I'm finally joining the crowd!

[britnidanielle]

Hey everyone.

Well, the time has come to post my own progress thread. I've been reading & liking/commenting on most people's threads thus far, but holding off on my own because all I would have been able to add was "I'm writing!"

Today I actually FINISHED my novella. Yay! It's clocking in around 32k words, and I'm now in the editing phase. I emailed the manuscript to a handful of BETA readers this afternoon and I've been going through some draft and editing a printed & bound copy I made.

COVER


I was going to purchase a premade cover from http://goonwrite.com, but the one I had my eye on got sold, so I hit a few stock photo sites until I found an image I liked. I lucked up on one, and played with fonts & colors until I came up with a cover I really love. And it only cost me $3.50 (the price of the image. I used GIMP to edit).


LAUNCH STRATEGY

Although it's only 32k words (about 100 printed pages), I'm going to start off offering it at $2.99. From everything I've read, that seems like a respectable rate for short novels/novellas/new authors.

I don't have a dedicated plan for a launch, but I have about 1000 people on my blog's email list, so I'm using my own name for this one and emailing them when I publish it. It seemed like a shame to start from ground zero instead of use what I've already built. So, we'll see how many click on over to buy it.

I've also been updating my progress via Instagram/Twitter/Facebook posting graff snippets and my cover. I've gotten a good response from my followers so far.

ETC.
I'm excited!

I'm a little nervous about clicking publish (hopefully next week), but it's definitely exciting. I already have some ideas for the next project, hopefully a series, that I may be publishing under a pen name. We'll see.

Thanks for all of the inspiration folks!

 

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[COSenior]

So glad you joined the party! Love your cover, and can't wait to read it.

 

[britnidanielle]

So glad you joined the party! Love your cover, and can't wait to read it.

Thanks COSenior!

 

[McNandez]

Great cover! You did a much better job than anything I've seen on that site

I hope you'll keep updating your thread!

 

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[britnidanielle]

Tiny Update

I decided to drop the book on 10/10/13. I spent most of the day trying to sort out formatting issues & seeing how it looks in KDP. I haven't decided if I'm going to offer it exclusively through Amazon yet, but I'm learning toward doing that.

I listened to that podcast you guys shared and I'm TOTALLY with the not rewriting a jillion times. I read my story and saw some small places I need to clean up, but I'm not rewriting anything major. I'm still waiting on my beta readers to get back to me, but unless they find something glaring, I'm not rewriting a thing.

I wrote my blurb & shared it w/ a few folks to gauge their reaction--they thought it was pretty good. So I'm getting closer. The categories thing kinda freak me out, I don't want it to get miscategorized, but I'll hope for the best.

QUESTION: Print versions? Yay or nay? Not worth it? I still want a physical book (I'm old school like that, but am doing ebook first).

 

[COSenior]

QUESTION: Print versions? Yay or nay? Not worth it? I still want a physical book (I'm old school like that, but am doing ebook first).

Why not publish it to CreateSpace, too? Then you and anyone else who wants one can have a print version. The only thing I can see that makes it intimidating, at least for me, is the necessity of creating a wraparound cover. One more reason for me to have it done by someone who knows what they're doing, but you seem to understand the graphics software better than I do.

BTW, since you've shared the cover and we'll be able to find it soon anyway, would you consider sharing the blurb here?

 

[britnidanielle]

Why not publish it to CreateSpace, too? Then you and anyone else who wants one can have a print version. The only thing I can see that makes it intimidating, at least for me, is the necessity of creating a wraparound cover. One more reason for me to have it done by someone who knows what they're doing, but you seem to understand the graphics software better than I do.

I've been trying to figure out how to do this. I found a link on Create Space about a wrap-around cover & it seems doable, but I don't want it to LOOK cheap, you know what I mean? I want to get a proof copy before I put it on the market.

Here's the link: https://www.createspace.com/Help/Book/Artwork.do

BTW, since you've shared the cover and we'll be able to find it soon anyway, would you consider sharing the blurb here?

Sure. I'm still tweaking it, but here it is:

~~
Sometimes you have to just have to do something crazy…

By all accounts Jaylah Baldwin is living her dream. After graduating at the top of her class, she’s a successful journalist who interviews celebrities and attends Hollywood parties for a living. There’s only one problem: she hates her life.

