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Nink Knowledge: How to Grow Voices ~ The Subtle Art of Facilitating Workshops

This article, written by Cat Rambo, is from the January 2020 edition of Nink, the monthly newsletter of Novelists, Inc.  (NINC). Nink, which is packed each month with informative articles for career novelists, is a benefit of NINC membership. 

Teaching is an art. A good teacher can help their students infinitely more than a bad one—and one expression of that is the ability to lead discussion groups and workshops, leading the students to come to realizations that will help them understand the concepts in ways they cannot learn through one-sided lecture.

Like any art, innate talent helps, but discussion and workshop facilitation definitely can be learned. Part of that learning is aided by thinking about it beforehand, during, and after. How do you, as a teacher, create a space in which as many students as possible will flourish, one in which no one is unable to participate? How do you build a process that encourages creativity while making sure everyone has their turn?

I have taught workshops of varying sizes over the past three decades and my process continues to evolve and change. Here are some of the more important things I’ve learned through experience or observation.

Every group is different, and every group comes with its own idiosyncrasies and voices. Enjoy the mix for the happy ephemeral phenomenon that it is, while drawing conclusions from its generalities in order to apply these in future iterations of the material. Many of your attendees will be very anxious. At least a handful will surprise and delight you with their talent, and sometimes staggeringly so.

I’ve always done introductions, having the students tell me their names and a little bit about themselves, but in recent years one thing I make sure to add is their preferred pronouns. Asking for those both allows me to accommodate their needs and acknowledge who they are as much as pronouncing their name correctly does.

If it’s a workshop where students are expected to critique each others’ work, attendees should have received both manuscripts and clear guidelines about how to structure their critique well in advance. Students can feel anxious about what’s going to happen in a workshop if they don’t know what the structure will be like, so I try to include an overview that lets them know what to expect: the class will go for two hours, with a 5-10 minute break in the middle; the writer doesn’t have to reply to comments if they don’t want to; we’ll have overall questions at the end. New writers in particular can be uncertain; there’s no shame in giving them a little handholding to encourage them into the water to swim.

Facilitating discussion means making sure people understand what the guidelines for participation are and how to take turns in conversation. Don’t let people interrupt each other but don’t be nasty about it, just be polite but firm. Don’t be afraid to pause in order to let people think of questions, even though it may feel like an uncomfortably long silence, and if you need to, ask leading questions like: Can you think about examples of what we’ve been talking about in your own life/your writing/media/literature? Or: How do you think you might apply this in your own writing?

When answering questions that someone has asked, repeat the question first. That helps people who didn’t hear it the first time, as well as allowing you to clarify things that may not be immediately apparent. I prefer to have the students asking questions and myself answering them, but there is a give and take to such things that will vary with the students and the circumstances.

Overprepare. You get better at judging how long things will take as you gain experience, but there will always be that class where things go awry and no one has turned in the work. Have a couple of writing exercises up your sleeve and while the students are working on it, use that 5-10 minutes to assemble discussion questions or other points to cover in order to get yourself through the class time.

You never stop learning from other teachers. Sometimes it’s a new technique or a good metaphor. Be good about crediting your fellows for the clever sayings. It’s also handy to listen to the students and find out what worked for them or not—one of the things I’m working on is following up better in 2020, such as asking students what parts of workshops they liked/disliked, as well as what was particularly effective. Learning from other teachers also keeps you from ossifying and just spitting out the same theories and observations over and over again.

Teaching writing is, I think, one of the ways you can become a better writer yourself. Often I do the writing exercises along with the students in my classes, to the point where I think somewhere between a third to half of my published flash fiction pieces were the result of such writings. It’s also something that makes you articulate and challenges your own practice of fiction and the rules by which you write. It’s never bad to look at those with an interrogatory eye in order to move beyond them.

When leading a discussion, don’t be afraid to go with the flow. Sometimes the oddest questions may be the most fruitful, or those questions may lead to additions for the future, sometimes even inspiring entirely new classes. The question of how to maintain a fruitful writing practice in the face of increasingly grey times, for example, led to a class on hopepunk that has become one of my favorites to teach and one which was even referenced in a Wall Street Journal article on the subgenre.

