The Free Advantage

By Matt Sinclair

Our latest free days are done, but I’m still sifting through the data of the experience. Last week, my company Elephant’s Bookshelf Press ran some ads to promote Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by fellow FTWAer R.S. Mellette. Friday was National Physics Day, so we decided to try to become a particle on that wave and ride it ohm. My painful puns aside, I was pleased with the results.

Billy Bobble is in KDP Select, which means the electronic version of the book is currently distributed exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. For every ninety days of exclusivity on what is clearly the biggest online bookselling space, we have up to five days during which we can “sell” the book for free. While we could just use those days and see what happens, it makes a lot of sense to promote the fact that it’s available for free. After all, the point is to get the book in front of as many people as possible.

I won’t specify which vehicle we used the first time we tried this for Billy Bobble, as the results were less than lackluster. Let’s just say, we had much higher expectations than the double-digit returns we got, especially when the advertising vehicle said its emails were sent to more than a hundred thousand addresses.

So, with Physics Day on the horizon, I decided to conduct an experiment. We’d run three consecutive free days. On the first, I chose to run an ad through a popular site geared toward voracious readers. The second day, we advertised through an even more popular site that had worked well for us in the past (when Battery Brothers became the most widely downloaded free YA book on Amazon for a day… ah, memories…)

Without giving away too much information, I’ll say this: if BookBub is as effective as it is popular and exclusive, then those authors whose books are accepted for it (which we weren’t) must be very pleased. While the results for Billy Bobble were not quite as strong as those for Battery Brothers, we easily topped a thousand downloads for the three days. I think I was running a slight risk in highlighting the physics aspect of the novel, but it’s true to the work. Although some folks seem to be frightened by what might sound intimidating, we keep receiving very positive reviews along the lines of “not just for kids,” and “a fun family read.”

I’m asked sometimes why we would give the book away for free; why not simply discount. There are several reasons. For one, it’s a good way to get the book in front of a lot of ebook readers – particularly those who are savvy (or cheap) enough to subscribe to the popular “free download” newsletters. That said, I’m well aware that many of those downloaded books will never be read. I can’t tell you how many free titles are currently languishing on my Kindle while I spend my time reading books for work and for EBP. But one of the most valuable reasons is that we’re more likely to get reviews after a free day.

I always hope to get at least one review for every ten downloads. On Amazon, the number of reviews helps get the book into their email promotions, which don’t cost EBP anything. Plus, if those readers enjoyed Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand, then we hope they’ll be excited for Billy Bobble and the Witch Hunt, which I’m editing now. Ultimately, it’s all about providing readers an enjoyable experience and getting them to come back for more.

How have you promoted your free days? Care to share?

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by R.S. Mellette and Tales from the Bully Box, a collection of anti-bullying stories edited by Cat Woods. EBP is currently looking for horror stories for an anthology that will be published in the fall. Matt also blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

The Wit of the Staircase

by Matt Sinclair

There's a French term that appeals to me: L'esprit de l'escalier. Literally, it means "the wit of the staircase," and in practical language it means thinking of the perfect response too late. 

Let's face it, we've all done it, whether there was a staircase involved or not. In fact, the perfect response often hits me in the bathroom, which seems appropos.

I'm not sure, but such instances may in part be why I became a writer. I like having the perfect word to say, le mot juste to keep that little French thing going. But it doesn't always happen immediately.

As writers, we need to have an ear for what our characters are saying, even if they've already walked through the exit on a scene. The key: know your characters. Even when they don't know what to say, they're telling you something.

Good thing we can revise, huh?

Writing Without a Safety Net

by Matt Sinclair

In our busy lives, it's often hard to maintain a routine. I'm a creature of routine, yet I am often guilty of letting even important tasks fall through a crack.

For me, a simple approach is often best: a list of tasks to do for a day and perhaps another for the week ahead and just the weekend. Bullet points riddle my life:

• Edit 10 pages of manuscript
• Finish article
• Write 500 words on new manuscript

Those types of things sound like work. Not only am I not necessarily getting paid for all of them, they are in addition to what my day-to-day job entails.

A single minor catastrophe -- a sick child, an unscheduled meeting, a flat tire -- can quickly put the kibosh on writing time.

