You know you want to write a book. I can help.
[image: selling-sold-sold-paid]Fiction authors might want to find something else to read. Today we’re all business.
Selling books is no way to make money. But you’re a business person and you know that some things that don’t directly earn money are still vital to the sales process.
Does a book fit into that picture?
Let’s talk numbers.
… more … “ROI: Is Writing a Book a Good Investment in Your Business?”
[image: dreaming]Seth writes about Harper Lee’s double miracle at The Domino Project. You should read it. I’ll wait.
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I hope you read it or what I write here will make less sense.
Dreaming is wonderful. It’s vital to an artist. No dreams, no art.
Dreaming is not a business plan.
I started reading an article about how Amazon search really works and why authors need to know this.
I had to look up “lemmatisation” and shortly thereafter my eyes glazed over and I gave up.
Maybe I’m a lazy slacker. Maybe I just want to write and then hope books sell themselves.
Maybe there’s only so much one person can do.
… more … “Following Every Rabbit Down a Hole: The Endless Search for All the Marketing”
[image: left, right, or middle?]Almost every author I talk to wishes someone else would sell their books for them. The few exceptions are those who, by nature or training, enjoy marketing their books. They’ve learned enough to have a plan and to execute it consistently, persistently.
Even my wife‘s clients, who pay her large sums for social media marketing for their books, engage fully in the process. Those who don’t quickly become frustrated because she isn’t selling their books well enough, not realizing that’s not how it works (despite having that clearly explained at the outset.)
Here’s the good news: if you hate marketing and you don’t want to sell your books, you don’t have to spend another second on marketing.
… more … “Learn to Love Marketing, or Give Your Books Away (or Both)”
[image: pet the cat]In her blog today author Lia London tells a harrowing tale of lies, betrayal, fraud — that wasn’t her latest book, it was her previous publishing efforts.
In a Facebook group I’m part of, someone asked for recommendations for a web designer. I dropped my name on the list, already 100 posts long.
The “where should I host my site?” question is asked often, garnering the same list of responses each time: “GoDaddy!” “Anywhere but GoDaddy!” “HostThingy” “ThingHost” “HostHost” “Hostess Cupcakes” “Charlottezweb” (because I’ll never skip an opportunity to promote Jason’s marvelous hosting, even if it gets lost in the crowd.)
We’re re-watching Longmire from the beginning, hoping the long-awaited 4th season will start the night after we finish the cliffhanger of season 3. In last night’s episode Walt tells Henry the reason he’s pulling fingerprints from a car’s steering wheel instead of having one of his deputies do it: “If you want something done right, you do it yourself.”
Rather than debate the debatable truth of the statement, let’s talk about why we believe that.
… more … “Once Bitten . . . You Stop Sticking Your Hand in the Cage”
[image: Joel plays bass]A handful of years ago we were regulars at open mic in a suburb of Sacramento. Some of the performers were excellent musicians and singers; real artists.
Some, not so much.
One night two young boys, the older probably 15 and the younger 10 or 11, came in with their electric guitars. They used a recorded rhythm section backing track and played along and sang.
From a purely musical perspective, they were not very good.
I had seen something, though.
[image: like a caravan climbing a mountain]Since I started the focused marketing of A Long, Hard Look, giving away copies in exchange for reviews and to get attention on Goodreads, the total results (over a the past 5 weeks) have been underwhelming. A handful (that means 5, at most) of sales, a few of which were to people I know. A few reviews, mostly from people who read my blog or newsletter.
Like I said, underwhelming. (Not that I don’t appreciate that folks who know me buy, read, and review, but that isn’t a result of all this marketing, it’s a result of our personal relationship.)
There are a million sales tactics, and hundreds of people out there pitching their “sell a million copies” process. If only I could find the magic potion, the secret formula.
Thing is, I already have it, and it’s no secret, nor is it magic.
Another reason (and, to contradict what I said above, even less of a business book) is Dr. Seuss’ unknown classic I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
At the other end of the spectrum, I own 3/4 of Donald Knuth’s indispensable The Art of Computer Programming
… more … “The Difference Between Price and Value and Why it Has Nothing to Do with Your Book”
[image: Pat Fitzpatrick] Pat Fitzpatrick(Somehow this draft never got posted. Even though the linked article is 2 months old, it is excellent, well worth your time.
8 practical tips on making the transition from working for a living to writing for a living. Yes, that’s a joke. The article is not. Pat Fitzpatrick guest writing on Joanna Penn’s blog.
Next winter we’ll be taking a break from the bitter cold of northern Wisconsin to get soaking wet in Portland, Oregon at Left Coast Crime.
Until James Preston asked if I was attending LCC and Bouchercon this year (both within driving distance of where he lives, lucky dog) I hadn’t even considered writers’ conventions.
I love being with people. It’s one reason book-signing events still appeal to authors. We want to look our fans in the eye, feel their adulation, take their cash with our own grubby little paws. Okay, maybe not that last bit.
In my previous careers I’ve never considered conventions as a way to promote myself. A web developer’s convention? Scarier than Bloody Words, I assure you.
… more … “Real Mystery Writers Attend Mystery Writers’ Conventions. Right?”
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![[image: a new path] it altered how I think about the process of living. Though it is as far from a business book as you can get, it is one reason I make a good living doing things I love.](http://images.freeimages.com/images/previews/4a0/stepping-stones-1206437.jpg){kind=link}