An Interview with Indie Star Barbara Freethy
By Barbara O'Neal | November 29, 2011 |
from Barbara O’Neal: I am delighted to have had the chance to interview my friend Barbara Freethy, who has experienced a truly astonishing trajectory as an Indie publisher this year. A traditionally published author for two decades, Barbara started experimenting with indie publishing late last year. Listen in as she talks about her journey, her tips, and her insights on the digital market.
Hi, Barbara. We here at Writer Unboxed are SO excited about your astonishing success as an indie publisher, which has far outstripped some of the more….um…vocal men blogging on the subject. Tell us how many books you’ve sold.
Hi Barbara – Thanks for having me on the blog – I’m excited to be here. It has been a phenomenal nine months for me. As of now, I’ve sold over 1.1 million units of self-published ebooks in 2011.
Over a million. In less than a year. That’s incredible. And how many weeks have you been on the New York Times bestseller list since June? How many weeks as number 1?
The New York Times Bestseller List has also been a dream come true. I never imagined that I would hit the top twenty and not in my wildest dreams could see myself hitting #1, but SUMMER SECRETS hit the #1 spot on the Ebook list in July. Since then I’ve had eight different books appear on the list. I don’t know the exact number of weeks.
I’ve honestly been so focused on all the work involved in getting the books up online that the bestseller lists were a happy, fantastic consequence, but nothing that I set as my goal. I just wanted to give the books great covers and make them available and hope that readers would find them.
It isn’t like you weren’t successful as a traditionally published author. You’ve been writing successfully for a number of publishers for what…20 years? You have a RITA award (for Daniel’s Gift) and a powerful publishing history in romance, romantic suspense, and contemporary romance. What made you decide to try your hand at indie publishing?
I have been writing for twenty years, so definitely not an overnight success! I do have a RITA Award for DANIEL’S GIFT, thanks for remembering that! It’s one of my personal favorites and probably one of my all time fan-favorite books. The reason I went into Indie publishing was to bring my backlist to life. Along the many twisting curves of my up and down career, I changed publishers a few times. When I left those houses and books went out of print, I always asked for the rights back, hoping I’d one day sell them to the next publisher. Well, unless you’re a huge star, publishers aren’t interested in buying backlist, so those books were basically taking up space in my closet. When Amazon and B&N opened up their doors to self-publishing authors, I took the opportunity to give those books a new life.
It’s been an exhausting but overwhelmingly wonderful experience. I don’t think I’ve worked so hard in my life as I have in the past nine months. But I love having total control over my product. I can set the price, design the cover, change the title, but more importantly, I can see the sales data on a real-time basis. I’ve always been author who likes to know her numbers, and I don’t know why it’s been so difficult to get that information from traditional publishers. We’re all on the same team. Being able to see how a book is doing on an hourly basis has been fascinating.
Were you successful right out of the gate, or did it take awhile? What kinds of things did you do to help fuel the sales of your backlist?
I was not successful right away. I put up SUMMER SECRETS at least five months before it hit #1 on the NYT. I was complaining to one of my friends who was doing really well that I wasn’t seeing her kind of numbers. I put up two more books and had mixed results. Because I was watching everything so closely, I found myself playing around with my covers. I changed the cover for DANIEL’S GIFT probably three times before I found the one that worked for me. I began to focus on developing a brand look for my work. And that really helped. Having multiple books to sell also was of great value to me. I think it’s much more difficult for authors with just one book to sell.
Not everyone who puts their books online has the kind of success you have enjoyed. My personal belief is that your books have always been that good, that they deserved to be NYT bestsellers all along, but they never had the kind of packaging that branded them all as a group. What other insights can you offer about the process? Is it all just luck and good timing?
Thanks Barbara – I appreciate the sentiment. I think luck always plays a role in publishing, Indie or Traditional. I have a lot of bad luck stories in my arsenal — horrible covers, distribution glitches, editors leaving houses, a book that came out the week of 9/11 — some tough breaks along the way. But I had some good luck, too. Any long-term writing career is going to see peaks and valleys. Very few authors don’t struggle at some point, whether it’s in the very beginning or several books into their career. Whether writers are hoping to sell to traditional publishers or go it on their own, there are going to be dips. You can’t think book to book – you have to think of writing as a career. And the great thing is — you can always write another book. Good luck could be just around the corner.
