The next step is to get your book published, hooray! To traditionally publish or self-publish your bestseller can be a difficult choice. A good publishing house will have built up their reputation and if you join their stable, then there is a fairly good chance that you will sell enough books to make a living. Getting a publisher to sign you up is difficult. If you decide to approach famous UK publishers, Hachette Livre, Random House, Penguin and Pan Books, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Pearson Education and Bloomsbury then you will need to get yourself an agent. The likelihood of an agent taking you on is about 1 in 1000. Even if your manuscript is sent to these publishers, then it is very likely that it will sit in a huge slush pile and eventually be filed under B!
The good news is, that some of the big publishing houses have sub houses (imprints) that are accepting book submissions directly from authors. For my new romantic suspense novel, 58 Farm End, I managed to find a couple of publishers that were interested in romance submissions. I chose One More Chapter an imprint of HarperCollins and Lyrical Press an imprint of Kensington Books and sent my bestseller to them.
You can also submit your masterpiece to smaller publishing houses too. Make sure that you do not pick a publisher that will ask you to contribute to publishing your book. If you type into Google ‘publishers accepting submissions’ then you will be presented with over 50 publishers to choose from. You will need to read through each publisher’s submission requirements with a strong coffee on hand. I sent the required cover letter/email and documents to three of these publishing houses.
And the three to six-month wait begins!
Am I waiting patiently – NO! Why should I wait and not just self-publish?
The pros of being traditionally published, is that the publishing house, wanting to make money, should take care of most of the marketing side of things for you. There is a greater chance that your book will actually appear on shelves in shops and be visible to millions on social media. Publishing houses also have a list of book reviewers they can contact. You will have your book edited, proofread and the publisher will create a catchy description and an amazing cover. The downside is, that you will only receive between 40% and 50% of the profit/royalties, the selling price of the book will be higher than you expect and it can take up to a year before your book is actually published. Another disadvantage is that once your book reaches an editor’s hands, they may want you to change parts of the plot or ask you to rewrite your book completely. I obviously want my work to be the best it can be but if I were to be asked to rewrite, then it would be a bitter pill to swallow. I am on my thirteenth book now and I am confident that 58 Farm End and Julia’s Baby are watertight and are unique. We shall see. If you are going to self-publish, then it is advisable to hire an editor and a proof-reader to ensure your bestseller sparkles. I found my editor and proof-reader on https://www.upwork.com
So I am in limbo at the moment as I wait to hear back from publishers. I will wait, not so patiently, until the end of October and if I have no luck with them, then I will self-publish my bestsellers and work through my extensive self-publishing/marketing ‘to do’ list. More on that later.
Why an author needs need to get on platform 9 3/4
It is never too early to start promoting your bestseller and for this, you will need a base camp. This is known as an ‘author’s platform.’ Traditional publishers look at your social media presence when they are considering signing you up.
If you want to make money out of writing books, then you need to become a business man/woman and sell not only your books but yourself as an author too. Really, it is not too hard to create a social media presence and every good author should create a platform before they get on the marketing train. Platforms have several components. Every well run business has a website and uses social media to promote services and goods. This past week, I have been checking my author’s platform and making sure it is sturdy. A platform consists of the following elements and all can be set up for free.
1. WEBSITE - I have two websites but you only need one. Wix.com websites are free and are easy to set up. If you want to hide the Wix logo in your website address then you will have to pay for a domain name. Have a look here at my free website. https://nmurray3004.wixsite.com/mysite-1
Below is a list of items to include on your website
Subscription/Email Signup – Use both a pop-up and a homepage sign-up form to invite people to sign up for a free gifts, books, newsletters and sample chapters (magnets).
Author bio – interesting information about your past, and how you got to where you are today.
SEO/meta data – include keywords within your site (tag box) that describe your books and you as an author. These words will push your website up Google’s ranking and make your it visible to more people.
Book page – cover, book description, reviews and links to purchase your book
Blog – write about book related subjects that will attract both authors and readers to your website.
Links to social media – Provide social media icons.
