Thursday Thoughts: What's it Worth to You?

 

Today, I want to talk about perceived value and how this pertains to book sales and publishing. I'm sure we've all heard that saying: You get what you pay for. Right? And while I do believe this is true to an extent, I think we need to be careful about painting everyone and every situation with the same brush. 

Let's take freelance services, for example. A lot of authors are skeptical about editors or cover designers who don't charge a lot of money. Why? Because there's a fear that maybe the editor or designer isn't legitimate, or doesn't have a lot of experience. A lack of experience isn't always a bad thing, though I do warn authors to proceed cautiously. On the flip side, authors can also be skeptical of service providers who charge too much money because what qualifications do they have that warrants that price tag? 

But, if you're anything like me, you're not willing to charge someone else what you yourself aren't willing to pay. Also, as an Indie author myself, I understand how expensive this industry is and how little we make per book sale. For these reasons, I intentionally keep my editing rates low. And yes, I have experience -- a decade's worth. 

Now, let's switch our focus to actual books and the sale of them, specifically digital books. They are cheaper for authors to produce and are often sold at a cheaper price point than a print book. 

A lot of authors will offer an ebook for free or $0.99 to entice readers to start a new series or try out a new-to-them author. This is a very valid marketing strategy, and it's one I employ rather successfully. The first book in my Cursed Series is free. All the time. Across a wide range of vendors. My goal is to get people into the story with a free book and that they'll go on to purchase the other 6 books in the series. 

Some people will argue that if something is free or cheap, the quality must be terrible. And yes, this does hold true sometimes. But not always. (Which is why I always urge people to always do research and make your own determinations about things) On the flip side, some people will die on the hill that the more something costs, the better it is. I also disagree with this sentiment. 

There are a whole host of reasons someone will choose to sell something or offer a service at a reduced price (or free) -- and there's nothing wrong with that! I think the black-and-white thinking of cheap/free = bad and expensive = good is doing a disservice to everyone. 

Yet, there IS something behind that thought process. 

Recently, I started the process of rebranding my Cursed Series with new cover art, fresh edits, new content and interior formatting, etc., and I'm investing financially in doing so. Additionally, the cost of printing and shipping has gone up, so I have to take that into account as well. As a result, I reluctantly raised the prices on my ebooks. 

Books 2-7 ranged from $2.99 to $3.99, but since doing the rebrand, I've raised the prices to a consistent $4.99 across the board (except for book 1, which will always remain free). 

And you know what?? My sales have increased SO MUCH since I raised the prices! Talk about confused (and thrilled). But this leads me to believe and buy into the idea of perceived value and how a slightly higher price tag switches something in the brain that tells readers -- this book has value and is worth the money and you should buy it. I'm not sure I'll ever understand this, but it's certainly been on my mind a lot lately, and I'll be experimenting more to see if this holds true. 

At the end of the day, only you can determine what something is worth to you, or how much you're willing to pay for something. 

What're your thoughts on perceived value? Do you think cheap or free automatically means something is bad or of a lower quality? 

The Journey to Self-Publication, Part 8: Pre-release Marketing

I've gotten quite a few questions about why I finally decided to delve into self-publishing and how I'm doing it, so I figured why not create a new blog series!

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a piece of the self-publishing puzzle---from how I came to this choice to writing, editing, marketing, sales, and everything in between. Please remember that this is simply my experience, how I chose to do things. Others do things differently, and that's fine! So, your mileage may vary, but in the end, I hope seeing yet another way of tackling self-publishing will help you on your path. 

Need to catch up on previous posts? Find them here:

Part 1: Making the Choice

Part 2: Creating an LLC

Part 3: Writing the Book(s)

Part 4: STILL writing the Book(s)

Part 5: CPs, Beta Readers, and Editors

Part 6: Cover Art!

Part 7: Formatting and Distribution

So far, I've really enjoyed self-publishing, and my journey hasn't been super difficult. Having all the control is empowering, and the freedom I've had to tell this story the way I want has been great. But getting the book to the point where you can hit "publish" is the easy part, really. Now, I have to get people to actually buy and read my book, and that starts long before the book is actually available for sale.

via GIPHY

For me, the first step in my marketing plan was to pick a solid release date--yes, this was very strategic for me, as it should be for anyone venturing into self-publishing. I chose September 15, 2020. 

