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…
A Directory of AI Tools
With the advent of ChatGPT and Midjourney, natural language AI tools are going seriously mainstream. Futurepedia does yeoman’s work of cataloguing the ongoing explosion of AI powered tools.
Prominent YouTuber Tom Scott thinks this may the beginning of a wave that transforms work and everything else.
Playing Cards over the South Pole
A client recently emailed to inform us that a pack of Antarctic explorer-themed cards designed at WorkingType Studio made it all the way to the first one-day commercial flight over the south pole. Presumably, he was too busy gazing at the forbidding scenery below to play Texas holdem with other adventurers…
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.
Amazon Advertising and Book Marketing
Two books from Reedsy, both by Ricardo Fayet. A good entry-level introduction into the mysterious world of online book marketing…
How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.;
How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career;
How to get Amazon's Kindle Store to market your book for you;
How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book;
How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and
How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,
In this second book of the popular Reedsy Marketing Guides series, you will learn:
The fundamental guiding principles of advertising books on Amazon,
How to build a comprehensive list of product and keyword targets,
What type of ad campaign will best suit your book,
How to optimize your click-through-rate to boost delivery,
How to optimize your campaigns for profit, and
How to scale and progressively grow your spend while keeping your profit levels.
New Book Covers for December 2022
A few new covers, some drafts, some finalised, with the usual range of subject matter…
Get Your Title Onto Borrowbox via IngramSpark
Bolinda Audio produces a book-borrowing app (Borrowbox) used widely by Australian libraries. An author client contacted them recently to see if there was a way of including their ebook title on the platform. They responded promptly with the following:
“We would be happy to distribute your titles to libraries via our digital lending solution BorrowBox, but we simply don't have the resources to deal direct with individual authors. If your titles are available from a digital distributor such as Gardners, Ingrams, IPG, or Faber Factory, then we could make them available via BorrowBox.”
Borrowbox is an excellent app with a very wide variety of audiobook and ebook titles, and represents an great opportunity for independent authors to get in front of new readers.
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.”
An Amazon Tale: He Fought for His Royalties, and (Eventually) Won ....
A very dogged author relates his trying experiences with Amazon KDP and organising the payment of royalties. He does arrive at a solution, but only through sheer persistence:
“Amazon is probably the best outlet for Indie authors, but manage your expectations when dealing with their customer service.
Their help/assistance/advice to me was either inconsistent, vague, given in Amazon’s internal technical speak, incomplete, or simply wrong.
I put my latest novel up on Amazon as I did with my previous two, only this time, I put both eBook and paperback on all markets, not just Australia.
When sales started occurring, I followed those on my KDP account site. I found their reports informative and helpful. They gave me statistics for each marketplace and the estimated royalties.
When my Australian royalties started arriving in my Australian bank account by EFT, I thought I would find out why my sales in the other markets were not reaching me.
I then discovered those royalties could not be paid by EFT into my Australian bank account, only by cheque or wire. Then I found that not only could an EFT transfer not happen, but that Amazon had a withdrawal threshold of 100 units for each market, e.g. US$100, CA$100, €100, or £100.
None of my book royalties in any market outside Australia is ever likely to break these thresholds, e.g. Canada royalties were CA$2.88, Eurozone (Germany) €7.80. So, I put the question to Amazon – how do I ever get paid these royalties?
Amazon suggested I open an account with Payoneer for each marketplace, which I did. So, Amazon from each marketplace could now transfer my royalties to those Payoneer accounts. However, my problem then became twofold:
Payoneer does not have a banking arrangement with UK or Canadian banks. So these royalties could not be transferred to my Payoneer accounts.
Then I discovered that Payoneer also has a withdrawal threshold of US$50 per transfer.
Finally, a solution:
In your KDP account go to the Getting paid tab.
In your non-US/non-Australian accounts, change your payment method to your US$ account and transfer any outstanding royalties in those other non-US accounts to the US$ account.
Under your Amazon US account, click and highlight every tag except Amazon.com.au.
All royalties from sales in all those other marketplaces will now be currency converted into your US$ account.
If or when your US$ account balance reaches above US$100 you can transfer to your Australian bank account.
In my case, I have my Amazon US$ account balance transferred to my Payoneer US$ account (lower withdrawal threshold). Amazon’s US$100 withdrawal threshold does not apply here.”
40 Best Adobe Fonts from Typewolf
An interesting survey of the best typefaces available via Adobe fonts. Google fonts are also worth visiting, as are Font Squirrel and Lost Type.
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?”
Barbara Canin Stirs the Pot
Feisty independent author Barbara Canin decided to make her aged care home the focus of her latest book. The resultant book is trenchant, witty and somewhat controversial.
