Do writers spend too much time around other writers? Marketing advice for self published authors

According to a survey taken last May, half of self published authors earn less than $500, suggesting that most struggle to sell. As a person strongly considering self publishing, I found this article to be somewhat discouraging. We know that before you can make a sale, you first must have the public’s attention. And from my short and very limited experience marketing my children’s audiobook “Sometimes the Beach…” I can tell you that getting the public to notice your work is not easy, especially for new, self published authors. But why is that? Is it because of quality? In my case, I spent years getting my book edited, critiqued, polished, and prepared for public consumption, so I doubt quality is the reason. And I’m not done yet, I now have to find an illustrator to complete the picture book. In the meantime, I would like the public to enjoy the work I do have, a finished audiobook. But the public doesn’t know me, and if the public doesn’t know me, then I too will struggle to sell.

I thought about this for a while, the struggles of self publishing authors, and it led me to ask the following question: “Do writers spend too much time around other writers?” What I mean is, the audience writers want to target is readers, but how much time do writers spend around readers? Writers spend lots of time in critique groups, writing groups, webinars, and other social gatherings for writers. Critique groups are a wonderful way to get your manuscript polished. You can draw from the talents and experiences of others to improve your work. However, critique groups are not your target audience as a writer. Everyone there has their own book or manuscript they want sold, they aren’t looking to buy, they are looking to create, edit and sell.

Then there are social networks. Marketing 101 says join social networks, Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Join and market your book. I have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Google+, and one thing I’ve noticed is writers tend to flock to other writers. For example, on Twitter, if you mention that you are a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and you follow those groups, then Twitter will continually suggest other writers who are SCBWI members to you for you to follow them. The more writers you follow, the more writers will follow you, and the more Twitter will suggest other writers for you to follow. Right now, I have a little over 500+ followers on Twitter, but most of them are fellow authors and writers themselves. And everyday I get emails telling me that more writers are following me. But writers are not my target audience. Writers are busy promoting their own books, not looking to purchase mine. So everytime I post a tweet about my audiobook, do any of my followers really care?

Facebook and Google+ share the same problem. There are plenty of groups on Facebook and Google+ for writers to gather. But writers join these groups, not readers. So what happens when you share a link to your new book is it often gets lost amongst the other links of other books from other authors, or postings about webinars and writing tools. Some groups even discourage you from sharing links, as they want to cut down on SPAM and self promotion. So you can literally spend days on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and never really reach your target audience, the readers.

I mentioned Youtube as a social network, and it is to some extent. There are plenty of authors who release book previews, audiobooks, or even interviews on youtube in hopes of reaching their target audience. My experience is, while you might get a few views here and there, Youtube viewers have a shorter attention span for books. Consider the most popular videos on youtube, videos about books don’t even make the list.

So where can a writer go online to meet readers anyways? I asked this question on Facebook, and someone suggested Goodreads.com. So I signed up, and guess what? Goodreads wanted to link all my Twitter followers and Facebook friends to my Goodreads account. So now, I have all those writers from Twitter connected to my Goodreads account, but no readers. And since my book is an audiobook, I can’t even list it on Goodreads.com, I need to have it published with an ISBN number first.

I even tried googling “readers meet writers” to see if there was a forum or a site where we could mingle. I came across one site in development titled readersmeetwriters.com. According to the site, this is what they hope to offer:

A writer can post a synopsis of each work for public view and provide information for readers to purchase a complete work. Readers may search the available works by language, genre, area of interest and author’s name, if known.

That sounds interesting, and it might be a good resource once it is complete. However, in the meantime, self published writers need ways to reach readers with their work.

