Elena

Today’s interview is with our very own show host Marti Dumas. (Yes it’s true – I forced her!)

Marti’s books are indie published through small press Plum Street Press and include JALA AND THE WOLVES, and JADEN TOUSSAINT, THE GREATEST series of which there are four books (The Quest for Screen Time; The Ladek Invasion; Muffin Wars; and Attack of the Swamp Thing) and her newest release JUPITER STORM.

Marti has sold over 50,000 copies of her Jaden Toussaint series. Here’s how she did it:

• First of all, Marti started off with a budget. The small press that she published through allocated her book a budget ($$$) for publication and marketing costs.
• She knew her target market for this book series. Jaden Toussaint the Greatest was written to help reluctant readers, and make “smart the new cool” as well as being a book about an African American main character.  With this clarity in mind in terms of the books’ target market, she then targeted parents and teachers who were (and still are) looking for books to help their reluctant readers be successful.
• Got the books into the hands of readers through:
  • local radio interviews
  • review team giveaways
  • local bookstore launch
  • free feature on Bookbub that resulted in 16,000 downloads
• Still when not many sales happened, and Marti questioned whether it was worth pursuing, she came back to her mission. Why was she writing in the first place? This, and in person positive feedback and letters from families kept her going and believing in her book series.
• The turning point came when the third book in the series was being released. Marti then made the first book in the series permafree – and it all started to take off!
• The new goal became to get more reviews – once she reached 100, reviews then took off – now sitting at over 400 on the first book.
• Facebook advertising was central to what worked – librarians and bookstore owners hang out on facebook! She uses it to direct traffic to the first FREE book in the series.
• While 50,000 books sold is amazing, she is looking to expand this in the new year with strategies that allow direct to bookstores and direct to library sales.
• Well done Marti! You are a legend and so generous to share your knowledge with us all. Love you xox

Enjoy the show.

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Today’s interview is with author Crystal Swain-Bates.

A native of Atlanta, GA, Crystal Swain-Bates is an author and the owner of Goldest Karat Publishing, a boutique publisher that aims to fill the diversity gap in traditional publishing by providing readers with high-quality books featuring characters of African descent. Crystal’s children’s books include “Big Hair, Don’t Care”, “Naturally Me!”, “Supermommy”, “The Colorful Adventures of Zoe & Star”, “The Colorful Adventures of Cody & Jay”, and the natural hair inspired coloring book “Color My Fro”. Crystal holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University and is an avid world traveler.

Crystal offered such a wonderful mix of advice in this interview. Here are the highlights but you’ll learn a great deal from listening to her interview:

• Don’t write for everyone. Know what demographic you’re targeting.
• It’s important to have a good support person. It made all the difference when Crystal published her first book. With her Mom by her side, she gained the confidence to approach stores and put herself out there. And to be proud of her product.
• Get out there! If no one sees your books, no one can buy them. Crystal is confident that when a child or parent sees her book in person, they are more likely to buy it. Crystal did lots of festivals in the early days. Now she is much more selective, attending only bigger festivals where there are at least 3,000 people attending, and events where her target audience are. Also, you never know who you will meet: one time Crystal was lucky enough to have her books chosen as props for a television show. Live events are also a great way to get real-life feedback on your books. People will comment on the covers, book quality and the price while at your stall – great information that you can learn from and apply. Crystal takes about 80-100 of each book title to festivals she attends.
• It’s helpful when your book has a theme and a good description that describes the benefits of reading the book. “Big Hair Don’t Care” has a theme that really took off. It ended up being listed in many places including popular blogs and other key lists such as the Huffington Post.  This hugely increased the visibility of the book.
• Don’t take offense when family and friends don’t buy your book/s. Go and find your target audience instead.
• You are the brand so it’s important people like you. Crystal prides herself on being an accessible author. When people email or reach out, on social media, Crystal always responds. She isn’t salesy, but instead focuses on giving value. She’s never too busy to interact with and respond to her fans and readers.
• You should never just have a book. Use your illustrations to create t-shirts and other products. Crystal even has a paper party set she sells. You can see her products at www.browngirlsclub.com.
• Stop seeking perfection in your book. Your book will never be perfect. Good enough, is good enough, otherwise, you’ll never have anything to sell.
• Have a website URL such as www.booksbycrystal.com that takes people straight to your Amazon Page.

You can find Crystal online at www.crystalswainbates.com, follow her on AMAZON, and get social with her on Facebook and Twitter. Crystal also offers Author Coaching. You can find more information about it HERE.

Enjoy the show.

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Today’s interview is with author and indie publishing expert Darcy Pattison.

