# The importance of strategy



## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Okay, so I'm probably going to get flamed, but I do think that a little tough love is becoming more and more necessary on this board.

And, one caveat - this post is only aimed at those who thinking of this whole publishing thing like a business. If you're happy with coffee money, and just write because you love it, that's cool. 

But if you want to make writing your business, than you MUST do one thing - have a strategy. 

If you're scratching your head, wondering why you aren't selling, ask yourself one thing - "what is my strategy?" If a person asked you this, could you answer him? Or would you say "Uh, strategy. I'm not sure what you mean?" If you're not sure what your strategy is, then there's your core problem right there. 

Now, your strategy may be either tight or loose, but it has to be something. And you have to also know what the tactics are, which are parts of your overall strategy. Branding covers is a tactic. Writing in a serial is a tactic. Having a permafree loss leader is another tactic. Etc., etc., etc. 

We are all CEOs of our business - for those of us who are approaching it as a business. A CEO who heads a company and doesn't have vision for that company AND a strategy on how to obtain that vision, is a CEO who's going to be fired within a week. 

Price high or low? That's a tactic, one that has to have some kind of thought process behind it, and one that must be evaluated and re-evaluated constantly. Write in a series? Another tactic, one that has solid research behind it saying that it works. Promotions have to be a part of your overall strategy. Branding should be a part of it. Studying the market is another part of it. Whether or not to use a loss leader is a part of it. How quickly you want to publish is another part of it - if you're a slow writer, then you better have a good strategy to figure out how to stay on top of things. KU or not KU? That's a tactic, and, as with the pricing issue, one that has to be constantly evaluated and re-evaluated.

So, bottom line - if you're not selling, ask yourself what your strategy is. If you ask yourself this, and you say "I guess I don't really have one," then there's your problem right there. Remember, you're a CEO of your own company - act like it.


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

Can I follow in the footsteps of those Fortune 500 CEOs whose strategy was to run the company into the ground until it reached the point where the board of directors stepped in to pay the CEO millions of dollars to leave?


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

ʇɹǝuuıɹ ˙ɔ uɐp said:


> Can I follow in the footsteps of those Fortune 500 CEOs whose strategy was to run the company into the ground until it reached the point where the board of directors stepped in to pay the CEO millions of dollars to leave?


Do you have the millions of dollars to pay yourself?


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

cinisajoy said:


> Do you have the millions of dollars to pay yourself?


No. Finding that money is the board's job.

Say . . . Would you be interested in serving on a Board of Directors? Imagine the prestige!


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

ʇɹǝuuıɹ ˙ɔ uɐp said:


> No. Finding that money is the board's job.
> 
> Say . . . Would you be interested in serving on a Board of Directors? Imagine the prestige!


Sure. As long as you accept jelly beans, hugs and smiley things from Dollar Tree as payments.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Le sigh. I just posted this, and there's already a thread derail.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

anniejocoby said:


> Le sigh. I just posted this, and there's already a thread derail.


I think that was the strategy.


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## Molly Tomorrow (Jul 22, 2014)

A timely post based on a few recent threads. I've seen several posts where people describe their approach to the _business_ of writing and publishing in a manner that makes it clear it's not a business at all... it's a hobby. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with hobbies. But they're mixed up in posts where people are complaing about poor sales or talking about doing this full time. Likewise, it's a bit concerning when people offer advice suggesting people treat it as a hobby and lowering their expectations as a key to success.

For those fortunate enough to enjoy writing it can be both a hobby and a business. It doesn't have to be one or the other.



anniejocoby said:


> Le sigh. I just posted this, and there's already a thread derail.


Par for the course apparently. On the plus side there hasn't been any irrelevant _KU = end of Days/Amazon's goal is to destroy all indies_ fearmongering yet, so there's that


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Not really derailed but it did show a failed strategy.


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## Indigo W (Dec 27, 2014)

Has anybody tried "Kindle Spy" to study the market? http://www.kdspy.com/

Thoughts from anyone who has?


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2015)

I fancy myself a bit like Miles Vorkosigan in my publishing strategy, in that the linchpin element is the Indy Ploy.


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## 鬼 (Sep 30, 2012)

100% agree. There are so many variables involved for one's success, but it always circles back to what do you want out of it and what are you willing to do for it. Do you want to do this for a living? You'll need a strategy.

As I'm about to embark on this crazy ride, I've drilled this into my head every day. It took lots of reading, lots of planning, and of course, soon to be lots of writing.


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## David Peterson (Feb 8, 2014)

Annie - I don't disagree with your post, but I see a lot about what isn't a strategy (tactics) in your post and previous conversations on strategy elsewhere. I'd be really curious to hear more about the strategies that people are using. Maybe people aren't comfortable sharing the specifics, but I wonder how you designed your strategy. Do you have it written out? Is it an overall plan that can be written out in a few sentences (like a mission plan or something) and each time you are thinking about a particular tactic, do you ask yourself if this fits into your strategy?


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Annie,

Would you mind sharing your strategy?  I thought I read somewhere that you were doing fairly well and as a new writer about to debut my first book I'd like to hear about your strategy if you don't mind.

Thanks!
SM


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks, Annie.

I'll be the first to offer my strategy, because I want your input on it. 

On my main titles, I wrote the first two books. On book 1 I had about 35-40 reviews before my Free BookBub in May (downloaded 56,000 times), now I have lots more. They keep straggling in as people find the book on their TBR pile and read it. In February of last year (6 months after book 1 published and 1 month after book 2) I added a sign up link to mailing list. The list of peeps signing up is about 650, 98% organic, not offering anything except the new release info, with a 2-day notification to get it for .99 upon release.

Then, BOOM, life happened. I failed to produce the third book as I circled the drains of depression. I'm better now and really trying to finish the third book, but it's slow going. I'm anticipating six weeks (but I've said that before). I let book 1 fall out of KU to Permafree it, but I haven't yet, because I think when book 3 comes out, sales on book 1 will be affected hugely, and I'd like to recoup some of my costs for 2014. I have 160 reviews on book 1, most are good. 

So my strategy is to publish book 3, let my 650 readers on mailing list know (and my nearly 1000 FB followers, and tweet to 600ish followers there), see if I get sales on the previous two books, and THEN, 3 months later, Permafree book 1.

Sound strategy, or would you suggest I permafree now, and forget the lost sales?


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2015)

It's true--there's a big difference between strategy and tactics (and logistics, for that matter). My core strategy is to write the best books I can and to make them as widely available as possible. Perma-free for first-in-series is another long-term strategy that I employ. Tactically, I'm just making it up as I go along.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

I've been trying to glean strategy from as many different sources as I can. I study these forums, blog posts, books on publishing daily. I'm so new at this, it's very hard to discern what's viable for me. 

I have a vague three year plan that outlines which books I want to publish each year. I have my website up and running to direct people to my work with a blog that I've successfully posted to three times. (The website's about a week old, so I feel good about that.)

I guess currently my strategy is driving people to the website where they can subscribe to my mailing list while I focus on getting the next book out for purchase. Ideally, once book two is out, I'll drop the price on book one for a few days and advertise with a few of the heavier hitting promo sites. Rinse and repeat for each new book.

That's not nearly as concise as I'd like it to be, but how do I tailor a strategy to myself when I have so little personal information to draw from? No backlist to advertise or create a loss leader out of? Or am I cutting myself off at the knees by believing that I'm too new and small to know what I'm doing yet?


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

cinisajoy said:


> Sure. As long as you accept jelly beans, hugs and smiley things from Dollar Tree as payments.


Smiley things work for me!


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

anniejocoby said:


> Le sigh. I just posted this, and there's already a thread derail.


Did you miss the "Locomotive junction, be mindful of gondolas!" warning from yesterday?


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Annie,
> 
> Would you mind sharing your strategy? I thought I read somewhere that you were doing fairly well and as a new writer about to debut my first book I'd like to hear about your strategy if you don't mind.
> 
> ...


Sure! Mine is a fairly tight strategy, and I can sum it up in a few points. 1) Write in a hot genre (romance); 2) study the marketplace - who's the top seller in my genre, and what about their books are the readers responding to? 3) Figuring out the "patterns" of the hottest books in my genre (and there are patterns that repeat themselves in bestsellers, time and again); 4) write in a series; 5) use a permafree for EACH of my series; 6) promote the permafree whenever there is a new release out in that series; 7) write prolifically - I get a new novel out every two months;  write each of my series books with a cliffhanger ending. I promote wherever I can, whoever will have me, as long as that site has a good reputation. More minor parts of my strategy include engaging fans on Facebook, and, in the future, trying to contact book bloggers and get more active on social media, in general.

