I’ll consider that again in the next iteration.

Another thing I didn’t do was to change the title of the book, despite frequent criticisms. Again I thought about it: “Sinners in Paradise” perhaps; or “The Land of Nod”. My favorite was “East of Eden” … but that’s been done before. What about “An Apprentice Hero”? In the end I rejected them all. The things is that I’ve spent months building brand recognition and getting “The Lebanese Troubles” to the top of the Google listings. If I change the title now, all that good work will be lost … and I’ll immediately invalidate those oh-so-important reviews. And besides, TLT is really quite a subtle title, exploding into a new meaning towards the end of the book.

Back to the cover design, and you’ll see a new Rapscallion logo at the bottom left. Thanks here to my good friend from TNBW, Greta Stone, who kindly developed four alternative designs for me, all with a spiky humorous touch. At thumbnail size, we’ll hardly see the logo, bur at full size I think it works, don’t you agree?

Let’s hear your views on the changes. Will the new cover make customers more likely to stop and look again than previously? How does it work for you? And in the coming days, I’ll let you know whether it really does make a difference to sales.



Please note that TLT will not be available at Amazon for a few days while their version is updating. But Smashwords has already made the changes, and the book is available there as normal – just follow the link in the sidebar.

I posted yesterday a longish sample from TLT, describing the mood in Beirut on the first day of the civil war. It seemed particularly appropriate as Bahrain seems to be headed in the same direction. How I wish people would learn to accommodate and celebrate their differences instead of using guns to enforce a point of view. Anyway, if you’d like to read the sample, you can either click here, or use the ‘Sample’ tab at the top of the page.

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How to stifle dissent

March 7, 2011 in News | 4 comments

It’s been a while. A long while. I’ve ignored my poor novel for the past nine months, while giving birth to another creative baby in the real world. It’s no fun up there, let me tell you, in a place where an author’s ability to control people and events is absolutely zero.

In the meantime, reports have been filtering through to me about trouble in my novel – unrest amongst some of the main characters, demonstrations against Richard ( – who I left in control of things), calls for me to resign as the author, even a suggestion that the title should be changed from The Lebanese Troubles to Middle-EastEnders, in a misguided attempt to reach out to a mass-market audience.

So I did a deal with them, offering a few concessions that should keep them happy and me in power. I’ve promised to clean up this blog, making sure that all the links still work. I came to an arrangement with Smashwords, offering the novel free during the Read An E-book Week – that’s March 6 – 12): with lots of new tourist-readers coming visiting, that should keep all my characters busy and feeling self-important again. And I’ve given them the right to form a union with characters from other books – what they want me to do is go out and make contacts with lots more novelists.

Privately, I feel betrayed. After all, who would they be without me? But I’m biting my tongue and keeping my powder dry for now. Compromise isn’t such a bad thing, if it preserves my status quo.

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The Most Unusual Book Promotion Ever

May 12, 2010 in Activities | 4 comments

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Postbox

Laggan Cottage, Arran
The setting for Dreamwords

‘Stormbound and trapped in a desolate cottage with a beautiful stranger, an amnesiac boy discovers that he has been there before and that the ghosts haunting the place are there for him.’

That’s the trailer for Paul Story’s book, Dreamwords. And the cottage is real. Nestled beneath a 1000-foot hillside on the craggy Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland, facing the mainland across an expanse of sea. Remote. A couple of miles from the nearest road, four miles from the nearest village. No electricity, no services, a lonely landmark for the island’s walkers.

We’ve talked before about innovation on this blog. How it’s the fiercely independent writers who are most likely to exploit the potential of new media and find new routes to market. And you may remember how in an early post, I described how Cambridge author, Pimbo, sold 80,000 books door-to-door a couple of decades back. Well, here’s an approach to book marketing that turns Pimbo’s story on its head. Instead of taking books to the readers, Paul Story takes his books to a place where readers come to him. Where? Not a bookshop. Not an airport. Not even Amazon -- well not the print version anyway. Where better than the cottage on the north-east coast of Arran where the novel takes place? Laggan Cottage -- one of the most desolate places in the British Isles.

Paul has pitched a tent alongside the cottage, lays out his books every morning, carefully protecting them from the elements, and that’s where he intends to stay for the next two months, till early July. So who will his readers be? Walkers, hikers -- because Laggan happens to be on one of the favourite trails for those exploring the island on foot. People who are likely to be enchanted by the rugged beauty of the island, already captivated by its legends. Dreamwords adds another legend. And on the trail, how can they not be fascinated to find a real live author living out in the wild, and stop to spend a few minutes talking?

