A Debut Author on His Debut at the Brain 2 Books Cyber Con, Online Book Expo for Writers & Readers

I love a good writer's conference, especially when it's an online conference, because there's no limit to what fabulousness I can find and I can attend all the sessions I want no matter how long it takes. The sheer brilliance of an online conference is that it's available 24/7 and, in most cases, indefinitely. Plus I don't have to leave home. It's all at my fingertips whenever I have the chance to indulge. Beginning April 8th through the 10th I'll be taking part in the Brain 2 Books Cyber Con, an online conference for readers and writers. My guest today is author Shane Wilson, who will also participate. I'll let him give all the details.

I will never forget my experiences with writing and book conventions. They have been

some of the most valuable experiences of my life. As readers, we load up and drive to conventions to meet our favorite writers. We stand in long lines to get them to sign our copy of their book. There is something beautiful and communal in that act. We've often spent hours poring over every detail of each page. If you’re like me, you read with a pen—underlining the beautiful passages and writing single-word exclamations in the margins. “Wow!”

I was a participant in one of these beautiful and communal acts on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh two years ago. I sat in a large room and listened to one of my favorite authors talk about his work. That man was Junot Diaz, and I stood in a long line for a chance to shake his hand and get his signature. The book he signed for me was This is How You Lose Her, and it was the book I was reading when I started writing my debut novel A Year Since the Rain. I told him how his book inspired me, and I’m sure it was nothing he hadn’t heard seven million times, but it felt good to give him the appreciation I felt he deserved. His creation had inspired. That’s big, man.

Appreciation is funny that way. It often means much more to the person showing the appreciation than it does to the person appreciated.

But now I get to slip around to the other side of the pen. The Brain 2 Books Cyber Con will be my first convention as a published author, and I am incredibly pumped for it. Not only do I get to meet tons of readers and other writers I’ve never met before, I don’t have to change out of my pajamas to do it. In the business world, they would call that a “win-win,” I think. I honestly don’t know, though. My business knowledge is limited to The Office re-runs on Netflix, which is probably not the best MBA program out there.

When I first heard about the B2BCyber Con from a fellow author-friend (shout out to Ed Ireland), I wasn’t sure what to expect. Is it possible to capture the same magic of a brick-and-mortar book/writing convention online? But my curiosity was piqued, so I investigated the Convention groups on Goodreads and Facebook, and I read about what they are offering to readers. I have to say, this is an impressive undertaking by our fearless leader, Angela B. Chrysler, especially considering this is the convention’s second incarnation.

In short, the convention is expecting hundreds of authors to come through during the convention (April 8-10). All of the events are held online in the Goodreads Fairgrounds—where authors have virtual booths set up with their books and other materials. Some are even sponsoring giveaways. In addition to Goodreads, B2B Cybercon will be hosting hour-long author takeovers in their Facebook event all weekend. In fact, I’ll be there from 7-8 PM on April 8! If you want in on the fun—and you do—just click over to the links provided and join up.

So I’ve been asked, as a first time attendee, to speculate on the proceedings. I don’t know how helpful I’ll be on that front, but I can say that there are some very cool things happening Backstage at the convention’s fair grounds. There are plans in the works for live panel discussions with authors on a variety of topics from genre discussions (YA for Adults) and world building to writing about abuse. I’m personally very excited for these panels as the panels are often the most rewarding aspect of physical conventions.

Readers that come through can expect to find their favorite authors (and new favorites…ahem) answering questions at their virtual “booths” as well as hosting panels and behind-the-scenes video broadcasts. There are also rumors of a Character Tournament (Heroes vs. Villains). I’ve never witnessed a character tournament, but I can only assume it includes a fight to the death in some way. To the victor goes the spoils, amiright?

The Brain 2 Books Cyber Con is going to be a TON of fun, and I hope to meet all of you there! Look for me and my book, A Year Since the Rain. I’ll see you in April.

About the Author

Shane Wilson is the author of A Year Since the Rain, a magical realism novel forthcoming from Snow Leopard Publishing. Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, Shane is a child of the southeastern United States where he feels simultaneously at-home and out-of-place. He graduated from Valdosta State University in south Georgia with a Masters in English. He taught college English in Georgia for four years before moving to North Carolina in 2013. No matter the temperature outside, there is always an iced coffee in his hand when he walks into class in the mornings. He tends to chase the day with a whiskey and a re-run of The Office. Shane has published poetry in Tethered by Letters and the Stonepile Writers' Anthology, Volume III. He is currently at work on a new novel as well as a collection of short stories based on the mythos of and set in the same town as A Year Since the Rain. You may purchase A Year Since the Rain here.

