2014 in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Marketing to Bloggers

At a recent meeting of Florida Romance Writers, we heard Ana Ivies speak about Marketing, Blogs and Reader Events. She runs http://wickedbookevents.com and http://anasattic.com which cater to readers.

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For those who use affiliate links on their blogs, Ana says blog revenues have decreased since Kindle Unlimited got started. KU “has changed the landscape of reading.” Many bloggers won’t promote KU books. Ana sells books from her sites and puts up free and $.99 book specials there too. She advises authors that KU may be better for backlist titles. Bloggers want to promote new releases. Don’t undervalue your book to $.99 unless it’s a novella. When the third or fourth book in a series comes out, put book one on sale.

Advice For Approaching Bloggers

Find bloggers who review books similar to yours.
Research the site before querying to see if a blogger will promote your book.
Review their submission requirements. Ana says Net Galley is a good way to reach bloggers. Make sure you grammar check your query.
Follow the blogger on social media.
Address the blogger by name. Say, “Hi, I’d like to introduce myself…”
Give your name, book title, and a link to your book on Amazon. When asking to sign at an event, provide all of your links.
Support other authors.
Interact; don’t only promote.
Include all of your social media links in your email signature.
Put your Amazon author link on your FB page.
If a blogger gives you a positive review, comment on it and share it. Express your gratitude. “Thank you for taking the time to read and review my book.”
If you do a blog tour, go over and thank the host for being part of your event. A tour-wide giveaway draws readers in but don’t give away the ebook the blogger is promoting.

What Not To Do

Do not post your book or buy links on a blogger’s Facebook page. It’s okay to comment on a blogger’s FB posts and share their links.
Don’t tag a blogger in a promo post.
Don’t have your street team hijack a thread on her site and flood it with comments. One of two of your fans replying to a post is enough.
Don’t have your virtual assistant pose as you.
Don’t compare one blogger to another.
Don’t sign up a blogger for your email list without asking.
Don’t make fun of 1 star reviews.
Deal with drama privately, not online.

“When you write a book, it’s thirty percent writing and seventy percent promotion.”

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

 

Final Words from #Ninc14

Final Advice for Writers from #Ninc14
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

To summarize the concluding talks from #Ninc14, here are the final points.

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If you have a lifeboat or collaborative team, specify your goals. Is it to increase sales or readership, or to reach bestseller status?

Series or related books sell the best. Make the first one $.99 so it can be called a bestseller as opposed to free.

Check to see if you have some rights back if not all, i.e. Do you have the rights for non-US territories, audio, translation rights?

Hire translators from the United States and not from other countries. If you hire somebody from outside the US, you will have to pay them royalties.

Don’t get discouraged. Just get more material out there. It’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Once you’re making money, hire people to do everything.

It’s the technology age and you have to do social media, whether or not it’s in your comfort zone.

Ask your readers what they prefer in how they buy books. Do they pre-order?

Don’t just dip your toes in the brave new world of self-publishing. Jump in naked.

Don’t make decisions based on fear. Make it based on your intuition. Know what you are good at and what you need help with. What does success mean to you?

Get your titles out there. They don’t all have to be full-length novels.

Ask your publishing partners these questions: What can you do better than anyone else? What do you think I do well? How could I do better? What skills can you contribute? What market intelligence do you have that we can use together? What information do I have that you need, and for what purpose? What’s the best way we can add value for each other?

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Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery, Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

 

 

iBooks Tips for Writers

Working with iBooks
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

iBooks

Representatives from iBooks spoke at the Ninc conference. They said their readers like free ebooks, so Apple offers the first free in series promotion. Their readers are also willing to pay more for a book so don’t be afraid to price higher.

Pre-orders count double toward your sales ranking—when a pre-order comes in and when the book releases. You can do pre-orders up to one year before the book’s release. You can offer a sample of the story when the book is in pre-order. So Step One is to set the pre-order date, which is when the book is available for ordering. Step Two is to set the sales start date, when the book can be sent out.

iBook sales count on the USA Today list. iBooks are only allowed on five devices for one person. You should put your iBook links on your websites, Twitter, newsletter and elsewhere. For Twitter, use the hash tag #iBooks, not #iTunes.