But innovation doesn’t stop there. A hiker stops, talks to the writer, gets interested in the book, wants to take one. What then? Chances are the walker’s not carrying cash. A credit card transaction then? Laggan’s hardly the place. There’s a different way. Paul calls it the ‘Honesty Edition’. If someone wants to take a book, they don’t pay now but later, through the Dreamwords website. No sales record is kept. Paul relies entirely on the honesty of the customer. In today’s world that’s astonishingly, refreshingly different.

The writer has no illusions: ‘Of course there will be some who don’t pay, others who forget. But on the whole, I think most people will remember the experience of meeting me at Laggan. They’ll think of me not as some remote unapproachable novelist, but as a living, breathing, working (and sometimes shivering) writer. I hope most will actually read my book, and that some will love it. I’ve printed 10,000 books. If I stay in the minds and thoughts of 1,000 readers, and they’re looking out for the next book in the Dreamwords series, then I can count this adventure a success.’

Crazy? Some will think so. But I don’t. What Paul Story has realized is that when tens of thousands of other writers, now freed from the shackles of traditional publishing, are competing for reader attention, it’s not enough just to have a good book. You need a good story (- and a good surname doesn’t hurt either!) What he’s done, in classic marketing terms, is to identify his niche -- he knows who will love to read his book, and he’s thought very hard about how to reach them. More than that, he’s found a way to engage -- not with a 20-second encounter at a book-signing, but by creating an event where readers can interact with the writer one by one and in their own time.

It’s early in the walking season, and as I write, Britain has just had its coldest May night in fifteen years. Yesterday a conversation with interested walkers was interrupted by hail. It’s not going to be easy for Paul, but it’s an extraordinary example of commitment to writing and left-field marketing. Follow along with Paul on his Facebook page, join up, and cheer him along.

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And now for something completely different -- and to put you in a Scottish mood -- here’s the story of Ewan McTeagle, a poet who took a more commercial approach to writing.

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The Rapscallion Framework

April 23, 2010 in Rapscallion | 3 comments

Core skills

Today I’m going to propose a structure for Rapscallion.

I announced a few days back my plans to launch a ‘seed publishing’ operation, helping talented indie writers to work together, share resources, build credibility through association, and reach the widest possible market. A number of you posted excellent questions and responses, helping me to clarify my thoughts.

What I’m presenting today is imperfect, and will be further modified in the coming weeks – but it serves as the basis for discussion. This time I am asking for your views. Where can you see weaknesses in the approach?

Let’s start with the core skills needed for an effective team. I’ve listed on the left expertise that would have helped me as I brought my novel to the market. It’s a combination of the support I might have expected to get from an agent and a publisher, had I trodden the traditional route. The length of the list is some indication of how difficult it is to do everything alone.

As an aside, I imagine that some of you will be thinking that if I need standard agency/publisher skills, why not look for an agent and a publisher? Three reasons. I want to do it now, on a schedule that suits me, not others. Second, I want to retain as much control as possible, and have the ability to experiment and innovate. And third, some of the core skills are not currently provided by most agents and publishers – for example, guidance on web and blog design, which I’d rate amongst the most important marketing tools.

The first skills listed are self-evident, a few would only be required in some cases (such as voices and musicians – only, I imagine for audio books), but some need further explanation:

  • Legal/Financial Advisors – to make sure that this international operation is properly and efficiently structured, and to help members to negotiate contracts with third parties when the time comes.
  • Bloggers – to design and then maintain the Rapscallion blogs, one a dynamic shared resource for members, and the other an interactive site where we engage with (and sell to) readers.
  • Researchers – all members will be expected to share and publish their research … for example, perhaps you’ve been researching POD companies, or have found a great reviewer, or a cheaper way for us to get ISBNs …
  • Publicists – people who know how to manage an effective PR campaign, whether for Rapscallion or for an author.
  • Marketers – in particular people who have their finger on the pulse of the latest publishing trends.
  • Administrators – to make sure that sales are tracked, royalties paid on time … and for dozens of other small but important jobs.
  • Specialists – as required, people who can verify specialist/technical content in a book.
  • Critics – not just literary critics, but people we can trust to give a contrary (but balanced) view when we’re hopelessly optimistic.
  • Influencers – people who would help to give weight and credence to the imprint; or who have significant influence with major publishers.

What else? Tell me.

Let me now show you the proposed Rapscallion structure, and explain how everything fits together.