Data is also important - I just did my year-end analysis, and I very clearly saw which of my books sell the most, which has the biggest drop-off from one book to another, and the next question I ask myself is why there is a big drop off on one series and not the other.

For instance, I found, examining my data, that my first series and my second series had almost exactly equal sales last year. Since my second series had releases in January, March and May of last year, and my first series had all books available all last year, I came to the conclusion that my second series was much more popular, numbers-wise, then my first. The overall sell-through from Book One to Book Two in my first series came to just under 10%. It was 15% for my second series. This is valuable, because it gives me a chance to analyze why that might be. So, that's another part of my ongoing strategy - crunching the numbers and finding out which series have more resonance to the readers.

I could go on, but those are my tactics in a nutshell. They might change in the future, but, for now, they're solid for me.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

My strategy for what it's worth.

Write four series, each in a salable genre. Make all book 1s free, price all books $5.99, make books 1-3 in each series into a box set at $9.99, use all channels not just amazon or KU, pay up front for audio production on all books (but not the box sets), make all books available in print. Use mailing lists and giveaways to generate reviews. Wait until I get 20 reviews per book, hit Bookbub. Wait until I get 50 or so reviews or wait 6 months, hit bookbub, use my free facebook audio giveaway sites to get audio reviews, wait for an audio bookbub site to appear, hit audio bookbub for audio editions...

Err... oh a tactic! Write the next book in one of the four series.

Write publish repeat.

Seems to be working so far.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

L.L. Akers said:


> Thanks, Annie.
> 
> I'll be the first to offer my strategy, because I want your input on it.
> 
> ...


First of all, hugs! I know about depression - my significant other suffers from it on an almost constant basis right now, and I know what it does to energy and motivation. I'm glad to hear that you're getting back to life, though, Lisa!

I guess I would suggest, in terms of your permafree, to analyze if the book is selling now? I used to think that permafreeing was a good tactic, no matter if you have two books out or ten, but I've re-evaluated that thinking after my last series. I now think that it is best to have at least three books out in a series before using it, just because you don't want to "shoot your wad" prematurely, LOL. But if you want some sales momentum now, and you don't anticipate having a third book out for awhile, I might look into it. Just make sure you promote it periodically. That should at least get things moving again, and it might help your current situation.

I wish you all the best. You're one of my favorites here!


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## Midnight Whimsy (Jun 25, 2013)

I think the definition of a strategy versus a tactic (vs other things like a mission statement, goals, etc.) would be a good addition to the OP. My understanding was that strategies are general and constant (I want to grow my mailing list) while tactics are specific and fluid (I'll include a link at the back of my book, I'll offer a free novella with sign up, etc.).

M.W


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Oh, and I'm always adding new things to my arsenal. The data-crunching thing is new for me. Another new thing is using Vellum to make my books as lovely and professional-looking as possible. I'm always on the hunt for little things that I can do to make a difference here and there, and adding them into my overall strategy.


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## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

I don't disagree with your opening post. And forgive me if my assumption here is wrong, but I'm pretty sure a post I began late last night/early this morning is one of those you're referencing.

All your points are valid and in many cases spot-on. I came into this without a strategy to see where it would take me. Maybe that was a mistake. But I did wind up here. For me, much of this is a daily learning process.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I think the definition of a strategy versus a tactic (vs other things like a mission statement, goals, etc.) would be a good addition to the OP. My understanding was that strategies are general and constant (I want to grow my mailing list) while tactics are specific and fluid (I'll include a link at the back of my book, I'll offer a free novella with sign up, etc.).
> 
> M.W


My understanding is that tactics are the components of an overall strategy. Tactics are the things that you do to achieve your strategy. For instance, a strategy might be to write what resonates with readers, and the tactics to achieve that would be to study the bestsellers in your genre.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I wrote my strategy then deleted it because I didn't want to come off as a know-it-all, so now I'm writing it again. 

Since last summer, here's what I decided to pursue:

Establish a bi-monthly publishing schedule of quality stories my readership can count on.
- This will increase my organic visibility and give me something "NEW" to constantly promote without relying on discounting.
- It serves readers. 
- It gives me manageable projects to execute so I don't get bogged down.

Track 3 months of ranking and pricing data for my target genre
- Note the top 20, high low pricing and  overall ranking. Aim to compete with the higher price point books (my cover blend with theirs, my blurb etc.)
- Expect to sell fewer copies at a higher price point.

Create a safe web space for my readers to hang out in.
- This part has been a work in progress for 6 months, but I just finalized it will be my author name site.
- I use a wordpress theme that let's me section off parts of a post for Members Only.

Network with other Reader Groups and Author Groups in My Genre
- I started off bending over backwards to share and help everyone. This has led to an invitation to a fantastic Austen author group blog that let's me blog once a month, but maximize the marketing efforts of 17 authors all in the same genre.
- I joined and posted on three private reader forums for the genre to give them stories to try me out and give feedback on. 

Going into 2015, here's what's been ADDED to my strategy:

Go wide:
- Work on putting my book out there in as many formats and venues as I can. I specifically waited on this until I had more than 5 books to put everywhere.

Blog smartly:
- Use keywords and SEO to help draw in people searching for Jane Austen Fan Fiction right to my site. 
- Create a funnel with the first story of my Seasons series to maximize reader memberships.

Advertise smartly:
- Use blog ads and Google ads to drive traffic to the free book funnel to increase my mailing list and website membership. 

Attend a Reader Event:
- Go to the Louisville JASNA annual convention in October 2015.

That's my strategy.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

It seems like the strategy vs tactics trope has come off the rails. Not surprising as it is a false dichotomy used to say this thing is important so I declare that a strategy, but that thing is less important, so that is a tactic.



anniejocoby said:


> Oh, and I'm always adding new things to my arsenal. The data-crunching thing is new for me. Another new thing is using Vellum to make my books as lovely and professional-looking as possible. I'm always on the hunt for little things that I can do to make a difference here and there, and adding them into my overall strategy.





anniejocoby said:


> Sure! Mine is a fairly tight strategy . . . I could go on, but those are my tactics in a nutshell.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

Here are some questions to help you make your own strategy :

What, specifically, can you deliver to readers? (what types of books, lengths, how often?)

What, specifically, will you do to interact with readers? (are you going to use a blog, social media, a combination, giveaways?)

What will you do to keep your books visible? (regular releases, niche categories, advertising, blog tours, blogging, author co-ops, sales)

The idea is NOT to do all of these things and more that's in the parentheses, but to wither down to the 2-3 things you can do WELL and CONSISTENTLY in each category. If you can't write efficiently, think about another way you're going to keep readers engaged while they wait patiently for your next release. If you can't blog, maybe you can make a list of other authors and ask them to blog on their blogs as a contributing author. For example, LK Rigel will have a guest post on my site this week with a link to her preorder. It helps ME because it's content my readers are interested in (another JAFF book) and it helps her. Win-win.

A strategy/tactics etc. doesn't work as scattershot. Certainly, you can take a year to try various things and record your results. For example maybe how you FEEL about certain parts of publishing will impact what kinds of strategies you use.


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## Rachel Aukes (Oct 13, 2013)

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I think the definition of a strategy versus a tactic (vs other things like a mission statement, goals, etc.) would be a good addition to the OP. My understanding was that strategies are general and constant (I want to grow my mailing list) while tactics are specific and fluid (I'll include a link at the back of my book, I'll offer a free novella with sign up, etc.).
> 
> M.W


Strategy is WHAT you intend to do. 
Tactics are HOW you intend to do it.

Here's my current strategy... 
Turn my avocation (writing) into my vocation by the following: 
- Treat writing likes it's my vocation. 
- Diversify: 1) through standalones, series, and shorts; 2) through collaborative writing projects; and 3) via multiple publishing models. 
- Connect with readers face-to-face and online.
- Be a professional in all aspects, such as in the writing/publishing process (e.g., covers, editing), promotion (e.g., ads), and publicity (e.g., connecting with readers).

It's not a great strategy because it's not completely SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, time-bound), but I was intentional in that. I don't have complete control over when I can write full-time. I can do everything right, but I still depend on sales. Only once I hit my revenue goal two years in a row, will I give up my day job. Until then, my strategy is a bit more aspirational than strategic.

As for tactics, mine are similar to what others have said. I have deadlines set for much of the year already. I have three novels planned for release this year, along with several short stories. Most of those are standalones, with series potential (but all are speculative fiction). I have 4 events planned, two of which I'll be the keynote at, the other two I'll be a panelist at. I've also already bought a couple of the covers I need and have arranged editors and proofreaders.

