Bestselling Author: An Interview with Tara Sivec

Today I have an excerpt of a recent interview on the HBS Author’s Spotlight with Bestselling Author Tara Sivec. She is the author of the Chocolate Lovers series and the top ranking novel, 'A Beautiful Lie', the first book in the Playing with Fire series.


Author Genre: Romance/Suspense, Humor, Chick Lit
 

Author Description:
Tara Sivec is a wife, mom, chauffeur, soccer coach, babysitter, short-order cook, genius and the funniest person she's ever met. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two kids. In her spare time she likes to write and make people spit Diet Coke out of their nose. Most of her material comes from real life experiences with family and friends. Lucky for them, the names have been changed to protect the innocent (aka, drunk).

SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Let’s start with what’s next. Are we going to get to read another Playing with Fire novel soon? You know you still have Chocolate Lovers out there. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Yes! I’m in the process of writing the next Playing with Fire book right now. It’s called “Because of You” and I hope to release it early April. Each book in the series will be about a different Navy SEAL from the first book. This will be Brady’s book. Brady has been to hell and back since the SEAL mission in the Dominican and he’s opened his own PI firm. He’s hired to investigate a stalker that’s been sending notes to one of the biggest pop stars in the world – Layla Carlysle. Layla has suffered through her own tragedies and behind closed doors, doesn’t live the glamorous, amazing life that everyone thinks she does. Brady and Layla are quick to judge one another but they’ll need to trust each other and put aside their differences before the letters being sent to Layla become a reality.

You have a good following on Twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?

I absolutely credit social media for my success. Without it, I doubt anyone would have ever read my books aside from family and friends, who kind of have to or I’ll disown them LOL! As an indie writer, you have to rely heavily on things like Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and word-of-mouth to get your name out there. I have met so many amazing and supportive people throughout this process and I am so grateful they took a chance on a new author and continue to promote my work.

You do a lot of book signing, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online? Are you scheduled to come to Phoenix and who are you signing with?
(Orlando Wicked Girls Book Weekend/Book Signing: February 15 - 18, 2013)

I wish I could do book signings every single day! It is amazing to meet fans and my fans are the best – they are so much fun! My next book signing is in Orlando, Florida next weekend. You can keep up to date with all of my upcoming signings under the “Events” tab on my website: www.tarasivec.com or on Facebook.

There is actually a book signing in the works for Arizona, I have an organizer looking into locations right now so hopefully I’ll have news on that soon.

What kinds of support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

No real support groups, per say. I have a handful of absolutely wonderful indie authors and book bloggers who I’ve made friends with the past year that are always there for support or to lend an ear when I send them rambling emails or text messages! It’s amazing to have made friends with people in the indie world who know exactly what you’re going through and are willing to help you and answer questions for you.

Between your book writing, book signings, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do your sort of play it by ear?

I seriously have no idea who I do it! I just quit my job of 14 years back at Thanksgiving and I look back on the last year and I’m amazed I even wrote a sentence, let alone four books! I try to have a set schedule. I drop the kids off at school in the morning and then I have the house to myself all day to focus. But being the creative type, my brain doesn’t have a schedule to follow so when something hits, I can’t ignore it. I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone, the notepad app open and ready for some notes or an actual notepad and a pen. Having a smartphone means I never really stop working. You can find me answering emails or responding to Facebook posts at 2am most nights when I should be sleeping!

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

I didn’t go into this thinking I was going to become a millionaire. I started writing because I love it. I have a tattoo on my arm that reads “I write because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” I HAVE to write and I am happiest when people are reading the words I’ve written. If I have to give away free books to get my name out there more, that’s okay with me. One free book could bring in five new fans when the person tells them they loved the book, and that is totally worth the price. I do a lot of giveaways on my website and Facebook page. I love giving back to the fans who have been such amazing supporters. I’ve never really run into any obstacles aside from running out of books and having to order more. But that’s an obstacle I don’t mind!

How effective has your book tours been? Do you see an uptick in your sales and ranking after a tour?

I actually never knew what a book tour was until my third book in the Chocolate Lovers series! I’m so glad I did some research! They definitely help with the sales and getting the word passed around that I have a new book out just in case someone missed the information on my own personal social media pages. My last tour had over thirty blogs participating, it’s mind boggling! Each blog posted information about my latest release and the links where you could buy it, which is huge. They each have an amazing number of followers and it’s a great way to reach so many people at one time that I would never be able to do on my own.

Your latest release was a romance/suspense novel. Did changing hats create any problems? Which genre do you enjoy writing the most? Does moving from one to the other give you some breathing room or change of pace?

Romantic suspense is my absolute favorite genre to read so I knew writing a book in that category was going to be in the cards for me at some point. I think the only problem is that I am known for my comedy. A lot of people were nervous to read something completely different from me and they weren’t sure if I could pull off such a huge leap. I don’t know if I really enjoy one more than the other. It’s almost like asking me which child I love more! I love them both equally, but some days one is definitely easier than the other. Comedy is easier for me to write most days because I write my characters the way I talk and they interact with others the way I interact with others. Romantic suspense though is more challenging and sometimes more fun. It involves a lot of research and a lot of notes trying to remember the timeframes and the facts I’ve already made known so I don’t get confused. When I write romantic suspense, I have post-it notes littering my desk and my walls and a dry-erase board to keep track of time lines. When I write comedy, I have lots of bottles of wine handy.