What is the most enjoyable aspect of suddenly finding such a huge audience? It must be wildly satisfying.
I’m thrilled I’ve found new readers. I love to write stories that are complex. I blur the lines of romance all the time, adding in women’s fiction elements, or suspense, or a little bit of magic. In traditional publishing I’ve always been that author who doesn’t quite hit it on the nose, but in Ebooks, my stories don’t have to be one thing, they can be anything. I don’t have to worry any more about where the bookstore will shelve the book, where it will fit on the publisher’s list. And that’s really freeing. That’s one of the most exciting things about self-publishing, not having to fit the genre exactly.
What are your top five tips for writers who want to try self-publishing?
1. Prepare yourself for a long run. Success can take a while to build. Try not to compare yourself to other authors. Just focus on what you do. Ultimately, it’s all you can control anyway.
2. Make sure your cover is right. And if sales are lagging or non-existent after a few months, change the cover, shake things up.
3. Write more than one book. A few authors have made it big on one title, but thousands have not. If readers like your book, they’re going to want more. If you can connect your books through a series, that can also help sell more titles.
4. Add excerpts and links in the back of your books to your other titles so that the reader can easily find them.
5. Watch your pricing. Mix it up. Try different price points to see what works for you.
Aside from those tips, I wanted to add in a few thoughts on self-publishing in general. There are many rumors about how the retailers could suddenly shut down self-publishing or cut the royalty rate, and while it could happen, I don’t think it’s likely to happen any time soon. The retailers are making a tremendous amount of money with self-publishing. Also, the fear that the Big Six will get all the advertising/promo space – again it could happen, but I have found that the ebook retailers, especially Amazon and B&N’s PubIt! have been very democratic in including self published titles in their promo email blasts and other opportunities. Maybe all that will change, but the game is not just two players. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Google, Kobo, Sony and many more ebook retailers are selling books. That adds competition.
And the ebook sales world is global. I am starting to translate some of my books into other languages. Other countries are developing their own readers and those readers are going to need content.
As Barry said in his previous blog, the new publishing world is all about “choice.” This is what I’m most excited about. Whatever decision or path an author wants to take is fine. Everyone has different goals and time commitments. Self-publishing does take a lot of work. So I can see why authors might want a publishing partner. But now because there are other options and ways to publish, the author has more power to negotiate in whatever arena he/she wants to participate in. And that power is the best thing that’s happened to writers in the twenty years I’ve been writing.
And what’s up next?
On the self-publishing front, I’m working on a series of novellas based around wishes. The first title, A SECRET WISH, will be out in a few weeks. It’s about three women, three birthdays, and one night that will change their lives forever. On the traditional publishing front, I have a book being published by Pocket Books next July entitled THE WAY BACK HOME. Fans of my Angel’s Bay Series met Gabe Ryder, a wounded warrior in GARDEN OF SECRETS, and he’ll have his own story that takes him away from the bay to a small town to a beautiful river.
Thanks again for having me here on the blog. I’d love to answer any questions!
Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in more than 20 countries and spent many months on the Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara lives on the beach in rugged Oregon with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent and their zoo of cats and dogs. You can find more information on her newsletter and where to find her on social media at barbaraoneal.com.
I was on B&N’s Nook home page this weekend and Barbara Freethy was all over it! It’s incredibly empowering to see good authors get the recognition they deserve, and even more gratifying when it comes from taking control. The new publishing paradigm is scary but exhilarating.
Thank you Barbaras!
Wow, these are some great insights – in particular I am struck by your observation that this is an opportunity to write with less emphasis on fitting into a particular genre.
There’s so much being written about self-publishing these days, but this is one of the most informative (and inspiring) posts I’ve read on the topic.
Thanks!
