NINC

by

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. 

#

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.

 

________________________

         

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. 

by

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. 

 ***

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.

________________________

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.

 

by

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!”

________________________

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.

by

Nink Knowledge | Tactical Crowdfunding: Using Kickstarter for Quick Capital

This article by M.C.A. Hogarth is from the March 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. 

* * *

Most people know about Kickstarter, the website where creators crowdfund their projects to the tune of thousands of dollars, and for the most part we’ve heard about the outrageous successes (and the devastating failures). These stories paint Kickstarter as a “go big or go home” platform, which obscures one of its most useful functions: arranging for small infusions of capital, quickly. Would it be nice for us to swing one of those $100,000 campaigns? Sure, but who has the time to manage several thousand backers’ products? We’re too busy writing. But that doesn’t mean you need to pay for the small-to-medium expenses of your career on your own.

What kind of things am I talking about?

  • Putting your backlist in print again (or in ebook for the first time).
  • Getting a new cover designed for some of your backlist works.
  • Buying audio editions of your work.
  • Writing that niche novella you can’t justify otherwise.
  • Getting fun merchandise done for in-person events.

Most of us have some loose ends we’d like to tie up. Why not enlist your fans’ help? You can do it with the right kind of Kickstarter campaign.

Think small

First, ask for the least amount of money you can get away with. The formula is this: Amount I Need to Buy the Thing I’m Raising For + Amount I Need to Fulfill Prizes + 20 percent of that total for fees and taxes + another 20 percent for profit. (You need to pay yourself.)

Your total goal should be under $2,000; if it’s not, you’re out of the ‘quick and dirty’ Kickstarter range and into the ‘I need to take this a lot more seriously’ department. If your goal can’t be achieved in under $2,000, then you have three choices: (1) pick something else that does come in under that goal; (2) run the project intending to fulfill only some of your expenses, and (3) pay the rest out of your pocket; or retool to run a major campaign. (Which I don’t recommend. Write another book instead.)

The best way to keep things small is to limit your prizes and your tiers—that minimizes your mental overhead when it’s time to figure out who gets what. Most of your prizes should be virtual and cheap to deliver: wallpapers, ebooks, emailed cut scenes, cameos, names listed in the backs of the books, etc. Get creative; anything you can do once and reproduce infinitely is good! Are you good at singing? Send an MP3! Like talking to people on camera? Give them a backer-only video. Reserve physical prizes for very high tiers, and limit their numbers. Don’t get trapped into shipping several hundred hardcovers; have one tier for 10 autographed books and charge more for them.

Don’t feel bad about fewer tiers. Tell your backers that you’re streamlining so that everyone gets what they backed for as quickly as possible. So many Kickstarter projects never send their awards that if you do so consistently, you will be lauded for it.

Think quick

Don’t let these campaigns drag on. A well-run campaign needs daily attention, plus you’re going to be burning time fulfilling prizes. One to two weeks is good; generally the more money you’re asking—the longer you need. But there’s a point of diminishing returns: it’s hard to sustain backer excitement over three or four weeks, so don’t try.

The moment you hit your goal (and it might be fast!), start to work on those prizes so you can get them out the door as quickly as possible. You don’t want your responsibility to your campaign to linger any longer than necessary.

Think minimalist

One of Kickstarter’s features is the ability to offer stretch goals: additional prizes that get “unlocked” when the campaign hits a certain goal over and above the one needed for a successful campaign. These stretch goals give backers a reason to keep throwing money at the project. Usually creators promise things like more merchandise, extra gifts, another story—the possibilities are endless. Which is exactly why you shouldn’t declare too many. Stretch goals are a good way to overextend yourself. Pick one or two that won’t take much time or effort and don’t be tempted to add more as your totals go up. You’re not aiming for “most money possible” because that usually entails “most effort possible.” You’re aiming for “most money possible for the least amount of effort, so I can stay focused on my core business. Which is writing. Not fulfilling Kickstarter prizes.”

I usually pick one or two stretch goals, and tie them into something I want to do anyway, and can resell later, like cut scenes or bonus short fiction I can bundle later into a collection for retail.

I didn’t fund!