Post class, encourage your students to let you know about their publications and victories as they go forward. One of the nicest things about teaching is a chance to see the coming wave, and to know some of the voices that are rising in fiction and creating new stories. Watching a student succeed is one of the most satisfying feelings I know.

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Novelist and short story writer Cat Rambo is the founder of online writing school The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. Her 200+ fiction publications include works in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s, and Clarkesworld Magazine. Her space opera You Sexy Thing appears in January 2021 from Tor Macmillan. She is a former two-term president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

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Nink Knowledge: Using GMC to Troubleshoot a Scene

This article, written by Colleen Thompson, is from the October 2019 edition of Nink, the monthly newsletter of Novelists, Inc.  (NINC). Nink, which is packed each month with informative articles for career novelists, is a benefit of NINC membership. 

As wonderful as it would be, as writers, to have every word leap flawlessly from our fingertips onto the page, we sometimes get the sense or we receive feedback indicating that a scene we've written isn't working. When the reason for the issue—or a solution—isn't immediately apparent, I've found it helpful to go back to the building blocks, using lessons learned from author Debra Dixon's how-to classic, Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (Gryphon Books for Writers, 1996) to jumpstart the troubleshooting process.

Clarity of goals

“Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” —Kurt Vonnegut

The character's goal, his/her need or desire, is the true backbone of the story. If a scene feels aimless, ask yourself if you've clearly communicated what the protagonist hopes to achieve. An external desire, such as victory in some contest, the acquisition of a skill, or escape from danger is something tangible, whereas an internal desire, such as independence, acclaim, or fear, is emotional and often hidden, sometimes even from the character him/herself.

Though the character's purpose, as well as the scene's, may not initially be apparent, the author needs to know the purpose, at least when going back to revise the scene, sharpen it, and give it clarity and focus. Other goal-related weaknesses may occur when other characters in the scene have no apparent needs or desires, leaving them to float as aimlessly as dust motes.

Though not every character's goal must be known to the reader, the author should consider these goals carefully. Think about how each character’s goal might serve the scene or the story as a whole if an antagonist or any other character were acting at cross-purposes or in opposition to the protagonist because of a conflicting goal.

Takeaway troubleshooting questions:

  • Is it clear what the protagonist of this scene wants?
  • Do I know what every character in this scene wants?

Motivation

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”— Archimedes

When a character's motivation—his/her reason for needing to achieve the goal—are strong enough, the writer can move the mind of the reader to accept nearly anything the character does to achieve this goal. The trick is convincing the audience to fall under the spell of the character's desire, to give this desire both plausibility and an urgency that resonates without becoming a hyperbolic bludgeon. (The audience will eventually succumb to adrenal fatigue—or perhaps eye-rolling—if the main character is saving the universe from annihilation or dangling off the edge of a precipice by his/her fingertips in every scene.)

As with the goal, motivation may be external, making it easily perceivable by other characters, or internal, playing out within the realm of character emotions, some of which may be deeply buried. To cite a well-known example, in the movie Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker's goal of rescuing the princess and aiding the rebellion (a call to adventure he initially resists) is an externally motivated goal that receives impetus when his aunt and uncle are slain by Imperial stormtroopers. Though Luke wouldn't be able to articulate it, he's also driven by a hunger for adventure, romance, and the yearning to connect to something larger.

To turn up the heat on a scene's motivation, ask yourself what circumstances would make your protagonist want or need to achieve the goal more urgently? Alternately, what could more strongly motivate the antagonist, or any other character in the scene, to thwart the main character, often in the pursuit of his/her own goals?

Motivations must not only be believable but broadly relatable to an audience. To achieve the latter, work on strengthening the link between the characters' motivations and one of what psychologist Paul Eckman referred to as basic human emotions: anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt, and happiness. Though moviegoers viewing Star Wars: A New Hope for the first time will never find themselves in young Luke's identical situation early in the movie, they are able to connect to his sense of loss, his terror, and his fury, and they can put themselves in his situation, imagining themselves behaving heroically (even if in reality, they'd run screaming to hide out in the desert caves) to fight back against this wrong.

