Act Like an Author, Think Like a Business: Ways to Achieve Financial Literary Success

By Joylynn Jossel

There’s literary success and there’s financial literary success . . . and you can have them both!

Do you want to make money with your book? Do you want to make a living as an author? There’s more to doing so than simply writing and publishing your book. Many authors dive into the literary industry without taking time to learn the business side of being an author. This could dramatically hinder your book sales and the money you can make as an author.
Without a guide such as this, mastering the art of financial literary success can take you years, and you’ll be sure to make mistakes during the learning phase. Some mistakes could cost you money; other mistakes will keep you from making money. This tool will allow you to avoid those mistakes altogether as well as:
- Shorten your learning curve on how to make money as an author
- Start making money with your book and literary business . . . now
- Provide tips to maximize and monetize your role as an author
- “Think outside the book” to make money other ways than book sales

This book will not only put you on the path of monetary opportunities, but by following the author’s systems and strategies, you can fund your literary success. To understand the difference between literary success and financial literary success, crack open this remarkable book. You’ll also crack the code to discovering what it feels like to achieve your literary dreams, visions, and goals!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joylynn Jossel
• Release date: Apr 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781005932206

Joylynn Jossel

Joylynn M. Jossel is a former secular author who now writes under the name BLESSEDselling Author, E. N. Joy. She is the writer behind the five book series, “New Day Divas,” coined the “Soap Opera In Print.” Formerly writing secular works under the names Joylynn M. Jossel and JOY, this award winning author has been sharing her literary expertise on conference panels in her home town of Columbus, Ohio as well as cities across the country.After thirteen years of being a paralegal in the insurance industry, Joy finally divorced her career and married her mistress and her passion; writing. In 2000, Joy formed her own publishing company, END OF THE RAINBOW projects, where she published her own works until landing a book deal with a major publisher. Under End of the Rainbow, Joy has published New York Times and Essence Magazine Bestselling authors in the “Sinner Series,” which include Even Sinners Have Souls, Even Sinners Have Souls TOO and Even Sinners Still Have Souls.In 2004, Joy branched off into the business of literary consulting where she provides one-on-one consultations and literary services such as ghost writing, editing, professional read-throughs, write behinds, etc... Her clients consist of first time authors, Essence Magazine bestselling authors, New York Times bestselling authors, and entertainers.Not forsaking her love of poetry in which she has published two works of poetry titled Please Tell Me If the Grass is Greener and World On My Shoulders, Joy plans to turn her focus back to the genre one day. “But my spirit has moved in another direction,” Joy says. Needless to say, she no longer pens street lit (in which two of her titles, If I Ruled the World and Dollar Bill, made the Essence Magazine bestsellers list. Dollar Bill appeared in Newsweek and has also been translated to Japanese). She no longer pens erotica or adult contemporary fiction either, in which one of her titles earned her the Borders bestselling African American romance award at the Romance Writers of America National Conference. Instead, under the name E.N. Joy, she pens Christian fiction, and under the name N. Joy she pens children’s and young adult titles. Joy’s children’s story, The Secret Olivia Told Me, received the American Library Association Coretta Scott King Honor. Book club rights were acquired by Scholastic Books and the book is on tour at Scholastic Book Fairs in schools across the country. Elementary and middle school children have fallen in love with reading and creative writing as a result of the readings and workshops Joy performs in schools nationwide.Currently, Joy is the acquisition editor for Urban Christian, an imprint of Urban Books in which the titles are distributed by Kensington Publishing Corporation out of New York. When she’s not adding her two cents to other authors’ works, she’s diligently working on her own. Joy’s latest projects, the “New Day Divas,” "Still Divas" and "Always Divas" series, are taking the literary world by storm.Joy is certain her Divas series is the one that is going to afford her with the title of New York Times Bestselling Author. Until then, she doesn’t mind the title of BLESSEDselling author.

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Introduction

"Art and profit are not at odds as much as people think."

—Alison Tedford, Freelance Writer

Don’t get into the business of writing for money; do it for the love of writing.

Blah, blah, blah!

Once upon a time, that was my advice to authors; probably because that was the advice given to me more times than I can count. I will say, though, that if I had a dime for every time I was told that, I’d be so wealthy I probably would be writing only for the love of it. But then again, why I write has nothing to do with money—why most writers and authors write have nothing to do with money (with the exception of writing professionals like copywriters, of course). When it comes to money, the question would be why we sell books, not why we write them. But all too often, authors confuse why they write with why they publish and why they sell their work. Somehow, they manage, with their answers, to circle back to money.

Regardless, it’s okay to write because you love to write, but it’s also okay to write because you have some amazing things to share and you want to get paid for your information, for your intellectual property. If the only people who wrote books were the people who love writing, the world would miss out on so much!

There are authors who absolutely detest the writing process. But that’s okay, because you don’t have to love writing to write, publish, or sell your work. Even if you are one of those people who have proclaimed that you have a story or message to share, but you are not a writer, you can still achieve literary and financial literary success by becoming a published author. There are resources and literary industry professionals such as book coaches, editors, and ghostwriters, who can help you craft your message.

