Category: Author Interview

SFFMP 156: Finding Success with a Cross-Genre Book Launch with Chris Fox

Author Interview, Podcast

One of our favorite guests, Chris Fox, returns this week so we can grill him about the success he had with his space-fantasy launch, Tech Mage.

Here’s some of what we covered:

  • What made Chris, the Write to Market guy, decide to take on a new cross-genre series that he wasn’t positive would sell well.
  • How you choose what to emphasize on the cover when your novel crosses multiple genres and could fit in a number of categories.
  • How Chris quietly put up a pre-order without mentioning it to fans, then used Facebook ads to see which ads and tag lines on the product page resulted in the highest conversion.
  • Choosing different audiences to target (via Facebook ads) for subsequent launches in a cross-genre series.
  • Whether anything different needs to be done with a launch for a book that spans multiple genres and isn’t necessarily written to market.
  • Advice for newer authors who don’t have a list already built that they can rely upon for early sales.
  • Keeping cover design simple, and whether it matters if you have a specific scene from the book illustrated for it.
  • For the first time, Chris registered a domain name and put up a lot of bonus content for his new series: https://www.magitechchronicles.com/
  • Why Chris plans to write ten books in this series rather than sticking to trilogies or smaller series as he’s often done in the past.
  • Who should consider relaunching a series.
  • Why Chris likes omnibuses as a way to kickstart a flagging series without redoing covers on all the original books.

You can buy or borrow Tech Mage on Amazon, or check out Chris’s Relaunch Your Novel for some tips on breathing life into a series that you felt underperformed initially.

Chris also has some great videos for writers on his YouTube channel. Of course, he’s on the web too at Chris Fox Writes.

Also, if you haven’t listened to them, check out the other episodes where Chris was a guest:

 

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SFFMP 155: What It Takes to Shift from Hobby Writer to Full-Time Author with Ben Hale

Author Interview, Podcast

This week, we chatted with non-fiction and YA fantasy author Ben Hale. A former business owner, he did a lot of research before jumping into self-publishing his first fantasy novels in 2012. After six months, he was able to go full-time. His recent non-fiction release, co-written with Honorée Corder, talks about the business side of writing and publishing, with tips for taking your career to the next level.

Here are a few of the specifics we talked about:

  • Researching the market and what’s working for successful authors before jumping in to publishing.
  • Why being fluent in a language may not be enough when it comes to translating your own books.
  • The changes to the market that Ben has seen since he first started publishing in 2012.
  • Creating multiple series that interlink and are set in the same world so that readers will naturally want to go from one to the other.
  • Some of the challenges of marketing to young adult readers and why some YA books appeal to adults more than others do.
  • The importance of releasing regularly — Ben tries to put out a new novel every 3 to 4 months.
  • Developing a business mindset as an author.
  • What to look at if you have a number of books out, but they aren’t selling as well as you expected.
  • How far ahead goals or visions should extend.
  • Starting out with the business mindset so that you’re ready for success farther down the road.

Learn more about Ben Hale and grab his starter library at his website, Lumineia. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and check out the helpful book that he and Honorée Corder wrote, Write Like a Boss.

 

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SFFMP 154: Getting into Libraries, Urban Fantasy Launches, and Writing Tips from the Donald Maass Workshop

Author Interview, Podcast

Today, we were joined by librarian and urban fantasy author Dale Ivan Smith who launched his first series, The Empowered, earlier this year. He talked about the challenges of writing across genres, getting into a crowded subgenre such as urban fantasy, and why he started in Kindle Unlimited and later went wide. We also asked him how one can get self-published books into libraries and what he learned from attending the Donald Maass workshop on the emotional craft of fiction.

Here are a few of the specifics we touched on:

  • Pricing your ebooks to be attractive to librarians.
  • Talking to local librarians and what it’s good to show them (i.e. reviews, awards) when you’re pitching your book.
  • Asking your readers to put in requests at their local libraries for your books.
  • Whether libraries cycle books out of their system based on popularity.
  • Whether workshops are worth the cost and travel expense.
  • Creating protagonists that the readers connect with right away.
  • The challenges of creating an antihero protagonist.
  • Launching an urban fantasy series as an author starting today.
  • Writing the story of your heart (as many authors start out doing) versus one that’s to market and perhaps more likely to sell.
  • Whether to launch into KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited or to take an urban fantasy series wide.
  • Promotion sites that accept a new author and that Dale found worth it.
  • Tips for other newer authors.

Please visit Dale on his website or Twitter, and you can currently get his first novel, Empowered: Agent, for free everywhere.

 

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SFFMP 151: All About Bookbub CPM Ads and Becoming a #1 Bestseller on Amazon with Adam Croft

Author Interview, Podcast

Today’s guest, Adam Croft, had a lot of great information to share about how he hit it big with a stand alone novel after writing two thriller series. Facebook ads played a part in his success with his first breakout novel, and we asked him about that, but lately, he’s been experimenting with Bookbub’s CPM ads (banners that you can pay for that run in their emails independent of their sponsorship program). We asked him about how authors can make the most of that program, even if they haven’t been able to get sponsorships with the big gorilla of advertising.