It takes time to build readers on this platform. They recommend you have three books minimum in your series when you offer the first one free. In the back material, make sure you include links along with covers for your other books.

Make sure your name is readable on a thumb-sized cover. For the URL, take out the specific country, and the URL will redirect to the country of the buyer.

i.e. Take out the U.S. part from this link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/nancy-j.-cohen/id411505950?mt=11&uo=4&at=1l3vsrx

And it becomes this link that redirects to the buyer’s country. See if this works for you:
https://itunes.apple.com/artist/nancy-j.-cohen/id411505950?mt=11&uo=4&at=1l3vsrx

They can only link your series titles if the books are uploaded by the same publisher. So if the books come from different sources, they won’t be able to link the titles in a series. [NOTE This is no longer true. It doesn’t have to be the same publisher but be consistent with your series title in the Metadata for each book.]

You might want to join their Affiliate program so you can share in some of the revenue from sales.

iBooks is in 51 territories. The German market is huge. We need to think more globally. Apple has a strong worldwide presence. India will be an emerging market for ebooks.

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery, Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

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Buy Books for Gifts

As you do your holiday shopping, consider supporting authors and booksellers by buying books for gifts. You can find something for everyone’s taste. Even your friends who don’t own an e-reader device can download free apps to their cell phones or tablets. So you can still gift them an ebook. If you have an indie bookstore in your area, stop by and make a purchase. We need to show our support for these stores that still exist. And now for the commercial. Here are some of my titles for you to consider:

For Your Hairdresser, Nail Tech, Beautician and/or Readers Who Love Mysteries

Give them a Bad Hair Day Mystery. The adventures of hairstylist and salon owner Marla Shore will thrill them with murder, mayhem, humor and romance. If you want a brand new hardcover, start them off with the latest title, HANGING BY A HAIR.

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If you want a brand new paperback, order SHEAR MURDER from HQ Worldwide Mystery Library.

Shear Murder

Most of the Bad Hair Day Mysteries are available in digital copies. Look for them here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iBooks
Kobo

For the Armchair Traveler, History Buff, True-Life Memoirs or Adventure Travel Fan

Try my father’s 1929 cross-country hitchhiking adventure, THUMBS UP.

Thumbs Up

For the Writer

Whatever genre they write, they can use a copy of WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY. This instructional guidebook will take them step-by-step through the process of writing a winning whodunit.

Cozy

For the Romance Fan

For friends who like a hot, sexy read, give them a book from my Drift Lords series. These romantic adventure tales will sweep them away to a modern world mixed with myth and magic. WARRIOR PRINCE, WARRIOR ROGUE and WARRIOR LORD are available in print and digital formats.

WarriorPrince300 WarriorRogue300 WarriorLord_w8513_300

Contest Alert!
Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or 1/6 free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery Killer Knots, in our December contest:
http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

HAPPY SHOPPING!

 

Pitching your Book to Hollywood

How to Attract Hollywood to your Book
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

Why does Hollywood keep doing sequels and remakes? The simple answer is fear. Studios are filled with people who have legitimate fears about their jobs.

Hollywood Ninc14

China is a huge market right now. A movie might not do as well in the United States as it does in the international market. Character dramas and romantic comedies do not travel globally. The failure rate for romantic comedies in the United States is high. They are under-performing in theaters, so they’ve migrated to television. Romance is alive on the big screen but in melodrama, not comedy. These films do well in English-speaking, Western European countries but not in Asia. Character driven stories do not perform as well as dialogue driven ones. Hollywood honchos have to consider the P&A Cost or Print and Advertising budget. A $100 million movie costs $200 million to market. Smaller movies do not work as well because of this factor, and they do not attract as much attention.

