Oh Yeah, By The Way, I Wrote A Book, or Two

It's so funny.

I spend the majority of my time helping authors with gaining better visibility, maximizing their title and author SEO on various retail websites, enhancing and working on their author brand, and overall, attempting to sell more of their books. I quite love doing that. I find it extremely satisfying.

Then there's me. And my books.

Yes, I work hard at them. Yes, I love writing. Yes, I love publishing.

But I keep forgetting about mentioning or talking about my own books. For example, I published the eBook version of KILLING IT ON KOBO last week. But I was at a writing conference and was busy with engaging in the daily activities and with the writers there; you know, helping them learn more, helping them strategize for selling more. So I neglected to really do much to even mention that the new book on that exact topic was out.

Sigh.

No, I've never liked pushy "salesy" sorts of social media posts. And though I will, from time to time, mention something about one of my books as it relates to something else, I try my best not to be too in peoples' faces with pushing my books.

Sometimes I lean, too far, in the opposite direction.

Because in the past month and a half I have published two books about writing and publishing. And I realize that I haven't even mentioned them here on this blog.

Sigh.

It's funny, my friend, Joanna Penn, of The Creative Penn Podcast, sent me an email late last week asking if there was some sort of landing page for my latest book, KILLING IT ON KOBO because she wanted to recommend it. Joanna has done more to sell my book than I have.

I realized, of course, that I hadn't even added a listing of that book to my website. Nor did I add the other book in that same series (Stark Publishing Solutions), THE 7 P's OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS.

Sigh.

I have fixed that. I have those two books and the forthcoming one that's still a work in progress, listed under the bibliography/books section of my website.

Currently, only the eBook versions of these are out, but I plan on having the audiobook versions released by the end of November if all works out well.

Speaking of Joanna's podcast, her latest episode, Episode 400, is a great interview with Kobo's European Manager of Kobo Writing Life, Camille Mofidi. And I'm not just saying that because I originally hired Camille for that role. I'm saying it because she's awesome. And so is Joanna

Seriously, go check out that podcast interview for great free tips about selling more on Kobo. Listen to that. It's free. Then, if you want a "Reader's Digest" version of tips for Kobo (kind of like a significantly shortened version of the book I mention in this post), sign up for my10 day free email course from Reedsy called Kobo Hacks for Optimizing Sales.

Yeah, go do those two things. Don't buy my book about Kobo. Enjoy the free content/advice and tips.

See, there I go again, being an under-pushy salesperson.

 

Tell Me About The Early Days of Self-Publishing, George

The other day, while putting together material for my forthcoming Free Friday Frights, I was looking into the origin of the chapbook Active Reader that I had initially created in print.

It led back to 2008 when I had purchased an Espresso Book Machine for the then-bookstore at McMaster University which had been called Titles Bookstore, and we launched a "Titles on Demand" business using a large print-on-demand machine from On Demand Books.

We were the 2nd location in Canada and the 9th in the world to own an Espresso Book Machine. Exciting times.

And, of course, it was the early days of what was about to become the large self-publishing "Gold Rush" of 2011 / 2012. (To be honest, we're still in the early days of self-publishing, as, each year, thousands of more authors learn about the amazing possibilities of what they can do related to selling eBooks globally)

An article from the Dec 2008 McMaster Times

It was my work helping local authors who were interested in print (POD) self-publishing that eventually led me to my role as Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations at Kobo. Because, as amazing as the machine and having print-on-demand access was, I was still running into the issue of people in countries on the other side of the globe wanting access to locally produced books. So I helped the authors create eBook versions to load to Kindle and Kobo, so we didn't have to worry about shipping costs or logistics.

Pic from Hamilton Spectator article - The EBM, Donna (Bookstore Director) & me

Because the machine required a lot of testing; and, particularly in the early days of the machine, we were doing dozens of tours and demonstrations of it, we needed to create some smaller books so that we could go through the demonstrations quickly (also, without using a ton of paper - ie, printing a 300 page book). So I created a chapbook of about 50 pages that contained three of my previously published short stories. It was easier to use one of my own pieces of writing that I had the rights to than to worry about violating some sort of copyright.

I called the chapbook Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World.

Of course, once I moved from McMaster to Kobo, and needed to have files to test the eBook self-publishing system (Kobo Writing Life) I had been responsible for creating there, I converted the book into eBook format.

 And, in mid 2017, I then had the book converted into audiobook format using Findaway Voices.
 

It was interesting how, when doing a book in print, you needed to have a minimum page count in order for the book to be properly bound using certain binding technologies. (For POD, I think the minimum page count that worked well might be somewhere between 30 and 40 pages). The maximum page count for an Espresso Book Machine was somewhere in the 550 to 600 page range. Of course, for ebooks, there's no minimum and no limit. As I have enjoyed sharing when talking to audiences who aren't familiar with ebooks, "you aren't limited to the standard format of 300 pages bound between two pieces of cloth."

Funny to look back about ten years ago and see what I had been up to.

Remembering how cutting-edge this POD machine in a bookstore was, I was only beginning to understand the power of digital publishing.