It was definitely nice taking a break from comedy and doing something different. If I stuck with the same genre, I feel like I would get stale and everything would start sounding the same. I hope that bouncing between genres will keep me fresh.

I think your Merchandise Store is a unique approach. Do your readers/fans buy products from the store so they try to get as much of you as they can or is it the unique stuff their after?

I love my Cafepress store and I wish I had more time right now to add additional items to the inventory. I think they are definitely after unique things. Their favorite quotes from the books on a shirt is definitely a top seller.

Author's Book List

A Beautiful Lie - Playing with Fire, #1
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Amazon  - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
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Troubles and Treats - Chocolate Lovers #3
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Amazon  - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
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Futures and Frosting - Chocolate Lovers #2
Amazon  - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
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Seduction and Snacks - Chocolate Lovers #1
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Amazon  - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords
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Takeaways:

How much do building relationships and social media play in your marketing plans?

Do you do book signing, interviews, speaking and personal appearances?

How effective has your book tours been?

What has been your experience in giving your books away free?

Have you tried to setup a Merchandise Store to publicize your books?
 

Tara’s Contact Information

Website: tarasivec.com
Twitter: @tarasivec
E-Mail: tara@tarasivec.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest

Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight.

Original Post: Tara Sivec – HBS Author’s Spotlight
Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.

Indie eBook Marketing: When You Get to the Fork in the Road, You Must Take It.

So you just created your first book and you’re done with the editing. You have someone lined up to help you with the formatting and to help you upload the ebook to the online retailers.

You’re an indie author and you’re going to self-publish. The ebook will be available for anyone in the world to buy. Look out Patterson and Hocking. Your Romance novel is in a hot genre. It won’t be long until you’re helping find someone to play your lead character in Hollywood. It’s the author’s dream.

One of the first things you realize is that you’re not alone. There are hundreds of authors in your same position with that ‘must read love story’ and they are all fighting for the reader’s attention.

The next thing you realize, you didn’t start marketing soon enough and there is no one to hold your hand while you do it. You will find out quickly that trying to sell your novel is a full time job. 

Marketing

The first big decision: Do you go the social media route or do you hit the pavement?

Do you try to build a large social network or do you rely on the online retailers, word of mouth and a website to do the selling for you?

There are a lot of questions and the answers aren’t easy to come by. 

The Paper Route

If you are from the old school and you’re trying to adjust to online marketing, going Indie presents some problems. Your sales will rely directly on your marketing approach and you find out quickly it is going to be a long journey.

There are a dwindling number of book stores and there are no publishers helping you will drive. The covers and the blurbs are up to you or someone you engage to write them.

Your book may get great reviews but your challenge is to get someone to read them and then buy your book.

There is no shelf space limit to worry about. In fact, the problem is just the opposite. The shelf space is limitless and so is the number of authors, all trying to find a way to attract readers to their book.    

The Need for Speed - Online Marketing

You are how competing in the online world and the Internet Super Highway speeds up the whole process. Readers can buy your book 24/7, if they can find it.

This approach is what I call the Conventional Online Method. You self-publish your book and post it at an online retailer’s site. In turn, they provide the reader/prospective buyer with information, so they can make a buying decision. That may include reviews, star-ratings, book descriptions, your author profile and a bestseller tag, if you’re lucky.

This is, in itself, a passive approach to marketing. You need to use more of the Internet to make your presence felt and to sell your books.

There are many things you can do at this point to draw attention to yourself, as an author.

You can create an author’s blogs and have an Internet site with contact information. You can conduct giveaways and promotions or participate in book tours. You can provide your readers with free content and samples of your work.

There are a lot of things you can do online to promote your book.

The web is a vast arena for the Indie author. If you look hard enough you will find book trailers (live movie trailers), videos, pictures and other promotional material marketing books.

So you are all set up. Now how do you get readers to look at your book and buy it? 

Now the Fork - Enter Social Media

The questions that really stand out if I go down this road are:

How do I target my genre and the readers in my genre?

How do I jump start my marketing activity?

How do I engage readers and get them to take a look at my book?

Should I make that turn in the road and get in the fast lane?

Should I get involved in social media? I mean really involved.

When I am talking about social media, I am talking about Twitter and Facebook. They are the most popular communication methods with the most activity and the biggest audience.

What will you find if you go down that road?

1. When you take this fork in the road, you will really have to shift your direction.

2. You will need to develop friendships and relationship with readers and other writers.

3. You will also find out real quick that you need more time in the day to work your social media crowd and write and do all the other things that will get in your way.

4. You will find interaction with others is the key to developing an audience.

5. You will find that this is not a smooth road.

6. You will find crazy drivers and lots of traffic.

7. You will find if you’re use to writing your thoughts in an email, 140 characters are not enough to get your message across.

8. You will find once you start building your following that Twitter has a barricade of 2001 followers plus 10%  and that can be a problem.

9. You will find you need to keep working the system.

So do I go all in and take the turn to the left, down the fast lane or do I go the conventional route? 

How do I get in the fast lane and step on the gas?

With the ‘how do I’ part of this, I turned to two veterans of the social media trip.
 

M.R. Mathias

Author M.R. Mathias @DahgMahn (http://www.mrmathias.com) is an award-winning self-published Fantasy Writer. At the last count, he had over 88,000 followers on Twitter. He is a true student of the social media game.