Connect with Shane Wilson

Website

Facebook

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Build Your Brand By Teaching Others

 

 

photo by enterlinedesign via Dollar Photo Club

Two years ago I published a book not knowing anything about promotion, marketing, branding, or platform. Now I teach aspiring authors how to independently publish their own books. I let all of the knowledge I've gained over the last two years and more pour out of me, and provide them with the tools they need to get started on their own journeys. 

Establishing yourself as a writer can take many different avenues. My approach is two-pronged. Like most indie authors I have a consistent social media presence and a website and blog, all updated frequently. I'm active in online groups. I have an email list and a newsletter. But reaching out to readers and building a brand online is just one facet of my author life. Another is to build a reputation as an author within my own community. One way I do this is through teaching. This helps establish my credibility as an author, as someone who knows what she's doing, and as a leader. 

It all started when my local library invited me to teach a 90-minute seminar on self-publishing. I developed a presentation with Power Point called Adventures in Publishing: How to Independently Publish Your Own Book. Twelve people showed up. They asked lots of questions and stayed to the end. They wrote wonderful reviews. This gave me confidence to expand my program. 

 

I added additional content and graphics and beefed it up to two hours. I knew once I had a polished program I could present it to new audiences again and again and my time and efforts would pay off. Next I spoke to the people in the continuing education department at the community college where I work and asked them to add my class to their course catalog. They quickly agreed. I also hit up the employee education department and they too added me to their schedule, although this class was a watered down one-hour version. Most of these classes were well attended and well received, but a few had to be cancelled due to low enrollment. 

I continued to refine and improve my presentation, and sought new venues to present my program. I reached out to a private college thirty minutes from home and proposed the course to their continuing education department. Based on my experiences at the community college they readily agreed. I am now teaching several classes at each college per semester.

The program evolved once more after many attendees  wrote on their evaluation forms that the program was too short; they wanted more. I expanded the class to two two-hour sessions called Write Release Retail: How to Become an Indie Author. The first session is on writing a book and preparing it for publication; the second focuses on marketing and promotion. 

One of the perks of these presentations is the opportunity to sell books, not by the truckload, but one at a time, hand to hand. It's a soft sell but invariably someone asks to buy a book and others follow. They are always front and center in my display and serve as the textbook for my program. 

And I get paid for talking to aspiring authors about publishing their work. The community college gives me an hourly rate and I split the fees with the private college 50/50. I'm not getting rich, but it's one more example of my credibility. 

I love teaching. It's one way I build my reputation as an author on a local level. It gives me confidence to continue with this endeavor, even on those days when I wonder "Why am I doing this? Should I be doing this?" Self-publishing is the most difficult thing I've ever done, but my students inspire me and renew my faith in my own abilities. 

To see my current class schedule please visit this page. 

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No Cake & Ice Cream for This Book's Second Birthday. Blue Hydrangeas is Getting a New Cover!

Today is the second anniversary of the release of my novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, in paperback. My dream of one day holding my printed book in my hands was one I thought would never come true.  I can't even begin to describe how much I've grown in these past 24 months. 

Like so many authors, I suffered through the painful and demoralizing cycle of querying agents, editors, and publishers and hearing ""No." "No!" "No!!" far too many times. Not one of these people actually read my book. This led me to believe that the system was flawed. 

So I decided to go the self-publishing route, not only because I wanted to see my book for sale in the Amazon store but because I believed Jack and Sara’s story was important, and it needed to be told. Let the readers decide, I thought. I published on Kindle in April 2013. And the readers decided they liked it. A 4.7 rating on Amazon and 85 five-star reviews (out of 121) is proof. 

Immediately after the Kindle version came out people starting asking how they could get it in paperback. This was not something I'd given much thought to, but five months later I published through Create Space and had a paperback.  

Paperbacks are hard to sell. Online, I sell very few each month. But in person I sell them by the dozen. It seems people like to buy a book from the author, personally inscribed. They also like to reach out to the author after they've read it to let her know what they thought about it. Priceless. 