Who would have guessed what these past ten years have actually entailed?

In many ways it feels like only a few years have passed since I was cranking out POD books at the bookstore at McMaster and sharing the possibilities of that brave new world with anyone who would listen; in other ways, it feels like at least twenty years ago.

Superstars Writing Seminars 2018

I attended Superstars Writing Seminars this past week as a guest instructor.

Superstars Founding Faculty Members (F) and Guest Instructors. Left to Right: Lisa Mangum, Jonathan Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson (F), Rebecca Moesta (F), James A. Owen (F), David Farland (F), Brandon Sanderson (F), Eric Flint (F)

Even though I was there to teach and share insights about Kobo and Kobo Writing Life and digital publishing, and even though it was my fifth visit to this annual conference, I still walked away with an incredible amount of knowledge. I ALWAYS do.

And that's one of the reasons I keep going back. The industry keeps changing and the learning never stops. And this conference is filled with information about both traditional publishing as well as indie and digital publishing options for writers, always focusing on the BUSINESS of being a writer. (Even though there is an intensive "craft day" now tacked on at the front of the conference)

Pic from VIP Dinner - Photo courtesy of Lauren Lang of Jacobin Photography

Apart from the presentations, panels and discussions I participated in, I also scooted around between sessions and in hallways and did a series of live Facebook videos of chats with various folks, including the founding faculty, guest instructors and other industry pros who were attending. It was part of my wanting to share, via my Stark Reflections/Stark Publishing brand, insights and tidbits of info for writers who couldn't be there.

What Canadians Read in 2017

One of the things I always loved about Kobo was their willingness to share insights about reading data.

I rec'd two messages from Kobo today that really tickled me.

One was about my Kobo Reading Life. (And yes, when I created Kobo Writing Life I DID base it on the already awesome "Reading Life" program the company had crafted)

Interesting to see how much MORE reading I have done in the past month compared to the one before that. Not working 60 to 80 hours a week can have that positive affect on a person's reading time. (I'm MUCH richer for the reading experience)

The other was a fascinating series of lists and stats about what Canadians were reading on Kobo in 2017. Below are some snippets from that message:

The Long Goodbye, The Quick Hello

In my podcast feed this morning, two of the Wednesday podcasts that loaded to my pod-catcher come with interesting timing.

• My final podcast as host of the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, interviewing Rachel Amplett

• My first post-Kobo podcast interview on the Self-Publishing Podcast, with Johnny, Sean & Dave

The interview with Rachel took place in Kobo's office in October and is wonderful to go back and listen to. I was particularly impressed with how hard and long she worked at writing (and how she prioritizes writing into her daily schedule), and the tipping point for her towards making a full-time go of it. Rachel was inspiring and charming and fun to talk to. At the end of that episode I offer my own "audio" goodbye to the podcast listeners.

For the SPP Podcast (not always safe for work, BTW - and I believe I'm the first to say a naughty word in this episode - "When in Rome" after all) I talk about "Life After Kobo" but also reflect on the book industry in general and what I learned from my years at Kobo, as well as speculation about what the future holds.

It feels as if I'm spent the past thirty days participating in "The Long Goodbye" - I suppose that's a side-effect of the deep adoration I had for the past six years working at Kobo (all the amazing people I worked with their and the fantastic authors I was fortunate to get to know and to spend time with.

Something I realized, in the past month, was that I was going to miss the ongoing interaction with authors, and for that reason, I decided to create my own podcast where I could talk to industry folks, to authors, and continue to share my own reflections on publishing.

So I decided to adapt the first publishing imprint I created back in 2004 to publish One Hand Screaming (Stark Publishing - derived from Stark Entertainment, the DJing service that my best friend Steve and I created back in University. STARK = "Ste" from Steve and "ark" from Mark), use part of the original design Steve created for me and call it STARK REFLECTIONS ON WRITING & PUBLISHING.

I'm recording episodes now and will be releasing it in January 2018. But you can listen to a quick teaser about the podcast and be notified when the episodes start up.

Cheers to Beers

Admittedly, I haven't been blogging here much, even though I'm proud to say that I have been blogging since my initial post on March 3, 2005.

That first post wasn't much, just a note that my friend from work, Mathew (work back then was Chapters Online, or Chapters/Indigo) had mocked me into starting a blog. It's short (so unlike me) and sweet (well I can sometimes be sweet) and called Beginnings. (I was unique, since it wasn't like many blogs, called "My First Post")

My second post, on March 9th, was a little more typical of the musings I would blog about over the years. It was called Not the TV show starring Dick. This one was about the growth of my Van Dyke beard. You know, the facial hair that everyone calls a goatee. (It is technically either referred to as a Van Dyke or a goatee and mustache. A goatee is just chin hair. A mustache is hair over the top lip. But, since laziness prevails and that affects language, most people call it a goatee. Gee, see how I like to rant about such things?)

In my first eight years of blogging I averaged between 180 and 190 blog posts per year, which was almost one every two or three days.

I haven't blogged as much since 2012. Perhaps one reason is that many of my updates end up being shared in the quicker click share of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. Another part of the reason is likely that my "blogging" efforts were directed towards the Kobo Writing Life blog as well as other writing efforts.


