Self-Publishing Book Expo Recap: Tips for Indie Success

Self-Publishing Book Expo Recap: Tips for Indie Success Posted by CreateSpaceAmanda Oct 26, 2011 On Saturday, Oct. 22, CreateSpace attended the Self-Publishing Book Expo (SPBE) in New York City. Now in its third year, SPBE is a celebration of independent publishing that offers exhibits, panels, and educational seminars specifically created for the indie author. Hundreds of authors from around the world were in attendance (that's a lot of talent in one place!), and there was a consistently positive buzz emanating from the crowd on the exhibit floor. I attended several of SPBE's seminars in order to pass along some key takeaways from the expert presenters. Read on for my recap of each session. EPublishing: A Detailed Overview of the New Process Dan Poynter, one of the most well-known pioneers of modern self-publishing, was on-hand to share his experiences and expert advice with his peers. It was clear we could all learn a lot from his perspective on the changing industry - he's been independently publishing since 1969! Here are the takeaways from his keynote speech. Dan: "Self-publishing is when your passion center becomes your profit center." All books don't fit all people. You have to find your niche market, where you'll find the most people interested in your title. You have a dedicated core group there that is waiting for it. Dan: "The bad news? The book industry is changing. The good news? The book industry is changing. If you embrace the changes, you'll see that with change comes opportunity. We can't change the direction, but we can adapt to the changes. Change will happen with or without you, so get out in front of it." He presented an interesting analogy: the people who invented the automobile were not the same people who designed the buggy. The same can be said for the changing publishing model. Today's authors are eliminating the traditional gatekeepers. Reviews sell books because reviews are word of mouth. The new reviewers are book bloggers, especially those in your particular category. The bloggers who are focused on specific subjects may have larger and more passionate followings of people who really care about your topic. Dan: "Self-publishing is self-employment. Doing what you love, loving what you do, and calling your own shots. It has become the majority way to publish, the better way to publish, the only way to publish." The Smartest Things I Learned from Self-Publishing: Tips for Success from Authors Who Have Gone Before You Jon Fine led a panel discussion between two successful authors: Michael Margolis, author of Believe Me and president of Get Storied, and David Lender, thriller author of Bull Street. The authors shared their strategies for pricing, marketing, and independent publishing with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Jon: "The means of book production have been democratized." After David uploaded his books to KDP, he was approached by top agents and publishers. But because of his success, he stated, "I'm now happy to stay independently published, and I can write full-time." Michael published his book in 90 days, from the first word on paper to having the book available for sale using CreateSpace. He has sold thousands of copies of the book and built a business using it as a calling card. "You can be your own media company. If you want to play your own game and you have a DIY ethos, the tools are there." David provided advice on creating sellable eBooks. "The bar on eBook quality is much higher now. Your book should look perfect. If you don't have the technical capabilities to make a well-formatted eBook, use the tools available to help you." David also expressed the importance of choosing the right list price. "Look at the top 100 books in your category, and compare yourself to the competition." He chose to focus on building a readership by pricing his first eBook at $.99, leading to more than 100,000 eBook sales over 9 months. The panelists then turned to the topic of marketing. Michael: "Birthing your book earns you the right to stand at the starting line of another marathon: marketing it." One of his marketing tips? He gives away free digital copies of his book in exchange for email addresses, which has built his email list and expanded his audience. It was suggested that authors research the reviewers of the top 100 books in a particular genre, many of whom have blogs. Authors can then ask them if they'd be interested in reviewing their books. David also suggested joining some of the many writing groups on Facebook and being a part of those active communities. Website Wow: Powerful Web Design to Reach Your Audience Jeniffer Thompson, co-founder of Monkey C Media, shared valuable tips on creating a professional and effective website to support your marketing efforts. The 3 most important aspects of SEO: Title tags with excellent keywords, well-written content, and incoming links. The more specific your keywords, the better the SEO optimization. Smart design: When someone lands on your website, you have less than a second to grab their attention, because people will immediately decide if they like it or not. You should have solid and consistent navigation, draw the eye towards something important (with color, imagery, etc.), and have a clear message. The color you choose should be consistent with your brand. Color evokes emotion, and you can use it to create emphasis on important pieces of your site. Power colors are red and yellow, but be careful not to overuse them, as they can fatigue the eye. With text, choose web-safe, sans serif fonts that others will also have on their computers (i.e. Arial, Verdana, etc.). Be sure your fonts are consistent with your