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Richard Nash- Literary Savior?

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Richard Nash- Literary Savior?

Richard Nash at Muse and the Marketplace

I recently attended the Muse and the Marketplace literary conference in Boston.  My hope was to learn more about the publishing industry, rub shoulders with some agents, and meet more fellow authors.  The event was beyond my expectations and I learned a ton.  The agents however, were a bit beyond reach.  People actually paid $140 for an agent to read the first 40 pages of their manuscript and give them feedback.  That blew my mind along with the agents’ attitude that they were still the gatekeepers of publishing.  We Indie authors know different.  But this article isn’t about agents; it’s about Richard Nash, the main speaker at the conference.

Richard Nash is a leader and forward thinker in the fast changing world of publishing.  He ran Soft Skull Publishing for several years than sold it to start Red Lemonade and is currently working on a new project called Small Demons.  At Muse and the Marketplace Boston literary conference I saw him speak.  Despite his business suit and professional demeanor he was still quite quirky, which I liked.  I just don’t relate to anything that resembles normalcy.

First he started with a look back in history at a time when there were no publishers and anyone who could write was guaranteed a good living as a scribe.  A contrast to today’s world where there are so many struggling authors.  The number of books has increased significantly over the last few years due to self publishing but the number of readers has not.  Simple economics will tell you that when the supply goes up and the demand remains the same the price will come down, hence the free and 99 cent eBook.

The New Culture of Algorithms

Today there are those who would lead you to believe that when it comes to books it’s not about content, it’s about culture.  An example of culture today is the overemphasis on the highly desired Facebook ‘Like’.  Nash compared the overuse of the ‘Like’ to a debased currency.  Another example of culture today in the book world is the Amazon.com ‘people who bought that book also bought this book’, the unemotional unfeeling algorithm, the mathematical masterpiece that is devoid of a reader author relationship and exists only in a world of product consumer.  Netflix built its longevity plan around the algorithm; realizing people would buy their product because there were a number of movies they would like to see but missed at the movie theatre.  Eventually people would see all of the movies they planned to see so Netflix created ‘people who liked this movie also liked that movie’.

Will novels break the algorithm?  Nash is looking at what’s in the books being written today not what the people reading books are talking about.  He created a data base that logs and references the content of books- the places, food, clothing, people, music and so forth that is talked about in books.  To Nash all books are connected.  What does this all mean for publishing?

Publishing in the New Era

Publishing is morphing and the slush pile is ripe for reinvention.  The slush pile is the ever increasing pile of query letters from hopeful authors pitching their books.  Due to email and agent query data bases, agents can get hundreds of query letters a day.  Regarding the slush pile Nash said, “…and what did we do?  We sent you back your heart with a rejection letter attached to it with a dagger.”  This hit home with me as I am a recipient of 39 rejection letters.

To explore a possible solution Nash created Red Lemonade which is a forum where authors download their work and other authors comment on it.  Nash then pokes around to see what the authors are commenting on and occasionally has found work he’s wanted to publish.

Many an author dreams of the ever elusive publishing contract and for that moment when they can finally walk into a book store and see their book sitting there on the shelf.  But then the author looks around to see the other twenty-five thousand other books on the shelves and the harsh reality that there are only eight people in the store.  Nash believes what authors really want is love.  My first thought was yeah love is cool but I really want to sell a million books.  But I understood where Nash was going and next he posed a question.  “How is one to be an author in a world where everyone is a writer?”

Authors in a World of Writers

I’ve pondered the question, when is an author an author and wrote about it in my blog. http://jensmithsick.com/when-is-an-author-really-an-author/  During a session at the Muse and the Market, literary agent Katherine Sand from the Freyman Literary Agency said that an author is a name on a publishing contract and otherwise you are just a writer.  I thought that was harsh.  So, how do you become an author in a world where everyone is a writer? Nash answered his question with the following statement, “by being a reader in a world where everyone is a writer.”  Nash expanded on this by saying, network, get involved in author forums, comment on the bogs you read, write reviews for the books you read.  Give love. Be a part of the world of writing and by giving the love you will receive the love.  I can dig it Richard Nash.  I can dig it.

SEO 101

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Tips for Better Google Search Results Using SEO.

How to get your name, book, and blog posts to come up in Google searches.

