Addictive short video service TikTok might look like another nail in the coffin of traditional publishing, but there is a corner of that frenetic online realm that celebrates a love of reading. BookTok is a very popular and active sub-community on TikTok, an aggregation of accounts interested in books and reading. Books that achieve ‘buzz’ on Booktok often go on to very respectable sales, a development that the big publishers are acutely aware of and attempt to exploit. There is room in BookTok for savvy independent authors and several examples of impressive success. Wikipedia has a good summary with plenty of links.
Queen of the Crop: ‘The King of Rhye’ An Exercise in Promotion
In April 2022, I released my debut novel, ‘The King of Rhye,’ after a productive six months working alongside Sid Harta Publishers. It entered the world to a fair reception (for an untested indie author); though as anticipated, it did not smash any records or win any Nobel Prizes. Nearly a year later, it will be receiving a shot in the arm, with the imminent release of an audiobook likely to find another modest reader base.
By my own estimation, the true success of ‘The King of Rhye’ has been its permeation into various corners of cultural awareness. It has moved sideways, into several other forms of media, both auditory and visual, to create not so much a story as a multisensory experience. There now exists an official soundtrack of original music, produced for songs lifted directly from the story. A rich (and expanding) gallery of bespoke ‘canonical’ art adorns social media pages, clothes, other merchandise, the cover of vinyl records and the walls of my house. It is also soon to receive its second language publication, having been diligently translated to French. It is anticipated that the French version will hit the market later in 2023.
Not too bad, for a book less than one year old.
I attribute this ‘lateral progression’ to a combination of two main factors. The first: a consistent and front-loaded assault on selected social media. The second: an awareness of target audience, and a reasonable understanding of how best to capture that audience’s attention.
For completeness, it is worth highlighting that Lady Luck certainly played a role (I should have included her in Acknowledgements). One or two steps of the journey came courtesy of the right people stumbling over my work at the right time. I guess that is something that may or may not happen to any author, in their fledgling career.
A few words, then, about my approach to social media. I am now a man in my early forties. I am well aware that a plethora of social media platforms exist these days; every time I turn around, the youth of today have launched a new one (most of which, I’ll be honest, I don’t understand). I am most active on Facebook (being somewhere on the cusp of Gen X and Gen Y). As it turns out, my target demographic also use this as their go-to place for doomscrolling. Of course, I did know this before I started, so it was no accident that I chose Facebook as the main place to launch my campaign.
I also started early, which I think a lot of wannabe authors don’t think to do. They write their book, then they start trying to sell it to an audience. I started over a year before the eventual release date. I told people what I was aiming to do, what I hoped to achieve with it, and what they might expect from it. From humble beginnings, I built a following. Slowly. It still isn’t huge, but it has grown consistently. That takes time – there are almost no ‘overnight sensations’, despite the illusion.
I don’t pay for Facebook ads. That worked, exactly one time, right at the beginning. Eventually, the algorithm only shows your sponsored ads to people who already follow you. So, it was necessary to use other platforms to increase exposure that way. I have a Reddit presence (useful), an Instagram page (quite useful), a LinkedIn profile (useless) and am dabbling in YouTube – which has the potential to be the most useful of all, if I actually had the time to produce a series of videos.
I’m aware that TikTok can work, but I’m horrible at dances, so I’ll leave it alone.
Next, to discuss target audience. One might say that I had the advantage of being able to ride on the coattails of one of the world’s largest rock music fandoms, in finding people who might pay attention to my book (‘The King of Rhye’ is an ode to the wonderful music of Queen). But it is more complicated than that: linking your work to an existing cultural phenomenon only works if you also know how to harness the connection.
It needed to be clear in my language, in my visual style, and in the way I presented my project, that I understand what fans love about the band. I also needed to reach for the stars themselves, and see just what support I might be able to garner from the inner sanctum. I contacted Queen, via the International Fan Club. Whilst guitarist Brian May has been too busy with the endless stream of commitments, I did learn that he is generous and willing to embrace the efforts of fans to further Queen’s legacy. He did offer to help promote ‘The King of Rhye’; an offer that was seen by many, and not only gave me a boost of confidence, but also gave the project credibility in the eyes of others.
