Jon F. Merz

 by Jon F. Merz

Clone Your EBook Success

By Jon F. Merz

Imagine if you were a corporation and you sold several products, one of which sold better than any of the others. That one product was responsible for bringing in more revenue than any of your other products. Looking at your numbers each month would hammer that home and probably make you wish there was a way to clone that product so you could double the revenue it brought in. Or pretend you make good money at your job and wished there was a way to double that income. Before, you’d have to take on a second job, but you could only do so much until you burned out. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

For writers, books have traditionally had this feature built in to them. When you sold North American rights, you, as the author (or your agent), could then turn around and sell those rights to foreign publishers who would translate the book and bring it out in whatever market they operated in. Many times, the sale of foreign rights brings in staggering sums for bestselling authors and much more modest sums for midlist authors. Perhaps the book earns out enough to generate royalties, but that isn’t often the case.

With the advent of ebooks, however, the author has far more control over that “cloning” process. Entrepreneurial authors – or as I like to call them “authorpreneurs” – who view their writing careers as a business will be keen to capitalize on the incredible potential that now exists. Let’s take a look at it in-depth.

This is the cover for the Spanish-language edition of the first book in the Lawson Vampire series, THE FIXER. EL EJECUTOR is nearly finished being translated by a fantastic friend of mine and should be on-sale the first week of June. THE FIXER consistently sells hundreds of copies each month on its own and its impact on my bottom line is huge. It is a solid earner, and as such, I want to clone that success. So I paid to have it translated into Spanish, which is one of the largest market demographics in the world. According to recent statistics, upwards of half a BILLION people speak the language globally. That’s a market I want a piece of!

The translation costs were an investment into my business. In order to make money cloning the success of THE FIXER, I had to first invest the capital to pay for its translation. I consider that money well spent. As more and more people turn to ebooks, the number of people who will start reading my Lawson series will also climb. And if the series is available in multiple languages, then I can exponentially increase my profit potential on each book I write. After several months of strong sales, the translation cost will be earned back and then the real fun starts.

Here’s one of the coolest things: even though El Ejecutor is written in Spanish, it will be available in every single one of Amazon’s Kindle stores. Think about that for a moment. Using the old business model of publishing, if you sold Spanish rights to your novels, then the books would only be available wherever the publisher had distribution. But with Amazon, El Ejecutor will be available in the US for Spanish-speakers, in Amazon ES, their official Spain site, as well as Amazon UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many more coming down the road. So now instead of a fragmented distribution that used to happen with foreign rights sales, you have the SAME global distribution that you do with a book written in English. Suppose there’s a Mexican ex-pat living abroad in Italy, for example, and he wishes he could read something in his native tongue but can only surf for ebooks on Amazon’s Italian website? No problem, El Ejecutor is sitting right there ready to be bought. BAM! Sold!

The point is, with Amazon’s global storefront you not only have the opportunity to get your translated ebooks into the hands of the particular demographic you’re trying to reach in their home country, you can also reach them wherever they might be across the world! This is huge. It increases your chances of finding new readers in places you might not expect. Whereas before if you had a book out in Germany, you might only reasonably expect to find it in German bookstores and perhaps a few specialty shops here and there. Now, you can have that same ebook available to Germans in Germany as well as Germans anywhere else in the world – or at least anywhere else Amazon has a storefront at this moment. (But believe me, Amazon will soon have storefronts everywhere…)

You are truly cloning your success when you get your ebooks translated. And each time you add a new translation, you’ve just cloned it again. Instead of doubling your profit potential, you can triple it, quadruple it, and so much more. And you don’t have to worry about earning out advances, reserves against returns, or any of the other stupid antiquated business machinations left over from the decaying publishing industry. Amazon pays you net 60 days every single month via direct deposit. You’ve just potentially doubled your money without having to do anything beyond the translation! No extra work, you don’t have to write the novel again, you don’t have to devote any extra time. Translated. Done.

To say I’m excited about debuting THE FIXER in Spanish is an incredible understatement. I’m beyond excited. I don’t know how sales will go, obviously, but ebooks are a long-term investment. They earn forever. And as more and more people flock to ebooks, the profits will continue to escalate. Once the initial investment in translation has been earned out, that ebook goes on to provide income – passive income at that – forever.

And that ain’t too shabby.

in Build a Bestseller / common sense / ebooks / how I write / lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / Uncategorized / vampires / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

How To Cultivate an Asset

By Jon F. Merz

In the world of intelligence, relationship building is one of the most critical skills an operative can possess. As a case officer, handler, [insert term here], you cultivate “assets” by first developing a relationship with your target and then gently steering them into the role you would like them to play. Whether you use them to gain access to someone else, get access to information they turn over to you, or a variety of other actions, you cannot simply approach a would-be asset and kick things off by demanding they perform Action A. That’s a bit like approaching a complete stranger and asking them to sleep with you…without any foreplay.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been astounded by the number of messages and emails I’ve gotten from people that I either don’t know, or have had one interaction with, that have basically done exactly that: the message opens with someone like this: “Hi Jon, I need such-and-such, so can you do that for me?” The amusing thing about these messages is that, with the exception of one, they have all come from people who study Ninjutsu – itself an espionage-oriented martial art. And yet they have clearly NOT taken the time to understand the first thing about cultivating an asset or building an intelligence network. (Such terms might seem a bit unusual if you’re not in the intelligence community, but think about your own life and your own path to success: you have certain networks around you – especially with social media being what it is. You are, in effect, running your own intelligence network – even if you happen to call it something else.)