I believe having a strategy is crucial to success (yes, I'm a strategist at the day job). After all, if you don't know where you're going, any road will work.


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2015)

1) Agree 100% with what Annie wrote.

2) in addtion to looking at what's hot and winning right now you should also give 20% to 30% time to what the NEXT BIG THING might be. Or create BLue Oceans for yourself i.e. Blue ocean strategy.

Blue Ocean Strategy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ocean_Strategy

Look at music, movies, apps for ideas of what works in digital markets.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

I never had a strategy to start with, but I had to get one quickly when my first book started selling. It's evolved over time but is still pretty vague, and follows most of the 'canon' of advice you get here -- although I'd figured a lot of it out before I found Kboards.

1)	Write in series. Release frequently. You don't have to do one a month. I managed four books last year which was a bit of a stretch, to be honest.

2)	Brand your work to within an inch of its life (you couldn't mistake my covers for anyone else's, for example). Branding, branding, branding, people! I know f* all about marketing but I do know that.

3)	I don't do permafree but my first book is cheaper than the others, partly as a loss leader and partly because it was my first ever completed novel and I don't feel it's my best work. It's still my biggest seller even today, though, with more than 25,000 paid copies sold in less than two years, so what do I know? All the other books in the series are $3.99 or £2.49. I'd like to go up to $4.99 for future series. My approach to pricing is that I charge what I'd be comfortable paying myself. It's a shame I'm a bit of a cheapskate.  

4)	All books are available in paperback. I haven't done audio or translations but I wouldn't rule them out in future. 

5)	I don't write in hot genres as I'm not a romance writer but I do write in my favourite genre (mystery), which seems to have a ready audience willing to take a chance on new authors. It's a genre I know extremely well, which helps.

6)	Personally I try and capitalise on my particular writing style (which I'd describe as "tripping gaily through the cornfields" rather than "plodding with grim determination into Mordor"). It isn't to everyone's taste but it appeals to enough people to get me some fans and I'm going with the flow on that. Put it this way: you won't see me attempting any searing and gut-wrenching psychological thrillers anytime soon.

7)	Mailing list (this thanks to Kboards). I do virtually no marketing, but I use the mailing list and a low introductory price to shoot into the Amazon charts on the day of release.

Not sure whether the above is strategy or tactics. Obviously the eventual aim is to achieve world domination . If I had to pick any of the above as being most important I'd say branding and mailing list.

ETA: having read this over it doesn't look like much of a strategy at all, which is odd because I have a very clear idea of where I'm heading and how - I'm obviously just not very good at expressing it.


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## G.L. Snodgrass (Aug 12, 2014)

Before you can come up with a strategy, you need a mission objective. Example - Get Rich, - become famous, - Make enough to live off, - Have people read my stories, - Enjoy my hobby, - Be recognized as an author by the New York literary world, - See my book on the shelf of a book store, - etc.

The Mission Objective will help you pick the proper strategy, - Write to market, - Write what I love, - Write an award winning book, - Write a lot of books, - send queries to agents, - Self Publish, - etc.

The Strategy will help you pick the proper Tactics, - Permafree, - Advertising, - social media, -story length, - study what publishers are buying, changing covers to reflect market expectations, - etc.

Starting with tactics or strategy can lead to achieving the wrong mission objective or none at all. It is only by honestly defining what you want to achieve that you can map out a path to get there. 

Remember, not everyone has the same Mission Objectives.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

I think Annie is outlining something very important. Taking your business seriously. I know that I have been guilty of not always doing so, but I went into it as a hobby then got serious somewhere along the way (right about when I realised I didn't have to go back to work if I upped my game).

Here is mine, for what ever it might be worth to anyone.

I have set myself goals for 2015, that's what I am calling it, but in some ways it amounts to a strategy, in other ways it could be conceived as tactics, you decide.

I have three pen names, but I will focus this post on this name.

This is publishing My Way:

1) Write in a very specific genre to build a fan base.
2) Grow a _genuine_ mailing list of those fans - no give-aways or inducements (so far)
3) I write novellas, so as to be able to release more regularly
4) I write predominately series or linked books
5) I write occasional stand alones and some short stories for fun/marketing purposes
6) I think professional proofing is extremely important, but I do very little editing
7) I keep my website up to date
8 ) I blog and I tweet (though with no real focus or regularity)
9) I read A LOT of other books in my genre

In 2015 I am focussing more on the business side of this as well.
1) Some box set /chapter swap collaborations
2) A spreadsheet - it's ridiculous that I have not been tracking anything, including my income or expenses!
3) A pre-planned list of all the titles I am going to write this year
4) An added review/interview section on my blog of other writers in my genre
5) Some word count goals, in the style of NaNo to motivate myself

I'm sure there is a ton of other stuff I haven't thought to add. But that is basically it.
I should mention that my husband thinks I am setting myself up to fail, because I have not taken real life into account when wearing my "business" hat. (For example we are due to have another baby in Feb). So yes, you have to be flexible with them when necessary, but you have to have some definite goals too! (or strategy as Annie calls it).


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

anniejocoby said:


> First of all, hugs! I know about depression - my significant other suffers from it on an almost constant basis right now, and I know what it does to energy and motivation. I'm glad to hear that you're getting back to life, though, Lisa!
> 
> I guess I would suggest, in terms of your permafree, to analyze if the book is selling now? I used to think that permafreeing was a good tactic, no matter if you have two books out or ten, but I've re-evaluated that thinking after my last series. I now think that it is best to have at least three books out in a series before using it, just because you don't want to "shoot your wad" prematurely, LOL. But if you want some sales momentum now, and you don't anticipate having a third book out for awhile, I might look into it. Just make sure you promote it periodically. That should at least get things moving again, and it might help your current situation.
> 
> I wish you all the best. You're one of my favorites here!


Thanks, Annie! I do get some sales of book 1, even though I haven't advertised it in forever. I'll put more thought into it, and I'm looking forward to reading the other strategies posted. Good thread! 
...and you're one of my favorites, too


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

anniejocoby said:


> Oh, and I'm always adding new things to my arsenal. The data-crunching thing is new for me. Another new thing is using Vellum to make my books as lovely and professional-looking as possible. I'm always on the hunt for little things that I can do to make a difference here and there, and adding them into my overall strategy.


Might be less important if you're trying to catch a wave and you think the wave will fall flat in the not too distant future. But overall, I think this is very important. It's not exactly a strategy or a tactic. It's a fundamental way of approaching both business and art. It's also one of the most overlooked ingredients in Russel Blake's system: the continuing and consistent search for improvement. The man changes covers more often than some change their underwear, and you can rest assured that's not the only thing he regularly reevaluates.

(Also overlooked is Russel's tremendous work ethos. Fourteen hours a day, 7/7, if memory serves.)


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

I want to give a heads up to all the prawns out there who might be feeling glum about this. You can CHANGE your strategy. It's okay to just write because you love it before you decide you want to achieve a livable wage writing or accomplish world domination.

My goal when I started writing original fiction was to keep my husband from nagging me about "writing for free" all the time. That's it.
My expectation was I would write about one hundred stories over twenty years or so, and I might earn $500/month that would be nice during retirement. But now I'm discovering I might be able to do this for a living.

It's okay to change your plans and your strategy. And frankly, after watching people who crash and burn after doing everything right and spending lots of money I'm glad I put my toe in the water and entered the pool with low expectations.

Despite my low goalpost, I'm rapidly approaching the point where I can quit my day job (knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood). Ireadreview is right about Blue Ocean Strategy. Even if your story is oh, say, a mashup of Norse Mythology, comic books, history, and fairy tales with a hefty dose of romance, sci-fi and adventure that doesn't fit any genre you at least stand out!


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

I've just read that blue ocean link and didn't understand a word of it.


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## Jennifer Lewis (Dec 12, 2013)

I think the blue ocean concept applies to something like Amazon.com that carved out a whole new space for itself. It still doesn't have any serious one-on-one competitors that I can think of.

I also started out with no strategy just throwing stuff out there with terrible results. After paying attention and taking notes for a year I started over with much better results:
Strategy: write books that people want to read--I write escapist reads for those "Calgon take me away" moments. Write in series so they will keep coming back for more. Find more readers and grow readership. This must take place at a pace that is sustainable to me.

