Improving Traditional Publishing

Business of Writing, Publishing Changes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDeath_to_stock_photography_weekend_work (10 of 10)

Recently, I was asked if I’d ever consider writing for Penguin or another publisher again.  I never like to say never because never is a long time in publishing.

But things would have to radically change for me to go back.  The amount of income that I bring in by self-publishing is far greater than the amount I bring in with trad-pub (although I have fewer self-published titles).  There would have to be some real incentive.

After some thought, this is what I came up with:Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engineBlog (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

5 Ways To Check If Our Ending Suits Our Genre:  http://ow.ly/QmHVG @AnthonyEhlers

How to Develop an Outline for Our Novel:  http://ow.ly/QmI0i @farrtom

An author’s views on marketing can change over time:  http://ow.ly/QmI5D

Groundhog Day: Streamlining the Story:  http://ow.ly/Qn7Mf by James Napoli    Continue reading

A Changing Marketing Mindset

Business of Writing, Publishing Changes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigAt Conference

My firstborn will be leaving home for college in a couple of weeks and it’s put me in a reflective mood.  This is unusual for me, since I’m ordinarily not even reflective at the end of the year.

My first traditionally-published book was Pretty is as Pretty Dies in 2009.  At the time, Kindle wasn’t even really making a ripple in my consciousness.  I had an author friend of mine at a signing to tell me that he had a Sony ereader and it seemed sort of Star Trekkish to me. I couldn’t imagine wanting to read on one or what the potential benefits might be.

I’d thought the same thing about personal computers when I became introduced to them in the 80s. The contraption looked like an unwieldy typewriter to me and I couldn’t conceive how it could be useful to me.  Then the internet came into play and suddenly computers were life-changing for me in every way…ingraining themselves into my routines and habits.Continue reading

Using ‘Free’ as an Incentive

Business of Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigLITTLE FREE LIBRARY

Free book promos aren’t for everyone.  Some writers are passionate about receiving payment for their hard work.  Other writers don’t yet have enough published work to offer one of their books for free. It’s possible, also, that writers of standalones might not find as much value in a free promotion as series writers.

For me, I’ve found that free book promos do have their place.  I use them often.  In fact, at least one of my books is always free.

I don’t like the idea of Kindle Unlimited (KU), because I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket.  I’ve also found that anytime I cut back on any platform, I hear from readers.  And I hate making readers upset.

Instead, I use Amazon’s price-matching policy to make my books free.  In the past I’ve used Smashwords (a book distributor) to make my book free on other retailers (Kobo, etc.) and then Amazon has rapidly matched the price.  I’m now experimenting with Draft 2 Digital (another distributor), which I’ve really enjoyed dealing with so far.  You can make your book free on Nook with Draft 2 Digital, which does put pressure on Amazon to match the price quickly.  Also (and I’m straying slightly off-topic here, sorry), Draft 2 Digital seems much easier to work with.  More on them on their FAQ page.Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engineBlog (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

For any curiosity seekers, I released my ‘cozy zombie’ book last week. :)  

How to Polish Your WIP Before Sending:  http://ow.ly/Q2lRG @ava_jae

Mini Writing Retreat:  http://ow.ly/Q2lV1 @JulieMusil

No More Love Triangles, Please:  http://ow.ly/Q2mxf @srsharms @bookriot

5 Things To Remember When Building A Blog Tour:  http://ow.ly/Q2lH5 @MistyMassey

5 World-Building Tips for Writers of All Genres: http://ow.ly/Q2mga  @SaraL_Writer           Continue reading

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