THOUGHTS
3:00 Blakeney was in journalism but wanted to be a writer before. 2013 seriously writing, 2015 first novel
5:00 Took her a long time to write the first book, she wasn't sure. Had a lot of nonfiction. The first book she had been writing for a long time.
6:00 Her talk at romance author mastermind was invigorating
7:00 Why did she go wide? For many authors the easiest route is to be exclusive. She originally selected the easiest path which was a mistake. The first book was pulled from am*zon cause it had a racy title, it shocked her. So her series was obliterated overnight. That was when she decided to go wide.
LISA's BOOKS ON KOBO https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/search?query=lisa+lang+blakeney&ac=1&acp=lisa+lang+blakeney&ac.author=lisa+lang+blakeney&sort=Temperature&fclanguages=en
9:00 All income streams add up, it is not as hard as you think
10:00 When she went wide first, she looked for other authors going wide. The good thing is many niche community groups exist. She just learned that even in am*zon you can put your books in libraries. Being active in writing groups to seek information. When she works with new authors the first thing she finds is they are isolated, they don't speak to other authors. She feels you have to do that.
12:00 Wide for the win is a great group
you will start with the big five: Kobo/Apple/Google/Barnes and Noble/am*zon https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/writinglife
14:00 if it is overwhelming to be on all five, then use an aggregator
15:00 Multiple streams of income mean , for google work on SEO of books, for kobo or barnes and nobles that means promotions.
19:00 For apple you have to wait but for others it is top of the month
20:00 It all starts with the building of the newsletter
21:00 always have a part in your newsletter like your treating someone as if they have been their for the first time
22:00 Best way to get kobo is to mention in your newsletter
25:00 Audio was more expensive than translation
28:00 Germany has been her most profitable translated genre for her, and in romance. She translates in French/Italian
Translations https://lisalangblakeney.com/translations/
29:00 If money is the goal and it doesn't seem overwhelming. All translations is the same as English, just having someone translate.
31:00 she found her first translator through a referral . Looking reviews, asking who they worked before, and you pull the trigger.
34:00 In France many books are translations of English while in holland many still read english. She earned her money in translation quicker than in audio.
35:00 Don't translate until it sells in English
36:00 What is setting smart goals? The downside of all the groups is you get a ton of information.
Take time and give specific tasks for days
39:00 She loves marketing while she has to be in the zone to write. so the journey is unique for all writers.
42:00 How important is direct revenue? I didn't have huge hopes for a direct store. But she did it. Loe and behold direct sales is a big deal. She doesn't put half the energy some authors do and it is her second biggest income stream and stems from the newsletter.
45:00 she sets monthly goals, then her direct sales store is the lever to make magic happen
Her ebooks sell the most from direct sales
46:00 when she found out she was a six figure author it was an accident. She spends more time now auditing herself and having revenue + writing goals.
48:00 she will release 4 books a year.
49:00 we all started on book funnel, the support was there for writers or readers. That is unheard of today.
50:00 she hasn't done a kickstarter.
51:00 Her newsletter really started growing with actual people who are going to read it?
Every time you write a book, you need to make bonus material.
52:00 What do you wish you knew when you started? If you want to sustain a business you have to find more eyes. One thing about the business of writing, early adopting of things helps you.
57:00 she has a place for kobo writers to grow https://lisalangblakeney.com/kobo-live/
