Last night, while formatting on MS Word, I was watching a clip of Salve Duplito’s speech in some kind of conference for ANC’s On The Money. One thing she said that struck me – as an author – was how it was in our culture not to talk about failures. I agree. She also goes on, saying that’s a shame, though, since we can learn a lot from failures. I agree as well.
So…here goes. A list of my failures (as many of them as I can remember):

Copyright
I don’t regret writing for my publisher, but I do regret giving away my copyright so easily. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am now – or at least I wouldn’t get to where I am in the same span of time. Then, she had the resources (money and know-how primarily) to advertise my books. I didn’t.

Packaging and Marketing
Probably my greatest mistake in packaging and marketing here is my vampire series The Master and His Soul Seer Pet. I’m seriously proud about my work here, but I also seriously failed when it comes to marketing. Ensnared came across as erotic, Beholden came across as more like urban fantasy, but my cover screams YA fantasy romance while my title’s meant to hit both NA and paranormal romance audiences. In other words, a melting pot of disasters. Just thinking about this makes me…aaaargh. *wince*
Hence, I’m wrapping this up early and then I’ll go back to the drawing board and see how to repackage it in time for the second arc.

Passion Projects
I’ve been vocal from the start how Drawn is my all-time favorite among all the books I’ve written. I’ve just been as vocal in admitting that it’s not exactly my bestselling book. Given the chance, there are a couple of things I would have done differently. It’s not a complete failure but it’s definitely no blockbuster success either. And I admit that.
My Silver and Lace series is just like it, too. They were books I wrote out of my love for manga (hello again, otaku peeps like me) but this time I tried not to repeat the same mistakes I did with Drawn. But still – fail. >.< I already lowered my earning expectations, but results were still disappointing.
However, I don’t have a free book to boost sales for Silver & Lace yet so I’m not giving up, and that brings me to my next point.

The only time you really and irrevocably fail is when you quit. You’ve no doubt heard that before it may come across as a cliché, but it’s true. It will always be true. I don’t think there’s any point in your career that you won’t make mistakes. But that’s all they are – mistakes. Things you can learn from and use to do better next time.  :D

 

As such, if you did something wrong today, yesterday, last week, last year – accept it, learn from it, and move on. Tomorrow’s another day to do better.

 

So first of all - this is my anniversary post. Almost two months late, I know. I didn't get to write one right away because I couldn't think of any new information to share with you guys then. But now, I do, thanks to the new trilogy I recently started (and which is also about to end).

The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire (Book 2 in my six-part serial) was released in December 2013. Average word count for the books was 20k to 25k although Book 5 (the longest) was about twice as long, if I remember correctly. 
When you do serials on Amazon, expect a lot of low-star reviews hating on the length (or lack thereof) of the book. Ranking doesn't have that much staying power either although there are exceptions to the rule. (Case in point, my super fave Whitney Gracia Williams). 
On the other hand, you can also see from the chart that Apple users don't give an eff about the length serials. On Amazon, my biggest selling books for each month are the newest releases. On Apple, my newest release also takes the #1 spot but the second spot ALMOST ALWAYS goes to - yes, you got it - The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire, which is one of my oldest self-published books.
My takeaway: If you like writing short (and steamy), Apple is your BEST (but not your only) friend. Just be sure to have a permafree to keep sales steady. I really want to encourage Filipino authors to write serials since we grew up on serials and cliffhangers - I mean, hello, our telenovelas are rife with them and if you do them right, they can make a reader more invested in a book. Personally, as an author, nothing makes ME more invested in my own books than the heartbreak my characters are experiencing. The more painful it is, the more invested I am in their stories.

Now, one of the reasons why Trusting continues to sell well (based on my fairly low standards :D) on Apple is because Book 1 is permafree and drives sales for Book 2. Recently, I started a new trilogy, which is set in the same world as my first Greek billionaire serial. The only difference is that the new trilogy has NO PERMAFREE to boost sales for the second book. My prequel, The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary, was released at $.99c. Dear Greek Billionaire, Book 1 in the trilogy, was released a couple days after it.

