Tag Archives: Iris Bolling

Goal Setting for the Self-Published Author by Iris Bolling

It’s been a minute for me and I apologize for staying away so long. Life is happening all around and keeping me crazy busy. In a little over a year I will retire from my nine – five. That’s right, I’ve put in my thirty years and now I’m preparing for the next phase of my life.

The next phase for me is to do what I love, write. I’m a planner. So in preparing to make writing my career I pulled out my old plans and found this blog I wrote a little bit ago. I’d like to share it with you. I hope it gives you a pathway to your writing career.

Keeping in mind that being a Self-Published Author is a business, I have a question for you. Do you have a business plan in place? If you do, has it been updated recently? If you don’t, get one. Why? I’m happy you asked. A business plan does several things for you, the first and most important, in my opinion, is goal setting. You should know where you are going before you start the journey. A business plan is a road map, of sort, to help you get to your destination. There will be twist and turns along the way and probably a few bumps and bruises, but you will still be on your way. Being on your way to becoming a successful self-published author is your goal. So take a moment to plan that journey. Who knows, you may end up with a few wonderful accolades along the way and a little money to help you get there.

How do you put together a business plan? Another good question. In this wonderful and freighting world of the internet, you can goggle and find just about anything you need to do whatever. Goggle “Business Plans”. You will get an array of sites that is dedicated to assisting you in putting together a business plan, if you would like to do it yourself. However, if you are like me I do not pretend to be a business guru. I’m an author, so I turned to professional to put together a business plan for me.
To those that are brave enough to try this on your own, here’s the short of what a business plan should include according to the Small Business Administration:

a) Table of Content – give key sections of the plan
b) Executive Summary – Tell who you are, what you do and why
c) Business description and vision – your company’s goal and objective (for your books)
d) Definition of the market – who might buy your product
e) Description of product and services – describe your product
f) Organization and Management – describe who is responsible for what in your business
g) Marketing and Sales Strategy- how you plan to reach your customers
h) Financial Management- revenue and expenses
i) Appendices- brochures, and/or copies of your book

The Small Business administration has a really simple and informative on-line course on creating a business plan. http://app1.sba.gov/training/sbabp/index.htm check it out.

I know, I went a little deep on this post and this is a very simplistic example, but the information is helpful. Besides, who said this journey was going to be fun all the time it creating wonderful characters and story lines. We have to put a little work into it somewhere along the road.

Until the next time. Iris

http://www.irisbolling.net/

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Conferences – Spend Your Money Wisely!

Conferences – to go or not to go? That is the questions. The answer isn’t simple. In the short time I’ve been writing, I’ve attended several events or conferences. Some I left feeling unimportant, degraded and lower than dirt, as if I was totally out of my league. What made you think you were worthy of being in the same room with BIG name authors??? That was of course after I had spent my money to attend and was promised the world only to have it all pulled away.

But then….there are some that are the epitome of what author conferences should be about. You meet other authors in the industry. Some at the same in your career as you, some that have been in the industry for years and some that are just beginning to enter into the wonderful realm of being an author. And here’s the thing, you can learn something from every one of them. Then there are the readers. Those wonderful, delightful, hilarious readers that are not shy about telling you exactly how they feel about your work. Not to mention the workshops that teaches you about your craft, the industry, the business of writing. And the networking with agents, editors, publishers—there is nothing like a good conference.

There are several that take place each year, and no, you cannot attend and should not attempt to attend all of them. You will be broke before you sell your first novel. However, you should find one or two that will fulfill your need to improve your craft, build your brand and feed your drive to write. Every conference is not for everyone and it takes a minute to find the ones that fit your needs, but once you do, the rewards are endless.

Here are three conferences that seem to be popular and please anyone that reads this post add the ones you know about in the comment section.

There’s the Romance Writers of America Conference (http://www.rwa.org/ ),

The National Black Bookclub Conference (http://www.nationalbookclubconference.com/),

The Romance Slam Jam Conference (http://www.romanceslamjam.org/ ).