Here are some of the details we touched on:

  • Not following all the write-in-series advice all the time — Adam’s biggest hit was a stand alone thriller.
  • Writing hooky Facebook ads that draw people in and can sell a full-priced book.
  • Reaching #1 in the entire Amazon.com and Amazon UK stores with a new release.
  • If it’s possible to leverage former bestseller status to sell more books.
  • The difference between Bookbub’s paid sponsorships that we all covet and rarely get and their CPM advertising program that anyone can sign up for.
  • Targeting categories versus targeting specific authors.
  • Why targeting big names with Bookbub’s ads isn’t necessarily the way to go.
  • Whether the Bookbub ads are better for new releases or older titles or both.
  • Using affiliate links to help gauge how successful your ads are.
  • How the Bookbub CPM ads can work even if you’re marketing cross-genre novels or books in niches that don’t usually get picked up for their regular sponsorships.
  • Using ads to restore interest in older titles but doing tighter targeting for these, whereas you might go broader for a new release to get as many eyeballs on it as possible.
  • How Bookbub lets you link to individual stores in specific countries.
  • Making sure, before you get that big hit, to have your mailing list set up so that it’s easy to sign up for and people get something.

You can visit Adam on his website, his Facebook page, or Twitter, and make sure to check out his books. His series starters, Too Close for Comfort, and Exit Stage Left are free on Amazon and in other stores.

 

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SFFMP 150: Paranormal Romance and Publishing/Marketing Outside of the U.S. with Nalini Signh

Author Interview, Podcast

This week, paranormal romance author Nalini Singh joined us to talk about her genre, her experiences getting a traditional U.S. publisher when she was living in New Zealand, and how things have evolved over the 14 years that she’s been publishing. She’s best known for her Psy Changling and Guild Hunter series, and she’s also dipped her toes in the self-publishing waters with her contemporary romance series, Rock Kiss.

Here are some specifics of what we covered:

  • Differences to the publishing process when based in New Zealand or another country as opposed to the US or UK.
  • How paranormal romance is doing trend-wise now and whether publishers are looking for it.
  • The difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
  • The importance of being consistent and not getting details wrong in a long series (Nalini keeps a story bible).
  • Some of the pros and cons of continuing a long-running series.
  • How helpful book review blogs can be if you can get your novels picked up.
  • Sending out ARC copies well in advance of the publication date.
  • Which social media sites Nalini likes and what she does on the different ones.
  • How she’s building her mailing list and working to keep fans happy.
  • How often you have to publish these days to stay relevant and grow a fan base.

Check out Nalini’s newest release Archangel’s Viper (out September 26th) and visit her on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

 

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SFFMP 149: Success with Epic Fantasy and Marketing when Traditionally Published with Brian McClellan

Author Interview, Podcast

This week, we chatted with epic fantasy author Brian McClellan about the success he’s had by following the traditional route. He’s also dabbled in self-publishing some novellas in his Powder Mage universe. We talked about what publishers are looking for when it comes to epic fantasy, how he got his agent, how his first book went to auction, and what he’s doing for marketing.

Here are a few of the more specific topics we covered:

  • How he got an agent a few years ago and whether it’s truly necessary to hit up the conventions and network.
  • What Brian does for marketing versus what his publisher does.
  • What he’s doing on social media, his blog, and when it comes to building a newsletter.
  • Whether epic fantasy books need to be hugely long or if there’s a place for more quickly paced novels.
  • Giving readers (and agents/editors) stories that have the familiar and what people know they like but that also have originality and new elements.
  • Brian’s advice for newer authors.
  • Subjects he avoids on social media, and the kinds of arguments that are OK to start.

You can visit Brian on his website and check out his list of books there was well. His first novel is Promise of Blood, his most recent is Sins of Empire, and he just released a novella that you can check out for $2.99: The Mad Lancers.

 

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SFFMP 147: Mastering Facebook Advertising for Authors with Michael Cooper

Author Interview, Podcast

We had a great show tonight with Michael Cooper, the author of HELP! My Facebook Ads Suck and also a science fiction author writing under M.D. Cooper. He’s been experimenting constantly with Facebook ads and had some amazing advice, a lot of it different from what we’ve heard before (Lindsay, who hates Facebook ads, is tempted to give them another try!), and the proof is in the pudding. He went from very modest sales to having months where he made $25,000+ from his science fiction novels (and no, he didn’t spend $30,000 on Facebook to make that much — Lindsay asked).

