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Nink: Authors Can’t Do It All Alone… Luckily They Don’t Have To: How & Why All Authors Should Grow Their Publishing Team

This article, written by Kate Tilton is from the April 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. 

When publishing a book, an author has a whole team of people to help them take that manuscript from first draft to finished product. Both traditional and indie authors will have a variety of professionals—agents, editors, formatters, cover designers, and early readers—to help the author along the way.

These days, however, everything else that goes into being a career author ends up on the author’s plate, including managing the website, social media, book events and travel, career planning and strategy, business admin and accounting, and so much more.

Whether an author publishes with a traditional house or goes indie, or does a little of both, much of the job of an author is left up to the author alone. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Authors can and should grow their publishing team, as a well-rounded team will help an author with the business side as well as the craft side. Doing this can save authors valuable time and help authors earn more in the long run.

Why hire help?

Just because authors can do a task does not mean it is cost effective. This is not as cut and dry as other industries, as authors do not make an income based on hourly services but by selling their products (books). The more quality books an author produces, the greater their income can become. Hiring others to take on things that keep them from writing can mean a bigger income at the end of the year.

Teams also offer support and encouragement. Publishing, no matter what route an author takes, can be tough. Unlike family and friends, having business professionals on the team offers a different kind of support. They know what it is like to be a part of this industry and can relate better to an author’s struggle.

These professionals may also be better than the author—at least when it comes to certain things. Having insider knowledge makes publishing professionals better suited to offer guidance and problem-solve for an author’s particular needs. A consultant may be better at planning a launch strategy. An assistant may be able to make better looking newsletters or promotional graphics. A social media manager may understand policy changes better.

Avoid common pitfalls when hiring help.

The common pitfalls when hiring help boil down to one big pit with many ways to fall into it. But in essence, it’s about hiring the wrong person.

Pay attention to the five pitfalls below to help avoid this.

Pitfall 1

The author hires a consultant when they need an assistant (or a publicist when they need a consultant, or an assistant when they need a consultant, and so on).

To avoid this trap, when an author decides to hire help, first they should figure out what things they need help with.

  • If feeling overwhelmed by all the publishing advice out there and not knowing what to do, a publishing consultant may be the right fit.
  • If an author has admin and basic marketing tasks (i.e. managing a launch team, newsletters, social media), an assistant or social media manager may be who they need.
  • If an author wants to get on TV, radio, and/or other traditional media, they likely need a publicist.

Before beginning any search, authors should write down where they are struggling so they can identify the right type of service provider needed. Make a list of specific action items or goals, For instance, one could be to release a monthly newsletter and build a street team. Seeing the list in full will help avoid wasting time contacting the wrong type of professional and makes the entire process easier.

Pitfall 2

The author hires a person who doesn’t have the skills they need.

There are different types of professionals, but in each profession there are also different skill sets.

For example, there are a wide variety of tasks assistants can do. However, some assistants do not work on marketing strategy. If marketing is something the author needs, they may do better by looking for a consultant who can help with creating the strategy and then hire an assistant to execute the strategy.

Another example—if an author wants someone to manage their Instagram account, the author should look for someone who can post photos that will attract readers of their genre.

With the list in hand from pitfall number one, authors should take a few minutes to research the skills of each potential team member and look for those who match their needs. Most service providers will list their skills on their website. Authors can use these lists to compare the offerings of each service provider. Doing this will help an author avoid hiring someone who can’t provide the services needed, saving everyone time, money, and the headache.

Pitfall 3

An author hires someone without enough or the right kind of experience.

If a potential team member lists the skills the author is looking for on their site, the next step is for an author to see if the team member has the experience needed.

If the author needs someone who can do a task without much direction, they will want someone with more experience.

Authors should also consider the experience in terms of what type of books and authors the professional works with.

For example, an indie author may want someone who works with indies. In another example, if an author is looking for a publicist, the author will want someone with media connections relevant to the author’s genre. A publicist who works primarily with business books is probably not a good fit for a romance author. It seems like a no-brainer, but is a common pitfall.

Authors can avoid experience issues by asking other authors for recommendations, and then ask the potential team member about both current and past work experience, and any book acknowledgments. It is also a good idea to check references if possible.

Pitfall 4

The author hires a “bad apple.”

There are many wonderful professionals in publishing. There are also some bad apples. Authors should do due diligence to avoid hiring someone who is not a professional.

Authors can check the professional’s website and social media to look for red flags such as lots of errors or poor formatting. There are also resources like Writer Beware and the Alliance of Independent Authors’ service ratings. Not every professional is reviewed, but this step can help authors avoid bad apples.

Pitfall 5

After hiring, the author and professional do not get along/cannot communicate well.

Working with a professional is a partnership. For a successful team, communication is crucial. Authors should also want to build a team of professionals they enjoy working with.

This can be difficult to figure out before starting to work with someone, but there are steps an author can take:

  • Is there a written contract? If so, what does it spell out for each side? Make sure you are comfortable with the terms.
  • Before hiring, check out the provider’s social media, website, and newsletter to look for any similar interests and if the provider seems like someone worth working with. Is the provider professional?
  • If wanting to start small, consider doing a smaller project or consultation before hiring long-term. Some professionals offer free consultations, others have paid one-time consultations (often this depends on their demand and experience). This could be a good litmus test.
  • Make communication expectations known. Discuss how communication will happen (email, phone calls, Skype, text, messenger) and when (what days are work days). Discuss how a professional can get in touch in case of something urgent and vice versa.

How to find help to hire?

Once an author knows the kind of help they are looking for, they can begin their search by:

Asking their author friends for recommendations.