This was an eye-opener for me. Huge eye opener, which is why I'm rewriting a part of Book 2 and use it as a permafree to boost sales on Apple. BN sales as shown in the chart are normal for a $2.99 release - although the chart makes my earnings from BN miniscule, you have to remember that BN's market is also a lot smaller compared to Amazon's. 
My Apple sales usually outpace BN sales with a permafree but obviously that's not happening with DGB.

ALL MY SELF-PUBLISHED SERIES start with Book 1 as free. Old ones like The Werewolf Prince and I don't count because they're not self-pubbed. Even my Silver and Lace series will have  either a free prequel or short story of sorts to promote the series. But with my new trilogy (Stavros and Willow), I tried something different. I didn't set the prequel free but instead priced it at $.99 since it was only 44 pages long or about 10k words. I had super low expectations that it would sell since I figured people were used to me making Book 1 free. But THIS happened. 

My ratio for Amazon / BN sales are never like that. NEVER.  But for the first few days, BN sales actually outpaced sales in Amazon and honestly, if I were to base it on market size, I think TGBHS was able to sell at the same pace on both Amazon and BN for more than a week. I've NEVER sold this well on BN before so I'm thinking that it's a combination of a good strategic title and a $.99c price point. Obviously, it's just mostly conjecture at this point, I know I need more hard data, but even so, I have a good feeling it has to do with those two things.
Anyway, because sales of TGBHS were so spectacularly curious, I wondered how effective it was at driving sales to the next book, which is DGB. I compared this to the sales of Burn, which was preceded by Book 1 (Swish) being in a USAT/NYT bestselling boxed set (Wild Rides). 

Obviously, not that huge a difference. But there are a couple things to note. 

• DGB went live only a few days after TGBHS. Burn went out THREE MONTHS after. 
  
• Swish was part of a boxed set that made it to Top 50 on Amazon and even Top 20 on B&N. My $.99c prequel made it as far as Top 500 on Amazon and Top 100 on BN.

Again, I still need more data to make certain conclusions, but for now, I'm thinking $.99c releases for Book 1 is a good way to go and ESPECIALLY IF you release the next book right after. 
I also noticed that Dear Greek Billionaire "seems" to be reaching more new readers compared to Burn as you'll see in the graph below. I'm thinking that Burn's decline on Day 16 was because I had reached virtually all of my old readers in the first fifteen days. Day 16 onwards, mostly new readers were the ones buying (and obviously they're not that many). 
With DGB on the other hand, weekend sales account for the spikes (Day 9, 10, and Day 16, 17) but other than that they're selling more steadily.  Again, I'll need more data to back this up but that's what I feel about it for now at least.

Sales for DGB are parallel with sales for TGBHS by the way (too lazy to create another graph for this, sorry) but when you consider that, then one way to interpret it is that TGBHS is still doing its job at driving sales for the next book.

Same thing's happened with Books 1 to 5 for Damen and Mairi although not in the same scale. I'm thinking new readers were more inclined to one-click The Greek Billionaire and I because it's a standalone.
My takeaway: Amazon and BN readers may be feeling so overwhelmed by the number of permafrees available that they've taken to checking out $.99 releases and using it to decide which series to follow. Obviously, the opposite's the case with Apple. For now, though, I'm thinking I'll stick with $.99 releases for Book 1 of my serials and see how things will continue to work out.
Another thing I want to emphasize on is TIME. If you feel you don't write fast enough then consider writing your entire series in advance before releasing them simultaneously. I know from firsthand experience that readers' interest in your books tends to wane the longer you make them wait. So either work on writing fast enough OR release the entire series in one go. ANOTHER alternative - which I'm still working on - is to have SPECIFIC release dates you can stick to (my greatest weakness alas) and maybe even set preorders up for sequels. That's one way you can be sure to get them hooked until the end.

If you've been following my blog, you'd know that I love, love, love talking about niches - probably as much as I love to talk about outlining. Now, one thing I've noticed is how sales for a particular book seems to be greater on one retailer than the other. 

A few facts about Meant to Be Yours:

• Released in October 2014
• Book 2 in a two-part serial
• Book 1 published in February 2013, was part of USAT bestselling New Adult Romance bundle in January 2014 and was set free when MTBY went live
• Categories / sub-genres: New adult / college age characters, contemporary romance with BDSM theme

First, here's a look at the number of copies it sells on Amazon, BN, and Apple.

