I Read A Really Helpful and Interesting Marketing Blog, and Decided to Plagiarise it :)

Here is an excellent marketing post, all about selling products to people.

I urge you to go read it, and after you do, come back here. Because I'm just going to relate all seven of his points to selling fiction e-books.

1) Proof/Track Record

This is something you need to build on with every title. For instance, Amanda Hocking went to the top 25 titles in the Amazon store with her last book. She sold 250 books in 2 hours to achieve that. Now 250 may not seem like a lot, but considering that once upon a time books were not considered to sell much more 150, and considering she was in the top 25 of over 700,000 titles, it isn't a stretch to bill herself as a bestselling author.

In fact, according to the Wikipedia definition of bestseller, it would be entirely accurate.

• "A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains."

And again, with the important bits in bold...

• "A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its [and] inclu[ed]sion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains."

Okay, so Amazon isn't really a chain, but it is the biggest book store in the world, and has more weigh than bookstore chains nowadays.

If you have a few books already out, use this to justify people buying more copies of your book. Show people how much you are already selling. 90% of people are inherently sheep, and have herding instincts. If they think lots of people are buying your work, they will too.

2) Pedigree

I wouldn't go into "I have a creative writer's degree" but your pedigree should certainly be part of your author bio, especially if it fits your subject matter.

A police officer who writes crime fiction...
A sex addict who writes erotica...
A serial killer who writes thrillers...

There is certainly something to the theory that you should write what you know. I don't agree with it entirely (if I did, I wouldn't be working on apocalyptic zombie slash) but if you have a pedigree, flaunt it.

3 and 4) Endorsements

I've grouped these together because often an author (the authority) is also a celebrity. The big publisher's do this well, where a more established author (ie Robin Hobb) will be quoted on the cover of a debut author's novel.

I'm not going to lie, this will be difficult for an indie author.

5) Social Proof

Point 5 talks about testimonials, but in fiction what that refers to is of course reviews. A good review will help to sell your fiction. Whilst you shouldn't get your friends to post positive reviews for you, and neither should you try to coerce people into buying your stuff, you can pimp out positive reviews as much as you like. Link to the best reviews from your blog or website, mention them on Twitter and Facebook.

6) Logical Proof

The general view of indie work is that it will be shoddy. Logical Proof (if A=B, and B=C, then A must equal C) is a simple way to prove you have a high quality product when you don't have any of the 5 previously mentioned selling points.

Consider this. "If the cover is good, and the sample is good, then the novel must be good..."

Although this is the 1st point to become important, it is still important once you have achieved the 5 previous points.

I haven't included point 7 because people don't really use metaphorical proof to sell books.

Anyway, these are just some points to consider when marketing your books.

Pizza, Marketing, Audiences, and more

With the first novella due out in September, thoughts now turn to the best ways in which to market it. Should we do as publishers so often have, and change it to fit a perceived market? Or leave it as is, and hope a market exists somewhere?

Well, there are a few scenes which, if dumbed down on the gore factor, would send the novella on its way to being a YA title. Matilda chain smokes and swears all the time, but as she is a Victorian lady the worst she goes to is "Bloody Hell." This is option A.

The most gruesome scene is one where the demon Sephyr rips apart a man. There's nothing really equal to that in the novella. However, the next one will be a zombie story, and the gross-out factor there could be high. The natural alternative to option A then is to leave everything in. People being dripped apart, the description of a female vampire drinking blood that was literally based off of a female orgasm, the (mild) swearing, the chain smoking and the child sacrifice. Oo-ooh, did we give away too much? Anyway, fans of things like Conan the Barbarian etc will like this novella. This would be option B.

Now for a tangent

Jim Butcher, Changes, Spoilers

Here at Scathach we are big fans of Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files. We lovey long-time. At the end of the latest novel, Changes, Harry Dresden is apparently killed. Maybe. It's kind-of vague. Anyway, Jim Butcher has revealed that when he submitted his book to his publisher his editor refused it. Butcher had to send in the first 4 chapters of the sequel before the editor okayed. The editor also refused to allow the sequel to be called Dead. Now it is to be called Ghost Story.