Darcy Pattison is a writer of fiction and nonfiction children’s literature, a blogger, writing teacher, and indie publisher. Her books have been translated into nine languages. Although she is best known for her work in children’s literature, she is also a writing teacher traveling across the nation presenting her Novel Revision Retreat. She has been featured as a writer and writing teacher in prestigious publications such as Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, and 2012 Writer’s Market. Darcy’s latest book The Nantucket Sea Monster – A fake news story, is the 2017 Fall Junior Library Guild selection.

This is our second interview with Darcy. The main topic we discussed today was how and why Darcy has published her books as a Small Press (Mims House) rather than simply under her name, Darcy Pattison.

• Darcy made the decision to start her own small press after attending a workshop with Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• As part of the process, Darcy got a business license and decided to present herself as a business rather than as an author. The key difference is that she thinks and acts more like a publisher than as an independent author. She puts out a catalog of her books and looks for opportunities and gaps in the market to write for.
• Even Darcy’s marketing approach is influenced by being a small press. She sends out her books for reviews (two good ones she suggested are School Library Journal and Booklist Online), includes a CiP block in all her books (find out more from Darcy’s last interview about CiP’s), and has her books available for sale through educational distributors. Also when selling books she includes packing slips, invoices, knows clearly the discounts she gives and has policies she follows as part of running her small press – all little (or big things) that make her publishing house professionally run.
• Essentially Darcy looks for the things that traditional publishing houses do with their books and tries to do the same things, as much as possible.
• Darcy also carries out research to find out what the most popular books or topics are. She recommends following listservs for librarians and seeing what books are accelerated reading books, as a guide to what’s popular. She looks at Locus magazine for what’s hot in science fiction, Voya magazine for all thing young adult and the Cybil Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary nominated books and award winners. Again, as a small press, she stays on top of the hot topics and publishing trends.
• Darcy recommended joining The Children’s Book Council. Here is the Australian version.
• Check out the Independent Book Publisher Association mentioned in the interview through the link and Net Galley.

You can find Darcy and her wealth of knowledge at www.darcypattison.com, www.indiekidsbooks.com, and www.mimshouse.com.

Enjoy the show.

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Today’s interview is with award-winning and bestselling author, podcast host, keynote speaker, and Director of Marketing for Draft2Digital, Kevin Tumlinson.

Kevin has dozens of novels, novellas, and non-fiction books available and is producing more every day. We were lucky enough to get another interview with Kevin, and today he talks to us all about using Draft2Digital’s new service to turn your books into AUDIO BOOKS!

In this interview Kevin covers how to get your audiobook to market with Draft2Digital:

• How having an audiobook can expand your author offerings and help you reach more readers.
• Draft2Digital has partnered with Findaway Voices to produce your audiobook and distribute it to more than 170 countries. And no exclusivity required!
• You can choose which distributors to sell your audiobook through, including through iTunes and Amazon. This is particularly useful for authors in countries who cannot use ACX to produce their audiobooks.
• You can record your own audio files and upload them, or you can work with Findaway Voices to find a narrator for your book. There is no royalty split available. You own all the rights and pay for the narrator up front. And your book is professional quality!
• Lots of great information from Marti about the process involved for the narrator to record your book.
• Using Findaway Voices through Draft2Digital also means you save the $49 fee!
• You keep 80% of the royalties from your book sales.
• The potential to get audio books into schools.
• You can use this service to distribute your books and still go direct with ACX so you get the lovely bonus money when someone signs up to Audible through your book.

You can find out more information about Draft2Digital and how to partner with them to create your audiobook HERE. You can find FindAway Voices here. And you can find Kevin at www.KevinTumlinson.com, follow him on AMAZON, and get social with him on TWITTER.

Enjoy the show.

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Today’s interview is with Young Adult and middle-grade author Tara Ellis.

Tara Ellis, an Amazon best selling author, lives in a small, rural town in Washington State set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Tara was a firefighter/EMT, and worked in the medical field for many years, before committing herself to writing young adult and middle-grade novels (almost) full-time.

She grew up on sci-fi, and has since found a love for conspiracy theories. This background, combined with a wild imagination, has led to The Forgotten Origins Trilogy. The first book in the series, Infected, was a finalist in the IAN 2015 Book of the Year Awards, was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2015 Reader’s Favorite Book Awards, and voted as ‘Top 50 Indie Books of 2014’. (readfreely.com)

Her on-going middle-grade mystery series, The Samantha Wolf Mysteries, has hit the best-seller status on Amazon in the children’s detective story genre several times, and continues to grow in popularity. The engaging, fun stories herald back to the days of Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon, and several readers have commented that the series is of the same caliber.

In this interview, Tara covers lots of different topics and especially helps with some great advice for getting a Bookbub feature.

