As previously mentioned, I’m trying to stay away from mainstream social media due to my disagreement with how some of the majors handle privacy (that, and it’s also become a cesspool of whining and negativity). So, I have joined MeWe. My page has just started and can be accessed by going here or via the MeWe logo under the Social Media section on the right.
I’ve been very busy behind the scenes here at Axiom-man Central. Presently, I’m working on PROJECT REBIRTH, which is my master plan to get things going again writing and publishing . . . and cartooning? Yes. As part of my grand comeback, I’ve decided to get back into the world of comics because it was comics that got me started down the book path and everything else I’ve done since. There are plans. There is work being done. Rebuilding what was lost is taking place at a steady rate. Healing that which was broken is also taking place. Applying lessons from the past both professionally and personally is also occurring.
Bottom line: Lots is happening.
Some of what you can expect coming from up around the bend:
– A Patreon account with special content just for patrons
– Order fulfillment of the Axiom-man/Auroraman: Frozen Storm Kickstarter (if you missed the Kickstarter, the published book is available on the left)
– Publication of projects that were temporarily put on hold when life went to crap
– Bigtime expansion and growth of The Axiom-man Saga and associated products
– Revving up public appearances and media again
– New YouTube channel
– More . . .
Now understand, I’m a one-man band so while the above is presently being worked on, that doesn’t mean all of it is going to happen right away. Creating things takes time. Lots of time, even when working steady. Just how it is. Please be patient and keeping checking back here for updates. Announcements will also spill out of the social media machine as things are released into the world.
In the meantime, consider expanding your A.P. Fuchs collection while you wait. Plenty of books and comics to choose from on the left. I also ship direct, which gets you a signature and a personal message if you so choose.
If you follow my social feeds, you’ll notice they’re geared more for sharing information than simple social chatter. Sure, a few social things come through, but the main point for my social media is to inform and encourage and occasionally bitch and moan with an educational edge.
There’s enough mindless social blathering out there so my plan is to [hopefully] bring something of value to the table instead of me complaining about my kids or whining about the President.
Some people might wonder why I periodically switch to broadcast mode with social media. The answer is simple: eliminate distraction. I program Hootsuite with my social media posts and let it run in the background so I can focus on producing more work in the foreground. It’s tough to constantly lead two lives—digital and physical—so to unplug and take a break from one lets me work on the only life that truly matters, which is the physical one I have on Earth.
Besides, it speeds up getting books and comics to you because I’m spending my time making them instead of writing thousands of words in social media posts.
This is me the first time I tabled at the Central Canada Comic Con in 2007. It was also the same weekend my son was born. I’ve tabled every year since.It’s coming up soon, but beginning November 1, I will be switching over to broadcast mode for the winter. Pre-programmed content will still air on my social media channels. I’ll also be broadcasting from this blog and, of course, there is my weekly newsletter (which you should totally be reading).
In work news:
Progress is being made on the book front, with many titles waiting in the wings to go through the production process before getting into your hands. This was an experiment for me–writing books in bulk–and was a lot of fun. It also meant not releasing anything for a year, but still a good experiment nonetheless. What this means for output in the future, I don’t know. I do need to be releasing titles more frequently, however. This blog will also have details on each project as they come out. You’ll also learn the names of Secret Projects Nos. 1 and 2 (which are written).
Also upcoming is the Central Canada Comic Con from October 27 to 29 at the RBC Convention Centre here in Winnipeg. This is my last public appearance for the year and, possibly, well into next year or even until 2019. I have some plans and experiments I want to run, but I can’t do them if I’m committed to shows and signings. It just makes for too much work, and I’m not as spry as I used to be when I first started out in this business.
I’m looking forward to hunkering down for the winter. I’m looking forward to the quiet. I’m looking forward to working without other things buzzing in the back of my brain.
All right, let’s talk straight. Specifically, let’s talk author platforms. You’ve read the articles. You’ve been told how important they are. You’ve been given a list of what to include. Heck, you’ve even taken all that information to heart and acted upon it.
And the book sales aren’t happening.
So you keep at it, hoping one day it’ll all pay off. Day in and day out you bust your tail on social media and the Web only to keep missing your goal sales-wise. Or, perhaps, you hit it some months and others you wonder what it’s all for. Frustration sets in and you don’t know what’s going on. You did what Author A said. You got your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your blog, your Instagram and all the others—yet still you’re just another author voice shouting into the storm.
Here’s the issue: you’re following someone else’s advice. Worse, you’re following it to the letter and in the game of publishing, following the author platform advice to a T is a death sentence.
This is why:
Publishing is a giant crapshoot. There is no sure-fire way to do anything. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or trying to sell you something. While true there are basics and groundwork you can lay, that’s all those things are. Yes, your standard author platform recipe should be part of your game plan. That’s no different than saying you want to sell your book but you know you can’t sell your manuscript as is. You need to make it pretty and put it between two covers before you can do so. That’s a given. The basics.
