This post features an interview with Stephanie, the cover designer behind Alt19 Creative and addresses the important topic of book covers, images, and copyright! Some of these facts might surprise–or even shock–you!

Over the past few years, I’ve seen and heard of multiple issues regarding book covers, images, and copyright. As an author, I deal in words. I’m pretty familiar with how copyright works there.

But when it comes to things like images and book covers, I know I’m not the only author who isn’t always savvy. It’s just not our niche or space to know the ins and outs. We might make a lot of assumptions that are totally incorrect because it’s not our wheelhouse.

From the blogging world, I know that using the incorrect image can result in massive fines. (See my post on stock photos and images for more on this and some stock photos sources!) The same can be true when it comes to our book covers and related images or illustrations.

Because, again, this is NOT my wheelhouse, I sent some questions over to Stephanie of Alt19 Creative to discuss things authors should know and may not know regarding book covers, images, and copyright.

A little about Stephanie … she is the book designer at Alt 19 Creative and has worked with me on multiple books like my royals series and the rebrands of the Love Clichés. Whenever I have questions, she’s my go-to!

AN INTERVIEW WITH A BOOK COVER DESIGNER ON BOOK COVERS, IMAGES, AND COPYRIGHT FOR AUTHORS

When an author gets a cover from the designer, where and how can they use the cover?

Most cover designers will retain the copyright of the cover and license it to you for use for your book cover design only and anything related to the promotion of the book.

Very few designers offer what is called “work for hire” (this is for the United States—other countries vary). Work for hire means you, the author, will retain the copyright of the final cover design. This is rare and would be costly. In this situation, you can do whatever you want. However, if stock images were used to build the cover, the underlying stock images have a license attached stating the original photographer/artist retains the copyright of the image(s). Therefore, only the final design of the cover belongs to you.

In most cases, your designer has terms and conditions on their website, or they will provide you a contract regarding the book cover. Be sure to read over this fine print for specific details regarding on what you can and can’t do. If they don’t provide a contract or what you can and can’t do with the cover, be sure to ask if you are concerned. Some cover designers will only provide when asked, or they don’t have enough experience to know what needs to be laid out in the contract to cover themselves as well as the author purchasing the cover.

ALT 19 Creative’s statement: Because we want you to be as successful as possible with any book cover we design, we’re not strict when it comes to copyright as long as you follow the underlying licensing for any stock images used in a cover created by Alt 19 Creative and as long as you don’t change anything on the cover without our permission. Our terms state that we give you “exclusive rights” to use the artwork for your book cover and associated promotional materials for an indefinite time period. We also state that you are responsible for the licensing rules of the images and fonts used. When you purchase a cover from us where we provide custom illustrations (including the characters and background), you are given exclusive rights, including merchandise rights, again, as long as you don’t change anything without our permission.

Can they author crop or edit or manipulate the cover? What about dropping down for social media images?

In most cases, you cannot make any changes to the actual design of the cover, which includes cropping, editing, or manipulating in any way. If you are cropping just to show a sneak preview for a promotional aspect, that should be okay. Always check with your designer if you are unsure.

Social media is a promotional tool. Most cover designers give you the rights to use the cover for promotion.

Can authors create and sell swag or merch with the cover or illustrations taken from the cover? (If they can’t sell it, can they make it and give it away?)

Authors can create and sell swag or merchandise with the cover or illustrations taken from the cover ONLY IF the underlying rights to any images used allow this.

Most stock providers, including Shutterstock and Deposit Photos, require additional licensing if the stock image is to be used on merchandise, even promotional merchandise that you make and give away. Most stock images are downloaded with a standard license. For merchandise, you would need an extended license. This cost of this extended license is anywhere between $49 to $99 for EACH stock image used. In some cases, 10 or more stock images were used to create a cover. Purchasing an extended license for each image would be costly. If you do want to create merchandise with your cover on it, check with your designer to see what stock images were used.

Follow up – if authors want to sell and create merch from illustrators or cover designers, what permissions do they need? Is there a cost for this?

If stock was used, purchase the extended license for those images directly from the stock provider to cover yourself legally.

If custom illustrations/photos were used, be sure to ask what permissions you have for those. If not for merchandise, ask what is needed to do so.

Also, some stock providers prohibit use of stock images on POD (excludes books in most cases) products using services such as RedBubble. Always be sure to read that fine print, no matter how much your eyes gloss over.

