by Kasia | May 4, 2016 | Blogging, Business, Self Publishing, Writing
April. Birthday month.
My son and I share a birthday. It’s awesome and annoying at the same time.
This year it fell on a Saturday, so the night before I went out with friends and on Saturday had a party for him. It was lovely. He was spoilt as usual. I was a little too. I even sold a few books this month and finished writing the third one in the series.
One of my goals for April was to enrol Lethal Instincts into KDP Select. The purpose is to giveaway as many books as possible and to get people to sign up to my email list (I’m still trying to figure out how that is supposed to work!) Check out below how many books were given away and how many sold and all my other monthly stats including queries and income.
The purpose of offering the first book in the series for free is to get readers onto my mailing list. More people on the mailing list means more readers buying my books. If platforms like Amazon, Kobo and the others change their policies, I still have readers to sell books to, directly.
By the end of May I’ll have three books available on Amazon, I’ll finally be ready to start doing some marketing. Many authors will tell you that it’s a waste of time and money if you don’t at least have three products to your name. What’s the point in spending a fortune when there’s a chance that people are going to forget you?
I agree.
We live in a fast paced society that craves content and wants everything right now.
I know I do.
I can’t remember what I read yesterday let alone what I did last month unless it really piqued my interest.
This tells me two things: it’s much harder to engage with readers because of the overload of content out there and that I need to slow down and enjoy the moment.
I need to take a breather and enjoy the moment. Well, there’s a holiday coming up so I’m looking forward to a bit sunbathing and cocktails by the pool and nothing but trashy romance and heart-stopping thrillers to get through in between building sandcastles, paddle-boarding and jet skiing. So much to do, so little time. I’m hoping to enjoy a few Espresso Martinis. Hmmm, yes please.
But before that happens, let’s get down to business.
Business By The Numbers in April
Queries sent: 3
Responses: 2
Accepted: 1
Follow ups: 0
Income: $278.06 (this is from pitches that were accepted in March & April)
Books sold: 4
Books Given Away: 111
Income: $6.38 (almost double the previous month!)
Total writing income: $284.44 (+8200%)
May Goals
1 – Publish Lethal Aftershock – Book 3 in the Lexi Ryder Crime Thriller Series. Lexi’s world is turning upside down. She doesn’t know who to trust. The law is fuelled by bureaucracy rather than justice. The trajectory of Lexi’s life is taking a turn she didn’t expect but was inevitable. It’s time Lexi took the law into her own hands. Trouble is brewing. Trouble is her middle name. I’m excited that book three is finally coming out. I should have scheduled the editor earlier but these things happen. We live and learn. Lethal Aftershock is out mid May!
2 – Write and schedule two months of blog posts. I’m aiming to publish two times per week, so that’s 16 posts. I’ve got the ideas now just to execute them. I’m stretching myself very thin and I want to spend more time with my family so schedule posts and writing them in advance will ensure that I have more time and energy to be with my son throughout the week while still taking care of the business side of my personality. I’m a working/business mama and there needs to be a balance although sometimes there’s no such thing.
3 – Send out 30 pitches. Writing books costs money. Starting a business costs money. I want to earn a full time living writing books but before that happens I need to freelance my booty off. That means writing about personal finance, health and fitness, travel and anything else that tickles me fancy. I’ve worked that I have a 10-20% positive response rate so that means if I send out 30 pitches I should get 3-5 writing jobs. I’d prefer a regular one but I’m happy with one-off’s if they bring home the bacon!
4 – Affiliates. I need affiliates on my site to make extra income so that I can continue writing and producing. I’ve got a few project ideas up my sleeve and there are a lot of products that I love using and would love to share and recommend with you. They are making me a better and more productive writer and author-entrepreneur. Have you got an author blog yet? Check out my post on How to Start An Author Blog.
5 – Run more. I signed up for the Gold Coast Half Marathon in July. I’ve run a couple of times as well as the full but since having my son I’ve been running sporadically. Signing up for a half marathon changes that. I need to run a minimum of three times per week for at least 30-60 minutes. Writing is a sedentary activity unless you have a treadmill desk (does anyone use these? Would you recommend them?), so signing up for a half marathon is a great way to stay in shape, refresh the mind and work on story ideas in a productive way. Gotta love multi-tasking!
6 – Sell and giveaway 500 books. Lethal Instincts and Lethal Disposal are both available on Amazon. Lethal Aftershock is coming soon!