There are a lot of reasons a Kickstarter might not fund, but most of them boil down to “my goal didn’t match up with my audience.” (It’s a lot like writing a successful novel that way.) But here are the most common problems:

  • You didn’t tell your fans. They can’t fund your project if they don’t know about it, and you should give them some advance warning so they can plan their budgets. (I usually tell mine a month in advance, and hit up all my major social media/newsletter/chat outlets before and during the campaign.)
  • You didn’t keep the project alive. You should plan to post an update to your project every day it’s active, and then regularly after closing, especially until you’re done sending out prizes. Don’t just talk about the campaign’s progress; have a list of topics related to your project. If it’s a book, you can talk about how you came up with the characters, or share photographs of the place the book’s set, or discuss forensics—whatever seems relevant. If it’s a side project, like merchandise, you can talk about the process of hiring artists, or what your vision was, or ask fans for suggestions on how to use the results. (Asking your fans things in these posts is a great way to promote engagement.)
  • You asked for too much money in too little time for the number of fans you have. Keep in mind 95 percent of your money’s going to come from your existing fanbase, not from people “discovering” you on Kickstarter: the amount you can raise is going to be limited by that number. If you have one hundred fans, don’t ask them for $2,000, ask for $250. Likewise, don’t ask people for $2,000 in five days (unless you have several thousand fans). The amount you can raise and the time you can do it in are directly related to how many people you can mobilize, so use that to set your expectations.
  • Something about your prizes wasn’t compelling. Best way to fix this problem is to ask your fans what they want—and what they find uninteresting. Mine keep telling me they love bookmarks, for instance, and aren’t very interested in patches, so I keep producing bookmarks!

It may take you a few tries to get the formula down. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t figure it out immediately. Use Kickstarter’s search engine to find other (successfully funded) writer projects and see how they handled it. (Here’s my profile if you want to see mine: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/mcahogarth/created). Take notes. Listen to your fans, too; they’ll tell you what they’re willing to pay for, and how often. They want to help you! So let them!

Do it again

Did it work? Excellent. Do it again. One of the side effects of a good Kickstarter campaign is that it gives your fans something fun to get worked up about. They like helping you accomplish something; they enjoy watching the totals rise and unlocking your one or two stretch goals. Don’t let this tool rust now that you’ve mastered it … any time you’ve got a small project that could use some capital, use Kickstarter for a quick injection. Have fun with it!

________________________

M.C.A. Hogarth is a former vice president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the author of over 40 novels in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and romance. She is also a professional visual artist, doodles cartoon jaguars for fun, and has written a book about Kickstarter.

by

Nink Knowledge: You Thought You Knew What Being a Hybrid Means?

This article by Patricia Burroughs is from the January 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. 

One of the great benefits of being a NINC member is access to the wealth of knowledge and experience available in the NINCLINK email loop from writers of all different backgrounds. Recently someone presented a confusing question, “What is a hybrid publisher?”

Most of us know what hybrid authors are. But it took some Googling to discover that there actually is such a thing as a hybrid publisher.

It primarily boils down to financial risk, and who is taking it.

Until the 21st Century, most publishing was what we now call traditional publishing. The publishers took all the financial risks from editing, to publishing, to marketing, to shipping. And the author usually got paid an advance up front!

The opposite of traditional publishing was vanity publishing. These publishers fed off a writer’s vanity (or more likely, desperation) and promised the sky—but the author had to pay all the publisher’s expenses, plus more, and then ended up with boxes of books to market and ship. Vanity publishing was rarely a good idea and almost always ended in frustration for the author.

But after the turn of this century, authors gained the power and ability to skip the traditional publishers and publish their own work profitably. Yes, self-publishing.

We all know the term “hybrid author” as a writer who combines both publishing paths in her or his career. Publishing has evolved its own hybrid, not to be confused with “hybrid authors” any more than it should be with “hybrid cars” or pluots, a hybrid of plums and apricots.

A hybrid publisher is a publisher that—in a perfect world—brings a lot of value to the table that the author usually can’t provide. Namely? Marketing and sales through established access and relationships with libraries, schools, and brick-and-mortar stores.

But it’s not that easy.

One reason there are so many definitions and descriptions of hybrid publishers is because they have widely different business models. Also, different companies that range from legitimate to scammers are using the term.

It’s up to writers to know what to look for and what to avoid.

The simplest and most accurate definition of hybrid publishers is that they combine aspects of traditional publishing with aspects of self-publishing.

In general, the author often provides the book and the money to cover editorial and production costs. This is usually far more than the typical self-published author pays for the same services, even if they hire them done. Thus it’s even more important that the publisher can hold up its side of the bargain.

The publisher provides the knowledge and experience to publish and market the book. This can include providing developmental editors with a background that matches the author and book, as well as later editing, professional layout and covers, and of course—selling books.

