Slide presentation on self-publishing / indie publishing for "The Road Map to a Successful E-Pub Career Shift", a workshop for published authors and experienced writers. Given by Cate Rowan at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Conference 2013.

1. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

2. NOTE:
There is a PDF handout of
“Additional Resources and Helpful Stuff”
available at
http://caterowan.com/rmfw-2013/
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

3. 2010: Ebooks accounted for 2% of all
dollars spent on books
2011: 7% of $ spent; 14% of units sold
2012: 11% of $ spent; 22% of units sold
Source: Carl Kulo, U.S. Director of Bowker Market Research
Quoted in Publishers Weekly, 5/11/13
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

4. 5 years ago, negligible ebook unit sales
2012: 706 million ebook sales
(trad + indie)
Indie ~30% of total
(~211 million ebook sales!)
Source: http://www.futurebook.net/content/search-happy-ending
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

5. My award-winning
fantasy romance Kismet’s Kiss
was a romance-rule-bending,
genre-blending,
NY-marketing-box misfit.
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

6. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

7. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

8. The Modern Self-Publishing Journey
Indie authors have:
• • Control over marketing
• • Immediate sales feedback
• • The chance to experiment
• • Fun!
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

9. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

10. Have fun and
experiment.
Don’t be afraid to make
mistakes.
You can always change things.
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

11. Indies have the opportunity to
fix mistakes!
Although Christina Dodd did a
marvelous job of working this
cover to her advantage. 
Christina’s story and cover art source:
http://christinadodd.com/christina-dodd-and-the-
infamous-three-armed-cover/

12. Getting your ebooks up for sale
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

13. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

14. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

15. Cost: 0 to thousands. (But…don’t pay
thousands.)
Free: Get it read by multiple people
who’ll tell you the truth.
Paid: Ask for recommendations, check
reputations, get a sample.
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

16. Again, time vs. money.
DIY: Use the right software tools.
Paid: ~$30 to 120 for ebook
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

17. Yeah, still not your father’s
Oldsmobile
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

18. © 2013 by Cate Rowan
Look how small the
“also bought” images
are! Your cover should
be uncluttered &
should “pop” even at
~58x87 pixels.

19. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

20. © 2013 by Cate Rowan

21. Major Vendors:
Amazon
Apple
B&N
Kobo
Distributors:
Draft2Digital
(D2D)
Smashwords (also
a minor vendor)
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

22. Print (POD)
&
Audiobooks
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

23. Genre norm? Part of a series? Story length?
How many books do you have out?
Consider your products and your overall goal
(most exposure? Most income?)
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

24. 3 major price categories:
$2.99-9.99 (65-70% royalties)
$0.99-2.98 (35-40% royalties)
Free (temp/perm)
Experiment. (Sick of that word yet? )
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

25. Add excerpts (yours or swap w/other authors)
“Price pulsing”—change prices to goose sales
Advertise sales in BookBub, Pixel of Ink, etc.
KEY: Write & publish the next book
Bundle books (single- or multi-author)
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

26. Sales can vary by book, time of
year, marketing push & luck, so…
…patience is a virtue.
Prepare to experiment!
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

27. Success as an indie author
is a marathon, not a sprint.
Enjoy your journey.
© 2013 by Cate Rowan

28. Presentation for RMFW Colorado Gold 2013 by
Cate Rowan
Award-winning author of
fantasy romance in magical worlds
http://CateRowan.com
© 2013 Cate Rowan