7 – Get 20 email sign ups. Baby steps. I’m currently sitting on 7. So I need another thirteen. If you want a free copy of Lethal Disposal, all you have to do is sign up for my email list.
Did you achieve your April goals? What are you planning for May?
by Kasia | Apr 17, 2016 | Self Promotion, Self Publishing, Writing
As an indie author it’s easy to get go into overdrive and work 24/7. The days stretch as you work well past sunset, burning the midnight oil, and giving your family reason to call for help.
Being an independent author is hard work. It’s even harder if you want to sell books and make a living.
I don’t believe in the overnight success story. It doesn’t exist.
We don’t see the gruelling hours, the lost sleep, the tears, the small wins and bigger setbacks that happen before we make it. What does ‘make it’ even mean these days?
Is it to be published? To sell 100 books per month? To earn $100,000 per year from your novels?
Making it, means something different to all of us.
Last year, I would have said publishing my debut novel, Lethal Disposal, was making it. I made it. I officially became an author. I guess that can be classified as a success. After twenty years of dreaming and hiding, I finally took the plunge.
My biggest worry was that I would stop. That once the book was published I’d be over it.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, it depends on your perspective, I want to keep on writing. I want to keep on publishing.
But it’s hard work.
So while it took me twenty years to publish my first novel, I’ve set a goal to publish six in 2016. I want this to be my business and the only way to do that is to write fast, write well, and publish frequently.
The good news is that I found that the faster I write, the better I write. Because I’m writing faster, I’m writing more which leads to improvements. As a writer, you want to continue improving for as long as you write. The moment you think you’ve got nothing to learn, nothing to improve on, is the moment you stop caring and start losing the passion.
Now here’s the bad news. Writing isn’t the only role of the independent author. Not if you want to be successful for the long haul.
You have to be a business person as well. Your books are your business and so you have to put on numerous hats. You are a writer, editor, proofreader, creative designer, logistics director, event coordinator, marketer, cheerleader, accountant – have I missed anyone?
Being an independent author-entrepreneur is hard work. If you’re not up for long hours, sweat, tears, head-scratching-wondering-in-the-middle-of-the-night why the hell you’re doing this? Well, you might want to reconsider what you really want.
Being a successful independent author is not for the faint of heart or for the lazy.
Being successful at anything requires hard work, time, passion, constant motivation when everything around is against you, perseverance and tough skin. If you want it, you will get it done.
Having a team in place can make the author’s life easier. But finding the right team isn’t a simple process. It takes time, trial and elimination.
Just as there are millions of authors out there, the market is also saturated with editors, proofreaders, designers and formatters who want to help you, but at a price. Nothing in life is free and you shouldn’t expect anyone’s service for free, but if you’re spending money you want to get quality service.
Cover Designer
A cover will help sell your book. While we should judge a book by its cover we tend to do it often. What makes a great cover from a mediocre one? It depends on your tastes. Some like simplicity, some business. Some prefer texts on colour, others want pictures to tell a story. You’re never going to please everyone but you want to please your target audience.
I’m happy with the cover designers I have used. I’ve used two and both do an excellent job although one is slightly outside my budget. The other I was surprised that I had to source my own images, but I guess that’s the price of wanting to spend less.
I recommend:
Ebook Launch
Robin Ludwig Design
Editors
Editing wise, I’m still looking for the one. I’ve used an editor in Australia and a proofreader in the UK. Both at completely different price spectrums.
Finding an editor that meets your budget, has the right experience, and enjoys your genre isn’t easy. Editors are very valuable and necessary for an authors success. But does a higher price put a higher value on an editor? Will the editor you pay $2000 do a better job than the one asking for $500?
Not necessarily.
It’s all about word of mouth and trial and error in self-publishing. Each book is a new lesson learnt.
The process will seem frustrating when you do it the first time, but much easier once the second book roles around, and even easier when you’re on your third. That doesn’t mean the writing or selling gets any easier.
It’s still damn hard work. But if it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it.
I’ve used:
Jewel See Editing (AUS)
Helen Baggott (UK)
Cheerleaders
You need a cheerleader too. Someone in your life who will push you through the tough moments. It can be a partner, a best friend, a parent. A person who supports you and believes in your dream.
