Aloha! I'm Maui Bound This Week!

I am taking off for sun and fun and will be in Maui on a much-needed holiday this week. 

In the meantime, check out my interview series with bestselling author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff - he is the first author to publish a book about Osama Bin Laden and his books have topped Amazon's Bestsellers' Lists!

Aloha - I'll see you in a week!

Bestselling Author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff Shares Secrets Behind Writing Success

Part Two - Interview with Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff

After working as a music composer for television, what drew you to write about such grisly topics – your titles alone sound gruesome: “Killing My Boss” and “Diary of A Madman”? Why did you explore these particular topics?


I wanted to be a writer and I worked as a commercial writer throughout the years. I was always drawn to Stephen King – the grisly, sci-fi type books – and it was in my creative DNA. When I became a 'writer' writer, the horror, darkness and weird stuff just naturally flowed out of my fingertips. When I started my podcast “Pacific Coast Hellway” in my car, I pushed the boundaries of the First Amendment and it was like ‘hmmm, what can I get away with?’ My podcast JUST exploded and became very successful. I was driving in my car screaming into my phone all kinds of crazy stuff. It turned into a full-time gig on Sirius radio five nights a week.

I learned that when I stopped filtering myself – if I just let myself express my crazy, dark evil thoughts – I could actually connect with people. That taught me a big lesson: when I do something MY way, opportunities just come up and turn into a full-time job. I continued to follow this pattern with my writing and books. It always fails some way if I don’t do it my own way and let it loose. If you are an artist – let it happen without letting it happen. Take a process, create and don’t worry about it. I stopped shielding that I have a dark and twisted personality – that’s who I am. I am not ‘Mr. Skittles and Sunshine’. “Diary of A Madman was a foray into extremely twisted fiction with graphic, violent scenes. I got bold and started to podcast my own stories – a serialized novel for “Diary”. I quickly found out there is a huge audience for the really twisted and dark stuff.

For self-published authors who don’t know where to start with their self-publishing journey (especially with ebooks), what are the biggest lessons you have learned? What sage advice do you have to pass along to newbies?


Writing and publishing is my full-time gig. It helped me a lot that I have a footprint online. Google is your best friend. You need to have a presence online; it lends more substance and significance and people will take a chance on you.  It’s one thing to ask your friends and family to buy your book – the people who know you as that goofball who they don't take seriously. Only five percent of your friends and family will pony up and actually buy your book; everyone else will wait to jump on the bandwagon. Brand yourself! The stronger your brand, the more people who don’t know you will take a chance on you. It is one thing to get people to click on your link, but it’s another thing for them to get out their wallet and spend money.
Appeal to people who have interest in your subject matter. I never promoted my nonfiction. I used Google Adwords because I got a coupon. I can’t even tell you how many books I sold that way. All the proper online resources – social media, blog etc. - need to inspire and be worth glancing at. Offer FREE content. The content MUST catch their eye in order to cross your threshold.

It’s REALLY important to remember that every ebook you publish is a long-tail business. With an indie publisher, it’s a long tail philosophy – it’s all about planting a seed. My book “Latte” was a total goof for me. I got a call from Access Hollywood after Lindsay Lohan assaulted her assistant and they asked me to come on the show and talk about Hollywood assistants. This happened in 2008. That afternoon I was in Burbank doing the show, and they showed the cover of my book during the story. As a result, I did a podcast and told some stories related to “Latte”, but I stopped doing it. I didn’t want to be known as “that” guy who wrote a book about Hollywood assistants. I hate being pigeon holed.

The book came out in paperback in 2007. The first year it was out I made “beer money” off the book. I totally forgot about it and wasn’t focused on it. For two years, I didn’t look at my sales statements. In March of this year, I opened up the statements and it jumped from beer money to “car payment” money. What happened??!! I realized that the book had started selling copies. How did it go from nothing to making THAT KIND of MONEY?!! I dug around and found out that when the Kindle 3 came out, there was a huge explosion in sales that coincided with Kindle apps for mobile devices: the more devices, the more people bought ebooks. It ramped up, and now “Latte” is making significant money. It now has jumped to making “mortgage payment” money. It helps that it’s on Amazon’s bestselling list, and has been consistently number one in the subcategory TV/Entertainment. I notice that it jumps up during weekends and sells more copies. On an average weekday, it sells between 100 to150 copies.

My best advice is not to be discouraged – wait a year from now. I don’t worry about doing a big big marketing blitz for a few months. I’ll wait and let my book get picked up by search engines. My sales have grown ridiculously – 100s to 1000s books a month. But lot of factors came into play. I’ve had a presence online for awhile. I have worked full-time as an indie media creator and artist. Since 2005, I have put stuff out there on the internet and it’s grown. I don't have nearly the reputation like other authors out there, but I still have a good reputation and following. I have completed dozens of different projects—all kinds of crazy stuff. I do it different than others. I created a petri dish and experimented, and received valuable feedback as a result.  Your success depends on how hard you want to work and where you focus your time and energy.


Stay tuned for Part 3 on Friday - the last post in my interview series with Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff. Find out what's on the horizon for Mark and his "Angel of Death Chronicles" series! 

