
Know Your Worth – A Conversation about Perceived Value, Posted on Facebook by Amanda Zito.

Who likes Nike, Adidas? Who’s your favourite Movie Star, Poet, Author? The first two are BRANDS which people love. The Second are people who can be turned into BRANDS and generally are. So, how do they do this? What does it mean to have a BRAND?
If you get a big enough BRAND you can sponsor others, the same way Nike and Adidas do. They are MARKETING MACHINES, but how did they do it? How did they get so big and noticeable? It’s a bit of give and take. The big businesses sponsor the big names in sports and movies. If a movie star loves the shoes, clothes, drink…whatever the business sell, then the public will buy and support the person being sponsored which in itself supports the MARKETING MACHINE. It continually circles around, making money.
As authors and publishers we need to do something similar. The trouble is getting your foot in the door. How is this achieved. Well it’s time to ask some of the Independent Authors who’ve made a success of their books. There is one lady I know you’d all love to chat with. Sadly she is busy heading for a deadline right now though Jami Albright has given me permission to share how she went about her first book launch, which also shows how she used her BRAND to her advantage.
This article was written by Jami Albright in 2017. Jami has since released another three books in her series.
The minute you decide to sell your book it stops being your baby and becomes a product. A product that needs to be launched into the world. Which, frankly, is a dubious task when you consider that there are millions of books on Amazon alone, not to mention the other platforms such as, Kobo, Apple iBooks, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.
Did you hear me, people? Millions!
So how do you launch your book so it will sell, but also stay sticky in the Amazon rankings and therefore, continue to sell? We have to have a plan. A launch plan.
On April 11, 2017, I released the first book in my Brides on the Run series into the top 3000 in the Amazon paid store and had 50 reviews within the first three days. Eleven weeks later (as of this writing) my book is still ranked in the top 5000 and has over 200 reviews. It’s sold 1100 copies, and has 700K pages read in Kindle Select/Kindle Unlimited.
My little book has made over $5000, y’all! (I’m a Texan. We’re excitable.)
When I was asked to write this article about my book launch, my first thought was, Surely, there’s someone more qualified than me to talk about this subject? Because, while I’ve done well, other indie authors are knocking it out of the park with their numbers. But like most of you, I’m a part-time writer with family responsibilities, and a day job, who’s doing everything I can to figure out this indie publishing thing. What I’m trying to say: If I can do it, you can do it.
My launch plan began months before I put my book on Amazon. I started by understanding my genre and making sure my book met the expectations and conventions of that category. How did I do that? I read books like the ones I wanted to write. I familiarized myself with the tried and true tropes that readers want, and then worked very hard to make sure I delivered on those expectations. You can choose to write outside of the parameters of a genre, but know that you are going out on a limb to do it. And you might find yourself alone on that limb with your determination to be unique and no audience. Readers come to a genre knowing what they want. If you disappoint them because you decide to break convention, they will not be happy. They’ll then share their displeasure by leaving a nasty review.
The same is true of covers. When choosing a cover for your book, check out the top one-hundred best sellers in your genre. Are there themes, colors, and fonts that are used to signal that the book is a YA fantasy or a cozy mystery? I’m not telling you to copy those covers, but you should use them as guidelines for your own design.
I write romantic comedy. In the rom-com sub-genre there are three camps as far as covers go. One camp is full of sexy, shirtless guys. The second is illustrated covers with quirky characters, and third features women in flirty skirts, that only show their legs. My book didn’t fall neatly into any of those styles. It’s kind of a combination of all of them. It took several iterations, but I came up with a compromise that I think works. It’s flirty, quirky and sexy, just like my book.
A reader should be able to look at your cover and tell immediately what kind of book it is. If your cover and your content don’t match, then you’ve confused the reader. And a confused reader is one that moves on to the next book by another author.
In addition to a great cover, you also want a blurb or book description that hooks the reader. If you don’t know how to write good copy, learn, or pay someone to do that task for you. Bryan Cohen’s How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis is an excellent resource on the subject. If done well your cover and blurb can sell your book for you.
Before we move on, one more quick word about covers. Put down the mouse and step away from Photoshop. Now! You should not be making your own covers unless you have an extensive background in graphic design. There, I said it. Someone had to.
I know these things cost a lot of money, and if you’re like me, that money isn’t in your budget. But it’s important, so important that I worked odd jobs to make extra cash and, ultimately, sold plasma to pay for it all. Was it hard to travel thirty minutes to an unfamiliar part of town, sit for hours in a small room filled with people I didn’t know, and get stuck with a needle twice a week? Yes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I have a book I’m proud of. A book that looks professional on the inside and out. A book I paid for with actual blood, sweat, and tears. Damn right, I’d do it again.
Now that I’m off my do whatever you have to do soapbox, I should say that you can sometimes barter with an editor to get the services you need. Or find a graphic design student that has experience and wants to build their portfolio. Or just wait and save up until you have the money.
I know you want your book out yesterday, but we’re playing the long game. Smart, professional authors don’t rush something to market that isn’t ready because it will hurt them in the long run.
To re-cap, we need to know our genre expectations, have a fantastic cover that we don’t make ourselves, a well-written blurb that hooks readers, and professional editing and formatting.