What you see here is a very simple business structure with three layers – a strategic level, operational management, and a set of small independent cells – what management guru Tom Peters might call skunkworks operations.

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Strategic Management – The Think-Tank

The role would be to set and approve strategy and (later) budgets. I envisage five or six people in the team – and between them, I would want most of the core skills to be represented. They would not necessarily be writers. Committed readers would add value in the same way that non-executive directors in a business can often provide an invaluable objective, and perhaps consumer-oriented view.

The Think-Tank would be a sounding-board for the operational manager(s) and would regularly review the performance of the management team and the organization as a whole. They might expect to contribute around 15 hours a month to Rapscallion.

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Writer Cells

I’ll move next to the bottom of the organization chart – what I’ve called writer cells (- and yes the pun is intentional).

Why Writer Cells?

Let’s use a simple example, my situation right now. I’m marketing a novel that fits broadly into an “international” category. Forget the literary fiction tag that I’m stuck with at the moment. My book is likely to appeal to people who think internationally. So where will I find readers? Probably readers of the Christian Science Monitor would like it. In paperback, it would probably be a good airport book. If I can plug into expatriate networks on the web, that’ll be helpful too.

But think how much more effectively I could make an impact if alongside mine, there were 3-4 other novels under the same imprint that would appeal to the same kind of reader. That wouldn’t be competition, but reinforcement – establishing loyalty to the brand. So if I were the leader of the ‘International’ cell, my job would be to headhunt other indie writers I admire with the same kind of market appeal, and persuade them to join Rapscallion.

What would writers get by participating?

  • The experience and knowledge of the Rapscallion team.
  • The strength of the brand – credibility, which will grow as we deliver more outstanding books.
  • Editing and preparation of the book for publication.
  • Preparation for e-publishing, if the writer chose this route to market
  • Guaranteed early reviews, and assuming writers have been invited to join because our team thinks their work outstanding, they’d be good reviews.
  • Positioning alongside books that attract similar readers.
  • Assistance and ideas for the marketing plan.

Importantly though, final decisions on format, pricing, sample material, etc would continue to be decisions made by each individual writer. And writers would be free to leave Rapscallion at any time (following exit procedures that are clear and fair to all), if they felt they would do better elsewhere.

What would be required from the writer?

  • Conformity with Rapscallion’s branding standards (although cover design decisions would be left to the writer).
  • X reviews of other Rapscallion books per year.
  • Participation in the Rapscallion blog.
  • Constant promotion of the Rapscallion brand – through email signatures, blog and Facebook links, etc.

Above all, we’d be looking for people who are prepared to spend a few hours a week promoting their own books and, at the same time, Rapscallion. To take an analogy from basketball, we really wouldn’t be interested in players who just wanted to take all the free throws – no matter how talented they may be; we need people who are willing to play the whole match with the team.

What would it cost?

This is difficult. Nothing up-front for sure, or at least not if the writer just required the standard services listed above. But my inclination would be to suggest that a percentage of royalties should be deducted. Some of this would be paid to the leader of the cell the writer belongs to (- we’ll go into more detail later). This would have a two-fold effect. First the cell leaders would be paid for the work they do. (What work? Again, details below.) Second, this would encourage team-leaders to select their members wisely – choosing books that complement their own and which are likely to be well-received by readers.

The writer would also be able to purchase additional services from the Rapscallion store, if required. If for example, they wanted help with art-work or photography, or specific legal advice. The store would include services offered by other members, and those provided by recommended third parties. In such cases, payment would probably be required with purchase.

How would the teams be managed?

By their team-leaders, who would generally select their own team-members. Teams would be limited to 4-5 writers, and the leaders would be personally take responsibility for making the standard Rapscallion services available to team-members – editing, preparing for e-publication, assisting with marketing, etc

How would we control this? Our team leaders need to be trained, and approved … And it’s time to turn our attention to Rapscallion’s management layer …

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The Creative Director(s)

Day-to-day management of the organization would be in the hands of the Creative Director, reporting to the Think-Tank and responsible for maintaining quality and stimulating innovation within the writer cells.