ALT 19 Creative’s statement: If you order custom character covers from us, you are given exclusive rights to sell the illustrations on items such as stickers, t-shirts, bookmarks, etc. You can’t sell the actual characters to someone else to use on their products (DUH!).

Sometimes fans get into this. If a fan is creating and selling merch or swag with covers, is that okay? What should authors do if they see this happening?

This can be a very gray area as well as a public relations matter. However, if the fan is selling the merchandise or swag, in most cases, it technically is against the licensing and copyright, especially if a cover designer or stock provider polices the use of their artwork.

If you find this happening, you need to ask yourself if it bothers you. If not, I wouldn’t worry about it. If it does, you could reach out to the person selling the item with the cover and mention there are licensing/copyright issues with them selling the item. They are profiting off of your success. You could also ask your cover designer about it. The cover designer would have every right to send them a cease-and-desist statement. Just know there may be a public relations backlash with doing this.

On another note, if you have a wildly successful book that people are wanting to create swag/merchandise using the book cover, you and your cover designer could always come up with a licensing arrangement to offer. Disney, the NFL, and many other companies offer official licensing of their brand, of course, for a (lofty in some cases) fee.

Can you think of anything else authors maybe don’t realize about covers or working with a designer?

The most important takeaway is to cover yourself!

Back when scrapbooking was the rage, I did design work in the industry. One company created stickers using a personal use only font. They were sued and lost. When it comes to fonts, be sure you are using ONLY commercial fonts. Check that your designer is only using commercial fonts.

I often do interior formatting where I didn’t design the book cover. For cohesive purposes, I often want to use the font used on the book cover for certain elements of the interior. I’ve had a lot of cases where the original book cover designer, even so-called professional ones, used personal use only fonts for the cover design. This cannot happen! As an author, do your due diligence to make sure the right rights are in place to release you from any liability.

Many years ago, I was working with an author on the interior of her book. She had another designer for the book cover. The cover designer used an image of a (unknown at the time) celebrity/model on the book cover (from a random image they found on the internet), unbeknownst to her. The celebrity-model sued her for a lot more money than her book ever made.

When real people are used, even if used to create illustrations, it’s important to have a model release. Most legitimate photographers and stock providers have model releases on file. Free stock sites such as Pixabay and Unsplash do not require model releases. Use these stock sites at your own risk (preferably, don’t use them AT ALL).

Fiverr designers are notorious for not following copyright issues. Buyer beware! If you hire one to create illustrations for you and they use a stock photograph as a base to trace, did you know that some stock providers will tell you that you need an extended license for that even though it’s a derivative work? I don’t believe it would hold up in court but who wants to go to the trouble of going to court? Cover yourself!

Another note regarding Fiverr . . . I’ve had to send cease and desist emails to Fiverr because certain providers would pop up on their site USING MY BOOK COVERS in their portfolio. I know the appeal of getting something cheap, and yes, in certain countries, what you pay them is a fare wage. However, would using them be covering yourself?

Did I say cover yourself (and not just with clothing)? 😊

Although I’m not a lawyer, I have been working in the industry for a very long time. If you ever have any specific questions, I may be able to answer or at least point you in the (hopefully) right direction.

Wow. There are a LOT of things that authors might not consider because design isn’t our main profession. But we are in a profession, so we need to make sure we’re being careful (or covered–wink, wink) when it comes to images and fonts.

I think the best thing to do is make sure we’re sourcing things from reputable sources. Use paid stock photo sites. Use designers who know what they’re doing. Ask for contracts and make sure they have purchased the correct licenses for their images used. Make sure you have commercial fonts and that your images licenses are the right ones.

If you want to reach out to Stephanie, you can find her at Alt 19 Creative! I’m so grateful for her information and to have her as a resource!

This post contains some great resources for fiction authors to help with regional words, idioms, and other tools for your writer toolbox! 

Do you have dinner or supper?

Do you drive on a highway or a freeway?

Do you drink pop, coke, or soda?

Personally, I have dinner, drive on freeways and highways interchangeably, and drink coke. Unless I remember that I’m actually drinking Diet Dr Pepper, never Coke.

All that’s fine–until you go to write a character who lives in a particular state where they would drink pop where you are writing soda. Or they might say y’all when you say you guys.