Takeaway troubleshooting questions:

  • Are character behaviors adequately and plausibly motivated?
  • To what universal human/reader emotion does this motivation relate?

Conflict

“…the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.” —William Faulkner

Whether it's among rivals for a prize, characters struggling for survival, or a host of other familiar variations, conflict is the accelerator that drives both a story and a scene. Within the larger structure of a novel, some scenes will require a heavier foot than others on that gas pedal, but every scene needs to contain some element of tension to keep it from falling flat.

When a scene feels too static, it's often a relatively simple task to, at least metaphorically, “put another bear in the canoe,” creating another complication, crafting a betrayal, or shortening the timeline available for the completion of the goal. To prevent the conflict from feeling arbitrary, check to see if it's closely related to the protagonist's or another character's goal and if motivation is apparent or alluded to, even if it's to raise questions about what the reasoning might possibly be.

Conflict is also essential in revealing the real character beneath the veneer. Anyone can put on an act when things are going smoothly, but under enough pressure all sorts of flaws are exposed. Put enough pressure on an individual in the form of conflict and character transformation may occur, allowing the protagonist to achieve the goal—or perhaps to recognize it as unworthy.

Takeaway troubleshooting questions:

  • Does the scene contain adequate and relevant conflict?
  • Does the conflict serve to motivate character growth?

Many novelists come to take for granted the concepts of goal, motivation, and conflict, just as drivers take for granted their preferred mode of transportation when the engine's running smoothly. It's during a breakdown that it's worth going back for a peek under the hood—or even taking a few moments to sketch out a GMC schematic to help you once more get all the basic parts back in alignment and get both your scene, and the novel it's a part of, running smoothly once again.

Resources

  • Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, Debra Dixon, Gryphon Books for Writers, 1996.
  • "Writing 101: Internal Vs. External Conflict," Writer's Ink: the Official Blog of Shannon Curtis, 11/13/2013.
  • Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, Paul Eckman, Times Books, 2003.

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A former teacher and frequent speaker on the craft of writing, Colleen Thompson is the RITA-nominated author of 30 romantic suspense and historical romance novels and novellas written for Montlake, Harlequin, Dorchester, and Kensington Publishing. Look for her next release, Deadly Texas Summer (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) in March 2020.

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Nink Knowledge: Self-Published eBooks and the Library Market (Access Isn’t Everything)

This article, written by Edie Claire, is from the September 2019 edition of Nink, the monthly newsletter of Novelists, Inc.  (NINC). Nink, which is packed each month with informative articles for career novelists, is a benefit of NINC membership. 

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Ever since Smashwords broke into the library market in 2014 by distributing self-published ebooks to OverDrive, library access has only gotten easier. Now indies can get their ebooks listed on OverDrive through a variety of distributors including Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, and Kobo (now a sister company to OverDrive, under their Rakuten parent). But merely checking that little “distribute to” box isn’t likely to result in actual sales. There are multiple—and largely invisible—hurdles between self-published authors and acquiring librarians, and overcoming these obstacles will require some dedicated effort.

The Bad News, part one: Discoverability

For a glimpse into how librarians make ebook purchasing choices, I interviewed Mary Lee Hart, the collection development librarian at my local library. As expected, the primary goal of library acquisitions is to anticipate which books will be most demanded by patrons. Hence, the largest part of the purchasing budget will go toward bestsellers promoted by the Big Five. The ranks will be further filled out by books receiving positive reviews in the tried-and-true print media with which librarians like Hart are already familiar. But while some of these discovery vehicles (such as Kirkus Reviews and Ingram’s Advance catalog) are open to self-published works, the playing field is far from even. Paid reviews are generally designated as such. Sponsored slots in Ingram’s print catalog are relegated to the back under the dubious heading of “Publisher Selects.” And even those vehicles supposedly devoted to the underserved, such as Foreword Reviews, have terms incompatible with a commercial self-publishing model, such as requiring submission of a manuscript for review at least four months before its release. In fact, the whole traditional model of library acquisition, built around buying new releases while they’re hot, is a poor fit with the slow-build, long-tail pattern of professional self-publishing.