To broaden the potential reader base, I had to also emphasise that this is not just a book for Queen fans. It is at its heart, a fantasy epic in the ‘Hero’s Journey’ tradition. To that end, I became involved in a number of online fantasy author groups, getting involved in discussion as often as I could; helping other budding authors with editing, and taking opportunities to introduce myself and what I was doing in return. It all helped.
Once ‘The King of Rhye’ was finally released, I focused my attention in again, to invest some energy in my local community. I live in a town of strong social connections, so I found that pursuing radio interviews and a showing at the regional library was also beneficial. Word of mouth travels quickly.
To speak of ‘people stumbling over my work at the right time’: the Queen connection brought British illustrator Luc Hudson, and French musicians Louis Henry Chambat and Thibaut Sergeant (‘Fat Bottomed Boys’) into my sphere of awareness. They introduced themselves to me; gentlemen in completely separate walks of life, on the far side of the world, due to a shared interest and a united sense of purpose. They found me because I made my mission statement clear, and because I highlighted the strengths of my work – the worldwide love for a classic rock band.
Where has all of this gotten me? I travelled to Europe in late 2022, to present my book at a convention. I built more of an audience. Demand for a follow-up has swelled. Certainly, another story was in the offing; but now that promotion has produced momentum, I draft my second novel knowing that a hum of anticipation already builds.
I have loved this journey. It has been worth every moment of effort.
Craig Mulhall
‘The King of Rhye’ © 2022 Sid Harta Publishers
Books Go Social service for Independent Authors
Books Go Social occupies a niche I have been interested in for a while — helping independent authors unfamiliar with social media to promote their books.
They offer:
Assistance with Amazon advertising
Editing of book descriptions
Netgalley campaigns
Assistance with email campaigns
Facebook advertising
Focus on the UK and US markets only, the two largest English speaking markets
According to their introduction: “Our Amazon and Facebook Ads for authors have received over three hundred million impressions (views) by readers. You will reach more readers with us. We advertise books on Amazon US and UK and have 11 Twitter accounts with 450,867 real followers (Nov, 2021 count). We also can email your book offers to 150,000+ readers. And our YouTube channel has 1,000+ followers who can see any book trailer or video interview you send us.”
“We know where the most effective places to run ads are for your book, and how to build your long-term monthly royalties and your career as a writer.”
Google Reviews are generally positive, and the business responds to comments. A representative sample: “I've used Books Go Social the past few years for a number of services, and they consistently over-deliver. The Books Go Social team is fast and efficient at helping authors figure out how to move their books into the marketplace and get them selling.”
The package prices are not exorbitant, and may be worth trying when you have done your due diligence…
Writer Event with Francesca Di Pietro
Author of Life with a Psychopath Francesca di Pietro will be speaking on a writers panel at Carrum Downs Library, Thursday, 16 February 2023 | 07:00 PM - 08:30 PM
“Each author from different genres, coming together to discuss their latest works, as well as answer questions about how they came to be writers, the publishing process and where their passions lie.”
“Franca DiPietro:
Francesca Di Pietro was born and raised in Melbourne where she continues to reside with her family. Francesca completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in Professional Writing and Editing and Communication Studies.
Francesca has a passion for storytelling, especially tales which highlight the dark side of human nature, manipulative and aberrant behaviour. Francesca is a night writer which is when her creativity shines.
Franca will be talking to us about Life with a Psychopath, her first full length novel.
Books will be available to purchase on the night. “
The author also has an account on Instagram.
Jenny Wellington on ABC Radio
Jenny Wellington, author of the very entertaining novel Damengin, was interviewed on ABC Sunshine Coast — audio below.
“Damengin is a country town in Queensland weighed down by the worst drought in living memory and its inhabitants are all desperately waiting for government drought relief.
