new authors – Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast

SFFMP 193: Marketing and Publishing Advice for Newer Authors

August 7, 2018 SFFpodcast Group Discussion, Podcast

This week, Lindsay, Jo, and Jeff geared the show toward newer authors getting ready to publish their first books or with a few titles out. They answered some questions and tried to offer advice based on what’s working for folks getting started now.

Here are some of the specifics that were touched on:

More options for photoshop fantasy and science fiction covers with models from NeoStock and Period Images.
Google Play coming on strong as a contender.
Profiting from AMS advertising.
Moving from CreateSpace to KDP Print.
What to do to gain traction when you move from KDP Select and out into the other stores.
What to do when your first book is cross-genre and doesn’t fit well into the current categories on Amazon and other stores.
How do you find a good editor?
Should you try to save up three or more books for rapid release when you’re a new author?
The importance of having realistic expectations.
What you can do to start building up a list of buyers before you launch your first novel.
What are some low-cost advertising options.
What can you do for marketing if you’re shy?
If you’ve written three books in a series and haven’t had much success, should you pull the plug?
What are some of the best marketing services for space opera/SF?

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marketing, new authors, publishing

SFFMP 181: Spreading out Your Advertising Dollars for Effectiveness and Launching Well as a New Author

May 15, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

This week, epic fantasy/fantasy romance author Miranda Honfleur joined us on the show. She launched her first series last November and has kept book 1 selling well and sticking in the Amazon fantasy charts while releasing more books in the series. She has three out now with a fourth to follow later this summer. We asked her how she did so well as a new author and how she’s maintaining sales.

Here are some more specifics on what we covered:

Miranda’s road to publishing.
How she’s balanced writing epic fantasy that’s heavy on romance, something epic fantasy readers aren’t always looking for.
What she took away from the Sell More Books Show conference as a new author.
How she used Instafreebie to building a mailing list months before she launched her first book.
Creating promotions using the King Sumo WordPress app.
Tips for getting the most out of Bookbub PPC ads, Amazon ads, and Facebook ads.
Whether she’s needed to cull her mailing list, something we just talked about on last week’s show!
How she tries to be everywhere with advertising.
How much time she’s putting into Amazon ads and other marketing methods to keep her Book 1 selling week in and week out.
Whether Instagram may be the next place fantasy authors should have a presence.
Marketing to “series-adjacent” genres as part of a larger strategy.

You can find Miranda on her website or on Amazon where her books are currently in Kindle Unlimited. If you’re a fantasy fan, check out her first book, Blade & Rose. If you enjoyed fairy tales, she’s a part of the Of Beasts and Beauties boxed set.

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advertising books, amazon ads, book launches, epic fantasy, Facebook, fantasy romance, Miranda Honfleur, new authors

SFFMP 113: Advice for Newer Authors from Successful Paranormal Romance Author Anna Lowe

December 27, 2016 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

Today we chatted with paranormal romance author Anna Lowe. She got her start in 2015, made $26,000 that first year, and then made more than $50,000 in 2016. We asked her about what it’s like for those starting new, and how she’s broken into a fairly competitive genre.

Here are a few more specifics:

Writing stories that can cross genres (Anna’s books can be filed under Romance > Western as well as paranormal romance) and perhaps appealing to more than once audience.
Focusing on shorter novels in genres that are accepting of them, so that you can publish more often, even if you’re not a super speedy writer.
Anna’s thoughts on jumping into a competitive genre as a newer author.
Tropes that people expect in PNR and whether it’s okay to turn some of them on their heads.
How she’s had good experiences with short stories, despite advice to ignore them in favor of writing novels.
Getting involved with Facebook author and fan groups as a way of finding people to network with and also potential ARC reviewers.
Putting together a solid ARC team and following up to make sure people are actually posting reviews.
Setting daily writing goals to keep the books coming out, even when you’re busy with a full-time job and a family.
Experimenting with audiobooks and figuring out how to market them.

Visit Anna Lowe on her website and check out her books (currently in KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited) on Amazon.