Current tactics (not saying these are the right thing to do, they're just what I'm doing currently)
Free short stories that feed into series (most people say short stories don't work, but they've been working for me)
Mailing list link everywhere, newsletter every time I release something
Updated links in books so readers can click to buy next in series
Maintain website with links to all books
Maintain FB page and profile w/ fun posts but don't do much active promo. 
Cheap promo only right now: FB ads, BK Knights, etc. Save bigger guns for when full series is available.
Multi author anthologies and joint promos for wider exposure
Keep pricing constant until series is complete. Freebies are free, everything else is full price
Paying attention to what successful/formerly successful authors in my niches are/aren't doing
Keeping my ear to the ground for new tactics

Things I'm currently not doing because I don't think they'd serve my best interests *right now*:
ARCs except for freebies
Full length books free
Street team
Price pulsing
Expensive promos
Data crunching


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## daffodils321 (Oct 31, 2014)

Great post!

My strategy for 2015: 
2 series planned in one niche 
Build presence on social media 
Have series of interactive blog posts to draw people to my site (make my blog a place where my niche's readers want to visit) 
Develop relationships with book bloggers and create ARC team 
Interact with readers; get to know my niche's audience on a personal level 
Price aggressively low (but not too low) and raise prices as market allows
Keep one series in KU and other wide 
Utilize free and 99c judiciously 
Continue to study niche best-sellers and improve craft (Long term, I think this is most important)


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## timstevens (Jul 4, 2012)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> My strategy for what it's worth.
> 
> Write four series, each in a salable genre. Make all book 1s free, price all books $5.99, make books 1-3 in each series into a box set at $9.99, use all channels not just amazon or KU, pay up front for audio production on all books (but not the box sets), make all books available in print. Use mailing lists and giveaways to generate reviews. Wait until I get 20 reviews per book, hit Bookbub. Wait until I get 50 or so reviews or wait 6 months, hit bookbub, use my free facebook audio giveaway sites to get audio reviews, wait for an audio bookbub site to appear, hit audio bookbub for audio editions...
> 
> ...


Mark, good to see another Essex resident here. 

I see that you write in different genres under the same name. Do you find much reader cross-over from one genre to the next?


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> My strategy for what it's worth.
> 
> Write four series, each in a salable genre. Make all book 1s free, price all books $5.99, make books 1-3 in each series into a box set at $9.99, use all channels not just amazon or KU, pay up front for audio production on all books (but not the box sets), make all books available in print. Use mailing lists and giveaways to generate reviews. Wait until I get 20 reviews per book, hit Bookbub. Wait until I get 50 or so reviews or wait 6 months, hit bookbub, use my free facebook audio giveaway sites to get audio reviews, wait for an audio bookbub site to appear, hit audio bookbub for audio editions...
> 
> ...


Mark and Annie: I always love to read posts from you two. Extremely helpful stuff.

Last night I wrote a blog post about my first year as a published author. If you have any interest, it can be read right here http://johnellsworthbooks.com/blog/

My strategy: I have six books out now, number seven is at the editor's getting ready to go. My books are a series. With seven books I can permafree number one and do two KCD's per month rotating thru the other six. I have found KCD's work best for my genre, to get that extra kick each month that keeps the numbers up. My seven books were all written in my first year. I have over 1000 decent reviews. This year I plan to add another three or four (maybe more) 80K novels. All my stuff is about 80K. As the newer books develop and publish, the earlier books will go wide, pulling out of KU. But I'd always like to have six or seven in KU so that I can do the KCD's.

Number one is also being turned into an audiobook. I finally broke down and hired someone and I'm going to see what that's all about. Also gives me a way to cross-pollinate into Apple via ACX.

Also work on my mailing list. I started it a couple of months ago and have about 375 names right now. So that push is underway, offering free book 2 to the readers of book one who will sign up. Nick Stephenson's idea.

Last year, my first year, I did four freebie Bookbubs and gave away 170,000 books. I'll try some more of that this year, or at least try. But in truth I want to wean myself off BB by use of KCDs and mailing list.

This is my strategy. Or it's a collection of tactics, take your pick.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

I have no strategy  

I've actually been worried about this for a while. I don't really plan things, I just react. Like 'OMG, I'm not selling enough, must do a promo...'

I'm floundering at the moment about what to focus on and I think I need to work out what my strategy is then work towards that.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

If it helps, in the early days I had a series of stepped financial goals, which were (IIRC) 1) cover the costs of writing the first book; 2) cover the costs PLUS pay for childcare so I could keep on writing; 3) costs + childcare + a cleaner, and so on and so on. My ultimate goal (leaving aside world domination) is to earn enough money so we can afford to buy a house without a mortgage, but I'm nowhere near that. We do have a cleaner, though.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

My strategy:

1. Write series.
2. Write what I love to read.
3. Write a couple of series at the same time, alternating between subgenres. This will probably make sales a bit slow initially, but it will keep a larger number of people entertained. SFF readers are loyal beasts and don't need a new book in the same series every 2 months.
4. Become less reliant on external advertsing by increasing my mailing list, FB and Twitter following. For the mailing list, I use Noisetrade and competitions. I don't give two effs about open % or unsubscribe rate. More people on the list is more eyeballs on my work.
5. Use permafree and cheap book 1 to get more sales.
6. Get more eyeballs through cross-promo.
7. Put all books in print but continue to ignore audio, because 1. I have no time--I'd rather write, 2. It sounds like a very risky investment to me, unless you have a bestseller, 3. I never, ever listen to audiobooks myself (don't have the patience), so I don't think I could do a decent job selecting a narrator.
8. Maintain all books by re-evaluating covers and blurbs on a regular basis. Things like fonts go out of favour real fast. Covers that were fashionable two years ago look badly dated today.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Great post Annie. Anyone who's been on the boards for the last couple months (or listens to Rocking Self Publishing) knows my strategy, but I'll add that the most important thing is to have a specific goal. Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve? Know that, then work on your strategy.


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## thesmallprint (May 25, 2012)

Only 4 marketing strategies are available to any business. Those using the word strategy on Kboards generally use it to describe their plans or structure, and cite tactics, not strategy. Even 'I plan to release 10 books a year' - that's a tactic.

If you want to devise a marketing strategy, take your pick:

1 Market Penetration - gaining a bigger share of the current market

2 Market Development - attracting new buyers who would not normally buy your product - at its extreme, this would be turning a romance reader into a horror reader. Some marketers would say that, strictly speaking, it is attracting those who have never before bought a book of any kind

3 New Product Development - you could argue that new titles fit into that, though most marketers would disagree. They'd see, for example, Colgate launching a toothbrush to go with their toothpaste as NPD

4 Diversification - impossible in the book market. An example of diversification would be Colgate deciding to go into banking.

So, we're all pretty much stuck with the same strategy - number 1


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## AgnesWebb (Jan 13, 2013)

Annie,

You're awesome! Great reminder to update my 2015 strategies and tactics. Thanks for posting this incredibly helpful thread and I hope we can all do a California meet-up again sometime soon.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Lydniz said:


> 3) costs + childcare + a cleaner,


Man, I must be tired or under-caffeinated or something, because I misread "cleaner" as "dealer." I was going to say, "How very 1980s Stephen King of you."


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## 58907 (Apr 3, 2012)

Indigo W said:


> Has anybody tried "Kindle Spy" to study the market? http://www.kdspy.com/
> 
> Thoughts from anyone who has?


That software is dope. Just bought it and it really saves me time in trying to figure out what's selling, and the key words being used, page count, average price--all in one quick snapshot view. You can also pull data from author pages--mine sucks, lol.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

G.L. Snodgrass said:


> Before you can come up with a strategy, you need a mission objective. Example - Get Rich, - become famous, - Make enough to live off, - Have people read my stories, - Enjoy my hobby, - Be recognized as an author by the New York literary world, - See my book on the shelf of a book store, - etc.
> 
> The Mission Objective will help you pick the proper strategy, - Write to market, - Write what I love, - Write an award winning book, - Write a lot of books, - send queries to agents, - Self Publish, - etc.
> 
> ...


Was this a lucky post, or are you just a bit brilliant?
I've just read it about five times. It's totally cleared my brain!
I just sat and wrote out Mission Objectives for the first time since I left University fifteen years ago.
Thank you GL, sincerely!


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

Annie - good post as usual.

I agree wholeheartedly that a strategy is important if you're wanting to run a writing-publishing endeavor like a business.

I, for one, enjoy being an author-penure.


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## miss_fletcher (Oct 25, 2010)

I like this thread.  I agree with the OP on the tough love aspect. What we need to hear and what we want to hear are two different things.

My strategy (if you care) is a fluid, overarching plan to achieve my long term goal. The long term goal is the same as when I first started in 2010, but my tactics shift according to my needs and resources. The minor targets met along the way then equal a measure of "success" as I choose to define it.