How do you get this magic on your team? You pay high publishing expenses up front and then split the royalties with the hybrid publisher, hopefully at least 50/50. Unless your financial investment is low, anything less than 50/50 is not a good deal.

So the author pays huge expenses up front. How is this any different from a vanity press? The publisher should then market and sell the book with a vastly wider reach than the given author could do alone.

This sometimes works.

Let’s just accept that sometimes this actually works out satisfactorily for the author who earns back initial expenses and more. Some hybrid publishers can point to at least a few true successes and connect a prospective client to authors who are willing to recommend said publisher. (If not, it does not bode well to assume that with your book they will suddenly break through and sell thousands or tens of thousands of books when they haven’t before, no matter how flattering it feels to be told your book is special, ‘the one’ they have been waiting for.)

So, again, hybrid publishing can be a good deal. But in all actuality? It’s a long shot.

Beginning with—there is no association or body to monitor or penalize hybrid publishers who are simply vanity presses with a clean, unblemished new term to call themselves.

An author interested in hybrid publishing has a lot of research ahead. Here are some questions to ask and things to investigate.

Are their books editorially curated?

Do they have a gatekeeper and standards a book must meet or do they take anyone who sends them a submission?

Do they provide sound, professional editorial support?

Do they provide developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, and all the steps expected from a reputable traditional publisher?

Do they produce quality books you’d be proud to have your name on?

How do you know? Read as many free samples on Amazon and elsewhere as you can find. If those pass muster, buy some in digital and print, if the publisher does both. Read complete books to see if they maintain the quality you expect. Hold actual print books in your hands and don’t just read them. Compare them to good traditionally published books.

Do they provide a higher than standard royalty since you are subsidizing production of the book?

Assuming the author investment is significant (as it seems to be in most if not all cases) that should be at least a 50/50 split of net royalties.

What rights does the publisher want to claim?

As publishers, they may want more than you want to give. An important question is, do they exercise all the rights they want to keep? Do they actually create quality audiobooks that are selling and getting good reviews (or at least no bad reviews) on sites like Audible? Do they actually market print books to libraries, schools, stores, etc.? If the answer to these or similar questions is no, it’s incredibly difficult to justify a publisher keeping them, no matter what traditional publishers might do. You have more clout in this situation than you do with a traditional publisher. Carefully consider whether you want to let them sit on your subsidiary rights, hoping someday they’ll be able to use them—or better, that they’ll be worth something because of your later success (which may have little to do with this particular book or anything this publisher did).

Perhaps one of the most important questions is what do they offer in terms of marketing and distribution?

Does the publisher have an actual print catalog of their books? Do their books get reviewed in PW, Library Journal, or specific publications and websites that have an authoritative voice and reach in your book’s genre or niche?

Do they have an actual marketing or sales team that will be actively attempting to sell your book, in the way you would expect a traditional publisher to do? Do they buy ads in places that count or promote their list in other ways? Do they have a marketing and sales strategy for your books? Did they and/or their sales team come from marketing at a reputable publisher in your genre or niche? If not, how are they going to be able to sell more books than you can on your own? Being able to point to books in an Ingram online catalog is not proof of their connections. You can do the same thing yourself. Being in the catalog means your book is available for books, libraries, and bookstores to order. But if the publisher can’t actually stimulate sales, how are they holding up their part?

Remember…

A hybrid publisher should bring a lot of value to the table that the author can’t provide. That means not just producing books but selling them.

A publisher that isn’t every bit as vested in making money from your book as you are is a publisher whose business model is based on getting money from writers.

There is no standard definition of a hybrid publisher, what they offer, or what expenses they expect the author to cover. Do your homework and you may find that special situation that will actually make a positive difference to you. Just remember that in this, like many aspects of publishing (whether traditional or self-pub), the odds aren’t in your favor until you’ve done your due diligence and made smart choices.

The IBPA (International Book Publishers Association) has a helpful and informative webpage with downloads, which states their IBPA Hybrid Publisher Criteria and details the IBPA’s “Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book.”

________________________

 

Patricia Burroughs is a Screenwriting Fellow of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, an award-winning romance writer, and in this phase of her career writes SFF. The last book in her YA Dark Fantasy series, The Fury Triad, will be published in late 2019. Her first cozy mystery, Mourning Chorus, will be published by Sweet Promise Press November 30, 2018.

BEST OF NINK

Limited quantities available… Get yours while you can!

Order Your Copy Now

Connect with us