Michael J. Sullivan hosts a Q&A discussion

It's a crazy time right now in publishing. So much has changed even in the last year. There are so many more options available, but with those choices also comes confusion, fear, and doubt. As one of the few authors who have traveled each path: Self, Traditional, and Big-six I've seen publishing from all sides. I'd be glad to share my experience or opinions with new or aspiring authors about any number of subjects...so ask me anything.

Hi Michael,

What marketing tips, (whether social media or traditional) would you have for a first time author who has self published? I have an ebook out so far, and am going to get my book published through Amazon CreateSpace.

My ebook is available through all the major online outlets, i.e. Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

I have a Facebook fan page for my book and a Twitter page. I need to get a website and blog up.

Thanks,

Dan
www.thehiddencrystal.com

Hi Michael,

When it comes time to publish my first novel do you suggest I try to get published with the Big-six first or go straight to Self? Also Along those same lines any suggestions on finding an agent?

Thank you,

Brannigan

Hi Michael -

First, congratulations on your success! It's always an inspiration to see others go where we want to go...

I echo the others about marketing - I only have so much time in the day and would rather spend it writing new books, but I know I need to do something to let people know my books are out there. I've found that leaving them in Amazon without promotion is like watching someone drown! Their ranking keeps getting bigger and bigger and soon they will be lost in the Amazon! I hear so much about blogging, netowrking - here and other sites, doing book launches, playing the rankings game in Amazon with the free option and likes and tags and reviews...

May I ask, what has been most effective for you? Oh, and money is a huge consideration!

Thanks for sharing!
Liz

Hi Michael,
Totally enjoying your books at the moment, thanks for those:)

I have an observation rather than a question at this point. You wrote The Viscount and the Witch as a marketing move to draw people in to your other books.. or was there some other reason to write such a short story?
Whatever your reply I shall be writing a short story to offer for free, drawing readers into my other books, thanks for that!

Michael:
Thanks for hosting this discussion,and I especially look forward to your feedback since you've done this publishing thing from every angle possible.

My questions fall in line with the others that are posted, so I'll simply add a "ditto."

For the record, I chose to go with an indie publisher because of all the crazy changes happening in the industry. It seemed to offer the best opportunities for where I'm at as an author.

With all that said, I'm always looking for wisdom per marketing since there are SO many authors out there and there is SO much info (a lot of which is useless) per selling the dang thing. By the way, your wife's blog/website has been a fantastic resource!
J.E. Lowder

Question:

With Harper Voyager recently making their big announcement about opening up for direct submissions (albeit for a short window), do you think that this is a signal that there is something wrong with the current quality or quantity of projects being pitched to them by literary agents (for whatever reason)?

From my point of view, I would think that if the process of using agents as a feeder system was working well, Harper Voyager would have no need to go around them. Perhaps they are just looking to cut out the middlemen as well and save some money by not having to pay the commissions? Which would be a shrewd business move.

Just would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Daniel wrote: "Hi Michael,

What marketing tips, (whether social media or traditional) would you have for a first time author who has self published? I have an ebook out so far, and am going to get my book published..."

Daniel, I've scratched the surface to your question here. Check it out and ask follow-ups as needed.

I concur with your assessment of needing a blog/website. Createspace for print is a great idea - but will be a very small revenue stream (overall). Concentrate on your blog/website first!

@Brannigan Great questions.


* As to whether you should start with big-six or self-publish, your answer can be found here.

* Answer to about finding an agent can be found here.

@Elizabeth - thanks for the congrats.

As to your question about what marketing works best, it depends on where where you are...new author, established author, somewhere in the middle. I answered it for "new authors" here but if you want to learn about other stages just ask another question.

@C.M. Glad you enjoy the books!! Yes I do think it is a good idea to have a short to feed into a novel or series. I've written more details here along with some tips not to forget when doing so.

@J.E. - Yes there is a lot of information overload out there, and things do change VERY fast. I think the best thing is to follow the advice of people who have been successful (so glad you are following my wife's blog - she is dealing with some family issues over the past many moons so no recent updates, but hopefully she will be getting back to that at some point).

To that end. I've picked out some books by some people who I think are really smart and very successful: H.P. Mallory, John Locke, Carolyn McCray, Bob Mayer. Here is a link to them, All are rather short and if you follow what they suggest you'll be heads and shoulders ahead of "everyone else."

@Mathias - The Harper Voyager thing is very interesting, and I think ultimately a bad deal for authors as they can get the same themselves and retain higher % of income. I went into more detail here.

Good questions guys...keep them coming.