Movie Sequels

Television has a bigger audience, so character driven stories can work better here. Authors should point to their sales to convince filmmakers there is an audience for their work. Pitching in Hollywood is for seasoned writers-producers. These people create TV shows. The speaker said she does a preliminary pitch first and then a more formal pitch. Then they “clear the arena” to see who else is doing similar projects.

Tips for Authors

Understand Hollywood is looking for something different.
Boil your novel down to one sentence.
Don’t say “this meets that” to describe your work comparing movies.
Be open about casting.

Trends

Hollywood is making more features for the international markets.
African-American romantic comedy ensembles are finding audiences.
Low-budget Christian films are finding audiences.
There is a market for romantic melodramas in feature films.
TV is great for character driven stories. They can deliver bigger audiences than features.
Traditional romantic comedy has migrated to TV.

How to Approach a Writer-Producer

Have your agent submit your published novel. The writer-producer may request a “shopping agreement” which gives them one year to pitch your story with no payment. If interested, the studio or network will pay the author and the writer-producer separately.

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery, Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

Free Ebook Warrior Prince

Warrior Prince, book one in my Drift Lords series, is free today at The Wild Rose Press and through the weekend until December 3rd. Order for FREE Here

Warrior Prince

Set in a contemporary world woven with magic, intrigue, romance, and suspense, Warrior Prince is based on Norse mythology. Nira Larsen is having a bad day when she gets attacked at a seedy employment office in Orlando, FL. Rushing to her defense is a team of men clad in black and carrying futuristic weapons. Their leader offers her a proposal. He and his men are strangers in town, and they need a local guide. Would Nira be interested in taking the job? Eager to earn extra money, she accepts. Thus begins her descent into a nightmare of ancient prophesies, legendary myths, and danger.

Drift Lord leader Zohar Thorald recognizes Nira as one of the prophesied women destined to prevent a coming apocalypse, and he determines to keep her safe. But can he keep himself safe from her charms? Not only does she have the power to defeat the enemy but she could easily enslave his soul.

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“With a mix of humor and action, this exciting intergalactic romance is based on an Old Norse legends brought up to date for a new generation…Warrior Prince is not only a great romance but it’s about two strong people. This journey is fast paced and exciting as our characters fight the bad guys and find true love.”—Night Owl Reviews

“For a funny bone tingling non-stop action and adventure sci-fi thriller with a swirl of romance, Nancy J. Cohen’s Drift Lords series is one you won’t want to pass up.”—Oh, for the HOOK of a BOOK!

“This is a most enjoyable tale, with suspense in more than ample supply, leavened with romance, mystery, and mythology. Cohen excels, too, in creating memorable and quirky characters, both ‘real’ world and mythic. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy!” —Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore

“Cohen’s Drift Lord series weaves science fiction, fantasy, and ancient Norse mythology into a sexy tapestry of action, adventure, and love.”—Muddy Rose Reviews

 

Order for FREE Here

Please tell your friends!

 

ACX and Audible

ACX and Audible
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

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What Sells in Audio? Teen and YA Fiction, Romance, Scifi/Fantasy, Mysteries/Thrillers, Business and History.

What do you need to get started? You need a published book on Amazon, audio rights, a manuscript, cover art and rights to the cover. There is no particular length requirement. Figure that 9300 words equals one finished hour of audio. In your profile when you apply to ACX, mention the main characters in your book, your awards and track record.

Options include paying the narrator upfront based on book length or sharing the earnings 50-50 and paying nothing up front. This latter term lasts seven years. Thereafter, you can renew each year or remove the audio book from distribution. A third option is to upload your own audio file.

Royalties are 40% for exclusive distribution and 25% if you go nonexclusive. For the former, you and the narrator split the royalty, meaning you’d each earn 20%. Distribution is to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Make sure you grant world rights for global reach.

You can earn a $50.00 bounty when someone joins Audible and purchases your book first. The person must stay in Audible for 30 days after the trial period.

The author gets 25 download codes for promotion but these don’t count toward your bounty. You can request more. How can you use these? Use them to generate reviews. Check out these sites: Audiofile, AudioGals, Books for Ears. Offer giveaways to your newsletter subscribers and social media fans. You can use Audible’s gift center to send a book to a fan.

