5638. WRITING. Did it my way - crime-writing star LJ Ross

 

Did it my way - LJ Ross. Kindle published 25 books!

www.writers-online.co.uk June 2022 by LJ Ross

 

Barrister. Healthcare and financial regulation. Cases of self-serving individuals trying to defraud old people or negligent corporates desperately trying to wriggle off the hook. In fiction, the ending may be different.

1. Husband suggested writing. Resigned. Travel, but was pregnant. Completed a postgraduate diploma in psychology. Useful in doing research for the work of her main character in "Alexander Gregory" thrillers.

2. Rejected offers of representation and publication. Stringent demands.
2.1 remove all traces of relationships or romance in a crime novel.
2.2 wanted rights, in perpetuity including right to change anything they like about the story
2.3 no assurances as to distribution, marketing or much else.
Husband suggested Kindle Direct Publishing KDP platform. You keep your rights to your story, no gatekeepers, nobody tell you what to do or not to do, royalties considerably higher, upload manuscript overnight, change its content, update any time, see 'real time" sales and track the impact of any advertising etc. 

Published "Holy Island" on 1 Jan 2015. First week of May 2015, from being unheard of to knocking "The Girl on the Train" off the top spot in the UK. Homemade cover - beautiful image of Lindisfarne Castle. Edit not to high standard. 

Marketing. Fledging blog a couple of months before publishing. 15 followers. The first couple of chapters. Word-of-mouth is very powerful thing. Amazon chart to around 180. 

 

Amazon algorithms sport a book on a rising swiftly trend - 'May Madness' promotion. 99p. from 1.99p. ...increased visibility...from 180 flew to No. 2 to No.1 selling thousands of copies per day.  So wrote 2nd book....25 books now.  seven million books sold, 22 UK #1 bestsellers, several employees, my own publishing imprint that's founded numerous prizes for other writers and photographers, a philanthropic arm as big as the publishing side of her business, the 3rd biggest-selling ebook of all released in 2021 without much marketing spend.

she can control her own banding, cover designs, copy, content, legal rights, business relationships, marketing and advertising and, most importantly, her time.

need not attend festivals or signings, adhere to other's publishing schedule, make her own account agreements with audiobook producers, foreign publishers and print distribution side to her business. She has her own imprint - distribute print books to high street and independent booksellers, supermarkets and libraries. 

She remains a fan of 'print on demand'.  publish independently require clear-headedness and to be both creative and business-like. That can be frightening prospect for some, but fear has no place in publishing. You have to feel the fear, and do it anyway.

FIVE IMPORTANT LESSONS.
1. The reader is king.  Identify the 'silent' majority of your reader demographic -  what works best from a commercial standpoint.

2. Understand yourself. Literary accolades and commercial success don't always go together. You have to sacrifice one of them.

3. Establish your own business ethos in line with your personal values and be consistent. Situations will test your values by people whose ethos doesn't match your own. Be true to yourself, because no amount of chart success is equal to that of a good reputation.

4. Don't e short-sighted. Successful - offers fall at your feet. Take decisions that will stand the test of time.

5. Beware of echo chambers and stay positive. Whether 'traditionally', 'hybrid', 'independently' or 'self' published, each of these groups can create echo chambers in which their own beliefs about the publishing world are perpetuated, and it can be hard for people to shift paradigms once they're set. Rather than being reactive, first step back from a given scenario and ask yourself whether there could be an alternative view - there's no need to think of the publishing landscape as two 'tribes'. This approach applies to almost anyrhing in publishing; try to think outside the box.