Why am I talking to you about conferences? I’m glad you asked. For the last two years I’ve attended the RSJ, Romance Slam Jam Conference. The event has proven to be not only worth the reasonable fess, but it is so worth your time. The RSJ will leave you energized and ready to take on the next year of challenges, adventures, setbacks and comebacks. You will leave there with lifelong friends, new readers, mentors with wisdom and experiences to help you along your journey but most of all—you will leave there with a sense of ownership of your writing career.

To be fair, I put in a conference I no plans to attend again, one I have not attended and one I will move heaven and earth not to ever miss. You have to select the one that works for you.

Until the next time,

Iris Bolling
www.sirient.com
www.irisbolling.com

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Hello All, Dee here. I’ll be conducting a FREE eBook formatting workshop for people who are signed up for my monthly newsletter.
Topic: eBook Formatting Basics for Fiction Titles Cost: Free Date: March, 24, 2012 Time: 3-4 p.m. Central Location: Become A Successful Author Website (link and password will be given the day before the event)

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author (eBook) for only $4.99 from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble or print copies for only $7.99 by using the Contact page of this website and tell Dee know how many copies you’d like and shipping address. She’ll email the ordering information. Or you can purchase the print version from any book store for $9.99.

Question to Authors. Do you have a website? Why not?

As an author you have to have an online presence. One of the first things people do today when they hear about something new is Google it. If you don’t have a website how are they going to find you? Don’t know much about establishing a website? Okay, here’s a little insight to Website 101. Is this all that’s to it? No, but it is enough to get you thinking!

It does not take a rocket scientist to establish a website. (At times I think it takes one to maintain it, but that’s for another day). First get a Domain Name. You can search through our friend Google to find a domain host. Godaddy.com is who I work with, but there are others. When you name your site, DON’T GO CRAZY! Keep it simple. Your website will be your picture to the world, yes—the world. Make it easy to find and a reflection of you as an author. For example, my name is Iris Bolling. My website is www.irisbolling.com. You can’t get simpler than that. When someone Google’s my name the website is the first item to appear.

Keep the cost as low as possible when establishing your site. Microsoft Office Live has a really nice simple website that does not cost you anything to establish. My publishing company Siri Enterprises website is hosted by Microsoft Office at www.sirient.com. It’s not fancy, but it shows my books, synopsis, how to purchase, videos and everything you need to establish an online presence. You can even have PayPal attached to sell directly from your website.

Last, fill your pages with information about you, your books, and upcoming events. Keep your readers up to date on releases, reviews of your work and most of all, what’s coming next. If blogging is your thing, establish a blog that will keep traffic coming to your site.

Being an author, traditionally or self-published, you have to promote yourself and your work. Having a website gives you an online presence and an opportunity to establish your platform. Hummm, “Platform”? What do I mean by that? That’s something else you need to consider as an author…..Until the next time.

Iris Bolling

http://www.irisbolling.net/ or http://www.sirient.com/

Quality vs. Quantity : Message to Self-Published Authors

What is the first thing you think when you read an author has produced twenty books in a twelve month time span? WOW! That author is bringing in the big bucks. It’s a logical assumption. You want a piece of the action, don’t you? LOL! We all do. But, at what cost?

This is going to be short and sweet.

If you put out twenty books and only two out of the twenty were good reads, how many more of your books do you think readers will purchase? Probably none. Here’s a little something to remember. Quality will bring you a bigger bang for your money than quantity will in the long run. How, you ask? Well, let’s look at the economics of book sales. You sold one hundred books at $5.00. You made $500.00 dollars. Not bad. You put out another twenty. This time you only sold two, you made $10.00. What happened? The readers choose not to try you again. Eighteen out of the first twenty they purchased were not good. And here’s the thing, you knew it before you put the book on the market. But you put them out there anyway for the quick buck. Now, you really have a problem—negative name recognition. You have to win the faith of the readers you lost back.