I will conclude this article by naming a few ways self published writers can reach their target audiences. One way, I believe, is to befriend book bloggers. Book bloggers have a lot to offer writers. They can write book reviews, conduct author interviews, post links to your download or purchase page, and create awareness amongst the public about your work. For children’s authors, there are plenty of Mom blogs, parenting blogs and other blogs where your target audience resides. For audiobook authors, podcasters might also be a choice for book promotion. However heed this warning. Bloggers and podcasters are like everyone else, they don’t like SPAM. Don’t just throw your book in people’s faces and beg for reviews. Develop RELATIONSHIPS, they will be more beneficial anyways down the line. Get to know bloggers on a social level, make them your Twitter followers and Facebook friends. It’s always easier when people already know you and like you, for you to ask them to consider reviewing your book and sharing it with their audience.

Another tip is to promote at farmer’s markets, book festivals, schools (if you are a children’s author), etc. Define who your target audience is, then go where they go, hang out where they hang out, and network, make friends. Get out of the bubble of writers and into the circle of readers. Offer free books to those who will review your work. Host contests with autographed books as prizes. Network with teachers and librarians (if you’re a children’s author). And remember this keyword: reciprocity. Promote others on your own blog. Post their links. Find ways to help others within your target audience, and in return they will help you.

Purchase “Sometimes the Beach…” children’s audiobook for $0.99 on Amazon.com and iTunes.com!

Children’s story “Sometimes the Beach…” is now available on Amazon.com and iTunes for $0.99! For Amazon.com, follow this link for more details:

http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-the-Beach/dp/B00BXTY9TA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364276422&s=dmusic&sr=1-1

For iTunes.com, follow this link for more information:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sometimes-the-beach…/id623995545?i=623996986&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Please note that soon you will also be able to purchase “Sometimes the Beach…” for $0.99 on CDBaby.com. The original price on CDBaby was $2.99.

*** UPDATE ***

“Sometimes the Beach…” is now available on CDBaby.com for $0.99! Get your copy today!

Children’s story “Sometimes the Beach…” is now available for purchase at CDBaby.com!

Great news! Big announcement! You can now purchase and download my children’s audio book “Sometimes the Beach…” for your ipod or other musical device at CDBaby.com! Here’s the link: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/scottcjohnson

My book will also be available on iTunes and other stores in due time. I will keep you posted.

Please support this book by buying a copy. Also share this link with your friends and family. Thank you!

Still looking for an illustrator for the picture book. I will keep you posted.

- Scott C. Johnson

As a children’s author, who is your real audience? Children or parents?

It was recently suggested to me that I should visit parenting blogs as a sort of indirect way to market my book. The idea is, if I comment on parenting blogs and my comments are intriguing enough, then parents will take interest in me, find my blog, and check out my work. So right away, I began googling, looking for all the mommy blogs I could find. But there’s just one problem, I’m not a Mom. I’m a man. I don’t even have kids. I’m not in the habit of visiting Mommy blogs, and I’m not sure it’s something I want to do. Vising Mommy blogs for the sole purpose of attracting people to my work sounds disingenuous.

However, the idea did get me to thinking. “Who is my real audience?” “Who do I write for?” I think these are questions that every children’s author should ask themselves. “Who do I write for and why?” I am attracted to children’s literature largely because childhood was the happiest time of my life. I realize not everyone can say that, but as an adult I feel it’s our responsibility to do our best to ensure that every child has the best possible childhood we can give them. Life has enough trials and tribulations later on, but childhood should be feeled with wonderment and pleasure. So I enjoy creating for children. I enjoy pulling from my own childhood and sharing it with others. My book “Sometimes the Beach…” is completely personal, and I share that in the description. So this is personal for me. It’s my field and it is fun. I’m not doing it to cash in, I’m doing it out of love.

But who is my audience? After all, it is the adults who buy the books. It is the “Mommies” and “Daddies” that go to the bookstores and make purchases. So, should I be marketing to “Mommies” and “Daddies”? Was the idea of visiting parenting blogs that bad of an idea? Before I answer that, I must say that I think this is a topic I’d like to open up to other children’s authors and illustrators. I would like to gather the thoughts and feelings of those who have gone before me. I am a fairly new author. I have yet to publish my first book, and I have only recently released my book “Sometimes the Beach…” on CDBaby.com. So I don’t have alot of experience in marketing at all.