Acquiring librarians do reserve a portion of the budget for books other than current bestsellers. But librarians have little motivation to search specifically in buckets devoted to self-published titles, particularly when most individuals lack an understanding of the difference between a hobbyist writer and a professional self-published-by-choice novelist. For the same reason, any author attempt at direct marketing to librarians is highly likely to wind up in the trash bin.

The Bad News, part two: Ease of Purchase

While libraries can purchase ebooks from a variety of vendors, the reality is that around 90 percent of U.S. public libraries source their ebooks from OverDrive. OverDrive seems preferred not only because of the breadth of media in its catalog, but also because of easy-to-use apps, which libraries rely on for digital lending. The company’s main competitors, Baker and Taylor Axis 360, Bibliotheca, and Odilo, still command only a minor slice of the pie. But while self-published authors can list titles with OverDrive through various distributors, authors cannot see how those titles are being presented to librarians because OverDrive’s library “Marketplace” is not public-facing.

Curious whether my own titles were as visible as their traditionally published counterparts, I consulted Hart. In accordance with OverDrive’s TOS, the library could not offer me a firsthand look at its dedicated interface. But I was provided with some general information. Like most online catalogs, OverDrive makes searching easy with a prominently placed search box. Yet, a search for my books brought up absolutely nothing, even though I distribute to OverDrive via both Kobo and a direct OverDrive publisher account. My books could only be reached by opening up a drop-down menu under the main search bar and then scrolling down to an option labeled “Self-published.”

Finally, a little good news

Publishing may have changed drastically in the last decade, but the motivation of acquisitions librarians has not: they seek to buy whatever materials best serve their patrons. Herein lies the single most powerful strategy for the self-published: patron recommendations. When I polled my Facebook readers about their library use, I was surprised. Many not only regularly borrowed ebooks from the library, but my readers also knew how to request titles for purchase. One reader informed me that he frequently made recommendations; so far his library has bought every one of them. Hart confirmed that my library system not only considers every request but buys the majority. If the author or publisher is an unknown quantity, the purchase decision may come down to price. But any ebook costing single digits is generally considered worth a shot.

Patrons can submit book requests through the same OverDrive interface they use for borrowing. Some libraries have a “recommend” option associated with their own local online catalog, others use a physical suggestion box with paper slips, and many use a combination. But in this case, OverDrive’s domination of the market is of significant benefit to self-published authors because a patron’s search for a book to recommend includes all OverDrive titles. With one click, your loyal reader can send a request straight to their acquisitions librarian—complete with a dedicated link to your book.

The distribution question

OverDrive customer support says it makes no difference how your titles are submitted to OverDrive. Yet, my own experimentation revealed certain variations. Considering the relative difficulty of using an OverDrive publisher account (which requires Excel-formatted metadata and FTP file transfer), I had hoped this distribution method might save me from the self-published dungeon. It did not, although rumor suggests that others might have had better luck. But one advantage a direct account does offer is access to OverDrive’s free merchandising opportunities, such as their e-newsletters and seasonal focus campaigns. Whether these are effective sales tools is an open question.

Another difference I stumbled upon was that the route by which a title reaches OverDrive affects whether or not that book is “available on Kindle” after purchase. It’s not a matter of providing a mobi file; when a Kindle-compatible ebook is borrowed via OverDrive, the borrower is rerouted to Amazon.com for the actual download. Rather, it’s a contractual matter. Books distributed directly through OverDrive show as Kindle-compatible. Ebooks distributed through Kobo (as their customer service confirmed) will not. Draft2Digital’s customer service asserted that its contract with OverDrive does require Kindle-compatibility, although D2D has experienced some delays in execution.

