An Interview With Julie A Gerber

Today I am interviewing fellow author and marketing manager/consultant, Julie A Gerber, who has written several books and who provides excellent help and support when it comes to marketing and social media management.

Welcome to ARCBookBlog, my little corner of the web, Julie, sit down and put your feet up, the tea will be ready in a few moments.

First off, tell me a bit about yourself:

Hi, I’m Julia and I am the founder of Away We Go Media- social media management, author services, and consulting for authors, blogger at Hits and Misses, Business Manager/Assistant Publisher at TopShelf Indie Authors & Books, co-author of Navigating INDIEWORLD: A Beginner’s Guide To Marketing and Self-Publishing Your Book and Amazon best-seller, Tortured Souls: The House On Wellfleet Bluffs.

And now a few questions

Me – How long have you been writing?

Julie – I have been writing for almost nine years. First as a blogger, then as a published author.

Me – Is writing something you’ve always wanted to do?

Julie – Not really. I am a nurse, but I guess I didn’t want to do that either since I am not working in my field of study. I keep my license to practice nursing as a back-up plan. As a teen, I wanted to be a marine biologist. As a child, I wanted to be the female equivalent of Indiana Jones. Now, I just want to help authors sell books and that makes me happy.

Me – How would you describe yourself as a writer, a plotter or a pantser?

Julie – I do not plan things. I wing it. Unless I’m mad. When I’m mad, I like to plot.

Me – Do you write every day?

Julie – Not at all. I wish I were more like some of my clients. I have a few that schedule time to work each day and they stick to their schedules. I do make an effort to work on something related to writing every day.

Me – What is your favourite genre?

Julie – My favorite genre is anything apocalyptic. Zombies, EMPs. End of the world stuff that changes how we live. Those are the things that scare me. I also love paranormal and historical books.

Me -Is your favourite genre one you write in?

Julie – Not yet, but I have been toying with the idea of switching things up!

Me – If you could have written any book in history, what is it?

Julie – That is a tough one. It would be a tie between Gone With The Wind and the series, The Chronicles Of Narnia. I live in Georgia and I have always been fascinated by Margaret Mitchell and her tale of the Civil War era South. If I had written the book, Scarlett would have been a lot more trouble than she was in Mitchell’s version. The Chronicles of Narnia was a huge part of my childhood. I read and reread those books until the pages were falling apart. To have had the opportunity to touch so many young lives would have been an honor that I would have loved to have.

Me – What would you like to achieve with your writing?

Julie – I have two goals. With Navigating Indieworld, I would like to help someone. If someone takes away something from that book and it helps them grow as a writer and achieve something they were putting off or afraid to do on their own, then I have succeeded. With all other books, I want someone to remember a character, a place, or a time. If I write something that the reader thinks about after the cover is closed, then my wish has come true. I consider that a success.

Me – Which of your books is your favourite?

Julie – Navigating Indieworld. The book carries the theme of paying it forward and it has so many positive thoughts and words of encouragement within the pages.

Me – Tell me about your next release.

Julie – I am working on a book based loosely on the story of my great aunt. She was a fascinating woman who lived a very interesting life. For years, I have been a beta reader for Carole P. Roman. The tables have turned and she is now beta reading for me. She is a wonderful mentor. She’s not only teaching me a few things when it comes to writing, but she is also helping me sharpen my game when it comes to beta reading!

Book Name: Tortured Souls: The House On Wellfleet Bluffs and Navigating Indieworld: A Beginner’s Guide To Self-Publishing And Marketing Your Book

Book Blurb:

Tortured Souls:

In some towns, the past is easily forgotten. Not in Wellfleet Bluffs. Lynne and Jason buy their dream house online and quickly move to the quaint little town. After unexplained events send them looking for answers, will they become a forgotten part of history or will they find the answers and help the ghosts of the past find peace?

Release date: April 25, 2016

Buy the book here – Amazon Kindle

 

 

 

 

Navigating Indieworld:

Social media guru, Julie A. Gerber and award-winning author of forty-three best-selling books, Carole P. Roman, team up to travel the winding road of self-publishing, promoting, and marketing a book. Join these two experts as they share their vast store of experience in an easy to read book.
Learn why you need a beta reader and the importance of a good editor. Make a list of what you need to do when choosing an illustrator. Compare the many ways to promote your book.
Navigating Indieworld will end up being your travel guide as you journey from writer to published author.

Release date: August 31, 2016

Buy the book here – Amazon Kindle

If you would like to know more about Julie, visit the following links

Website: http://www.awaywegomedia.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegomedia and https://www.facebook.com/NavigatingIndieworld

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Awaywegomedia_

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15215458.Julie_A_Gerber

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101471856155148729010

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J.A.-Gerber/e/B01EXQSLFW/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Should you bother with making a paperback?

This is my second go around as a published author, I was published for a time in the early days of the indie scene, and during both my previous time as an author and my current career I have come across the question posed in this post’s header.

It seems that many indies cannot see any value in having a paperback/physical version of their work out there; either they believe ebook is the way forward and paperback is dying out, or they feel it’s too difficult/time-consuming/costly to make a paperback a part of the catalogue they offer to their readers.

I can’t claim to be an expert in the publishing business, whether indie or traditional, I’m just someone with a bit of experience, and I hope to help by passing on that experience to assist others.

In my opinion, indie authors should release every title in both ebook and paperback versions – they should also release them as audiobooks, and in every other format possible, so long as the cost to produce is minimal; the more ways in which a title is visisble, the more likely it is to be seen, and therefore to sell.