My heart says this is for children. If I can make books with images and content that appeal to kids, then they will ask their parents to buy my work for them. I never want to make a book that kids are bored with, or only read because they have to. I want kids to want to read my work, or have my work read to them. So my first instinct is to say “My work is for children, children are my audience.”

But I also have mixed feelings about directly marketing to children. For example, according to Youtube’s policy, children aren’t even supposed to be members. I think the age limit to have a youtube account is 13. And since all of my work is on youtube.com right now, it makes me wonder if kids will really see my work. How many parents shield their kids from youtube, simply because they don’t want to expose them to adult content? So, youtube aside, how do you market to kids? Does that sound controversial? I mean you would never visit a playground and hand out business cards. You wouldn’t even do that at a daycare or a school. In today’s environment, parents are very protective of their children, and rightfully so. So directly approaching kids is out of the question (obviously). Then there’s the question of making children friendly websites, where parents would feel safe letting their kid’s roam. I’m not much of a website designer or anything, so for me I would have to find sites like this that already exist and hope their policies would allow me to place my content on their site. So that’s one way to market to children, I suppose.

But getting back to the parenting question, it’s parents that decide what is safe for their children to watch. It is parents that take their children to Disneyland, or sit them in front of Sesame Street, or take them to the children’s section of the bookstore. It’s parents that open up their wallets and buy books, videos, dvds, and cds. So at some stage, it is parents that I must appeal to. It is parents that I must present my content to. Even if a child finds my content on their own, it is parents that allow them to watch it or not.

So this brings me right back to my original question, who is the real audience for children’s authors? Is it the parents or is it the children? I will open this question up for discussion, I think I’m a bit too new at this to decide for myself.

Please feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your responses. Thank you.

How to create a compelling character for children, guide #1

So you want to design a character that is appealing for children, but you don’t know where to start. Hopefully this guide will help set you on the right path, or at least get you thinking about what questions you need to answer and how to answer them. Let’s look at the old saying “There’s nothing new under the sun.” What you are trying to do has been done before, however don’t let that discourage you. There is plenty of room for you to add in your own originality and present your character as unique. However, that saying will help guide you on your quest by encouraging you to look at what has already been done. Ask yourself “in my childhood, what characters did I find appealing and why?” Make yourself a list. Consider cartoons. Did you like Bugs Bunny, or Mickey Mouse? Snoopy? Charlie Brown? Woody Woodpecker? Ash and Pikachu? Consider children’s books. Did you like Pooh Bear? Frog and Toad? Corduroy? Berenstain Bears? Consider video games. Did you like Super Mario? Sonic the Hedgehog? Zelda? Make yourself a list of compelling characters that you loved as a child.

Now that you have your list, ask yourself “What made these characters so appealing?” Did you like their appearance? Why or why not? Maybe you were attracted to rounded features like Mickey’s big round ears. Consider if Mickey had smaller ears like Jerry in Tom and Jerry. Would you like him as much? Maybe you liked big bright colors like Pikachu. If Pikachu was gray or a muted color, would he appeal to you as much? Maybe you liked Hello Kitty’s cuteness. If Hello Kitty looked like Garfield, would you like her as much? So make a list about appearance, and be as detailed as you can with each character considering what about them attracted you. Next consider abilities. Some characters are defined by their special abilities. For example, the Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog are largely defined by their super speed. Superman is defined by his super strength and flying ability. For characters that do not have special abilities, their appeal lies largely in their personality (as well as appearance). Consider Pooh Bear or Mickey Mouse. Neither one of these characters has special abilities, however they both have distinct ways speaking and pleasant personalities. So make a list about abilities vs. personalities for the characters and find out which appealed to you more and why.