How much does Kindle-compatibility matter? Since Kindle Fires and other tablets can read ePubs in apps, the only devices affected are e-ink versions like the Paperwhite. Older Kindle ereaders (like my trusty 3rd generation with keyboard) can’t handle library loans in any event. When I queried the librarian who buys fiction at my local branch, she said that although she preferred Kindle-compatibility, lack of it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

Royalties on library purchases differ slightly among the distributors, with OverDrive and Kobo paying 50 percent of list price and Smashwords offering 45 percent. Draft2Digital pays 46.75 percent and offers the option of Cost per Checkout as well as One Copy, One User pricing.

And now, it’s up to your readers

Getting your books into libraries is a two-part process of distribution and patron action. My personal attempt at the second part involves a clickable “Read At the Library” button in the footer of every page of my website, combined with a downloadable PDF giving specific instructions on how to request my (or any other favored author’s) books. (Check it out at www.edieclaire.com.) I’ve told my readers that I’ve done all I could to make my books available for borrowing through libraries. Now, it’s up to them.

 

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Edie Claire is a USA-Today bestselling author of 26 novels of mystery, romantic and women’s fiction, and humor. She was first published traditionally in 1999 but went indie in 2009 and has never looked back. 

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Nink Knowledge: Author Almost Crushed by Billion-Dollar Gaming Company—It Could Happen To You!

This article, written by Michael Banner, is from the August 2019 edition of Nink, the monthly newsletter of Novelists, Inc.  (NINC). Nink, which is packed each month with informative articles for career novelists, is a benefit of NINC membership. 

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The following story is true. The names and book titles have been changed out of respect for the actual author.  What he experienced could have happened to any of us… until now.

John Smith is a bestselling author and award-winning screenplay writer, who recently found himself facing a serious legal problem.

Someone had filed for a federal trademark on a brand name that John was already using for a fictional series he had penned three years earlier. Potentially worse, that someone was a billion-dollar video-gaming enterprise, with millions of subscribers. They were seeking an “Intent to use” trademark in

"Computer game software and related items" and also "downloadable digital media and downloadable audio files." The word they wanted to trademark, “Blacktree.”

“Blacktree” is the name of John's Amazon #1 bestselling two-book series, and the name of the protagonist and hero of that series, Bobby Blacktree. His series included eBooks (legally described as “downloadable digital media”) and audiobooks (“downloadable audio files”).

John’s ultimate plan, after a highly successful test-market of a five-book series in the same genre, was to leverage the “Blacktree” brand he had created and launch additional books in the Blacktree series in 2019 and 2020. After which he would complete the screenplay and market it to Hollywood.

That was his plan, before he received notification about the pending trademark registration from one of his Google Alerts watch phrases.

Legal Concerns

John had previously established (by publishing his books) a prior claim to the rights of the series brand name. However, if this gaming company was granted their federal trademark registration, they would have obtained all rights to that name under the rules and regulations established by law and managed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The gaming company would then have total control over whether John could use the Blacktree name, not only for his two existing eBooks and audiobooks (and the main character name in the series,) but also for future Blacktree books and screenplay.

At minimum, the gaming company could have had Amazon take down his Blacktree series in all its forms, simply by filing a complaint with Amazon and presenting a copy of their trademark. And, because this gaming company had a long history of aggressively protecting their registered trademarks, John could have been looking at a devastating lawsuit if he tried to use the name Blacktree in any future works.

Simply put, if John wanted to sell any more books (current or future) in his series, and the gaming company proceeded forward with their trademark application, John would have had to change the name of his series and main character; update the eBook and audio files; and rebrand future planned books, the screenplay and everything else associated with it.

John clearly had only one choice: he filed an opposition to the gaming company's trademark with the USPTO. Simultaneously, he filed a trademark registration of his own for the brand Blacktree. Legally, John had a clear case of establishing the brand three years prior and thus, he would have a clear path to have the gaming company's trademark request quashed by the USPTO, and then have the USPTO approve his own trademark registration. Simple, right?