Thanks so much to both of you for this great interview! Makes me even more excited to read the Barbara Freethy book I recently got. ;)
Love this, btw: “Any long-term writing career is going to see peaks and valleys. Very few authors don’t struggle at some point, whether it’s in the very beginning or several books into their career. Whether writers are hoping to sell to traditional publishers or go it on their own, there are going to be dips. You can’t think book to book – you have to think of writing as a career. And the great thing is — you can always write another book. Good luck could be just around the corner.”
And a question: How do your traditional publishers feel about your self publishing experiments? I hear some authors talking about how they would like to dip their toe into the waters, but they’re afraid their publishers will get mad and drop them. (Or booksellers will.) I’d love to hear about your experiences with that issue. Thanks!
Barbara,
Congratulations and thanks for sharing these great tips. I found your post inspiring. E-publishing is hard, but your experience proves an author who is willing to work at it can thrive. Thanks again.
I put up SUMMER SECRETS at least five months before it hit #1 on the NYT.
This is so inspiring, and I couldn’t be happier for you, Barbara.
I don’t have to worry any more about where the bookstore will shelve the book, where it will fit on the publisher’s list. And that’s really freeing. That’s one of the most exciting things about self-publishing, not having to fit the genre exactly.
That’s such a game-changer. How many fab books have been rejected because they didn’t fit neatly on a shelf?
Thank you both for a great interview, packed with tips and encouragement.
I picked out the same passage as Kristan. Very inspiring and logical, if somewhat elusive in the moment, to think beyond selling a book and at your writing as a career. Great tips on utilizing indy pubbing’s flexibility regarding covers and pricing. Thanks for a great interview, Barbara O., and for the insight, Barbara F!
Loved the interview, Barbara! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Love the part about not fitting anywhere–yet it’s not an issue here. Finally.
I’ve been watching your success, Barbara F, and have been so thrilled for you. Having read several of your books, I’d have to agree with Barbara O in that I’m astonished you hadn’t hit the lists already. Just goes to show what tenacity and business-mindedness will do for authors with a good product.
Here’s hoping you’ll see 2 million by early spring.
I am 44 days from releasing my debut novel. It’s both a terrifying and exhilarating trip. It really helps to hear that I can do this–it’s not jumping into the abyss.
Thank you most of all for this:
“Prepare yourself for a long run. Success can take a while to build. Try not to compare yourself to other authors. Just focus on what you do. Ultimately, it’s all you can control anyway.”
Yes, yes, and yes!
Hi everyone – it’s so fun to be here. Love this blog and all the great wisdom that has come before me.
Kristan – as to your question about the reactions of traditional pub to my success in the Indie arena … there really hasn’t been much of a reaction made to me from anyone in traditional publishing. It’s been very quiet …
But I would have to say that over my long career, I can’t tell you how many times I was told to not do something because it might make the publisher angry or worried that I wasn’t being loyal or totally invested in their program. So I usually gave in. And that was probably one of my many mistakes.
Here’s the thing – publishing is a business. I have worked with some great people who I like and respect and with whom I’ve had wonderful relationships. But at the end of the day, a writer who doesn’t sell is going to get dropped by a house. And a publisher who doesn’t work to progress a writer’s career or doesn’t have success doing it might face the writer walking away. It’s not personal. It shouldn’t be personal. While we hope to have fun in our jobs, we all have a bottom line to worry about. I understand that. I hold no ill will towards a pub who decided not to pick up a book for whatever reason and hopefully they feel the same way. But in the end, a writer should do what he/she needs to do without being afraid.
I think fear of getting blacklisted in some way has been around far too long. And the fact that there is now somewhere else to go diminishes a little of that fear I think.
Therese – I do like the idea that in this new Ebook world where there is no limited bookshelf space that books that don’t quite fit a niche or genre can still find an audience.
I’ve hated it in the past when a fad just took over a niche like cartoon covers took over straight contemporaries and every book that could remotely be construed as lighthearted got the same cover treatment until readers realized they couldn’t trust the cover to deliver the content promised because so many were jumping onto the fad. (My unscientific opinion LOL) I’ve seen the same thing happen in other areas where writers are told to beef up something to fit the hot selling trend. I get it, we want to sell books, and if that’s what does it … But still at some point it’s always too much and then the whole niche is dead for a while.