Are you a creature of routine? How do you rejigger your schedule when the real world interrupts your fictional ones?

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which is hours away from publishing Battery Brothers, a YA novel by Steven Carman about a pair of brothers playing high school baseball and about overcoming crippling adversity. Matt also blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

The Ongoing Debate: Art vs. Commerce

by Matt Sinclair

I recently found myself in an interesting conversation among other writers. The question posed by a novelist with a dozen books published through a small press was essentially this: If I don’t think my idea for my next novel will sell, should I still write it?

The vast majority of those who responded to this thread said things was along the lines of “don’t worry about whether it’ll sell or not. Write what you love.” Similar ideas along the lines of “don’t follow trends” emerged, too.

That’s all good advice. I politely disagreed.

Let me qualify that: I don’t disagree; I just think that if a writer believes her work won’t sell, then her idea of writing something else that has a better chance of selling is a better use of her time.

The debate basically became one of art versus commerce. I think we’ve all heard that before, and it’s possible for both to be the right approach, even for the same writer. I came at it as someone who has spent years working, shaping, loving, and ultimately trunking more than one novel. (And you thought the pachyderm in Elephant’s Bookshelf Press was just because I loved elephants?)

A writer who does not want much more than to see a work on an electronic shelf should write whatever he or she wants. It might even catch lightning and surprise everyone, especially if that writer has some other marketable skills like social media savvy and the gift of gab.

I love the art of writing. If I may say so myself, I have some beautifully written pieces … that will never garner an audience by themselves. Perhaps if I’m fortunate enough one day to become one of those writers whose readers want to know what groceries I bought at Costco or Shop Rite (hmm, see that – he’s very conscious of unit costs. I bet that’s why his most famous character is a spendthrift…), I might be able to share those pieces. But they’re essentially exercises. Writing I practiced and did well with, like a great workout at the gym or a run that left me feeling reinvigorated and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Exercise is absolutely critical to becoming a marketable writer. Exercising the mental aspect of becoming a sellable writer is also critical. What is the return on your investment of time? If you spent a thousand hours writing and revising your opus, another thousand dollars having a professional edit it, and a few hundred on a cover artist, and sold two hundred copies, was that time and money well spent? Only you can answer that.

At this point, my ability to live in a house and feed my family is based entirely on my capacity for weaving words together. (Not the fiction, mind you. But I’m working on that.)

Indeed, the explosion in self-publishing is a wonderful way for writers of all genres to take a swing at becoming an artist. Many of those who are doing so will not sell more than a dozen copies to people other than their family and closest friends. They’re fine with that, and I’m genuinely happy for them. My goals are different.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which is hours away from publishing Battery Brothers, a YA novel by Steven Carman about a pair of brothers playing high school baseball and about overcoming crippling adversity. Matt also blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Fail, Fail Again

By Matt Sinclair

I’m happy to say I’m getting used to failure. Mind you, I don’t like it all that much, but it beats the alternative. No, not success, that’s not what I mean. The alternative is not trying at all.

Frankly, I believe failure and success are close kin. I don’t think you can one without the other as they each help develop one’s perspective. And failure done right can and should lead to success.

Why “should”? Because sometimes failure leads to not trying again. Heck, success probably can lead that way, too.

In the years when I frequently attended trade conferences as a reporter, I learned that the lessons from failure tend to be closely guarded secrets. One simple reason stands out: let your competitors make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons.

To some extent that makes sense. As a father, I’ve seen firsthand that a child learns better when they overcome an obstacle that previously seemed insurmountable. But we also like to share here at FTWA.

What example to share of my own failings? Well, Over the past several months I’ve failed to trust my instincts on a couple matters related to my writing and publishing. I knew something was not right, but I decided a work was “good enough.” The response I got eventually showed me that I was wrong in that assessment. Seeing months of rejection of a work that I once thought “good enough” can keep even the strongest character from moving forward.

The goal, however, is to learn from the failure. Then adapt.

How about you, any lessons from failure you’re willing to share here? Or do you prefer to keep them close to the vest?  

