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Today I attended the Ashland Mystery ePublishing Workshop at the Ashland Public Library where about 50 people heard from authors and publishers and author/publishers.
Ashland’s Tim Wolhforth brought the audience up to speed on the state of mystery–what’s being published, in ebook and book book form and where the profits are. (Think 50 Shades of Grey.)
L J Sellers talked about ePublishing from the author’s point of view. LJ explained some of the choices she had to make as an author but also as a small business person’s, with herself as the product! So how do you maximize your chances as an independent author using Amazon Select? She’s done it with the Eugene-based Detective Jackson series. And done it well.
My colleague Michael Niemann talked about the mechanics of ebook creation–formats like epub and mobi and tools like Scrivener, Open Office, Storyist and Pages. It’s easier than you think.
Midge Raymond of Ashland Creek Press talked about how an author builts a marketing platform for his or her work–from social media, to guest blogs (call me), to virtual books tours and give aways. Don’t miss Falling in Green and the Tourist Trail–two great mysteries.
Rogue River’s Ken Lewis, an author and publisher, explained how he developed Krill Press, and how a publisher finds authors, develops covers and produces books in all forms.
Some takes-away (or take-aways, if you must):
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watch those contracts
POD is the author’s friend
you are your product
ebook sales can be a roller coaster
it pays to give things away
you’ve got to have [Facebook] friends
pay attention to the publishing news
don’t try to catch last year’s trend
there are a lot of great writers out there
..and some bad ones too
you need a thick skin
ISBNs are cheaper in bulk
ebooks offer options–from novellas to long novels
a book needs to feel like a book
$2.99 is the cutoff point for royalities…
Hoot Suite!!
don’t listen to your spouse about titles unless he’s a best selling author.