• Tackle the writing craft seriously and don’t be afraid to try new writing techniques. Tara’s middle-grade series is written in third person, present tense.
• Marketing is the other 90% of being a writer!
• Use certain elements or themes that are similar to movies or other books to help promote your own books.
• Discover your “why” motivation in what you’re writing and why you’re writing it. Understanding yourself better and who you’re writing for will help with your longevity as an author.
• Goodreads can be a great place to get feedback about your books. You need to be able to take on constructive criticism as an author.
• Writing a new book every three months if you can is a great way to gain traction on previous books and stay relevant in the Amazon algorithms.
• At the end of your e-book put a link for people to review the book, and you can even add free chapters for the next book to encourage read through.
• Getting featured by Bookbub helped Tara gain lots more readers. She recommends:
  • Always make your date flexible
  • List any awards your book has won
  • Let them know why their Bookbub readers would enjoy the book
  • Make sure you have a great cover
  • Boxsets have better success at being featured
  • Bookbub will read your book before accepting it, so write a great book. They will also re-write your blurb if it’s accepted which you can then borrow from!
• Here are some great other services to promote your book through that Tara recommended in a follow-up email:
  • Bookscream (free, 5 donation, or a 6-book feature for $15) (Tara’s feedback on this one: “These guys are my favorites. They give GREAT feedback, including click rates”)
  • My Book Cave (prices vary 10-15)
  • The Kindle Book Review (10$)
  • Ereader Obsession (free)
  • Choosey Bookworm (Free – submit week in advance, they pick books on Sundays)
  • Bookhearts (Free)
  • Ebook Soda (Prices vary)
  • Reading Deals (Free)
  • Book Angel UK (free)

Enjoy the show.

You can find Tara online at TaraEllis and follow her on AMAZON.

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Today’s interview is with middle-grade author Austin J Bailey.

Austin J. Bailey writes action-packed fantasy adventures for kids of all ages. He was born and raised in Utah. He is a fiction author and novelist, writing in the middle grade and young adult fantasy genres. He is the author of the Magemother series (which includes The Mage & the Magpie, The Empty Throne, The Paradise Twin, and The Bridge to Nowhere), and Simon Fayter and the Doors of Bone.

In this interview, Austin shares how the turning point in his author journey was through Facebook advertising. You really need to watch the video on this one as he so generously shares his sales/advertising spreadsheets for you to see. Some of the main points covered are:

• About 10% of Austin’s mailing list subscribers buy his new book releases.
• Through Facebook advertising, Austin has targeted sales towards women aged 18-45 years. Adults read middle-grade grade fantasy and/or share them with their kids.
• Austin’s success with Facebook advertising has been for his boxset which is sold at a reduced price to the individual titles.
• Facebook ads are scaleable. You do need to make sure you are getting a return on your investment and build it up over time.
• Austin uses the permafree model where the first book in the series is free and finds it works well at attracting new readers.
• The Magemother series is wide across all platforms and once he started advertising on Facebook for Amazon sales, his sales on other platforms increased even without direct advertising – quite a lot as you’ll see from his sales chart in the video.
• Using affiliate links on Facebook advertising is also a good way to make some extra money.

And lots more! Enjoy the show.

You can find Austin online at www.AustinJBailey.com, follow him on AMAZON, and get social with him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Today’s interview is with indie author Steven K. Smith.

Steven K. Smith is the author of the middle-grade series The Virginia Mysteries. Currently at five books, it combines modern-day fictional adventures with historical locations and figures like St. John’s Church, Belle Isle, Maymont, Patrick Henry, Robert E. Lee, Lewis Ginter, and many others. His other works include the middle-grade comedy Brother Wars, the parenting memoir Splashing in the Deep End, and the adult contemporary fiction novel Harborwood (written as Steven Sawyer). Over the past two years, Steven has visited more than 50 elementary schools in central Virginia. His first book, Summer of the Woods, is in development for film.

In this interview, Steven shares how he began to find success when he wrote with a particular focus in mind:

• Steve’s mystery/adventure books incorporate the local history of Virginia where the books are based, making them popular at local schools and in other schools across the US.
• Using the power of traditional media (newspaper or local newsletters) to gain the attention of local schools and influencers.
• Start with your niche target market whether it’s your location or sub category of book topic to penetrate your market. As you build your local or niche market it starts to grow and expand.
• Rebranding covers once you have a few books in a series to appeal to a wider audience and have professional looking books.
• Chipping away at little things locally, like approaching local bookstores or other places where your book may fit – it all begins to snowball to create synergy.
• Aim to get a Bookbub feature as a way to market and broaden your audience even if it feels like you’re sacrificing income initially. It gives books a great spike to help your books’ discoverability.
• Writing and releasing a new book also incrementally grows the success and saleability of the previous books.
• Institutionalizing a series rather than concentrating on one reader or fan: get your book/s into gift shops, Barnes and Noble stores and especially on school reading lists and libraries. This ensures your book stays around even as new children cycle through. This is a long term goal but one worth pursuing.
• Do initial outreach via email with a pdf which includes covers of the books, what they are about and information about yourself, the author. Then find the email addresses and create a spreadsheet with contact details of librarians and schools sending your package out as an introduction and/or to arrange school visits.
• Pitching school visits: In Steve’s case he highlights the history included in his books as a draw card, but choose what you think is relevant about your books to the school environment and communicate this value to the schools you contact.
• Make sure you get social proof when you visit schools – get testimonials from parents, teachers, librarians, and get some photos of yourself while speaking.
• Capitalize on the general appeal that local authors have in their area. Schools do appreciate local author visits.
• Series do sell better than stand alone books in general.
• How to balance your time writing new books versus getting out and about promoting and marketing your backlist.
• Providing your books in as many forms as possible including paperback, hardback, ebook and audio books.
• Creating supplemental materials to go along with your books.
• Getting your books in the Accelerated Reader Program.
• How do you know when it’s time to go full-time as a writer/author?