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which is hours away from publishing Winter’s Regret: What Might Have Been, the final edition of its Seasons Series of anthologies. The other titles in the series, all available through Amazon and Smashwords, are: Spring Fevers, Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, and The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse. Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Confessions of a NaNo Loser

by Matt Sinclair

So, how is your Nano WriMo novel moving along? We’re just short of midway through November, so if you’re keeping pace, you’re closing in on 25,000 words. Congratulations! Of course, if you’re reading this, perhaps the novel is not going all that well. Don't worry, I won’t chastise you. When I’ve worked on Nano, I’ve barely topped 20,000 words. But that’s ok.

If you’re wondering: no, I don’t feel like a failure. Clearly, I’m not a Nano winner, but I’m not a failure. I’ve used Nano to serve my purposes: to push me to finish the first draft of one novel, to start another – and another after that. I think of Nano as a tool – a rather effective one, if you ask me.

Nano is a great way to spur a writer. It’s a challenging but reachable goal. I’d argue that it’s a better approach to writing a novel than my usual method because it has built-in deadlines and easy to follow progress reports. Another plus is it’s messy.

I like messy. Messy gets words on the paper (or the computer). Messy gets to 50,000 words faster than clean. Professionally, I tend to write clean because I often edit as I go along. That’s inefficient. I know it, yet still I do it. It’s better for you to write, write, write and when it’s time to edit, focus on the editing, the revision.

But everyone has their preferred style. I’m not telling you you’re a bad writer if you tend to fix the typos you plopped into your prose as soon as you notice them. If I reached 20,000 words in Nano, it probably doesn’t show because I edited sections down before moving on. Damned anal-retentive personality!

I suspect most readers here know that topping 50,000 words in Nano WriMo does not mean you completed a novel. It means you met a goal. And a short-term goal at that. Polishing those novels into publishable gold takes time. But it’s worth your while.

Earlier this month, Elephant’s Bookshelf Press published Whispering Minds by A.T. O’Connor. It was conceived during Nano 2009 – four years to the day of its publication, actually. For the month of November, 2009, she wrote 56,000 words in twenty-six days. Not too shabby. In the intervening years, she worked on other things, including some wonderful short stories that also have been published by EBP (which is my company, by the way), but she polished her novel off to become the crown jewel of the young publishing house. Because it wasn't ready in December 2009.

I know from experience that dreams of seeing our books published cross the writers’ minds as we work on our novel, regardless of whether it is a November baby or not. That’s fine. Just don’t think about it too long. You have close to 1,700 words to write today. Good luck!

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published its first novel, Whispering Minds. This past summer, it published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available viaAmazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, andAmazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

The Daily Grind

by Matt Sinclair

It’s become a basic truism that we all lead busy lives. Many of us struggle to eke out what writing time we can out of a day. I consider myself lucky to have a half hour or so on the train to read, write, edit, and organize my writing life. In fact, as I’m typing this blog the train is exiting the tunnel and about to cross a river. At times reminiscent of the opening sequence of The Sopranos, but it’s home…

Unless we're careful, it’s easy to get distracted from our writing routine. Sometimes that’s fine, as a writing mind is an exploring mind, and I don’t want to stunt anyone’s imagination. But at the same time, writers need to be able to focus and use their time wisely. A routine might seem like drudgery to some, but to others it's the only way things get done.

Perhaps the easiest way to approach that discipline is to write down things on a calendar and keep notes. But when there's so much going on, notes aren’t always enough. And as the old cliché goes, there are only so many hours in a day.

The future will only bring more change – some we must anticipate and some to which we must adapt quickly. I’m curious: how do you manage your time? Here at FTWA, we’ve posted a few blogs about whether we’re pantsers or planners when it comes to our writing. But what about when it comes to our lives?

Are we pantsers about when we write? I know lots of writers who plan to write a thousand words every day – usually to varying levels of success. But do you vary when you do that? Do you write in increments and squeeze fifteen minutes of writing here and another ten later and maybe a half hour just before or just after bed? Has that changed for you over the years?

Do you have specific days when you write? How easy or hard is it to get through your writing days? I know many writers aren’t able or don’t feel compelled to write every day. Trust me, I get it.