If you have a family, you’re going to need a person to do more than their share of the house chores. Just because you’re at home writing your novel doesn’t mean you’re not working.
I’m fortunate to have three main cheerleaders in my squad and they know who they are. It’s nice to know someone is anticipating my new book and will definitely read it. They also tend to give me feedback that I trust.
Readers
You need readers. Without them, you’re not going to make any money or get any feedback. But finding readers isn’t easy. Nothing seems to be in this field. But it’s not impossible either.
Start with your immediate circle of family or friends. Can you find 20, 50 or 100 potential readers? They might buy your first book. The second time around only half will. By the third, you’ll find that maybe 10-20% of your family and friends will buy the book – you can’t rely on them forever. Hopefully if they’ve enjoyed your book they will pass it on to family and friends of their own.
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool.
Then you need to start promoting on social media through word of mouth, anywhere and everywhere you can. It’s hard work but it’s worth it once the sales start trickling in.
Writing itself is a lone activity but there’s a lot going on in the background that requires a team of awesome individuals to make the writer shine. Each one plays their role, each one is a piece of the puzzle in the writer’s life.
The Optional Extras
As you progress in your business you’ll find that you need to outsource some of your activities – unless you’re super pedantic, organised, and a control freak and need to do everything yourself. You might find yourself looking for reliable contractors for website management, accounting, and marketing among other things.
These people can help make or break your business. Be sure to find people that you can rely on. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Talk to family and friends. Check out other authors websites. Ask around on social media. Build a team that will help you create an awesome writing business with your books.
Writing itself may be a solitary activity. Once you make the decision to go public and publish, you need to start building your team. Remember, this is your business, your future, your image. Make it the best it can be.
Who makes up your writing and publishing team?
by Kasia | Apr 2, 2016 | Blogging, Business, Self Publishing, Writing
The first quarter of the year is done and dusted. How did we just get through three months of the year? I’m not ready for quarter two yet. The fact that we’re in April already is a scary thought for more than one reason, it’s birthday month, which means I’m year older and my son turns two. We share a birthday. It’s pretty awesome and annoying at the same time.
Did March go according to plan? Not exactly.
One of my goals was to send out pitches. And I did. Whilst I haven’t earned any money from them this month, April is looking good, so hopefully I’ll have more to report on the financial front then.
I applied for some writing jobs through Problogger and was surprised to get responses from a couple of them. I’ve written an article for one on health and fitness and am waiting for a response – feedback or payment would be nice. Another health & fitness site offered me a writing position but after responding to them for some clarification they went silent on me. I’ll follow up to ensure my email didn’t get lost in their junk mail.
One of my pitches was to a personal finance site, I received a response that at present they don’t pay writers but are happy to exchange guest posts. I’m definitely up for that. A little bit of cross promotion and writing for a different audience. Then, I never got a message back. Another follow up is in order. If I don’t get a response I’ll be moving on.
Why didn’t Lethal Aftershock get published you ask? Hmmm, well, in part budgetary constraints may have played a factor, exhaustion, a busy social calendar and mixing up priorities. Shit happens. I’m still on track to publishing 6 books this year. One down, five to go.
Freelancing By The Numbers
Queries sent: 21
Responses: 9 (38% response rate!)
Accepted: 4 (19% success rate!)
Follow ups: 0
Income: $0
Books sold: 3 (USA) – I haven’t done any promotion.
Free Books: 0
Income: $3.42
Total writing income: AUD$3.42
April Goals
April, my favourite month of the year. If things don’t happen in April then there’s a good chance I might slack off for the rest of the year. That’s not allowed. It’s time to shift gears and work smarter.
A) Publish Lethal Aftershock
B) Enter Lethal Instincts into KDP for a 90 day trial – use free promo on day 2 (2 days), and day 30 (1 day) and day 60 (2 days). The purpose of this is to get sign ups for my email list.
C) Send out as many pitches as possible – really push myself (I’d love it if writing paid for my Hawaii trip in September)
D) Clean up one of my blogs and figure out how to monetise it
E) Strike a balance between working and living. I spend way too much time working, really I do. My family is starting to notice. So in April I need to start being more present, more active. It’s about finding a balance and working smarter not harder.