Ultimate/long term goal: write something worth remembering (have no clue if this will ever be achieved, but hope if I make it to my twilight years, I'll be able to hold up one of my books and declare it awesome beyond my wildest dreams).

Major Minor/short term goal: make a good living off my writing.

*smears on war paint* Tactics: each book must be an improvement on the last (plotting, storyline, characterisation, book cover, editing, voice, the whole shebang). Build newsletter. Remember social media is a storm: alluring, powerful but unpredictable and dangerous, so use sparingly. Distribute widely (I've tried KU now, and it's decent, but I do not like the exclusivity. A personal preference as my sales with certain non Amazon retailers has always been okay). Pricing must increase in line with my experience (like most jobs). Promotions will be targeted, diverse and creative or forsaken. Whatever promotion I do, money must flow towards me. Nothing but an act of god/natural disaster/zombie apocalypse cuts into my writing time once I hit "the zone". I do not follow the crowd and accept book death may come as a result of wandering the wilderness alone. I write what I want, when I want, not what other people want, or what genre seems hot. I will not objectify men or women on my book covers (such a thing is subjective, this is a personal issue of mine). Figure out how to manage reader expectations on my book release schedule (this is a new one).

That's it. High level thinking in some areas to keep me flexible, rigid doctrine to keep me on the straight and narrow in others. It's not glamorous or sophisticated. It's basic, and works for me. The rest I play by ear. I adapt as I need to. I think writing every tactic down limits my creativity and causes me to stagnate.

I love self publishing and enjoy that we're all different, have different flows. The greatest tools in the indie author arsenal are individuality and uniqueness.

It's interesting to get a peek at the strategies of others. Some run counterpoint to my own, so they are truly intriguing to read.


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## GeoffW (Dec 14, 2014)

As I'm a newbie "almost author", I don't have anything to add.  But, I did want to comment that this is a very interesting post and I am thankful for the people that are replying with their experiences and thoughts.  Also, great forum overall.

I'm bookmarking this to come back and read (my bed time, right now : )

GeoffW


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

SevenDays said:


> Man, I must be tired or under-caffeinated or something, because I misread "cleaner" as "dealer." I was going to say, "How very 1980s Stephen King of you."


The dealer was point 4) but I didn't like to mention it.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

timstevens said:


> Mark, good to see another Essex resident here.
> 
> I see that you write in different genres under the same name. Do you find much reader cross-over from one genre to the next?


Between my Rune Gate Cycle and Shifter Legacies yes, but they are similar (ish). Rune Gate is a psychic witch story in modern day, Shifter legacies is an alternate Earth/United States set in the future, so contemporary and urban again, but very different. My space opera fans seem to want only more of the same, and maybe a spin-off about historical events mentioned in the story. So no cross over. And my Epic/Medieval type fantasy sells so few I doubt there is any cross over.

BUT that was the point of using four series.

Besides wanting to write what I like to read, I wanted to reach out to DIFFERENT areas of the market or readership. So people who don't like space opera might still buy my books. I hope never to see it happen, but if space opera suddenly lost its mojo (I don't think it will any time soon, lots of new sci-fi films coming etc) then hopefully one of my other series will support me, you see? I'm sure that is why people use pen names. They sell paranormal romance lets say, but maybe they sell really well in erotica. They are trying to reach different markets like me, but don't want them on the same Amazon author page.

I don't do pen names because of all the support each one would need to do it right. It would need (IMO) blog, website, Facebook page, twitter, mailing list and any promo will have zero crossover. I have no idea how much cross over I get when I do a Bookbub, but I'm sure there must be some. Even if it's tiny, it is there.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> > BUT that was the point of using four series.
> >
> > Besides wanting to write what I like to read, I wanted to reach out to DIFFERENT areas of the market or readership. So people who don't like space opera might still buy my books. I hope never to see it happen, but if space opera suddenly lost its mojo (I don't think it will any time soon, lots of new sci-fi films coming etc) then hopefully one of my other series will support me, you see? I'm sure that is why people use pen names. They sell paranormal romance lets say, but maybe they sell really well in erotica. They are trying to reach different markets like me, but don't want them on the same Amazon author page.
> >
> > I don't do pen names because of all the support each one would need to do it right. It would need (IMO) blog, website, Facebook page, twitter, mailing list and any promo will have zero crossover. I have no idea how much cross over I get when I do a Bookbub, but I'm sure there must be some. Even if it's tiny, it is there.


I could have written this.

I don't know how much crossover there is between my space opera and my historical fantasy, but there is definitely a fair bit of crossover between my space opera and my hard SF. Also between my historical fantasy and my dark fantasy.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Patty and Mark: have either of you segmented your mailing lists, or do you just send errybody mailings about both SF and Fantasy? Would be curious to hear your opinions (or the opinions of other folks in similar situations).


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Dolphin said:


> Patty and Mark: have either of you segmented your mailing lists, or do you just send errybody mailings about both SF and Fantasy? Would be curious to hear your opinions (or the opinions of other folks in similar situations).


Nope. Have sometimes thought of doing that, but SF buyers DO read fantasy and the other way around. I rather cast a wider net. I use my mailing list only for new releases and that only happens a few times a year. I always state at the end what I'm writing next. I tend to alternate SF/fantasy.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Dolphin said:


> Patty and Mark: have either of you segmented your mailing lists, or do you just send errybody mailings about both SF and Fantasy? Would be curious to hear your opinions (or the opinions of other folks in similar situations).


Yes, but not logically like I think you assume. If I started now, I would be really clever and use different forms in the back matter from different series. I DO have segments, but they are along these lines:

UK subscriber
US subscriber
Book subscriber
Giveaways subscriber
Want all emails
Wants only book releases


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## NoahPorter (Sep 15, 2013)

Has anybody ever said that strategy _wasn't_ important?


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## Molly Tomorrow (Jul 22, 2014)

Yes


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

NoahPorter said:


> Has anybody ever said that strategy _wasn't_ important?


Not in so many words. But I do see that there tends to be an issue with some of the sad posters who need help. Usually when there are "what am I doing wrong" posts, I see that there is no clear strategy in place. Covers are not branded, and the books are standalone and in a cold genre. I see that a lot. And, usually, another problem is infrequent releases. Inevitably, the posters would get good advice about fixing covers and blurbs, but I would argue that most of them need to adopt a firm strategy. The market is just too competitive, so strategic thinking is a MUST.


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## Guest (Jan 14, 2015)

I agree, and a strategy (or tactics?) is *active*. It is not sit by quietly while waiting to be discovered. To me, that's what that statement seems says "good books will rise to the top." Or however it goes. That's not very active.

My motto has been for years, forge your own way. Get a sword, heat it up, and cut your way through!

I've seen some authors who aren't doing well think if they keep doing exactly the same thing, some day their break will come. No. Change the strategy, find out what might work better, and give it a try.

Don't float, hoping to bump into success, _swim!_

It doesn't matter if one person gets on KB and says well, they have found success doing it the way you're doing it, but you can't seem to make it work. Try something else anyway, because there are a whole lot of people who are finding success doing it differently.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Mizuki said:


> My motto has been for years, forge your own way. Get a sword, heat it up, and cut your way through!


That's not a very nice thing to do to a sword.

Honestly, if there's one thing that motivates me to write fantasy, it's all of the sword abuse in our culture. Despicable!


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

anniejocoby said:


> Not in so many words. But I do see that there tends to be an issue with some of the sad posters who need help. Usually when there are "what am I doing wrong" posts, I see that there is no clear strategy in place. Covers are not branded, and the books are standalone and in a cold genre. I see that a lot. And, usually, another problem is infrequent releases. Inevitably, the posters would get good advice about fixing covers and blurbs, but I would argue that most of them need to adopt a firm strategy. The market is just too competitive, so strategic thinking is a MUST.


I think pretty much every indie author here has a strategy of some sort. But there is a certain vibe of hostility here towards those whose strategies diverge from what the majority here considers best practices.


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## ruecole (Jun 13, 2012)

anniejocoby said:


> Not in so many words. But I do see that there tends to be an issue with some of the sad posters who need help. Usually when there are "what am I doing wrong" posts, I see that there is no clear strategy in place. Covers are not branded, and the books are standalone and in a cold genre. I see that a lot. And, usually, another problem is infrequent releases. Inevitably, the posters would get good advice about fixing covers and blurbs, but I would argue that most of them need to adopt a firm strategy. The market is just too competitive, so strategic thinking is a MUST.


You can throw all the marketing at a book you can, but if the cover is poor and the description weak, it's not going to help much. So that's why covers and descriptions get so much attention. But I do agree that without a marketing strategy (even one that diverges from the "write more, write in a popular genre, enroll in KU!" mentality) to get that book in front of readers, that book is going to continue to flounder.

