Exploring Genre: The Relationship between Genre and Book Marketing

By Iola Goulton | @IolaGoulton

Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder share a post on the first Monday of every month, and this is the first joint post for 2018. Happy New Year!

Our 2017 posts focused on genre, and we are continuing that theme in 2018. If you'd like a catch-up, click here to read the useful summary Jeanette O'Hagan provided us with in December.

Because we believe that every author needs to understand the concept of genre, what genre they write in, and the expectations of that genre. Why? Because understanding is the core of your marketing strategy.

We're not alone in that belief. In her recent blog post 18 Rock Solid Book Marketing Strategies for 2018, Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts says:

Be clear on your genre. You shouldn’t even be considering publishing unless you know, without question, what genre you’re in. Book sales only happen when your book is in a clearly defined market. Don’t make the reader try to guess.

In fact, although Penny doesn't say so, most of her marketing recommendations can be related to genre:

Social Media

Knowing what genre you write will help you focus your social media efforts on the networks your readers use, not the networks recommended by the latest social media guru.

Write More Books

... in the same genre. Especially series. Readers love series.

Price Your Books to Sell

Pricing is often related to genre. If you're trying to sell the Kindle version of your self-published romance novel for $9.99, you're not going to make many sales because that's out of line with what romance readers expect to pay.

Make Sure Your Cover Matches Your Genre

Thriller readers aren't looking for books with werewolves or unicorns on the cover.

Connect With Your Readers

Which means knowing who your readers are. Which means knowing your genre.

Maximise Amazon

In particular, make sure your books are categorised properly on Amazon, so people who are looking to buy your genre find your books. Because people search Amazon for three main things: author, title, and genre. And they'll never know to search for you by author or title if they don't know your genre.

Build Your Fan Base

The easiest way to start is by finding and following readers who've read and reviewed books like yours. You know, books in the same genre.

Redo Old Covers

Especially if they don't reflect your genre.

Be Aware of Your Brand

And make sure it reflects your genre. If you're writing urban fantasy, your website should have a dark, gritty urban feel. No matter how much you like lambs frolicking in fields, that's the realm of Rural Romance.

Support Other Authors

Especially in your genre. Because if their readers keep seeing your name and realise you have a book, they might just check you out.

Collaborate

The best collaborations are the ones where there is something that unifies the collaborating authors. Like genre.

For example, 13 members of Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder have recently collaborated to develop and promote an Australia Day Giveaway—books by Australian authors, set in Australia, or both. That promotion has raised awareness of Australian Christian Fiction as a genre, promoted the participating authors, and given us all a boost to our mailing lists.

(We're considering running a couple of genre-based group giveaways during the year. Keep an eye on the Facebook group for details.)

Most authors I know find marketing harder than writing. 

If you don't know and understand genre, you're making marketing even harder. Certainly harder than it needs to be.

If you do know what genre you write, great! Perhaps you'd like to contribute an article? It's called content marketing, and it's a great strategy for people who aren't comfortable with pushy-pushy-pushy self-promotion.

If you're not sure what genre you write, go through our previous posts and make sure you check out the new post on the first Monday of each month. And leave a comment telling us something about what you write. Maybe we can help!

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

CWD & ACW - What's The Difference?

By Jeanette O'Hagan and Narelle Atkins | @JeanetteOHagan @NarelleAtkins

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018!

We’re looking forward to showcasing the writing from Christian writers in Australia, New Zealand and the wider Australasian region on our group blogs this year.

On the first Monday of each month we share a cross-post on the Australasian Christian Writers (ACW) and Christian Writers Downunder (CWD) group blogs.

Many of our group members have asked why we have two group blogs for Christian writers in our part of the world.

Today we’re going to answer your questions concerning ACW and CWD and let you know how you can contribute to each of the group blogs.

Question 1. What’s the goal and purpose of ACW?

Narelle: Our overall goal for ACW is to connect writers and readers who enjoy reading a wide range of genres including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. We're planning a few changes for 2018 to engage with readers more on our blog and in our Facebook group.