Wrong! We are forgetting something disturbing about our legal system: “Whoever has more lawyers and money, usually wins!”

In this case, the gaming company really wanted this name. They also had time on their side because it normally takes a few years to have an online computer game developed, tested, and released. Even though John legally had first use rights, the billion-dollar company and their team of lawyers could easily have buried John in appeals and requests for extensions, and if they desired, lawsuits. At hundreds of dollars an hour for attorney representation, essentially, they could have financially ruined John with just the legal fees alone, forcing him to give up, so that they would prevail.

Other Concerns

John’s financial well-being was not all that was at risk.

The national news media covering computer gaming caught wind of this battle, and incorrectly reported that John was “suing” the gaming company. Additionally, they erroneously reported that John was responsible for stopping the gaming company’s next release of their beloved online role-playing game; a game that boasted millions of over-zealous, fan-boy players.

That’s when the backlash started.

Immediately, thousands of gamers began posting their comments of hatred against John, sending John angry and physically threatening emails, and blasting him with endless social media posts. Some even posted negative reviews on his books. All this because John had the nerve to defend his brand.

Before revealing the end of this story, let us look at the lesson we should all learn from John’s experience.

Lesson Learned

Authors must proactively protect themselves against trademark infringement.

That is, you must take two actions to preemptively protect yourself and avoid a potential battle like the one John faced.

  1. Thoroughly research your series name and book titles before publishing, and
  2. File for a federal trademark under one or more publishing categories.

Thoroughly Research Your Series Name

You have probably already searched Amazon’s database for similar sounding book titles, just to see what is out there. Maybe you have even Googled your prospective book title or series name to see if someone is using it in your book’s genre. That is a good start, but do not miss another very important resource. Before pushing that publish button, search the USPTO database to make sure your series name and book titles are not infringing on a registered trademark in the publishing space.

To do this, go to USPTO.gov. Under the “Trademark” banner, choose “Searching trademarks” from the drop-down menu. Now find the “Search our trademark database (TESS)” link. You will want to use the “Basic Word Mark Search (New User)” option and type in the name of your prospective title.

You may see several hits. Make sure you review them all, one at a time. What you are looking for are “LIVE” registrations. If there is already one registered (and Live), and you see that its “Goods and Services” section includes a series of numbers starting with either IC 009 or IC 016 (the two classes for books), then someone has already registered that name in the publishing space. You will need to modify your series name and/or book titles, otherwise you risk Amazon turning your books off at some point in the future for trademark infringement.

However, if you do not see your prospective titles already registered (and Live) or they are listed in the database but are not in the two publishing classes, you are good to go for publication.

File Your Own Federal Trademark

If the name is available for trademark under the publishing classes, then immediately after you publish your series, file for a federal trademark on that series name.

A strange quirk in trademark law that most authors do not know about, is that while you can trademark a book series title as a brand, you cannot trademark a single book title. You must use the same name for more than one book before it’s considered a brand and eligible for trademark protection. In other words, you can trademark a name if it is used on two or more books because it is now considered a “brand.” That’s true for book titles and series titles. More than one book with the same title or series name must exist and be used (or intended to be used), before it’s eligible for protection.

This brings up another point to consider.

Even if the USPTO database does not show a trademark issued for your series or book name, you need to look on Amazon to see of anyone else is using that exact name on more than one book in their backlist. If so, then they have prior trademark rights, having established a brand for that name, even if they have yet to file for the trademark. You will need to pick a new series name or book title to avoid potential infringement problems down the road. None of us want another “Cockygate” scenario.

[Editor’s note, for more on this and to read Nink articles written about this topic, please review the July 2018 issue in the Nink archives.]

Trademarks are filed in one or more Goods and Services classes. Again, the two International Classes (or IC) covering books are 009 (for eBooks and audio books) and 0016 (for print books). Each class will cost $225 to file, or $450 for both. If you are worried about costs, file for at least one: class 9, since that is likely your most profitable book class. While not cheap, think of this as an “insurance policy” to protect you against someone trying to steal your brand and/or threaten your ability to sell your books under that name on various platforms like Amazon.