Functions

  • Training for potential team-leaders – so that they can deliver the standard services; those who prove to us that they have the skills and qualities to maintain a Writer Cell will be authorized to do so.
  • Ongoing assistance for authorized team-leaders.
  • Right of veto over potential team-members whose work does not meet Rapscallion standards (- with a right of appeal by the team-leader to the Think-Tank; the Creative Director would ask the Think-Tank for a second opinion, if uncertain).
  • Final approval required on any Rapscallion material to be published – whether books or blogs.
  • Resource co-ordinator
  • Creative ideas generator

Just as in any business, the operational manager’s success will be judged by his/her ability to make money for the enterprise, and therefore for its author-members. But even more important we’ll need to be able to measure the amount of exposure our writers are getting, and whether they are attracting the attention of the publishing majors.

Expansion of the role

In the organization chart above, I’ve included three notional Writer’s Cells. The objective of course, in order to build the imprint’s credibility, would be to stimulate the formation of far more Cells … as long as we keep identifying talented writers and find people who are prepared and qualified to be team-leaders. Even with three or four cells to support, it’s likely that the Creative Director will have a full-time job, and as more cells are formed, we’re likely to need more than one person in this position. There could then be a requirement for one more level – someone to co-ordinate the activities of all the creative directors.

And, given that theirs will be a full-time job, we’ll probably need to find a way to pay the creative directors. Where will that money come from? Well, I haven’t done the math yet, but suppose we had an arrangement along these lines? From their net royalty income, writers would pay a 20% deduction to Rapscallion. 10% would go to their team leader. The other 10% would go to a Rapscallion fighting fund, administered by the Think-Tank. From this an agreed salary would be paid to the creative director(s), always assuming that Rapscallion income was greater than the salary – if the managers failed to run the business well therefore, they’d fail to make their salary. A little different from the banks!

Where would a royalty arrangement like this leave the author? In a much better position, relatively speaking, than in an agent/publisher relationship, where after deductions, authors typically earn less than 8% of the published price.

I’d like your views on this idea of royalty sharing – and then we’ll do the math properly. I’ll also show you typical indie author royalties, for self-publishing, POD and e-publishing, so you can see the full picture.

We’re some weeks (if not months) away from cutting the tape on Rapscallion. Before we go into full operation, there are procedures to be written and agreed, and right now, a good deal of market testing. As you may have noticed, that’s already started. So next time, I’ll tell you how you could participate in the test phase.

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With A Little Help From My Friends

April 18, 2010 in Rapscallion | 10 comments

Rapscallion

I can’t think of many reasons why I would want an established publisher to handle my novels. On the whole I’d prefer readers to enjoy my books now, not when I’m dead. Even if I got lucky and it didn’t take half a lifetime to find the ideal agent/publisher, I’d regret giving up control over my work. And I’m not impressed by the poor earnings mid-range published authors (like Lynn Viehl) report: if a writing career means life in a garret, I’d prefer to gather in the thin rewards myself, not pay for someone else’s pension plan.

But there’s one big advantage that the big publishers bring. Credibility. With a capital C.

If Credibility was just a matter of self-esteem – Ma, guess who’s just agreed to publish me? – then it would be no big deal. But it is a big deal, because Credibility is what’s going to get you reviews, and reviews are going to help get you readers, and readers are going to get you more readers.

Think about it. How many books have you read recently when you’ve never heard of the author and there were no recommendations? Books and authors with zero credibility. That’s where we all start as Indie writers. As I’ve put it before: we’re on the top shelf in the darkest corner of a back room in a bookstore that nobody ever visits.

Unless …

Unless we do what the publishers do. Hunt in packs. Work as a team. Build a market together. If my reader numbers are still small and your reader numbers are still small, and we both enjoy one another’s work, then it makes sense to search out those readers together. Because when someone does find my book and enjoys it, and they see that I’m an admirer of yours, the chances are reasonable that they might try your book too. And vice versa. Add a third good writer into the mix, and the chances are even higher for all of us. How do we do that? We agree to share an imprint. Like, say, Rapscallion.

There are other consequences of this approach. It’s important to me now that readers like your book. It has to be as good as it possibly can be – for my sake. The same with my book – for your sake. So it makes sense for us to work together helping one another. How? Well, cross-editing for example. Or if I’ve got web experience, maybe I can advise you on putting together a good website. If you’re an artist or a photographer, maybe you can help me with my cover design. And maybe the third writer works in another life as a marketing expert or a lawyer. So let’s bring those skills on board too. Also we can all start reviewing one another – honestly, critically and professionally of course, because if a reader detects that we’re making false claims for one another, then we all quickly lose credibility.