This post chock full of resources for fiction authors will not only address regional variations (those are all in the United States) but other helpful things we may need to build our characters and stories!

RESOURCES FOR FICTION AUTHORS

Map of Regional Words by State

Y’all, have a Coke while driving down the highway.

Idioms with Racist Roots

This is SO important to consider. Idioms are familiar, yet we don’t always know the connotations or associations.

Names for Animal Groupings

I love these so much! A murder of crows is my favorite. For the record, we decided for our family, we are a horde of Oliphants.

British Swear Words in Order of Offensiveness (this is super helpful to those of us NOT in the UK)

I’m not sure if these are ALL accurate in their order, so you might want to ask a British person. I know we don’t want to talk about our fanny packs or our wind pants unless we’re hoping for a chuckle.

How to Write Skin Tone (from Writing with Color–this WHOLE Writing with Color site is great)

If you’re writing diverse characters, this is hugely helpful. The whole site is fantastic.

Legal Fiction FB Group

Have legal questions? This is a great Facebook group to ask some of those questions!

Cops & Writers FB Group

Have questions about police procedure? Guns? Crime scenes? This is where you go!

100 Most Commonly Spelled Words

Who DOESN’T need this?

 75 Most Commonly Mixed-Up Words

Compliment or complement? Everyday or every day?

Writing Good Sword Fights

I am not left-handed…

Writing about Horses

I encourage–neigh, I DEMAND that you read this before writing horses.

681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Writing

Don’t jump the gun and put all your eggs in one basket with an overused phrase.

11 Commonly Misused Phrases

For all intensive purposes, you should drink an expresso while reading this.

Tips for Writing Fight Scenes

This one without swords…

How to Write a Great Sex Scene

No explanation needed for this one.

How to Write a Perfect Kissing Scene

When sex is just too much…

How to Write Different Religions 

Find out about the faiths you may not be familiar with.

Writing Tips from 40 Experts

Good things to know from the start…

How to Vary Sentence Structure in Your Writing

Because you don’t want them all to be the same–do you? Huh. Maybe I’m wrong.

A Writer’s Guide to Flowers and Herbs

This is a short list but will get you started!

A History of Technology 

To make sure you’re not using a floppy disk when you should be using a compact disc.

I hope these are some helpful links to save you time researching those little (but important!) details in your books!

I’ve covered a lot recently on author platform this year, but I almost never talk about craft. It’s time! If I wanted to rename this post, instead of How to Write a Bestseller it could be called Write Good Books to Sell More Books or Sell More Books with Your Craft. 

LISTEN TO EPISODE 204- HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLER

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

HOW TO WRITE BESTSELLERS

At least, a little. I literally have a master’s degree in fiction, but craft isn’t my favorite thing to teach. Mostly because it’s subjective. I do sometimes work with authors one on one regarding craft, but I find the focus on selling easier for ME.

WHY? Because authors are emotionally invested in their craft. So, discussing this is hard. We either think our books are amazing or terrible, and we have a lot of feelings on the subject.

People don’t always respond well when they ask why their books aren’t selling and the answer is: your writing.

OUCH!

I know it hurts. I’ve sat silently through critiques in grad school while people shredded my work. Just … destroyed. I got over it. Having a beer at the bar with everyone after helped. For today and this post though, we’re going to try to look a bit more objectively at our own craft.

CRAFT LIVING, BREATHING, FRESH CHARACTERS

The key to writing bestsellers (IMO) isn’t a clever premise or something no one has ever thought of before. It happens when a writer creates characters that resonate with readers. When readers get emotionally invested in a book, it’s usually because of a character or characters. They gobble up the book and then get the next one. They tell friends. They get OBSESSED.

This means that your primary characters as well as your secondary characters should be compelling, fresh, interesting, and create an emotional connection. It’s amazing as readers that we can relate to so many different kinds of characters!

I think a big part of this happens when we see the soft underbelly of that character. We see their weaknesses and hurts.

But, wait! Don’t people love strong characters?

Yes, they do. But when they characters have no chinks in their armor, no weaknesses, no flaws, no pain, they seem very … other. I’ve realized this the hard way when I’ve created very STRONG characters that might wear a lot of armor, that unless I show what’s underneath the armor early on, readers have a more difficult time getting invested.

As writers, we KNOW their flaws and secret pain. We know the hurt. And I’m not saying we shove all that into the first chapter, but readers need to be able to relate. To see the humanity. The brokenness.

