Kingdom Tour: Anderson O'Donnell Guest Post on Independent Publishing

Anderson O'Donnell stops by the SSP Blog today to give some grounded straight-talk from an author's perspective on the world of indie publishing today.  Some very valuable advice in this post for authors everywhere, gleaned from real world experience.  Speaking from my own experience as an author, Anderson is spot on with what he says here.  Read onward and we hope you find these insights valuable!

-Stephen

The World Doesn’t Stop Because You Published a Book: Eight Important Things I Learned While Promoting KINGDOM

Just in time for Devil’s Night (dystopian fiction sprung to life) here’s the final guest post on KINGDOM’s October blog tour. While the tour runs through November first, today is my final guest post, so I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned, both through my own experience, and observing the actions of other authors. I’m not an authority on self-publishing/promoting—not by a long shot.

• ·         Be Polite, or The World Doesn’t Stop Because You Published a Book. This seems like a fairly simple concept. But some folks still don’t understand the importance of patience and civility. Aside from the intrinsic value of good manners, as the number of authors vying for attention continues to skyrocket, treating readers and bloggers like human beings—not disembodied pixels—helps to create the kind lasting relationships with readers and bloggers you need to sustain a career.
• ·         Be Prepare to Spend Some Money. Like any business venture, you’ve got to make an investment. Specifically, you’re got to hire an excellent cover artist, book formatter, and, most importantly, a professional editor. With regard to editing, I hired Rebecca Smith, of SmithWriting. Rebecca did a tremendous job, giving KINGDOM the kind of professional polish it needed to hold its own with traditionally published works which is, still, the standard by which indie novels are held. Once the editing was done, I used CreateSpace for the formatting and cover design. Again, this wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t too pricey either, and given that, again, indie authors are under extra pressure to make a professional first impression, it was money well spent. Plus, don’t forget to take the tax deductions…
• ·         Give Back to the Community. I’ll admit it, that at times, I haven’t given back as much as I’ve received. Striking the right balance between staying active in the indie community (reading other authors books, commenting on discussion boards/posts, etc.) and focusing on your own work is tough. At times, I’ve found myself a bit overwhelmed by the pace of the digital indie world; there are a lot of people posting about a lot of different topics, and it can be hard to keep up. But I’m trying by commenting on my own posts, responding to every email I get within 24 hours, and general, trying to set aside 15 min a day. Don’t be an indie vampire!
• ·         Hire a Professional Blog Tour Company. This bullet ties into the “Spend Some Money” header, but its importance enough that it needs its own space. Not only is working with a blog tour company an inexpensive investment, it gets results. For my most recent tour, I used First Rule Publicity and this partnership has been a big success. These folks love literature, are professional, and aren’t afraid to put authors in their place (when necessary, of course). Highly Recommended.
• ·         Don’t Waste Time and Money Chasing Traditional “Big” Media Coverage. One of the biggest mistakes I made was working with a publicist (NOT First Rule) who focused on traditional “big” media outlets. There were lots of positive “reports” but, at the end of the day, not many results. Basically, there are so many indie authors vying for attention that “big media” isn’t paying much attention…unless you are one of the few who get picked up by a traditional house—then the headlines come. Until then, focus on local media and the indie community.
• ·         Don’t Use Family and Overly Effusive Friends to Promote Your Work. When the reviewer giving your novel five stars has your last name, you’re not only discrediting your own work, you’re hurting the entire self-publishing revolution. So, for the good of, well, everyone, try to avoid this all-too-common self-publishing pitfall. And if friends are going to post reviews, ask them to be critical and point out perceived issues/weak spots to help balance their review.
• ·         Even if Your Book Doesn’t Suck, Someone Will Think it Does. And that’s a Good Thing! A few one/two star reviews are consistent with the reality that, no matter how good your book might be, someone will hate it. I mean, Shakespeare gets one star reviews on Goodreads/Amazon…so you will too. And it shows that you’re not afraid to put your work out there for honest review; consumers are learning not to trust the author who has only five-star reviews. Oh and fuck sock puppets. Let’s not defend the indefensible here people.
• ·         Acknowledge Those Who Contribute to Your Success. You’ll notice that, throughout this post, I’ve name-checked a few of the people/companies who have helped me present KINGDOM to the world. I’m not just weaving in cheap plugs; indie publishing isn’t just about the authors—this is a community and lots of people, from the readers and bloggers to the formatters and editors, play critical role, and deserve acknowledgment. Doing so helps draw attention to the best the indie world has to offer, which, in turn, is going to strengthen the indie revolution, to the benefit of bother readers and writers.

