Discoverability According to Patrice Fitzgerald

PERSONAL NOTES:  I have this amazing interview with my Facebook friend and successful Indie Author Patrice Fitzgerald. This is not only suited for my fellow Indie writers but also to all book readers who follow their favorite author's journey. And to tell you the truth, the answers of future superstar Patrice were so great and really such a treasure to keep. I only have a couple of questions which I believe to be relevant to the sizzling word in the self-publishing universe: Discoverability.

And below, you will find Patrice Fitzgerald's fan fiction short story Daniel, on Amazon Kindle Worlds under the SILO Saga of now legendary Indie author Hugh Howey.

Here we go:



Raf Echanova: Is Fan Fiction writing (Kindle Worlds) a great way to be discovered?

Patrice Fitzgerald: Well, of course there are many fans writing fan fiction simply because they enjoy the source material and want to celebrate it—just for "love," and not money.  With the advent of this new arrangement, though, a number of properties can now be written about and published via Amazon's Kindle Worlds to the benefit of both the original creators and the new writers… in other words, authors can charge for their fiction based in these worlds. 

I do think it's a great way to be discovered.  KW shines a spotlight on each book, and has its own dedicated bestseller lists, so that good writing is not lost in the crowd.  It's an amazing opportunity for a writer to have his or her work noticed from the start.

R.E.:  What is your advice to your fellow Indie writers/authors about this magic word "discoverability"?

P. F.: The truth is that discoverability is difficult.  Endless social network efforts and even paid advertising won't necessarily get a book discovered.  Writing good material, making sure you have a professional-looking cover, clean editing and formatting can't guarantee that you will get discovered.  But if you don't have those things, being discovered won't help, because you'll get poor reviews and the "discovery" won't take. 

So you have to create the best book that you can, both in content and form, and go on to the next one.  While you are working on the next several books, you might get that lucky break… and not only will the earlier book be noticed, but you will be in a position to sell the others.

Readers want to know you're the real deal.  Part of that process is creating a body of work that shows that you are serious about writing, and lets them get to know you.  This is the way you develop a fan base.  Conveniently, this is also the way you get better at writing.  The old adage about writing a million words before you're any good, or doing your ten thousand hours of practice, as advocated in Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers, is instructive. 

The single best thing you can do to increase discoverability is to write another book.  And then do it again.  If you're a needle in a haystack, you can improve your chances by creating more needles, right? 

The more art you make, the more your writing muscle gets exercised, and the greater opportunity you have to be discovered. 

Patrice Fitzgerald is a writer, a singer, an attorney, a mom, a stepmom, and a wife… though not necessarily in that order.  She lives in Connecticut, which has been home since 1985.  You can read more about her on her blog, www.PatriceFitzgerald.com.

Amazon Kindle Worlds Bestselling Author Patrice Fitzgerald

Synopsis Lounge Presents...

DANIEL

By Patrice Fitzgerald

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2013

Daniel is sixteen now, and he can count up to one hundred. He can go all by himself up and down the two levels of the Silo between his home and his job.
Daniel knows he's not as smart as some people. But his mother told him he was smart enough to help her, so it must be true. He always believes his mother. His mother is a doctor.
He likes going to work and helping his mom. Best of all, Daniel likes it when somebody wins the lottery and a new little baby is born.
One day a little baby is born that looks like Daniel. His mother says the baby might die.