Book Marketing Tip #1: How To Handle Negative Online Criticism

After you write and publish a book, it seems like friends, family and colleagues come out of the woodwork. Hopefully, they send along kudos and congratulations. However, there are those curmudgeons who take it upon themselves to put down your successes and efforts. Unfortunately, negativity goes with the book marketing territory.

I tend to ignore the Negative Nellies and Neils of the world, but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire -- in a positive way.

My number one suggestion to authors who handle their own marketing is to make sure you have a solid online presence. Maintain a strong author brand that stands out in an engaging way. You don't need to spend thousands on a website, but make sure your site is filled with positive book reviews and testimonials -- that's the best place to start.

The BEST way to handle negative criticism on the internet is to counterbalance with positive press and reviews. If you sell your book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, check customer book reviews on a daily basis and respond immediately to negative attacks. If appropriate, I recommend including links in your comments -- directing people back to your website, positive book reviews, etc. 

Remember to be respectful and courteous, even if you disagree with the person's negative comments. Everyone loves to be a critic, and people love drama. Just don't give into the drama and remain level-headed and leave your emotions out of the equation. I've had my share of online attacks and criticism, and the storm eventually passes -- people become bored and find another target. 

The reality is that NOT everyone in the world is going to love your bok. People love to state their opinions (both good and bad), so be prepared for whatever comes your way. Don't wallow in other people's negativity. I have seen this happen often with self-published authors. They become frustrated, throw in the marketing towel, and give up altogether.  They take the criticism to heart and go into hiding. 

Remember to consistently stay on top of your online reputation, and you will be ten steps ahead of your book marketing...and the negative naysayers!

 

Self-Published Author Randy Mitchell Shares Personal Experiences With Book Marketing

I'm lucky to work with amazing clients and have returned to my roots of book marketing/publicity in the past few months. I worked for an independent publisher in northern California, and also worked for Barnes & Noble and promoted authors and planned in-store book signings and events.

Instead of rambling on and on about why self-published authors need to market, I went straight to my self-publishing sources -- my clients, Randy Mitchell and Susan Malone. 

I asked inspirational writer Randy Mitchell his insight into book marketing. Randy recently self-published and launched his social media marketing campaign for his first inspirational novel, Sons In the Clouds.

I also picked Susan Malone's brain. Susan is a long-time developmental book editor and owns Malone Editorial Services.  Susan offers in-depth developmental book editing for fiction and nonfiction writers and publishers. Her clients' books (35 books and counting!) have been sold to traditional publishers. 

Susan, why do you think self-published authors are fearful of marketing their books? It seems authors lose momentum after they write and self-publish their books. As a result, their marketing falls to the wayside -- why do you think this happens? 

Susan: The biggest problem for authors in promoting is two-fold. One, the creative part of the writing brain is so different from the business one. For the most part, authors are just terrified to promote because they have no clue how to (and would so prefer not to have to learn!) Promotion feels like having to learn an entirely new skill set, in an area many truly hate.  

The other part is writers truly often HATE to toot their own horns. Although they may in secret believe their books to be the best in the world, they want OTHER folks to say that, not them. And promotion is all about telling the world how great a book is. Add those two things together, and most writers run for the hills!  

I then talked with Randy about his self-publishing journey. I'm really proud of Randy as his inspirational fiction novel, Sons In the Clouds, was nominated for a Global E-book award for Best Visionary/Inspirational fiction.

He's done a fantastic job of marketing his book, and has created a dynamic online presence in just a few months! Randy is proof that,with hard work and professional marketing guidance, it's possible to achieve book marketign success. 

Randy, what "in-the-trenches" advice would you give to self-published authors?

Randy: First, try to get traditionally published. That is the gold standard by which most writers are still judged. Although, my how times are a changin' with e-book capabilities! If one cannot get an agent or publisher to bite, then dive in and get your work out there.

What have you learned about book marketing in the past few months? What helpful tips do you want to pass along to self-published authors who are hesitant to market their books? 

Randy:

When you self-publish you are on your own. But having a terrific editor is a must, as well as having a marketing professional (such as yourself)  to help you. I can understand why authors would be anxious about diving in, but sometimes I think writing a book is only half the battle, and like it or not, it's a business.

If a writer quits after being rejected by the traditional houses, he'll fade into the landscape. Self-publishing gives you a fighting chance, and recently more and more published authors are going ahead and just ditching the old ways because of better royalties and more control over their work.

Social media is wonderful, and I've quickly learned it's nothing to fear. Hire a marketing professional to be your coach (worth every penny) because they command a specific knowledge most people don't have -- the ins and outs of how to get the most from your efforts.

A great success story is Amanda Hocking. She tried and tried to get published and failed. She placed her books on Amazon and now, not only does she sell millions of self-published novels, but she has a million dollar contract with a traditional house. 

My best advice? Just do it! And keep your eye on the ball. The biggest challenge I've experienced? Finding the time to keep up because as you keep going, the workload increases. 

Like you said early on, sticking with your marketing is THE key. Never stop, even if you don't see results for awhile. Then one day, something happens (like my Global E-book nomination) or an agent comes calling,

Great tips and advice, Randy and Susan! 

Stay tuned - I will offer more helpful marketing tips for self-published authors in the upcoming weeks!