But I still quite enjoy blogging. Heck, I've even started other blogs that align directly specific passions.

While the KWL Blog was focused specifically on writing and publishing, and I was able to channel much passion into that, Liz and I started Spirits Untapped, a blog that focuses on the spirit and spirits that inhabit beer and bar culture.

A "Beer with Norm" - What does it say about me for this being on my bucket list?

Yes, this will be information that we have started compiling for a forthcoming book in my "series" of books on the paranormal, called SPIRITS UNTAPPED: Haunted Bars and Breweries that likely won't be out for a couple of years; but we started this the blog in May 2016 and on the blog we decided to focus on the Spirit of Beer Culture, while throwing in a few spots about haunted locations.

For example, the first post, May 7, 2016, was about The Winking Judge on Augusta Street in Hamilton. I first learned about it when writing Haunted Hamilton: The Ghosts of Dundurn Castle & Other Steeltown Shivers. And it has since become a local "haunt" since I moved into an apartment "above" the judge in 2014.

The Winking Judge - One of our favorite haunts

On Spirits Untapped, Liz and I blog about such things as:

• Haunted Locations (which will end up going into the book)
• Breweries
• Memorable Beers
• Interesting beer labels and artwork
• Beer festivals
• The intersection of beer and music 

. . . along with other fun intersections from beer culture as well as a map tracking the various locations we have enjoyed beers together since 2014.

I'm pretty sure that the Spirits Untapped blog will continue to grow now that I have more time for writing, and that I'll also be returning to blog more here as 2017 draws to a close and we usher in 2018.

So Long And Thanks For All The Books

A few weeks ago I did something I didn't think I would ever do.

I said goodbye to a job that I not only loved, but that I felt was the absolute perfect role for me.

It wasn't easy.

Starting in October of 2011 I had the role of Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations for Rakuten Kobo, Inc. It truly did feel like a role that was custom built for me. And not just for the fact that, before I even applied for the job, I met with Kobo's current CEO, Michael Tamblyn to discuss the idea he had of forging a new element of Kobo's business, a platform or tool that made it easier for self-published authors and smaller publishers to publish direct to Kobo's catalog.

I still remember, with a brisk and fresh fondness, how it sounded as if the job Michael was describing was custom made for me.

In some ways I still think it was, because the experience, the ride, of being a part of Kobo and being at the forefront of building Kobo Writing Life, which wasn't just a free publishing platform at www.kobo.com/writinglife, but it was an entire movement and spirit, as encapsulated at www.kobowritinglife.com that gave writers and publishers a place where the craft and business of writing were explored, celebrated and shared openly and freely.

In the six years that I was at Kobo and in the five full years of KWL's operation (it was launched in July of 2012), Kobo Writing Life went on to represent 1 in every 5 books sold at Kobo globally, and 1 in every 4 books sold in the major English language territories.

KWL was a huge success and I had hired the absolute best people to work with me on making it that success. What more could a guy ask for? But I suppose what made saying goodbye really hard was saying it to my amazing colleagues and to the thousands of authors that I was privileged to work with over the year.

Just prior to the public announcement on the KWL Blog ("Thank you, Mark" - Nov 2, 2017), I quickly composed a letter that went to as many of the authors whose emails were easily accessible by a quick-fill in my Outlook email.

The letter was entitled "So Long and Thanks for all the Books" - because, ultimately, KWL was successful because

Below is an excerpt from that email message I sent out:

It was, of course, not an easy decision to come to, because I’m sure most of you already know how much I adore Kobo and the fantastic people on the KWL Team that I have been very fortunate to work with. But, after having the privilege of building Kobo Writing Life, which launched in 2012, to working with the teams at Kobo and with authors around the globe to establish its place as a wonderful success story, and, of course, a world-class platform for publishing to Kobo, it is time for the next phase for both Kobo Writing Life as well as for me, personally. As many of you know, I have always loved my job at Kobo and have always loved interacting and engaging with authors – and I WILL miss that the most. Of course, I won’t be going far, as one of the things I plan on pursing is to double-down on my own writing, which has taken a back seat for the past 6 years. (Yes, I find all of you so inspiring, and the one thing that was perhaps lacking for me was the satisfaction of actually writing more)

And, of course, I couldn’t be leaving “my baby” Kobo Writing Life in better hands. And that is one of the things that gives me great comfort.

Christine Munroe, Senior Manager, Author Performance, will be overseeing the KWL team and I couldn’t be entrusting KWL into more capable hands. She is an experienced and forward thinking publishing professional that I am not only proud to get to work with but am excited to watch help take KWL to the next level of greatness. Many of you likely already know her, and I’m sure if you don’t yet, you’ll soon have that pleasure. 

Below is a quick snapshot of the current KWL team – (yes, I left myself in the picture just for the pleasure of getting to hang around with them for that much longer) -- so when you are emailing them you can get to love them the way that I do. They are an amazing group of people whose hard work, passion and commitment to excellence I have been the “front person” for. I am tremendously proud of this fine group of people who, like many of you, have felt like family.