Bottom line: What we do as authors is a business. Businesses have assets that need to be protected. Our books and their names are some of our most important assets. Smart business practices dictate we proactively take steps to protect our series names and book titles, before someone else takes these rights from us. Or worse, someone with deeper pockets crushes you financially, just for using a name they want, even though you had all prior rights to it.

Epilogue

“So, what happened to John?” you ask.

After thousands of dollars in legal fees, John and the gaming company reached an amicable agreement. The terms are confidential, so the actual settlement remains unknown. My hunch is that John is both relieved and pleased with the result. And yet, the settlement only occurred after his reputation took a beating and he suffered many sleepless nights. Don’t put yourself in the same position as John.

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Michael Banner is an international best-seller, penning eleven novels as ML Banner. Next up, his Self-Publishing Empire Series of books, beginning with Set-Up: The Easy Way to Start Your Own Publishing Entity. A serial entrepreneur, Michael has formed dozens of businesses over thirty-five years, including SmallBiZ.com, which has helped more than 100,000 to start their own corporation or LLC. He serves on boards of other start-ups and has consulted thousands, assisting them on how to setup and manage their own enterprises. Recently, he and another NINC member, co-founded Mission Critical Publishing LLC. On his “off” days, Michael’s wife “forces” him to relax at their Mexican beach or cruise to another foreign port.

 

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Nink Knowledge: Mixing Traditional Publishing & Self-Publishing

This article, written by Lindsay Randall, is from the July 2019 edition of Nink, the monthly newsletter of Novelists, Inc.  (NINC). Nink, which is packed each month with informative articles for career novelists, is a benefit of NINC membership. 

(Editor’s note: For the purposes of this article, hybrid is defined as having published front list in both trad & indie during 2018-2019.)

Is it double the trouble or worth the effort to publish front list titles both traditionally and indie?

Several of NINC’s hybrid authors shared their thoughts, words of wisdom and warning, and how each times releases to widen her reach.

Why publish trad and indie simultaneously?

For author Katie MacAlister, concurrently publishing indie and trad offers the opportunity to push beyond boundaries of style and storytelling while reaping the benefits of publisher support and a conduit to a larger readership.

“It’s the best of both worlds, allowing me freedom to write whatever twangs my strings, yet remain in the traditionally published world,” she said.

MacAlister’s most recent trad title is Day of the Dragon, the second book in the paranormal Dragon Hunter series (March 2019, Hachette Group). Her latest self-pub book is the contemporary romance Ever Fallen in Love, released November 2018.

While the genres may differ, MacAlister noted that she sees an uptick in her self-pubbed sales whenever a new trad book is released.

“My publishers have connections and abilities that I either lack or don’t want to spend time doing. They put books up on NetGalley, arrange for reviews in trade journals, organize blog features, run ads and contests, coordinate PR campaigns online, and so on. They usually have a longer reach with subsidiary sales and contacts within foreign publishing companies,” she said. “It's also nice to be able to write a book and hand it over for editing, production, and cover work without having to arrange for all that myself.”

Indie publishing also netted her a new publisher. She released Fireborn in 2018, the first book in a new series she wanted to write regardless if a publisher wanted it. She’d no sooner posted news of the release than Kensington made an offer. It was a bid MacAlister liked. Kensington will re-release Fireborn in June and two other books in the series.

“I’d highly recommend being hybrid to any author,” said Bronwen Evans, who writes and publishes historical romance through indie and trad channels. “This market is ever-changing—in fact, it’s more like revolving and spinning. I think it’s good to ensure you have a foot in each camp.”

Attracted to the Earl is her most recent trad release (May 2019, Random House), while her latest indie offering is To Tempt a Highland Duke, released in April as part of the Dukes By the Dozen multi-author boxed set.

Evans said she loves the freedom found in self-publishing and appreciates the marketing available through her traditional publisher.

Words of wisdom and warning

Both MacAlister and Evans said they must deal with non-compete clauses.