When characters come alive off the page–and not just the main characters, but strong secondary characters as well–the readers become invested. Maybe even fanatical.

START STRONG WITH A GREAT FIRST CHAPTER

I’ve already mentioned making sure the characters at the start seem relatable. I also think that first chapters matter A LOT. If I don’t finish a book, it’s usually because I stop in the very first chapter.

Hooking readers happens right here in chapter one. As you go back to edit, make sure that you’re spending a GOOD amount of time on this very first chapter. Keeping it interesting, anchoring the readers in the story, dropping some hints as to what will come, and making them fall for your characters.

That first chapter has an undue burden, but it definitely does matter on how much the readers are invested.

• Check out my workshop: Hooking Readers from the First Chapter 

MEET AND EXCEED READER EXPECTATIONS

You need to know your genre and the reader expectations. I do think genre matters. And even if you’re doing literary or general fiction, it may be harder as some of the expectations might be more broad, but still you need to read and be familiar with other comparable books. It needs to fit inside of a genre. Some books straddle, but this is difficult to navigate. Be aware of that going in.

But you can also subvert and surprise reader expectations. I love putting twists on tropes. You know the adage: know the rules so you can break them? We can also know the expectations so we can put a twist on them.

An example from one of my books: in Managing the Rock Star, there is a fake relationship to help the rock star’s tarnished image. Totally common storyline in rock star romance. But the fake relationship isn’t between the two main characters. One of the main characters sets her love interest up in a fake relationship for PR purposes and then has to watch while he’s pretending to like someone else. This created delicious tension. I don’t market it as fake relationship, but the trope is still in there. Surprising. Fresh.

GET REAL AND HONEST FEEDBACK

One thing I’ve started adding into my process is a paid beta reader who reads for STORY and then we talk about what does/doesn’t work. We discuss the character motivations, places that might be slow, things that needed more time.

• I use Midnight Owl Editors for this!

Depending on where you are in the journey, you could find critique partners in your genre, developmental or content editors (paid), or a few beta readers. I’ve pulled beta readers from my ARC team when there are people who provide feedback that was helpful. You might have some ARC readers who are great with story. Some … not so much. This can be a bit riskier just in terms of the kind of feedback you’ll get.

• Read more: ARC and Beta Readers

You can also hire a coach. This is something I have done (but am not currently doing) and I know that it can really help to have someone else’s eyes on your big picture and your words.

CHECK REVIEWS

While reviews are a form of feedback, I’m separating them. Why? Because this is a different kind of feedback. My ARC team is awesome. But many of them are there because they LOVE my books. Even if I tell them to leave honest reviews, it’s always a four or five star. They might not mention issues.

If you are selling a lot of books and NOT getting reviews… that can be feedback in and of itself. It may mean people aren’t reading after they buy (like, if you have a free promo, they might pick it up and then not read for a while) or that they DNF the book. Or, they read and it was just okay, so they didn’t leave a review.

When people have strong feelings, they leave reviews. And those reviews can be a GREAT place to mine for information on how to strengthen your craft.

(To keep perspective, my most popular book has over 500 reviews, but has sold 10k copies. Even when you write a book people LOVE, the percentages of reviews is low.) 

Should you JUST listen to your readers and reviewers? Heck no! But it can help you to consider the things that people saw as weaknesses in your books as well as the strengths. If you don’t like reading through them, hire a PA to do this and distill down the reviews into what they see in terms of how you can improve your craft.

IGNORE “BAD” BESTSELLERS

But what about those terrible books that sell a billion copies? And what about those really awesome underrated books?

A few quick thoughts on this. The first is: stay in your lane. When we’re looking around too much at what others are doing, we get upset and unhappy. We spend undue time getting frustrated and outraged. Get over it.

Second, sometimes poorly written books still have amazing characters. Or, they have a storyline that hooks people. We are wired for story. Sometimes an author might bumble through prose but have characters and story so compelling that readers just snap it up. Some genres have less discerning readers who will overlook a LOT for the sake of just hitting all the reader expectations.

As for great books that don’t sell … sometimes that’s a marketing thing. When you’re just starting out, the world is crowded. You have to get seen. (For more help with that, check out my post Why Isn’t My Book Selling.) 

