Tag / self-publishing

by Matthew

Writus Interruptus

An Alaskan fjord filled with small icebergs and smooth blue-green water, approaching the South Sawyer Glacier.

Well, the distractions of summer have come and gone, so time for an update from yours truly as we barrel headfirst into fall. In DFW, that means football, the Texas State Fair (corndogs!), lingering summer temps (actually has been a pleasant September so far), and kids back in school.

Travel is one of humanity’s great pleasures. My family took three trips this summer: a week in New York City, fifteen days all over Alaska, and five days at the Atlantis resort in The Bahamas. Wonderful experiences, all. The photo above is from the approach to South Sawyer glacier, about a 2-hour boat ride north of Juneau. That scene was totally epic, frigid, and one of the pinnacles of summer for me. I am a cold weather critter.

This summer wasn’t a particularly productive one for me as far as writing goes. I got to experience my first bout of COVID-19, which was relatively mild, but also exactly zero fun for a few days. My kiddo’s been busy with camps from one end of Dallas to the other. And we tend to be last-minute planners on trips, so much of my limited writing time at night got redirected to trip planning/booking. Between trips was recovery, laundry, unpacking, and more packing, and driving my kiddo all over town to playdates or managing sleepovers. I made some headway with Steelwing 2 (title forthcoming!), but progressed far more once school started. I watched from afar as Dangers to Society languished on Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform with few readers. Once the 30-day the exclusivity period with Vella had lapsed (after the final episode was released), I could get going on the physical copies of D2S, so here’s that announcement:

Dangers to Society on sale October 1st, 2024!!

Here’s my store link if you’d like to preorder a signed copy directly from me. The eBook is available for preorder now on Amazon. On (or around) October 1st, the title will be available to purchase in paperback and hardcover

One of the earlier pieces of advice aspiring authors will receive is to write the story they want to read. Dangers to Society is that story for me. I greatly enjoy Steelwing, the forthcoming sequel, and the other stories I’m working on. But D2S strikes a special chord, because it is a whole bunch of things at once: fun, silly, stupid, and smart. It possesses a modicum of social commentary, but doesn’t take the message that seriously. It inspires the imagination. It makes you say – I know that place (if you’ve been to Dallas at least). It plays out on the movie screen in your mind. I have a wonderful, engaging premise to follow for the follow-up, but probably won’t open that can of worms until at least Steelwing 3 is wrapped up. Hopefully good sales will make that a harder decision – so help a brother out!

When you’re an indie author and going on your own steam, there is a lot to do. Polish the heck out of the manuscript. Have it edited. Do interior design (not terribly hard, just time consuming), cover design (or artist searching/hiring), cover templates for Amazon and Ingram Spark, project setup at both (neither of which are similar or smooth processes). The cover templates are annoyingly different and exact, and any slight deviation from their expectations can mean days of delays. There are reasons publishers take years to publish a book after they acquire it from an author.

The cover of the novel Dangers to Society by Matthew Rollins

I totally dig the cover. So orange.

And then there’s all the marketing. So much promoting, social media, the research between those, it can make your head spin. You can do as little as zero, but expect commensurate results with your marketing efforts. I’ve been patient after launching Steelwing to rely on word of mouth and do very limited social media advertising, but will work a little harder on marketing with each title released. Another recent piece of advice I’ve received is that the best advertising of your back catalogue is your newest book, so I’ve taken that to heart and attempted to keep my funnel of new projects ahead of stagnation. I expect sales of Steelwing to tick upward once Steelwing 2 comes out, and both will rise further when the third book is released in 2025. Marketing remains a challenge to me, but it’s something I’m aware I need to work on and will hit that subject harder in the months to come. Maybe I’ll even get my awkward self on TikTok (gulp).

So, with all of these “other” things to do during my limited writing time, it’s hard to keep putting out fresh word count consistently. I started writing in earnest mid 2017, and I am definitely feeling the years that have lapsed since then. Some lingering injuries (back), some new ones (tailbone), some genetic susceptibilities (neck), and a gripful of new medications have all put downward pressure on my late-night stamina. Back when I was writing the first draft Dangers to Society in 2019 and 2020, I could stay up until 2-3AM when the words were flying. Now, midnight is usually my limit. But I keep at it. My interest in writing and my stories remains keen, so I know I’m spending what free time I have doing something I love.

Building Worlds is not only the name of my blog, but my publishing company, with which I am to help authors like me get their books out into the world. At the moment it’s just my own books, but I hope to use the work I’ve done on my own as an example for what can be done with some passion and just a little bit of care and artistic gravitas. If you happen to be coming to DFWCon this year, look for me and let’s strike up a conversation!

That’s all for now. Keep writing (when you can)!

by Matthew

The Long Road of Authorship

Buckle up, writers, you’re about to go for a ride.