Now that Blue Hydrangeas paper version has reached its second birthday, I thought I'd take what I've learned in the last two years to make some improvements. My cover is homemade. I know, a big no-no in indie publishing, but I was broke and didn't know better so I created my own cover. People say they like it. At least, people who have read the book say they like it. "It's beautiful," they say. Those who haven't read it? I don't think they like it so much. The book has gotten tons of exposure, yet sales are sluggish. Those who know about these things say the reason could be an uncompelling cover, a non-specific or boring book description, lousy editing, or negative reviews. I think I'm okay with the description, editing, and reviews, so perhaps it's the self-produced cover? 

After much consideration I've decided to invest some of my profits in a new cover. I'm working with graphic designer Perry Elisabeth. My new concept includes a photograph of a couple I found that are so Jack and Sara. The woman has Sara's long white hair. They're standing on a beach. He's cradling her in his arms with a pained expression on his face while she gazes off into the distance, seemingly detached from the moment. Perfect. I also hope to include the photo of the blue hydrangeas that currently appears on the cover. Maybe a picture of the house (Blue Hydrangeas is a bed and breakfast and almost a character in the story), if I can find one I like.  And new fonts, of course.

I believe this new cover will better represent what the book is about, and may motivate readers to check it out.

I have learned a lot in two years about self-publishing, marketing, and what readers want. I don't have all the answers, but one thing I do know is that a lot of what makes a book successful (besides a professionally produced cover, compelling description, excellent editing, and awesome reviews) is luck, chance, or good fortune. 

Another thing I know- in the end, the readers will decide. 

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A New Adventure: Mailing a Book to Canada

photo by RealPhotoItaly via Dollar Photo Club

A few weeks ago, I shipped a paperback copy of Blue Hydrangeas to a reader in Canada for the first time. It was a bit more complicated and expensive than shipping books to addresses in the U.S. 

My ebooks are sold and delivered to readers all over the world, including Canada, which is a market I'd love to penetrate because they're neighbors and speak and read English. Distributing ebooks globally is a no-brainer because the costs are minimal and delivery is immediate. Print books are  another matter.

First of all, Canada does not have Media Mail, so it cost $10.45 rather than the usual $2.69 (this did not include the cost of shipping materials or my time.)  The book I sent was a review copy so the cost was on me. If I were to sell a paperback book to a Canadian reader I would have to charge them the $10.45 shipping fee and a materials fee of 1.50, bringing the total cost of the book to $23.95. Seems a steep price for a paperback even to me. 

I also had to fill out a Customs Form, something else new. According to the USPS website, you generally need a customs form for all international mail and parcels. Which form you need depends on the service you’re using and the declared value of your package. This was easy: It was a book.

And the mail clerk covered the package with all kinds of stamps, postage and otherwise. He also told me it would take 5-7 days for the package to arrive, which is what it takes for books shipped within the States. I shipped June 26th and received word the package arrived July 10th.

For more info on shipping a book internationally from the USPS please visit their website.

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Planting Seeds

photo by eliaskordelakos via Dollar Photo Club

I teach classes in self-publishing at two local colleges in upstate New York. One of the lessons I give my students is the importance of planting seeds. 

As an indie author, it’s important to reach out to people who can increase your book’s discoverability or help build your reputation as a writer.  You plant seeds when you ask someone to publish your work, write a blog post about you or your book, interview you, read and review your book, or share your Facebook status and retweet your tweets. 

Anyone who has ever planted a garden knows that it takes time for the seedlings to sprout, for the fruit and the flowers to blossom.  Sometimes, nothing happens at all.  This is the nature of planting seeds, and it’s no different when planting seeds for your books. 

About two years ago, I planted a seed with the online magazine Kaleidoscope, a biannual journal dedicated to expressing the experiences of disability through literature and the fine arts. I submitted a proposal for them to publish the first chapter of my novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story.  I received a prompt response that my submission was under consideration for a future issue, but no promises.   

I went on with my life, and eventually forgot about this until the other day, when I received a message from the editor letting me know they’d chosen to publish my chapter in their next issue.  Now that was one seed I hadn't expected to flower!  Yet it did!  And, although I had forgotten to cultivate it, reaped benefits. 

In our increasingly online, instantaneous, get it right now lifestyles we often plant seeds and expect growth immediately.  But that’s not how it works.  Things happen in their own time.  Today’s efforts may not bring results until next month, next year, or years from now. Don’t give up.  Even dormant seeds can sprout new life.

July 22, 2015 UPDATE: Issue 71 is now online! Please take a moment to discover this beautiful magazine. The writings are lovely and enlightening. You'll enjoy the artwork. The artists and authors will move you. Blue Hydrangeas appears on page 52.