What does this make us? A publisher? Well, not exactly. This is more a collaboration than a business: authors still retain their own copyrights and can opt in and out of the scheme at any time. So is it a literary agency? Not exactly that either. Rapscallion – because that’s what I’m calling this collaboration – will absolutely not be requesting submissions: I don’t want to be in the business of disappointment, issuing rejections. Or being submerged with manuscripts we can’t handle. A better way, as I see it, is for Rapscallion to headhunt – to go looking for talented writers and inviting them to join. In a sense, I suppose, we would do the job I’d really like the agent to do: not just find a publisher – but to manage the whole marketing campaign, helping writers reach the widest possible audience and be well-rewarded for their skills. (Think Brian Epstein and The Beatles – if you’re that old!) That’s very much the Rapscallion mission.

Call it a seed publisher, perhaps. A Credibility Conferrer.

Ah – do I hear objections at the back of the room? Elitism, you say? Not in the spirit of the Indie movement? You’re making value judgments. Well, perhaps I am. I’m saying that I admire writers published under the Rapscallion imprint. And that their work complements mine – If you loved this book, then you may also enjoy … And that their work is published to the highest standard. In that sense, elitist. But I’d never deny anyone the right to publish anything they choose to. Nor would I want to see Rapscallion taking control, denying writers their independence. The idea is that the imprint should serve writers, not vice versa.

So it’s sorted then? Indie writers work in teams and find thousands of readers? Unfortunately it’s not as simple as that. Reputation and credibility are built one reader at a time, as Suki and I have seen with our first Rapscallion publications. Have we been delighted with the response so far? No. Is it hard work? Yes. Will it succeed?

I pause for dramatic effect.

You know what’s coming, don’t you? I’m going to ask you for your opinion.

Well, actually, I’m not. Not yet anyway. More important are your questions. How exactly will it work? Who will do the inviting and how many will be invited? How will it grow? How will we maintain editing standards? Will people need to pay for services rendered? Will they be paid for services provided? Will there be a pricing policy? Will we deal with printed books as well as ebooks? How will we cope with different genres – and therefore different readership profiles? Could people join as Rapscallion readers as well as Rapscallion writers? Do we need to be country-bound – or even language-bound?

How would you answer any of these questions? What other questions do you have? And to focus your thinking, let me point you in the direction of a group of writers who started thinking this way before I did. I came across Backword yesterday, when one of their members mentioned them in a post on the Kindle Boards. Interested, I sampled one of their novels last night – R.J. Keller’s Waiting for Spring – and now I’m a fan. I’ll be going back to read more of the Backword books, for sure. So their Indie authors’ collective worked for me. One reader at a time.

Related

The Indie writer – freedom to innovate

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12 Reasons Why Printed Books Will Survive

April 9, 2010 in Publishing | 5 comments

Effective insulation in your home

I love books. Some of my best friends are books. Proper books, the printed ones, with real pages.

Yes, I know I’ve been talking lots about ebooks, and I’ve just published a novel as an ebook with no plans for a print version. Yet.

But books aren’t about to fade away. Here are 12 reasons why, in no particular order – and I’m counting on you to send additional reasons so we have a list of at least 20:

  1. You can touch books. Each one has its own distinct physical identity. Somehow, that makes the story real.
  2. You can smell them too. Books smell like proper books.
  3. Your books let your visitors know who you are.
  4. My book annotations let me know who I am.
  5. Without books, coffee-tables would look empty.
  6. Without books, there’d be no libraries. Without libraries there’d be nowhere to shelter from the rain – except McDonalds.
  7. Books make great gifts. It’s somehow not the same giving someone a voucher, or telling them you’ve gifted them an ebook.
  8. When I’m reading a book I can wrap up with it. I don’t want to wrap up with my email, Twitter and a zillion other things. (That’s why Kindle, a dedicated reader, is likely to be more popular amongst book afficionados than the multi-purpose iPad.)
  9. Books are permanent. Electronic communications tend to be transitory. (How much of the material you had on your computer 5 years ago is still there today?)
  10. Books are safer in the tub – not that I’m recommending dunking, but your book will survive.
  11. There’s still no single ebook standard. What if the e-reader you choose today has no future tomorrow? (Remember all those Betamax videos that you suddenly couldn’t play because there were no Betamax machines any more?)
  12. Books are a great way to insulate your home. For passing on this important information, thanks to the wonderful Boing Boing and Cory Doctorow.

Specialist e-readers, like Kindle and the iPad, will address some of these issues. Some already allow annotations; some are dedicated only to reading; an e-publishing standard, known as EPUB, has already been established. But there are plenty of other reasons in the list for readers to prefer print for their permanent library of favorite books.