If you already have an audio file, make sure it meets the requirements. It takes about three weeks after uploading to become active. Royalties are paid monthly via check or direct deposit.

Selecting your Narrator

Is she too fast? Too slow? Too cartoonish? Just right? Keep in mind that the listener can speed the audio with a tool in the app. You’ll want to give your narrator about three pages to read. These can be different paragraphs along with the context. In a series, continuity of narrator is important. A single voice is more popular than a multi-cast. Any additional material should come after the credits at the end.

One tip: use fewer dialogue tags. Various checkpoints occur in the process: the initial audition, and then a 15 minute sample which does not have to be the first pages of your work. You can request two rounds of revisions. Listen for the quality of sound during the longer samples. You can terminate the contract if you do not like the results. If approved, you can request three chapters at a time from your narrator.

Check the performance rating with each narrator, visit their website and note how many books they’ve done. You can click Like or Dislike to organize your selections. Narrators do not see this. You can send sample clips to friends for their opinions. Ask the narrator about her editing. Will she allow you to review the audio chapter by chapter, or at least three chapters at a time? You want somebody who’s easy to work with. If you are not happy with the narrator and reviews reflect your views, you can ask the narrator to re-record and upload. Do the first book slowly and thoughtfully. Do not rush the process.

The speaker from ACX at Ninc who nominates audio books for promotion said she looks at the book cover first. Next she’ll check out the number of reviews and what they say. She will check out your social media sites to see if you are promoting your audios. If you have a series, getting a promo boost for book one is important. Branding and packaging should carry over from other series titles.

How to Stand Out

Consider adding teasers for sequels after the credits. Coordinate promo efforts with your narrator. Leverage SoundCloud for audio clips. Make a dedicated space on your website for audio books. You can distribute up to 10% of your audio on a clip. This can be embedded on your website.

 

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

 

Author Collaborations

Author Collaborations
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

A collaboration might consist of a single book containing a bundle of novels or novellas by different authors. The main benefit is that more experienced authors will draw attention to newer authors. It’s a cost-effective way to produce a print version of shorter works. Promotional duties will be shared among the authors. And you can learn the indie publishing process along the way.

Consider the following in drawing up an agreeement:

Distribution of royalty: How will the money be split and on what basis?
Production costs: What will each author chip in?
Format: E-book? Print? Who decides?
Distribution channels: Who decides which book retailers/outlets?
Exit strategy: How can an author withdraw?
Termination date for bundle: When will it be taken off the market?
Who administers each vendor account? Ideally, each writer should have password access.
Will you set up an LLC or Corporation? This could protect against lawsuits.
Can a single author sell her book outside of the bundle, or does the bundle have exclusive rights?
Who coordinates promo efforts?
Who spends how much on publicity?
Who controls the bank account?
Who issues 1099’s or payroll expenses? Who keeps and distributes these records?
Will the group hire an accountant?
Who is the backup for the prime member?
Is the bank account accessible to other members? It should be.
Do members wish to see copies of receipts?
Who gets the vendor reports? Every author should get one.
Will each author forgo publishing new works within a certain period of time to avoid competition? Or will new works outside of the bundle be allowed without restriction?
Will the bundle be copyrighted? If so, who will register or own this copyright? The LLC or Corporation can own it if you have one. If a book bundle is copyrighted under a Corporation, you’ll want to mention that, upon dissolution, the copyright for each respective title is assigned to the individual authors.
Who owns the cover art? Who can use the cover art?
How will disputes be handled– through mediation, arbitration, or lawsuit? And in which state?
If your book is pirated, will it be dealt with or ignored? Who will be responsible?
Will you get media or publisher peril insurance? If you don’t have an LLC or Corporation, you can get this but it can be difficult to obtain.
Consider that if a bunch of books is written by different authors under one pseudonym, all the authors could be sued under that name.

