Category: Business of Writing

With Self-Publishing, We Control the Future of a Series

Business of Writing

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigPretty is as pretty dies

For years, I belonged to several email loops with other traditionally published mystery writers.  We would share information and resources with each other and were on a blogging schedule to contribute to the group blog.

Eventually, I dropped out of all of these groups.  One of my failings is my lack of patience and another is my overwhelming desire to fix things.  These two issues combined with a dose of me-trying-to-be-professional meant that I was constantly biting my tongue while reading messages from these loops regarding author issues with our traditional publishers.

I was especially sad on the occasions when an author would apologize for having their series canceled.  They would be in the process of pitching another series to their agent and/or publisher and would offer to drop out of the blog since they weren’t sure if they were going to continue being contracted writers.Continue reading

Goodreads Author Q&A

Business of Writing, Promo Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigblog3

I ran across something a few days ago that I thought I’d share here—although I’m probably the last person on the block to find out about this.  It’s the Goodreads Author Q&A.

I’m trying to do better about visiting Goodreads. The truth is that Goodreads can be a scary environment for writers. Reviews are especially harsh there and there have been incidents involving author bullying in the past. To be fair, there have also been authors who have behaved poorly on the site.

When I’m on a site like Goodreads, I make it a point to keep a low profile.  Otherwise, it’s almost like author intrusion when authors butt into reader conversations.

That being said…when I was recently asked how I’ve been able to garner reviews right out of the gate…it’s been those Goodreads giveaways.  And the site is popular with avid readers.Continue reading

Why Do Women Read More Novels Than Men?

Business of Writing

 by Warren Adler,  @Treadmill Cover (A10)

There is ample statistical evidence showing that adult women read more novels than men, attend more book clubs than men, use libraries more than men, buy more books than men, take more creative writing courses than men, and probably write more works of fiction than men. If, as a demographic, they suddenly stopped reading, the novel would nearly disappear.

A recent perusal of the New York Times fiction best seller list, scoring sales of print and e-books combined, showed that of the fifteen titles listed, eleven were written by women. Indeed, women are the bulwarks of the novel trade. Those statistics could lead one to also believe that the reason for such disparity is that stories told in novels, the characters, plots, insights, inner thoughts, experiences and wisdom offered are skewed to reflect a female point of view.Continue reading

What is “Word of Mouth” in Today’s World?

Business of Writing, Promo Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraighear

I read an interesting post on Sunday.  It was from author Pedro Barrento for Indies Unlimited and titled, “Word of Mouth—An Urban Myth?”  The post engendered lively comments from other writers.  Barrento states: “…word of mouth in literature is a fantasy. It simply doesn’t exist.”  He clarifies that he’s not including influencers, Amazon’s recommendation algorithm, etc. as word of mouth.  He’s defining it as an actual verbal recommendation.  Which, considering it’s called word of mouth, makes sense.  He believes that while consumers may be influenced by others’ recommendations for music, they don’t buy long-form products like books based on recommendations. Or, they’re so slow to act on recommendations (slow to purchase, slow to read, slow to pass on a recommendation to others) that word of mouth isn’t a contributing factor to the meteoric success of some of today’s most popular books.

There isn’t (naturally! This is publishing we’re talking about) hard data on how readers discovered the last book they read.  So instead, I thought I’d explore what word of mouth is today.  I’m thinking that, as times have changed, the way we recommend products to others and influence purchasing has changed.Continue reading

Readers and Self-Pub

Business of Writing

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDeathPaysaVisit_ebook_Final (1)

As a writer who is both traditionally-published and self-published, I have an admission to make.  I work very hard on my traditionally published books.  But I work even harder on my self-published stories.

I’m not saying my self-published stories are better.

But I want to make sure that each element of every book is as good as I can make it.  I don’t have a huge team behind me for my self-pub…I have a small one.  And I don’t want to let the readers down. I feel more accountable. I feel determined to make sure the quality is as good and that my readers won’t notice a difference between series.Continue reading

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