I have a goal to sell/giveaway 10,000 books this year (my dream is to sell 100,000!). Want to help me out? Lethal Instincts is available for $1.99 and Lethal Disposal for $2.99. Buy Lethal Instincts, sign up for my reader email list and receive Lethal Disposal FREE! Plus regular updates and future freebies. Interested in being a beta read? I’ve currently got an opening for 5 beta readers – you need to enjoy the crime/thriller/mystery genre. Shoot me an email if you’re interested!
How did March treat you? Any big plans for April?
by Kasia | Apr 2, 2016 | Writing
My goal is to read 52 books in 2016. These are the books that I’m reading and my thoughts on them. When you read dozens of books, it becomes hard to remember what they were all about, so I’m making notes and posting monthly on what I’m reading. Do you have any books you’d like to recommend? The below contains affiliate links so if you click and purchase I may be compensated for them. I need to support my reading habit somehow!
March was a poor month reading wise. TV was to blame. I’m not a fan of just sitting there watching mindless television, but when I stumble onto a series I really like, well, there’s no getting me away from the screen until I’ve watched every episode available. That’s what happened in March, but that’s ok. My brain may have needed a recharge and that’s exactly what happened because the muse showed up unexpectedly with a surprising story idea that I’m excited about and will share in the future. I need to see where it takes me first.
So without much further ado, here’s what I read (and watched) in March.
IZombie – Season 1
Ok so this isn’t a book. It’s a comic and a television series. My brother recommended the series. At the start I was like, yeah this ok. I can watch it when I’ve nothing better to do. Bt the end of the first episode I was hooked. A brain-eating zombie helping a Detective solve crimes and battling her own love-drama. What’s not to love? The premise does sound a bit out there but the writers of the show, Rob Thomas, has done an outstanding job. IZombie kept me up till well past 1am when I’m normally tucked in and snoring by 9. I’m looking forward to season 2 but I’m going to have to stop myself from watching it in one sitting!
Hitler’s Forgotten Children: My Life Inside The Lebensborn by Ingrid Von Oelhafen & Tim Tate
I found this book interesting and easy to read. It tells the story of a woman who wants to learn where she came from and who her family are. Having been lied to as a child and finding out that she had been stolen from her real family during WWII. The history is horrific, the atrocious acts that people were capable of are beyond comprehension and yet, they occurred….
Lebensborn was a camp or home in which Hitler and the Reich were planning on creating the perfect race to take over the world. Thousands of children were born there or placed there after having been stolen from their parents because of their appearance and the Reich’s belief that they were genetically ideal. Scary, interesting and completely fucked up. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
In His Shadow by Tiffany Snow
An erotic romance with action and thrills. The first half of the book dragged on a bit for me. It wasn’t until about half way that I suspended disbelief and enjoyed the rest of the story. It’s a fun read, the characters are true to romance form and if you enjoy this genre you’ll probably enjoy this book. Fortunately, there was more romance and drama than erotica.
What are you reading?
Can you recommend any awesome television shows – drama, thriller?
by Kasia | Apr 1, 2016 | Business, Writing
You will never be successful. Most people won’t, not in the way that they dream of anyway. Success is a result that comes from the daily choices we make. Hard to believe but what you did yesterday does have an impact on how someone reacts to you today.
I’d love to tell you I’m kidding and it’s just an April Fool’s Day joke but the truth is you’re probably not willing to go the extra mile to get somewhere in life. You’re stuck in your little comfort zone fooling yourself that it’s exactly what you want when deep inside you’re wondering why everyone else is creating their own success doing what they love while you’re stuck in the background torturing yourself with groundhog day.
Success isn’t rocket science. It’s a combination of talent, luck and hard work – not necessarily in that order.
I’d break it down to 98%hard work, 1% talent, followed by 1% luck. In that order.
Work hard —> Develop a talent —> Attract luck
The thing is my friends, talent and luck seem to follow hard work around like a hungry dog follows a bone.
Does that mean every one who works hard is going to be successful?
Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s a little bit more involved than that.
Let’s say a mechanic who goes to work at five am and comes home at six pm. He works 12-13 hour days, fixing cars and working hard. Day in, day out. Yet, at the end of the month, he doesn’t bring in any money. Whatever he did he either spent on materials, bills or miscellaneous crap.
Is he successful?
Depends which perspective you look at. Sure, he’s successful in that he doest a great job fixing cars. But he’s not successful when it comes to having a business that supports his family. He’s working twelve hour days for nothing. Unless, that scenario is his own definition of success.