Sometimes though… we aren’t seeing our book clearly. People talk about beer goggles. Well, sometimes we’re seeing our own books through author goggles. We see our books for what we want them to be, not what they ARE. And we might need some realtalk telling us that our books are not the bestselling machines we think they are.

FINAL THOUGHTS – HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLER

Craft is something we grow from. I have a master’s in fiction. Am I still taking craft classes? YES! Do I still pay people to look at my work? YES! Do I still make mistakes and wish I could rewrite books I’ve published? YES!

Don’t get to a point where you think you’ve learned it all because you have a degree or sold a lot of books. Continue to develop your craft through writing and through taking classes or hiring other people to look at your work and help you make it better.

Writing is art. It’s also craft. And in this world of indie publishing, we also need to think of it in the broader landscape of marketing. It’s also … business. At least, if you plan to sell books. 🙂

I’ve talked recently on social media for authors, but wanted to highlight a specific platform that I’ve been using more and seeing results from and discuss Instagram for authors.

I think that most social media platforms have potential to work for you if you understand how they work and make it your goal to connect with the correct audience. (As opposed to authors who accidentally gather an audience of other authors, rather than fiction readers, by posting author-y stuff.) This year, I dove into Instagram, a platform I’ve been on since 2014 and not really used well since that time.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 203- INSTAGRAM FOR AUTHORS

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

INSTAGRAM FOR AUTHORS

About the platform

Each social platform is different. Instagram, which is under the FB umbrella, is visual, based primarily on images. Some people use lots of text, utilizing the posts as microblogs, or shorter-form content in the image description. Hashtags are vitally important on Instagram. It’s a very simple platform with people you can follow or not and the ability to send messages. There are no groups or pages vs profile. It’s pretty… simple.

Here’s a tiny map of all the things you can use on Instagram. Because oh, right–it’s not THAT simple.

Main feed – people post pics/short videos (square)

Stories – These are videos, images, photos (vertical) which disappear after 24 hours, available when you click on a person’s profile image. Can save them for longer by creating highlights that will show up as little circles above your feed and save your stories there

Reels – These are IG’s version of TikTok, basically 15-30 second videos with popular music attached. Can upload video from other program or create in instagram. Can show it in your feed or only in the reels feed. Can see  a reels feed above the regular feed, pushing the reels icon which looks like a square director’s thingy with a play button.

[IGTV – Any video longer than 30 seconds becomes IGTV. Can go live and do interviews or video or you can upload video for this. Icon looks like a little TV with a tiny lightning bolt across it. ***IGTV has been removed as of 2021.]

Guides – Not a lot of people using them yet. They appear at the top of the feed as well as a little newspaper icon.

HOW INSTAGRAM WORKS

There is an algorithm to the feed. Like FB, you’ll see the things they think you want to see. The more you interact with a type of content or people, the more you’ll see.

You can follow people, but you can also follow hashtags to see strangers you don’t follow who have used a hashtag in the feed. You can search for hashtags and see the top hashtags in the feed (a great way to be discovered) or you can search the most recent hashtags.

Like other platforms, they tend to favor what they want to favor. Right now, that’s reels. You might see more traction or show up on a search page or for a hashtag if you’re using Reels.

A lot of people will use the same filters, the same kinds of images, or count the images so every third or every other is one kind of image so there is a curated and beautiful feed when people look. This can be images you take, stock photos, etc.

Instagram is primarily used via the app, though there are more options rolling out to desktop now, and some schedulers that you can use, where in the past you couldn’t. You can schedule though FB’s new Creator Studio, through your Facebook pages.

WHAT IS BOOKSTAGRAM?

Because Instagram is simple and just based on the kinds of content above (feed, reels, etc), there isn’t some page or group called Bookstagram. So, when people refer to Bookstagram, it’s referring to content creators and people who are involved with the content on Instagram centered around books.

Popular Bookstagram hashtags to look for: #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagrammers #bookstagramchallenge

The primary people creating content in this bookstagram community are readers. They often start by posting reviews of books they buy or own, but as they grow, they receive advance or review copies from authors or publishing companies. This is something being utilized by traditionally published books as well as indies. Some bookstagrammers tend to use one or the other–more indie or more traditional, while some are a mix.

Authors are also using these hashtags, either for their own reviews of different books or to discuss their own books and attract bookstagrammers to their content.

HOW TO GROW ON INSTAGRAM

Follow hashtags to see content and new creators. Follow creators. Engage authentically with them by commenting and liking posts you actually like or have something to comment on. Get ideas and inspiration.

