Someone once told me that it was important to have an
affirming word or two on your office wall so you don’t forget why you’re
writing. In four-inch turquoise letters
(they match my Lilly Pulitzer) mine says ‘It’s all About the Money.’ Now I know at first blush that may sound like
writing a good book isn’t my goal, it is.
Always. But I haven’t forgotten
those ten years I wrote and wrote and couldn’t make a sale. So being paid for my work became one of my
definitions of achievement. Oh, and it
looks good too – the color is perfect. I am not. I am pretty darned greedy.
I’ve written 40 books and I’ve never given any of them
away. In fact, almost all of them have
been revived and reside happily on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. My entire backlist is already online, so I
haven’t been paying as much attention to the eBook world as I should. My gut reaction was probably like most
traditionally published authors – why should I do all the work, formatting,
cover design, buying an ISBN, etc.? I’m
very good at downloading to my iPad or my Sony or my daughter’s nook, but I must
admit, I mostly download eBook versions of traditionally published authors and
friends. And before you think me a slob,
the last time I read for pleasure was in August, 2011. Deadlines will do that to you. Reading for pleasure is one of the first
activities to go. Right after keeping a
spotlessly clean house.
So I had dinner with my editor last Saturday and she started
talking to me about the advantages of doing a short (novella length) Finley
Tanner Mystery for release between my April and October books. Luckily I didn’t choke on my food. “So what’s the benefit?” I asked.
Well, with more and more people buying eVersions, the go-to promo tool
of bookmarks is fading into obscurity.
Good to know since I just ordered 250.
(Opps). I’ve always spent a few
hundred dollars on bookmarks, they’re easy and now with online sites, they take
less than 15 minutes to design and order.
Only they have no place to go.
The chain stores want point of purchase impulse items near the
register. The number of indie stores is
dwindling, so there isn’t much of a market for bookmarks. So I just got schooled on how pointless it is
to pay for bookmarks. No benefit there,
apparently.
My editor explained that I should always think
branding. It doesn’t matter if people
remember my name, just that they remember Finley Tanner mysteries? What better way to keep the series fresh than
to give readers a little value-added content.
I was drinking the Kool-Aid. Instead
of me spending money on useless, outdated forms of promotion, I should pretend I’m paying myself for writing
upload-only content for my current readers as well as possibly picking up a few
more here and there so long as the book is free.
I put down the Kool-Aid. Now I have several friends who have gotten
their rights back, scanned their books, paid someone to format the book, buy an
ISBN and design a cover. Remembering the
editor and agent panels at Sleuthfest I kept hearing the same thing – don’t put
up a sucky cover, that’s what you should focus on along with quality,
professional editing. Ca-ching is going
off in my brain as I try to add up how much this special value-added freebie is
going to cost me. Not only do I hate
working for free, I really don’t want to dig a financial hole to jump in so I
can write the freebie.
My editor refilled my glass of Kool-Aid. No, no, she tells me. Gallery (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
will design your cover and do all the formatting and the other stuff. You just have to write the book. Now I’m gulping Kool-Aid. My thinking was wrong. Instead of dropping money on chachkis or
bookmarks or whatever, in this market it’s worth a shot doing the between books
book.
So now all I need is an idea . . .
An in-between-book short e-story? So that's what's going on. I've been so excited to see what I thought was a new book but, turns out, it's a ebook novella. I say go for it!! It would be great to have the F.A.T. brand front and center at Borders, or whatever book store is in existence this week. I'm just glad your editor recognizes that F.A.T. COULD be a brand to promote and build. To me that's great news!
ReplyDeleteMary Louise