When I finished my book SICK and had it edited I felt like I had really accomplished something.  Of course the dream of an agent was fluttering around in my brain like a beautiful brightly colored butterfly.  I proceeded to write the most interesting gripping query letter I could possibly muster up and sent it out to eighty agents.  Yup, that’s an exact number I carefully logged them on an excel spreadsheet. (geek)  My beautiful dreamy butterfly quickly turned into an ugly moth as the rejections flooded in.  Add the bad timing of Borders closing to the fact that agents now get hundreds of submissions sometimes daily, and I realized that I didn’t stand a chance.  Borders was now sending back its entire inventory to the publishers at the cost of the publishers.  That’s how it works.  So no one was willing to take a chance on an unknown author.  (I’m not ready to ponder the possibility that I suck as an author)

I was going to get my book out there one way or another so the self publishing route was the next logical step.  With book cover design and formatting lined up again I really started feeling like I had accomplished something.  Little did I know the real work was just about to begin- book promotion!  You can write the best literary novel of the twenty-first century and if nobody knows it’s out there nobody is going to buy it.  Being a geek, as I mentioned earlier, I started reading everything I could get my hands on about book marketing.  My two favorites so far that I would recommend are Mark Coker’s Book Marketing Guide which he gives away for free and the much more intense Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.  The latter gets deep in the weeds of social media but in my opinion is amazingly well written, educational, and forward thinking.  I am fortunate to also have the help of a friend and Google search guru Scott Wasserman of WSI Internet Marketing. http://www.wsiwikipro.com/  I’m writing this article to share some great tricks of the trade that I have learned mainly from Scott.

So the real work began.  I needed a blog, a Twitter account, Facebook, Linked In, blah blah blah yatta yatta- Ahhhhh!!!  And then I saw the letters SEO.  What the heck is SEO?  Secret Encryption Overload?  Service Entry Order?  Then I read it, Search Engine Optimization.  Well that didn’t really help.  Then I put two and two together.  Remember, like I said before, you can write the best book ever and if nobody knows it’s out there no one is going to buy it.  Search Engine Optimization is all the stuff you can do to help Google, and more-so the searcher, find you and your book.  Here are some facts from the book Inbound Marketing.  In the month of April 2009 over 13 billion searches were conducted in Google, in all other search engines combined there were roughly 22,000 searches.  So Google rules the world and if your book and blog are not being found in Google you don’t exist in the search world.  Another hard fact is that there are only about ten search results on a page and very few people ever bother going to the second page so you have to be in the top ten.  This really isn’t as hopeless as you may think it is and I will explain why.  This is where SEO comes in.

First of all, if you are an author, you have your name and book name.  I’m Jen Smith SICK, that is my product.  Your name and book name are your key words with perhaps another key word or two about the subject matter, for example zombies or World War II.  You need to let Google know these are your key searchable words over and over and over.  This is where tags come in.  A tag is exactly that, a key word or words that you want Google to associate with you.  The more specific the better, like your name and book name.  The more general your key words, like World War II, the more search competition you will have.  WordPress blog format allows the input of tags for every blog post.  Do not overlook this significant and important step.  I add my name and book name in the tags of every blog I post.  Also try to use your key words in the content of your blog as much as possible, but please not to the point of destroying the readability of your piece.  Be sure to use this option of imputing tags and be precise about tags that are specific to the post, and repetitive always adding your name and your book name.

Another easy, free, and great way to increase your chances of being pulled up by Google is a no brainer!  Join Google plus!  Ok I’ll admit I didn’t think of this myself despite the fact that it is a no brainer, but my brain has been compromised by a past filled with debauchery and other shady unmentionables, what’s your excuse?  Anyways, think about it like this, who rules the search world?  Google!  So why wouldn’t Google choose to be partial to pulling up results from its own platforms?  They are!  Not only do I belong to Google plus, I have a share button for Google plus on my blog and I share every one of my blog posts to the Google platform by clicking the Google plus share button.  The way Google rates a page has to do with sites they deem as ‘authority sites’ linking to your site.  I know that’s confusing but stay with me.  Think about it like this, what site do you think Google thinks has the most authority?  Well Google of course!  So by sharing your blog post to Google plus you are greatly increasing the chances of it coming up in a search.  I just Googled myself again, Jen Smith SICK, and of the top four links, three of them were Google plus shares of my blog posts.  It works!