The standard author platform isn’t working for you is because you aren’t making it yours. You’re making it like someone else’s or, simply, following the basic recipe without adding the personal tender loving touch that makes your cookies taste better than the other guy’s.
This is how to fix the issue, written step-by-step, but don’t treat it like an instruction manual. Customization, you know?
Step one:
Lay down the standard recipe. All good baking has a fairly consistent base across the board. Have your Facebook page, your Twitter, blog, Instagram and all that. Customize each page and make it about you and your books then commit to a Web plan where you’re active on each on a regular basis.
Step two:
Start adding the TLC. Don’t make your Facebook page like Joe Famous’s. Make it like yours.
I hate the word “brand” when it comes to this author stuff. It turns us into a product and, frankly, art is never about product. It can become a product, but should never be a product. See the difference? This world is sickly loaded with consumerism and people pushing products non-stop twenty-four hours a day. Most of us have tuned out the racket. But what draws us and captures our attention? Unique items and unique people. This so-called “brand” you’re supposed to become? How about voice? After all, your voice is what makes your art what it is to begin with. Why turn that off when sharing it with people?
So . . .
Format and design your pages to reflect you and your books. Don’t be all authorish. Don’t be all bookish. Don’t make people feel like they’re in a stuffy library when they visit you on the Web. In other words, don’t be so professional you come off as cold. Cold people suck.
Into baking or crafts? Build that into your page designs and content.
Into superheroes and comics? Put up some indie superhero character art as part of your banner and pictures.
Into sci-fi and tech? Give your page(s) a mechanical flare and make the electro-junkies squee on the inside when they visit you.
Into horror? Spook it up, man.
Get the idea?
Step three:
With your on-line base of operations already established, leave it alone for a bit and start playing around with other marketing ideas.
Some items . . .
Set up book signings. Table at conventions. Hook up with some craft shows and flea markets. Arrange a book tour, say, local at first then, depending on success, look at traveling out-of-province/state, even country.
Set yourself up as a unique property at these events. Don’t just have a plain table. Add some posters and signage. Add some props. Display your books in a pyramid-like tower. Stand out. Fool around. Don’t be the lonely author who sits there with a handful of books laid out boring and flat in front of them, longingly gazing at the passersby, your eyes pleading, “Please come talk to me. Please come buy my book.” I mean, you took all this time to personalize your on-line presence, why wouldn’t you do the same for your off-line one?
Casually bring up you’re an author into everyday conversations. You can subtly work your pitch into whatever you’re talking about with someone—choose appropriately, of course—and at a bare minimum leave them with a business card. But have books on-hand or in your car in case a sale is to be made. Trust me, it happens.
Go to open mic nights and share story excerpts or poetry. This is your chance to pimp your work, network and perhaps get hired for new projects.
Do workshops.
And a thousand other things. These examples are to make this point: lay your groundwork—that author platform—then play around with other marketing avenues. You’ll be surprised what works. You’ll also be surprised at what doesn’t because what works for Author A doesn’t always work for Author B.
Book marketing is all about customization. It’s about finding what works for you and putting energy into those things while discarding the things that don’t after you’ve given them a fair chance (i.e. six months to a year or something). And you know what? Even that thing you did that didn’t work for your first novel might be the goldmine that works for your second one. Each book is different. Even each book in a series is different.
Authors want the easy way out. “I just want to write,” they say. Well, if that were really true, you wouldn’t be publishing as well, right?
Or they want to be told what to do: that standard author platform recipe. Come on. How can you be so creative in fiction then totally useless outside of it? Don’t you know your life is a story and so is your book career? That creative flare that you put on the page can be used off of it, too. Stop thinking inside of your book and start thinking outside of it.
After this article is drafted, my plan for the day is to revisit my platform, one that I’ve already customized to me over the years—self-publishing since 2004—and take inventory on what’s working and what isn’t. I’m going to make some changes and try new things. Going to add my own TLC instead of relying on the standard Author Platform recipe.
I’m eager to see how these cookies turn out. I already know my zombie chocolate chip ones are dead ringers for a win and my Axiom-man cookies are super.
Screw the standard author platform. It’s boring and useless. But your own? The one with your personal touch?
This post is to let everyone know I’m once again switching over to broadcast mode on my social media channels for a season. The reason? Getting rid of distraction and getting more work done. It worked well over the winter and I have a ton to do and a ton planned, so need to stay focused.
Social media is an addiction for a lot of people and it gets in your head, especially if you’re involved in a discussion or argument. It sucks up headspace and brain power, which are better used to create something. So deep into the mines I go. I’ll radio up to the surface via my weekly newsletter and, if you need me, you can send down a signal via email and we’ll see if the underground transmitters pick it up.