At first glance, it may seem like Amazon is once again outpacing sales (slightly) on BN. But remember - BN has a smaller market than Amazon. When you take that into account, you'll know that MTBY has a larger market share on BN compared to how it's doing on Amazon (and Apple). This, by the way, is my ONLY BDSM-themed story (Jason & Keanne does touch upon this issue a little) so I'm thinking it's because of that it's still been selling steadily. 
And just to show you how well MTBY is doing on BN compared to my other books, here's a chart comparing sales of MTBY to Burn (Aug. 2014), This Round I'm Yours (Feb. 2015) and The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire (Dec. 2013).

Before my Greek books, I used to be more known for writing werewolf romances. Late last year, I finished a werewolf trilogy - it didn't rank as well as my first werewolf books (owned by my former publisher) and I think one reason was because the latter was initially priced at $.99 while my trilogy were priced at $2.99 for Books 2 and 3 (Book 1 is permafree though).
Another thing I've noticed is that shifter romance doesn't really sell that well outside Amazon (refer to graph). Initially, it did well on BN and Apple but afterwards, sales just kept declining until they reached a certain (low) plateau.
My takeaway: Every retail site seems to have its unique share of popular niches. Up to you to find out what it is and see which one you'd like to write more. Pricing may also have to be adjusted according to which niche you're in and, lastly, it may pay to be exclusive with Amazon, depending - again - on your niche.

Anyway, that's it for now and I hope even just a little bit of what I've shared is able to help you figure out your next step in self-publishing. Nothing I've shared is ground-breaking for most indie writers but for those in the Philippines, I thought it would be a good thing if I summarized everything here, in case some of you guys were wondering about the same things. 
Some of you may also be wondering why I haven't discussed KU. To be honest, I just don't have enough data because KU seems to work better for new SERIES and as of now, I haven't any to speak of. Next month, though, I'm hoping to be done with another shifter romance trilogy so maybe I'll have figures then. It depends.

Note: Everything here is BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. You aren't obliged to follow my advice or even think that I'm right. All I want is to give back and have more Filipino authors earning enough from self-publishing to be able to write full time. Is all.

So...last Friday, Lulu.com shared this infographic.

Indie authors generally agree with it, I think, but there were also those who went, 'not so fast...' Like the piece on Dear Author, for instance.
Both have good points, and I've got no plans to disagree with either of them. What I do care about is making sure that the problems the DA article pointed out are addressed so that Filipino writers like you and me continue to survive (or even thrive) in today's publishing scene. 

First of all, yes, there are a couple of unavoidable expenses - if you want your book to be good then yes, you need to pay for certain services.
Cover Art 
I know a couple of authors who do their own covers and really great ones at those. I can't remember, though, if the fact that they do their own covers is something they acknowledge in public so I won't name names. But the fact is, they do exist and so it IS possible that you don't have to pay for your own covers. But the question is, CAN YOU DO YOUR OWN COVERS?
If you can't trust yourself to be honest then look for someone artistic and someone you trust to be honest with you. Ask his or her opinion about your cover. If they think it sucks then it sucks. 
Remember, though, that you don't have to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on your first cover. A lot of cover artists today offer pre-made covers and these are always cheaper than customized ones but NOT NECESSARILY uglier or cheap-looking. My cover artists are Kellie of Book Cover by Design (from UK) and Clarise of CT Cover Creations (who's Filipino-Chinese like me). Both of them offer affordable ebook cover designs. 
Please take note I specified ebook cover designs. I suggest that you don't focus on looking for a paperback cover just yet. That's an added and unnecessary expense for now.
When getting someone to do you covers, just make sure you decide early on what your branding is. I learned about this a little too late so I had to redo a lot of my covers. By branding, I mean that people take one look at a cover and they immediately know it's YOUR book and even what SERIES it is. If you check my Greek billionaire romance series, you'll notice that I'm using the same font for GREEK. You'll also notice that I always use the same font and style for my author name for all of my books, whether they be contemporary or paranormal.
PROOFREADING AND EDITING
You absolutely must pay for this. I won't even go to explaining why. You must. My editor is Wendy, a.k.a. The Passionate Proofreader. Like Clarise and me, she's Filipino-Chinese and like Clarise, virtually 99% of her clients are from the US.
MARKETING
Some types of ebook marketing are free but still effective.