The bad news is that the funds have been sent and spent by Council's Shire Clerk Shifty Grey and his corrupt cohorts.
This is a rollicking fast-moving story about political skulduggery, greed, love and lust. It features outrageous characters, blossoming romances, pathos and importantly, has an incredibly happy ending.”
“A lovely Aussie story that everyone can relate to. Loved reading the book right from the start. I could hear the author reading the story to me at the start and as I got further into the book, wrapped into the characters of the story, I couldn’t put the book down as I sat in on the edge of my chair wondering what was going to happen next.”
The Self-Inflicted Decline of Academic Publishing
Ted Gioia writes in disbelief at a sector of the publishing industry with an apparent death wish.
“Scholars are smart, so why are they letting this happen to their books?”
Plantea in Posterum exhibition by Ellen Hansa
Ellen Hansa, author of the excellent Dante’s Trunk is holding an exhibition of her botanically-themed ceramic art. She writes that the “opening of my exhibition was quite amazing filled with stories, poetry and song.”
‘Plantea in Posterum’, plants of the future, was a challenge which kept me busy for almost 12 months. Usually I make my work to be put into a garden, threading the pieces onto star pickets which are securely hammered into the ground. I had to devise a way to be able to display my work in a gallery as well as in a garden or on a patio. On top of that everything had to fit into my car and I had to be able to lift the pieces. The sculptures can be dissembled for easy transportation.
My ceramic career started over 50 years ago, when I fell in love with clay and its possibility to mould it into all kinds of shapes. Pots, tiles and sculptures, I made it all. All these items I start by drawing the shapes and working out the colours. Only then I begin with the modelling, the firing and the glazing. For this exhibition my inspiration came from my garden.
The exhibition will continue until December 11. Edge Galleries are open weekends 11am-3pm
Life With a Psychopath Talk with Franca di Pietro
Franca will be discussing her thought-provoking novel “Life With a Psychopath” at Mornington Library.
Details as follows:
Recommended for adult audiences
Francesca Di Pietro has a passion for storytelling, especially tales which highlight the dark side of human nature, including manipulative and aberrant behaviour.
Her debut novel, Life with a Psychopath tells the story of a young Italian woman, who enters into a relationship beset by racism, manipulation, and physical and verbal abuse with the charming and charismatic Shaun.
Carmella will not be beaten by Shaun’s behaviour and brings female empowerment to a new level. A compelling and gripping story of triumph, highlighting how victims of violence and abuse can overcome adversity by reaching out to those around them.
Join us at Mornington library where we are supporting 16 Days of Activism to end gender-based violence.
Tuesday, 29 November 2022 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Mornington Library, Vancouver Street, Mornington, 3931
The talk is free. Bookings here.
David Gaughran's email archive
The ever-helpful David Gaughran keeps his email newsletter archives here. It is an extensive trove of practical advice relating to BookBub, Amazon advertising, Facebook advertising, marketing with email and launching a book. David says:
“Welcome to the email archive – where I store all the most useful emails from my weekly marketing newsletter. I’ve grouped them into various topic areas so you can dive into the subjects of most interest to you.”
And don’t forget to sign up to his newsletter here.
Hybrid Publishing
Books + Publishing recently published a fairly lengthy and nuanced discussion on the state of ‘hybrid publishing’ in Australia. The article defines hybrid publishing as “a situation where ‘a writer pays money for publication, and grants the company a licence of rights or the company takes a share of any profits”. Hybrid Publisher Shawline Publishing is mentioned, along with their recent opening of a bookstore in Ballarat focused on promoting indie authors. Their Facebook page is here.
Books + Publishing also posted a useful checklist for authors considering signing on with a hybrid publisher. Reedsy’s take on hybrid publishing is here.
How to Research and Honour Our Returned War Heroes website
Author Ian Burrett has constructed an excellent website to promote his book. The one page site is very simple, has clear opportunities to purchase and good supporting information. Also available online at Booktopia and other booksellers. Ian reports that the book has been selling well.
