Robin Sullivan 02/11/2018

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Robin Sullivan 02/11/2018"

Imogen Richards
5 years ago
Views:

1 Robin Sullivan 02/11/2018

2 Business Manager for Author Michael J. Sullivan Full-time since 4/ years in the publishing business 10 years doing these seminars (2/2/08) Self-publishing, small-press, big-five Small press publisher for 4 years Michael.Sullivan.dc@gmail.com

3 Author 30 books: 13 published, 4 pending release, 13 unpublished, working on new trilogy Riyria Revelations (6), Riyria Chronicles (4), Hollow World, The First Empire (6), Rise and Fall(3) 1,280,000+ English Language Books Sold 70+ Foreign Language Contracts Self, small-press, and big-five (3 contracts) More than 250 best-of or most-anticipated lists 6-time Goodreads Choice Nominee Presenter at Writer s Digest Annual Conference Online courses with Writer s Digest

4 Reviews, Lists, and Giveaways: Tips and Tricks Revealed 2/11/18 2:30 4:00 Getting the word out: How to market your book prerelease and beyond 3/04/18 1:00 3:00 Legal Matters: Publishing contracts demystified and pitfalls to avoid 03/04/18 3:00 5:00 Publishing Q & A 04/07/18 1:00 3:00 Writing a book from A Z 04/07/18 3:00 5:00 Reviews, lists, and giveaways: Tips and tricks revealed

5 Big-five 3 contracts 8 books with Hachette Book Group: books with Penguin Random House: Small press 3 contracts Aspirations Media Inc.: 2008 Tachyon Publishing (print only): 2014 Kensington Publishing (print only): Self-publishing: 9 books 6 Riyria Revelations: Hollow World: Riyria Chronicles 2015, th Audio contracts: 8 contracts 4 with Recorded Books 4 with Audible Studios 3 Kickstarters Hollow World: $31K The Death of Dulgath $95K The Disappearance of Winter s Daughter $106K

6 2008 one small-press released book 2009 two self-published titles released + re-release of CC 2010 two self-published titles released 2011 four big-five published books in two titles 2012 two big-five published books in one title 2013 two big-five published books 2014 one book: Kickstarter, small-press, self 2015 one self-published: Kickstarter & distributor 2016 one big-five published book 2017 one big-five and one self-published 2018 one big-five release 2019 one small-press released book 2020 two small-press released books 2021 one audio (print/ebook not determined) 2022 one audio (print/ebook not determined) 2023 one audio (print/ebook not determined)

7 Big five Hachette, Penguin-Random House, Macmillan, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins Small & Indie presses Not affiliated with big five, some are very large Amazon Imprints (publishing light) 47North, Montlake, Thomas and Mercer, etc. Self-publishing Vanity Publishing: Xlibris, iuniverse, Trafford Publishing, Author s Solutions, Publish America True self-publishing Hybrid authorship Utilizing 2 (or more) of the above

8 Self publishing: now viable Ebooks: upended the industry Audio books: fastest growing segment

9 Write a great book Edit and re-edit Get critical critique from fellow authors Get reader feedback (beta reading) Polish, polish, polish

10 This seminar is a good start Still a lot to learn do your research Think about your goals Consider your abilities

11 Refer to previous slide: get your book in shape!! Research agents Work on your query Rinse and repeat often Network at conferences

12 Reference books 201x Writer's Market Deluxe Edition 201x Guide to Literary Agents Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents 201x Online resources Query Tracker Agent Query Preditors & Editors no longer in operation Publisher s Marketplace AAR (Association of Author Representatives) US Literary Agents

13 Noah Lukeman How to Write a Winning Query Letter (Free PDF) Query Shark critical review of queries Jane Friedman Writer's Digest Series on Writing Queries Marcus Sakey How to ensure 75% of agents will request your material

14 Send out many queries Michael sent out 100 Robin sent out 200 If a book is getting no traction, write another Michael s 14 th book is the one that was published

15 Don t need an agent submit queries directly to the publisher Still need a query letter Do your research Digital only? In bookstores? Do they edit? What do their covers look like? What are their Amazon rankings?

16 Do it easy or do it right Even more editing Structural, copy editing, line editing, proofreading Cover design: Joanna Penn s Website Deviant Art, 99 Designs, reedsy, Damonza Fellow Authors, Writer s Café at kboards.com Other considerations: Research pricing strategies Determine the title Write the marketing copy

17 Winning a literary prize? Seeing book on bookstore shelves? Making money? Having control? More time for writing books?

18 Are you an entrepreneur? Work for the man or prefer to go it alone. Does your book need structural editing? Are you a good project manager? Do you know how to hire freelancers?

19 Doesn t factor into the path equation Most authors get no marketing from publisher Those that do, it occurs over a very small window (4 6 week) Ultimately only the author will grow their audience Same activities for traditional and self

20 What kind of book are you writing? Series, non-fiction, literary fiction, popular fiction, children s books Do you need the help of others? Answer: yes, you do, so the real question is do you rely on the publisher or build a team? How much control do you desire? Can you produce a book that is every bit as good as a traditional publisher? Will the publisher add value?

21 It ll take a really long time and there are very few slots available Others will decide the price, title, release schedule, and take the lion s share of profits Publishers have become become more rights grabby - must give up audio rights. Contracts WILL be weighted toward the publisher period.

22 Does your book have a market? Can you produce a book with VERY high quality? Does your kind of book do well in the selfpublishing arena? Literary fiction, children's books need traditional Romance does very well in self-publishing Genre fiction such as mystery/thriller and fantasy/sci-fi also does well.

23 How do their other books do? Check the Amazon ranking numbers Will they provide any real value add? Editing, cover design, bookstore placement What is their distribution capabilities? Can you do what they do yourself? It s possible you might be better with self

24 47North, Thomas and Mercer, Montlake, many many more Publishing light Won t be in bookstores Need to be able to earn well with ebooks/audio Low pricing strategy ($ $4.99) Ebook exclusivity all eggs in one basket Better contract than most publishers Many of their authors do well Jeff Wheeler: 7 th best-selling fantasy author (2 books under 1,000 6 books 1,000 s 1 book-2,000s) Charlie N. Holmberg: 92 nd best-selling fantasy author (2 books 1,000 s 3 books 5,000-7,000 2 books 9,000 s

25 Best approach (more options) Very hard to do must be able to get BOTH traditional deal AND produce high quality self works Watch your contracts in particular the following clauses: Non-compete Option clause Indemnification clause or other clauses about next book

26 No path is the right one depends on each authors goals and abilities Sometimes you ll have no choice You control the quality of your work Never sign a contract that you can t live with More opportunities than ever before

27 Write me at

GOODREADS: THE PLATFORM THAT CAN MAKE YOUR CAREER. Michael J. Sullivan Riyria Revelations Riyria Chronicles Hollow World

GOODREADS: THE PLATFORM THAT CAN MAKE YOUR CAREER Michael J. Sullivan Riyria Revelations Riyria Chronicles Hollow World GETTINGPRESENTATIONSLIDES Will be posted to my blog on Monday: www.riyria.com Along