That’s a picture of Foss Flats Road near North Sandwich, New Hampshire. Talk about your worldbuilding!

I took this picture in October of 2012, so it’s well over a decade old. But it’s still one of my favorite photos, because while encapsulating the simple beauty of fall foliage, it is also packed full of metaphors for life. And as I stare at it, metaphors for writing and writers.

Stories are beautiful. Writing undergoes a constant state of renewal. The road is long. The road is imperfect and potentially very long. There’s a lot of debris along the way. The path is lonely and a little off-center (or is it?). The experience is often done out of the spotlight. The destination is unknown. There is light at the end of the road (or is there?). I could go on, but you get the point.

Being an author is an endless journey.

Unless your goal is to fire off one book and then close your laptop/writing journal forever without worrying if anyone’s reading it and never think about it or another story again, publishing your first tale is just the very beginning of an endless slog. Merriam-Webster gives us three definitions for slog, and they all apply to the author’s path after publishing: a hard dogged march or journey, a prolonged arduous task or effort, and hard persistent work. All are true. But first, a word from our sponsor: the traditional publishing industry.

This is a (brief) aside on the state of the traditional publishing world. In 2022, all the tea was spilt in court when the US Government succeeded with an anti-trust lawsuit to stop Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster (a $2.2B acquisition that would have reduced the quantity of bona fide big house traditional publishers to four, down from six in the 2010s and dozens in the 1990s). During the weekslong court hearing, publishing executives revealed how only a third of new books published are profitable, and 20% of those making up 80% of the profit. Almost all of that 20% are established, name brand authors like Stephen King, Lee Child, and Brandon Sanderson. There are a few younger upstarts that have recently driven strong sales like Sarah J. Maas, Colleen Hoover, and Rebecca Yarros, but for every one of those newer authors, there are thousands whose books are picked up by a traditional publisher and never reach any real measure of success. And they never get a second book deal. Plus, for every traditionally published author, there are millions more unpublished writers out there hoping to get a chance.

Publishers are, in the PRH CEO’s words, “angel investors in our authors and their dreams, their stories”. For the uninitiated, angel investor is a venture capital term. Incredibly wealthy people invest a very small amount of money for a large stake in something, because at that moment in time, the perceived value is very low, but has at least some potential to be enormous. Back in 2016, the Harry Potter franchise was worth around $25 billion dollars. Before the Philosopher’s Stone came out (1997), a short, off-the-wall, worldbuilding-heavy middle grade story about an orphan boy being sent to wizard school had almost no perceived value. For something that so greatly impacted pop culture, JK Rowling was paid a measly $2000 advance for the first book. Talk about a return on investment!

The publisher had no idea what they were getting.

Publishers guess as to what will be successful, mostly because they don’t know and have admitted it’s more or less impossible to predict how well a debut author’s book will do. Pretty sure a decade ago, no one would have ever guessed that New Adult fantasy (which includes seriously “spicy” content, as the Internet likes to call it) would become the smash success it is today.

Sadly, because of the dynamics of capitalism, publishers focus on what they know will make them money. Those guaranteed wins get far more organizational attention. Subsequently, publishers have pushed far more of the work they used to do onto the laps of authors. Manuscripts have to be edited and revised to perfection before an agent will even touch them. Authors are expected to have a moderate-to-large social network already established. Advances for no-name authors are miniscule to zero. There are a bunch of little small presses still out there who may accept your manuscript, but the story is the same. They can only invest a little time, a spot on their website, an email to Barnes and Noble, and their name on the spine of your book for a slice of the pie. They may be a “traditional” publisher, but is that worth it considering the effort and strain it takes? What’s your return on investment there? Dubious.

But perhaps most damning of all, the marketing and PR heft of the publishing houses are hyper-focused on the already established authors they know will move books. This leaves the bulk of the marketing work to the author.

Enter the slog.

No one likes an unwelcome slog. Yet I use the term with begrudging acknowledgement here, because for some, that slog is a joy. There are actually people out there who take relish in tackling all this:

  • Researching & communicating with bookstores to get books on shelves
  • Designing, purchasing, and managing swag like bookmarks and stickers
  • Researching & booking author signings
  • Designing, purchasing, and managing online ads
  • And the biggest time sink in history, social media. All of the above are supported by your social media reach.

For me, I’d rather spend time writing stories than promoting them. I suspect that mindset is common among most writers. But, as a (currently) self-published author, 100% of my success is on my shoulders. To date, I’ve pursued marketing with limited effort and received commensurate success for it. Knowing myself, once I have another book or two published, my interest in marketing will increase. But while all of the slog belongs to self-published authors, those few lucky enough to be picked by a traditional publishing house are increasingly responsible for the vast majority of promoting their book.

