Made It Moment: Janet Benrey
Please welcome Janet Benrey to the blog! Janet has the distinction of a) talking about one of our favorite topics here–To E Or Not To E much?–while b) simultaneously being the 75th Made It Momenter. I was very excited to read her thoughts on this brave new world, and I think you will be, too.
Once upon a time I was a writer who was published traditionally by a royalty-paying house. Sales were okay. Do I hear a yawn? Then into my once-upon-a-time world came a new device called the electronic reader and the yawn became a grimace. Earnings declined as readers began to bypass paper for e-books with lower-paying royalties.
But all that changed one day when Amazon created the Kindle and became a publisher. Faster than a flying bullet, it was possible for a writer to publish an e-book without an agent and without a traditional publisher. The ground had shifted.
All of a sudden more than a few authors were making serious money e-publishing. Others began to e-publish their books, too, and everyone began to talk about it. Really.
Let me back up – I write cozy mysteries with my husband Ron. We have written three different cozy-mystery series. Because of this shift in the publishing paradigm, we have launched as e-books through a small e-book publisher, our Tunbridge Wells tea museum mysteries, Dead as a Scone and The Final Crumpet.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
We are convinced that one e-book is harder to sell than many.We say this because we have one romantic novella – Building Love –floating out there by its lonesome, selling modestly. However, our tea-museum mysteries are doing better than we ever dreamed of, and certainly better than they did in bookstores. What is making this so?
Buzz is.
We believe that once readers find you, and if they like your first book, they will buy all of your books in your genre and buzz will start as a consequence. Notice I said, in your genre.
Even if you are traditionally published you won’t sell in substantial numbers without buzz. Your publisher can’t create buzz. Only readers can.The importance of readers posting reviews on your Amazon/BN book pages cannot be underestimated.
Which brings us to marketing. Consider this old advertising adage: 50 percent of advertising works. No one knows which 50 percent. The same seems to be true of marketing. Do something. Anything. And pray for buzz. Once it starts, you’ll make serious money. If it never starts, you probably won’t, and there may be nothing you can do about that except write another book and hope buzz starts.
The second reason our e-books are selling is pricing. Readers love low prices. Much like in the good old days, books have once again become an impulsive purchase. Pricing should encourage impulsivity.
The third reason, my two cents, is the book’s cover. If you write cozies, then the cover should scream cozy. Likewise for thrillers.Covers are critical. Your e-book must stand out on the crowded e-book shelf.
Finally, titles count. A title should say something about the book – reflect its theme if possible. If the title is flat and makes no sense, this may hurt sales. We have no stats to back this up, but we have discussed re-titling our out-of-print mystery series set in Maryland. The earlier titles just didn’t work. It’s an experiment. I’m guessing we’ll know right after the books go up on Amazon.
So how do you get your book to fly off the shelf?
By…
- Writing the best book possible and hoping readers recommend your book
- Wrapping your e-book in a stunningly suitable cover
- Pricing your e-bookto encourage impulsive purchasing
- Marketing like crazy
- Giving your book a title that works for your genre
- Telling your fans there’s a new book on the way.
Happy marketing!
Janet Benrey has worked in many different aspects of book development. She has served as as the editorial director of a small press, a book publicist, a novelist, and a literary agent. She has co-written nine romantic suspense novels with her husband Ron, plus a romance novella that she wrote independently.
Having gone through 3 agents, I am just beginning to be curious about the e-pub world. I don’t know how much marketing I could do that would be effective, unfortunately, which is why I’d love to know more particulars: which e-pubs are reputable? What will they charge? How much for cover art? What are the best ways to promote such a book?
At any rate, best of luck with your new ventures! These thoughts and this type of marketing seems to be the wave of the future, so I hope it does well for you!
Comment by Savvy — May 10, 2011 @ 9:46 am
Wonderful post and I couldn’t agree more! My novel, Treasure Me, has been on Amazon for a few short weeks and the response has already been amazing. Here’s hoping more authors frustrated with the constraints of traditional publishing follow your advice and make the leap to digital publishing.