Don’t join follow/engagement loops or groups. I’m not a fan. It’s not authentic, and Instagram doesn’t like it. Do it at your own risk. These are small groups of people trying to make sure their content does well, so they have a small group on insta or elsewhere and every time one of them posts, they all go like, comment, or share to give engagement.

Don’t follow advice that’s super specific on gaming the system. Follow-for-follow strategies or advice on liking X number of posts and commenting X numbers of times to see other people follow you … just no. Engage authentically with what you’re actually interested in and people you like. Over time, this pays off in a more organic and authentic way.

Use relevant hashtags. Find a few people to watch who are doing well in your genre. See what they’re doing and what they’re posting. Use the hashtags they’re using. A mix of hashtags with tons of follows and some that are smaller is a good idea. I’m not giving an ideal number or telling you whether to put it in the post or the first comment. I use however many I want and have them in the post itself.

• Hot tip: To easily grab great hashtags, use Kindlepreneur’s hashtag generator!

Post consistently. Whether or not you have an intentional visual aesthetic in your feed that’s consistent or not, do consider what you’re going to post on instagram and post consistently, each day or a few times a week.

Engage with people. If someone comments on your post, respond. If you love someone’s post or they mention you, share it in a story. This is a great way to show off someone else and to have them notice what you’re doing. I’ve had authors share my content in their stories when I’ve tagged them in my stories or posts. (Again, don’t expect this always, but just engage and behave in the way you wish everyone does. Sometimes this comes back to you or not.)

WHAT ABOUT PAID OPTIONS?

I would not at all suggest paying bookstagrammers for reviews or posts. At all. There are some great book tours on instagram that will ask you to send review copies (ebook or paperback) and provide a giveaway prize. They’ll take signups and vet people and then arrange for when everyone should post.

I’ve used these two companies: Prism Book Tours and Just Read Publicity Tours. They’re both affordable, do quality work, and helped me connect with people over time who really grew my account with the right kind of people. I did not do blog or any other tours with them, just Instagram.

Like any other social media site, you can choose to dig in and find your people to see results. If you want to see this platform work for you, make sure your readers are ON instagram. Look for specific hashtags for your genre and see what authors and bookstagrammers are posting.

Your book cover MUST be great. Your book MUST be great. You want people to want to show off your book in the feed. You want them to write good reviews. Before spending time here and investing trying to build, check to be sure that your genre is active and represented and be sure your book is ready.

The first month I published a book in 2018, I made $115. Which totally excited me! People were reading my book! I wrote and published a book! But the goal was always a CAREER. I joked (but not really) about building an Emma Empire.

Three years later, I made $26k in February 2021 and am slated to make over $20k this March. Want some takeaways? I’ve got ’em!

(In the episode for this, I mentioned a deeper training, but I’m not going to do that. You can still go to Deep Dive and find some good resources!)

LISTEN TO EPISODE 202- LESSONS LEARNED IN THREE YEARS AS AN AUTHOR

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

LESSONS LEARNED: MOVING FROM $115/MONTH TO $26k

Over the past few years, I’ve learned a lot. Many things… the hard way. I’ll hopefully share what I did wrong in another post, but here are some big takeaways as I’ve moved to a new income bracket.

At least, for now. Here’s the thing: this is a fickle business. Things are great now. I’m scrappy and smart, but things change month to month. That is super important to note. Also? If I’m not clear about this: there isn’t some simple success formula. I’m sharing what works and what worked for me, but there are so many factors involved.

I want the BEST for you, so here are my best tips and takeaways.

DON’T DO THINGS THAT WASTE TIME

Have I mentioned my biggest pet peeve? It’s other people wasting my time. I also don’t want you to waste your time. Can we all agree to stop doing things that waste time?

I’ve gotten specific about this in other places, like Episode 171 and Episode 148. As I worked and grew, I learned what things that might have worked when I was doing a lifestyle blog did NOT work to move the needle as an author.

Here are a few things that waste time:

Growing social media numbers, especially Twitter. These social things don’t usually bring in book sales and often the quick methods people use are growing NUMBERS not really READERS or FOLLOWERS.

• What you should do instead: grow your email list!