His words of advice are:

1, Use social media to get the word out there.

2. Push followers but not too hard.

3. You must keep working it.

4. Be patient. It is a slow building process.

His book is a must read for new Indie authors: The First Ten Steps - To Take AFTER You Publish Your New eBook.
 

Claude Bouchard

Another veteran of social media is prolific Twitter host Claude Bouchard @ceebee308 (http://www.claudebouchardbooks.com). At the last count, Claude had over 300,000 followers.

He is a Canadian, Best-Selling Author who has chosen to use social media big time. He shares his theory with us on going all in with social media.

“It is simple logic…the more followers I have the more people would learn about my thrillers.”

 When asked if he could measure the impact of social media on his sales, he said,

“The honest and correct answer is, ‘I don’t have a clue.’ I do have people occasionally telling me they just bought one of my books but most don’t comment.”

He outlines his process of building a following on Twitter on his blog: How I Really Got a 1/4 Million Followers. 

Is it Worth Taking the Social Media Highway?

What are the benefits by using the social media highway? Here is what some awarding-winning authors had to say about the benefits they got from social media.

(Note: Author’s name links are to their personal profiles with a Q/A session and their book list.) 
 

Benefit: Connection

Joanna Penn @thecreativepenn

“I find social media brilliant for connecting with people, mainly my writing peers and people in the industry.

Here’s my breakdown of how social media can help sell books: Sell Books with Social Media.”
 

Benefit: Discovery

John Needham - @jakeneedham

“I get 20 or 30 communications from readers through it every day. Happily, not a small number of those communications are from readers who tell me they are happy to have just discovered my books through something that somebody said on Twitter.

Facebook is a completely different story for me. It's been absolutely useless as a communication tool. I hear from virtually no one on Facebook.”

Stacy Eaton - @StacySEaton

“I do … try to stay in touch with fans. I communicate with them when I can on Twitter and get on Facebook ... I like to work with other authors and help them by doing interviews and posting them on my blog …”
 

Benefit or NOT: Effective

Amy Metz - @goosepimpleisms

“I try to like, and share, and post something on Facebook, as well as tweet something on Twitter, every day, but I’m not sure how effective it is.”
 

Benefit or NOT: Avoid Overkill

Cheryl Bradshaw - @cherylbradshaw

“Social media is my primary focus. I use it to promote, but only when I have a new book out or if I am running an incentive, like a freebie.

The main importance for me is using it to connect with my fans and fellow authors. Many authors don’t understand why Twitter doesn’t work for them—and it’s because they are going about it all wrong. They use it to promote their books 24/7. It’s overkill.”
 

Benefit: Sales equals Followers

Katherine Logan - @KathyLLogan

“I’ve discovered that sales are directly related to the number of followers. As one goes up, so does the other. Most of my marketing efforts are Twitter related. I’ve made some incredible friends.”
 

Benefit: Spread the Word

Monica Mathis-Stowe - @MMathisStowe

“Social Networking is an excellent marketing tool. I use Facebook and Twitter … to help spread the word about my novel.”
 

Benefit: Foreign Authors

Maree Ward-Russell - @mibbymw

“Social media is all of my marketing plan. Living in New Zealand has its geographical limitations – especially when your target market is on the opposite side of the world. Twitter and Facebook have become vital for me to reach the masses, without them I would be lost.

You must be prepared to engage with your followers. A reciprocal relationship is the key.”

Anne Allen - @AnneAllen21

Anne is a UK author. She says, “You need a prominent profile before a book is published. I now know that having a writer’s blog is paramount.

I think I’ll just have to keep trying to raise my profile through blog features, book reviews etc.”
 

Benefit: Small Press Experience

R.P. Dahlke - @rpdahlke - @allmysteryenews

“I love hearing from my readers. When I was with a small press, no one could contact me directly. It seemed so silly. Now I have Facebook and Twitter and I've made wonderful new friends, as well as a whole new world of readers for my books.”
 

The Red Flag Review

Rebecca’s comment raised a red flag. Where their groups actually trying to stop authors and readers from communicating via social media? I needed to check this out so I did a quick review. I am sure there are other groups that do not follow this pattern but here is the review anyway.

I decided to check out a small press and see what was going on. I choice a popular small press with over 100 authors in their fold. I was looking for Twitter and Author blog/site activity.

Wow. I wasn’t ready for the results. I stopped after the first 20 authors. I found that 2 authors had Twitter accounts and 4 had their own Internet sites. Apparently everything was being handled by the small press. I realized this was not a big sample, so I had to go the extra mile. 

Top Indie Author Survey

I needed to check the big guys. You know the top Indie Authors as defined by online retailers.

The questions I had to survey were:

How are the very top authors marketing their books?

Are they using social media for their marketing or the conventional method?

Which fork in the road did they take?

The TOP author was driving in the HOV lane at a very high speed. He had in excess of 220k followers on Twitter and he had the 3 top places on the retailer’s best seller list. I think in his case, it’s the quality of the car he is driving rather than being in the correct lane on this one.

What about the rest of the authors? There were 58 more authors to research. My results were all downhill from my star Indie driver. Here is a quick summary of what I found.

Of the 59 Indie Authors, 9 DID NOT have a Twitter account (15%) and 6 DID NOT have an Author’s site or blog (10%).

After analyzing the author’s followers, my conclusion was that 40% of the authors did not use social media to market their books. They had taken the conventional online fork in the road and were letting other online vehicles sell their books.  (Note: The average number of followers was 3000.) 