I want to thank everyone who has been following my blog tour, and whose love and support has helped make KINGDOM a success. With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on my area, its time to evacuate! Stay safe everyone, and thanks for reading.

About the Author:

Anderson O’Donnell presents a biopunk, dystopian noir-esque thriller in this amazing read, KINGDOM. Most people are familiar with the term “cyberpunk,” but “biopunk” is harder to nail down. In many ways, biopunk is similar to the cyberpunk genre, and shares many of the same themes and archetypes: the dystopian future; the overreliance on technology; mega-corporations; a constant and overwhelming flow of data; the anti-hero—these elements are integral parts of both genres.

Both genres are fueled, to some extent, by the sense of rebellion and desire for individual freedom expressed by the original punk rock revolution. But the main difference—the most important difference—is that while cyberpunk focuses on invasive technological modification of the human body, biopunk explores the dehumanizing consequences of biological modification, of re-arranging our DNA in the pursuit of perfection.

Anderson lives in Connecticut with his wife and 2 sons. Anderson himself deems Kingdom as “a thrill-a-minute, bio-punk myth that manages to wrestle with the most pressing issues of the new millennium. O’Donnell has crafted a kickass novel of tomorrow night, when the big party gets raided by the monsters we’ve been building for the last half-century.”

His debut novel, Kingdom, a dystopian, biopunk thriller, is now available in paperback and ebook format. Kingdom is the first part of the Tiber City Trilogy. Look for part two, Exile, in the summer of 2013.

About Kingdom:

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project--codename "Exodus"--has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.

Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation's collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.

In a glittering tower high above the urban decay, an ascendant U.S. Senator is found dead--an apparent, yet inexplicable, suicide.

And in the streets below, a young man races through an ultra modern metropolis on the verge of a violent revolution....closing in on the terrible truth behind Exodus--and one man's dark vision for the future of mankind.

Welcome to Tiber City.

Kingdom Tour Dates– Oct 7 - Nov 1
10/7/2012 - Kweeny Todd - Review
10/8/2012 - Urban Fantasy Reviews - Guest Post
10/9/2012 - Flying Monkey Press - Interview
10/10/2012 - Free Book Dude - Review
10/11/2012 - Beauty in Ruins - Review
10/12/2012 - Free Book Dude - Guest Post
10/13/2012 - Splash of Our Worlds Reviews - Review
10/14/2012-  Full Moon Bites - Guest Post
10/15/2012 – Heather’s Book Chatter Review
10/16/2012 - Watch Play Read - Interview
10/17/2012 - The Flip Side of Julianne - Interview
10/18/2012 - Alchemy of Scrawl - Review
10/20/2012 - The Independent Review - Review
10/21/2012 - Azure Dwarf Horde of SciFi and Fantasy - Review
10/22/2012 - Miraculous! -  Excerpt - Giveaway
10/23/2012 - I Read a Book Once - Review
10/24/2012 - Bookishly Me - Review
10/25/2012 - Edi's Book Lighthouse - Review
10/26/2012 Jess resides here - Interview
10/27/2012 - Sheila Deeth - Review
10/28/2012 - Bee's Knees Reviews - Review
10/29/2012 - Ali's Bookshelf - Review
10/30/2012 - Workaday Reads - Guest Post
10/31/2012 - Book and Movie Dimension - Interview
11/1/2012 - Cabin Goddess - Review & Recipe
11/1/2012 - Seventh Star Press Blog Site - Guest Post

Advice on Three Things Authors Can Bring a Blog Site That Are Good For Both

Advice on Three Things Authors Can Bring a Blog Site That Are Good For Both
by Stephen Zimmer

One of the best avenues for authors of all levels, major press, small press, and self-published, for raising awareness is the growing literary blogosphere. In every genre, there are growing numbers of active bloggers that cover new releases, do reviews, interviews, and much more.

Obviously, authors want reviews of their books, and this is a primary focus of most of these blog sites. Most blog reviewers, after publishing a review on their own blog, will cross-post the review to other highly important sites for authors such as Amazon.com, Goodreads, Shelfari, Barnes and Noble, and others.