And, if you don’t have their direct emails, that’s just fine. Please never hesitate to reach out to the KWL team at writinglife@kobo.com – They are an absolutely amazing team who are very responsive to your tickets. Chances are you’ll hear from Laura or Joni or, if your issue is related to Publishing Operations, from Tara and Stephanie. If the message needs to get to someone else on the team, the team works closely together to ensure the right person gets the right question. The average response time, during business hours is usually within 4 hours. They’re top notch, they are experts and they all truly care about authors having a good experience with Kobo.
 
I know that, I, for one, am looking forward to continuing to publish to Kobo via Kobo Writing Life and I have promised the team that I’ll not only be their biggest advocate, but that I will, of course, be an informal author QA person, always eager to offer suggestions about things that make an author’s life easier. That is, of course, the way that we originally built and have continued to maintain Kobo Writing Life. And it’s only going to be getting better thanks to this amazing team and feedback of authors like you.

Lastly, I want to thank you all for writing amazing books, for connecting with me over the years and for providing content for Kobo’s customers in 190 countries. In the same way that I’ll be watching Kobo’s and the KWL Team’s ongoing growth and success, I’ll be watching and cheering you on as well.

Thanks for all that you do. I’m sure I will see you around many of the old familiar places.

Yours in writing,

Mark Lefebvre
Director, Self-Publishing & Author Relations
Rakuten Kobo, Inc.
 

So it wasn't an easy email to write. And leaving Kobo was not an easy thing to do.

But I look back on a truly unique and amazing previous six years and I am appreciative for all that it brought to me and all that it continues to bring to me. Because the connections and friendships and benefit I have personally received from being a part of this amazing company and the incredibly extraordinary movement in the publishing world, have fulfilled me and made me rich in ways that I am still barely able to count.

I am appreciative, and honored and thankful.

So I suppose it might be appropriate, with my US friends in mind, to be thinking in that way during American Thanksgiving.

Okay, now back to some writing. After all, I have a NaNoWriMo novel to finish in less than 7 days (the sequel to A CANADIAN WEREWOLF IN NEW YORK entitled FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES), and I also have a contract to co-author my next book for Dundurn (MACABRE MONTREAL). (Of course, there'll be more on both of those things shortly here on this blog which I have been ignoring too much in the past few years)

Love and hugs to you and yours!

[EDIT - If you've worked with me and are interested in sharing a brief "testimonial" on my character, how I've helped or supported you, feel free to make it official:  Show Mark Some Love!]

Post NaNo Chat

So I made it through another NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), hitting the 50,000 word mark but not quite finishing off the novel I was working on. Ideally, I'll have some time between now and the end of the year to wrap up that first draft and then let it sit for a few months before attacking the second draft.

But, for the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, I recorded a chat that I had with some fellow Kobo staff members: Shayna, Camille and Bessie -- we shared our personal experiences with NaNoWriMo.

Video snapshot from the KWL Podcast NaNoWriMo Chat

You can download the MP3 here, listen online at the Kobo Writing Life Blog, or even subscribe to the RSS feed.

It was a fun chat -- always interesting to hear how different writers approach the same task.

Podcast Alley

My voice has been getting a lot of "airplay" lately with having been a guest on several different podcasts lately . . .

• A couple of weeks ago I was a guest on Simon Whistler's Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast. I have long enjoyed this really well produced podcast and the fascinating interviews that Simon conducts. It was fun to have Simon first interview me about my own writing and then we transitioned into talking about Kobo Writing Life and how authors could sell more books on Kobo.  (That was for episode 62)

• Last week I was also a guest on the Self-Publishing Round Table podcast (and Google Hangout). That podcast is always an interesting dynamic between the group of hosts (Wade Finnegan, Carl Sinclair, Trish McCallan, John Ward and Kevin Michael), creating an interesting blend of voices and perspectives) as well as the guests who are watching live.

• This past weekend I was interviewed for the latest episode of the Hide & Create Podcast, a 30 minute weekly podcast that covers all aspects of writing.  That podcast is hosted by Jordan Ellinger, Joshua Essoe, Debbie Viguié and Michael J Sullivan, who all bring a unique personal perspective to the discussion because of their backgrounds in the industry.

And, of course, I was delighted, as part of my hosting of the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, to get to interview Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (In Episode 22) in a delightful conversation about their work and a new collaborative project they are teaming up for.  (Rainbow and Faith coming together to work on a project is as genius as the merger of peanut butter and chocolate -- two great entities on their own forming something even more spectacular when brought together - and that's definitely something you get listening to the two being interviewed at the same time . . . .)

Rainbow & Faith taking a selfie in the front lobby at Kobo's home office in Toronto

When Hats Collide

I have long stated that I love my career as a bookseller; particularly since it often intersects so brilliantly with my career as a writer.

Take my position at Kobo as the director of self-publishing and author relations, for example.