“My agent works hard to eliminate any non-compete clauses in my contracts, narrowing the language so that I can write outside of a series whenever the whim strikes me,” MacAlister said. “I do try to remain cognizant of how many books are coming out and when. Since I'm not a rapid release sort of writer, I like to make sure I have a new book dropping every few months, and I will shift my self-pubbed books to make that happen.”

As for Evans, the non-compete clause nearly made her walk away from traditional publishing.

“In the past two years, non-compete clauses began to pop into my contracts and the non-compete period got longer and longer,” she said. “I have a good agent, and we tweak most of the clause now and work around it with my release schedule.”

Lyn Cote, who has been hybrid since 2010 and traditionally published for 12+ years before that, said “being a hybrid is a juggling act” of positioning indie titles around the release of trad titles.

She, too, worked through an agent to deal with the non-compete clauses, remaining with Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line until its end in 2018 (her last title was Suddenly a Frontier Father, part of the Wilderness Brides series). She stayed because most of her readers purchased their books in Walmart “and Harlequin could get me into almost every Walmart in the U.S. and Canada.”

She noted that sales for both increased whenever an indie book released around the time a traditionally published book came out. (She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical novels. The Heart Hopes is her latest indie title.)

Today Cote said the biggest reality in all retailing is that more people are shopping online.

“When an author looks at a traditional contract, he/she must ask these questions: ‘Where will my publisher sell these books?’ and ‘What will they do to actively make my books visible?’” she said.

Cozy mystery author Lynn Cahoon, who indie writes in romance as Lynn Collins, said “keeping your foot in both worlds gives you an edge over other authors.”

“I now have a better understanding of the entire process for publishing a book, which gives me the ability to ask for things I know the publisher can do and not look stupid asking for things they can't do,” Cahoon said. “As authors, sometimes we don't know enough about the entire book publishing cycle.”

Cahoon’s most recent trad title is Mother’s Day Mayhem (April 2019, Kensington), part of the Tourist Trap Mystery series. Her most recent self-published title is Country Hearts, book five of the Castle View romance series.

“You have to plan your time and energy well,” Cahoon said. “Make sure you’re taking as much time writing and editing your self-published books that you do with your trad. And think about marketing. You can't just put a book up on Amazon (especially under a new name) and expect it to sell.”

For Lea Wait, the model of pubbing both indie and traditionally offers her a larger income (to date, her trad books out-earn her self-published titles), while allowing her the freedom to write what she wants in whatever genre she chooses.

She traditionally publishes mysteries (her latest is Thread on Arrival: A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery [April 2019, Kensington]) and indie publishes historical and young adult fiction (Justice & Mercy: A Post-Civil War Mystery in February).

Wait markets all of her books together, regardless of genre. When speaking or signing, she has both types of books available, plus blogs about both, and features them on postcards she shares with fans.

Timing releases/widening the reach

Each author said they time self-pubbed titles around their traditionally published titles and take care not to dilute the market.

“My traditional books come out about every nine to 12 months,” Wait said. “I try to have indie books come between them.”

For Cahoon, she tries to avoid releasing her self-pubbed romance in the months she has a mystery releasing on the traditional side.

“My trad contracts all say I can't give a book to another publisher before I complete this contract, except anything written under Lynn Collins,” she added. “In a perfect world, I'd love to have one release a month—trad or indie.”

Evans plans her release schedule each January. She also watches cover design on the trad side so that it doesn’t clash with the indie side, and she makes use of her self-published work as giveaways and free reads for newsletter signups, marketing all of her releases to all readers.

MacAlister said she staggers books to release three or four times a year, and adds a link to all works in the end matter of every indie book. “Being very, very organized is a must,” she said.

Wait summed it up like this: “Take a lot of deep breaths and don’t overcommit yourself in either direction. Make sure you meet contracted deadlines. Have fun with the whole idea!”

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Lindsay Randall serves as assistant editor of Nink, and while she has indie published front list and backlist, she hopes to once again work with a traditional publisher.

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