“I’m trying to show the funny side of living in an old age home. There’s a funny side too. It’s hilarious, you have no idea how hilarious it is, Canin said with a smile.”
Mary Garden on Cults
Author Mary Garden writes about her experiences with gurus in the 1970s.
“I don’t know what it was in me that had the courage to write my book well before its time ‒ to expose the little bastard and others like him, to warn others ‒ but that’s the one good thing that came out of it all. ”
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
Amazon KDP and payments: an Odyssey
For Amazon KDP authors struggling to figure out how to aggregate their royalties, see the note below from an independent author:
“At last, I found someone at Amazon KDP who knows their job. I have now tagged all Amazon marketplaces to have royalties paid into my US$ Amazon account, e.g. outstanding UK royalties have now been sent to my US$ KDP account, as well as German and Canadian royalties. It is, therefore, now easy to transfer all that money to my Payoneer US$ account so that I can get paid into my Australian account – PHEW!”
For context, and earlier email from the same author:
I am now experiencing a separate crisis with Amazon, who are not paying me my due royalties. They have told me they have only paid Australian royalties by EFT but cannot pay me for all the other markets, which must be paid by cheque until royalties reach 100 in each currency. I have asked them how I will achieve those thresholds when I have, for instance, only sold one in Germany, and I am unlikely to sell anymore there - do they, therefore, keep my money? It’s very frustrating, and the whole exercise with Amazon is proving a nightmare. I have spent A$2035 on Amazon AD’s with a supposed return of A$474.36, of which I have only received A$153.28. I’m still waiting for an answer from them.
and more…
At this stage, I have read every word on both Amazon’s KDP and Payoneer’s websites. I have determined that Americans set up both sites specifically for Americans – so much for a Global Company.
Having now signed up for Payoneer, I find they can deal with EFT payments to Amazon USA, UK and Australia but forget Canada and Germany, where I have sold a few. Those few royalty amounts have gone into the Amazon coffers, given I will never reach the CN$100 and €100 thresholds.
I’ve written to Payoneer customer service to find out how they will arrange payments of my royalties from different Amazon markets, into my Payoneer account, and then into my bank account here in Australia – 5 days minimum response. Both websites state that once I have set up a Payoneer account, Payoneer will email Amazon and arrange payments to route through them - Mmm!
and
Payoneer has now advised that I can transfer currencies from one of my Payoneer Receiving accounts to another currency account. I can directly transfer €8.53 from my Eurozone Receiving account to my US$ Receiving account with a balance of US$44.53, thereby making the US$ account greater than US$50 (US$53.35), meaning I can now withdraw it to my account here in Australia. Phew! Getting that solution from them was like pulling teeth. However, I will leave it all alone until the new year in case any more royalties arrive in those accounts, but since I have canned my Amazon AD campaign there shouldn’t be much of that if anything.
What remains now is £36.40 sitting in my Amazon.co.uk account, which I cannot transfer to my Payoneer account as Payoneer doesn’t have an arrangement with a UK bank. So back to Amazon KDP with that one.
Dealing with Amazon KDP can certainly be a very frustrating experience, with Amazon making it extremely difficult to speak to an actual human.
Here’s a very long list of customer service issues with Amazon KDP.
author2audio - audiobook and podcast production for independent authors
Dave Stokes writes regarding his excellent audiobook service to independent authors…
author2audio - audiobook and podcast production
We help independently published authors to create, record and publish their audiobooks to 20 plus international retailers including Amazon/Audible, Apple Books and Google Play - studio free, and you keep the royalties.
Our process takes you every step of the way - from setting up your home office recording environment and equipment, through narration technique, editing, production and to publication.
Rates start at AUD $500 (plus tax) per 10,000 words with an affordable minimum charge.
If you feel a narrator suits your needs, we can help with our experienced team of voice actors there too.
Please enjoy the following short (5 minute) video guide to recording. It'll give you a 'fly on the wall' perspective on your recording adventure:
I'll look forward to having an introductory chat with you on 0401 958 883 or at dave@author2audio. Oh - and if you like - on Zoom (and our website...)
P.S. Check out a sample from one of customer's audiobooks in the following link:
Tim Wood - Your amazing brand story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IebMcMlLGk
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/XW7N6hX1/a-river-divided-sample.mp4
Extensive new Free Variable Font Family -- Inter
Check out this well-constructed variable font family and download for free (but consider a payment to the designers). The following text is quoted from their website:
Inter is a typeface carefully crafted & designed for computer screens.
Inter features a tall x-height to aid in readability of mixed-case and lower-case text. Several OpenType features are provided as well, like contextual alternates that adjusts punctuation depending on the shape of surrounding glyphs, slashed zero for when you need to disambiguate "0" from "o", tabular numbers, etc.
and see also a useful resource list of 70 free fonts…
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.