Doing marketing differently trad vs indie
Ask the Author Podcast Transcript
Episode 37, 19th February 2024 \ \ Subscribe
If Jodi had to start over again as an author in 2024, what would she do differently? Jodi Gibson, author of REINVENTING EMILY BROWN answers this curly listener question.
Intro
In the intro, Jodi Gibson mentions a tip she shared from last week’s episode caused quite a lot of conversation and she’s back to elaborate on what she’d do differently in her marketing if starting over in the indie vs trad space. Jodi also advises listeners to mark next week’s episode in their diaries because it’s a special one!
Show Notes
- Tip 1: Make your indie book indistinguishable from a trad book
- Tip 2: Promote your book differently
- Tip 3: Don’t focus on getting your book into bookstores
- Tip 4: Library and bookshop talks may not be of value
- Tip 5: Consider your time and return on investment
Episode Transcript
So this week is kind of an extension of last week's episode, as I had quite a few listeners want to know more. So if you haven't listened to last week's episode, which is all about the things I'd do differently if I was starting out all over again, go back, take a listen and then come back to this episode.
So last week, when I revealed my last point about what I would do differently, I was perhaps a little bit vague because I hadn't really sorted the ins and outs of what I was trying to say in my head. And this week, during one of my Write Squad Community Zoom sessions, one of my members asked me could I elaborate on what I would do differently in terms of being an indie author and trying to put out a book and market and promote it just as a traditional publisher or traditional author would do.
So what I mentioned last week was that when I set out to indie publish, I decided to do everything a trad publisher and trad author would do.
Tip 1: Make your indie book indistinguishable from a trad book
First of all, I'd make sure that my book was indistinguishable from a trad published book so professionally edited, professionally proofread, a professionally designed cover that fits the genre, professionally formatted, a great blurb and so on. So pretty much when a reader picks up my book, they won't be able to tell if it's traditionally published or indie published.
And that is super important and, to be clear, this is a non-negotiable for me and it is something I will always do with every indie release. It's something that I believe is absolutely imperative to the success and reputation of myself as an author, and writing the best book I can and producing and publishing the best book I can is something that I always want to do. So when it comes to doing things differently in the perspective of trad versus indie and in that perspective absolutely I would keep all of that the same.
Tip 2: Promote your book differently
The second part is where it comes to marketing, promotion of my book. So this is where I would do things a little bit differently. So when I set out to indie publish. I was going to tackle promoting my book in the same way that a traditional publisher and author would do. I did a book launch. I would have distribution channels to bookstores. I would reach out personally to bookstores, connect with other authors, trade all indie and supporting them in their books, appearing on podcasts, all of that sort of thing. Some of those things I found worked really well.
Podcasts, for example, social media connections, and I love connecting with other authors and they all worked really well. But there were things that didn't work well, things that trade authors and publishers do that don't always translate for indie authors.
Tip 3: Don’t focus on getting your book into bookstores
The main one, I guess, is working hard on getting books into bookstores. Unfortunately for indie authors, getting your books into bricks and mortar bookstores is difficult. It's not impossible, but it is certainly a challenge. While you can set up distribution channels quite easily, it is unlikely that without meeting a bookseller which I guess can be a challenge in itself or without a personal request from a reader for your book through the bookstore, it's unlikely that the bookstore will stock your book just automatically. And even if it is requested by a reader, if that bookstore doesn't have an account with the distributor, they might not even be able to get the book in and they might not want to open an account just so they can get the book in for that one reader.
This is something that has been a huge factor for me with my latest release. I've had readers contact me and say my local bookstore says that they can't get the book in. How do I get a copy of your book? Which, of course, I have personally sent them a copy and we've done it that way, which has been nice. So while I have made effort in contacting booksellers and asking readers to request the book at the local store, often I found it's just not working.
Compare this to a traditional published author whose publisher will likely but again, not always, but very likely push the book towards booksellers, and booksellers are then able to purchase copies quite easily because they have all their accounts set up with those main publishers.