• Reach out to reviewers. Word of mouth always helps. If they can post their reviews on multiple sites, so much the better. Don't just limit yourself to Filipino readers. You want readers from the US and other countries, too, because with ebooks, the entire WORLD is your market.
• Give away a free ebook or create a free sampler of your work. It's not as effective as before but it will still get you readers.
• Make use of the "free days" promotion and Kindle Unlimited service available from Amazon's Kindle Select program. Just remember that when you do this, your book can't be available OUTSIDE Amazon.
• List your new releases with websites that offer free promotions. I recommend WTRAFSOG (Jamie McGuire herself mentioned it in one of her interviews) and other similar pages on Facebook.
• Use hashtags when posting or tweeting about your book. Every little bit of strategic marketing counts.
• Create a newsletter and get your readers to subscribe FROM DAY ONE. This is important. EXTREMELY important. I cannot emphasize it enough.

Now, what you do have to pay for---

• Blog tours. It's a hit or miss, but when they work, they REALLY work.
• Paid ads (such as Facebook and Bargain Booksy). They won't cost you as much money as you fear as long as you've targeted the right audience for your ad and you have a compelling image for your ad. Make sure you use an affiliate link to track clicks.

Ebook formatting
Most of the authors I know format their own ebooks. They say it's easy to do and I believe them. The only reason I don't format my own books is because it's covered by my publisher. Money saved is still money saved so please take the time to learn this skill. It should serve you well.
Paperback cover design and formatting
As mentioned earlier on, I don't recommend focusing on this if you're new and you mean to focus on selling ebooks. If you have other priorities then sure, it's up to you. But if you want to be smart and practical and you don't have any existing readership base who'd buy your paperbacks, why spend time and money on it? 
Website
The only thing I paid for is my domain name. The rest, I did myself. I use Weebly as my web host (it's very beginner-friendly and considerate of tech-challenged peeps like me) but a lot of people say Blogspot and WordPress are great, too.
Print and offline advertising
Not at this point. 'Nuff said.

Full Disclosure: I haven't read the entire Discworld series. I used to think its author was a girl because of his first name. I don't love him as much as I love David Eddings, Lloyd Alexander, Anne Bishop, and Elizabeth Haydon. I know just the tiniest bit about his life and works, but what I do know was that he was very much loved by his fans. I kind of love him too, just for that reason. 

Earlier, I was close to tearing my hair out because there's this one chapter that I'm JUST. NOT. SATISFIED. WITH. Everything's okay except for that chapter and I was honestly near tears because of it. I won't be able to get my book out until I get that chapter right, and it's made me think all sorts of things. Maybe this book his shit. Maybe I'm just a fraud, a hack. 
Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to rewrite the chapter for the 195586th time. So I just decided to browse the Internet, hoping I'd come across something inspiring and unfortunately what greeted me instead was the news of Sir Terry Pratchett's death. 
And the first quote I saw of his was this---

Suddenly, it started becoming clear to me. The EXTREMELY UNNECESSARY pressure I'm putting on myself. I know it's hard to see the connection, but I just read that line and...everything just clicked. It's all about the story. It's always about the story in the end. Everything that I'm worrying about because of that chapter - IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY. Only, I've been too blind, too anxious, to see that. It just sucks that I had to learn about Sir Terry Pratchett's death before I could realize that. 
Now, it's all clear. And Sir TP from heaven gave me another bit of advice when I read this other quote from him.

Take that as you will, but for me...I really needed to read that right now.

And as for one of the world's greatest writers - rest in peace, sir. You will live forever through your books, and you'll be changing lives for all eternity because of them, too.

It's been some time since I last posted here, and I just realized that over a year's gone by since I dedicated this blog to indie publishing for Filipino writers. To celebrate my blog's 1st anniversary, I think it's apt that I ask you guys again.

You can email me (if you want to stay anonymous) or even post your question here. You can also use my contact form or drop me a line on Facebook. Whatever works for you. But I'll also check my previous mails, see what's most commonly asked and discuss it in my next post.
Thank you and hope you all have a great day!