Enjoy the show.

You can find Steven online at www.VirginiaMysteries.com,  follow him on AMAZON, and get social with him on Facebook and Twitter.

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On today’s show Marti and Elena discuss how to embrace a growth mindset in order to help the indie author journey be more enjoyable and successful. Elena has twenty years experience working as a counseling psychologist and offers much advice and support around how you can embrace a positive mindset.

Lots of golden nuggets of advice and discussion with some of the main points covered including:

• Debunking the myth that it is impossible to be successful as an indie author writing for children!
• Who you surround yourself with can influence your own thinking and attitudes.
• The 100th monkey theory and the research of Rupert Sheldrake into morphic fields.
• Adopting positive expectations – when you genuinely expect to make a full time living as an author then you are moving towards creating this as your reality.
• Make conscious decisions about what you want your mindset to be rather than allowing your subconscious mind to choose for you.
• Actively use techniques and methods available to change your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions.
• Elena discusses her morning journaling routine.
• Don’t copy what you perceive to be positive mindsets of other successful people but instead find your own. Think, feel and believe the things that help you be an individual and that genuinely work for you.
• The importance of acknowledging your negative beliefs and thoughts when they arise, so you can move past them and adopt more positive beliefs instead. Recognising your shadow is important.
• Having a growth mindset means you challenge yourself; you take on the things that make you feel uncomfortable and are out of your comfort zone. You want your limiting beliefs to be revealed so you can change them.
• Elena shares Catherine Ponder’s 12 mind powers for success: Life, Imagination, Power, Judgment, Understanding, Zeal, Elimination, Faith, Love, Order, Will and Strength.
• Living the life you want now and using a vision board to help you identify what you really want.
• When working on improving your own mindset try a variety of things and then measure your success to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Keep doing the things that work for you and are sustainable long term.
• Improving your mindset is an ongoing thing because personal development is cyclical, not hierarchical. What this means is you don’t improve yourself once and it is done. Your old beliefs may appear to come up again and again because time is fractal, meaning things go around and around. So working on keeping your mindset growing means you commit to working on yourself regularly without judging your progress or comparing yourself to others.

Enjoy the show.

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Today’s interview is with author and illustrator Donovan Scherer.

Donovan creates worlds of adventure with a sense of humor and a little bit of dread that everything will go terribly, terribly wrong. His books include Fear and Sunshine (books 1-3), Breakfast Doodles (books 1-9), Monsters Around the Campfire, Lost Tomorrow, and The Color of Madness: A Coloring Book of Monsters, Mad Science and a Little Hippie Girl.

In this interview, Donovan covers the success he’s had selling his books live at comic conventions, and art and craft shows. He also gave some great advice for finding, hiring and working with illustrators.

• Do lots of research on what comic conventions and market stalls are local to you. Find out how they do things and what is involved to be a part of them, including costs and who attends them. After doing many over the past year Donovan has discovered that he does best at the events that draw families to attend. He hasn’t had much luck with collectible shows, so will avoid them in future.
• Be prepared when you attend an event. Make sure you have enough stock of books and some nice banners (possibly of your books). Make your display child-friendly to attract parents and kids to it.
• Give some thought to your sales process. Donovan hands people that approach his table a bookmark and asks them if they’ve read the books before. He also offers bundled books at a discount price. You need to get involved and actively participate to get sales.
• When it comes to finding a great illustrator make sure you get good character design from the onset. Get the illustrator to draw the main character/s walking, running, sitting, crouching etc.  It’s important to capture the characters personality. See the Batman Character Series Bible as a reference point.
• Get a good idea of an artist/illustrators style of work by following them on Instagram or where ever else they post their illustrations regularly.
• We also discuss Lexile reading level, and discussion guides and resources for teachers. A great website for ideas on creating educational resources is www.teacherspayteachers.com.

Enjoy the show.

You can find Donovan online at www.donovanscherer.com or at www.studiomoonfall.com,  follow him on AMAZON, get social with him on Facebook and Twitter.

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