Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Bond.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My road to becoming a novelist was a bit circuitous. Growing up on a tobacco farm in eastern KY, reading was my primary form of entertainment, but I never entertained thoughts of being a writer. In college I studied computer programming and after graduation, I worked for a FORTUNE 50 petroleum company in Lexington, KY as a systems engineer. I was happy in the corporate world. It wasn’t until I was pursuing an MBA at night and an instructor remarked I had a flair for writing that I first wondered if I could write a novel. With that degree behind me and a few free evenings on my hands, I began plotting and writing my first book. My job then took me to Atlanta, GA, where I join a local writers organization, and began to more seriously pursue publication, focusing on the romance and mystery genres. After a couple of years of submitting (and being rejected), I sold my first manuscript to a romance publisher. I waited until I’d sold 10 books before I left the corporate world. In the twenty years since, I’ve written over 75 romance and mystery novels for Harlequin, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, and Random House. In 2011 I broke from traditional publishing to launch a self-publishing venture. It was the perfect intersection of my technical, business, and writing backgrounds. To-date I’ve sold over 2 million copies of my own books and in 2011, Hallmark adapted my self-published romance STOP THE WEDDING! into a TV movie.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest hurdles to becoming a working novelist while maintaining another full-time job is time management. Writing a novel is a serious time commitment, and many times authors are writing complete books on spec–that is, writing a complete project on the speculation a publisher will buy it. It’s a highly competitive field and the revenue is frenetic. Job security is almost nil. A writer might struggle for years to gain traction at a publishing house, and even then she is at the mercy of editorial juggling and the whims of the market. And most writers will tell you that once the book is finally written, you trade one set of problems for another set–namely, positioning, marketing, promoting and selling the finished product. I’m not sure any industry has undergone as much change in the past five years as the publishing business, and it’s necessary to a writer’s longevity that she remain current on trends and buyer preferences regarding content and even how a book is consumed/experienced. Social media is such a big part of reaching readers these days, yet it’s only one tool for discoverability. A successful writer has to be able to juggle the demands of writing with the demands of the business of writing. It’s difficult (next to impossible) to do it alone. I have a virtual assistant, a social media manager, and I work with various freelance editors, translators, narrators, and graphic artists as each project demands.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My self-publishing business is focused on bringing my content to readers in as many formats as possible. For example, I write a book, then my company prepares and releases it as an eBook, print book, and audiobook, plus I arrange for translations and other licenses to be exploited. All pricing, packaging, and distribution decisions are mine, along with promotion and advertising. I have to work closely with my distributors and my readers to make sure my stories are available in the forms my readers most desire. Distribution is an increasingly demanding concern as new markets emerge every few weeks around the world.
My name is most associated with comedy–my BODY MOVERS humorous romantic mystery series is my most popular series. More recently, though, I’m known for writing daily serials. In 2016 I launched COMA GIRL as a daily serial on my website beginning July 1 and running through December 31. In the dramedy COMA GIRL, the victim of a tragic event lies in a hospital bed at the mercy of family, friends, and caretakers who think she can’t hear them–but she SO can. Each day’s episode was posted free on my website for 24 hours, so readers who visited that page every day could read the story for free. But if readers wanted to catch up or read ahead, a novella went on sale the first day of each month for 6 months with that month’s entries. The free/pay hybrid model really worked because the daily visitors to my site kept the story alive in social media, which brought in more readers. And the monthly novellas appealed to readers who preferred to binge-read. The COMA GIRL daily serial was so successful, I launched another daily serial in 2017 called TEMP GIRL. In the romantic mystery TEMP GIRL, a privileged diva loses her lucrative job and takes a headlong tumble into reality when she has to take work at a temp agency to make ends meet.
I love everything about writing serials–I brainstormed for months on how to monetize a serial and I think I’ve landed on a good business model that works for me as a writer, and one that my readers have responded to in droves. As more and more readers turn to their phones as reading devices, I believe the future of storytelling lies in short-form fiction. I want to be on the leading edge of that movement.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
When people ask me what classes they should take to become a writer, they expect me to say “English” or “Creative Writing” or maybe “Journalism.” But my answer is always the same–take business classes! Writing a book is a difficult process not to be underestimated… but I’ve seen SO many authors labor over writing a book, then hand it over to a lukewarm agent or editor to sell for them, only to be disappointed with the results. If a writer isn’t educated and informed about the basics of creating a project and being involved in the sales and marketing, the entire project can go sideways, or–more likely–disappear into obscurity. My business and technical background have been more helpful to me than any writing talent I’ve developed. But my primary quality that’s contributed to my success is maintaining an optimistic outlook. Throughout the rises and the dips in my career, I was always eager to see what would happen next, certain that good things were ahead. And my optimism has proved to be correct–with every outlet imaginable clamoring for content, there’s never been a better time in history to be a content creator!
Pricing:
- COMA GIRL e-novellas, $2.99
- TEMP GIRL e-novellas, $2.99
- YOUR PERSONAL FICTION-WRITING COACH, $9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: stephaniebond.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniebond.author
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniebondauthor
- Twitter: @stephaniebond
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/stephaniebondso
Image Credit:
Book covers: Andrew Brown, Click Twice Design
Hallmark movie poster image: Crown Media
Photos of author: Tom Cannon Photography
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