But beyond the reviews, there are three areas in which an author can participate with a blogger, each of which is of direct benefit to the blogger and their site. These are; interviews, giveaways contests, and guest posts by the author.

The three areas also provide an opening for an author on a blog that is not accepting new reviews, due to having a large TBR (To-Be-Read) pile. As many sites are deluged with new books from publishers of all sizes, the authors that have the flexibility to participate in each of the three areas raises the chances for increasing the number of blogs they are exposed on.

Let's take a look at the trio, one by one:


1. The Interview. Blog reviewers will conduct interviews in a variety of ways. I have experienced some that send you a question at a time, almost like an ongoing conversation (such as one I did on the blog site of author Terry Ervin, writer of Flank Hawk). Others will send you a standard list of questions, and still others will customize the interview to you.

A few reviewers will want to read your book before doing an interview, but many do not have such a policy. This provides a nice opening for the blogger and you to get to know each other a little better before they read your work.

My advice regarding interviews is to work to make them conversational in tone. Do not worry about making them “formal” or perfect, literary-wise. It is tempting to do that, since it is a written interview. Just keep in mind it is not an essay, but an interview for a potential or current reader to learn more about you. Try to keep the tone similar to how you would be on a radio or podcast interview. This will make it more interesting, and it will also allow for more of your personality to be reflected.

When doing multiple interviews, you will sometimes come across similar questions. Answer them uniquely, as they happen, and do not “cut and paste” answers from early interviews where you responded to a similar question. While your answers might ultimately be quite similar when addressing similar questions, it is disingenuous to cut and paste responses. Providing unique answers shows proper respect to both the blogger and the reviewer, and you just may discover that you put a few different things into the responses that give your readers more to glean about you.



2. The Giveaway Contest: Giveaway contests are fantastic ways to expose yourself to new potential readers, as everyone likes the idea of winning prizes, or getting something for free. An author always has to take cost into account, as with most blog sites, the author is responsible for mailing the winner their book (the blog will typically just email you the winner's mailing address).

The cost for an author in postage and mailer will often be close to the cost of the book itself, in regards to a trade paperback of around 250-300 pages. Be careful of taking on too many prizes and contests, as things can add up in a hurry. Ebook giveways are a less costly option, as even gifting a Kindle edition is fairly inexpensive, and ePubs are free.

My advice regarding giveaways is to make the most out of them, especially in terms of building up your social networks. Most blog sites will have a system for allowing extra entries into the contest if the participant joins the author's own blog, Facebook page, twitter site, etc. A contest can result in several new adds to each of your social networking pages, which definitely does not hurt in terms of promoting your work. The blog sites will also often allow extra entries if the participant puts a Facebook post up or tweets about the contest, which puts the author's name out there even more.

Make use of these tools to maximize the benefits of sponsoring a giveaway contest on a blog site. The blogger will appreciate your participation too, as they won't mind being able to offer their readers some perks in the way of free books.



3. The Guest Post. Guest posts are a great way for potential readers to get to know you, as well as providing rich new content for the blog site, something a blogger will really appreciate. Some bloggers will suggest a topic to write about, and others will leave things wide open. Just be sure to stick to any parameters you are given, in terms of word count, and if you are given a topic, stay on it. If you are not given a topic, I suggest to try to get an idea of what the blogger's readership might enjoy, perhaps covering something relating to the genre of the site that has not been used in a post as of yet.

My advice regarding guest blog posts is to try and make them either very useful, or very interesting, such that readers will be tempted to share the link via Facebook or Twitter, maximizing your exposure. Give readers a reason to dive into your post. Do not forget to include links at the end of your post for your own website, Facebook page, etc. Give readers every way to find you, even if you have multiple links/social networks. Not all readers are on every social network.



The blogosphere is a fantastic place to raise awareness and secure interviews. It is growing larger by the moment, both in size and importance as eBooks increase in market share. Do not hesitate to reach out to bloggers, and explore ways to engage of activities that are of mutual benefit. Interviews, contests, and guest posts bring content of interest to a blogger's readership, while also promoting you and your work. Treat each instance uniquely, conduct yourself professionally, and you'll find yourself making headway without spending a large amount of money, never a bad thing for the typically cash-strapped author!

-Stephen Zimmer



To find out more about Stephen or connect with him, visit the following:

Stephen's Website
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
Blog Site
and also on Google+ and GoodReads