Our blog members include Christian writers who are traditionally published, indie published, and aspiring to publish. Some are writing for the Christian market, while others are writing for the general market. Many are targeting the US market, as that is where most readers are based.

Although we focus on supporting writers and readers in Australasia, we welcome international writers and readers on our blog and in our ACW Facebook Group. We actively promote books on our blog and social media, including Facebook, Twitter @ACWriters and Pinterest.

Question 2. What’s the goal and purpose of CWD?

Jeanette: Christian Writers Dowunder is aimed at Christians writers (and those associated with writing field, e.g. editors, illustrators, reviewers and publishers) who live in or are from Australasia. We aim to provide a safe and encouraging place for Australasian Christians who write – whether they are taking their first baby steps on their journey as a writer or have been travelling this road for some time – to ask questions, celebrate milestones (new releases, awards, or finishing a first draft), interact, pray, encourage, help and inspire each other. 

We encourage mutual support through social media and other means. We have a CWD Facebook Group, Blog and Twitter list. In the past we published an anthology with contributions from members, Glimpses of Light. Like ACW we are also an affiliate of Omega Writers.

Question 3. Who can join the CWD Facebook Group?

Jeanette: 

Christian writers – whether just starting out or veteran, whether writing non-fiction or fiction, poetry or blogs, whether published or unpublished, whether aiming for the Christian or general market or both, and also Christians associated with writing – editors, illustrators, publishers, reviewers. We encourage our members to share their milestones and new releases, but discourage spamming the page or being argumentative or disrespectful to others.

While we will accept applications from Christian writers from outside the Australasian area, if they have an active friend in CWD or a trusted recommendation, our primary focus is ‘Downunder’.

Question 4. Who can join the ACW Facebook Group?

Narelle: We welcome writers and readers from around the world in our Facebook Group.

We have group etiquette guidelines regarding self promotion by authors in our Facebook Group, particularly that we don’t allow promotion of books published by vanity presses.

Question 5. How can you contribute to the ACW blog?

Narelle: We post five days per week, Monday-Friday, and we set up our ACW blog calendar many months in advance. We will start organising the May-August 2018 blog calendar in early March.

I encourage all writers who are interested in contributing blog posts to join the ACW Facebook Group. Blogging opportunities will arise from time to time which we’ll post in the Facebook Group.

Please contact either myself, Iola Goulton or Jenny Blake if you’re interested in guest blogging on ACW.

We share new book releases on the ACW blog. In 2018 we’ll post New Releases on the second Monday each month. We collect new release book information in the ACW Facebook Group.

Question 6. How can you contribute to the CWD blog?

Jeanette: 

CWD generally posts inspirational blog posts related to writing (inspirational, craft posts, the writing and publication journey, short fiction and poems, conferences and events, and also new releases or member achievements) on Mondays and Thursdays. Our blog team are highlighted on the blogsite with images and a short bio.

In 2018, we are looking at some tweaking of this—with Mondays continuing our current content, with writing related and inspired blogs and Thursdays as a series of ‘Meet our Members’ interviews. We may also have occasional writing-craft series.

From time to time, we do have opening on our CWD blog team. If you are a CWD member and are interested in guest blogging for us, please contact myself or email. We also value comments on the blogsite as this encourages our bloggers.

Question 7. How do you see CWD and ACW as groups that complement each other and also connect with Omega Writers Inc.?

Jeanette: 

All three groups have historic connections and many members in common, with some different emphases. It’s been a delight to see the groups working together with strong connections and support between the administrative teams.

CWD aspires to provide an encouraging faith community for writers in which questions can be asked, achievements celebrated, and their books or other publications highlighted. We value interaction and mutual support between members.

Both CWD and ACW do not have a paid membership or financial backing, and are primarily active on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogsites).