So what does all this mean?

Here are the takeaways I got:

1. You need to keep working it to get anything out of social media if you’re going to take that route.

2. Social media will help you develop relationships with readers and other authors.

3. The results will be hard to measure.

4. It will be very time consuming to do it big time.

My personal question is: If I chose Twitter and Facebook to market by books, how do I target my genre (Mystery) and the readers in that genre?

What is your takeaway? Which direction will you take? 

Side note:

At the end of the day, Yogi Berra, the famous Yankee baseball player, had the best advice: When you get to the fork in the road, take it. (This quote is classified as a Yogi-isms and makes perfect sense in our Indie marketing effort.) 

Follow me:

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Take a look at my Author’s blog: HBS Author’s Spotlight

Check out the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novels:

Call Off The Dogs

Or newly released

Black Mountain Secrets

Indie Author: You Need a Helping Hand to Succeed.

No matter what anyone tells says, you need help to succeed in book publishing today, especially if you’re an Indie author. There is just too much to do to even have modest success.

The good old days. You know, the days when the book industry was controlled by a small group of publishers and an even smaller group of successful authors. To get into the group, you had to write what the publishers wanted you to write in the correct genre; a book that the publisher could forecast a profit and stay within budget.

At least at the start, they took care of everything. That included marketing, creation and distribution, returns, pricing, editing, cover design, reviews and advances. You know: an all of the above approach.

You did have to write good material, make appearances and sign some books but the good reviews were always going to be there. They were the author’s support group along with the agents. When you got to the second tier of authors, the marketing shifted more and more to the author but the rest of the support was still there.

Then along came the ebook and the online world. Self-publishing became easier and the royalties increased. You were selling books where you never had exposure before.

Along with this came a problem. The publisher’s support was gone so the online community started scurrying for a solution. Authors needed help and support of all kinds to bring their book to market.

You see, the Indie Author is now responsible for everything. Enter the online support groups, stage right.

Support groups are not new. There are many traditional author organizations. For example,

Novelists, Inc. is a national group who helps authors.

Patricia McLinn @PatriciaMcLinn, NINC Past-President, said in a recent post:

“Now, NINC is my primary support group. One of NINC’s many strengths is the collegial attitude among the members. From this one group several others have grown where we share information on writing, marketing and the publishing process.”

All of the Traditional organizations have established local and area chapters to get closer to their members to support them.

Online Support Groups

Online support groups are Internet based. They are support groups with no borders. They have the ability to support authors wherever in the world they lived. Some of them have become as large in membership, as the older, traditional organizations.

There are many groups online now. Some are here for the long run. Others will come and go because Indie authors are requiring more and more from them.

Why should you join a group of strangers?

That question leads into this one. What kinds of support are you going to need and how can an online support group help out?

All online support groups are friendship bound. They rely on the Internet communications between members. Authors can get all the hand holding they need. The groups supply lots of education and training opportunities and they give authors a direction in adapting to the online environment. If you are looking for connections, sympathy, criticism or a helping hand, you are in the right place.

Most groups have, as one of their goals, helping authors market their books. Self-promotion of your book can be quite difficult if you have no help. You can get a host of marketing aide from these online sources. From just displaying your book for sale to book tours and giveaways to expensive sales plans to reviews, you will be able to find help. Some charge a fee, some don’t.

Online groups do offer writing courses, critiques with feedback, almost all online. If you seek it out, you will be able to get help somewhere.

One of the major obstacles for Indie authors is creating the book itself. The proper formatting, cover design, compiling of the document, has a direct relationship to sales.

If you need a hand, the online support community will be there, a mouse click away.

So what can you gain from belonging to a support group?

Let’s check out what experienced authors are saying about support groups? As always, I go to my support group: the HBS Author’s Spotlight crew. They always bring their experience and knowledge to the party.

The following is a list of a few support groups and Spotlight Author comments about their experiences with the groups. (This list is not in any order and not anywhere near all the helpful groups.)

World Literary Café (WLC) + FOSTERING SUCCESS (FS)

This group was formed by Melissa Foster @Melissa_Foster. The World Literary Cafe is an online community that bridges the gap between readers and authors, with the mission of paying-it-forward in the literary field, promoting great literature, and bringing together the literary community. The WLC offers helpful promotions to authors, reviewers, bloggers, and editors by creating avenues to bring them together under one umbrella in an easily navigable venue.  

Also, they provide AUTHOR SERVICES including editing, cover design, formatting, publishing and marketing.

Here is a comment from the founder, Melissa Foster @Melissa_Foster.

“All of my endeavors are pay-it-forward driven. Readers, writers, bloggers, reviewers, and anyone interested in the literary field can join the World Literary Cafe (WLC).

Our goal is to unite the literary community, bring new-to-you authors to readers, and help author promote their work, while teaching them how to take control of their own success. 

The educational arm of WLC is Fostering Success.. At Fostering Success, we offer affordable, effective, easy to understand, courses for writers to learn everything from self-publishing and social media to branding, platform building, and book marketing.”

One of the prominent members, Author Stacy Eaton @StacySEaton had this to say:

“They are a great group! I love the WLC and Melissa is amazing. Those of us that work with the WLC do it because we love it. … we want to help others to succeed.

The biggest benefit that I get from the WLC is the network I have built and the friendships I have formed with so many authors and readers who visit and use the site on a daily basis. 