Great insights, Barbara! I’ve been cheering you on, watching your soaring climb.
I am so happy to hear you are winning in the indie world. It is tough enough to survive as a writer. Good for you!
This interview is what WU is all about; savvy insights, encouragment, sharing with the ‘community’. Excellent post laced with sage observations. Huzzah!
Thank you Barbaras for bringing us this wonderful interview.
It’s truly great to see a hard-working deserving author finally get the recognition they deserve!
Thanks for your sharing your success story. It’s an inspiring reminder to keep writing and building a backlist.
Barbara, congratulations on your success and thanks for sharing your inspiring story. I couldn’t agree more with your observations. Indie publishing is definitely a tremendous amount of work, but the chance to enjoy total creative control makes it all worthwhile.
Like you, I’m one of those authors who never quite “fit the mold” — my books blend adventure, romance, history, suspense and fantasy elements — and it’s so liberating to not have to worry anymore about what label will go on the spine, or where the book will be shelved. As an indie author, I get to be 100% true to my voice, and that’s a freedom I never found in the traditional NY publishing world.
Best wishes for continued success!
Barbara–
I’m so delighted for your success! You’ve worked hard and it’s paid off, and you’ve given hope and heart to many others in the process. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your insights.
And Barbara O, thanks for the interview.
Wonderful, uplifting, inspiring post. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. You’re so right about this being a time of great opportunity for writers. I truly believe that. Congratulations on all your success! May it keep on coming.
I’ve already told you how thrilled I am for you, Barbara! But I especially appreciate you sharing your knowledge about this brave new frontier we writers are all facing. (Cue Star Trek theme song here!)
You’ve always been a must-read for me, not only because you’re a wonderful storyteller, but because neither of us tend to stay in those boxes publishers keep trying to build for us very well.
Years ago a former agent told me that my then publisher was not going to buy a book because a buyer for a major chain had said booksellers wouldn’t know where to shelve it.
A bit frustrated because knowing that the story wasn’t going to fit into the niche the publisher had put me in, I’d written the entire 135,000 word book uncontracted, I suggested they tell the booksellers to shelve it with the good books. :)
Thanks for the kudos – I do hope to inspire writers, because I feel so optimistic now about the opportunities that just weren’t there before. It is a changing world, and changes are happening so fast everyone is struggling to keep up with them. Who knows where it will all fall out? I’m sure we’ll see the bigger publishers making changes as well. But I think the one thing that’s true is that the Internet is all about content and writers provide that content. I’m thrilled to see some of my friends finally publishing books that got glowing rejections but just didn’t “fit the list”.
From one Barbara to another, and another! This is one of my favorite interviews to date! A perfect mix of wisdom, shared experience, and necessary optimism. Your success is inspiring and delightful, Barbara, as is your “take the bull by the the horns and get it done,” attitude! And truly, it is great writers managing their books and careers so brilliantly that will work most effectively to change a good deal of those nasty preconceived notions and stigmas attached to indie publishing.
This is one of the more interesting posts I’ve read about self- or indie publishing! It really does show the benefit of thinking long-term about your writing career, which I think is easy to ignore or idealize when you’re just trying to get published in the first place. How smart of you to ask for your rights back–and to what unexpected benefit!
Bought DON’T SAY A WORD and really enjoyed reading it. Writing a first novel, but thinking about publishing some shorter works on Smashwords first.
It’s exciting to see these great opportunities for stories–and authors–to build an audience over time. Especially when the books don’t quite fit the subgenre parameters in the traditional bookstore setting.
It takes some effort to go the self-pub route, but it does seem like it’s worthwhile.
Nice interview Barbara, and thanks to the other Barbara for conducting the interview. :)
It’s always good to read a practical ‘nuts and bolts’ interview from someone who is actively engaged in and successful at what they are discussing.