This week, we chatted with fantasy author Jenna Moreci who was able to quit her day job after she published her first book in 2015. But that’s not all she did. A year earlier, she started a YouTube Channel for writers where she’s been consistently uploading weekly videos. She used her YouTube following to help launch that first book (Eve: The Awakening), start a Patreon campaign, and create CafePress merchandise that she sells to her followers/readers.
Here are some of the specifics that we talked about:
Why Jenna started a YouTube channel geared toward writers.
How having a following on YouTube helped her launch her first novel, Eve: The Awakening.
How she was able to quit the day job and replace her income after her first novel.
How long it takes to build up a following on YouTube and why you have to consistently post quality videos.
How much time Jenna spends on her YouTube videos each week.
Things authors should keep in mind if they’re thinking of starting their own YouTube channel.
The book marketing assistance business she mentioned (STORIAD).
Why Jenna started a Patreon campaign and how she’s earning over $1,000 a month with it.
Whether it’s worth it to start a Patreon campaign before you have a following.
Jenna’s attitude when she started out: “Assume the money’s not going to come for a long time.” And how that helped her keep her expectations realistic.
Why she started doing merchandise related to her books and YouTube channel and why she uses CafePress.
Why she’s pricing fairly high for an indie author (her most recent novel is priced at $6.49).
This week, one of our first guests ever on the show rejoined us after more than three years to talk about switching from contemporary fantasy to historical fantasy/steampunk. Becca Andre, author of the Final Formula series and her new Iron Souls series, publishes regularly while working full time and being a mom. We talked time management, the unique challenges of selling historical fantasy, and what it was like to use a big multi-author boxed set to launch a Book 1 in a new series.
Here are a few of the specifics we discussed:
Switching from urban/dark fantasy in a contemporary setting to a historical steampunk fantasy setting.
The challenges of researching and publishing historical fantasy.
Marketing a unique historical setting and story idea versus something that follows more popular tropes.
Using a multi-author boxed set to launch a brand new Book 1 in a new series.
Launching a Book 1 on its own after it already went out to your core fans in a boxed set.
Why Becca decided to try KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited for this series after having been wide in all the stores for years.
Fitting in time to write and market when you’ve got a day job and a family.
Choosing a cover design when you’re writing something unique and there aren’t many examples.
Amazon categories that can be used for historical fantasy and using a keyword to get into the new “gaslamp” fantasy category.
We’re usually joined by successful authors on the show, but today we invited on Jeffrey Bruner from the (successful) sponsorship site, The Fussy Librarian. He sees a lot of books in a lot of genres come through his gates, so we asked him a bit about trends and what’s selling right now, and also what it takes to start a sponsorship site (for those of you out there who have considered it!).
Here are a few of the specifics that we discussed:
Jeffrey’s own books and what made him decide to start an ebook sponsorship site.
How much of a time and monetary commitment getting such a site going is.
TFB’s free list versus their bargain list and review requirements for each.
Whether authors are still finding it profitable to advertise a free book one when the rest of the series is full price.
Linking from TFB direct to bookstores or to sites like Instafreebie if you’re trying to build a list.
The marketing Jeffrey does to keep new subscribers coming onto the list so authors can come back again and get their books in front of new people.
Some genre trends for science fiction and fantasy — what he’s seeing a lot of submitted and clicked on.
Advertising Amazon exclusive titles versus ebooks that are available in all the stores.
Right now, you can book The Fussy Librarian for $14 for a bargain fantasy book, $17 for a bargain science fiction book, or $30 to promote a freebie. They also have a subscription service if you want to regularly promote Book X on a schedule. Check out the site for more details.
This week, Jo, Jeff, and Lindsay answered listener questions–a lot of them! We went for an hour and a half so brace yourselves!
Here’s the list of questions we addressed:
Benjamin: I’d love to hear opinions on where the stuffing stuff (see anything from @DavidGaughran lately) meets back-of-book sequel previews, ML magnet previews, and promises of free stories in return for ML signups. Seems murky to me, not sure if I should be worried.
Roland: What do authors worry about that are really a big ol’ waste of time when it comes to sales and marketing? Getting into stores? What else?
Jim: I often hear that the first book takes the longest. My first epic fantasy has taken me years. I’m doing revisions now, and I’ve been working on the book since 2015, making it firmly a loss leader. What did you learn that made you faster?
Kirsten: Pros and cons of a pen name? Especially if you plan to write sci fi and non-fiction (as a psychologist).
Finn:
I have a query/topic for discussion. As self-pub authors, should we be moving our websites over to https?
How crucial is a cover for the newsletter reader magnet? Fantasy covers cost a good chunk, I can’t really afford to get another novel quality cover for a freebie, but I worry that I need to.
I’m considering combining the first three novel covers in a graphic design stylistically pleasing way and having it be a three short story reader magnet. I’m probably over thinking this.
Holly:
Any advice for being successful while writing something a bit quirky and not quite to market would be interesting.
How to find your readers and keep them, rather than targeting more broadly would also be great.
Dale: For each of you, how much do you commit to a particular series before beginning it? In other words, do you plan for so many books in advance, or do you wait and see how the first few do first before writing more?
Devyn: Also, I think one of you said (pretty sure it was you) that it’s best not to name your series after the first book in the series. Can you shed more light on why it’s not a good idea? I feel like I’m missing something.
Devyn: Is it better to launch 2 books in a series on the same day or wait a week/10 days in between publication? I’m going to launch a new series in June & not sure which is best approach.
S Usher: Do you think email newsletters are hitting their saturation point?
Jon: What kind of content have you seen in author newsletters that was unique/interesting/worth implementing in your own newsletters?
Lon: Do you think that even a trilogy, as a starting point for a series launch, isn’t enough?
Stephan:
Are you purchasing your own ISBNs for ebooks? While obviously not required for Amazon, it’s needed for Overdrive and other platforms. If you get free ISBNs (from Smashwords, etc), did it happen that you got 2 ISBNs for the same ebook?
Amazon has suspended lots of accounts recently for fraudulent activity, like they seem to do every year. Were any of you affected by the substantial loss in page reads, reported on kboards and fb?
Joanne: Not sure if it was Jeff or Jo who pulled out of KU, but could we get an update on how it’s going?
Stephan: Have any of you thought about publishing “self publishing help books” like Joanna Penn or Mark Dawson?
Sky Gate Tale: Currently writing sci-fi, and my chapters are coming out longer than usual. At around 4K to 6k each. Longer or shorter chapters which is better?
Ayan: What’s in the bottles behind Jeff? Could be beer but on phone portrait mode they look like sauces or potions.
Felicity: I would love to hear each of your writing inspiration stories. When did you know that writing was the career for you?
Benjamin: My question is: what word will each of you now be trademarking?
William: What’s your perfect Sunday?
Cookie Brain: Tell the story of how you three got together and started the podcast, please.