Finally, I can’t encourage you enough to get involved with the indie community. Once I realized that indie publishing was the route I wanted to take, I immersed myself in learning everything I could about the business of self-publishing. I listened to podcasts, I got involved with Facebook groups geared toward publishing and marketing, I went to the Smarter Artists Summit, and I tried my best to be a good community member and make meaningful connections with other indie authors. Little did I know how those connections would be a driving forces behind my successful launch.
In the beginning, I had very little to offer other writers other than encouragement. I could share posts, give moral support and be a friend. So can you. It requires a little effort, imagination, and courage, all things you have because you’re a writer.
How do you feel? Do you think you’re ready to release your baby… um… product into the world?
Jami Albright
Running From A Rock Star
www.jamialbright.com
jamialbright1@gmail.com
Please continue to read our blogs for the processes about Author Brand and Book Launches, and please remember the first step to building your book is RESEARCH
Our next article will cover Social Media and Website Building. What to expect, what you need to do and learn. Much of this also depends on your budget. Can you afford it or are you willing to LEARN what’s needed to get your BRAND working for YOU.
I love technology. I had always wanted to be a computer tech, however my parents thought computers were a FAD so I wasn’t allowed to take computing at school in the 1980s. This was also prior to public internet. I loved every class and I was good. Never mind I eventually got my way over 25 yrs later when my husband went to college. Computer access was important.
Since that time I have developed some excellent skills and though I still have people help me out on odd occasions, I find I am now helping others and get called a tech expert – which I’m not. I just happen to know my way around various things and can teach others a few tricks I have learnt along the way.
Then you get those who aren’t interested in computers, those who can’t or won’t learn and those who would love to learn and should really take a course to get them on the right track.
I have a client who took a computer course – WOW she is so much more confident in what she does on her computer now. It is wonderful to see her take control and understand what I am talking about, without either of us getting frustrated. Mean while my parents still refuse to have a computer in their home, they dont’ even have cell phones. A lot of their friends do, so they actually see more about my family than my parents do. Sadly I doubt they will change. We do manage to get them on Skype on odd occasions at my sister’s house.
My sister is one of those who keeps getting computer issues and viruses. She also asks how to do certain things and makes me want to pull my hair out at times. Thank god my brother is easier to deal with. Mind I don’t see either of them very often to talk with online.
One of the technologies I have learnt along the way is building and setting up WordPress Websites. I love it. It is fun and I dont’ mind sharing my knowledge even though it is only basic – well to me. Another I have learnt a little about is JAWS – Screen Reader, which is for blind and partial sighted people. I looked into the technology due to having a couple of blind clients and friends. It was an interesting learning curve to be sure. The other type of technology I learnt was helping a client run a bed and breakfast – I had to learn how to use the booking websites where consumers book rooms. Each and everyone is different to use, different specs, different ways to enter data and places to upload photos. It is totally amazing how complicated it can get. Solving problems though is another area I can excel at – sometimes I have to wait for the lightbulb to click, other times it is working through several ideas until the right one turns up.
Over the last few years I’ve had several lightbulb scenarios. Daft ones having me saying DUH me and research ones which you win and grin with delight at your success. Then comes the question. Do I share with others or hold on to my info? Generally I share, I just can’t seem to help myself.
My next learning curve – is to work out how to use Flipboard website correctly so I can share my site with everyone. After this I really need to concentrate on those who don’t use technology and give them a gentle push in the right direction, by which I mean a computer course to a level suitable to them. Then I may go see my parents and try to set up a tablet for them to use. I will need lots of luck with this last idea. I already know my dad loves Skype from my last trip to see them.
Good luck with your technology and give me a shout, you never know I might be able to help. There again I might not.
I get a feeling writers think I am an expensive publisher. This is when I know their knowledge is lacking. They should realise it takes a long time to write a book. It also takes hours to edit, make a book cover, format, print and market a book. Our basic hourly rate for work here in New Zealand is $15.25. The Living wage is $19.20. This means at present I am running my company at a huge loss and I am a business who makes no profit. I do not get a salary. My husband supports me.
I offer a lot of FREE services for writers, authors and clients. I encourage them, chat with them, market them, offer free marketing in a magazine, a yearly free sponsorship, free anthology. This all takes hours of work to accomplish. I enjoy it. I don’t charge for it. I probably should.
My rate for formatting. $0.004c a word for a draft document. This is so low it is bloody daft. If I wanted to make a small profit I would be charging $0.10c or $0.20 a word.
At present a 70K story would cost approximately $280 USD In reality this story should cost $700 or even $1,400. Yeah go on – run screaming. I am paid after the formatting is approved by the client. I know editors who charge more than I do, same with book cover artists. Createspace charges $399 as a start rate for book covers and $199 for helping to format. I never own copyright or royalties.
Then you have Vanity Press who ask for $5K plus up front, don’t do the work, don’t send out books, charge you extra for marketing, sales, promo…every step of the way. So why do they still get the work? The most expensive package I have seen for an Author was $20k.
I know I don’t charge enough for the services I offer. If I were writing articles for others I’d get at least $0.25 a word. I choose not to. I prefer to assist Indie Authors get their work online. However I prices will increase each year. I need to make my company viable and earn a salary, though I will also always have a budget system and I will always do FREE things to assist everyone.
Please consider chatting with me to see how I can help you as a writer. After all I am here for you to help you build your book – one step at a time