Omega Writers’ paid membership and structure enables it to have local writing groups and to provide workshops, Book Fairs, the annual Writers Conference, and the CALEB prize. Omega Writers has made an enormous contribution of writers in the Australasian region and we would encourage you to become a paid member (it’s not exorbitant & has benefits), join a local chapter in your area, and/or one of the focused FB groups.

Narelle: ACW strives to promote and market books by Australasian authors. We want to share our love of books with readers and provide posts that will interest readers.

Our blog calendar is structured to include educational posts that support writers with relevant information on writing craft, publishing and book marketing.

We share a quarterly blog post with CWD from Omega Writers and encourage our members who live in Australasia to join Omega Writers.

Omega Writers offer many benefits for writers that aren’t available in ACW, including writing chapters with online and in-person meetings, writing contests for published and unpublished writers, critique groups, writing retreats and an annual writing conference.

We support Omega Writers in their goal to promote Australasian authors and books to the wider reading community.

__________________________________

Do you have any other questions regarding CWD or ACW?

Jeanette and Narelle are more than happy to answer your questions in the blog comments on both blogs and discuss how you can become more involved in our vibrant Christian writing community in 2018.

An Update on our Blog

by Narelle Atkins

History of ACW

Our Australasian Christian Writers (ACW) blog launched in September 2013. During the last three and a half years we've published 924 posts and received 9880 comments. 

Our ACW Facebook group has 511 members. The ACW blog posts are shared in the Facebook Group and we encourage our blog readers to join our active Facebook Group.

ACW was set up as an online community for writers and readers. We post five days per week, Monday to Friday, on the blog and we promote Australasian Christian authors and books.

ACW Blog Schedule

Monday is our Writing Craft Day. We want to help and educate writers at all different stages in their writing journeys.

This week I'm working with group admins Iola Goulton and Jenny Blake to set up our blog calendar for May - August 2017. If there's a particular writing topic you'd like to see addressed in our Monday posts, please leave a comment on this post or in our Facebook group.

On the first Monday of each month we share a joint blog post with our friends at Christian Writers Downunder. In 2017 we're looking at genres. 

Iola Goulton posted in February on Great (Genre) Expectations...

Adam Collings posted in March on Exploring Genres: Space Opera and Supehero     

We do a few different things on Tuesdays. We promote the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA) book tours. ACRBA offers free blog tours for authors which are scheduled during the first week of the month.

Please read Jenny Blake's recent blog post (link below) if you're not familiar with ACRBA and how it works. 

The ACRBA Blog Alliance Needs Your Help

We also announce New Australasian Book Releases on the first or second Tuesday of each month. We post monthly requests for new book release information in our ACW Facebook Group.

The President of Omega Writers Inc. posts on our blog on the last Tuesday in January, April, July and October.  

On Tuesdays we also have spots available for guest bloggers. 

Thursday is our Book Review Day. Iola Goulton organises the book review blog posting schedule.

On Wednesdays and Fridays our regular team of bloggers share their posts.

How can I guest blog on ACW?

We occasionally post requests in the ACW Facebook Group for guest bloggers. If you'd like to guest blog on ACW, please contact one of the group admins (myself, Jenny Blake, Iola Goulton) or leave a comment on this post or in the ACW Facebook Group.

How can I join ACW as a regular blogger?

The first step toward becoming a regular blog contributor is to guest blog with us. If you've guest blogged with us and would like to join our blogging team, please contact one of the group admins. We have limited spots and we will create a waiting list if needed. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about ACW, please leave a comment on this post. We appreciate feedback from our blog readers. 

Calling Australian and Kiwi Writers!

by Iola Goulton

Entries for the 2016 CALEB Prize are open

Omega Writers have announced that they will again be running the CALEB Prize in 2016. The CALEB awards were inaugurated under the leadership of Anne Hamilton, who said:

CALEB is an acronym: it stands for Christian Authors Lifting Each other’s Books. That’s why Omega Writers sponsor the CALEB Prize. It’s about giving all entrants a higher profile for their books, regardless of whether they win or not . . . Promoting excellence, for the glory of God, so that the highest quality books are given that little bit of extra ‘oomph’.

