Pro Bono is in Hardcover

After publishing Pro Bono a number of years ago, I have learned quite a number of stories about incidents surrounding the murders, and the case itself. I collected all of them and added them to the book, then published this new version in hard cover.

This hard cover version is available on Lulu for $25 at: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jeff-mcarthu...

The Secret to Independent Publishing... Series! Part 2

Last week I talked about my journey through independent publishing learning what was working and what was not.  I had started with writing non-fiction and one-off novels, and found that the promoting of them was very difficult, particularly because, once I had promoted them, I was done.  There was no series which I could build over time.

What I’ve done with this blog post, in splitting it up, is illustrate part of what works.  If you can generate some interest and say the story will continue, that draws an audience in.  It also helps because it’s spread over two areas.  Some of you will undoubtedly see this post first, and go back to the last one to see where I began while many of you will have seen that first, and come here.  This is called casting a wider net.  If I had another one come out next week, some people would undoubtedly see that and trace it back to see where it all began.  And when people make sure to read all the way through, that counts as three views to my blog per person rather than just one.

In short, having a series builds an audience over time, something independent authors desperately need.  The more reasons you have to post about your series, the more opportunities others have to find it.  And by having multiple books come out, you can have something new to talk about regarding your series as time goes along.  It’s especially helpful when you have short stories that take place throughout as well, as you can post and talk about those for free, and they’re tiny amounts of your story that people can digest without a huge investment of time.

In my case, I’ve chosen to do my series Relic Worlds, about an anthropologist searching for ancient artifacts in the ruins of distant planets to learn what happened to alien civilizations in the galaxy.  Sort of Indiana Jones in space, if you will.  This series has a novel once a year, and a bunch of short stories in between each novel.  There are also games, choose your own adventures, and other interactive materials that come out for it all the time.

By having so many different elements, I’m able to talk about what’s happening in the series on an ongoing basis.  This is a huge departure from my other books where the only update I could give was, “book’s still out on Amazon and waiting for you to buy.”  As an ongoing tale, I can keep everyone up to date on the latest products and stories in the ongoing adventure.  And I can bring everyone along for the ride like they’re involved.

I bring them along by being a part of their discussions on Facebook, Twitter, forums, etc.  Being sci fi and adventure, those are the groups I belong to; and I enjoy the discussions.  I can get involved in what they’re saying about other sci fi and adventure stories, and I build trust and engagement with them.  So when I say, hey guys, something else has come out from Relic Worlds, I’m not just appearing out of nowhere and trying to sell them something.  Hell, I’m not even selling to them, I’m giving away most of what I’m talking about for free.

Speaking of which, it’s best to make the first book free as well.  This pulls people into the story as they’re likely to get the first book for free just to see what it is, then they’ll get curious where the characters go from there.  I made sure to end the first book by giving a sense of where everyone was going, but leaving it open-ended enough to make everyone curious.  With my one-off books, when I gave them away for free, that was it.  They had the product and didn’t need to buy anything else.

And then there’s the conventions.  While it was difficult for me to find conventions to sell my other books, with sci fi, there are plenty of conventions dedicated to just that, or to the “popular arts,” which generally includes sci fi and fantasy along with comic books.  Now, at these conventions you’ll generally spend a lot of money getting a booth and decorating it, but then you’ll hardly have any sales.  So why are they worth it?  Because that’s where you build your following.  They may not want to spend money at your booth because they’re spending it all on Batman and Star Wars paraphernalia.  But since they met you, they’ll go home and look at your stuff, and possibly buy it later.  They’re also pretty willing to join your mailing list.

This mailing list, I’ve learned, is perhaps the most important element.  By having it, I can contact them directly to remind them I exist rather than counting on people to look up my page and start following along.  Again, with a one-off book, all I can do is tell them what’s in the book and hope they buy it, or maybe tell them about new books I’m writing, which may or may not be of a genre they’re interested in.  But by having an ongoing sci fi series, they will stay connected, and follow the story that matches their interest.

So, the plan for Relic Worlds going forward is basically in two parts: online and at conventions.

Online I interact with others in their groups and on my pages, twitter, blog, etc.  I tell them what’s new in the world of Relic Worlds while interacting with them about other subjects in sci fi and adventure.  (Even throwing in a lot about real science and archaeology.)  This is all centered on the newsletter that I send out once a month to the people on the email list.

Meanwhile, I go to whatever conventions I can get to and afford, and I build my email list, as well as give out flyers to get people involved in the series.  So far it’s done well to generate some interest.  Few sales have come from it, but I’ve just started, so hopefully this will work.  I’ll post later about how it continues.

My First Booth at Wondercon

I ran my first booth ever at Wondercon this weekend, and I learned quite a bit.

First I must explain that I have been studying this for quite a while; how to best use a convention to sell my products.  I first went to Comic Con in 2007 and have been trying to utilize that convention and others in the best way possible.  Mostly, I tried to do it on the cheap, handing out flyers in the front, and running events that didn't involve getting a table myself.  One example was the treasure hunt I ran, where I gave out flyers full of clues that led attendees to several booths until they got to the last one where they got a prize relating to my series.  (The flyer, of course, also said the name of the series on it.)

All of these attempts failed to have much of an impact.  The treasure hunt, first of all, was too difficult to accomplish, and few people got to the end.  But the biggest problem was that I was, ultimately, outside of the convention.  To really be taken seriously, I had to go all the way and get a booth.  So that is a must.

I became impressed with Wondercon when it first moved to Anaheim.  The first year was rough; but overall it had the feel of a more independent minded convention that remembered its sci fi and fantasy roots.  It wasn't quite so owned by the corporations.  I knew that when I got a booth, it would be here.