I have heard indies give both cost and difficulty, as well as lack of sales, as reasons for not putting together a paperback version of their titles. It seems to me that along with most other problems a person encounters, these problems can be overcome with some research and a bit of knowledge. To that end, I’m going to address the three biggest reasons for not having a paperback in the hopes of convincing you to create one:

LACK OF SALES

This seems like the obvious place to start, and if I’m honest, there isn’t really a counter I can give to this, the chances are, unless you’re lucky, you won’t sell many copies, at least initially.

Don’t be put off by the prospect of limited sales, sales are not necessarily why you should create a paperback; it’s possible that you will get sales, and you should celebrate each one, but it is more likely that people will see your paperback and then, if they’re interested, buy the ebook as that will most likely cost them less.

A paperback provides increased visibility, it is also handy to have because some reviewers, and you will want to get in touch with them at some point, will only accept paperbacks for review, and giveaways work best when the prize is a physical copy of a book (giveaways are a very effective way of getting people interested in your book without spending too much money).

The last reason for having a paperback is the joy of holding something you have created; it’s nice to have your novel as an ebook, but nothing compares to being able to hold and an actual, physical book.

DIFFICULTY

Those who are not technically minded find adapting their ebook to a paperback format a little daunting, and I can understand that, at first glance it does seem difficult. No-one should let a little difficulty stand in the way of possibly earning some money, though, especially if that money is to be earned through something you love, like writing.

I use Createspace to produce my paperbacks (other services are available) and once  I have selected the size for my paperback, they provide a template to follow with all margins and interior layout prepared for me, all I have to do is copy my novel into the template and make some adjustments to ensure the chapter headings appear as I want them to.

I’m lucky enough to be reasonably computer literate, so this isn’t too difficult for me; I can appreciate how it might be for others, though. Fortunately, there is a way around this, which brings me to the third reason.

In addition to the interior file, you will need a cover for the paperback, one that will include front, back and spine. Obviously there are people you can contract to create a cover for you, at reasonable prices, if you don’t wish to do that, however, Createspace provides a feature whereby you can build a cover online.

COST

I appreciate that not everyone has money they can afford to throw at publishing, even when you can find formatting services for a reasonable price. Cost needn’t be a barrier to turning your ebook into a paperback, however.

If you look around, especially in writer’s groups such as those on Goodreads, you’ll find other people who have services they can’t afford to pay for, people who are willing to trade the services they can do for those they can’t. This means someone may be willing to setup the interior file or design a cover for your paperback in exchange for some help with marketing, or something else that you may have a particular ability with.

Whether you pay for a service or trade for it, I recommend you check out the person providing the service to be sure they will do a proper job.

I hope this has helped convince you to put out a paperback and expand the visibility of your titles.

Nagivating Indieworld – An Honest Review

Navigating Indieworld

Julie A Gerber & Carole P Roman

Social media guru, Julie A. Gerber and award-winning author of forty-three best-selling, independently published books, Carole P. Roman, team up to travel the winding road of self-publishing, promoting, and marketing a book. Join these two self-help experts as they share their vast store of experience in an easy to read, comprehensive guide, complete with end of chapter checklists to keep an author on track. Learn the importance of a beta reader and the value of a good editor. Know what’s needed when preparing a list for choosing an illustrator. Compare the many ways to promote your book. Find out what each step can cost and where you can save. This guide takes new independent authors from the first draft, through publication and the complicated world of marketing. Included is a directory of resources to help get there faster. Navigating Indieworld will end up being the ultimate travel guide for writers on their journey to published author. Join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NavigatingIndieworld

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I was gifted a free copy of this book, not for review but because I have connected with Carole P Roman through Goodreads and she was kind enough to want to help me with my writing and promoting efforts. Having read the book, however, I just had to review it.

Julie Gerber and Carole Roman have done a great job of putting together a guide for anyone thinking of publishing a novel. The focus is on publishing as an independent, as the title suggests, but they also cover, briefly, getting published through a publishing house.

The book is organised into a number of different areas that encompass every conceivable aspect of writing and publishing a novel, and each one is written in a way that makes it easy to understand what is being said. Not only are the sections clearly written, they include examples where appropriate – I found the section on blurbs particularly helpful, it’s an area of writing I’ve always struggled with but seeing the examples enabled me to restructure my blurb into something that I feel is more appealing.

Having published in the past, I knew some of what was written about in Navigating Indieworld, and would have liked a little more detail to help me in the areas I didn’t know, such as social media – this is an area I’m uncomfortable with, so more information might not help me all that much, I’m actually thinking of paying for help – but for a new author this is a book I’d recommend reading this book so you know what you’re getting into and how to get the most out of it.

A guide to the indie world

All at sea when it comes to marketing and promotion?

Published a book but not sure where to go and what to do now?

You need help Navigating Indieworld

Social media guru, Julie A. Gerber and award-winning author of forty-three best-selling books, Carole P. Roman, team up to travel the winding road of self-publishing, promoting, and marketing a book. Join these two experts as they share their vast store of experience in an easy to read book.
Learn why you need a beta reader and the importance of a good editor. Make a list of what you need to do when choosing an illustrator. Compare the many ways to promote your book.
Navigating Indieworld will end up being your travel guide as you journey from writer to published author.
FIVE stars from ForeWord Reviews.

You can get the book on Amazon 0r Barnes & Noble