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SelfPublishingMagazine

ISSUE 33 WINTER 2014UK £5.00 EUROPE £7.50 ROW £9.00

incorporating

Readers’ Review

AuthorSupport Networks

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SELF PUBLISHING MAGAZINE WINTER 2014 3

5 Stand out fromthe crowdJustine Schofield on howto promote yourcrowdfunding campaign

18 What to do withthe book in youKarin Bachmann starts anew series on getting thebook inside of you out

24 Two stepsforward, one stepbackRichard Denningexamines the success ofhis self-published books

26 Support networkEleanor Norford looks athow writing groups cannurture talent

ContentsWinter 2014 – Issue 33

11 CASE STUDYPaul Beatty discusses thethings he wishes he’dknown before self-publishing

15 AUTHOR PROFILEMairi McLellan

16 MARKETINGBen Cameron on whatyour New Year’sresolutions should be

23 TOP TIPSAisha Malik on the tenthings every author needsin their toolkit

35 ROUND UPA round-up of recentpublishing news

30 READERS’ REVIEWIndependent reviews of thelatest self-published books

REGULARSFEATURES

5

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4 SELF PUBLISHING MAGAZINE WINTER 2014

EDITORIAL

Published four times a year: Spring, Summer, Autumnand Winter.

EditorialEditor Sarah TaylorReview Editor Rosie GrindrodPublisher Jeremy ThompsonTel 0116 279 2299Fax 0116 279 2277Email [email protected] 9 Priory Business Park

Wistow Road, Kibworth, LE8 0RX, UKwww.selfpublishingmagazine.co.ukTwitter: @selfpublishmag

AdvertisingAd Manager Wendy KearnsTel 01392 466099Email [email protected] 6 Wallace Avenue, Exeter, EX4 8DB

Submissions

ArticlesProposals for articles or completed copy should besent to The Editor by email. No payment is presentlymade for articles.

Books for ReviewWe review books whose publication has been fully orpartly author-funded. Books published within the lastsix months, or which are to be published in the nextsix, will be considered for review. Books that havebeen in print for more than six months will not usuallybe eligible.

To submit a book for review, send it to The ReviewEditor at the address above. The following informationshould accompany the book:

1. Publisher’s name, address and email address.2. Book’s cover price and ISBN number.3. Month and year of publication.

Full terms and conditions on our reviewing policy areavailable on the magazine’s website.

AdvertisementsThe inclusion of advertisements in this magazine is not anendorsement by this magazine. Readers are advised tomake their own checks when responding to advertisements.

Typeset by: Troubador Publishing Ltd LE8 0RXPrinted by: Printed.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the priorpermission of The Self Publishing Magazine. Publishers andbooksellers may quote freely from book reviews publishedin this magazine, provided the magazine is acknowledgedas the source of the review.

ISSN 1752-9433

© 2015 Troubador Publishing Ltd

Hello, readers, and a very happy New Year to you!

Here at The Self Publishing Magazine towers we’re already excitedabout what this year has in store for us. We already have two bigevents on the agenda – the London Book Fair, 14th-16th April (stand2C70), and the Third Self-Publishing Conference on Saturday 9th May.

In this issue, Ben Cameron kicks off the New Year with the sevenresolutions every writer should be making (p.16); Justine Scholfieldgives tips on how to promote your crowdfunding campaign (opposite)for those looking to break into new self-publishing opportunities; andKarin Bachmann begins a new four-part series on what to do with thebook in you (p.18). She starts with making your book fit the market.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Norford takes a look at writing groups and howthey can nurture talent – as we all know, writing can be a very solitaryoccupation – whilst asserting that they should not merely be mutual‘self-appreciation societies’ (p.26).

All this, plus author case studies, our regular Top Tips piece (yourwriting survival kit is on p.23) and a wealth of great self-publishedreads (p.30), plus the latest news from the industry (p.35). Sit back andstart the New Year with lots of useful information...

Sarah Taylor

Editorial

Sarah Taylor, Editor

Self PublishingMagazine



- Justine Schofield advises on how to promote your crowdfunding campaign

KNOW-HOW

Publishing a high-qualitybook is essential in orderto compete in today’sover-crowded bookmarket, but many

aspiring writers lack the fundsneeded to professionally publish.

This is where crowdfunding canbe helpful. It presents a uniqueopportunity for self-publishingauthors to raise funds for theirpublishing project.

Conducting a crowdfundingcampaign is a way forentrepreneurs and business-savvyartists to collect pledges in orderto gain funding and awarenessfor an upcoming project.

People utilise crowdfunding forall different types of projects,from business startups and techprojects to medical expenses andpersonal causes. The reward-based crowdfunding modelrequires campaign creators tooffer a variety of incentives attiered monetary levels thatsupporters receive in return for

their financial pledge. Thisrewards system allows authors notonly to raise funds, but also tocollect pre-orders and providetheir audience with otherexclusive incentives.

In a recent interview, best-sellingauthor Tony Earley said, “I’vealways thought that any bookthat isn’t pre-sold, that doesn’treceive any attention beforehand,seems more like an afterthoughtthan a book, something that noone values very highly.” Collectingpre-sales and being able tomarket a book before publicationis extremely important to itsoverall success. It is therefore anaspect of crowdfunding that

An increasing number of people are turning to crowdfunding. Make sure your project gets off the ground...