Because I'm tuned in to the publishing conversations on Twitter, I knew that paranormal was making a comeback within traditional publishing. Agents and editors were actively seeking it out. I also knew I needed several months lead time to get everything in order, so I was already leaning toward releasing book one in the fall, though I was aiming for later in October. Then, two things happened that I couldn't have planned, but worked really well to my advantage:

1. Stephenie Meyer announced, and then released Midnight Sun in August, and 
2. Tracy Wolff's second book, Crush, was moved up to release later in September. 

Both of these books / series are used as comp titles for my book, so having them release right around the same time as my book would help tremendously as I can tap into the same fan base. I re-evaluated my original late October date and decided to move up the publication date. People who have read Midnight Sun and want more young vampires, or readers who are looking for something to read while waiting for Crush can read my book. My book release falls right between these two books, hopefully putting me in the sweet spot. 

As soon as I had my release date picked, I began my marketing efforts. Here's a comprehensive list of the things I've done so far, cost involved, and the honest results... 

1. Cover Reveal -- I didn't do anything huge for this, but I shared it on my social media and with my newsletter subscribers and asked a select few author friends to share it, too. I made sure to include the pre-order buy link and the link to Goodreads. I didn't get any purchases at this stage, but I did have a couple friends add it on Goodreads. 

Cost: $0.00

2. Hired Some Help -- I hired a PA (publishing / personal assistant) to help maintain some of my social media, make graphics, and create, organize, and run a readers' group. If y'all are looking for someone, I suggest checking out Sara Beth Williams. She's highly organized, communicative, easy to work with, and very affordable. Since hiring her, I've seen an uptick in engagement on my Facebook author page and on my Instagram. 

Cost: $80.00 per month (for 2 months so far, though I have no intention of firing her. LOL)

3. Created a Readers' Group -- This was something I'd been meaning to do for a long time, and I figured now was the perfect opportunity. If you want to check it out, you can visit the official website and the Facebook group to get a sense of how I'm running this. Right now, the group is still small (under 50 people) and comprised mostly of friends, family, and fellow authors, but I'm working on growing it. I share sneak peeks, exclusive excerpts, and other fun stuff in there before it goes public anywhere else. I ask for them to help spread the word about my book by sharing posts, etc., and in turn, they can earn points to eventually get free books and swag from me. I've gotten 2 or 3 pre-order sales from this group.

Cost: $0.00 (For now. Once I begin sending rewards, this will start to cost me something.) 

4. Joined a Newsletter Builder -- A friend of mine alerted me to a paid opportunity to grow my newsletter that was targeted specifically to readers of Twilight and/or YA paranormal books. Don't worry -- everyone new to my list was added with their consent upon entering the hosted giveaway. From this event, I gained 463 new subscribers! I recently sent out a newsletter welcoming all of them and introduced them to my book. I ended up losing about 20-25 of those subscribers, but I expected that. In fact, I expected more than that, so overall, I'm pleased with the retention rate so far. 

The day I sent that newsletter, I had 4 new pre-orders, which isn't a lot, but those are four people I might not have reached otherwise if it hadn't been for this effort. If you're interested in joining something like this, check out the Fiction-Atlas Author Builders group on Facebook. They have tons of opportunities for a variety of different genres. 

Cost: $25.00

5. Dropped the Price -- Originally, I had the price set at $2.99, which I didn't feel was too much for a book that's over 300 pages / 100k words. But, I also realize I'm a nobody in the YA paranormal world. At this price, I didn't sell a single copy 😔 So, I made the choice to drop the price to $0.99 up through release week. I had my PA make some graphics announcing this price change, we shared them on social media, and within days, I had a couple more pre-order sales. This is probably one of the biggest benefits of self-publishing -- the ability to play with the price point until you find that sweet spot that works. 

Cost: $0.00

6. Started Blogging -- I began writing and sharing this Journey to Self-Publication series along with consistently sharing #TeaserTuesday posts each week leading up to release day. I've shared links on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I've seen a sharp increase in my blog visits. Has it resulted in any sales? I have no idea, but it's getting my name out there more, which was the ultimate goal. 