JMVHO

Rue


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

Okay, this was my strategy for 2014:
1. Write in a popular genre
2. Study the market expectations for the genre (covers, patterns)
3. Write in a series
4. First book free for Spiritus Series
5. Low price for novella Series to draw in readers
6. Blog Tours for new release
7. Interacting on Social Media
8. Advertising
9. Books Available across several retailers
10. Books available in print

For 2015 I'm getting more focused
1. Write in a popular genre, in a series
2. Study trends in genre
3. Create larger book launches
4. Use blog tours for releases
5. Advertise new releases
6. Grow mailing list
7. Continue with Social Media
8. Increase blog activity
9. Books available across several retailers
10. Books available in print


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

CoraBuhlert said:


> I think pretty much every indie author here has a strategy of some sort. But there is a certain vibe of hostility here towards those whose strategies diverge from what the majority here considers best practices.


Not really, but there is a small level of hostility against those who kick against something that has been proven to work for quite a few people and offer no clear alternatives. No matter how often the posters write YMMV, people always seem to miss that part and assume it equates hostility to what they are doing. I'd love to hear clear plans of what these people are doing and how they're doing them, but as soon as someone asks, there is no one home.

My plan diverges from the norm, too (I don't write a super-popular genre, and I don't publish something every month), and I think everyone's plan is a bit different.

How do people make the hybrid model work? I'm genuinely curious, because when I have fulfilled all my self-publishing commitments, I have no time/energy left for have a secondary tradepub offshoot career. I'll be stepping out of trade when I get my rights back.

Also disagreement =/= hostility.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2015)

Dolphin said:


> That's not a very nice thing to do to a sword.
> 
> Honestly, if there's one thing that motivates me to write fantasy, it's all of the sword abuse in our culture. Despicable!


Lol. I knew you sword and sorcery people were going to get me for that.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2015)

Patty Jansen said:


> I'd love to hear clear plans of what these people are doing and how they're doing them, but as soon as someone asks, there is no one home.
> 
> How do people make the hybrid model work? I'm genuinely curious, because when I have fulfilled all my self-publishing commitments, I have no time/energy left for have a secondary tradepub offshoot career.


I genuinely want to know too, because I've seen authors whose books are ranked low (high?) on Amazon, and they have one or two books, and it's indie. And the book came out like in September or something. I'm thinking what the heck are you doing? I had never heard of KB when I started writing, and I produced like mad to get where I am. If there is a way to do it differently and equal what I'm paid now, I want to know more about it.

Of course while I write a lot, I am also lazy. So there's that. I'm still curious.


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

anniejocoby said:


> Oh, and I'm always adding new things to my arsenal. The data-crunching thing is new for me. Another new thing is using Vellum to make my books as lovely and professional-looking as possible. I'm always on the hunt for little things that I can do to make a difference here and there, and adding them into my overall strategy.


Bookmarked this. Thanks Annie!


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## jillb (Oct 4, 2014)

I would love to know the answer to this as well. I know that there are some factors like the author may have a popular blog which can improve the sales ranks dramatically.
I've also noticed that books, at least in my NF genre, seem to rank better if there's a print version as well. I think it helps to open up another market on Amazon - not everyone likes to read digital books. 
However, there seems to also be a lot of outsourced books in NF that rank highly and for quite a while. They using run about 27 pages long and have 8-9 5 star shill feedbacks. My question is, how do they keep their ranking high? Is it some kind of borrowing circle scheme that helps to keep these books high up?



Mizuki said:


> I genuinely want to know too, because I've seen authors whose books are ranked low (high?) on Amazon, and they have one or two books, and it's indie. And the book came out like in September or something. I'm thinking what the heck are you doing? I had never heard of KB when I started writing, and I produced like mad to get where I am. If there is a way to do it differently and equal what I'm paid now, I want to know more about it.
> 
> Of course while I write a lot, I am also lazy. So there's that. I'm still curious.


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## Gentleman Zombie (May 30, 2011)

I've been away for a while, but this is one the BEST most practical threads I've read on KB in a long time.  I've been at this a long time and my biggest failure has been NOT having a strategy. I usually engage in a loose scatter shot of tactics that have not gotten me anywhere. 

I'm rereading some of the best posts and taking in the insights very carefully. 

Thank you for this.


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## Nomadwoman (Aug 25, 2011)

Brilliant thread Annie and don't get upset about the trolls. It's too bad that the boards went downhill for a while after a couple of years of great feedback from Russell et al.
I notice that no one is mentioning their more underhanded tactics, if I can call them that. For instance a person whose book was published ten days ago that has 350 reviews. When you check them they date back into 2013 so people are republishing somehow - why? to access HNR?
And today one of the SEO gurus was screaming to mailing list and twitts that she was #1 new release in various categories. When you look they're all in a deep subsection > > INDUSTRIAL. So a meaningless #1 really but easy manipulation of the folks. Kind of like the article posted on twitter today about what a farce the NYT best sellers list is. 
Ouf I'm sounding cranky, probably because I'm just now developing a proper strategy, which means not doing what I want to do (which makes one a hobbyist or a starving artist) and spending a Russell percentage of time on stuff outside of writing. I'm convinced it takes 14/7 to achieve status


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Nomadwoman said:


> Ouf I'm sounding cranky, probably because I'm just now developing a proper strategy, which means not doing what I want to do (which makes one a hobbyist or a starving artist) and spending a Russell percentage of time on stuff outside of writing. I'm convinced it takes 14/7 to achieve status


I know what you're saying, but it is possible to develop a strategy around what you want to do, rather than one around what you do NOT want to do. I don't think it makes you a hobbyist. Hobbyists do what they do for entertainment, not for a living, but there are hobbyists who make enough to cover costs plus a little extra holiday once a year etc. There are so many stages in this business. I think we all progress through most of them in our lives.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

CoraBuhlert said:


> I think pretty much every indie author here has a strategy of some sort. But there is a certain vibe of hostility here towards those whose strategies diverge from what the majority here considers best practices.


I've never felt that way. My strategy tries to take what other people have shown works and adapt it fit a situation it wasn't at all designed for (slooooow production ... like, really slow). I end up doing some things no one else would ever recommend. Sometimes I recommend my choices to others who seem to be in a situation similar to mine. No one's ever jumped down my throat for doing so. (Disagreement =/= throat-jumping-down.)

It'd be nice if some of the people who can't or don't want to follow the "typical" approach would share their strategies. If you write slowly and just can't go fast, okay, what's your strategy? If you really want to write non-erotic shorts, okay, what's your strategy? If you want to write literary fiction, okay, what's your strategy? If people who are taking routes other than the popular-genre/series/every-two-months/etc. approach would share their strategies and report their success, then others would see that those approaches work, and the number of people doing things in these other ways would grow. When, in contrast, no one else lays out a specific approach and shows that it has worked for them, it seems like the people following the "typical" approach are the only ones engaging in strategic thinking. That can't be the case.

Here, I'll go first. Let's say you write slowly. You hope you'll speed up over time, but you suspect you'll never be a fast producer. This is my situation. Almost all indie advice is based on publishing quickly. So, here's my plan:

I start with ゴジラ's model (series + mailing list --> growth over time). This model is designed for fast production, but I can pluck out the "series" and "mailing list" elements, right? So ...

1. Write a series.
2. Choose the genre carefully.

Think not only about the popularity of the genre but the length of time readers are accustomed to waiting for books. Epic fantasy probably would've been best (boy does GRRM make 'em wait). I write a sort of contemporary fantasy/sci-fi mashup.

3. Prioritize building the mailing list.

No. 3 is from ゴジラ's plan. But, unlike ゴジラ, I'm slooooow, so now I needed to go my own way a bit. How do I work with my slowness?

4. Prioritize any doable thing that will speed up the writing.

For me, it was reader feedback and reader pressure. I felt that I might just drift into never finishing a second book if I didn't have those things. So I made my first book free when it was my only book. It went from not moving at all to getting steady downloads. I got reviews and emails and stuff, which were very motivating, and I built my mailing list. I had about 400 names when my second book finally came out. About a quarter of those folks seem to have bought it.

5. Try to limit any unpleasant side-effects of the things I do for No. 4.

When you make a book permafree with no sequel, you will get almost no sell-through. Most people move on and leave you behind, even if they liked your book. So, I didn't promote my permafree. I wanted it to get action, to motivate me, but not a whole lot.