Other members including authors Rachelle Ayala @AyalaRachelle and Mohana Rajakumar @moha_doha echoed the same praise in their HBS Author’s Spotlight interviews.

I would say Synergy is the hallmark of this group.

The Independent Author Network (IAN)

Founded by William Potter, The Independent Author Network is a group of like-minded authors who are self-published or published by a small indie press. The group is open to authors who are active social networkers at sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. The group works together to support and promote each other online. 

One of our Spotlight Authors, Dani Amore @authordaniamore, talked about the IAN.

“Before I published my first book, I reached out to quite a few authors. I'm sure some of them don't even remember me. I like talking to other authors and I think as a community we're very supportive of each other.”

M. R. Mathias @DahgMahn, another Spotlight author, had this to say:

“When I was spending tons of time on twitter I interacted with these great folks day in and day out. I stay offline most of the time now, as I am writing Dragoneers Book Four - The Emerald Rider but the members of IAN have a great social networking advantage over other Indies.

IAN (#ian1 on twitter ) members retweet each other, "like," read, and review each other's books. They have a forum where readers can interact, and a few hundred blogs between them. If you are just starting then you should look into the IAN.”

Independent Author Index (IAI)

Faydra D. Fields is the creator of the Independent Author Index. The IAI is designed to offer independent authors another avenue of exposure. It is also designed to be engaging and interactive.

Faydra said “Independent authors can definitely use all the exposure they can get since they’re usually responsible for their own marketing.”

Author Devin C. Hughes @DevinCHughes said recently in a Spotlight post about the IAI:

“Faydra Deon's group is awesome and I do occasionally look there for support or clarity around issues or challenges that I encounter since other writers can relate to my situation.

Long Island Romance Writers

Pamela Burford @PamelaBurford is the founder of Long Island Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. When she was asked what the main benefit she got from the group she said:

“Founding LIRW is one of the shining points of my writing career. That was 17 years ago, and that group has blossomed into a thriving writers’ community that offers mutual support, education, and networking opportunities. LIRW is my writing family, and I wouldn’t be the novelist I am without them.”

Indie Writers Unite

Cheryl Bradshaw @cherylbradshaw is the founder of Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook.

“When I was writing my first book, I had so many questions, and I was frustrated about the lack of groups I found over the internet. I knew some traditionally pubbed authors, but they didn’t know much about the self-publishing industry, so I thought maybe I could create a group where writers could come together and get the answers they need when they’re getting started. I cannot express how important the group is in my life. I’ve made lasting friendships, and I credit much of my success to the helping hands I received from my fellow authors when I was just starting out.”

Julia Crane @juliacrane2 answered the following question in a recent post?

What other kinds of support groups do you belong too?
“I’m in many author groups on Facebook (too many to mention). Indie Writers Unite was the first group I joined and I’ve made some wonderful friends there. I think it helps to get ideas from others, and see what is working and what’s not. I’m always looking for new marketing ideas.”

Indie Chicks

Speaking of synergy, this is a small group of outstanding women writers who are together for the long haul. They support each other in many ways: keeping a constant flow of twitter chatter, supporting each other’s books and marketing activities and doing group writing projects. They keep up a constant swirl of activity on the social network.

Cheryl Shireman @cherylshireman started the Indie Chicks.

“I love the Indie Chicks. This is such an extraordinary group of writers. When I first came up with the idea of the Indie Chicks, I discarded the idea immediately. It seemed like such a huge idea - fraught with so many logistical problems. But the idea kept returning.

And, eventually, I could no longer ignore the idea. I came up with a list of my “dream team” of women writers and started contacting them. I asked them if they’d like to be part of a group of women writers who worked together to support and encourage one another, not only in writing but sometimes in life. Almost all of the women I contacted replied with a heart.”

One of the authors from the Indie Chicks, Donna Fasano @DonnaFaz, had nothing but praise for the Indie Chicks.

“I am so lucky to a part this group of talented women. They offer support and a wealth of knowledge, and they're always willing to help in any way they can. I believe the book (Indie Chicks: 25 Independent Women 25 Personal Stories) is successful because we wrote our stories from the heart. When emotion is poured into a story, readers can't help but notice.”

Julia Crane @juliacrane2 commented on a recent writing project with Indie Chicks members.

“I’ve co-written with two separate authors Heather Adkins and Talia Jager. I was friends with both women before we decided to write together. I think we feed off each other when writing, and the process is a lot faster. It’s fun to brainstorm with someone that is also mentally in the head of the characters.”

Historial Fiction Groups

Sarah Woodbury @SarahWoodbury commented on her involvement with support groups in her main genre, Historical Fiction.

“I belong to several groups including, Pasttimes Books and Historical Fiction ebooks. In some ways, those groups are more a way for me to connect with other writers than a way to reach an audience. Word of mouth is still the best way to find people who like my books…

Kentucky Romance Writers

Katherine Logan @KathyLLogan, in a recent interview, talked about a writer’s group she belonged too.

“I’m a member of RWA, Kentucky Romance Writers, and Kentucky Independent Writers. To be a member of KYRW, you have to be a member of RWA. KIW is by invitation only, and you have to be a Kentucky author.”