The book blurb and author biography are as follows:
Many war veterans and their families have endured years of debilitating physical and emotional problems, and as a result they and their families have arguably suffered as much or more that those who have died during all conflicts in which Australia has participated. Because of this the author believes that returned service people have just as much right to be named on community war memorials as those who died during or as a result of their service.
Hundreds of thousands of our returned heroes, primarily from the two World Wars, have not been named on community war memorials. This book explains why this has happened and gives step-by-step guidelines to assist communities to update their memorials. It includes many points not previously revealed to the general public on this topic. It also provides assistance to those wishing to research their service person ancestors as well as school students and other researchers studying our wartime history.
No similar book has been previously published. With respect to community war memorials the orientation of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Australian War Memorial and the RSL is primarily directed towards those who died during or a result of their service. Their assistance is orientated to people researching individuals, not community researchers desirous of updating their local war memorials with a large number of names. This book can be regarded as a text book for those wanting to give our returned heroes, and those who died, the long-overdue recognition they so rightly deserve.
About the Author
Ian Burrett is a retired Vietnam veteran. His inspiration for writing this book is his father, Lt Col Athol Frederick Burrett DSO MID. Of the 12 000 Aussies who landed at Gallipoli on April 25th and 26th, 1915, Athol was one of less than 300 still fighting when World War I ended. Ian is currently the treasurer of the Portland NSW RSL sub-Branch. He has been a JP in NSW for nearly fifty years. Ian’s formative years were spent in Goulburn, NSW, and he was heavily into sport. He represented Goulburn in hockey, table tennis, swimming and snooker. He played a side drum in scout and school cadet bands at Anzac Day marches.
Ian has had a varied career, primarily in real estate, an area he worked in for about twenty-five years. He was the principal of Raine & Horne franchises at Kincumber and Avoca Beach, on the Central Coast of NSW. Prior to that, based in Sydney, he was regarded as one of Australia’s leading authorities in assisting accountants in public practice to install internally-managed superannuation funds for their corporate clients. He wrote articles for CCH Australia Ltd and conducted seminars on the topic in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. He was working in the security industry prior to his retirement in 2007.
Now single, Ian was married twice. Ian has two children from his first marriage—Lisa, a solicitor, born 1973 and Brett, a doctor, born 1979.
An author’s public speaking provides promotional opportunities for his book
An author client writes with a roster of his speaking engagements — not all relating directly to his book, but providing a good opportunity to mention its existence. Other clients have reported that public speaking events have been quite effective in sparking sales of their books.
The Outback Writers Festival is a three-day event to be held in Dubbo on 9,10 and 11 September. I shall attend the first day.
I am doing a presentation-talk with videos and photo to the Lions Club of Gilgandra on 3 September at their change-over dinner.
On 8 September I am to do my regular presentation at the University of the Third Age, In Dubbo.
On 9 September I am to speak at the monthly meeting of the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association in the morning and then to attend the Writers Festival as above in the afternoon/evening.
On 10 September I am to address the Country Women's Association, not about writing but travel to other lands as it is their International Day.
Art of Conscious Balance by Santosh Nambiar featured in newspaper article
Australian publication The Indian Sun recently ran a feature on author Santosh Nambiar and his excellent book The Art of Conscious Balance. Santosh’s book is a calm and wise exploration of issues relating to life balance and mastery over mind. The book description is as follows:
'With awareness of my thoughts, I was able to have power over my mind, and therefore it no longer controlled me.'
When Santosh Nambiar found himself in a life-threatening health situation, he realised that something had to change. He was regularly grappling with emotions of anxiety, anger, fear and jealousy, and was negatively driven by ambition and success. Somewhere, somehow, he'd lost himself.
The Art of Conscious Balance follows the tumultuous and inspiring story of one man's journey to discover conscious balance in his life. It explores the conflict between our conditioned self and our true self, and how Santosh gained freedom from his own conditioned behaviours to realise the absolute truth and purpose of life, finally allowing him to move from a place of pain and confusion to one of love, clarity and peace.