  • Picking up a copy of The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide by Joel Friedlander and Betty Kelly Sargent, which is a directory of publishing professionals.
  • Using online resources like Author E.M.S. (a list of different professionals), Reedsy (an online marketplace connecting authors with professionals), Kate Tilton's author assistant resource page (for more information about assistants).
  • Getting connected with a free mentor through MicroMentor.
  • Getting free small business coaching through the SBA. Check out the Small Business Administration for more.

Please note, hiring a team is a process and can take time. Professionals, depending on experience, will have different price points and hourly/weekly rates, retainers, and billing. Be sure to discuss each before hiring.

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Kate Tilton has been helping authors since 2010. Founder of Kate Tilton’s Author Services, LLC, Tilton helps authors of all stripes navigate the publishing world and connect with readers. She is a contributor to The Self-Publisher’s Ultimate Resource Guide and appeared in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Novelists Inc’s Nink, Kobo Writing Life and The Book Designer. Tilton presented at Book Expo America, Penned Con, Novelists, Inc., among other venues.

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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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Nink Knowledge: C.H.A.N.G.E. and Every Writer

This article by Melanie Stiles is from the April 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. 

Ask any number of your writer friends if there is something they could change about the mechanics of their writing career and most (if not all) will respond with a yes. So, as writers, why don’t we take action, instead of merely thinking about it? The answer tends to be as varied as the tasks. In the end, many writers are more than tempted to give up and remain in the status quo.

Change almost never takes place instantly. Real change is usually accomplished through a series of gradual, purposeful actions. The beautiful thing about change is that even one small adjustment contains the possibility for a myriad of beneficial outcomes. So whether you view change with a fair amount of chagrin, or embrace change as eagerly as a leaf is carried on the autumn wind, by engaging with a few minor examinations that require minimum effort, you can move forward into the C.H.A.N.G.E. you need today.

C = Community
When it comes to our money, most of us look for competitive interest rates on credit cards. We want to pay the lowest cost for the greatest amount of insurance, and we want the best sale price on major purchases. But when it comes to our communities, we tend not to give them a second thought. If we have fully incorporated a person into our writing life, they are apt to be there for the duration. If we accumulate enough folks, we simply don’t have room for more. People are definitely not as interchangeable as credit cards, but writers can do themselves a great disservice if they do not periodically take stock of their own community. We tend to travel in genre herds, aligning ourselves with those who speak our lingo. That’s great for critiquing particular projects or for shoring up our comfort zones, but it’s not always conducive to expanding our writing horizons. Branching out can offer new opportunities. Writing communities should support several basic areas; it’s rare that one group does it all. For example, if you haven’t already, consider adding the following:

  • A Social Media Partner – When it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all of the other outlets on the web, it hardly matters whether the writer you connect with writes in the same genre. If a writer likes to post more than you do, he/she is a community treasure trove for you! A simple weekly telephone appointment can change the nature of your own social media presence as you trade information or navigate mutual chores.
  • A Marketing Partner – Marketing partners do not necessarily have to be other writers. Successful sales people make great connections, as they are innovative and often gregarious about thinking outside of the proverbial box. As writers, we can always use a fresh approach that differs from what we already know about.

Adding and subtracting community, when done deliberately, can push us to the next career level.

H = Habits
We generally recognize when someone else practices habits that are different from ours. This can create a silent message that winds its way through our brain saying, “I wouldn’t do it like that.” Interestingly, most of us never consider a secondary message, the one that says, “But, is his/her way better?” Consider performing a short, three-question survey. Ask questions, of other writers, that relate to areas in which you deem yourself most entrenched. Examples might include:

  • How do you maintain a consistent word count?
  • What does your social media management look like?
  • What is your most successful marketing tactic?

These simple inquiries can often encourage us to make small habit changes that can lead to greater productivity.

A = Attitude
Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” It seems to be true for an army of writers such as J.K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss, John Grisham and Madeleine L’Engle, who never let multiple rejections stop them. To make mental adjustments in our attitudes, it’s often necessary to redefine or reframe our challenges. We have to believe and accept that there are no dead ends, only redirections that move us one step closer to our goals. In the end, attitudes are always a choice. Contemplate writers who have traveled before you and what their lives could have been like if they had quit.

N = New routines
Let’s face it. The evolution of new apps, software, computers and most everything related to writing and publishing, is traveling at exponential speeds. By organizing our learning endeavors so that they are both purposeful and scheduled, we can increase our skillsets gradually and successfully. We already have a lot on our plates, so pacing is primary. Try attending seminars or participating in online classes with a partner. Having a study buddy automatically increases consistency. There will always be something new on the horizon, so why not make our educational experiences as pleasurable as we can?

G = Goal centered activities
The average American now spends a little over five hours a day watching television (www.bls.gov) and a little less than one-half hour thinking. In order to ascertain whether or not an activity truly supports our goals, we will have to exceed this sad, thinking statistic. Taking the time to simply ponder or daydream about the end result of a project carves out an imaginary path to its completion. By mentally plotting our way, we can easily see what fits and what is irrelevant to its success.

E = Extending the vision
No writing career is complete if it doesn’t include the acknowledgment of the people in our surroundings. We must extend our knowledge, time, and pens to include helping those who are new to the writing journey. It is our way of repaying those who were there for us.

By tweaking the things that we already do right, we can effectively hone our lifestyles to increase our maximum productivity. As we apply the components of the C.H.A.N.G.E. acronym at least twice a year, we can create a lifestyle overview that quickly ascertains what is missing, what we need to let go of and what is going well.

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Melanie Stiles is an award-winning author and life coach who has accumulated hundreds of bylines in various publications. She has authored three books specifically for writers and frequently speaks at conferences. She offers writing-related services including editing, ghostwriting, coaching and more.

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