Kentucky Indie Writers (KIW)

Diane Strong @DianeIStrong comment about support groups:

“I am a member of KIW (Kentucky Indie Writers), a small group of (mostly) independently published authors in Lexington, Kentucky and the surrounding area. They have been a huge support. I'm not sure what I would do without them. I feel very fortunate to have a group of friends I can go to with promotion, publishing, formatting, editing and life questions. They have taught me so much.”

Dawn Ireland’s Critique Group (Houston)

Dawn Ireland @dawnireland said:

“My critique group is just about 20 years old now, and only one person in the group is from the original team. It is very gratifying to help new writers get on the right track. 

One of the hardest things to get across is that they should not be offended by criticism. It only makes your work better, and let's face it, if two or more people have the same comment, that's proof there's something wrong. Some people are shell-shocked when they receive their marked-up pages back and they're covered in red ink.” 

 

Social Media and Retailers

Of course, you can use the common support group like Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Goodreads but it just not the same. Even Amazon provides some help. But when you go to list your book through one of their free book promotions and find out your book is on a list of 75,000 free books, you need more help than that.

So what is next? Do you belong to a support group that will help you get through the rough patches? I think you need help from followers and groups with common interests to yours. What groups do you belong to? Let’s build a list of support groups that have given you a helping hand.

Follow me:

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Or visit my blog: The eBook Author Corner

Take a look at my Author’s blog: HBS Author’s Spotlight

Check out the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novels:

Call Off The Dogs

Or newly released

Black Mountain Secrets

Free Books: Give it away. Just give it away.

I have a Free Book Promotion coming up and I keep hearing the George Strait song ‘Give it Away’ playing in my ears. (Now you know where I get some of the inspirations for my blogs). It was time for me to do some research and talk to several successful authors on how to do this and what their experiences were in giving their books away.

Free books have been a custom in traditional paper books for as long as book reviews have been written. They came with the territory. They were sent directly to a person or an agent. The reader/customer rarely got their hands on a freebie unless they went to the Library.

The Internet has changed all that. The ebook has altered the way we read, distribute and market books. It has increased the competition between authors and retailers and publishers, all at the speed of light. Now one of the most important things for an author is to create an interest in his book with friends and followers online.

One of the methods of choice is a Free Book Promotion.

10 Easy Planning Steps

I’ll start off with ten steps we all should write down and follow if we are going to give our books away.

1.      Start several weeks in advance. First, select the dates and the period of time you want to run your promotion. There is some wisdom used here. The experts say do the promotion for 2 or 3 days in the middle of the week but not at the start of the month. Give yourself enough lead time so you can get everything together.

2.      Get your book and site information together in an easy place to work with. I use a Word document to manage mine.

That includes your book description, the ASIN and ISBN numbers, your cover, the Amazon buy link and any other link that relates to your book. This should include links to reviews and blogs.

3.      Made sure all your support group’s information is updated with the latest book information plus all your author profiles are up to date.

4.      Next, go to the Amazon promotion manager and schedule your Free Book Promotion.

             Review the Amazon Free Promotion Rules before you start. If this blog had more space, I would recommend this step before I published the book but that is a whole different topic.

             Basically, you need to be enrolled in the KDP Select program. You have 5 days to offer your book free every 3 months and you must have exclusive rights for the primary content of the book and Amazon has the exclusive rights to the sales. If you got all of the above, you’re good to go.

5.      I recommend you set up a day to day schedule (at least a 2 week schedule) and decide what you are going to offer free and when? Your book? Giveaway product? A Bonus book? Remember not all things can be done at once and you well run out of time if you’re not careful. 

6.      Start drafting your tweets and your Facebook communications. This is something you can start way ahead of time. Your are going to post them often. Variety is a good thing here. If you just keep sending the same tweet at your followers, they will start skipping over them like some of the other noise out there.

             Here is a sample of two that I created for my upcoming Free promotion. This will give some idea anyway of what I am talking about. Notice I have put the number of characters in brackets after the post. When I get down to tweet time, I know right where I’m at with Twitter.

**********
Start 12/19. FREE Holiday Present. Stone encounters Murder/Espionage on on the Colorado - Black Mountain Secrets http://amzn.to/TZnZJ4   #RT [139]
**********
FREE 12/19 Black Mountain Secrets, a Jonathon Stone Mystery - Murder - Espionage - Intrigue on the Colorado River http://amzn.to/PMC5T2 #RT [139]
**********

7.      Highlight your book trailer if you have one? Black Mountain Secrets

8.      Create a blog or two, highlighting your book and time them to be released just before your promotion. Don’t forget the links back to everything.

             For example, I have three blogs prepared for my promotion. Make sure that other bloggers know the timing of your event as well as other sites that list your book. Remember they need enough lead time to react. That is where scheduling comes in to play.

9.      If you want to try something different, try Pinterest and their pins as a storyboard of your book, like you would a book trailer. Then point your readers to the board.

      I did that, using pictures I took during my research for my latest novel, Black Mountain Secrets. They were the stills from my book trailer. I can’t tell you how this will work out in practice but I know I need to link and tweet this heavily to make it work.

10.  Develop a follow up plan to re-contact your followers to reinforce when and where they can get your free book. This could be by Twitter, Facebook, email or another vehicle of your choice. The key is to keep communicating during and after your promotion.

Yogi says: It’s not over till it’s over. I’ll add to that: And it’s only over when you stop.

Setup Goals and Objectives

Of course, everybody’s primary goal is to sell more books. But there are a lot of ways to look at giving your book away. There are goals and objectives that you should consider.