An honest and evocative memoir, The Art of Conscious Balance is transformative in its gentle teachings and soothing in its message that anyone is capable of finding their inner compass as Santosh did to understand oneself and one's place in the universe more deeply and truly.
The Art of Conscious Balance is available from Booktopia and other outlets.
Anatomy of a Fiverr / Amazon KDP Advertising Campaign
If you are interested in running an Amazon campaign for your title/s on that platform, but would prefer to use a third party to manage the process, here is one author’s results and associated comments:
Fiverr allocated “bestbooks2020” who is managing my Amazon advertisements. They ran the first campaign in the Australian market only. That campaign ended yesterday. At the same time, I went onto Kindle Unlimited for 90 days.
Here are the results as of today:
Since launch;
Sales = 30 – <title 01> = 22 Kindle, 7 paperback. <title 02> = 1 Kindle. Royalties due = $145.75.
KENP READ (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages Read)
<title 01> = 6,988 in Australia, 175 in the USA = 7,163
<title 02> = 138 in Australia, 1 in the UK = 139
Total = 7,302
As I’ve had it explained, KENP READS can be from actual downloads or from reading the first few pages.
I have initiated two more AD Campaigns through bestbooks2020 for the UK and US markets. So it will be interesting to see how that goes. Two, three-day Ads in each market cost me circa $157 each. I was initially going to run AD campaigns for all three books simultaneously in both markets, but that would cost me $900+ (maybe another time).
Update
KindleUnlimited
KEDP READS = 12,874 (11,522 for <title 01>, 1,352 for <title 02>, 0 for <title 03>). Amazon’s technical team are looking at <title 03’s> results to find out what is going wrong. Given the nature of the beast, it’s impossible to have 0 results for <title 03>.
Sales:
A total of 39, being 31 x Kindle and 7 x paperback.
The Amazon AD campaign Fiverr ran in Australia only resulted in 61 clicks for the first three-day blitz and 84 for the second, and a bill today from Amazon for $177.01.
The Amazon AD Campaigns start this Thursday in the UK and USA, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. Given the cost for Australia, I’m now nervous about how much that will cost me, albeit I can pull the plug on it at any time. I will monitor daily.
Upcoming Author Talk by Francesca Di Pietro
Join author Francesca Di Pietro at two upcoming events in August as she talks about her debut novel Life with a Psychopath. Francesca will outline her journey as an author, the motivation behind writing this novel and the key messages highlighted in her work.
Click the links below to register for upcoming events at Corio and Sunshine libraries:
Booktopia's Post-covid Woes
The Age newspaper has quite a long and interesting article on the post-covid slump in sales and earnings by Booktopia, Australia’s biggest online bookseller. A bookstore owner is quoted as gloating at Booktopia’s issues, but independent authors will be more ambivalent — Booktopia offers a real avenue for sales, and is much easier to get into than bookstores. There are very few viable options for distribution into bookstores for independent authors, post the demise of Dennis Jones.and Associates.
Making Sense of Amazon's Pricing Algorithm
An interesting plain-English explanation of the multiple algorithms behind Amazon’s seemingly capricious and constant price changes. Authors are often surprised to learn that while Amazon may pay royalties according to the prices they enter when uploading their new title, the price seen by potential purchasers will vary from day to day.
“Though daunting to many, these algorithms don’t have to be intimidating once you know what they want and how they work. ”
Independent authors and making a living
Book marketing guru Joanne Penn practises extreme financial openness, breaking down her book sales by format, genre and country… Her advice is always worth considering.
Anatomy of a PR Campaign
Valerie Britton-Wilson reports in regarding the promotion of her excellent book “A Touch of India”
You asked to hear news of promotional stuff - I’m not sure how much info you want but I’m attaching here all the successful exertions of Wendy McWilliams - it’s her ‘Media Report’ doc and has more than you need - but if you scroll down from page 18 onwards you will find pretty much everything. She was very good indeed.