For indies, this isn't the easiest thing to do. Trad authors, too, can find that making the time to reach out and personally visit booksellers is beneficial. That personal connection between author and bookseller can be vital and if you are indies, certainly it's a great thing to work on if you can, locally with your local booksellers, but reaching further afield, as I've mentioned. With all of those factors, it can be challenging. For me personally, it comes down to time. Do I have the time to put into promoting and pushing my books towards traditional books and water stores, and is it worth the time and effort? Am I seeing a return on investment? Because, after all, this is a business For me. I haven't had that return on investment and it's something that I would definitely do different with my next book. I'll be focusing less on bricks and mortar stores and more on ebooks, print on demand from online retailers and also audiobooks.
Now, I know this is a huge blow for some indies.
After all, seeing your book in a bookstore is one of the most validating and emotional experiences. It's one of the first dreams for all authors, isn't it? And I remember I've been into a bookstore wondering, oh my gosh, are they going to have my book? And to see it on the shelf. It's an amazing feeling, absolutely so. It's hard for me to say you know, don't worry about it, you don't need that, but you need to live through the experiences to find out if it's something that's absolutely important to you, if it is a deal breaker, and then if it is where you need to consider the challenges.
For me. I've realised, as good as that is has been seeing my book on the shelf of a bookstore, it's more important to me that people have access to my books easily so they can read them. I want people to read my books and if I can best reach them through online means, if that's more accessible for them, if that's easier and less time consuming for me to provide, then that's how I need to do it.
Now, just a side note. I'm not ignoring the issue of the demise of bricks and mortar stores. It's absolutely a concern and something that, of course, is disappointing, but really that's a whole other issue that plays into a lot of different areas of publishing. That's probably best discussed in a different episode, so we'll leave that one there.
Tip 4: Library and bookshop talks may not be of value
The other thing I'm still on the fence with in terms of doing things differently from trad authors is promotional things such as library and bookshop talks. While I've done quite a few of these during my books, the time and effort, particularly for me, not being based in a major capital city, is challenging. The ones I've done have been amazing, like truly amazing, and I've thoroughly enjoyed them. Connecting with readers, with future readers and with libraries in particular, is wonderful. I've made so many friends and met readers and other writers and to have that one on one personal connection with a reader is absolutely lovely.
But again, for me it comes down to time. Organising a book or library tour takes so much planning, first of all, planning where and when, reaching out to the possible venues, coordinating times and dates. It's a lot of work and for me, as I mentioned, I don't live in a major capital city, so the time and cost comes into it as well in terms of travel accommodation. If I have to head down to one of the major capital cities, or even a regional tour, that's when it starts to not be cost effective for me. So unfortunately, at this early stage of my career, with other commitments outside of writing, my time is better right now put into writing more books. It's really as simple as that. It's not to say I won't do a few events here or there, but this type of promotional work is not going to be a huge focus for my next indie release.
There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of indie authors who are successful. Perhaps they're not household names, but they are successfully writing and publishing and doing it all from behind their desk. They're making money. They have large, loyal readerships and spend most of their time writing the next book, whereas for Trad authors, this isn't the usual way. Trad authors are expected by their publishers to get out there and meet readers. They need to do their bit for the promo of their book in that way and to, of course, help earn out their advance. I guess it comes down to how each indie author feels about how they want to promote a market, their book. A lot of writers, for example, are introverts and getting out there isn't something they're comfortable with.
Tip 5: Consider your time and return on investment
For me, I really have to consider my time and what it means to me to be able to do both. So to write the next book and connect with readers, and how is the best, most effective way for me to do that? It's something I'm still working on, something I'm still working out, but it's definitely something I see as needing to step away from the traditional way of doing things, the Trad way of promoting. So absolutely something that I would do differently next time, comparing myself indie to Trad.
In Summary
I'm really glad that the last point of my last episode has sparked this conversation, as it's really helped me clear things up in my own head. What was only a muddled thought last week is now clarified, and I think that's one of the beautiful things about being an indie published author the fact that things don't have to be a certain way, whereas a trade author, there are processes and expectations. As an indie, we can set and meet our own objectives and we can pivot along the way. We get to learn from our mistakes and do things differently the next time.
So there are definitely a couple of things that I will do differently when it comes to marketing and promotion of my indie releases in the future. As I said, I'll absolutely be making sure my book is the best it can be professional, indistinguishable from a trade published book but that is when I will step away and start to do things differently, things that are going to work better for me as an indie author.