Blogging. So many authors are asking me if they should blog and what they should blog about. Blogging can work. It falls under content strategy. But guess what? Most readers just want to read books. The blog world has changed. Blogging CAN work (read this post on how), but it’s usually not going to bring book sales or traffic, and instead just be one more thing you’re trying to spend time growing.

• What you should do instead: write your books!

The biggest things that you should do: write books, grow your email list, and learn marketing as you go. Set aside some learning time for books, podcasts, YouTube videos, and paid trainings to help you on your journey.

DO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST

This is always going to be the foundation of my author platform, and probably what I’ll always suggest for yours. I’ve explained the why of this before, but email has so many benefits. If you’re going to do just ONE thing, this would be the thing I’d suggest.

Here are a few resources:

Author Email Lists in 2021

How to Build Your Email List

How to Promote Your Book with Newsletter Swaps

Email isn’t everyone’s favorite thing. But we’re creatives! You can totally do this. It’s a great way to connect with your readers. It has been shown to sell more books than social.

DO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER AUTHORS

Oh, man! One thing that really helped me was forging relationships with other authors! We have each other’s backs. We encourage each other. We help promote each other’s work.

Yes, there have been some rocky times, and I’ve got some tips to avoid those.

But overall, you can learn so much from other people in your space. Before I had books out, I tried to make myself helpful in groups. I gave freely, hoping but not expecting things to come back to me.

There are groups all over Facebook by genre. Find some groups for your genre and dive in. As always in groups, pay attention to the group rules and the feel of the group before you jump into posting or asking questions that might be answered in the welcome post or something.

DO READ AND KNOW THE MARKET

I did this all kinds of wrong when I first started. It’s not always easy, especially when you’re maybe studying a category that’s allllll over the place. Bigger categories usually are. Smaller ones can be too. But you want to learn to look at information like publisher–is it an indie or not?

You can try to market your books like traditionally published books, but remember those books have a publisher behind them. With money. And relationships with bookstores and Amazon that we don’t have.

Our covers need to be more on the nose. They need to be clear right from the start. Our books need to hit the tropes and things readers expect for certain genres. Spend time reading and looking at things like blurbs, covers, and reviews to see what people like and don’t like about the genres.

DO CONSIDER TRENDS, BUT DON’T CHASE THEM LONG TERM

The first series I started to write was my Sandover Beach series. I LOVE those books. I wanted to write beach books. And they just sold … okay. Over the years, especially after getting new covers, they’ve sold MUCH better.

But when I published my first billionaire book? I made it to four figures and stayed there ever since.

The funny thing is that I felt super eye-rolly about billionaire books and started writing one making fun of billionaire books. Like … a meta satire. Just for fun. And then I fell in love with the character and stories. I realized that as long as I wrote characters I liked, I could follow that trend I had rolled my eyes at.

Here’s the thing: trends come and go. Seeing and capitalizing on trends can help you. It definitely helped me find new readers as I was just starting out.

But chasing trends isn’t a great choice for longevity. If you keep chasing every trend that comes along, what will readers know to expect from you? Who ARE you? This will tie into the next one.

And you might want to check out my post on writing to trend vs writing to market.

EXPERIMENT, BUT WITH THE GOAL OF CARVING OUT YOUR OWN SPACE AND BEING CONSISTENT 

I experimented a lot. I tried trends, I tried various multi-author projects and went down some rabbit holes. Sometimes you have to do that to find out who you are and to find out what works for you.

BUT. It’s important to land somewhere. Become the writer you want to be and keep it consistent for your readers. Let them know what to expect from you. When you deliver what readers expect, it builds trust. When you go off-path and off-brand, your super-duper fans may follow, but you may lose some people who are confused by the departure from your norm.

I’ve realized over time just how important this is, and I’m working on creating consistent content: clean romcoms with humor and heart. I have some backlist series to finish up, but my new direction going forward is this one. Period. Departures will go into a pen name.

Who are you? What do you want to write? What do your readers already expect? Can you find an intersection between what readers are looking for (trends) and what you want to write? That’s a happy place to be.

Then keep showing up with that kind of content.

Does that sound overly simple? Sometimes, I think it is. Find out what readers want from you and what you want to give them. Then hunker down in that sweet spot and get cozy.

I hope these tips help! I’m still working hard, watching the numbers, and planning to keep on building the Emma Empire. It’s taken some highs, lows, and for sure some frustrations.

But it is a joy to write things I love and also make money doing so! Isn’t that the dream???