Before, when a traditional publisher bought a book, everything was pretty hands-off for the author, apart from the occasional signing appearance or tour and (hopefully) collecting a check. Each book was kind of like a road trip that had a beginning (finish the story), middle (get an agent and revise) and an end (get published). Success was prescribed and defined by a fairly simple path.

Now, that journey never ends. Sure, you will write and publish more books. But the obligations of promotion of the first book through the last will forever be on your shoulders. Regardless of how your book gets published, we’re all in the same marketing boat. And because of the diminishing benefits for new authors to be traditionally published, more and more authors will set their sights on self-publishing straight from the start and skip the query trenches, because the return on time investment there is approaching infinitesimal. Making it increasingly likely that the next Harry Potter won’t be found by the Big 5.

So how does a writer know they’re having a successful writing career?

Embrace the journey of authorship as the goal.

There is no spoon. Writers who hope to nurture a lasting career can’t look at the milestone of becoming an author as a road trip with a destination. Neither self-publishing a book or being traditionally published counts as crossing the finish line. Both are almost identical paths along a side-scrolling, endless adventure full of traps and pitfalls, speed bumps, potholes, and plot holes. And marketing. Lots and lots of marketing. It only stops if you give up or get big enough to be worthy of the almighty marketing dollar of the traditional publisher. It’s the experience we’re after. Hopefully we make a few bucks along the way. Some will even earn a sustainable living.

The point is this: in this modern age of books, being a writer no longer only involves typing out words on the page. It will never be that again. As long as you accept that fact, there’s still some great scenery to enjoy.

Time to hit the (writing) road! M

by Matthew

Launch Day

Hey everyone, long time no post.

I’m back, and well, I have news. I’m an author.

Not a writer. Not an aspiring writer. An honest-to-goodness author.

It’s interesting that funny little distinction exists. I am very much the same person today as I was yesterday: slightly older, arguably wiser, perhaps in some circles more distinguished, and certainly in the case of my dermatologist, more profitable. Yet I digress.

I published a book. Steelwing, a middle grade-tween video game fantasy. It’s super fun. Got a lot of traction with literary agents with it, but ultimately none of them “fell in love” with it, as they all like to say. For some, I think the video game setting wasn’t their cup of tea. For others, maybe my writing style didn’t jive with them. Yet for all, I think the honest answer was this: “I don’t know anyone who will buy this right now.”

And by someone, we’re talking acquisition editors at a traditional publishing house. Large or small, the agents and AEs talk. So agents know what AEs are looking for. There are myriad hurdles to get past even if you get to the point where you get an agent and an acquisition editor picks up your story. But the agent’s primary concern is to filter through their slush pile for the rare gems that happen to be at least two things: decent enough writing and something they know with reasonable confidence at least one acquisition editor already wants.

So that wasn’t Steelwing. C’est la vie.

What’s a writer with a “good enough but not wanted” story to do? Do it themselves.

I got Vellum. I learned how to format the interior pages.

I scoured the internet for a cover artist that was both awesome and within my budget.

I learned the mechanisms of setup in both Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark (where bookstores and libraries get their books).

I decided to create my own business, Building Worlds Books, and become my own publisher.

And I picked a date out of the blue. Gave myself a deadline to just say it’s ready. Without that, I’m certain this process could have dragged on and on. My eye for detail is keen, and my first-born perfectionism complex is pronounced. Amazon and Ingram will let you update files after things are launched, which I’m sure will be needed. So I’ll be okay. The hardcover’s cover file hasn’t passed Amazon’s scrutiny yet, and undoubtedly there’ll be a typo or misnomer or some other textual oddity that I won’t abide existing and will want to fix. So that’s nice. But it’s out there as of today.

Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning. Now comes the marketing. And the marketing. And the marketing. I’ve gotta get better at using social media. I need to buy some ads on Amazon and Facebook. Self-publishing is definitely a pay-to-play arena.

And now that Steelwing’s book birthday has arrived, I come to the understanding that today is not crossing the finish line, but starting the race. Everything up to this point has been training. Now comes the marathon of marketing. Ads. Book signings. Getting the word out. Rinse, repeat.

Here’s where I put on the salesman hat: If you’d like a signed copy of Steelwing, head over to Building Worlds Books and click the shop link. I’m doing the fulfilment all by myself, so it will be done with love and kindness.

If you’d like a less expensive, unsigned copy, head over to Amazon (sponsored link), where I will appreciate you just as much.

I also have a book signing coming up already on Sunday, November 12th from 1:00PM-3:00PM at the Half Price Books flagship bookstore in Dallas. 5803 E NW Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231. I will have books there for sale. Come say hi!

That’s it for now. Lots more to come on how the whole process went down, what I’ve learned, and what’s in store for the future. Stay tuned! M