6. Leverage any possible benefits of being a slow writer.

Speaking generally, do you have time to do a great deal of research? To really pore over and hone your prose? To do extra world-building and/or character development? To weave interesting themes and motifs through your books? To come up with really interesting and horrifying monsters? Fast writers do this stuff, too, but maybe slow-pokes have time to do even more of it. I didn't want to complicate my projects so much that I made myself even slower. But if I'm going to be slow, I figured I might as well try to get something out of it, something that might help me stand out in some way. Plus, it's a way of re-envisioning a limitation in a positive light, which can be productive.

7. If the books have commercial potential, spend money on them.

I'm not going to be preparing six to eight books a year, like the speedy folks, so maybe I can afford to spend more per book. It does seem that my books have some (limited) potential, so I'm moving to professional formatting, now, along with some other planned investments.

8. Prioritize serious fans.

I try not to waste too much time on marketing. I should focus on producing writing, not on marketing. But *every* fan who reaches out to make individual contact with me should be replied to, conversed with, made to feel valued. The people who take the time to do that are the ones who might be willing to wait a year or two for my next book, so I can't let them go.

9. Get to know other authors.

Peers are a wonderful source of support and encouragement. My writer friends help keep me writing.

That's about it. I don't apply it perfectly, and I certainly didn't start out with it in place. It's developed in fits and starts over time. Nevertheless, maybe it can work for me and others.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

This thread has been so awesome and helpful - I'm so glad that I started it! There have been so many great posters here, posting their strategies. There's definitely something here for everyone - slow writers, fast writers, writers in hot genres, writers in cooler ones, etc., etc., etc. 

Keep them coming! This thread is shaping up to be one of the most helpful on the board.


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## Fictionista (Sep 14, 2012)

anniejocoby said:


> write each of my series books with a cliffhanger ending.


See, I personally LOVE the idea of a cliffhanger ending, but I'm afraid of them because readers seem not to like them.

Great tips and advice, by the way. Thanks!


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## KateSparkes (May 6, 2013)

Love the advice here! Thank you to everyone who has shared.

I know my strategy needs work. I approached with the assumption that I'd need to release several books before I found any readers, so my approach has been:

1) Write the books I want to read.

2) Invest in it like a business (editing, covers, etc)

3) Write the next book.

I haven't done much promotion, because it seemed like a waste of money when I only have one book out. I haven't run sales (except for release promo pricing) or free days for the same reason (nowhere for readers to go even if they loved that freebie). I can't produce a book every two or three months, and I'm okay with that, even if writing longer books and releasing less frequrently isn't a great strategy. I'm taking the time I need, learning the ropes, and hoping my lack of marketing doesn't come back to bite me in the butt later. I got a little flustered when book one actually sold fairly well, and wondered whether I needed to switch things up sooner, but so far I'm focusing on what makes sense long-term rather than chasing rank now. We'll see how it goes.

I'm changing my tactics now that I'm gearing up for another release. Going to try for Bookbub and other newsletters, try a sale price on book one, a few other things. Reading threads like these is really helpful! Things change so quickly, and it's interesting to see what tactics/strategies are working for others.


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## anniejocoby (Aug 11, 2013)

Fictionista said:


> See, I personally LOVE the idea of a cliffhanger ending, but I'm afraid of them because readers seem not to like them.
> 
> Great tips and advice, by the way. Thanks!


Here is what I think I've learned about cliffhangers, and which ones make the readers the most mad. Because I've had two books end in major cliffhangers, and the reader reactions to each was decidedly different.

In the Illusions Series, the cliffhanger at the end of Book 2 was that the hero was shot and bleeding, and they're rushing to the hospital. He might not make it. Surprisingly, that cliffhanger got not one complaint. Not one. But that series has a read-through rate of 98% from Book two to Book three.

Broken has a serious cliffhanger, actually two, at the end of Book 1. That cliffhanger was engineered by the villainess, as she attempts to make the heroine believe that she (the villainess) and the hero slept together. That ploy works, so the heroine runs out of the room crying and ends up getting hit by a car. That cliffhanger got me hit with one stars galore and lots of anger and vitriol.

Why such a strong reaction to cliffy number two, and not cliffy number one? My feeling is because cliffy number two was engineered by a very unpleasant woman who the readers love to hate. And to think that this woman was getting her way made the readers see red. On the other hand, with cliffy one, the hero was shot by somebody who the readers didn't seem as invested in. He was a bad guy, but nobody really mentioned him too much in the reviews. So, that cliffy was much more "palatable" to my readers than cliffy two.

That's my theory, so I'm refining my cliffhangers in future series to make sure that they aren't engineered by a character who is hated by my readers.


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## Claire Frank (Jul 28, 2014)

This is a great thread - thanks to everyone who has shared!



Becca Mills said:


> Here, I'll go first. Let's say you write slowly. You hope you'll speed up over time, but you suspect you'll never be a fast producer. This is my situation. Almost all indie advice is based on publishing quickly. So, here's my plan:


Your post was really helpful, Becca. I'm definitely not as fast as many authors here either. Six to eight books a year isn't going to happen, so reading your thoughts felt quite relevant to me .

Here are my thoughts, for what they're worth, given that I'm new, and 2015 will be a year of great experimentation for me. I won't get into the differences between strategies and tactics, just my version of a plan for the year.

1. Create a realistic writing and publishing schedule.
Now that I have a book under my belt and I've gone through the process from brainstorming to publication, I have a better idea of how long everything takes. I made a calendar for the year and assigned time to the various stages of production - writing, revising, beta reading, editing, etc. Now I know each week what I'm working on, with goals for word count that will keep me on track. I padded it a little, to account for the randomness of life, and I think I have a nice balance between aggressive and possible. This also helps me to see when I need to book time with an editor, when to work on covers, etc.

2. Make some decisions based on the market, while still loving what I write
One thing that drove me nuts while I was working on book two were the down times - while it was being beta read and edited in particular. I tried to start writing the next book in the series, which I'm sure many authors can do well. But I had a hard time gearing up for the next book before the first book was done. But I was still itching to write something. So this year I decided start a second series, related to the first, but that will be able to be read separately. The books will be shorter than my main series - partly because my ideas lend themselves to a simpler story with one POV character, and partly because I can publish more this year if I'm not always writing 115,000 word books .

Thinking about the market - the decision to try some shorter novels for quicker production, as well as the direction I'm going with this new series. I'm going to write about a younger protagonist and try to find that sweet spot between teen/young adult fantasy and fantasy that still appeals to adults, so I can take advantage of the coming of age categories. We'll see how well it works for me - like I said, lots of experimenting.

3. Work hard and work consistently.
My life is kind of nuts, and being a full time writer isn't even on my radar (I homeschool three kids, so my version of a day job isn't going anywhere for a long while). But, I can absolutely write and publish according to the schedule I've created this year, as long as I consistently work hard. I have to keep myself on track, write daily and hit my goals each week. I've actually realized I have the capability of being more prolific than I would have thought when I first started. My goal is to release four new books this year. To some, that's slow, to others, it might seem fast. But I think it's reasonable for me, and I'm pretty excited to see how it plays out by the end of the year.

4. Experiment with promotions and preorders
I'm still on the fence about whether to attempt a preorder with book 2 of my main series. I may set up a preorder, link it in the back of book one, and then do a promo on book one. That way, interested readers would have somewhere else to go after finishing, even if it isn't as good as having book two available (since book two won't be out until May). I haven't done any promos on book one yet, and I'd like to try and see what happens, but I also want to be smart about it. So we'll see - I'm still considering my options. I'll certainly promote when book two comes out.

Once I have a little more of a catalog, I'll put together a loose marketing schedule for the rest of the year.

5. Keep working on my craft, learning, improving and writing better books that readers will want to read. 
That's sort of self explanatory, but I wanted to note that my plan for the year has plenty to do with growing as a writer, as well as growing my career as an author.

6. Be flexible and willing to learn
What I think I may do now could easily change in six months, and I'm open to that. I like to plan things out, but I'm cool with changing the plan when it makes sense. So I'll keep watching others, learning from those who are successful, and apply those lessons to my own situation in the ways I think are best.

Nothing earth shattering, really, but those are my thoughts.


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## John P. Logsdon (May 27, 2014)

Loads of great information here! I appreciate everyone sharing their strategies and thoughts. It's very eyeopening.

My books are in a couple of tough genres: comedic SciFi and (tougher) comedic Fantasy. It's already challenging enough to get noticed in fantasy because of the tons of books there, but add "comedy" or "lighthearted" into that mix and you're just asking to have slow sales. Even the books that I was lucky to see top reviews on, they still drag in sales.

Where I have seen some success is with my Platoon F books (which is essentially National Lampoon in space). This is surprising because, as one reviewer put it, "I hope to never find a more juvenile, puerile or idiotic book. The author should be ashamed." Fortunately, others loved it.