Simon Kennedy, current President of Omega Writers, says:

Omega Writers exists to educate, support and inspire Australasian Christian writers towards excellence, impacting society with grace and truth. We want our words to change the world.

There are three categories for the 2016 CALEB Prize for faith-inspired writing:

• Published Children’s Picture Book
• Published Fiction
• Unpublished Manuscript

It is hoped that more categories can be added in future years . . . but for that to happen, Omega Writers needs volunteers to organize and judge categories. I’d encourage you to prayerfully consider this—I’ve found judging competitions is a valuable help to my own writing and editing.

Who can enter?

Residents and citizens of Australia and New Zealand with books published during the 2014 or 2015 calendar years (so, yes, missionaries based overseas are eligible to enter).

Can self-published books enter?

Yes, as long as the book was produced as a paperback or hardcover. Digital-only ebooks aren’t eligible (but if you want to enter your self-published ebook, you do have time to publish paper copies via CreateSpace or IngramSpark).

Does my entry have to be Christian?

No, but it does have to be inspired by some aspect of your Christian faith, and it must reflect language, themes and a world view that honour Christ. The motto of Omega Writers is Words that change the world: that’s probably a clue as to what the judges will be looking for.

Will I get feedback on my entry?

All entrants to the Unpublished manuscript category will receive feedback on their entry.

When will I find out if I’ve won?

There will be two rounds of judging. A shortlist for each category will be published in September, and the winners of each category and the overall winner will be announced at a Gala dinner to be held at the Omega Writer’s Conference on 29 October 2016.

What are the prizes?

Category winners will each receive a cash prize of AUD 250, and an engraved trophy.
The overall winner will receive an additional cash prize of AUD 500, an engraved trophy, plus AUD 300 towards the fees for any Omega Writers conference or workshop over the following 12 months.

If I win the Unpublished prize, will my book be published?

It’s a possibility—that decision isn’t up to Omega Writers! But at least two Australian publishers of faith-inspired fiction are expected to be present at the awards dinner, so who knows?

How much does it cost to enter the CALEB Prize?

AUD 50 for members of Omega Writers, and AUD 60 for non-members. You can join Omega Writers for AUD 52 per year.

When do entries close?

Monday 18 April 2016.

Additional information and entry instructions are on the Omega Writers website: http://www.omegawriters.org/events/caleb-prize-submissions/

Omega Writers Conference

The conference will run from 28-30 October, and will be held at the Edmund Rice Retreat and Conference Centre in Sydney. Further details will be announced once program details have been finalized—applications to present a session, lead a workshop or participate as part of a panel are open until 16 April. An Expression of Interest form is available on the Omega Writer’s website, at http://www.omegawriters.org/conference-2016/.

For those organized types who are already on the lookout for cheap earlybird airfares, there will be a shuttle bus from Sydney Airport to the venue on Friday afternoon, departing at 1:30pm. A return shuttle will go on Sunday afternoon, leaving the venue at 1:30pm and Omega say “it is expected to take about an hour to reach the airport” (if Sydney traffic is anything like Auckland traffic, that should probably read “at least”. I look forward to being proven wrong).

Are you planning to enter the CALEB Awards, attend the conference or both?

Do you have any questions about the CALEB Awards? 

Simon Kennedy, President of Omega Writers, has promised to drop in later today and answer any questions, so now is your chance.

Working Together

In The Power of One, Bryce Courtney tells the story of Peekay and the power of one person to change the world. There is a lot of truth in that. We have heard of heroes  – Joan D’Arc, Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela – people who changed the course of history. 

And yet, there is also a power in the many.