Having been a writer for three decades, I have a pretty solid understanding of a writer's perspective, and that has helped me to champion particular aspects of the creation of Kobo Writing Life that would appeal to a writer. And having been a bookseller for more than two decades provides me the retailer's perspective -- which can be quite handy for a writer to understand. When I took on my role at Kobo in October 2011 it was two of my greatest passions coming together.

Colliding, you might say.

This morning I'm bound for Calgary, Alberta, to attend When Words Collide, a conference that brings readers and writers together and is one of best annual conferences for writers according to more than a dozen writer friends who have attended it over the years. I have long wanted to attend this conference and this year I'm one of the featured guests, alongside Jacqueline Guest, DJ McIntosh, Brandon Sanderson and Jack Whyte (among dozens of other distinguished writers, publishers and publishing professionals)

Tomorrow I'll be leading two half-day workshops that combine my experiences as a bookseller, writer and my role at the helm of Kobo Writing Life.  In the morning I'll be presenting Marketing Best Practices and in the afternoon an examination of the merits of Hybrid Publishing with dozens of examples from my own experience as well as from authors and publishing folks I have interacted with over the years, outlining strategies for success, potential rabbit-holes to failure and studies of past performances.

Friday through Sunday I'll be leading discussions and Q&As as well as sitting on panels, doing readings and a keynote and also meeting with authors and publishers to discuss Kobo and how they can use Kobo Writing Life to reach new global audiences.

Oh yeah, and, with my publisher, Atomic Fez, I'll be doing the pre-launch celebration for my first full length horror novel I, DEATH, with a limited special When Words Collide edition of the novel on Saturday.

Special WWC limited edition cover for I, Death

Looking forward to a fantastic string of days where the hats I wear as Kobo's author relations guy and writer collide so brilliantly.

It's really hard to figure out when I'm working and when I'm just following a lifelong passion. What a fantastic problem to have.

Planning On Peaking

I'm planning on peaking this weekend.

Pikes Peaking.

I'll be one of the Conference Faculty at Pikes Peak Writers Conference, being held in Colorado Springs, CO April 25th to 27th.

Apart from getting to spend some time with an amazing group of writers and other presenters and speakers, I'll be leading the following workshops/talks:

FRIDAY:  My Journey Through Traditional & Self-Publishing

A look at my journey through traditional and self-publishing, how success in one area has lead to opportunities and success in another and the importance for writers to embrace both as they build their careers and grow readerships globally.

SATURDAY: More Things In Heaven & Earth

An examination of the importance of embracing all options as a writer - traditional publishing plus self-publishing as well as why it is critical for writers to ensure their work is available in as many different retail locations (both online and bricks and mortar) as possible to reach the broadest possible audience. The title takes it's cue from an oft-quoted phrase I use:  "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreampt of on the shores of the world's longest river."

SUNDAY:   Have Kobo, Will Travel

An exploration of the global opportunities available to authors who publish to Kobo. An exploration of where Kobo Writing Life authors are from and where, globally their books have sold. A look at details of what sells well in what global markets and how authors are leveraging KWL to grow new audiences in Kobo's 190 countries and through their thousands of retail partners around the world.

End of November Events

I will be doing a series of speaking/writing engagements to cap off November.

On Wednesday November 27th I will be the featured author during the Brantford Public Library's Aspiring Author Gala Showcase, which is a chance for authors from the community to meet, share a bit about their work and then learn from a colleague.  I'll be sharing a bit about my publishing history, how I have embraced both traditional publishing and self-publishing and also do a reading.

Brantford Public Library, 173 Colborne Street, Brantford, ON -  6:30 PM  - FREE EVENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The lovely poster that the good folks at Brantford Public Libary made for this event

On Thursday November 28th I will be speaking with the Sudbury Writers Guild on a talk entitled EMBRACING ALL OPTIONS. I will discuss self-publishing, digital publishing, outlining the various options available to writers. While I will be covering a multitude of opportunities for writers I will, of course, be sharing detailed insights and about all that Kobo Writing Life has to offer to writers and help authors who are taking advantage of eBook publishing to sell more.

Kinsmen Room B in the Parkside Older Adult Centre at the YMCA (140 Durham Street , Sudbury, Ontari) - 6:30 PM -

On Friday November 29th I will be signing copies of SPOOKY SUDBURY at the Coles in New Sudbury Centre between 1 and 3 PM.  To celebrate BLACK FRIDAY, I'm offering all shoppers free copies from a selection of my eBooks at Kobo. (And, no, you don't need to own a Kobo reader in order to read them - you can use one of the FREE Kobo apps on virtually any device. Also, the books in which I own the rights to have no DRM on them, so the ePubs can be moved onto any device that reads ePub files (like a Sony or Nook reader - although, let's be honest, the Kobo readers are the best ones on the market anyway - and yes, I suppose I'm a little biased)

And on Saturday November 30th, I'm going to desperately try to finish my NaNoWriMo novel. I'm in the home stretch now, with less than 10,000 words to go......

The Kobo Writing Life Podcast

The second episode of the Kobo Writing Life podcast went live this morning.

Episode Two (or, Episode 002 if you prefer), features an interview with Robert Levine, author of FREE RIDE.