The show was so jam packed with information that we’re not going to attempt to touch on everything in the show notes here, but here’s a little of what Michael talked about:

  • Why you should never use your book cover (or any text at all) in the image of a Facebook ad.
  • Michael’s spreadsheet to help you figure out the read-through rate in your series, how much you’re earning per customer you get into your funnel, and how much you can afford to spend to acquire a reader.
  • The PDF file Michael mentioned: Facebook Ads for Fun and Profit v2.
  • Why you should start ads at $5 a day max and only increase the spend if they prove they’re doing well.
  • Creating a fan page to launch your advertising campaigns from instead of a business page.
  • Using Books2Read as a place to direct readers if you’re creating ads to appeal to readers on all platforms and not just sending them straight to Amazon.
  • Why Michael isn’t a fan of using Facebook ads to build a mailing list — he sends people straight to buy his books.
  • Doing long-form sales copy rather than simply creating a short snippet.
  • Why you should create different ads for different countries instead of just targeting all English-speaking countries.
  • Why Michael prefers to run ads on 99-cent or full-priced ebooks rather than permafree titles.
  • Creating character-based ad copy to appeal to female readers versus more plot-based copy for male readers.

You can find Michael on Facebook, on his science fiction author website Aeon 14, or he’s also active in the 20Booksto50K Facebook group.

Definitely pick up his book, HELP! My Facebook Ads Suck. And take notes while listening to the show. Thanks for listening!

 

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SFFMP 146: Relaunching an Old Series to Success and Hitting Lists with a Multi-Author Boxed Set with Ella Summers

Author Interview, Podcast

We recorded early today to accommodate our guest living in Switzerland, urban fantasy author Ella Summers. She has three paranormal and fantasy series that sell very well on Amazon: Legion of Angels, Dragon Born, and the recently relaunched Sorcery and Science. She was also a part of the big Dominion Rising multi-author boxed set that recently released and sold over 30,000 copies (we first interviewed the organizer, Gwynn White, about this boxed set back in April when it was on pre-order). We talked about tropes and expectations in urban fantasy, and also about rebranding and relaunching an old series that didn’t sell well originally.

Here are are few of the details we touched on:

  • Why Ella likes 60-70,000 words for her novels.
  • What readers of urban fantasy expect and when it’s okay to add non-standard elements (Ella mixes in science fiction and steampunk elements in her various series).
  • The strategy she recently used to relaunch her first series, which wasn’t a big seller and didn’t mesh with her existing brand.
  • Not being afraid to edit books in a series and do more than simply changing covers and blurbs when relaunching it.
  • Some popular tropes in urban fantasy.
  • How urban fantasy does in Kindle Unlimited today and if the niche is getting too crowded.
  • The tactics the authors in the Dominion Rising boxed set used to get tens of thousands of sales.
  • Branding covers not just within a series but across an author’s entire body of work.

You can find Ella on her website and check out her books on Amazon, including the first book in her best-selling Legion of Angels series.

 

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SFFMP 143: Writing Quickly, Sci-Fi Anthologies, and Networking with Other Authors with Craig Martelle

Author Interview, Podcast

Today, science fiction author Craig Martelle joined us to talk about how he’s gotten rolling so quickly, publishing 20 novels in two years, spearheading three anthologies, and becoming super involved in the popular 20Booksto50K Facebook group, where he’s helping to put together a couple of huge conferences for indie authors.

Here are some of the specifics on what we covered:

  • Jumping right in with a schedule to write and publish books quickly.
  • Target word counts and planning out series ahead of time.
  • Differences in post-apocalyptic and space opera genres.
  • Reasons for putting together anthologies and how to make them profitable.
  • Networking with other authors online and in person.
  • Whether marketing and business should play a role in how you choose the next books you’re going to write.
  • Creating a bundle of starter books once you’ve got multiple series out.
  • What Craig posts on his Facebook page to keep readers interested and sell more books.
  • Asking for reviews at the end of books (and linking back to the book’s page in the store to make it easier for readers).

If you’re interested in signing up for either of the conferences that Craig talked about, here are the links:

20Booksto50K Las Vegas (November 2017): http://20booksvegas.com/
20Booksto50K London (February 2018): http://20bookslondon.com/

Be sure to check out his website and his work on Amazon, such as the first book in his Terry Henry Walton Chronicles.

 

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SFFMP 141: Succeeding in Urban Fantasy, Collaborating, and Quitting the Day Job with CN Crawford

Author Interview, Podcast

This week, we chatted with urban fantasy authors Christine and Nick Crawford who write under the name CN Crawford. Christine has recently been able to quit the day job and go full time with the writing. After starting out publishing one book in 2014 and one in 2015, they got rolling in 2016, and now have several series going and selling well. We talked about urban fantasy and what it’s taking to succeed right now.

Here are some of the specific details from our conversation:

  • Collaborating as a husband and wife team.
  • Dealing with differences of opinion when your writing partner is your spouse.
  • Whether it takes anything special to break into the popular urban fantasy niche.
  • Thoughts on upcoming trends for urban fantasy.
  • Whether the genre expects male or female protagonists.
  • Giving away a free extra that ties into your main series in order to entice newsletter signups.
  • Using Bookfunnel to facilitate ebook giveaways.
  • Predominantly using Amazon and Facebook ads and not doing much with the typical promo sites.

Find them on their website or join their CN Crawford Facebook group. If you’re on Amazon, you can check out the first books in the Dark Fae FBI series or Demons of Fire and Night.

 

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