Despite her seemingly charmed existence, Jaylah loathes her job, is lonely as hell, and is tired of living up to everyone else’s expectations. When she gets fired from her cushy post at the L.A. Weekly, she has two options: stay in L.A. and become a spectacular drunk or buy a ticket to London and finally live by her own rules.

Turn It Loose is a fast-paced, entertaining novella that takes readers along for an exciting ride.

#WhatWillJaylahDo? You’ll have to read to find out!
~~

Hope that will make people want to buy it. lol

 

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[FastLearner]

QUESTION: Print versions? Yay or nay? Not worth it? I still want a physical book (I'm old school like that, but am doing ebook first).

No. People don't buy physical books anymore, and if they do it is for academic reasons or a book that they will want to refer back to later on. Fiction doesn't happen to fall into that category unfortunately.

Your best customers will come from the e-book world. Borders shut down for a reason.

 

[FastLearner]

Sometimes you have to just have to do something crazy…

By all accounts Jaylah Baldwin is living her dream. After graduating at the top of her class, she’s a successful journalist who interviews celebrities and attends Hollywood parties for a living. There’s only one problem: she hates her life.

Despite her seemingly charmed existence, Jaylah loathes her job, is lonely as hell, and is tired of living up to everyone else’s expectations. When she gets fired from her cushy post at the L.A. Weekly, she has two options: stay in L.A. and become a spectacular drunk or buy a ticket to London and finally live by her own rules.

Turn It Loose is a fast-paced, entertaining novella that takes readers along for an exciting ride.

Sounds very Terry McMillan like. Definitely do e-book rather than paperback unless you can quadruple your sales in a very short time which would then mean it's paperback worthy..

 

[ChickenHawk]

QUESTION: Print versions? Yay or nay? Not worth it? I still want a physical book (I'm old school like that, but am doing ebook first).

You could always hold off on generating a print version until you see what kind of momentum you get from your ebook. Plus, there's the chance that you'll identify a few minor things in your book that you want to change after you get feedback from the general public.

It's almost like a market test. After the e-book's been live for a few weeks, the answers to some key questions might be a lot more obvious. (1) Is the print-version worth the trouble? (2) Is there anything I want to change, etc. One thing that's so nice about the current system is that we don't necessarily have to decide right away.

 

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[britnidanielle]

No. People don't buy physical books anymore, and if they do it is for academic reasons or a book that they will want to refer back to later on. Fiction doesn't happen to fall into that category unfortunately.

Your best customers will come from the e-book world. Borders shut down for a reason.

I buy them. lol. And all are fiction. But I'm partial to actual books.

And Borders shut down because people bought their physical books from Amazon. But I hear you.

 

[Breaking Free]

I thought Borders died because they were so overpriced... at least that's why I never bought from them. Even Barnes and Noble were a lot cheaper than them most of the time.

But speed to you, and don't over think what you're doing just yet. I'm looking at Createspace when I start putting my work into collections, to justify longer length to go with how people usually think of physical books. A 40 page ebook may fly, but a paperback novel that's less than 200 pages might be scoffed at

Just keep on writing, it's the best thing you can do.

 

[McNandez]

You could always hold off on generating a print version until you see what kind of momentum you get from your ebook. Plus, there's the chance that you'll identify a few minor things in your book that you want to change after you get feedback from the general public.

I think this is great advice; I wanted to do the same thing when I published my ebook, but soon realized that I was getting ahead of myself. Once I have a few titles going and have done the research on what's selling (or not), I'll look into print books.

Sometimes you have to just have to do something crazy…

Great blurb! Sounds like an intriguing story.

People don't buy physical books anymore, and if they do it is for academic reasons or a book that they will want to refer back to later on. Fiction doesn't happen to fall into that category unfortunately.

I buy them - about half of my book budget is for physical books, and most of that goes to fiction; for me, a big part of what I enjoy about reading is the physical experience of the book itself. Granted, it's rare that I get excited enough about an author or a story to buy their book, but I don't hesitate to do so when something cool pops up.

 

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[COSenior]

People don't buy physical books anymore, and if they do it is for academic reasons or a book that they will want to refer back to later on. Fiction doesn't happen to fall into that category unfortunately.