If I’m so convinced that printed books have a future, then why have I decided to publish The Lebanese Troubles as an ebook – first on Smashwords, then on the iPad, and from today – April 9th – on Kindle? Because, at this point in my young writing career, e-publishing checks all the boxes.

My story – of expatriates caught up in a war that’s not theirs, and entangled in a byzantine web of relationships – is the first in a series of novels I’m planning to write. My objective for the next 12 months is to find and engage readers who enjoy the settings and themes I deal with. The Middle East – unfamiliar, unmapped, poorly understood. Politics and religion as drivers of human conflict. Nationality, friendship, loyalty. The isolation of the outsider. I’m hoping too that other writers will enjoy my experiments with literary style, as I attempt to create novels that read like playscripts, and let my characters tell their own stories, without author intrusion. Above all, I want to find readers who just enjoy my stories. If I can engage them with my first novel, then perhaps they’ll be looking out for my second, third and fourth.

Nothing about me or my book suggests that The Lebanese Troubles is going to end up on the best-seller lists. I’m not a media/sports star – I haven’t got a stellar following on Twitter or Facebook. I’m not even Joe the Plumber. And my novel’s not exactly mass market material. There are no vampires or extra-terrestrials or people with magical powers or romantic heroes. All-action? All-reaction, more likely. One gun. Not much death. No happy ending. And as for Lebanon? Who cares?

That’s the way publishers are likely to see it. They might love the story, admire the writing style, but they don’t publish books just because they love them. They have to be convinced that there’s a substantial market as well, so that they can recoup their investment. For years, publishers have been wringing their hands and complaining that only one novel in ten makes money. With the perceived threat to their market from ebooks, they’re going to be even less inclined to take a chance on a new author than ever before. And if publishers are cautious, agents will be even more so. They get no credit from publishers for recommending books that don’t sell.

So what do I do? Send off the manuscript to an agent and sit waiting for an answer? For me that seems a bit like sending out a message in a bottle. Sure, someone might see it someday. Could be next week. Could be in fifteen years time. But it’s all a bit hit and miss.

Or I could self-publish or print on demand. But without the distribution network and marketing power of a publisher behind me, how many shops are likely to stock the book? Why should they give their limited space to my novel which might sell a copy or two when they could use it to display a highly promoted best-seller, whose sales will be fifty times higher. Booksellers are feeling the economic crunch too. They’re not likely to take chances either.

So the third alternative is e-publishing. What does that offer?

  1. There’s no financial risk. All it takes to publish on any of the main e-reading platforms is time, not money.
  2. I can actualize my book immediately. I’m finding readers today, not waiting till next year or the year after.
  3. I can target high-potential readers directly. By tagging my novel ‘expatriate’, ‘Lebanon’, ‘relationships’, literary fiction’, ‘Mid-East politics’, anyone who’s searching in any of these categories will see my book listed. Similarly, it’s not too difficult to build links with other books similar to mine. Someone who enjoys journalist Robert Fisk’s books on Lebanon for example, would likely enjoy my novel.
  4. I can see immediately which elements of the marketing strategy are working and which not, and adjust the campaign accordingly. Is the cover making an impact? How many pages of the sample are people actually reading? Is the pricing right? Should I add an index? Is the blog persuading people to go take a look at the novel? It’s all under my control, and I can micro-adjust till I think I’ve got it right.
  5. The share of revenues from most (though not all) e-providers is reasonable, and you’re likely to begin making at least a little money from 3 months after publication.

But for me there’s one fundamental reason why e-publishing is important – and it’s BECAUSE ‘electronic communications are transitory’. The way I see it is that people are going to use their e-readers for the ephemera of life – the daily newspaper, magazines – content that means a lot today and probably won’t tomorrow. For many, I think it’ll be the same with ebooks. They’ll use their e-readers to sample authors, perhaps spend a few dollars buying a book or two. If they think these books are just OK, then no big deal. But when they find a writer they really like, that’s when they’ll go and buy the proper printed books. Because they’ll want those around always.

There’s a good deal of evidence, from the pioneers of ‘free’, suggesting that low-priced ebooks actually help to promote their print sales. I’ve quoted a couple of examples at the bottom of this post. My ebook is not free – because I have no print version at this point. I allow readers to sample up to 50% of the novel, but then set a price that makes it an easy buy, yet is high enough for readers not to feel it’s an inconsequential giveaway. My objective is clear: to use the ebook to build interest and gather attention that will later give me – or a publisher – the confidence that there is a market for my printed books.

