Adam Croft

A few months ago, the publisher Random House set up two new digital imprints – Hydra, which focuses on science fiction, and Alibi, which has a focus on thrillers. The contracts that authors have been offered by these imprints have, over the past week or so, been causing some controversy.

A couple of the reasons for the contract controversy is that they don’t pay authors an advance for the work, and they require authors to pay for costs that are usually picked up by the publisher. The contracts also last for the life-of-copyright.

Random House has defended the contracts, saying that an author’s costs could well be significantly higher if they decided to self-publish their work.

It seems that this is a conflict that will rumble on for a while, but it perhaps boosts the case for self-publishing – if you’re going to have the responsibility and the cost related to publishing a book, you might as well have the control and the rights to it as well.

You can read more about this story here, and do let me know if you have any thoughts.

There’s a lot to think about when launching a self-published book. To help you make sure you’ve got everything covered, here’s a checklist of some of the most important things you need to think about. Feel free to add your own ideas and suggestions in the comments.

• Is the book launch-ready? This doesn’t just mean having a compelling, well-written book. It also means making sure it’s been properly proof-read, formatted and designed before you launch it.
• Sort out a marketing plan. Promotion can be time-consuming at the best of times, but if you’re launching straight into it without any clear idea of how you’re going to do it, it’ll fast become complicated. The points below should give you some idea of the kind of things to include in a marketing plan.
• Figure out your pricing. Will your book be free or have a price tag attached to it? If the former, how long will it be free for? If the latter, how much are you going to charge? How will your decision affect your marketing?
• Make sure your book is as available as it can be. Remember it’s unlikely you’ll be launching it in just one place – there are multiple platforms and retail options to utilise.
• Sort out a press release announcing the launch.
• Consider giving away some preview copies of your book so you’ll have some reviews ready for the main launch.
• Think about the giveaways you might like to run.
• What local events could you run? Are there any local bookshops or reading groups that you could use to help launch the book?
• Don’t forget to consider both online and off-line launch strategies.
• Update your website to include the upcoming launch and, after the launch, update it again to reflect the book’s release.
• Write some blog posts about the launch.
• Try and get a guest spot on other blogs to help promote your book in the days/weeks before and after its launch.
• Have you created your Amazon author page and/or updated it to include details of your latest release?
• Get in touch with friends and family and ask them to help promote your book (and remind them to buy it).
• Think about creating a book trailer to launch alongside the book itself.
• Don’t forget to update your ‘to do’ list regularly so you’re always on top of your launch activities.

Independent publishing is not just popular with authors – it is increasingly popular with readers too. I believe that this is a development that is here to stay, and that it will continue to grow in popularity. With this in mind, here are four reasons why independent publishing will continue to grow in both popularity and strength, particularly among readers.

Pricing strategies

One big advantage that independent publishing has over traditional models is its pricing. Simply put, self-published books are typically cheaper than books that are traditionally published. We can’t forget that success is dependent on readers being willing to buy books. And, generally speaking, cheaper books (as long as they are good, that is) are more attractive.

Choice for readers

Another reason self-published books should continue to grow in popularity with readers is that they offer more choice. This is something that I’ve touched on before in this blog – self-published books aren’t dependent on a publisher thinking they are worth being read. People can make their minds up for themselves.

Business savvy

Independent publishers are also increasingly savvy about the business side of things; not just the pricing of books but aspects such as marketing, networking and longer-term planning. And, in many ways, the self-publishing industry is ahead of traditional publishing in terms of engaging with new technology and ideas. This gives it a good base from which to grow in the future.

Improving quality

Finally, to put it simply, self-published books are getting better. The industry used to take a lot of abuse for below-par, but the quality of the books out there is vastly improved and is now generally very high. Independent publishers are knowledgeable about the need for editors and proof-readers and cover designers, and it seems that the high quality of the books is not going unnoticed by readers.

When it comes to marketing your self-published book, there are so many different options open to you that it can be tricky to know exactly which way to go – do you try and cover as many marketing bases as you possibly can, or do you take a more selective approach to proceedings? There are arguments in favour of both approaches, so let’s take a look at some of the best.

All in

Reach a wider market

One of the main reasons for going for the ‘many and varied’ marketing approach is that it can enable you to reach a wider market. When the success of your book is dependent on you making sales to as many different people as possible, exploring as many avenues as you can find makes sense – including both online and offline marketing options.

Find out what works for you

The other big reason for trying a wide range of marketing strategies – at least to begin with – is that it offers a chance for you to find out what works, and what doesn’t. This is particularly important when you’re just starting out in independent publishing as there is definitely a process of learning when it comes to marketing. While you can learn the theory in advance, there is also something to be said for trial and error. You might have some failures as well as successes, but it should all help you create a more successful marketing strategy for the future.

Pick your battles

Don’t let your marketing idle

Even though exploring different marketing options is sensible, if you don’t think you’ll really make much use of a particular option it’s worth thinking about whether it’s worth it in the first place. After all, an idling blog or Facebook page isn’t going to do you much good, so it makes sense to think about where to focus you resources.

Play to your strengths

This is a particularly important point if you are doing the vast majority of marketing on your own – you need to play to your strengths. When you only have limited time available to dedicate to your marketing, you’ll want to make sure it’s doing your book as much good as possible, so think about what you can do well (you can always source professional help later on if you want to cover more bases).

Marketing depends on your market

Another reason to think about honing your marketing is that the marketing you do will depend on the market you are trying to reach. This is why researching the kind of readers who might like your book is so important when you’re developing a marketing strategy – you need to make sure you’re reaching them and engaging with them properly rather than just diving straight in and hoping for the best.

While there is little disagreement over the fact that independent publishing is becoming more popular among writers and that they are increasingly finding success through it, there is a bit of a disagreement over whether readers actually benefit from the recent changes in the industry. I think that they do, so with this in mind, here are some of the top reasons both writers and readers benefit from independent publishing – and, interestingly, some of the answers overlap.

Why writers benefit

One of the big reasons independent publishing is beneficial for writers is that it gives us control over every aspects of our work. Rather than writing a book that is then largely taken out of your hands in terms of marketing, as can happen with traditional publishing, you get to decide how to promote your work.

You also get to choose what you publish, rather than being at the mercy of a publishing industry that often – not always, but often – plays it safe. Sure, you might not always succeed in your ventures, but at least independent publishing gives you the opportunity to try, and you never know what might happen.

Then there’s the potential for success – even though independent publishing is undoubtedly competitive, more and more authors are doing well at it. And, with this model of publishing, you get to keep more of the royalties, so even if your book is priced extremely low, you can still make more than you would through traditional publishing.

Why readers benefit

In many ways, the benefits for readers are the other side of the same coin. One big benefit is that they have more choice in terms of what to read – and that choice hasn’t been shaped solely by what people in publishing houses thought is worth reading. There is something to suit all tastes out there in the world of self-publishing.

Another big benefit for readers is that most independently published books are cheap, and available instantly on e-readers. Affordability is often a big issue, so the ability to browse through loads of books that are all affordable and easily accessible is definitely important.
What do you think?