So, before you start working your butt off doing anything and everything, it’s best that you figure out your own definition of success so that you can draw out a path and stop wasting time.
I’ve wasted years working hard in every job that I take. I despise slacking off. If you have a job to do, you do it at the best of your ability, then you can go home. Sure have a two minute chat with the coworker, check your Twitter followers, post a photo on Instagram, but goddam it just do the work.
I work hard in my day job. I sit behind a desk and I churn out the work. I have good days and bad days but I work hard. That doesn’t mean I necessarily work smart though.
I’ve always known that success requires relationships. You cannot be a success without other people around you, no matter what you think. They are either your cheerleaders, your mentors, your clients or your peers. You need quality relationships to be successful.
Over the years, I neglected building relationships. My confidence deteriorated and I felt like I couldn’t connect with people; that people didn’t like me. The problem wasn’t them. The issue was that I didn’t like myself and that reflected on how people looked at me.
Relationship building is still hard for me. I’m an introvert. I like my solo time. But as I get older I realise that I enjoy socialising too. While I couldn’t be one of those people with an event on every single weekend, I do like to see friends, meet new people, and I’ll try anything once.
One important lesson I’ve learnt is that success requires you to step out of your comfort zone. Not just once, but every single day. You need to move past your irrational fears. You need to develop confidence (even if you’re faking it at first), and you need to challenge yourself.
Success equals hard work. But it also requires smart work. Nothing worth having ever came easy, and the longer you expect it too, the less likely you are to become successful.
Ask anyone who’s running a multimillion dollar business, become a bestseller, won a marathon, finished an Ironman, or travelled the world. None of these things would have been possible without the hard work that came before it.
Not everyone is talented, not everyone is lucky. These two things are not within our control so why worry about them?
Hard work on the other hand is within our control. We make the choice to slack off or to work hard. Sooner or later, talent will follow, and luck won’t be far behind.
I’ve realised that there is no one definition of success, not for you and not for me. We are three dimensional and so are our dreams. We need to consider the big picture but also concentrate on the day to day things that may seem trite or boring and refine our definition on a yearly basis.
My big picture of success is to have a location independent lifestyle earning high six figures after tax from my writing, owning several investment properties, my own big house, and spending three months of the year travelling with my family.
That’s not going to happen over night.
It will require me to get out of my comfort zone, expand my boundaries, take risks, and push myself to the outer limits of what I think I’m capable of. I’m capable of anything I set my mind to, and so are you.
Humans are smart creatures. We’re adaptable. We might not like change but we adapt and move on. The ability to learn is an extraordinary one because you can reinvent yourself on a regular basis.
If I had focused on the little things when I first started dreaming then I’d probably be almost there. I’d have that success but instead I’m in my early thirties and wondering what happened to the past ten years.
The good news is that it’s never too late to get started.
And so last year I started looking at success differently. I’m different today to the person I’ll be in a few years. My comfort levels are going to change too. The bar needs to be set higher. That means my definition of success will change too, so I have to refine it on a yearly basis.
In 2015, success was finishing my first novel and publishing it. That was an enormous success for me. It was the year of purchasing a block of land that we want to build our family home on. That’s two things to bring me closer to the big picture goal.
In 2016, success is changing jobs and earning more money, spending more time with my family, writing and publishing 3 books and 3 novellas, building our family home, and spending a week in Fiji and another in Hawaii. It’s March, I have changed positions at work which I’m happy about, I’m spending time with my family on a regular basis, I’ve published one novella, I’ve drafted two novels and am preparing another novella for publication, I’m also in talks with builders about starting on the construction of our own home. Getting all these things done will make 2016 a successful one. That’s my definition for the year,. What’s yours?
In 2017, I’ll refine my definition of success to wherever I’m at around Christmas time.
It’s easy to set goals and have dreams but much harder to attain them. Success varies from person to person, year to year. We’re all here on a journey and sometimes we lose focus of that journey by focusing too much on the destination.
If you ask me what I plan on doing once I reach that location independent lifestyle, well, I’ll probably keep writing, keep spending time with the family, and refine my defintion of success.
Take a moment to think about how you define your success. Consider the big picture. Let yourself dream big. What do you really imagine to be successful?
Great. Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
What will make 2016 a successful year for you? Are you willing to step outside your comfort zone to achieve it? How are you going to challenge yourself today, this week, this month to be successful and live your dream?