An author spoke about her box set. She had a one-page letter of agreement with her partners. She advises you to determine your goals. Is it to hit a bestseller list? Or do you wish to raise publicity for your book? What is the term limit for your box set? How much will it be priced for? What are the consequences if one member wishes to withdraw? In her case, the person withdrawing would pay for reformatting unless more than half of the members wanted out. They decided who would report sales and when, who would collect money and pay them their portion. They decided that all members would make decisions together. They agreed on a price to pay for ads. Disbandment was set for 45 days after the book went on the market. One concern she mentioned is that if the person who manages the money puts funds into her personal account, who else has access?

Publishing each other’s work in a co-op is another type of collaboration. Book View Café was cited as an example.

Regarding box sets, you need to determine the order involved. The first and last titles are premium. Should they be listed alphabetically, or should the bestselling author get the top spot? Are you allowed to sell your books individually if they’re in a box set with other authors? Are they going to be backlist titles or new titles?

Thinking these things through and discussing them with your partners ahead of time will avoid conflict down the road.

Do you have any considerations to add?

 

Literary Estate Planning

Literary Estate Planning
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014

Copyright is for life of the author plus 70 years. You have physical assets as well as digital assets. Be aware that it can be a violation of federal or criminal laws for friends or family members to take over your online accounts. Think about what happens not only when you die, but also if you become disabled.

If you’ve done nothing and you die, the state will have an intestate succession. The statute says who inherits your assets. Your options are to gift your intellectual property, copyrights, and physical assets in your will.

Your literary attorney can work as a consultant with your family estate lawyer. If you grant items to people in your will, the recipient gets everything. Who can step into your shoes when the time comes?

An alternative is to set up a legal or corporate entity. An LLC, S or C Corporation are the options. The corporate entity could have perpetual existence. If the Corporation owns the copyright, it can affect the term of copyright.You could make your children the shareholders. But then they would run the company. Can they manage it all in agreement with each other? A third choice, and the best one, is to create a trust. You can separate the management from the revenue. The trust would be managed for the benefit of your beneficiaries. You can assign one person as trustee to manage the following, which are examples only:

Published books
Unpublished manuscripts
Rights to hire editors and other ancillary help
Management of digital assets
Rights to negotiate contracts and subsidiary rights (as well as the right to refuse offers)

This allows your identity, as the author, to continue. The trustee does not have to be the beneficiary but then he should be compensated. There are tax consequences if the trustees are the beneficiaries. It’s also important for you to have an inventory. List your book titles, contracts, termination dates, agent information, revenue sources, and location of assets. Joint works need to be explained, and you should have a written agreement with collaborators. Consider contracts with cover designers. Do you own the covers to reuse as desired?

In a trust or will, it shouldn’t be so detailed as to list individual titles. It should be broader and more encompassing to cover intellectual property. Authorize the trustee to hire an agent, formatter, publicity person, cover designer, etc. Set up a procedure for beneficiaries to select new trustees so the trust can continue.

Any publisher will freeze your account upon your death. The executor needs to provide court documentation that he is authorized to collect money. But for digital property, this might not work. Federal laws make it difficult for a third party to take over your digital accounts. Only nine states have statutes to deal with this issue. So appoint a person in your will or trust to access and manage your digital accounts. You’ll also want a power of attorney in case you are disabled.

Put the bank account where your royalties go into your trust, and put the trust name on the bank account. For a DBA, put this in your will or trust as an asset to be passed on.

If you donate your materials to a library or school, talk to them to make sure they have adequate resources to preserve your collection.

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation. This post does not constitute legal advice. Please consult your own literary attorney for your personal situation.

Contest Alert

Last Day! Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors in our November contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

1000 Thriller Giveaway: Enter to win a new book every week for a year: http://www.thebigthrill.org/1000-thrillers/

HANGING BY A HAIR is up for a Readers Choice BTS Red Carpet Book Award in the Mystery category. Check it out and vote here: http://btsemag.com/redcarpet/2014_ReadersChoice_Mystery.html