My booth was way in the back, which made it easy to load, but harder for attendees to find.  Luckily, it was right next to the food court, so a lot of people saw it during lunch.

I ran the treasure hunt again, but this time it was simple to do.  And at the end, people who wanted to claim their prize had to give their name and email address to enter the drawing.  The grand prize was a trip to Disneyland, so there were a lot of people who wanted to do it.  This left me with an extended email list.  However, it was not as long as it could have been since people had to do the treasure hunt first, and some didn't want to bother.

The table was filled with the flyers on the right, the books in the middle, and a large volcano model I made on the left.  The Relic Worlds sign hung from the table int he front, and vertical signs of the two books hung behind me.  I found this to be a really good layout, though I might have overdone it on the number of different flyers and different books.  What I really needed was a flyer with the treasure hunt, a flyer with the books, and a flyer with a free short story.  Maybe adding the bookmark was a good idea as well, because it was easy to get people to take a bookmark after they had bought other books.

The way the days worked seems to be the same for every convention.  Friday is the day when people trickle in and look at what there is to offer.  It's best to give them previews of what I have as well as get them on the treasure hunts.  At night there was gaming in a different building.  I thought this would be super important as it would be a whole new audience that extended into the evening.  However, this year the gaming area was far away from the convention center, so hardly anyone was there.  Also, people tend to break off into cliques at these gaming events, so its effectiveness was limited.

Saturday was the big day.  It was the day to push both the free fliers and the books, as well as attract everyone with the volcano, and put on a game that utilized the volcano.  This was more effective than the night gaming as it was in full view of other attendees, who looked on at the setup with amazement.  (I spend hundreds of dollars making it.)  I did find, though, that it would be better to have a separate person run the game, as I needed to be at the booth.  I also had two models dressed as a couple of the characters posing for the cameras out front where the cosplayers hang out, and give out flyers.  This was one of the best and most effective things to do as we got TONS of people photographing them along with the books.  I could not have arranged this, however, if I hadn't had two wonderful volunteers at the booth selling books while I was dealing with the models.

Sunday is known as the dead day.  However, it's also the day people are usually more apt to buy.  They've spent the last couple days looking over everything, and on the last day they go through buying what they've decided to get.  It's also the best day to network with other booths as they're less busy.

In the end, I learned that conventions are essentially the second half of the equation to sell books.  The other half is online, which I'll get to in another post.  Conventions are where you spread the word in person.  You can't really expect to make any money at them; you're going to spend more money than you make creating an effective platform.  However, this platform should be used to create something that the attendees go back and tell others about.  The experience should be something they want to photograph either at your booth, or in the cosplay area.  (I had both with the volcano at the booth and the two models in the cosplay area.)  It's also a great way to get people to learn about your website and any deals you have going, such as a free book deal or a sale.

But what it's best for is what I've recently learned is the most important thing in independent book selling: building the email list.  I never thought of this as such an important step, but it is.  Having a website and Facebook page is important for people to go see, but the general public will forget about you unless you actively remind them of your existence, and sending short stories and/or updates is the best way to do it.  So an email list is what you need.  And there's no better way to build this than at a convention.  When people meet you face to face, they get interested in what you're doing.  They're usually not ready to buy anything because they want to keep checking you out.  So they're willing to give you their email address for you to tell them.  I made the mistake of tying it to the treasure hunt.  While the hunt was fun and unique and best of all, made me stand out, it limited the number of people who signed up on the list; and many who would want to hear more later on never came back.

So the bottom line is it's best to find a way to have the attendees join your mailing list by doing something there at the booth that's fun and memorable, but they need to give you their name and email to do it.

Preparing for Wondercon

Wondercon is going to be a huge event for me, and for Relic Worlds.  The obvious part of it that’s important is that it’s where I will be releasing book 2 of the Relic Worlds series, Lancaster James and the Secret of the Padrone Key.  However, it’s also important for other reasons.

For one, this is the first time I will have a booth of my own.  I have attended other conventions, but always with the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society.  It was a good way to try out the convention, paying less and only having to take care of a small space.  However, I had to share the booth with others, and because Relic Worlds is so much about the entire franchise, it benefits from having an entire table.

This is also the last chance I’m giving myself to make a full career out of writing.  If this doesn’t put me over the top so I can work as a writer, I’m going to have to start getting a regular day job and settle into a career.  So I’m going all out with this event.  I’m doing every event and marketing idea I’ve ever had.  This includes a large, miniatures game on Friday night with a volcano and ruined village, models posing out front of the convention, a treasure hunt inside the convention, assistants helping to run the booth, and every Relic Worlds product that exists.

It’s been an expensive project, and I’ve spent a lot of time putting everything together.  Even if I sell all my books, I won’t come close to breaking even.  However, the idea is to kickstart interest in the series, and that’s what I’m hoping to do.

Below are the steps in putting together the volcano that will be part of the miniatures board for the game Friday night and to show at the booth to get people's attention.

Relic Worlds, Book 2 is Available for Pre-Order for One More Week

The second Relic Worlds novel, Lancaster James and the Secret of the Padrone Key, is available for pre-order.  You can get the Kindle version on Amazon, and you can get a hard copy or paperback on Kickstarter.  You can also get other perks by pre-ordering on Kickstarter, including the hard cover version of this second book, which might not be available after the book’s release.

The Padrone Key will be officially released to the public this Friday, March 25^th.  You will be able to find it on Amazon, or you can purchase signed copies in person at Wondercon, where we will be at booth SP-004.