(For stories of why other indies have went independent, drop by this blog on the 20th of August for our Indie Blog Carnival).

Bringing it back in

This is part of the reason we are independent here at Scathach. So that we don't have to change what we write to meet the dictates of someone else's view of what the market can support. But the question today is, should the story change depending on our view?

We don't think so. The story written is the story we want to write. Changing it could fit the story to a certain audience, but only by taking it away from a different audience. This is what the big publishers have lost. When you "fix" a book to appeal to as many people as possible you do so by removing the things that make each book unique.

Pizza

It's like a pizza shop that only sells 1 type of pizza. You don't put pepperoni on it cause some folk don't like pepperoni. You don't put any meat on it, cos you want to sell to vegetarians. No mushrooms, no peppers, no pineapples. Pretty soon all your selling is Margharitas.

And that's when the indie pizza places open up, even if each one only sells one type of pizza each, they'll still gain an intense gathering of loyal followers. Much like indie authors will.

So the story stays as it is. Going forward from here, we must identify our target audience. After that, we work out where to target them. And we crack the Twitter/Facebook problem. Huzzah!

Oh, and last point, Pleasure and Death is now officially a working title only.

Running Naked Through the Wilderness and Wild Sex Al Fresco

Apparently, it is important to relate to readers, to bare all. And so we want to share some things about Scathach Publishing, bare our soul.

• We don't like to run around naked.
  
• We don't like to run around naked outside.
• We're not even sure what sex is (and we've no idea where these 3 kids came from. Anybody want one?)

There are 2 approaches to being online, and as authors you should be aware of your choices. You can have the completely transparent 100% out there approach, and run naked through the online wilderness if you want. This is a warts and all approach, and could be something that would work really well for the indie author.

Big Publishers like to keep it all mystical. Big Authors add to the equation. There is something so secretive about the whole publishing thing. Masonic handshakes, secret codes, conspiracies, etc. Agents on their blogs reveal only 2 kinds of manuscripts; the crap they don't want, or the great stuff they do. But as writers
we know that none of this is actually true.

Manuscripts start off as so much crap and go through various stages of revision, becoming work that an agent will fight for. All the shit of the slush pile could (perhaps) be revised in its entirety into something an agent will fight for.

Why keep all these stages secret? If you're indie, you have the final say in what gets published. Announce your synopsis up front, post early drafts on your blog or website. Don't be cryptic (J. would make a great villain. P. is in love with S but I'm finding it hard to write). Be completely and utterly open and honest, from the start, about your W.I.P.

This idea might be destined for failure. It could be the worst move you've ever made. Or it could cement your readers to you, give you reader loyalty like nothing you'll ever experience. The fact of your honesty, coupled with your readers realising just how much effort goes into producing a finished novel could make them love you. Blog exactly what your editor says. Let them know how much your cover cost. Have them witness every step of your journey.

We think we're going to do this, at least once.

Look, you're not a NY Publisher. Stop thinking like one.

Of course, the other way is to lie. Lie about everything. Lie through your teeth. You're a fiction writer, so live the fiction. Blur the lines between truth and reality. Scathach Publishing is One Man Alone yet we write in the royal plural. If you have a problem with that, take it up with our queen.

People are interested in your books, so brand build around that. Give them what you promise them. If you offer drama, author some drama. If its sex you do well (writing about it, obviously, you gutter whores) then give them passionate steamy sex. That you write about. Don't imbed your home vids inside the blog, cos that's just TMI.

You don't have to bare your soul to connect with your readers. You don't have to run naked through the internet wilderness. Most of you probably wouldn't do it in RL. So why do it online? By all means, though, flash the flesh (or the soul) if you feel it will help. And if you do something and it is a complete fuck up, stop and do something else.

Hope this helps. Now you tell me, do you live the lie or embrace the soul-baring nudity?