Writing can be a solitary pursuit, compounded by the fact that many of us are confirmed introverts. This was certainly the case when I began writing in my late teens and early twenties – and finished my first novel scribbling away in spare moments and even in between patients. A friend typed the manuscript for me, others read it and encouraged my efforts. In the early 1990s, I began to seek publication (with one positive nibble) but then life took another turn and my first book baby languished in a virtual bottom drawer until 4 years ago when another school-mum mentioned the post-graduate course she was doing. I took the plunge and enrolled – making online writing friends and plunging back into writing fantasy novels. Yet I was still basically a solitary writer beavering away on my own.

And perhaps this wasn’t surprising given that there wasn’t a great deal of support or prospects for writers of Australian (and New Zealand) Christian fiction in the 1990s. 

For me the tide turned when I heard about the Word Writers Fair/Camp in 2011. That was a heady if humbling experience – suddenly being among so many already published authors, as well as editors and publishers. I came away inspired and with a bunch of new writing Facebook friends across Australian and New Zealand. At the conference, I attended the Caleb Prize dinner and heard about Omega Writers and met the redoubtable Rochelle Manners. Paula Vince invited me to join the Christian Writers Downunder Facebook group, and I began blogging for CWD in 2013, joining Omega Writers later that year.  In September 2013, I was invited to join the newly formed ACW group. In 2014, Deb Porter introduced me to Faithwriters. Since 2012 I’ve attended each of the Writers Conferences and been an active participant of the various groups.

Doing a Masters in Writing has been inspiring and challenging, but I can honestly say my participation in the Christian Writers Conferences, CWD, Omegas, ACW and Faithwriters and networking with other Christian writers has been of equal value. 

It’s been heartening to see these groups work together, supporting Christian writers in Australasia. In recent days this has been confirmed with a post from Omega’s new President Simon Kennedy about the revamped Caleb prize on CWD blogspot, a cross-post on vanity publishers by Narelle Atkins on both CWD & ACW blogs and yesterday a post by Iola Goulton introducing ACW to CWD.

So what is the difference between these groups and why not just have one group?

Omega Writers

Was launched in 2010 under the indomitable vision of its first president Annie Hamilton as a writers group (with paid membership) and in conjunction with the Caleb Prize awarded to top Australasian Christian books and one unpublished manuscript. Omega provides to members with an up-to-date website, chapters with local & special interest writing groups, news links, workshops, retreats, mentorships and manuscript appraisals, book reviews as well as a directory of members.

Christian Writers Downunder

Starting as a small group in 2010, CWD currently has over 600 members.

CWD is a writing support group with a friendly and helpful Facebook group, a blog that has been going since 2010. This year, CWD (in conjunction with By the Light Books) is publishing Glimpses of Light anthology with poems, flash fiction, short stories and creative non-fiction from Christian Writers Downunder. It also ran a lively FB group and two virtual cabins during NaNoWriMo’s Camp July.

While CWD appreciates our wonderful international members, our particular focus is on Australian and New Zealand writers, editors and publishers – we have a broad focus on different genres as well as welcoming cross-over and general market fiction writers.

Australasian Christian Writers

ACW was formed in August/September 2013 and now has over almost 400 members.

Like CWD, ACW also has a Facebook group and blog – Iola explains this groups distinctive here.  In particular, there is a greater focus on Christian fiction, readers (as well as writers) and international members. Also, ACW has recently run a Romance Competition and is currently running a NaNoWriMo FB group for those brave enough to do NaNo this month.

Faithwriters 

Faithwriters has a paid membership (with a free trial membership). While it is based in the US, a number of Aussie and Kiwi Christian authors are involved, including Deb Porter (who is also the prime mover of Breath of Fresh Air Publishing).  

There is a large overlap in membership between the different groups. And of course there are other lcoal writing critique groups too, as well as secular and international writers groups.

I can't help but wonder - could it be a movement of God that a number of groups were raised up to support Christian writers in Australasia from about 2009 onward? Certainly there has been cross pollination and, despite possible clashes of personality and opinion, an overall harmony in goals and vision. And sometimes our differences make us stronger. The sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul (on account of John Mark's failure) actually served to expand God’s work (as Paul headed off to new opportunities in Asia Minor and Greece). So to the formation of these different groups have further enriched and encouraged Christian writers in this part of the globe.