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How Important Is An Author's Online Presence?

photo by Marek via Dollar Photo Club

All the publishing pros will tell you that having an active online presence is an author's most important asset. How else will readers discover your work? How will those interested in what you have to offer locate you? How else will you stand out from the rest of the crowd? I recently experienced firsthand how imperative it is for an author to be available to an audience online. I consider myself to have a solid online presence and what I saw when I researched other authors baffled me.

A few weeks ago while at work at a community college in upstate New York, I got a call from Dorene who works in our continuing adult education program. She asked me to help her locate the author of a book she wanted to purchase for a class. She wanted to buy the books directly from him. I teach a few classes in self-publishing at the college, so although I am officially a campus nurse Dorene figured I'd be able to help.

"Did you look him up on LinkedIn?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Great idea."

We looked for him on the site and came up with nothing. We checked his Amazon page, but there was no author profile and no contact information listed. We looked for him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, all the usual places authors set up an online presence, but did not find him. We did a Google search and came full circle back to the Amazon page with no info.

Stumped, I apologized and said, "I guess he doesn't want to be found."

She was disappointed. "We're looking at another book, and that author is approachable, so I guess we'll go with him."

I felt bad for the author who lost the opportunity to put his book into the hands of a classroom of students. If he had simply set up an author profile on his Amazon page with contact info, he would have made a nice sale.

Not long after that I was talking to Gail, my contact at Thrall Library who works with me to coordinate the library’s Local Authors & Illustrators Showcase, coming in September. She had an author she wanted me to invite to the event. She gave me a slip of paper with his name and phone number. 

Before I contact an author for this event, I check him out online to make sure he fits with the program and to see what he can offer to our patrons and the other authors attending. And although I had a phone number for this guy, I wanted an email address, my preferred method of communication for this event. As you can imagine, coordinating 20+ authors can become confusing and overwhelming. An email trail keeps me organized and sane. 

So I did my research on all the usual sites and discovered this author had no online presence other than his Amazon page with no author profile. Bummer. I resorted to calling him, and after we played some telephone tag he agreed to participate. He gave me an email address, and we are now communicating online, although he says he does not have internet service at home and visits his local library once a week to take care of his email. 

After our initial conversation, I shook my head, amazed that the author of five print books would opt out of an online presence. We live and work in a global market. There's no telling who might be interested in what this author has published or who might want to invite him to an event where he can share his work with an audience and perhaps sell a few copies. Again, a profile on his Amazon page including contact info is all he needs to avail himself of opportunities.

A year ago, I attended a local author event at another library (it's where I got the idea for the event in my hometown). I met a few authors of children's books. I'm in need of these authors to round out my program so I thought I'd invite them to join us. I had the event program and lots of info I'd collected (bookmarks and postcards) from these authors and sat down to do some investigating. 

I was shocked to find that although many of them had some online presence - a Facebook or Twitter page,  a website -  many of them were inactive and had not posted or updated their sites in months. What was going on? Were they interested in getting out there with their books? None of them had listed an email address. Of the five I checked out, two looked promising, so I reached out to them via their Facebook accounts, but we are not friends, and such messages get sent to a secondary inbox. I learned this when I reached out to a blogger for a possible interview and didn't get a reply for months because she didn't realize she had mail waiting for her in this box. I imagine my messages to these authors will lie undiscovered, and they will miss out on an opportunity to connect with readers and other authors, and sell books.

One more story regarding my locating authors for this event: I learned of a local guy with a new book and decided to invite him. He had a great online presence - Amazon profile, and Facebook, Twitter, and About Me pages - but I couldn't find an email address. I decided to contact him via Twitter and he responded! Happy ending! But I shouldn't have to work so hard to get in touch with someone who has recently published a book. 

What's the moral of these stories? If you're serious about your career as an author, indie or otherwise, it's imperative you establish an online presence. You can do this for free. At the very least, build an Amazon author profile. Then start a Facebook, Twitter,  Pinterest, LinkedIn, About Me, or Google+ page (one or all, your choice, but at least one.) Create a webpage, your home on the web. On every site, include an email address. If you don't want to use your personal email address establish a new account specifically for your author activities. Remember to check it daily. Update your Amazon page and social media pages frequently. It's important to look active and engaged to potential readers and those looking to establish a relationship.

Publishing is a competitive business. Discoverability in a field of millions is difficult. Don't make it hard for people to find you. Not everyone will be as patient and determined to track down an author as I am.

Find me on Amazon! 

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