Self Publishing Interview with Chris Fox

About this video

Dale interviews prolific author Chris Fox, author of 5,000 Words Per Hour and science fiction, fantasy and thriller novels, on launch day. Fox says he took about 1,300 pre-orders over a roughly 60-day quiet pre-order: he put the sequel up the day after the previous book went live but deliberately did not tell his email list, so list-driven sales would land on launch day and help ranking. He launches sequels at full price, discounting only first-in-series fiction in competitive genres. He runs fiction and nonfiction under one name but keeps separate mailing lists for nonfiction, post-apocalyptic, science fiction and space fantasy, noting he did not tell his roughly 4,000 nonfiction subscribers about a fiction launch to avoid hurting algorithmic momentum. He defines a brand as symbolic recognition that triggers emotional responses, citing Brandon Sanderson, and advises new authors to focus on one genre before adding brands. He explains writing sprints — timed, distraction-free sessions, e.g. 20 minutes, with no editing — and says most people reach about 3,000 words per hour within a few weeks, while dictation can help reach 5,000 because people speak at about 150 words per minute. He credits fiction success to studying top-selling books in genres with large audiences and nonfiction success to honesty and transparency. He outsources video editing, cover design and audiobook proofing, warns that outsourced advertising once lost him money, and says a cover is about 60 percent of a book’s success, with some covers costing up to $1,000. His biggest cited mistake for authors is decision paralysis, and he says he would choose profit first so he can later afford to write for passion.

Key takeaways

• Use a quiet pre-order for sequels: list the book early to capture interested buyers, but save your email announcement for launch day to concentrate sales and ranking momentum.
• Keep separate email lists for each genre or interest so promoting one book does not send mismatched buyers who can hurt Amazon’s algorithmic momentum.
• Write in timed sprints with distractions off and editing deferred until later; Fox says most authors reach about 3,000 words per hour within a few weeks, and dictation can push speed higher.
• Treat the cover as a major sales driver — Fox puts it at about 60 percent of success, judged mainly by how it looks as a thumbnail — and outsource cover design, video editing and audiobook proofing.
• Focus on one genre until you have momentum before adding another brand, and avoid decision paralysis by taking action and experimenting even if you make mistakes.

Episode details: published December 14, 2017 · 26:36 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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