Annie Hamilton named Omega’s annual award CALEB – Christian Authors Lifting Each (other’s) Books.  In an ICFW blogpost, she reminds us that during the battle against the Amalekites, Joshua needed Moses to keep his arms lifted to the Lord, and Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him hold his arms up. So too we are called to hold up each other arms, to support each other, celebrating our differences and uniting in our common purpose to honour God through our love for books, reading and writing poems, stories, novels, blogs, devotionals and non-fiction for all ages, for those both within and outside the church.

Jeanette O’Hagan 

Meerkat image courtesy of tratong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jeanette O'Hagan has a short story published in the general market Tied in Pink Romance Anthology  (profits from the anthology go towards Breast Cancer research) in December 2014 and two poems in the Poetica Christi’s Inner Child anthology launched in July 2015. She has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She cares for her children, has finished her Masters of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University and is writing her Akrad's fantasy fiction series.  You can read some of her short fiction here. 

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .

How to identify a vanity press publisher and avoid being ripped off

By Narelle Atkins

Vanity Publishing

Vanity Presses make their money from authors rather than from selling books. They charge authors a fee, either directly or indirectly, to publish their book. They often try to up-sell additional publishing services eg. marketing packages. These publishing packages, sometimes marketed as self-publishing solutions, may cost authors many thousands of dollars.

Vanity Press books sometimes have a high cover price, which makes the vanity press book less attractive to readers. The vanity publisher has already made their money from the author, and they don’t have an incentive to set a competitive price and sell a high volume of books. The author has no control over the pricing of their book or the distribution of their book.

Vanity Presses often don’t invest time and money in providing professional cover art and editing is typically an add-on, with an additional fee. They have no incentive to produce high quality books because they make their money from selling publishing packages to authors instead of making money from selling books.

Vanity Presses will advertise their publishing services and actively seek to recruit authors.

Traditional, royalty paying publishers are inundated with submissions from authors. Many of the larger traditional publishers will only accept agented queries because there is an oversupply of potential manuscripts and a very limited number of traditional publishing slots. Traditional publishers have budget limitations that will dictate the number of books they can publish each year. They are selective because they are bearing all the financial risk. Vanity presses, by charging authors a fee to publish, are shifting the financial risk to the author. If the vanity press book has poor sales, it's the author who will suffer the financial pain, not the vanity press.

Vanity Presses may operate like telemarketers who are selling a product. They may want to know a prospective author’s contact details, including email addresses and phone numbers, to enable them to follow up and contact authors. They may make numerous international phone calls to prospective authors and use aggressive marketing tactics to try and sell their expensive publishing packages.

Differences between Traditional Publishers and Vanity Publishers

Traditional publishers pay a competitive royalty on every book sold.

Traditional publishers don’t ask authors to contribute money to finance the book production process.

Traditional publishers may pay authors an advance against future royalties. The money flows from the publisher to the author because traditional publishers make their money from book sales.

Traditional publishers don’t require authors to purchase a minimum number of books.

Publishing Contracts

A publishing contract is a legally binding document. It spells out the rights and obligations of both parties who sign the publishing contract. A publisher may claim to be a traditional publisher, but it’s the contract that will define whether or not their claims are valid.

All authors should seek professional advice and do their research before signing a publishing contract. Intellectual property lawyers, Australian Society of Authors, Australian state and territory Writer Centres, and professional writing organisations can provide services and resources to assist authors in making financially savvy decisions.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has written a number of helpful articles on publishing contracts. 

http://kriswrites.com/2011/05/04/the-business-rusch-advocates-addendums-and-sneaks-oh-my/
http://kriswrites.com/2011/07/27/the-business-rusch-deal-breakers/ 

The Passive Voice blog also has archived posts that provide helpful information for authors on publishing contracts. 