But do you know when you write your best? Are you able to optimize your peak writing moments?

What do you guys think? How do you approach that daily (or not quite daily) grind?

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available viaAmazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, andAmazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Assessing the Value of Tools

by Matt Sinclair

What sells you when you decide to buy a book? Perhaps you were drawn by the cover art. Did the title catch your eye first? Was it a blurb on the back? You may have read a review and decided long before you ruffled the pages that this was the next item for your to-be-read pile.

As an author, all these are valuable tools to employ. Some are harder to come by. Not everyone is going to see their book reviewed by the New York Times. For self-published authors, a mention there might happen only if the book becomes a surprise hit and warrants a news story. To be sure, that’s quite valuable in itself, but again not a likely outcome.

Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are something all of us should be seeking for our books. But even these might be hit or miss. To be sure, it’s nice when people indicate a book is now on their “Want to read” list, but it’s more significant when “AvidReader123” writes a three paragraph review of glowing praise, especially if Avid has written half a ton of other reviews that people found helpful.

Let’s go back to the blurb. These are certainly nice to have. And for the unknown writer, they can be more than just nice. Imagine how helpful it would be if your publisher got Stephen King to blurb your debut psychological thriller. That could certainly translate into sales. It could even generate buzz.

But blurbs from brand name authors are awfully tough to get, too. Agents know to protect their authors from blurbing too often. I know writers who are kept on a strict one-blurb-a-year diet.

Ok, so Stephen King won’t blurb your book and neither will his son Joe Hill. But what if one of those guys tweeted your book’s debut? Might that be worth something to you? What if George Takei shared mention of your novel on Facebook? Think his followers might take notice? Honestly, I think those might be more valuable than a blurb these days.

Of course, such electronic real estate is also hard to come by. Heck, finding a twenty dollar bill on the ground might be more common. But it still might be easier to get a tweet than a blurb.

Think of your own social media habits. Don’t you share things you found interesting? You’re writers: what are you reading? That’s a form of endorsement in itself. If you tweet out what you’re reading, some of your followers might check it out, too. Perhaps you’d enjoy sharing a bevy of your favorite covers on Instagram.

The key is having a well-stocked toolbox. Some tools are sharper than others, some cost more or have limited use. But assess what each one can do for you -- and for others. In the end, you get back what you give.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available viaAmazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, andAmazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Who Do You Think You Are?

by Matt Sinclair

Can a man accurately write a story from a woman’s perspective? Can a woman write in a man’s voice? Can a 20-something Asian American who’s lived in the Northeast all his life write about being a black blues musician from the south? Can a Christian academic write about the tenets of Islam? Can a Muslim write about the politics of Jesus?

In my opinion, the answer to all these questions is yes. Of course, those answers come with at least a couple caveats: Such writers must do their research thoroughly, and they not only need to be excellent writers but also confident that they’ve approached their goal with respect.

Writing about people we are not is one of the joys of writing fiction. In its purest form, it is imagination; to be publishable, it must be informed imagination.

I recall starting a novel too soon. I had a vision of the characters, but before I’d finished my first page, I could see that my understanding was superficial. What did I know about being in my 70s or 80s and looking back on life? About as much as I knew about living and working in Antarctica, which was where part of my story would take place. It was years of research before I felt confident to start telling the tale of those characters, and I still need to do more research.

Of course, most of that research won’t make it directly on the page. Instead it comes through between the lines—in the words chosen and the attitudes conveyed.

In my opinion, it’s not merely about showing respect to the subject matter, which is critical, but it’s also about respecting the readers. We need to always remember that readers are perceptive. Tell an entertaining tale and readers might say nice things about your book, but if you expect them to suspend disbelief, to leave their real world behind for your imagined one, you need to do your homework. Of course, this might explain why so many writers’ early novels seem to be autobiographical.

But you’re writing something original, right? How would your main character react if someone cut him off on the road, or tripped her at a restaurant? These things don’t happen in your manuscript? Doesn’t matter. What I’m getting at is how well do you know your characters and how they’d react to adversity. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re a lapsed Catholic writing about a Sephardic Jewish family or a guy from suburban New Jersey writing about a girl living in rural Iowa. But the identity of the writer and the identity of the characters do matter to readers.