But even so, book sales generated during her efforts nowhere near covered costs. Hiring a PR person, even at Wendy’s more moderate rates, is expensive - I put a cap on it at the outset and would recommend others do the same as the chargeable hours mount up v quickly.
I still have not got a handle on FaceBook or blogging though I have tried. (I even paid a teenager for a few hours of lessons!)
I’ve got a few book groups and speaking events coming up so that will help.
I’m so glad I put a gmail address on the back cover because the biggest pleasure for me has been feedback from strangers.
Here are a few of them:
Love the photos. It's interesting, the photo of your mother on the back cover does make her look perfectly beautiful, but in other shots, I can see what you mean, that she was lively and appealing, rather than classically beautiful. There's a photo of your parents both laughing, where she looks absolutely irresistible.
All the threads are fascinating. The bios of your parents, and your feelings for them. The extraordinary story of the Indian great-grandmother, the poignancy that you could find out no more about her, the illusiveness, some care and love for her which was good, but so removed from the record. Your impressions of India are vivid and thoughtful. Thoughts on Indian culture, politics, history all extremely interesting. Bits of history always just what I needed; never felt like information dump.The stories from people you knew in India. All those threads are very well woven together, which is very impressive and effective. Very difficult to pull that off, I would have thought.
It is intriguing – did you find this disconcerting? – that her writing style is somewhat similar to yours. Voices in families are often similar. Great quotes from all the primary sources. The letter from the fiancee is utterly heart-breaking. Can he really have written hundreds of thousands of words to her? All buried in the jungle.
Your relationship with your parents, your scattering of their ashes, is very moving.
MOTI was a remarkable achievement, especially since neither you nor Sue really had any experience in fashion design, let alone the business. It was perfectly pitched – wearable, flattering, but really interesting and stylish design. Pearl is such a nice name. I've been waiting for it to come back into fashion, but that doesn't seem to have happened.
I found A Touch of India such a compelling read and enjoyed every page. I wanted the story to go on forever and saved the last few chapters to read very quietly by myself at home.
When I arrived at the part which mentioned Pearl receiving Woody's letter I could feel my eyes brimming with tears which did not stop until well after the Postscript: Note to Mabel.
I commend your courage in writing about your family with such honesty and sharing with readers your personal thoughts and feelings.I just have to tell you how much I am enjoying your book. I ordered it from the local library because I thought it looked interesting but I had no idea that it was in part the biography of Mr Britton. It is so beautifully written. I love the humour. I have not visited India but your descriptions tell me that you have a very deep love of the country.
I knew your dad in his capacity with music education in Brisbane. I had asked different people about him some time ago but nobody knew where he lived at that time.
I found your book in the Hill of Content Bookshop the Saturday before lockdown, and I read it from cover to cover at Pellegrini's Coffee Shop over the next two hours. I too have had a long association with India, and found it very evocative with many similar experiences.
Streamline Publishing presents Events for Authors
Bookings are now open for a series of author-centric events held by Streamline Publishing here in Melbourne. Located above the Eltham bookstore.
June 19: Jackie French AM, well-loved author for all ages, wombat whisperer, guest TV gardener and conservationist, will talk to us via private Zoom on ‘Writing for Children’. Entry to this Zoom event includes a Jackie French paperback title of your choice and light refreshments.
June 26: Bookseller Meera Govil: ‘How readers, writers, illustrators, publishers and booksellers can create meaningful books’.
July 3: Editor Cathy Oliver: ‘What makes the best Non-fiction books for children?’
More events to come in August:
August 7 ‘Publishing options in 2022’.
Traditional, Self, Indie? Open access? What do these terms mean and which is right for you? What costs are typical?
August 14 ‘The publishing process’.
From the final first manuscript to a finished book: what do editors do? Editorial and production schedules and costs. How much control will you have over your work?
August 21 ‘What do publishers want in submissions?’
Tips and some models.