Is any of this new information to you?  Do you find it helpful?

Get better Google search results for your blog

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How to get your name, book, and blog posts to come up in Google searches.

What comes up when you Google your name and your book?  Anything?  Try mine- Google Jen Smith SICK.  I come up in eight of the top ten listings most of the time and my book and blog have only been out since mid February.  How does this happen?  I’m going to share with you some of the top trade secrets that have been shared with me by Scott Wasserman of WSI Internet Marketing.  http://www.wsiwikipro.com/

First off have the Platinum SEO Pack plugin installed in your wordpress blog.  SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.  This is free! http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/platinum-seo-pack/   When the SEO plugin is installed it is simple to use.  You will be prompted to fill in additional information before publishing a new blog post.  There will be a box for you to fill in the title of your article and a description.  Make sure your title is brief and accurately descriptive.  If your blog post is pulled up in a Google search this exact title and description will be viewed.  This gives you control and the ability to write a catchy description that will hopefully cause someone to click on your link.  I am a control freak and love this feature!  Before my SEO enlightenment I had no idea we could control the wording around a Google search listing.

Another advantage to SEO is better URL structure.  Google loves this!  I have no structure in my life and kind of flip flops around from project to project day to day but that doesn’t mean my URL’s can’t have some structure!  Instead of a long mish mash of letters and symbols, my URLs are now easy to read for people and Google.  First is the name of my blog, the date of the post, and the name of the post.  Here is a sample.   http://jensmithsick.com/2012/03/01/when-is-an-author-really-an-author/

Pretty groovy don’t you think?   And most importantly, don’t forget the tags.  Tags are words that you choose to help Google find your page.  Use distinct tags for each individual post that are relevant to that particular blog post and I always include my name and the name of my book.  Google will sometimes use these tags to pull up your page.  Other times Google will choose to use a section of your page’s text.  The SEO will have a special box for you to include your tags.  WordPress also has a box to add tags.  Make sure you always fill in both boxes.  If you want to get into the nitty gritty of SEO here it is.  http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

Another easy, free, and great way to increase your chances of being pulled up by Google is a no brainer!  Join Google plus!  Ok I’ll admit I didn’t think of this myself despite the fact that it is a no brainer, but my brain has been compromised by a past filled with debauchery and other shady unmentionables, what’s your excuse?  Anyways, think about it like this, who rules the search world?  Google!  So why wouldn’t Google choose to be partial to pulling up results from its own platforms?  They do!  Not only do I belong to Google plus, I have a share button for Google plus on my blog and I share every one of my blog posts to the Google platform by clicking the Google plus share button.  If you don’t have a Google plus share button, check out Shareaholics.  It’s free!  http://www.shareaholic.com/

Shareaholics can give you an additional row of share buttons in your blog post.  Put share buttons at the top and at the bottom of your post.  The bottom is important for those folks who actually read entire posts before they decide to share them.  WordPress does have share button options that can be utilized but Shareaholics will give you additional share buttons.  In my opinion the worst thing you can do in today’s social networking world is have a great blog post and no share buttons for me to tweet it and share it on Facebook and Google plus.  Nothing annoys me more and screams social network newbie!

If you can’t figure this stuff out on your own pay someone else to do it, like my friend Scott.  Shop around as prices vary greatly for Web support.  But hopefully, at least, this article will help you understand what you need to ask for.  The next thing you need to know about Google is that they love content.  The more (preferably good) content on your blog the better chances of it being pulled up so go blog your brains out!

When is an author really an author?

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Just because I’ve written a book and it’s available on Amazon.com, does that mean I’m an author?  I’ve labeled myself many things before, student, groupie, investment analyst, felon (not convicted), space shot, mom, but never author.  In my social network obsessive plight I’ve begun interacting with other authors in forums where I am supposedly an author as well.

Recently I discovered a Facebook family called Book Junkies.  I read about it some where in some article in somebody’s blog.  I wish I could quote where from for you but I was so intrigued I instantly Googled Book Junkies and found the page and the option to join, swiftly leaving the blog source in the dust in classic A.D.D. style.  Book Junkies is a place for Indie Authors to meet, learn about each other and support each other.