From the first time your manuscript crosses an agent’s desktop, it needs convey an answer to the question that will be on every reader’s mind: Who is this writer and why should I believe what is in front of me?

Who do you think you are? I hope you’re not only an author, you’re also a believable and authentic authority.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available viaAmazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, andAmazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68.

Super Cool!

by Matt Sinclair

“Super cool!”

It was a phrase I’d never heard my four-year-old daughter say before. I have no idea where she heard it. She jumped in place for a couple seconds, then zipped around the kitchen while I tried to put groceries away. She was a distraction to say the least, but I think her joy was easily the most thrilling distraction I’d had in months, if not years.

What was the reason for her excitement? We weren’t going anywhere special for vacation. I hadn’t bought her favorite meal for dinner. I hadn’t even given her a kiss on the forehead yet – not that it would have caused her to jump for joy; the girl won’t even talk to me on the phone.

No, this was the joy of Daddy arriving with new books to read.

I’d called from the library to determine which Berenstain Bears stories she had her heart set on. We were limited to two, however, since the series is on her school’s summer reading list – a list she has no idea exists, mind you. The ones she really wanted weren’t available. But when I arrived home with books, she danced and screamed and jumped and ran. I dare you to keep up with a happy four-year-old.

I don't when I last felt such joy over a book. Elephant’s Bookshelf Press just released our latest anthologies, and I’m certainly happy about both Summer’s Edge and Summer’s Double Edge, but as I pressed "publish" on the computer screen, I told my wife that it was happening. I did not jump in place. Granted, the corners of my mouth probably rose.

But I can’t get the image out of my mind: the sheer honest joy. New books! Super cool!

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which recently published Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, which are available through Smashwords (SE) (SDE) and Amazon (SE) (SDE), and include stories from several FTWA writers. In 2012, EBP published its initial anthologies: The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available via Amazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, and Amazon). Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68

Blood and Audience

by Matt Sinclair

How important is building an audience to you? As writers we often want to leave our art on the page. Be bold, we’re advised. Be honest and open. Bleed your emotions on the page, we’re told. Some of us have trouble with all that.

I won’t argue against the advice. In fact, I’d go further. Bleed everywhere. Ok, maybe not everywhere; that gets messy and tends to wig people out and attract vampires. Plus, it’ll cost a mint to replace those bed sheets all the time. I’m talking more metaphorically, anyway.

How has your audience found you? Do you have an audience yet? Sometimes they find you as a result of a blog post or an interview. In this era of Twitter and Facebook and other social media vehicles, you often don’t know where or how your next reader might discover you. Those retweets of retweets might just be an ore you’ve yet to mine.

But if you haven’t bled in your interview, if you haven’t compelled someone by your honest, open writerly persona, then you’ll be just another undiscovered talent waiting for someone to chisel out the real you.

But how do you do that if no one has asked those probing questions? Well, learn from what publicists do: suggest questions or avenues of thought. Most blog interviews of writers are done via email; let’s face it, the vast majority of us are not being called by Vanity Fair or the New Yorker or even Writer’s Digest for anything other than a new subscription. Heck, not even for that!

Remember to be polite in suggesting other questions. It’s their blog, not yours. Even if you’re writing up a guest blog post, they still control what goes out to the world from their channel.

In my opinion, readers don’t merely like to read great and entertaining stories, they like to find interesting voices. That voice happens not only in the manuscript but also in the interview. Readers like to learn a little bit about the writer behind the voice. If you’re an irascible curmudgeon, that’s fine. By all means, bleed curmudgeon juice. (What color is it, by the way?)

The object is to build an audience. Whether you’re approachable or mysterious, you don’t have many opportunities to make initial impressions. Don’t waste them. Be interesting.

Matt Sinclair, a New York City-based journalist and fiction writer, is also president and chief elephant officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, which published The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, (available via Amazon and Smashwords) and Spring Fevers (also available through Smashwords, and Amazon) in 2012. The latest anthologies from EBP, Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge, will be published in July. Matt blogs at the Elephant's Bookshelf and is on Twitter @elephantguy68