Could you please introduce yourself, the books you have written and then give a brief pitch of your most recent book?
Hi, I’m Louise Guy, author of 13 middle-grade fiction titles, 15 romances (10 novella length, five full length), and five domestic thrillers. I write under three pen names and love the versatility of writing in different genres.
My most recent release is A Family’s Trust, a domestic thriller that explores the lives of two women who recently discovered they are biological sisters. Committed to supporting each other and developing a relationship, they find this easier said than done when a large inheritance is at stake, and the lines between greed and family and right and wrong begin to blur.
Some of your titles are self-published, while others are released through a traditional publisher. With your experience working both sides, what do you think are the benefits and drawbacks to self-publishing?
For me, the benefit of being traditionally published was the marketing strength behind the publisher. Lake Union is one of Amazon’s publishing imprints, and its reach to Amazon users is unbeatable. I have done quite well on the Amazon platform self-publishing but haven’t been able to get close to the sales figures that Lake Union has. Another benefit of a traditional publisher is the experience of working with developmental editors and having another company cover the expenses of editing, covers, and marketing. These all add up quickly for self-published authors.
A drawback, however, of traditional publishing is not having the same level of control over the publishing process. The timeframes are much slower than self-publishing, and while I was lucky to be included in the decision-making on blurbs, covers, and other marketing, I did not have the final say. I did have to accept some decisions I wouldn’t have gone with if self-publishing.
Which book or series has been your biggest success and why?
I have had success in different genres. My middle-grade series, The Crafters’ Club, did very well in the first three years of its release and continues to sell today. It was self-published, and having the link to Minecraft back in 2015, when Minecraft was huge, made it an instant success. The series has sold more books than any of my other standalone titles or series.
Of my books for adults, Everyday Lies is my most successful. I had great success self-publishing this title, and it was the book that Lake Union saw and went on to offer me a five-book contract. Not only did it sell well in its own right, but that contract meant the following four books sold better than if I had self-published them.
What is your process for releasing your self-published titles? How many people/services do you contract on your book and what do you do yourself?
Once the book is finished, I use a team of five beta readers to give early feedback. Three of these are authors with who I do reciprocal beta reading. The other two are readers who love to be involved. This is great for me as there are no fees. I do another draft after receiving their feedback, and then the book goes to my copy editor. At the same time as finalising the draft for the copy editor, I will have been working with a cover designer to have a cover completed and loaded for pre-order four–to–six weeks from the publication date of the book. Once the book is back from the editor and I have my final draft completed, I create the ebook and paperback and have a small team of early readers who receive complimentary copies. They act as proofreaders for me.
As far as what do I do myself? I write the book and redraft it following feedback. I engage with the cover designer and brief them on the cover. I upload the books to KDP and Ingram Spark and create the internal files for both the ebook and paperbacks. I also do all marketing, ad creation and promotion for the final product.
Could you talk a bit about marketing and promotion—how did you find your audience for your books, and how have you been able to build a loyal following for your releases?
I use AMS ads and Facebook ads to promote my books. I have a newsletter for one of my pen names, but I find ads the most effective overall. Luckily, I get a high percentage of read-through once someone has read one of my books. I include links in the backs of my books to my backlist and books available for pre-order.
Some of your titles are available as audiobooks. How did this come about, and have you found much of a market for audio versions of your books?
My traditionally published books are all in audio which was part of the contract with Lake Union Publishing. With the self-published books, three of my Crafters’ Club books are also in audio. I found an excellent narrator on Fiverr and contracted him to create these for me. I then uploaded them to ACX/Audible. They haven’t sold as well as I had hoped, so I didn’t continue past three books. I find for children’s books that paperbacks are the best format to sell in, whereas, with my adult titles, my sales are predominantly ebooks.
What is your most valuable tip for those starting out in self-publishing?
Join associations such as ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) and Facebook groups such as 20Booksto50K, Alessandra Torres Inkers, and other groups relevant to your genre. Authors share a wealth of information in these groups, and they are wonderful places to make friends and work together on your self-publishing journey.
Comments are closed.