Trailers – book trailers are always good to include on your website. Readers love to watch a movie about your book. I have my book trailers on my Amazon page and on YouTube.
You will need to set up the following accounts and get as many Likes and Followers as you can.
2. FACEBOOK BOOK PAGE
3. TWITTER ACCOUNT
4. INSTAGRAM BUSINESS ACCOUNT
5. LINKEDIN ACCOUNT
6. GOOGLE BUSINESS ACCOUNT
7. YOUTUBE CHANNEL WITH A LINK TO WEBSITE FOR BOOK TRAILERS & READINGS
8. PINTEREST
This list may look daunting but if you have created the first six, then you are well on the way to being a great authorpreneur. It is quite likely that you have already set up many of these social media accounts already.
Now the marketing fun can begin and your brand can emerge like a phoenix out of the flames!
I actually don’t like the term ‘brand.’ I envisage cattle having their rear ends brand marked and can almost smell burning flesh. Quite simply, before you even publish anything, every week, an author needs to use their platform to share with the world how their books are unique, share their knowledge, help others and entertain potential readers. This theatrical feat, can be achieved by writing blogs, using social media to share quotes and interesting and amusing posts. Just think about what amuses or interests you as a reader. By taking quirky photos for Instagram and by doing short selfie videos about being an author for social media, you will get noticed. Moving pictures get more attention than still photos. Gradually, you will start to build a stage presence and perhaps even be liked. Fans will begin to sign up, ‘Follow’ or ‘Like’ your pages and engage. Building a large following can be challenging. You will need at least 10,000 subscribers on your mailing list, and 80,000 people to like each social media account before you think about paying for advertising. Only 5%-10% of your followers will see your posts. Don’t get too stressed about posting on social media, just do what you can and enjoy the experience. A little exposure is better than no exposure.
Recently, I had an email come in from BookBub with the title ‘How Successful Authors Use Social Media: 24 Content Ideas. Check these great ideas out here: https://insights.bookbub.com/how-successful-authors-use-social-media-content-ideas This article has given me a few ideas.
When you post on social media, don’t forget to use #hashtags. After each post just add keywords associated with your post eg. #amwriting #bestsellers #pubtip (there are many to choose from and it is best to use at least twenty of them on Instagram and just a handful on other social media sites. By adding # before a keyword, your posts will be seen by a wider audience for free. For more information and a list of hashtags visit Dave at Kindlepreneur here: https://kindlepreneur.com/hashtags-for-writers
Getting readers to sign up to your subscription list
Actually getting people to sign up to a mailing list can be tricky. I offer any of my books for free for an email address. I don’t get many people signing up as I think that the public are afraid that I will bombard them with emails. I don’t like getting spammed, so I wouldn’t dream of doing that to anyone else. At present, I have around 350 subscribers and I am trying to grow my email list. Some of my fans on my email list have read my new books and they have given me some great feedback. I am a big fan of Nick Stephenson and he runs free courses showing you how you can get your first 10,000 readers. Check out his free videos here: https://www.blog.yourfirst10kreaders.com You will get regular emails from Nick but most are really worth reading and I have learnt a lot from him.
So while I wait for a reply or no reply from publishers #waitingishard, I am going to continue to post updates about my new bestsellers 58 Farm End and the sequel, Julia's Baby on social media, write blogs, run author interviews and write the third book in my romance trilogy. Once there is a book inside me, waiting to burst out, (a bit like an alien!) then there is nothing I can do to stop myself from getting it down on paper. Are you a compulsive writer too?
I wish you all the best on your creative projects and if you like my articles, then please like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NatashaMurray3004. If you click the sign up button, then I will send you a free book and I will keep you updated about my book and article releases. No spamming I promise.
The next article will be about book formatting, book reviews and launching your book.
I hope you found this article useful. I am always happy to answer any of your questions. Just send me an email at www.nmurray3004@gmail.com
Natasha
Natasha Murray Founder of the UK Southern Book Show
Author of 3004, 3006, Jack Solar’s Journals, Chanctonbury
A Flea in the Paw, the Milly’s Magic Quilt series and
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