Do not rely on general advice and hearsay from writing friends to determine if a publishing contract is a good deal for you

Once upon a time it was reasonable for writers to assume that most traditional publishers used a single boiler plate contract as the foundation for their contract negotiations with authors. The larger writing organisations eg. Romance Writers of America, ACFW, used to provide their members with a recognised publisher list. 

The writing organisations looked at the boiler plate contract of each publisher who wanted to be included on their recognised publisher list. To make the list, the publishing contract needed to meet certain minimum standards. A publisher would be excluded from the recognised publisher list if their boiler plate contract contained any vanity publishing clauses. 

But times have changed. It’s now becoming more commonplace for publishers to offer contracts to their authors with vastly different terms. The writing organisations no longer have recognised publisher lists. Indie publishing opportunities can potentially offer authors a better deal than a traditional publishing contract. 

Why can't you rely on advice from your author friends? Your friend may have signed a traditional contract with Publisher A and be very happy with their deal. But, that doesn’t mean Publisher A will offer you exactly the same publishing contract deal with the same terms. 

Authors can't afford to bury their heads in the sand and assume that a publishing contract will be a good deal. It's essential for all authors to take responsibility for their writing careers and understand all the clauses in their publishing contract before they sign the contract.   

The term ‘self-publishing’ has been hijacked by vanity presses

Self-publishing should mean DIY (doing it yourself). This is a very different concept to paying a publisher to partner with you to produce your book. If you are giving the publisher specific rights to publish your book, and if the publishing contract includes terms that specify the payment of royalties to the author, then you are signing a publishing contract. This is a very different proposition to self-publishing by DIY.

Indie (independent) publishing

Indie publishing is the term that is commonly used to describe authors who independently publish their books. Indie authors retain control of their copyright. Indie authors produce their own books independently and they don’t sign a contract with a publishing house. Indie authors are self-publishing because they are doing it themselves (DIY). They may choose to contract service providers for a set fee eg. editing, cover design, formatting, to produce their book.

How can you avoid being ripped off?

Education is key. Do your research and connect with other writers before you sign a publishing contract. Ask questions and seek advice from industry professionals. Book selling is a tough business and it’s very unusual for an author to recoup the money they have invested in vanity publishing via book sale royalties.

Online resources for writers

Preditors and Editors
http://pred-ed.com/peba.ht 

Writer Beware
http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/ 

David Gaughran
https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/author-solutions-and-friends-the-inside-story-2/ 

The Book Designer
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2015/10/author-alert-is-your-book-held-hostage-by-a-subsidy-publisher/ 

Iola Goulton has written a number of posts for Australasian Christian Writers that address the topic of vanity presses

I Wanted to Cry 
http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/i-wanted-to-cry.html 

Spotting a Vanity Publisher - Part One and Two http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/spotting-vanity-publisher-part-one.html 
http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/spotting-vanity-publisher-part-two.html 

Deception in our writing http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/deception-in-our-writing.html

Jeanette O’Hagan has written two posts for Christian Writers Downunder that outline the different publishing models available for writers

Publish or Perish – Part One and Two http://christianwritersdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/publish-or-perish-part-one.html http://christianwritersdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/publish-or-perish-part-two.html

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This post is being shared on the Australasian Christian Writers blog and the Christian Writers Downunder blog today because we are united in our mission to inform and educate writers on the pitfalls from signing with vanity publishers. This was a topic of conversation at the recent Christian Writers Conference held in Victoria, Australia.

Please share this post with your writing friends on social media and bookmark it for future reference.

If you’re looking to connect with writing groups online, you can join the Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group and the Christian Writers Downunder Facebook Group.

Omega Writers Inc. provides helpful resources and membership benefits for writers who live in the Australasian region.

A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia. In 2013 she sold her debut book to Harlequin's Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line in a 6-book contract. Her first independently released novella, His Perfect Catch, is available from Amazon for 99 cents. 

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com

Blog: http://narelleatkins.wordpress.com
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