Also consider plot. Some characters are bound to a particular plot. Consider Frodo Baggins or Angry Birds. With Frodo, he is bound to middle earth and the plot about the rings. With Angry Birds, they are bound to an everlasting conflict with the Pigs about their eggs. You’ll never see a book about Frodo going to a hamburger joint to kick it with highschool friends and talk about girls. You’ll never see an animation about Angry Birds in a forest looking for honey from Rabbit or fighting a tall dragon with a sword (and no Pigs involved). These characters and characters like them are confined to a particular plot. However, there are other characters, like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, who are free from plot. They can do or be whatever they want. In one video, you might have Mickey and the Beanstalk, where Mickey Mouse is playing the character Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. In another video, Mickey might just be hanging with friends Goofy and Donald, and playing catch with Pluto. Mickey Mouse can basically do whatever he wants. You could even have parody videos of Mickey fighting Angry Bird Pigs or traveling middle earth to find a ring. So in your list of characters, decide whether each character is confined to a particular plot, or whether they are free from plot boundaries.

There are many other things you can consider, like whether a character is able to speak or not, and how they speak. Donald duck and Daffy duck both have unique ways of speaking, why Angry Birds do not speak. Consider whether the character has a particular saying that they always repeat, like Bug Bunny’s “What’s up doc?”. Also consider the characters overall mood and temperament. Donald duck is pleasant as long as things are going right, but when they go wrong he gets red-faced with anger. Piglet is a shy character, easily scared and not intimidating in the least. Also consider name. Some characters have names that begin with the same letter as the type of character they are. For example, Mickey Mouse. Mickey starts with an M, and Mouse starts with an M. This makes it very easy for children to remember their names. There’s also Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Minnie Mouse, etc. Other characters have names that sort of describe their abilities. For example, Superman or Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is similar to Supersonic speed which is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound. Other characters have unique names that are fun to say. For example, Pikachu. So consider these characteristics and any others you can think of, and write them down for your list of characters.

Now that you’ve fleshed out the characters that appealed to you as a child and why, it’s time for you to design a character that will appeal to children. First you need to decide why you are creating this character. Is it for a game? Is it for an animation or a movie? Is it for a book? Is it for multiple forms of media? Once you’ve decided why you are creating this character, look back at your list of characters that appealed to you as a child and consider incorporating some of those characteristics into your character.

First, will your character be defined by plot, or will it be free from plot boundaries? If you decide your character will be defined by plot, then you need to spend the bulk of your time designing an appealing plot. If you decide your character will be free of plot (like Mickey Mouse) then you need to spend the bulk of your time defining the personality and characteristics of your character.

Maybe your character will have rounded features like Mickey Mouse, but have a witty personality like Bugs Bunny. Maybe your character will have a unique dance like Snoopy’s. Consider your own personal strengths. Are you good at creating funny content? Are you funny in real life? (seriously) If you are, they you might want to create a funny character, or a character with alot of wit. Are you highly imaginative? Do you enjoy exploring new things? If so, maybe you want to create a new character from another world or planet that we’ve never heard of with special abilities or something.

Whatever you choose to do, always refer back to your list of appealing characters that you grew up with. Let it be your guide towards creating your own character. Don’t be afraid to mix and match characteristics or develop new ones, as long as they don’t conflict.

Once you’re finished, it’s time for the ultimate test! Share your character with your true audience, the children. Kids can be brutally honest, but if you did your job right, you’ll have no problem holding their attention with your character. Maybe your character will be one they will remember as a child! Maybe they’ll serve as a friend to children now and in the future.

I hope this guide helps you get started on your journey towards creating a compelling character for children. I will be sharing a few characters I designed soon on this blog, so be on the look out for that. Also, if you would like to share any of your characters with me here on this blog, don’t be shy. I will give my honest opinion, and if I can help you promote, I will. Please note, I only support family oriented characters for children. Nothing dark, erotic or violent.

Thank you for reading my post and feel free to comment below.

Learn the alphabet with ABC Bears 2, now on youtube

ABC Bears 2 is now on Youtube!

New video for “Shapes And Visions” Zazzle Store

I will be working on more products for Shapes and Visions store on zazzle.com. In the meantime, please enjoy this new video of products. Thank you.