We also have to keep in mind that there is writing, and then there is the business of writing. When you decide to put a price tag on your writing—when you decide to engage in financial transactions in exchange for your written words—baby, you’re in business! And who goes into business not to make money? So, if you don’t want your art of writing to be mixed and mingled with money, then write for free. Blog your thoughts, ideas, stories, and content. But if you have a message that you truly want to move to the masses, then publishing (which is a business) is a must. And so, we find ourselves back to the whole money situation again, because, guess what? It cost money to move a message to the masses. It cost money to hire the literary industry professionals needed to polish and publish your book like a pro, regardless of which path to publication you choose.

Whether your intentions are to self-publish, publish through a publishing house, or seek literary representation, you must produce a polished, publishable piece of work, which will more than likely require the use of literary industry professionals and resources.

You can’t make a living as a writer. It’s only something you can do on the side, so keep your day job.

Yep, that’s another piece of advice I found myself regurgitating into other writers’ and authors’ ears. But then one day I woke up and realized that I, in fact, was making a living as a writer, and that I, in fact, was operating on the business side of writing to make money. Writing, publishing, and selling books had been things I loved and found great joy and passion in. They were things I wanted to do all day every day. And if that were to be the case, I needed to figure out how to earn money while doing it, because my mortgage company didn’t take love, joy, and passion as methods of payments. And so I had figured it out...and I was doing it...quite successfully, might I add. So who on God’s green earth was I to tell anyone else they couldn’t do it too?

I literally jumped out of bed, got on my knees, and repented for being the crusher of any writer’s or author’s dreams I’d fed those discouraging words to. I looked back over the years at all those who had given me that advice. Some of those people are now making a living as a writer. Heck, some of them were even making a living writing at the time they told me I couldn’t. Then, sadly enough, there are those still going around telling writers and authors they can’t make a living with their written words. Well, I’m here to reverse that verbal curse that was ever bestowed upon any writer or author.

Stop allowing people to tell you that you can’t make a living as a writer simply because they couldn’t figure out how to do it. I figured it out, and I teach other writers and authors every day how to do it. My mission, purpose, and passion is to remind writers and authors that their intellectual property is priceless, and it’s okay to put a price tag on it. But it’s important to know that before you plan to make a living as a writer, you must determine/define what making a living is to YOU.

Making a living could mean a nice apartment in Kentucky to one person, while it means living in a five-level split, single-family home in the burbs to the next. Most authors who are making a living as a writer are doing more than living off book sales and royalties. So, if you are that author whose only literary income is book sales and royalties, now is the time to ask yourself, What else can I do, utilizing my role and title as an author, to bring in income that will enable me to make a living as a writer? Keep in mind, since the goal is making a living as a writer, it should complement and be cohesive with your brand in the literary industry, but at the same time, maximize, optimize, and monetize your role as an author.

Whatever making a living as a writer is for you, be intentional in your efforts to achieve it. If you aren’t willing to put forth the effort, then you might as well put this book down now. This is a resource for writers and authors that includes multiple ways to achieve financial literary success in making a living as a writer, but it won’t work for you unless you work it.

Do the tips, strategies, tools, resources, information recommendations, suggestions, and professional advice found in this book work? Absolutely! But again, you must put in the work. So, if you’re ready to put in the work required to achieve financial literary success—if you’re ready to put in the work it takes to make a living as a writer—then turn the page and get to work!

Part 1: Marketing

Make Money Before Your Book is Written

Wouldn’t it be great to have earned enough money from book sales pre-publication in order to pay your editor, book cover designer, or even your printer? Well, there is a way you can do so.

There is a growing trend of authors hopping on social media and asking people to outright give them money toward the writing and publishing of their book. The publishing process, no matter which path one decides to take, can be quite costly, so it’s understandable an author may need some financial assistance in covering the process toward successful publication. But there is a way to do it without begging, and it’s called a pre-order campaign.

A pre-order campaign goes beyond using Smashwords and Amazon’s pre-order option. It goes beyond dropping the pre-order pay link all over social media. Having your book available for pre-order and having a pre-order campaign are two different things, and it’s something all authors, whether traditionally published, self-published, or POD, should be doing.

A pre-order campaign is a call-to-action, encouraging people to buy your book before its scheduled release date. A crowdfunding campaign—in which you are providing the contributors a copy of your publication once released—can be part of your (or an entire) pre-order campaign. A pre-order campaign can set the pace/momentum for the success of your book, creating anticipation and a buzz.

In addition to making money from your book before it’s written, a pre-order campaign allows you to test your marketing and messaging concepts. Creating that word-of-mouth buzz can often prompt readers to begin requesting your book, which can entice retailers and libraries to pre-order copies of your book as well.