The interview includes Robert's perspectives on copyright and pricing as well as the difference between writing for dailies, weeklies and monthlies to transitioning into writing a full length book with an entirely different publication schedule.

Episode One (or Episode 001), features an interview with Steve Vernon, author of such items as the Flash Virus serialized YA thriller, The Tatterdemon Trilogy as well as non-fiction books such as Haunted Harbours and Maritime Murder.

Christina (KWL Team), Steve Vernon and me

For Steve's interview we talk about his role as a hybrid author and why he has embraced both traditional publishing as well as self-publishing.  I thought it was interesting that part of the reason is that Steve has SO MANY stories to write and share that traditional publishing just can't keep up with his production pace and schedule.

Digital Publishing Workshop

Among the fun and amazing things I got to do this past week.  (Such as participate in the act of awarding Alice Munro a CBA Libris Lifetime Achievement Award, hand the CBA Libris Author of the Year Award to Terry Fallis and Fiction Book of the Year Award to Will Ferguson), I ran a workshop for the Stratford Authors on digital self-publishing.

I arrived in plenty of time to set up, and, since Barnaby was in the car with me, I placed him front-row centre.  (My skeleton Barnaby was part of the "author branding" segment of the talk - in which I explain how I use Barnaby at book signings, etc, to ensure people immediately "get it" that I write horror/Twilight Zone style fiction - an easy way to quickly help people decide if it's worth their time coming to my author table, etc.  IE, attracting my target audience along with creating a fun ice-breaker for people to crack jokes about my skinny friend)

This was the first time I had done a workshop where I live published a book on Kobo Writing Life in front of the audience (walking them through the setup of my book in WORD format, the upload process, how I then download the converted ePub file and then use Sigil to manually polish it up, adjust the metadata and then re-upload a better version of the ePub).  It was fun to walk through each of the steps and show them the time and care it takes to

I published a short story I had previously published, BTW, demonstrating that an eBook doesn't have to be a full length novel sized work but can be, in fact whatever length (longer or shorter) that you want. The key is making sure the potential buyer is made aware of that through a solid synopsis/description so they don't feel tricked.


Here are some of the highlights of tips from my presentation:

• The Hard Truth:  This is a business. If you want to self-publish, you need to assume all of the responsibilities that the publisher normally takes on, and it is no small feat. You need to ensure all the elements of editorial, design, metadata, art, layout, listing, marketing are completed.
• The Three P's of Self-Publishing Success:  Practice, Patience and Persistence. Keep writing, write every day, re-write, edit, write again. Then some more.  And, just in the same way that submitting your work to agents and publishers takes a lot of time and effort, so to does becoming successful in self-publishing take a lot of hard work and patience. If you don't see results right away, maintain Persistence. Believe in yourself, never give up and focus on writing your next great book  (this advice, of course, also applies to traditional publishing)
• Know Your Audience.  Your book is not for everybody. If you believe that you are deceiving yourself.  You need to spend time figuring out who your ideal/target audience is, and don't waste any marketing efforts trying to blast your marketing efforts everywhere. The worst thing you can do is sell (or try to sell) your book to the wrong reader. If they buy it, you get one sale, but they won't like it, and it'll be a negative experience - what's the long-term benefit there?
• People DO Judge a Book By Its Cover.  A great cover, targeted for your ideal audience, can help you gain attention and sales.  A poor cover will send people running away (screaming, laughing, or some combination of both) and do more harm than good. Don't take short-cuts. If you don't have a good design eye (and it is hard to be objective), you need a cover designer.  Here's one of the articles we have posted on the Kobo Writing Life blog regarding cover design.  This one helps with what to look for in a book cover designer.
• Think of price as a VERB not a NOUN.  Price deliberately, price responsibly. And don't paint all your titles with the same "price brush" -- be prepared to react to the markets -- and the markets are different and unique and following their own trends, so be prepared to research and understand what price points work in various categories in various global territories and create a strategy incorporating that.  More great pricing advice appears HERE.

Those are five generic tips that were mixed in along with the details of the step by step process for digital self-publishing. I hope that you found them helpful.

I know Barnaby did.  (At least, he never stopped smiling at me from the front row the entire time, so I'm reading a bit into that)

Self Publishing Podcast Episode 57: Publishing on Kobo

I was recently a guest on the Self-Publishing Podcast (with Johnny, Sean & Dave) to talk about Kobo Writing Life.

Some of the topics discussed include:

•   How Kobo is different from Amazon and how to get the most of it
•   How Kobo ranks books, and how best to price them
•   The best way to LINK to your books on Kobo
•   A few of Kobo’s eccentricities that you’ll want to know and keep in mind
•   Ensuring your Goodreads reviews show up on the Kobo website
•   Why putting your books in multiple stores makes sense
•   What Kobo Writing Life has going on that Kindle Select Publishing doesn’t 

The podcast is definitely NSFW (not safe for work) because there is some language not appropriate for all audiences; but the content and discussion about self-publishing and digital publishing is pretty detailed and it is great that Johnny, Sean and Dave have always been so forthcoming about their own experiences in the self-publishing world.  I have been a fan of their podcast from the day that they launched it and have enjoyed following their very frank and open discussions about the journey they have made.