So, here’s a new model for publishing fiction. Very few novels make money. Fine, then make the cost of actualization as low as possible – if there’s no cast-iron guarantee that sales revenue will cover costs, then bring out an ebook. Then, publishers and agents, work with the author to build a readership. Set the price low. Help the writer to build a good website or fan page. Make sure there’s two-way communication between writer and readers. Use your marketing skills to guide and advise. If you get the success you’re hoping for, then print the book – or perhaps print the author’s second and third books first, then the first later.

Sounds easy? It’s not. When I visited the Kindle store this morning, I noticed that there were over 122,000 other e-novels vying for attention with mine. Imagine a very large department store. My novel’s in the darkest corner at the top of the tallest shelf in the smallest, least visited department … the question is how to get it out of there and make it a display item in the shop window. That we’ll deal with in the next posts.

To me, the approach I’ve outlined – using ebooks to build a market, particularly for a new writer – makes sound common and business sense. And yet – maybe I’m missing something – I see most traditional publishers moving in the opposite direction entirely. They’re continuing to take risks by bringing out the print version first and delaying the ebook for a few months – so it doesn’t impact the print sales. They’re pressing for digital rights management (DRM) on the grounds that this will make copying more difficult. They’re wrong – copying will always be possible, and all they’re achieving is making ownership more difficult. And just to be sure they do motivate the pirates, publishers are trying to drive ebook prices up – to around $14.99 – instead of down to build markets. Anyone would think they were trying to kill off ebooks to preserve print.

If that is the plan, publishers won’t succeed. Ebooks are here to stay. So are printed books. But the publishers themselves – will they survive? I’m not so sure. Not those who don’t quickly recognize the new realities, I suspect.

References

Cory Doctorow and the philosophy of free (Please ignore the first sentence on ‘socialized medicine’ – that’s another debate)

Study: The Short-Term Influence of Free Digital Versions of Books on Print Sales – Journal of Electronic Publishing

Publishers delay ebook releases – New York Times

Kindle fans strike back at publishers who delay ebook releases - Techdirt

O’Reilly e-book sales increase after dropping DRM - Boing Boing

Ebook price increase may stir readers’ passions – New York Times

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The Lebanese Troubles – read it now at a computer near you

April 1, 2010 in News | No comments

The Lebanese Troubles

I didn’t plan to do this quite this soon.

I’ve been talking about the importance of steadily building a market for my books, engaging readers – and I’m still just beginning. I really didn’t expect to publish till sometime towards the end of April.

But something came up. An opportunity that was too good to miss.

If you’ve been following, you’ll know that Rapscallion (I know, I know, I’ll tell you about Rapscallion soon) published two short stories as ebooks at Smashwords recently, one from me, the other from Suki Michelle. Then, quite unexpectedly a few days back, Smashwords mailed me to say that they’d reached a deal with Apple for their entire list of ‘approved’ books (i.e. those that met fairly stringent formatting requirements and had an ISBN) to be available on the iPad at launch in the US on Saturday 3rd April. But new books had to be ready for publication by yesterday.

According to tech-insiders Mashable, around half a million iPads have been pre-sold. And much has been made of the iPad’s challenge to Amazon’s Kindle for a share of the e-reader market. Who’ll win that battle? I don’t really care. But what I do care about is that there’s a sudden massive surge of interest in ebooks, and it’s a good time to publish. And that’s why The Lebanese Troubles (as well as our two short stories) will shortly be available on all the leading e-readers.

Am I expecting a huge response? No. Simultaneously 60,000 other books will appear in the Apple catalog – that’s a lot of competition. But even if one or two new readers find the book, then my work in re-editing and re-formatting the manuscript this week will have been worthwhile. As I’m finding, the way to build a market is one sale at a time.

(Just a quick word of thanks here to all of you who reviewed the novel at The Next Big Writer. Lots of your suggestions were incorporated in the final edit – you did a fine job keeping me on track.)

So, you’re not planning to buy an e-reader yet? That’s fine. Nor am I. But you can still read The Lebanese Troubles on your computer right now, in any format you choose – larger font, different typeface, .pdf file. All you need to do is click on the book cover at the top of this post and you’ll be taken directly to the right place. Anyone can read the first half of the novel for free (with Smashwords, it’s up to the writer to decide how much sample material to allow). If you want to read on, you’ll need to sign up with Smashwords and pay the $5.99 $1.99 price.