If making the best-sellers list is part of your literary goals and achievements, running a pre-order campaign can certainly help you accomplish that, as pre-orders count toward first-week sales. First week sales are typically what’s responsible for catapulting authors to the best-sellers list.

Although a very small part of the publishing process, conducting a pre-order campaign should be part of an author’s marketing plan.

Do Your Market Research

As authors, it’s okay to write something that we ourselves are interested in reading and excited to sit down and pen. That makes the writing process itself that much more interesting and feel less like work. That’s absolutely how an author should act, but that’s not how they should think.

They should be thinking the way any business would; about the actual person who is going to fork over the money for their product/book. This involves doing market research, which sounds like a cuss word in the business world. Too technical, huh?

Well, it’s not. And it’s a must. Not only do you have to know everything there is to know about your product, you also need to know the market in which you will be advertising and selling the product. So, allow me to share with you just one quick, easy, and free way to conduct a market research, and a few of the elements involved.

Go to Amazon.com and find bestselling books in your niche/genre.

Search by keywords or browse the bestsellers lists.

Examine the book covers (colors, fonts, imagery, etc.).

Look at titles and subtitles: How well do they communicate the book’s message?

Model the elements of the more interesting book descriptions.

Use the Look Inside feature to read the first couple pages.

Read both positive and negative reviews.

Look at sales ranking (how well is that niche/genre selling).

See, that’s it...well, it’s a start anyway. Market research can be done by visiting your local bookstore, library, or even your very own bookshelf.

Handle Your Business

Are you handling your business?

Your literary endeavors may include one, two, or all three of the following: building books, building a book business, and learning how to create multiple streams of income to sustain your book businesses.

Regardless of whether you’re all about pushing your book, yourself as an author, or your services and products, you need to be able to sell any one of them in 30 seconds or less, which is about the length of an elevator ride.

Having a positioning statement, AKA elevator pitch, that includes your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) ready to recite at any given moment is part of handling your business. In fact, it’s like Business 101. But don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have one on hand. Writing the book was a task in itself that was your top priority. Now, I’m here to tell you that making sure you have a pitch prepared should be a priority as well.

The pitch isn’t just for elevators, though. Make sure you add it to your website, YouTube channel, and social media platforms. Lastly, take blurbs from your pitch and add them to images to become attractive pieces of your social media content.

Holiday Marketing

I said not to solely focus on book sales and royalties, but I didn’t say to ignore them altogether.

Even though it goes without saying, I’ll say it anyhow: The number of books you sell do play a role in financial literary success. And, of course, so does marketing—again, something else that goes without saying.

Holiday marketing, in my opinion, is one of the most fun types of marketing. If you write about love or romance, Valentine’s season is the perfect time for you to be featured on the radio, or even a television segment. Try to begin pitching yourself as a guest to the media and vloggers/bloggers the November before Valentine’s Day. But you never know, there could be some radio and television hosts out there looking for a subject/story for a last-minute Valentine’s Day segment, so pitch away right up until Valentine’s Day if you’d like.

And before you ask, no, your book doesn’t need to be non-fiction, and you don’t need to be a relationship expert or coach. You just have to make sure you have some amazing tips and stories you can share...perhaps about the do’s and don’ts of love, romance, and even sex.

Be sure to make it fun, entertaining, and informative. If you are a fiction author, you can do so by using your characters’ situations as topics of discussion and examples.

You mean to tell me you don’t have some crazy in love character in your book?

You don’t have the girl who knows her man took someone else out to dinner for Valentine’s Day right before he took her...he double-dipped? How did she handle it? Tell the listeners/viewers how you would handle it, because you have to add that personal touch/connection to the show. There has to be some valuable tips and news as well as some interesting and engaging story you can incorporate. Because remember, the media doesn’t care about you or your book—they care about their audience and what you can provide their audience. The media is all about ratings and keeping their audience tuned in.

Perhaps you are divorced. You can talk about love, romance, or sex after divorce. Don’t bring up your book at all if you don’t have to. If you do mention your book during the interview, be sure not to overdo it with all that like my book says and in the book I wrote... Just say something like, "When I was doing research for my book, Love, Honor, or Stray, I learned ABC, and now I want to teach you XYZ." Remember, it’s about what you can provide to the audience outside of simply selling them your book.

And not to worry, as long as your host/interviewer is on their job, they’ll be sure to mention your book and its title somewhere during the interview. If it’s a blog interview, be sure that your book title is in the byline.

I once made the homepage of AOL with my story about my horrible endless cycle of using those cash advance check cashing places. Ironically, I started using them to help pay for the printing of my first book, which I didn’t mention in the story. The write-up had absolutely nothing to do with any of my books, but the fact that I was an author and my website was mentioned in the article landed me sales and lifelong customers. So, me sharing that personal story about myself paid off, literally.

If you missed out on media coverage this past Valentine’s Day, don’t fret. You can get ‘em next year, but start working on your pitch and proposal package NOW. In doing so, make sure you prepare Valentine gift sets for shipping or vending and book signing purposes.

Take photos of them and promote