Comment by Christine Nolfi — May 10, 2011 @ 11:12 am
This is so incredibly helpful to me. I’ve just decided to self-publish and I needed to read this. Thank you for the awesome information.
I’m following.
ecwrites.blogspot.com
Comment by Elisa — May 10, 2011 @ 11:17 am
I agree about having more than one book out helping sales. I’m working hard to get the next two out, but my sequel to Johnny Oops will come after a love story. Guess we just have to follow our instincts and hope the readers follow us.
Regards,
Arthur
Comment by Arthur Levine — May 10, 2011 @ 11:22 am
Great tips and insights. Thank you!
Scott
Comment by Scott L Collins — May 10, 2011 @ 12:23 pm
Good stuff janet. Thanks for sharing and continued success. The ebook world is going to get begger and better, no doubt.
Thanks again,
Rick Murcer
Comment by Rick Murcer — May 10, 2011 @ 7:14 pm
Whoops! Sorry about the typos…sigh. Where’s my editor?
Comment by Rick Murcer — May 10, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
Hi Janet and Jenny. What a wonderful post. I’ve seen your promotions on some of the cozy loops and I think you’re doing a wonderful job with the Tunbridge Wells series. The covers are fabulous. In fact they made me so hungry I may have to run out and purchase some scones (not desperate enough to actually make them myself). Thanks for sharing with all of us. You have a new fan!
Comment by Cindy Sample — May 10, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
So great to see everybody here! Cindy, if you get scones, send some over
Rick, don’t worry about typos, we are a non-edited blog (which makes for all sports of fun 
Christine & Elisa–welcome to the frontier. Please consider Suspense Your Disbelief a resource for you as your own Made It Moments come about 
Arthur will be appearing here soon. Savvy, these are great questions, I would recommend the Kindle forums and Murder Must Advertise (even though it’s not your genre) as resources, as well as Karen McQuestion, Rob Walker, and Joe Konrath’s blogs and threads. All these people–and everyone gathered here–know a lot more than I! But I’m excited to hear what is next for you.
Comment by jenny — May 10, 2011 @ 8:08 pm
Good information! Thanks for the post. I’ve heard others say that having multiple books in a series is a good selling point. You’ve reinforced that here, too.
Comment by Kaye George — May 10, 2011 @ 11:27 pm
I have been an author for a number of years, writing in different genres, your article has convinced me that I should be writing series. If only I could dash out a quick dozen it might make up for lost time.
jackleverett.me.uk
Comment by jack everett — May 11, 2011 @ 1:03 am
Great info! As the saying goes, “Books sell books.” So yes, having a series of books means your sales will soar at these “impulse buy” prices. Thank you! Look for my Resort to Murder series to come out soon.
Comment by Marta Chausée — May 11, 2011 @ 1:08 am
Your point that a number of books in a genre promote sales makes sense. A shelf of books with Amazon or Barnes and Noble on line assures the reader that you can weave a great tale that publishers like and are willing to take a chance on. That display makes the writer look like a serious crafter in the genre.
Comment by Lesley Diehl — May 11, 2011 @ 9:25 am
I’d be interested in this book because of the title alone. Makes me want to investigate more. But, good points in the post. Thanks.
Comment by Stephen Brayton — May 11, 2011 @ 9:46 am
I got a Kindle for my birthday and not only was it a great tool for finding books to read that I might have missed, but as a writer, I began to note everything I could about what worked and what didn’t.
In short, I think you’ve nailed it on the head and more writers should take note!
Comment by Karyne — May 11, 2011 @ 12:34 pm
Great points. I’m enjoying my Nook and have fun looking for stories to read. As you pointer out, I look for series books and authors. I love to watch the growth in characters.
Kat Hinkson
Comment by Katherine Hinkson — May 11, 2011 @ 5:33 pm
Great post, Janet,
I think it’s a combination of all factors plus a heap of luck. Word of mouth has been the route to finding most of the books I read… along with blurbs by other authors in a similar genre.
Thanks for putting this post together!
Anju
Comment by Anju Gattani — May 18, 2011 @ 4:52 pm