Jeff Burton and I are amazed at how much support this project has received. Not only are we closing in on a third funded, but the indie superhero community is behind us in helping get not just the Frozen Storm novel out, but also Auroraman No. 1 (which features a mini-comic at the end that leads into Frozen Storm). We want to thank each and every one of you who has contributed in bringing these projects to life in some way, whether that’s through pledging or social media shares or spreading the word through some other means.
Jeff and I both believe it’s important to bring more Canadian superhero adventures to readers, and doing this Kickstarter is a way in which to accomplish that. As of this writing, there are 26 days left to go. Please take a moment and check out the Kickstarter page for the awesome rewards and tiers this campaign has to offer. Please also consider supporting these projects. Making comics and books is an expensive endeavor and we want to make sure all those we have on board creating the comic and book get properly compensated for their time and effort.
Thank you again to everyone who’s gotten behind us on this. You’re in for a super treat once the rewards start shipping because there’s not only the exciting comic and book, but original art, toys, collectibles, and more.
The Internet is a painfully crowded place, especially these days. I remember in the late nineties when the Web was starting to take shape. There were some basic websites and, well, that was about it. Communication on-line was pretty much email. Now look at us—everyone’s on-line, we’re all shouting, and social media is the main form of communication.
Unfortunately, there’s just too many people and these days, with every one and their monkey writing a book, there’s too many authors and it’s near impossible to get noticed. Sure, it happens, and some authors build a sizable and—keyword: pragmatic—social following, but for the most part, many struggle in this area.
Newsletters bypass all the number games associated with social media, the whole like-for-like and I-follow-you-you-follow-me tactics, and all the rest. (Which are pretty much useless because those are about quantity not quality.)
Productive numbers are where it’s at and newsletters, by their very opt-in nature, cater to that. Do you want to know who is truly invested in what you do? Start a newsletter.
It’s focused marketing: sending out communication and information to people who have chosen to hear what you have to say. Actually, I don’t even like to use the word “marketing” in this case because that totally devalues the point of a newsletter, which is connecting with readers who genuinely care about you in return.
Look at the word itself: newsletter. It’s a letter, not a brochure.
Sure, your newsletter numbers might be smaller than your Facebook likes, but they’re quality numbers, which have more value than just a high like count. The people who have chosen to receive a newsletter from you are the same people who are more likely to get a copy of your book because a genuine interest in you has already taken place.
There are so many ways to go about doing a newsletter, some of which are:
The Plain Jane promo newsletter.
This is the kind that only goes out when an author has a new release. It’s not about communicating with the reader, but simply selling to them. I find these shallow; see the newsletter work breakdown above.
The monthly update newsletter.
Typically something sent out once a month, this is the newsletter where the author says what’s going on with them, where what project is at in the production process and to promote a book(s) or event or something.
The weekly newsletter.
My personal favorite and the kind I run, which I’ll get to in a moment. The weekly version can be like the monthly one, just sent out weekly. Or it can be about creating a dialogue with the readers and talking points of interest, usually to do with writing or books or entertainment.
My weekly newsletter, The Canister X Transmission—presently in its second year—has four main points: writing/publishing/marketing tip of the week; book/comic spotlight from my catalog; creator spotlight focusing on indie and mainstream creators who’ve impacted my career; rant of the week, which is basically a positive or negative thing depending on what’s been heavily on my mind for the past seven days.
I also offer a free thriller e-novelette download if you sign up.
The benefits:
Regular connection with readers who actually want to hear from you exercise in self-discipline to maintain the newsletter schedule, which then trains you to keep deadlines for other projects like, um, your books an opportunity to market work to readers without spamming, which can lead to sales options outside of the usual channels a chance to encourage and inspire others
Ultimately, newsletters make the on-line world a smaller place and, frankly, in today’s obscenely overcrowded rat race society, it’s sorely needed. It’s a chance to quiet down, meet with a reader, and open up about what’s going on on your end. And you’d be surprised. Readers respond to newsletters with their thoughts, questions and more.
Beats an overcrowded social media channel any day.
Please be advised that effective November 1st I will be off social media for the most part for the 2016/17 winter season and am scheduled to be back in April.
I’ve been preparing for this for a long while now and a lot of work has been put into keeping you guys entertained while I’m away. My social feeds will remain active but robots will be doing most of the posting. Some stuff, like Instagram, has to be manual. Facebook and Twitter are the two main places I’m stepping away from.
Earlier this year, I was off social media for about two months and it was something I needed both professionally and personally. As part of my overall master plan for my career, this second, longer break from the on-line social world is also needed.
If you need to get a hold of me, please use email, which will be checked once a day, Monday to Friday.
The best way to keep current on my projects and get behind-the-scenes info is to sign up for my weekly newsletter, The Canister X Transmission. Go here to subscribe.
Also be sure to check in on this website when you can because things will be happening here as well.