Let’s take a look at another scenario. You wrote one book. You sold 100 at $5.00. You made $500.00. Not bad. In fact readers are talking about your book to others and you find you have to reprint more or your eBook sales are jumping. When you release your second book, you sell 200 on the first day. $1,000.00 in one day! This is a real WOW! You have double your sales on the first book, all from word of mouth. The readers talked about how good that first book was to their friends, bookclub members, on review sites and other readers listened. Not only did you retain you first group of readers, you have added more. Why? Quality.

The quality of your story is what will keep the readers faithful to you as an author. They will remember the characters, what they did, how they did it and who they did it to. Readers will begin to quote some of your words. But most important, the readers will share your work with other readers. Give them a piece of crap and they will not even remember the name of the book. Or worse, when they hear your name the will smirk, “Don’t waste your money.”

Quality vs. Quantity…..Quality wins hands down, every time. When writing your novels, but your big toe in it the mix. It will pay off in the long run.

Iris Bolling

http://www.irisbolling.net/ or http://www.sirient.com/

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Starting A Publishing Company—Really? Okay!

So you want to start your own publishing company. Believed it or not it really isn’t that difficult to do. Keeping it going and profitable is the challenge. Starting your own publishing company is not for the faint at heart. Go into it knowing that every decision made is on you. Your company will succeed or fail based on the decisions you make. Also know, you may not see a profit right away. In fact, it will probably be three to five years before you see green. However, the joy and pride you experience every time you put a book on the market is unbelievable. Each book is like your baby, from inception to birth. Here are the steps I took to establish SIRI Enterprises, my publishing company.

1. First I knew I wanted to self-publish. You need to determine if you want to publish just your books or publish other authors work.
2. Once that decision is made, write a business plan. I used, The Ernest & Young Business Plan Guide by Eric S. Siegel, Brian R. Ford and Jay M. Borstein, as my resource.
3. Apply for your business license with your local city or county. Contact the IRS to obtain your EIN (Employer Identification Number @ http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.html). Also, set up with your state tax department.
4. Go to the US Copyright Office @ https://eco.copyright.gov/ to establish an account
5. Do the same with The Library of Congress @ http://pcn.loc.gov/ to establish an account
6. Purchase a set of ISBN @ http://isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp (you can purchase from 1-1000 at a time)
7. Determine if you want a Vanity Press or Print On Demand to handle your packaging (ie: LULU, Smashwords, Create Space, etc…) Or if you want total control you can hire a consultant to handle page design and covers design. I use http://judithwansley.com/default.aspx
8. Research printer and/or distributor for your books. You can use just a book printer or one that does both. I use http://www1.lightningsource.com/
9. Establish a relationship with editors to use when needed.
10. You don’t have to do this, but I did set up an account with Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble to handle eBooks sales.

There are pitfalls in everything you do. It is no different in the publishing world. There are Vanity or Independent presses out there that will promise you the world, but will not tell you the cost until the end. Do your research before you sign up for anything. Take your time to establish your company Do it right the first time. I spent thousands of dollars that was wasted because I did not do my research first. Are you anxious to get your book into print, of course, so was I. And I paid the price. I hope my knowledge will save you time and money. Some things a company will offer you for a price, you can do yourself, such as obtaining Bar Codes, ISBN numbers, or Copyrights for your books. All of these things you can do yourself, for just the cost of the product.

Now, if you still want to start your own publishing company, I have to tell you, it has been a very exciting endeavor. While I still would like to be published the traditional route, doing for myself has been most rewarding. It has prepared me with the knowledge and skills it takes to get a book to print. When I do decided to submit to a traditional publisher, I go in with a little more knowledge about the process than some. By the way, I’ve only submitted to one publisher. I like being in control.

Well, that’s all I have. Good Luck and remember, Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything.

Iris Bolling

http://www.irisbolling.net/ or http://www.sirient.com/

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