But I think one of the more important messages expressed here goes along with a phrase I have been heard saying when authors are looking at putting all of their eggs in one basket (ie, choosing to list their book on just one retailer and not paying attention to all of the other ones out there):  "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of while cruising along on the world's longest river."  Sure, that river is large, well-known and encompasses some huge territorial spread - but if you think it is the entire world, you really should look beyond the shoreline of said river because you are missing out on a heck of a lot of wonderful global territory.

Or, in other words, for most authors it doesn't matter how brilliant your book is - a customer who is a dedicated Kobo, Nook, Sony or iBooks reader isn't going to suddenly switch to the Kindle platform just so they can read your book. It just becomes one other reason they'll have NOT to buy your book, but to move on to a book/author whose work is already available on the platform they are already a patron of.

Here is a link to Episode 57 - you can listen online, download it, or subscribe to the podcast from places like iTunes.

And check out their cool books on Kobo here.....(just some of them, of course)

Unicorn Western
(free first book in series: UW Vol 01) 

Yesterday's Gone
(free first book in series:  YG EP01)

Fat Vampire
(free first book in series:  FV 01)

White Space

Available Darkness

Top 10 Takeaway Quotes From Superstars Writing Seminars 2013

Last week I had the great fortune of attending the 2013 Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado Springs as a guest speaker.

With a core faculty of bestselling authors such as Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Eric Flint, David Farland and Brandon Sanderson, the annual seminar series also brings in guest instructors such as Tracy Hickman, Joan Johnston, James A. Owen and Jim Minz.  The three days of sessions are meant to be a one-stop shop for creating a successful business plan in the commercial fiction industry and the ideal place to hone your existing knowledge base, or begin a brand new trajectory in your writing career.

Closing Q&A Panel Session: Mark Leslie, Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, James A. Owen, Eric Flint, Tracy Hickman

I was there to share a bit of insight with the writers about Kobo, Kobo Writing Life, eBooks, DIY, digital and self-publishing. So in a sense, I was there to teach. But the huge benefit, besides meeting so many wonderful and talented writers, was that I was able to absorb some great information from some of the world's best writers in science-fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers and romance.

Thus, I present, from the notes I jotted during sessions I watched as well as ones I participated in, my top ten takeaways from Superstars Writing Seminars. Rather than dig into the details of each of the quotes below, I'll do my best to leave my own interpretation and how these apply to me as a writer out of it (since I'm sure everyone will get something personal out of each - ie, interpret each into something useful for their own unique purposes)

Mark Leslie Lefebvre (hey, that's ME), talking about eBooks, Indy Publishing & Kobo Writing Life

1) "Every book cover is a small billboard." Jim Minz (Senior Editor at Baen Books) channeling Tom Doherty with respect to an author's branding presence.

2) "The integrity of the story comes first. Egos come second." Tracy Hickman in reference to the process of editing and re-writing when collaborating with another writer.

3) "Sure, I can do that." Kevin J. Anderson's answer to accepting the right opportunities that led to his diverse and wide experience in writing that went behind his universes that he had created (such as his X-Files, Star Wars, Dune, and Rush tie-in novels)

4) "It's about collaboration, not competition." Rebecca Moesta, talking about the importance of communities of writers supporting each other as allies, not in competition with one another.

5) "Never sacrifice the thing you want most for the thing you want most right now." James A. Owen discussing the importance of keeping your long term goals in mind and doing things deliberately.

6) "Writing is a creative performance where the experience takes place completely outside the creator." Tracy Hickman quoting his wife, author Laura Hickman.

7) "You need to view yourself as a professional, and act like one." Rebecca Moesta, referencing the importance of professional behavior in all of one's activities, whether it is in submitting your material to publishers or appearing at bookstores, conventions and conferences.

8) "As a rule, a new author's first novel will lose money for a publisher." Eric Flint outlining the business side of publishing and the split between how publishers divide their operating costs into three main buckets of writers:  Lead writers, mid-list writers and new writers.

9)  "The written word does not live unless it is read." Tracy Hickman, who, with James A. Owen, referenced Samuel Johnson's quote that a writer only begins a book; a reader finishes it.

10) "Use every minute." Kevin J. Anderson explaining that while writers might prefer large blocks of uninterrupted time for writing, that isn't always possible and a luxury that most people don't have. Thus, the discipline of taking advantage of every free moment to make progress, however small, on your in progress book project, is critical -- every sentence you compose is a sentence closer to finishing that writing project.

Moses Siregar III, Evan Braun, Mark Leslie, Jen Greyson, Melissa Douthit, Eric Kent Edstrom

It was tough to cut the things I learned at Superstars Writing Seminars down to 10 points -- because all three days were jam-packed with an incredible amount of valuable information and insightful inspiritation. so it's very likely I'll have to write another post focusing in on one or more additional aspects of the sessions that inspired me as a writer.


NOTE: Revising this post to add links to other great summaries of the Superstars Writing Seminars 2013

Terry Odell - Series of recap posts about SWS

They Say You Want A Revolution . . .