To tackle this problem, I went to my HBS Author’s Spotlight crew. They are a group of award-winning, bestselling authors, some with very different points of view, who I have interviewed on my blog. They weighed in on their experiences with Free Books. (The links inserted in this post are to the Authors Spotlight interview. A must read.)

Develop a Strategy

One of the first things that was apparent. You need a strategy for giving your books away.

Award-winning  self-published Fantasy Writer, M.R. Mathias - @DahgMahn gave us his point of view.
I give away books all the time. It sometimes helps, sometimes not. Here is how it helps ME: I give away book one of a series, or a prequel type novella. If people like it they buy books two and three. The 23rd thru the 27th of Dec. I am giving away book one of "The Legend of Vanx Malic - Through the Wildwood" on Amazon.

Gaining Reviews

Some authors feel that if they give their books away, it will encourage the reader to write a review. It is much like an understood commitment.

Crime and Horror Author, Jade Varden - @JadeVarden had this experience.

I’ve had good results in that I managed to give books away, but I did not gain a ton of new reviews because of these giveaways... but I did improve communications with the book bloggers.

Looking for Exposure

This was the most popular reason for giving their books away.

Mystery & Thrillers Author, Dave Folsom - @davefolsombooks explained the promotion worked in practice but the outcome was hard to measure.

I have used both the Goodreads Giveaway program and Kindle’s Free Days.  Both resulted in a large number of responses and considerable exposure. How much this affected the sales that followed is difficult to measure… my main goal was exposure … Unfortunately, this is a slow uphill battle… the only minor obstacle was Amazon’s exclusivity requirement.

Mystery Writer and the host of HBS Author's Spotlight blog, James Moushon - @jimhbs is looking for exposure starting soon.

I am starting my first Promotion December 19 for 3 days through Amazon Select for my mystery novel, ‘Black Mountain Secrets’. My main goal is to get exposure for my fiction writing, get reviews and develop an audience. The Jonathon Stone Mystery series is a life long dream of mine that I want to share with Mystery readers.

YA Mystery & Thriller Author, Maree Ward-Russell - @mibbymw gained exposure but didn’t get the bump in sales she wanted.

My only experience has been with KDP direct …  My goal was to get myself ‘out there’ in terms of people getting to know me. At first it went well with 2000 downloads in the first 2 days. Problem is if you give that many copies away free, there is no incentive to buy and I found I had a slump in sales straight after.

Paranormal Action-Adventure and Short Stories Author, Troy Blackford - @TBlackford3 is just starting and he wants exposure.
I've managed to give away thousands of copies … My main goal was getting the work out there and hope people would like it and perhaps spread the word.

Best seller/rankings

Some go through the Free Book Promotion drill to get a higher ranking and in some cases gain the bestseller tag.

Award-winning novelist and speaker, Pamela Burford - @PamelaBurford got both with her promotion and a bonus with her backlist sales.

I made my fun foodie romance, ‘Too Darn Hot’, free beginning in September. My purpose was to rise in Kindle's best-seller lists and to prompt sales of my other books. This was my first freebie promo and it succeeded on both fronts...readers have liked the book enough to buy my other backlist romance, ‘Snowed’.

International Best Selling Author, Stacy Eaton - @StacySEaton had the increase in the rankings that she wanted and more. Plus she continued the marketing push after the freebes with added to success.

I put 'Whether I’ll Live or Die' up free for 2 days last month and gave away over 8,000 copies in 5 countries.

All in all, my experiences with listing my books for free on Amazon have been good. This last giveaway was the best and I loved seeing the numbers roll in. I climbed the rankings to the #21 spot on the Free Kindle Books list.

After I came off my free days, I continued to rank in some of the categories for almost two weeks.

My goal is always to get my story out there into the hands of readers...there were times I did not promote my free day as well as I should.

YA Romance Author, Emily Tippetts - @EMTippetts got exposure and sales but she realized there was more too it than just providing a free book.

I've given books away for free through Amazon's KDP Select program. The first time I did this was March 1 of this year with ‘Someone Else's Fairytale’, and the book shot up to 13th overall in one day. I then ended the giveaway and the book had a strong sales surge and climbed to 194th overall. The surge then subsided to about 20 copies a day...one of the main drivers of a giveaway is people seeing the book high in the rankings...make your giveaway last longer….For about three weeks I had a good sales bump - nothing extreme. I never climbed past 8,000 on the site, but it was noticeable…. It isn't enough to make the book free, you have to get the word out to people who are looking.

Branding

Another reason for giving a book away is to create or improve your brand. Branding sells books in the future.

Award-winning speaker and a bestselling author, Devin C. Hughes - @DevinCHughes has a two edged sword here. One side is book sales and the other is promoting his speaking tour.

I give away quite a few books to a variety of folks who attend my events … I giveaway books to promote me and my brand.

Pre-Promotion plan

The days leading to your free promotion should be heavy in your planning schedule. This is the period leading to the start of the sale.

1.      Get your blog out there to your followers. I plan on having three blogs posted two days before my promotion begins, all with links back and forth plus to my Amazon buy page. You’ll see related posts on the eBook Author’s Corner, the HBS Author’s Spotlight and the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novels blogs.

2.      Start tweeting like mad, they say. I will dig into the tweets I created in my planning stage and start tweeting at regular intervals each day for the next two weeks. Notice I am not going to stop when the free promotion is over.