Unless, that is, you want to review. Right now, good professional reviews are very important to me. I’m looking for thoughtful, honest comments, that will show other readers why they might be interested in the book (or not) – without giving the whole story away, of course. Nothing too long, and no “‘ra-’ra, awesome” reviews, thank you. So if you’re willing to step forward and volunteer, just send a reply below, and I’ll mail you a special code which will get you a review copy free of charge.

I’d also be interested in your comments on the cover design and the introductory blurb on the Smashwords page – especially if you don’t know anything about the book. Does it make you want to read on or not? What sort of novel are you expecting?

So that’s it – my novel is published. But it’s now, I anticipate, that the hard work will really begin.

Related reading

If you’re a book-reader, should you buy an iPad – Christian Science Monitor

iPad sold out – Mashable

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A Writer’s Objectives

March 5, 2010 in planning | 12 comments

 

In my first post I mentioned that my objective was not simply to see my name in print. What I want is:

To be a full-time creative writer engaging enough readers and generating enough income to support myself and my family.

In business, that would be called a mission statement.

I’ve chosen the words carefully. ‘A creative writer‘. That rules out taking on writing and research assignments for others. Plenty of writers do supplement their income like this, but it’s not for me: I know I’d lose focus and there wouldn’t be enough hours in the day for my creative work. That’s always been the problem – finding enough time to do the writing that really matters to me.

‘Engaging readers‘ is different from ‘winning fans’. We saw in the previous post that Josh Woodward has used the web to attract huge numbers of fans, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he has huge sales. In the age of viral marketing, all of us are signing up, subscribing, following – it’s a fad. How many times this year have you signed up for a site? How many do you continue to follow? How often have you parted with money?

Engagement is converting brand recognition into brand loyalty. More important than the number of fans is the number of people who come back and read again, the amount of time they spend reading. And ultimately whether they’re willing to put their hand in their pocket for the work I sell. As Gary Stein explains in a recent post, the most effective interactive marketers are ‘forcefully evolving their engagement strategies away from a simple number of who-has-the-most-fans to something that actually has some value: what-do-my-fans-get-me?’

There’s much more to say about engagement; in my next post I’ll explain how I propose to build it, and how I’m going to measure it. But now I need to expand on my mission statement. It’s still too vague. The stated objective is to generate income to support my family. How much income – and in what timeframe? Without real numbers, there’s no way to evaluate success or, later, to judge whether the strategy needs adjustment.

What I’m doing here is to apply to myself the same rules I’ve been using in my professional career for the past few years. As a business consultant, I’ve helped businesses and individuals to define their objectives and then manage achievement. The golden rule is always to set up measurable targets. When individuals say they want a career-change, I ask them to write their resumé – as they want it to look in three years time. Then together we work out a route-map to get there, with clear milestones.

I’m not giving myself the luxury of a three-year plan. I know myself too well. When I dive into a project, I find it very difficult to focus on anything else – I’m not a multi-tasker. So if I’m going to get serious about writing, I need writing to support me within one year. Support – what does that mean in real money? Well let’s not get over-ambitious or write in too many luxuries. In fact, let’s depersonalize it, by setting as a target the equivalent of the UK minimum wage for a 40-hour week. That’s around $18,000 per year. Of course I’m not going to start earning right away. But by March 2011, I need to be earning a net income from writing averaging at least $1,500 per month.

If I was stacking shelves in a supermarket it would be a breeze. For a writer it’s not so easy. But by setting my objectives, I’m already sensing the shape of the plan.

  1. At this stage in my career I won’t be looking for an agent or a publisher. Even if by some stroke of good fortune I was signed up quickly, it would take months before a book appeared on the shelves. Any advance for an unknown first-time novelist would be relatively small – certainly lower than $18,000. Assuming I earned a 10% royalty on a $14.99 book, I’d have to be selling 1500 books a month to meet my target. That very rarely happens – not at the beginning of a career.

  2. E-publishing looks a better bet than self-publishing or print-on-demand. It’s faster – and I need to get started as soon as possible – less expensive, less risky, easier to distribute, and while a novel would be priced lower (typically around the $4.99 mark – anyone like to research this?), the royalty would be 70% or greater. This would leave me with only around 425 books to sell per month to reach my target.

  3. But even this sales target is high. There will need to be other sources of creative-writing income. So what might they be?

(Now it’s time for you to put your thinking caps on: let’s have some left-field thinking – can we learn anything from musicians, artists, business, politicians … did you hear today that Tony Blair is getting a £4.5 million advance from Harper Collins for his forthcoming autobiography?)

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