Raising my hand as another physical book buyer. Although I love the convenience of throwing my little Kindle into my purse when I'm going somewhere I may have to wait, I find it a little annoying when I want to go back and check something that happened earlier in the story. I still like physical books, especially for a longer book. Furthermore, I belong to several Facebook book clubs, and I'd say at least a quarter of those readers don't even own an eBook reader and are stubbornly holding on to physical books.

It's almost like a market test. After the e-book's been live for a few weeks, the answers to some key questions might be a lot more obvious. (1) Is the print-version worth the trouble? (2) Is there anything I want to change, etc. One thing that's so nice about the current system is that we don't necessarily have to decide right away.

Agreed, but given that CreateSpace is free to use for print-on-demand and the only trouble is in making a wrap-around cover, I think it's a no-brainer. I would have to read their policies more deeply to determine how much trouble it is to upload a new file for it if you make a change to the text or the cover, but I doubt it's any worse than making changes in Amazon.

 

[joanna]

Well you stirred the pot claiming people don't read paper books any more Personally I'm in the 90% kindle reading crowd now.

But, there are more benefits to doing CS than just those potential extra readers:
- you'll get accurate page count on Amazon rather than the estimate when you link the versions
- it does make you look more professional to the average reader, when they see that your book is available in more than just the kindle format

 

[COSenior]

it does make you look more professional to the average reader, when they see that your book is available in more than just the kindle format

That's a point I hadn't thought of. Thanks for that...makes it easier for me to justify (to myself) the expense of the extra cover. And to build on it, it's great to see the $7.99 price with the lower Kindle price. I'd guess that makes it seem like a bargain, even if you're bucking the trend and selling shorter stuff for more than 99 cents.

 

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[britnidanielle]

That's a point I hadn't thought of. Thanks for that...makes it easier for me to justify (to myself) the expense of the extra cover. And to build on it, it's great to see the $7.99 price with the lower Kindle price. I'd guess that makes it seem like a bargain, even if you're bucking the trend and selling shorter stuff for more than 99 cents.

Good points COSenior & Joanna.

I may try to get the wrap-around cover sorted tonight, then. I believe I can pull it off. Actually I'm pretty sure of it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Another tiny update:

Signed up for Goodreads & the author program. Not sure I want to try to delve into all the groups and whatnot, but I uploaded my cover and blub and shared the link on social media. We'll see if it helps.

Wednesday I start selling!

QUESTION: Do you guys just rely on the US prices to dictate the pricing in other countries? I'm keeping my 2.99 price-point across the UK & EU. And then I hit the adjust for US prices in the places that I couldn't figure out lol. Does it matter?

 

[Breaking Free]

QUESTION: Do you guys just rely on the US prices to dictate the pricing in other countries? I'm keeping my 2.99 price-point across the UK & EU. And then I hit the adjust for US prices in the places that I couldn't figure out lol. Does it matter?

Yeah, basically. For EU, UK, and CA, I keep it to the nearest .99 cent mark. Everything else... I'm not sure the conversions matter too much.

 

[COSenior]

Not sure I want to try to delve into all the groups and whatnot, but I uploaded my cover and blub and shared the link on social media.

What I did was use the group search function with my genre + reviews as the query. Then I joined a couple of groups so I could post my 'free read for review' in an interested group. Otherwise, you can get really bogged down in the discussions. Have to strike a balance between giving and receiving in social media, of course. I offer to review other people's books occasionally, since I'll be reading anyway. That, too, is a slippery slope, though. If you can't finish the book because of proofing or grammatical errors, for example, you don't want to post a review. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, my mom always says.

Yeah, basically. For EU, UK, and CA, I keep it to the nearest .99 cent mark. Everything else... I'm not sure the conversions matter too much.

Hmm, never thought of that. I just let the site calculate the price. Maybe I'll take a look at the difference, now.

 

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[britnidanielle]

Hmm, never thought of that. I just let the site calculate the price. Maybe I'll take a look at the difference, now.

Well, ₤2.99 and €2.99 are worth more than $2.99, plus I think it just looks better than say ₤1.57 lol. But that's just me.

The other markets, I have no clue. I hit the "adjust for US prices" for Mexico and the book was like 34 pesos lol. So, who knows.

 

[Thriftypreneur]

No. People don't buy physical books anymore, and if they do it is for academic reasons or a book that they will want to refer back to later on. Fiction doesn't happen to fall into that category unfortunately.

