Author Up Close: Terra Weiss–It’s a Jungle Out There

When I first met today’s featured author, I had just started writing (very bad) fiction and was looking for other writers who were less bad at it than I was. I created a Meetup group, set up a meeting date, and waited. On that first day, only one person showed up: Terra Weiss. We’ve been friends ever since. In the almost ten years that have followed, Terra’s paid close attention to the publishing industry and adapted to its changes, all while honing her craft. Now she’s a successful indie author of six full-length novels that have received hundreds of glowing reviews across Amazon and other platforms. (Her novel Wingmom has over 500 reviews to date!) Whether your goal is traditional publishing, indie publishing, or something in between, if you’re interested in writing as a career, Terra’s interview provides a wealth of knowledge, and I’m beyond delighted to introduce her to the WU community today.

GW: Thanks for agreeing to share your writing and publishing experiences with the Writer Unboxed community. Can you tell us what genre you write in and when and why you started writing?

TW: Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest here at Writer Unboxed. I’ve been reading and learning from your articles for years, and I’m honored to be able to share some of my experiences and hopefully give back. I write romcoms and romantic mysteries, which I started tinkering around with in 2013 when my daughter was a year and a half old. I needed somewhere to channel the creativity that was bottling up inside me because I had no time to pursue creative outlets like I did before my baby was born. Writing during her naps and playtime with Nana not only made me a better mom but also helped me realize that I have a passion for storytelling. I never stopped writing fiction, and now, my daughter is eleven and a half and becoming quite the author herself, despite facing dyslexia.

GW: You have self-published six full-length books to date, with a seventh currently up for preorder. Why did you choose the self-publishing route?

TW: I chose self-publishing for several reasons, the most important one being that I wanted creative control of my books, covers, and marketing. I have an entrepreneurial spirit, and after being in the trenches for two years now, I see firsthand that successful indie authors are hardcore businesspeople. On top of constantly bettering their craft and delivering new books, they’re also hustling on everything else running a business entails, from the endless marketing and social media to the administrative work and the finances. It’s long hours where you sink or swim, and in my case, doggie paddle for an eternally long stretch while learning to become the jack-of-all-trades. Because I thrive in that kind of environment, being an indie author is extremely rewarding to me, but it’s certainly not for everyone.

GW: What are the three most important lessons you’ve learned about publishing in today’s landscape?

TW: It’s a jungle out there.

For real. The old adages that used to be told about self-publishing no longer apply. A popular one was, “You don’t have to follow the rules if you’re going to self-publish.”

Inhale, then exhale deeply…and here we go. In reality, an indie career is approximately 180 degrees from rule-breaking. Unless you’re Colleen Hoover or you want to self-publish as a hobby, then a steadfast rule-follower you will become. Successful indie authors: 1) Write to market. They deliver the expectations of their genre in story arc, length, characterizations, tropes, conflicts, and heat levels. They seek out and emulate comp authors in order to position their books properly in the market. If you don’t want to do this, that’s fine, it’s not for everyone. But if that’s the case, you should consider working toward a trad deal. 2) Do ALL the marketing. This means they send out regular and informative newsletters, constantly create and adjust Facebook and Amazon ads, be active on at least two social media platforms, figure out the sales and promotions that work best for their specific books, do their own PR or hire a firm, and constantly work to develop the highest converting covers and blurbs they can. Phew. 3) Write quality. I saved the most important for last—indie authors must absolutely deliver quality. Another old adage from the early days of self-publishing was “Write quantity not quality,” and it is absolutely not the case anymore. The market is flooded, and readers don’t have the time or patience to spend hours reading a low-quality book when there are literally thousands of similar high-quality books to choose from. They will stop reading and never come back because they simply don’t have to.

GW: I think it’s important for aspiring authors to understand that self-publishing, when done well, is about much more than just uploading your book to your retailer of choice. What are some of the things you do/have done to promote your work? What are the things that have been most successful for you thus far?

TW: As an aspiring author, launching a newsletter was critical to kick-starting my career. (And still remains one of my most powerful sales tools.) In order to build one from scratch, I wrote a free book of about 10K words (which is called a reader magnet), then listed it on Bookfunnel and Fussy Librarian where readers subscribed to my newsletter to get it. I got 2k subscribers within two months, which was a game-changer for my debut novel release. Now, I continue to build my newsletter list because it directly affects my sales. If I have a new book out, my subscribers are the first to buy it and rave about it. Never underestimate the power of staying in touch with your readers, plus, you own their contact information. Not Amazon or Facebook. That’s irreplaceable.

As an emerging author, what worked best for me was writing a three-book series, then making book one free and running promotions on discount book sites like Freebooksy and Fussy Librarian. I see some authors hesitate to give their books away, and I get it. But if you’re new, readers don’t want to spend $4.99 to find out if they like you or not. They will give you a shot for free, and the ones who like you will keep returning for more. It’s tough, but keep your focus on building readership not on making money because it’s about the long game. Remember you won’t be earning anything at first anyway, so you might as well be gaining a following.

For free or discounted book promotion, by far and away the most powerful tool is Bookbub’s featured deal. But there’s a catch: you have to be selected for it, and fewer than five percent of applicants get U.S. deals. That number dips even lower if your book is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Consequently, this promotion isn’t usually available to debut or emerging authors because you need to have a healthy number of positive reviews to get one. But you can apply each month, so just make it a habit to do so. When I landed my first Bookbub deal in July of last year, I was shocked I got it, and it moved the needle on my self-publishing career.

GW: What additional advice would you give to authors who are considering self-publishing as a career?

TW: Ask yourself the important questions. The first one is whether you want to make writing into a career or not. If the answer to that is yes, then the second is whether or not you want to be an entrepreneur because, as you’ve learned, successful self-publishing means running a business, not just writing books. The third is if you are—deep down in your heart—okay with writing to market. Some people lose the joy of writing if they have to fit their books into a genre or trope. Which is fine, but it may mean you need to pursue the trad route. The fourth question is whether you can produce books on a tough schedule, around 3-5 books a year. This means you’re spending about a month on drafting, a month on editing, a month giving it to critique partners, betas, and editors, and a month on allowing advanced readers to have it and review it. Also ask yourself if you’re an “I’ll figure it out” type of person because you’ll be scrambling to learn something new every day, whether it be the latest technology, understanding the updated rules for sending newsletters, or how to reposition your books or marketing strategy to fit in the current market, which shifts almost overnight. Finally, read books that are like yours. This one sounds simple, but so many authors aren’t reading their successful comp authors, which means they’re unaware of what the standards are in their genre. It’s impossible to do anything well if you don’t know the target you’re aiming for.

GW: Terra, thanks again for this wonderful interview and for this wealth of advice.

WU Community, if you want to learn more about Terra Weiss, visit https://www.terraweiss.com/. Book three in her Wingmom Stories Series, Bridesmaid to Bride, is currently available for preorder.

Over to you:

Whether you’re trad or self-published, implementing the tactics Terra has shared above can help boost your career. And though it can feel overwhelming, you don’t have to know it all or do it all at once. So which piece of advice feels most “doable” to you right now, and what’s one step you can take to get started today?