At the 2023 Aurealis Awards, celebrating science fiction, fantasy and horror writing published last year in Australia, Tansy Rayner Roberts won the best science fiction novel award for her self-published title Time of the Cat. Tansy spoke to Independent Publishing about Time of the Cat, the benefits of self-publishing, and using Patreon and Kickstarter to help support her projects, among other aspects of her work.
Congratulations on winning the 2023 Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel for Time of the Cat. Can you tell us a bit about your book?
Cosy time travel adventure with talking cats! It’s a book for nerds, academics and obsessives who would probably use time travel to rescue lost TV shows rather than do anything heroic with it.
As a self-published author, what does it mean to you for your book to be recognised alongside major publishers’ titles for an Aurealis Award?
It’s a marvellous honour. I’ve judged for the Aurealis Awards in the past, so I know how much work goes into the process of reading and deliberating. I think most self-published authors have a little inner voice (sometimes not so little) asking whether the book is ready, or whether it’s good enough to send out into the world. Awards like this can be incredibly reassuring.
As an author who has published traditionally as well as independently, what has been the most gratifying aspect of publishing the book yourself?
My favourite part was getting to choose who I collaborate with—from cover art and design to editing, merch creation, audiobook production, etc. All the pressure is on me, and I have to pay a lot more people than when I was trad, but I love steering my books to the finish line. I also really enjoy being part of a wider indie author community—we learn a lot from each other, and lift each other up. With such a rapidly changing publishing landscape, it’s marvellous to have friends who are paddling in similar boats nearby. I feel closer to my readers, too, thanks to their support through my Patreon and Kickstarter projects.
Can you walk us through your process of self-publishing? Which services did you use to get your book printed (and published digitally), and why?
These days I publish most of my ebooks widely, directly through all the platforms, using Smashwords (now merged with Draft2Digital) to aggregate a few that I can’t reach directly. I publish my paperbacks through IngramSpark and Amazon. I also publish many of my books to a more exclusive audience first, through Patreon or Kickstarter, or on my podcast Sheep Might Fly.
With Time of the Cat, I knew it had potential to do really well as a Kickstarter because it was such a unique concept and the visuals were really fun, but as it is a standalone novel, I couldn’t just quietly pop it up like I often do with a series release. So I went for a splashy event, lots of cool merch like tea boxes, enamel pins, stickers, etc., to make it feel like an unmissable moment. I write too many books to do something like that every time, but it fitted well with this title.
How did you approach the marketing and publicity process for Time of the Cat?
In some ways the Kickstarter is the marketing and publicity process; it’s like having a book launch before the book! I chose my partners carefully, including artists like Pepper Raccoon (whom I’d spotted in the Steffanie Holmes Kickstarter) and Tallulah Cunningham, who I knew would give me some wonderful visuals to work with. My cover was by Psycat Studio. And I teamed up with local businesses like the Art of Tea and the Huon Candle Co. to make great merch. I blitzed all my usual readers—newsletter, social media, etc., while the campaign was going on. A lot of people know my Kickstarters, so I was fairly confident my old crowd would support me, but the world of author-Kickstarter has changed a lot in the last few years (the Brandon Sanderson Effect). I found some excellent Facebook groups that helped a lot with cross promotion and advice on how to reach new backers.
I didn’t plan anything special for the general release of the book, but there was already buzz around it because of the Kickstarter, and I timed it to come out for my local Tassie indie book fair so I could do a lot of hand-selling—a really good cover is your best marketing investment, and this one has paid off.
What are the biggest lessons or tips you would give to others looking to self-publish?
Don’t reinvent the wheel—find others who are doing it and listen to their advice! Team up with other authors. Don’t be afraid to start small—sales can be slow until you have a solid backlist, or a series to promote, rather than a single book. But you learn so much from the first few releases you make, and it’s better to not make all your newbie mistakes on a massive project or the book of your heart—try a short story or a novella. Or a collaborative project with a few friends, to share the workload and the learning curve.
Be cautious of throwing too much money into self-publishing until you’ve built some experience—you will ultimately need to invest in yourself because it is a small business. But it can be hard to know at first how to avoid wasting money. Make sure your book looks good and sounds great (yes, you do have to tell people what it’s about!), and that you can clearly visualise your ideal audience before you even think about paying for advertising.
Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
So many things! I have a new Kickstarter coming in July–August for a special edition of my popular Teacup Magic series, with all the bells and whistles—exclusive merch, glamorous hardbacks, tea, the works.
Tansy can be found on most social media @tansyrr, and more information about Tansy, her books, and her podcast are on her website.
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