Cost: $0.00

7. Pre-Release Reviews -- I hired Xpresso Book Tours to list my book on NetGalley for 30 days to help garner some early reviews. (I also hired them to do a book blitz, but I'll talk more about that in another post.) Readers post their reviews directly on the NetGalley site, along with Goodreads, and hopefully, on Amazon once the book releases. I've been able to pull quotes from some of the reviews to use in teaser images I share on social media, and to list in the "reviews" section on the book's Amazon page. While I can't say with any certainty that this was the reason, I did end up getting a couple new pre-order sales shortly after my book went live on NetGalley.

Cost: $65.00

I also, just recently, added my book to the Book Sirens website to (hopefully) garner a few more reviews. My book is being added on Monday (today), so I don't have any insights to share about this just yet, but I'll circle back around to this in another post to give an update. 

Cost: $60.00 

8. Guest Blogging -- I've been reaching out to fellow authors and bloggers to do some early guest posts / interviews to talk about my book or anything else they'd like me to talk about. While I haven't done a ton of these, I have seen some benefit. The day one of my interviews went live, I had a new pre-order sale. Was it directly related to the guest post? No idea, but it can never hurt to get your name out there. 

Cost: $0.00

Overall, I've spent a total of $310.00 on pre-release marketing efforts. (Disclaimer: I've actually spent more than this, but those are for release day and beyond, which I'll talk about later.) As of the writing of this post, I have a total of 11 pre-orders. 

To some, that's laughable, I'm sure, but for me, I consider that mildly successful. Even books I've published with small presses didn't have that many pre-orders, and knowing I'm doing this on my own? Feels like a pretty big win 😉

I'm still a very long way away from breaking even on my investment -- and I realize I might never break even on this book, and I'm okay with that. The way I see it, this is my "loss" book; the book I use to draw in readers to the series and to me as an author. I can only grow from here, right? 

Next week, I'm going to dive into audio books, why I think they're fantastic, and how they can bring in another stream of royalties for very little investment! 

Got questions?

Drop them in the comments!

MONDAY MUSINGS: Book Auctions and Fast Deals

Let me start with a massive disclaimer: I have never had a book go to "auction" with agents or publishers. But that's okay, because I'm not here to talk about what it's like behind the scenes. I'm here to talk about what it looks like on the outside, as someone peering in, gazing longingly from the sidelines.

Recently, I've seen a few Facebook posts, blogs, and tweets about books that have gone to auction, where agents and/or editors have fought to a bloody death to get their hands on said book. Or a situation where a book is snatched up within days of querying. And it's exciting, right? Of course it is. For those who are directly involved in it. But for everyone else? Not so much. In fact, these success stories are harmful, and in my opinion do more harm than good. Personally, I really dislike reading stories like this.

Now, before you go lighting your pitchforks and calling me "jealous" or "bitter" or whatever else you want to call me, allow me to explain...

I'm always one of the first people in line to shout cheers of congratulations when someone lands an agent or gets a book deal. I know how hard it is to get there, and so it absolutely deserves a celebration when an author achieves their dreams. I'm not denying anyone their successes. But here's the thing....

When an author -- whether brand new or seasoned -- reads these awesome stories about a book that was offered representation by 19 different agents, or was offered representation within hours of querying and then the book is snatched up by an editor within a few more days, it sends the wrong message. It makes authors think it's the norm. Why? Because these types of success stories are the ones that go viral. Which is sad, because these types of stories are the exception NOT the norm. And so authors sit back and think, "My book isn't going to auction or selling that fast. Something must be wrong! I suck. I give up!"

Well, I'm here to tell you, YOU'RE WRONG!!

It's absolutely normal for a book not to sell fast, to wrack up rejection after rejection after rejection. And you know what?

That's right. IT IS OKAY! You're not a lessor author or your book isn't bad just because it doesn't sell fast or get into an auction. So many authors wrote numerous books, wracked up dozens if not hundreds of rejections before finally landing an agent or getting a book deal. Unfortunately, those stories, the ones of numerous setbacks and rejections and perseverance... THOSE stories don't get shared often enough. And they should! I mean, why not? Why not celebrate all the times people told us "no" only to then come out on top where we want to be?

So, this post is dedicated to all of you! Share your stories in the comments. Don't be afraid to tell us how many rejections you got or how many years it took to get where you are now! Wear your success (and your "failures") like a badge of honor. Own it. Flaunt it. Be proud of it!