3.      List with other blogs – the more listings you get the better.

Now Let’s Give It Away

It’s time for your scheduled free days and to put your plan in motion. Contact your promotional sites and support groups. Timing is everything.

Amazon will do their thing but you need to keep working. It’s time to post on your Facebook pages, tweet the world, contact the groups that you belong to and get it rolling with your support groups.

Like Melissa Foster - @Melissa_Foster from the World Literary Cafe suggests: “Get authors in a cross promotion group and tweet like crazy (and thank them for it).”

The Give Away is done but we’re not

We need to keep marketing and as one of our contributors suggests: “Don’t lower your price. Keep up the momentum for a few days. If you’re free days ended before the weekend, keep up strong promotion efforts (through social networking) through the weekend.”

Results is the objective

Authors want results for their hard earned time and effort. Here are some opinions from our prized authors. Beware, sometimes the expectations exceed results.

Award-winning Mystery Novelist, Dani Amore - @authordaniamore explained her results this way.

It's been an interesting experience giving away books for free.  Probably in relation to the amount of time and effort I spent promoting the free books, my results have been varied...modest spikes in sales of other books, and maybe a few reviews...

Experienced Fiction and Non-fiction Author, Erik Christian - @SimplyAfterDark commented on how his strategy paid him in results.

I love the free promotion offered on KDP. I try and split up the 5 days free into two segments. It has helped sales considerably, as you can see from my rank of "Drunk" which was free just a few days ago.

Best Selling Author,  Patrick Hatt - @PatHatt24 echoed the same results.

My experience in giving them away for free has been it helps a ton, depending upon how it is done... I have  always gotten sales of my other books and sales of the free book when its free period was over.

Best-selling Mystery & Thrillers Author, Jake Needham - @jakeneedham had good results but sees a change he can’t explain.

I've done KDP Select give-aways of two of my titles and have had rather interesting results. In April, I offered free copies of ‘THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE’ through KDP Select and nearly 40,000 copies were downloaded…In the months immediately following, the total sales of of my titles jumped…In November, I tried KDP Select again with ‘KILLING PLATO’. In the three days that free copies have been available, just over 15,000 copies were downloaded worldwide.

Since both offerings were therefore more or less the same, I really have no idea if the offering of a title for free through KDP Select has become less effective as a promotional tool since last spring.

Writer of Fiction Novels, Non-Fiction and Children's Books plus the founder of the'Indie Chicks' writing group, Cheryl Shireman - @cherylshireman had good results but she questions the carryover to future sales.

Amazon Select can be a good way to attract short-term attention to your novel, but I am not sure what long-term effect giving away free copies will have on sales… [all I know is] a lot of readers were exposed.

Obstacles

Mystery Writer and the host of HBS Author's Spotlight blog, James Moushon @jimhbs ran head on into the exclusivity of the KDP program. 

The obstacle I had was with my first book, ‘Call Off The Dogs’. When it was published, I rushed out and placed with all the online retailers. That was before Select was the main method of choice for book promotion.

Now I tried to go back and make ‘the Dogs’ exclusive so I can promote it free through Amazon. Unfortuniately some of the minor retailers will not unlist the book and have priced it at zero. Amazon won’t let me enter the program until the issues can be resolved.

Some people just don’t give it away

Some of the authors questioned for this blog see free promotion differently. There are two ways to look at this you know. I just lost ‘x’ number of sales or did I gain potential readers for my next books. Fortuniately you can measure the free downloads and future sales are hard to determine.

Action-Adventure Thriller Author & popular publishing industry blogger, Joanna Penn - @thecreativepenn had mixed feelings: one for non-fiction, one for fiction. 

I have used KDP Select for my non-fiction book 'How to love your job or find a new one' … giving it away for free was always about getting more readers... for my fiction, I prefer a paid promo, as I end up making more money and also get more targeted buyers. I no longer have my fiction in KDP Select.

Historical Fiction Author, Ron Fritsch - @RonFritsch looked at his reading base and said no.

I've never offered them free to the general public. I don't think the persons who might read my books would be impressed with a giveaway.

Mystery & Thrillers Author, blogger and book editor, Amy Metz - @goosepimpleisms had a different problem. One that many authors are faced with.

I haven't been able to offer my eBook for free because my publisher controls the pricing.

Conclusion

Will there you have it. We have learned a lot from our contributors but the question still is: should I or not? I think goals, schedules and planning can’t hurt and being prepared is a must. Also, working the Internet for all its worth is a required and you should keep selling after the promotion. It is better than just throwing it against the wall and seeing what sticks. Also, we learned that free books are not for everyone.

George Strait’s song keeps singing in the background. Don’t get caught singing his last line: “I can’t even give it away”. Listen to George here, if you wish. 

Questions

What has been your experience with Free Book Promotions?

Should we add anything to the planning process?

Did we miss a goal or objective along the way?

HBS Author's Spotlight Contributors

The author comments are excerpts from a survey conducted by the HBS Author's Spotlight. You can view the author’s complete answers on the following blog: Free eBooks – HBS Author’s Spotlight Survey.

There question was: What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in other types of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

Follow me:

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Or visit my blog: The eBook Author Corner

Take a look at my Author’s blog: HBS Author’s Spotlight

Check out the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novels:

Call Off The Dogs

Or newly released: Free starting 12/19/12 for 3 days

Black Mountain Secrets