brand, and make text easy to read by using columns. "Show, don't tell" with captivating images, write engaging headlines, and include bullet points. Content should be fresh and relevant. Consider featuring guest bloggers and contributors and offer valuable information and resources. Jeniffer: "A website should be a funnel, with lots of powerful calls to action to encourage more navigation." Create a community around your brand by engaging your audience. Be consistent, allow comments and sharing of your content, and build trust by giving away information, staying current, and being genuine. Also, be sure to invite your social media followers to your site. If you decide to work with a design house, ask them about maintaining ownership of your content, timelines, and references. If you do it yourself, consider using WordPress.com (blog), WordPress.org (broader website tools), Tumblr.com, or Weebly.com. Site themes can be found at ElegantThemes.com or ThemeForest.net. Google Analytics can help you track your website traffic. The hosting company of your website should also provide free traffic analytics. Even if your book isn't out yet, create your website and start building your community with social media as early as possible. Building an Audience This session focused on building relationships with target audiences and effectively promoting your book. Speakers were Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts; Dan Blank of We Grow Media; Seale Ballenger of HarperCollins; and Jennifer Wilkov, book consultant and host of the "Your Book Is Your Hook!" radio show. Trade outlets like Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and Library Journal can be beneficial for trying to get book reviews to create industry awareness. Book bloggers are an important resource for reviews, because they are typically genre-specific and they like to be ahead of the curve. Examples are Fresh Fiction, Mediabistro, and Book Reporter. Consider writing opinion/editorial pieces (especially if you write nonfiction) and submitting them to the press. Social media: Facebook is a community that gives you a permanent place to store information, whereas Twitter is more news-oriented and of-the-moment. Use them to build you community and communicate to it. If you can't do all the social media channels, just pick one. If you focus on getting good at one, it will make it that much easier for you to build your other marketing areas. If you want to get into corporate or nonprofit partnerships, go after those most relevant to you and your books. When contacting them, first emphasize the benefits for the company and how you will achieve success for their brand rather than focusing on your book. Also consider partnerships with other groups/associations or authors. Reach out to book clubs to build your audience, keeping in mind that many are genre-specific and have blogs where they may feature you or your content. Research what other people are talking about in your industry, and determine what you will say that's different, interesting, and unique. This will help you communicate in social channels and when networking with authors on other sites to build your connections. Jennifer: "In book marketing, you have to cut through the clutter. Make it short, make it concise, make it fun, and make it effective." The Reviews Are In: Why Book Reviews Matter Representatives from well-known review sources offered tips on why book reviews continue to be an important aspect of book marketing. Speakers included Julie Eakin of ForeWord Reviews, Perry Crowe of Kirkus Indie, Patti Thorn of BlueInk Review, and Cevin Bryerman of Publishers Weekly. Why do book reviews matter? Cevin: "It doesn't matter where you get your reviews; they will help you sell more books because they are given out by professionals who understand what matters to readers." Patti: "A book review is important because it helps distinguish your book from all the other books out there. It gives your book the credibility of a third-party source, which validates to readers that spending hours reading your book is worth their time." Perry spoke to reviews' ability to give readers a succinct summation and authors an easily-digestible nugget of information to use in promotions, while Julie reminded us that reviews can help you improve your book. To increase your chances of getting a review, send in endorsements from fellow authors in your genre or experts in your field. If possible, make your book stand out with a unique promotion or a personal note. Follow the submission guidelines of each review source, and tell them what's special about the book. Reviewers are chosen based on their specialty reviewing books in a particular category. This is to "give each book its best chance to get a good review" and so the reviewer can compare quality to other books in the genre. They also hire reviewers who understand the writing craft and how to communicate feedback to other writers. Authors should be sure to submit professional-looking books in a "good package," with high-quality printing and editing. They recommend a unique, well-designed cover that also fits in with the landscape of other professional books on the market. That's all for now, folks. I hope you've found something here you might be able to apply to your own publishing and marketing efforts. To all the authors, experts, organizers, and professionals we met: thanks for another great event celebrating indie authorship. As always, I'm looking forward to the next exciting chapter in the self-publishing success story! -Amanda Amanda is the editor of CreateSpace's educational resources and social media channels. You may also be interested in... 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