Stand out fromthe crowd


KNOW-HOW

shouldn’t be overlooked byauthors, whether they’re new tothe publishing world or anestablished name in the industry.

The benefits of crowdfunding forauthors are apparent, but acampaign is only useful whendone correctly. A failedcrowdfunding campaign can bediscouraging for an author, sobeing prepared and educated isan imperative first step foranyone considering leveragingthe power of crowdfunding.Knowing what to expect is key, sothese tips will help you conduct amore successful crowdfundingcampaign.

Don’t begin a campaign blindly.With all the crowdfundingresources available, there’sabsolutely no reason why anyoneshould launch a crowdfundingcampaign without knowing theprocess and how to maximisetheir time and efforts.Crowdfunding isn’t easy, butthere’s a strong correlation

between success in crowdfundingand overall success in the bookmarket. If an author can’t selltheir book in the crowdfundingphase, there’s a good possibility itwon’t do well come publicationtime either.

Preparation is key. Crowdfundingcampaigns are time sensitive, withmost lasting 15-60 days, at thediscretion of the project creator.With a limited timeframe, it’simportant that campaign creatorsare ready to hit the groundrunning. Statistics prove that

building and maintainingmomentum is key to success incrowdfunding. Campaigns thatraise 30% of their funding goal inthe first week generally have ahigher rate of success than thosewho do not. Preparing amarketing plan before thecampaign launch will help ensurethe momentum is built andmaintained throughout.

Choose the platform that best fitsyour project. With so manycrowdfunding platforms out thereon the wide world of the Internet,it may be tempting to simplychoose an industry powerhouse.Although larger platforms do geta lot of traffic to them, they alsohost many more projects.

Visibility on larger sites isn’t great,especially for publishing projectsthat might pale in comparison toflashier projects in the tech orvideo production categories.Authors should research whichplatform would provide them thebest visibility and cater to their

Publishing a highquality book isessential tocompete intoday’s over-crowded market,but many writerslack the funds...

6 SELF PUBLISHING MAGAZINE WINTER 2014


Justine Schofield is the development director of Pubslush, a global pre-publication platform that allows authors and publishers to raisefunds, collect pre-orders and market upcoming book projects. Aprominent voice in the publishing industry and crowdfunding advocate,she has contributed to a range of publications. She tweets for @pubslush.

specific needs. Secure initial funds from your‘inner circle’. Building themomentum for a crowdfundingcampaign is entirely the job of thecampaign creator. Crowdfundingis very much reliant on thebandwagon mentality.

No one will be interested in aproject that has £0 funding, so it’simportant to solicit the help ofclose family and friends to providethe initial funding and buildmomentum for a campaign.Building and maintainingmomentum will entice otherpeople, both within and outsidethe campaigner’s network, topledge support.

Don’t be afraid to ask for support.The biggest issue many peoplehave with crowdfunding is theydon’t want to ask others formoney. Crowdfunding requires acampaign creator to putthemselves and their project outin front of others and ask forsupport. This can be scary, but it’sessential to the success of thecrowdfunding campaign.

However, campaigners can restassured that they aren’t askingpeople for donations;crowdfunding is a reward-basedmodel and every supporterreceives something in return fortheir pledge. Crowdfunding isn’tcharity; it’s a business transaction

made pre-production. Be personal.After securing the initial funding,a campaign creator should sendpersonalised emails to the peoplein their extended network.Personally telling people about acampaign and asking for supportis far more compelling thansending out a generic template toa mailing list. Making personalconnections is key to successfulcrowdfunding.

A friend of a friend is still a friend.A crowdfunding campaign hashigh shareability, so campaigncreators should encouragesupporters to share the campaignwith their friends via social mediaor email. A campaign beingshared produces a ripple effectthat will continue to help buildmomentum.

Determine how you can extendthe campaign to reach furtherthan your personal network. It’simperative for a campaign creatorto build the initial momentum andrally the support of their network.However, the most successfulcampaigns are those that are ableto capture the attention andsupport of people from outsidetheir network.

Knowing the audience for a bookis the first step in Book Marketing101. Figuring out how to reachthe book’s audience is the firststep in Crowdfunding 101.

Broaden your reach by getting intouch with companies andorganisations that could beinterested in their book or bycontacting influential bloggers intheir genre. Thinking of creativeways to engage with influencerswill also help take a crowdfundingcampaign to the next level.

Consider being a team player.Writing is, most often, a solo act.However, selling books doesn’thave to be! A crowdfunding teamhas a wider reach and can helpbring a fresh perspective to themarketing of a book. Authors whochoose to incorporatecrowdfunding into theirmarketing plan should considercreating a team that can helpadvocate for and spread the wordabout their campaign.

Keep supporters updated. Oncesomeone commits and pledges toa project, they shouldn’t beforgotten. Campaign creatorsshould keep their supporters


The benefits of crowdfunding forauthors are apparent, but acampaign is only useful when donecorrectly...


uk europe row publishing · this is where crowdfunding can be helpful. it presents a unique...

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