 . . . well, you know, we all want to change the world.

Sorry, I couldn't resist the title for this blog post.  Not when it's about Emily Craven's E-Book Revolution Podcast. She wants to change the world for the better, and her blog and podcast are two places where she does that, by providing interesting and valuable content for authors.

I had the pleasure of meeting Emily at World Fantasy Con in Toronto in late 2012, and we recently synced up to further discuss all the writerly things we had chatted about when we met at that con.

During this hour long discussion, Emily and I chat about

• The benefits of self-publishing as well as my love of being a hybrid author
• How indie authors and Kobo are partnering with bricks & mortar book stores and how Kobo Writing Life authors can take advantage of that.
• How a digital author can sell copies of their work at events and functions in the real world
  A bit about my experiences using the POD Espresso Book Machine and how indie authors can take advantage of them either locally or through Lightning Source
• How self-published authors can use Kobo Writing Life to sell pre-orders of their books.
  The fun of global book launches.
• How traditionally published authors can use self-publishing to bring new life to their out-of-print back list to increase the sales of their front list from publishers.
• Why the 99 cent model and drive to free and zero pricing is unnecessary and can be detrimental for authors in the long term.
• I, of course, also slip in a few blatant self-promotion moments - how couldn't I ask people to check out my books?

We also talk about really smart publisher moves such as Harlequin's recent purchase of print rights of Bella Andre's The Sullivans novels, and Hugh Howey's similar deal with Simon & Schuster for WOOL.

In all, it's two writers talking about writing (which is always a good time for this book nerd), but if you listen very carefully, throughout the entire podcast there's a very subtle, almost undetectable sound of me switching the multiple hats I wear as author, bookseller and self-pub guy at Kobo.


Click here to go to the podcast website.

Or right click and download the mp3 file.

To check out Emily's books (at Kobo, of course - you know you wanna), click here - or check them out on her website.

Books & Beer Hangout

I was delighted to be a guest this past week on the Books & Beer Hangout -- a hangout produced by Evo Terra and Jeff Moriarty of ePublish Unum.

ePublish Unum exists to help authors compete in the digital world of publishing by giving authors everything they need to embrace the digital publishing landscape.  (Here is one of their books available on Kobo - Evo is also one of the authors of Podcasting for Dummies)

The recorded part of the video chat was about 15 minutes, and we spoke about Kobo Writing Life and Kobo's partnership with bookstores, in particular the American Booksellers Association giant network of independent bookstores across the US.  (This website lists some of the stores that are carrying and selling the Kobo family of eReader devices as well as eBooks)

Anybody who knows me at all knows my intense passion for books and my unabashed love of beer -- and that I, of course, have a real soft spot for indie brews and indie bookstores.  This conversation, then, was less about anything corporate (ie, me representing the fantastic company I work for), but more about being at the center of the ideal topic of conversation.

I mean, c'mon. Books, beer and the independent spirit?

This was a match made in heaven (my version of which includes lots of books and lots of beer) . . .

IndieReCon

I am delighted to be presenting/participating in IndieReCon (Indie Revolution Conference) which starts tomorrow (Feb 19th) and runs through to the 21st.

I will be doing a session talking about how indie authors can work with their local bookstores, even when selling eBooks.  It takes place Thursday afternoon.

But the con itself is chalk-full of amazing content, live chats, tips, tricks, tools and prizes. And it is all FREE and something you can do without traveling at all.

Below is some great info from the organizers . . . (via their original post: Calling all writers/authors)

CALLING ALL AUTHORS: FREE ADVICE, CHATS, AND PRIZES, OH MY!

If you're an author (or want to be), you must make plans to attend the Indie Revolution Conference, or as we like to call it: Indie ReCon - making Indie publishing a mission possible!  While the conference focuses on Indie publishing, there will be tons of advice that will benefit writers who utilize all publishing styles.  And during the conference, our presenters and partners will be giving out loads of prizes - including new kobo e-readers.  Some of the conference highlights include:

    * live chats with best selling authors Bob Mayer, Denise Grover Swank, Darcie Chan, Samanatha Young, Rashelle Workman, CJ Lyons, Ali Cross, S.R. Johannes, Steena Holmes and her agent, Pamela Harty, and LM Preston

    *  informative posts to help you decide if Indie is right for you, and learn all about creating a quality product, making a business plan, marketing, where Indie publishing is headed, and much, much mor

    *  learn tips from Hugh Howey, Michelle Leighton, Nancy Holder, Melissa Foster, Colleen Hoover, Sybil Nelson, Addison Moore, Richard Smith, and many more

    *  Prizes, prizes, prizes!

And perhaps best of all, you can attend all of this online, for FREE.  That means you can stay snuggled in your pajamas, sipping a beverage of your choice, while we deliver this invaluable content to you. The conference runs February 19 through the 21st.  Sign up now to ensure you don't miss important news and for a chance to win even more prizes.  (We promise we don't spam.)  So GO.  Sign up now.  You won't regret a single minute of this amazing free conference.

To win 2 Kobos, check out our contests