Like the good addict that I am, I went ahead and sent way more requests out than I’ll admit for people to friend me.  Within moments I had a few responses.  I was pleasantly shocked!  These people don’t even know me and they’ll friend me?  Some even posted “hello” on my wall and one asked me to like his book fan page.  Then the light bulb went on! …or perhaps really just sizzled a bit from a few discombobulated brain cells.  What if I message all the people friending me all at once and ask them to like my SICK book fan page?  After doing this I was instantly ridiculed and informed that what I did was considered spam and that it would kill my reputation. Yikes!  I apologized to the few who would still talk to me and then to the Book Junkie world with an apologetic post on the wall for all to see.  Some folks were very kind and schooled me on Book Junkie Facebook ethics.  I did, however, get sixteen more fan page likes.

One man who clued me in was David Cleinman.  He is the author of Toys in the Attic and Principle Destiny both about strong woman.  The latter based on true events- got to check these out.  David also hosts an internet radio station where he often interviews authors. http://davidcleinman.com/writings/  He messaged on the Book Junkies Facebook wall that due to drop outs there were author interview opportunities.  Of course I immediately filled out his lengthy interview form with high hopes.  Stay tuned for the result of that.  David was kind to me about my spam blunder and I am grateful to him for his gentle words.

I also met a writer from San Francisco named JD Mader, author of the books The Biker and Joe Café.  I simply thanked him for friending me on Facebook and we started a conversation.  He shared his blog and a couple of links to articles he’d written.  Check out his blog unemployed imagination. http://www.jdmader.com/  Later I found a really fun interview of JD Mader on NcNally’s blog http://sablecity.wordpress.com/  Best format for an author interview I’ve read so far- actually read the entire interview, they are usually boring.  Mader also kindly turned me on to another blog where Indie Authors can submit content. http://www.indiesunlimited.com/

So am I an author now that other authors talked to me?  Will I be an author if David Cleinman decides to interview me?  Will I be an author after I make a certain amount of money from my book?  What do you think makes an author an author?

Tweeking on Twitter

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I love Twitter! I think I’m addicted to it.  Of course given my overly obsessive compulsive additive prone personality this shouldn’t be surprising.  So here’s the run down on this thing they call twitter.  Some folks just tweet useless nonsense or you can follow tweets around an event to get the ‘in the moment’ play by play of what’s happening.  For example I followed the New York City Occupy Wall Street tweets to try to find out what their message and purpose was.  It didn’t take long for me to figure out they really didn’t have one other then Wall Street is bad and the 1% suck.  But this was enough and it was truly fascinating to watch how that movement organized and attained resources through social networking.  But I’ve now seen Twitter in a new light.  I’d never thought of it as a place for professionals of the same feather to flock together to share knowledge and gain recognition.

Fortunately I read a couple books about marketing eBooks that stressed the necessity of developing a Twitter following and most importantly for me these books also went into detail about Twitter etiquette for professionals.  Yes that’s right, there is a particular etiquette if you want your peers to take you seriously.  First off add value with your posts.  With the fever of an addict, I comb through tweets looking for links to blog posts and articles that are informative and well written for me and my fellow Indie Authors.  I can do this at a quick intense pace for a long period of time, with an intense obsession.  I really get into it!  And the pay off?  Another follower!  Oh yes there’s nothing like turning on the computer and checking my email only to be delighted and elated by three more followers!  Woo Hoo!  Of course you do have to screen out @Bubbles who just loves to f**k.  Yes blocking bubbles immediately is imperative in order to not let your Twitter get filled up with inappropriate spam.

Another important piece of etiquette I learned from Mark Coker’s book (the guy who developed Smashwords) on eBook marketing was to not continuously talk about your book.  I just gets boring.  There is an author I’m following and every day she just asks you to buy her book in a little different way.  Boring.  I’m really glad I learned that before I started Tweeting.  In order to get real followers you’ve got to give them good content.  The original blog posts that I write will always be tweeted but I can also reference other folks too.  This Tweet thing is like a spinning wheel.  I can give it a good spin with a few new Tweets and it will keep going for a while but eventually it will slow down if I don’t jump back in and give it another spin with some good interesting content Tweets!  And then maybe- another follower.  I’m hooked!  Tweeking on Twitter!  What’s your experience?  Did you get hooked immediately like me?   Did you struggle?