I'll have to chime in with what others have said. This just isn't true. Even my nieces and nephews (raised in the digital age) have a special place for print fiction. Print books aren't the standard anymore, no, but they certainly still have their place and they'll likely always (at least for the remainder of our lifetime) be a requested form of the written word. Overhead is being replaced by print-on-demand. It's not going away, it's just evolving a bit.

Some people only buy print fiction (my parents come to mind), while many, many others read stories on ereaders and then, if they enjoy a book or series, they'll pick up later installments from the author to add to their physical collection. Enough people do this to make CreateSpace an easy way to add additional income.

 

[COSenior]

Well, ₤2.99 and €2.99 are worth more than $2.99, plus I think it just looks better than say ₤1.57 lol.

Good point!

 

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[Thriftypreneur]

so I hit a few stock photo sites until I found an image I liked. I lucked up on one, and played with fonts & colors until I came up with a cover I really love. And it only cost me $3.50 (the price of the image. I used GIMP to edit).

Cheers to you for this. I did the same, and the covers for my series are running me $2.66 each. Once you learn how to layer images, do pristine cut-outs, manipulate gradients and shading, and do some basic font manipulation (all learnable from YouTube videos), you're pretty much on par or exceeding a lot of the so-called "cover designers" out there who charge $50-$100+ a cover.

But, having said that, there is a level above where you find the designers who really know what they're doing and carry price tags to match, where covers are reaching $350-$500+. And then, you can go even further, on to custom artwork, where it can easily cost you 4-figures a cover; I see some of the bigger names in the hottest genres going this route, particularly in fantasy genres. Of course, they're probably making that money back and then some on the first day of a new release.

I think for small-timers like us, getting books out there with a $50-$100 type quality cover for less than $5 is great and it puts you in good position to compete without breaking the bank. Thanks for sharing your cover work.

 

[stranger]

What your novella is about? I wish you the best of luck. It's really difficult to sell your 1st story. Why not just try to sell it to one of paper magazines to promote your name as a writer?

 

[britnidanielle]

What your novella is about? I wish you the best of luck. It's really difficult to sell your 1st story. Why not just try to sell it to one of paper magazines to promote your name as a writer?

Here's a description of my novella: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18629743-turn-it-loose

Also, having been through the MFA grind, it's equally difficult--if not more--selling a story to a magazine as well (especially considering the FLOOD of MFA grads looking to get published). And I don't want to "promote my name" as a writer per se, I'm already doing that with my freelance stuff (I've been published in a bunch of mags). I wanted to try my hand at self-publishing and PUSH myself to finally finish a story. I'm excited.

 

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[britnidanielle]

Tiny Update:

I was tinkering with the back cover guidelines from Create Space to see if I could design a wrap-around. Here's what I came up with. Would love your thoughts:

 

[stranger]

Here's a description of my novella: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18629743-turn-it-loose

Also, having been through the MFA grind, it's equally difficult--if not more--selling a story to a magazine as well (especially considering the FLOOD of MFA grads looking to get published). And I don't want to "promote my name" as a writer per se, I'm already doing that with my freelance stuff (I've been published in a bunch of mags). I wanted to try my hand at self-publishing and PUSH myself to finally finish a story. I'm excited.

Oh, I now understand. I thought that's your 1st creative work.
I think the cover looks fine.

 

[COSenior]

I was tinkering with the back cover guidelines from Create Space to see if I could design a wrap-around. Here's what I came up with. Would love your thoughts:

See if you can find wraparound covers that the pre-made cover people have designed, and notice what elements are typically on the back of the cover. I think you are missing a couple. Also, it needs a spine. But you are clearly on the right track.

Once you learn how to layer images, do pristine cut-outs, manipulate gradients and shading, and do some basic font manipulation

Oh, is that all? :smilielol:

 

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[britnidanielle]

See if you can find wraparound covers that the pre-made cover people have designed, and notice what elements are typically on the back of the cover. I think you are missing a couple. Also, it needs a spine. But you are clearly on the right track.

Thanks for the suggestions! I probably just need a spine, and if I want...a short bio, but I don't really care about that too much. I'll keep tinkering.

 

[Thriftypreneur]

Oh, is that all? :smilielol:

Lol. Yeah, I guess that is a fair bit to learn.