Before starting the series, I sat down with my coauthor and we came up with a plan. Here it is:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Pick a genre that isn't observed.
[*]Come up with a story that is outlandish, tech that matches it in stupidity, and focus in on having a National Lampoon mentality.
[*]Write shorter stories. Quick reads that are around 100 pages. 
[*]Sell for $0.99/each.
[*]Write 5 of these in a single series.
[*]Make the first book permafree after book 3 is released--for some reason the first book got set back to $0.99, but I'm working on correcting that...it has slowed momentum for sure.
[*]After book 5 releases, bundle all the books in the series for $2.99 as a "pentalogy."
[/list]
Now, it could just be that people either love or hate those books, but they got a lot of traction early on. They were between #2 and #9 in the "space marines" UK charts for a couple of months straight and in the top-20 in the US as well.

It's too early to tell if this worked specifically because of that strategy or (more likely) because the series just happened to strike a funny bone in people who are as warped-minded as my coauthor and I, but we're going to try the method again with a new series that's not so wacky in order to find out.

It should be noted that we made a huge mistake during this plan: we got impatient. For this plan to work, the books need to be released on a steady timetable. We should have released 1 per month and then waited 2 months before releasing the bundle. What we did was release books 3-5 in the same week and the bundle immediately after. It killed our momentum and books 3-5 barely saw any sales at all. That was dumb on our part, but we learned a lesson for next time.

The point is that before doing this we just wrote and published, never thinking of strategy, and our sales reflected that. Now that we have seen some success, we've gone back to our lengthier (less zany) books and have started employing a pattern there as well...and sales are picking up.

Thanks again for the great topic and to everyone for their amazing advice.


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

Thank you for a great thread. I've bookmarked it.

My strategy:

1/ Life in balance. This may result in slower writing but will ensure writing for longer. The action plan to this is to wear an activity monitor as a reminder to balance sedentary work with exercise and sleep. I'm a natural workaholic, so this is top of my list.

2/ See a writing career as a combination of three things, and work on these every day. 
**The produce*. Continue to learn, refine and create to the best that I can. My goal target this year is 1000 words a day to publishing standard. 
**The business*. Continue to learn how. Maintain efficient business systems. Invest in the infrastructure I need as first financial priority. (i.e. my writing needs prioritize over personal products. i don't need many clothes to be a work from home author artist. I do need a good computer.)
Write, engage in public relations work and manage the business side of my creative work 
**The public relations.* I need to work on this one. I say things that are controversial. Yet I do not want to be muted. I resign myself to the fact that writing about some sensitive political topics, condemning the British nuclear testing in Australia and the Stolen Generation and former White Australia policies, in my novels I ruffle feathers. I do my public relations online, after having twice been physically attacked when I went out to dinner with my husband.

3/ Action plans are not carved in stone, you may observe and make corrections.

4/ _"Do what I do best and let the others do the rest." 
_ I need to remember to do this. It is easy to be drawn away, the grass is not always greener in another genre. I read so much here about writing what sells. Yes, it is good advice. So is writing what you know and creating a business doing what you love. A good work will always sell. Somethings 'genres' just have a narrower group of potential customers. So, I need to work harder to reach them and not write for the larger market, because that is who I am.To do anything less, to copy a best seller, is to become a poor version of that person and not the best version of me. All that is there as a reminder to me to stay on track to my goals. I've no qualms about others writing to the genres of the best sellers go for it.  I'd rather try to do what I do and work hard to reach and appeal to those who like what I write than write what I hate. That does not make me a hobbyist.

5/ Continue to come to the KBoards > Authors' Board > Writer's Cafe to learn and not be afraid of death by typo embarrassment, and comment. It's time I stopped lurking and show that I appreciate what I'm learning from the wisdom of other writers here.


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## Anya Monroe (Dec 3, 2014)

This is a fantastic thread- and one that has my head sorta spinning. I am releasing ten books this winter/spring. The first one in Feb will be the first book I've ever published. I've been stockpiling for a bit.  I'm hoping this method will give me some momentum or something. IDK.

The major bummer to not implementing a strategy when writing is that my books have no real rhyme or reason. They are stories I wanted to write and am passionate about- and while they are all YA, 1 is in verse, 2 are light fantasy, 2 contemporary romance, 1 contemporary, 1 'issue book', and a post apocalyptic trilogy for good measure (LOL) so there is no strategy behind these stories.

SO. From here on out I _want_ to have a strategy&#8230;.but it's hard when I have been writing books that _mean something_ (which sounds silly typing out) to me&#8230;and that doesn't necessarily translate to being a good business person. I am realizing, however, that my GOAL is to make some cash to pay for preschool and my mini van payment. Meeting that goal means more than writing "stories from my heart"- ideally these two things would merge. Though at the moment I don't know if that is realistic. So many people are talking about writing in a "hot genre" which could begin to feel formulaic as an artist. I want to write organically *and* make money. Is this reaching when starting a career?

In the mean time my *strategy* for the release of my books is: forking over the cash for a proofreader (who I found on Kboards, Donna Rich, and is fantastic), create covers that are reflective of my brand (which I still feel is a little vague and needs work. I mean, I can't really figure out if branding refers to my personal brand or my writing brand? It gets blurry for me: pls advise!), pay for a release day Book Blitz for each title (30$ each on YA Bound Book Tours), post stuff on social media without being annoying, use preorder buttons so my name is out there in the world as much as possible, and drink wine and coffee when needed.

Anything you would add to my strategy? Would you wait to work on the next title until you see what readers are responding to?


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

anniejocoby said:


> Why such a strong reaction to cliffy number two, and not cliffy number one? My feeling is because cliffy number two was engineered by a very unpleasant woman who the readers love to hate. And to think that this woman was getting her way made the readers see red. On the other hand, with cliffy one, the hero was shot by somebody who the readers didn't seem as invested in. He was a bad guy, but nobody really mentioned him too much in the reviews. So, that cliffy was much more "palatable" to my readers than cliffy two.


That's an interesting observation. I'll have to think on that.


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## Nomadwoman (Aug 25, 2011)

anniejocoby said:


> Here is what I think I've learned about cliffhangers, and which ones make the readers the most mad. Because I've had two books end in major cliffhangers, and the reader reactions to each was decidedly different.
> 
> In the Illusions Series, the cliffhanger at the end of Book 2 was that the hero was shot and bleeding, and they're rushing to the hospital. He might not make it. Surprisingly, that cliffhanger got not one complaint. Not one. But that series has a read-through rate of 98% from Book two to Book three.
> 
> ...


My 2c for what it's worth - the reader is in the heroine's shoes. Rushing to the hospital, she needs to find out what happens (good for sell through), being run over by a car thanks to her nemesis - not so much. (Annie did you take down your advice post after flaming? I can't seem to find it)

My strategy for 2015 is to finally put in to practice what everyone has been advising me for the last 4 years. With book number 10 out today, I hope to see some traction.
After the first few published in 2011 (standalones) I was advised to write in a genre and said I could not. 
In 2012 when select came out, I was one who did not approve of going free. Loads of others made their names with that tactic, oh hindsight.
I wrote the narcissism novels as a series. Book 2 (82k) was slated for publication 4 weeks after book 1, then came a major life situation and that got shelved for almost a year (heck at least it gave me new material) and now I feel like I'm back to the start when I should have built a business by now. 
Now I've published a 3-book short series (20k each) in the romance arena. No idea if it's any good as I haven't studied the tropes fully but I did get a genuine 4star review today so that's seems hopeful, at least it isn't dire. 
Now I'm following more closely, learning to study others and definitely outlining in order to work faster. I write fast but because I pants it, the rewrites are mega.
Mostly, I'll be listening to success stories and adapting to my own business, as any CEO knows to do. Yes you could break out but it's easier and better business to open your coffeeshop across the street from Starbucks.


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## Maggie Dana (Oct 26, 2011)

Hmmm ... business plans, strategy. Back in 1986 I quit my job with a printer and started my own book typesetting company. I wrote my business plan on the back of a napkin at a Howard Johnson's, then promptly lost the napkin.

But, despite all odds, the business flourished and did well. I kept hearing that most start-ups failed. Mine didn't, despite lack of aforementioned business plan. I just put my knowledge of book design and typesetting to work and then worked my a** off.

I've done the same with my writing. I write the books I wanted to read as a horse-crazy kid (am still horse crazy) and they seem to have struck a chord. Do I have a strategy? Hell, I don't know. Maybe I do, but whatever it is that I've got seems to work.


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