So, let’s look at what you need to do to create a relationship and then cultivate that person as an asset.

Here’s the golden rule: don’t ask for something right away. In fact, don’t ask for something until you’ve given something of worth yourself. You certainly wouldn’t walk up to someone on the street and say, “Hey you, go steal the cash register out of that convenience store for me.” (Side note: well, you *could* but you would have to possess an enormous amount of leverage in order to convince them. That’s a subject for another post.) One of the emails I got last week did pretty much that: “Hey I notice you’re using [redacted] so how about telling me how to use it so I can profit from it as well?”

When you approach someone for the first time, you have to be open and honest (or at least give the appearance of being that). If they see you coming with an agenda, they’ll be harder to cultivate. A casual, friendly initial contact is always best – and always approach with a smile. It’s disarming. An email can serve the same function. “Hi, I noticed we have a few friends in common in our networks.” (Friends in common is an good icebreaker and gives you a bit of credence, even superficially.)

Before you make your approach, find out a little bit more about your target. Never go in cold if you can possibly avoid it. Research them. Look at Facebook, Linked In, etc. and build a picture of their life. Then try to find common ground that will help you build a bridge to them. The goal is to make them receptive to your initial contact. If you get the initial contact out of the way, then you can offer something they might find valuable. “Hey, just saw this article and since you’re in IT, I thought you might like it. Hope you’re having a great day!” That’s it.

Once you start a back-and-forth, you can work on expanding the relationship. Ask questions about what they’re working on, how their family is doing, that sort of thing. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, so it’s just a matter of expressing interest with as much sincerity as you can muster to make them feel worthwhile. If you see a Facebook status update that you can comment on without looking like you’re up to something, then by all means do so. Maybe even drop them a message. Have they lost a pet recently? Express sympathy for their loss. Have they gotten promoted? Send them a congratulations. Keep the number of contacts to a minimum – no more than one or two per week. You don’t want to come across as pushy or annoying.

You’ll notice that nowhere in these first steps of building a relationship have I suggested you demand or ask for something. Aside from asking them to connect, you’ve done nothing that takes away from them. All you’ve done is give. You’ve provided them with value. You’ve given them the control, but it’s an illusion of control. Because when you’re cultivating an asset, one of the key ways to bring them to where you need them is to produce a sense of obligation. If they feel like you’ve been such a great friend, then they’ll be more willing (in some cases) to actually want to give you something in return. Most normal people don’t expect their friendships to be one-way streets. That’s exactly what you want them to feel – that it has been to-date, and when you finally ask for something, they’ll be all too willing to provide it.

Bear in mind, this doesn’t work for everyone. Motivations differ from person to person. But it is one technique that works well.

When it comes time to ask for something, do so in a soft-sell manner. Don’t demand. “Well, I’ve given you this-and-this, so give me this.” That’s a turn-off. Craft a nice, complimentary approach that enables you to work in your request without seeming too focused on it. Embed the request rather than focus on it. Bracket it amid other statements, but nothing too distracting. You still want them to see the request. So make sure you don’t ask too many questions in the email or else you’re likely to get everything else answered except what you asked for.

Once you get your first bit of information, you must make sure that you continue the two-way street approach. Don’t keep making demands without giving back. Relationships work in the intelligence community because of this back-and-forth. Usually, it’s a simple arrangement. The asset supplies information and you supply the cash, security, etc. It’s an even exchange. Outside the IC, you have to form a similar relationship. So always be looking to extend value into the relationship. The more demanding the request, the more value you must provide in return. The ratio depends on the target; some people are more giving than others. Some people will be reluctant to part with any information, in which case, you have to reconsider your approach and method of coercion.

I’ve seen three terrible examples of relationship building in recent days: all of them asked me to do something that would have taken time and potentially cost me money. All three requests came with no real relationship in place prior to the demand. In one case, the emailer asked me to give up names of contacts that I have in the film/TV business – information that has taken me years and cost me money to develop. And this was done after a throwaway line about me being successful selling ebooks on Amazon. No real effort put into the email; no effort made at building a relationship or offering anything of value. You can guess what I did with that email.

The Flip Side: Depending on your circumstances and goals, you might actually invert the tactics outlined in this post in order to get something. Take the example I just outlined in the preceding paragraph. If it turned out that the person who emailed me was someone I needed information from, had something of value to offer in return, etc., then I could very easily offer up that information he wanted and immediately get that person indebted to me – which I would then use to extract what I wanted. This works primarily by putting yourself out there as “bait” that people want to be associated with. So, if you are successful and people know that, they may want to connect with you. It’s the inverse of the relationship you’ve been building over the course of this post.

Take the time to build relationships the proper way and you’ll have a pool of people only too willing to aid you as you pursue your goals. Treat your relationships – your “assets” – like plants. They need water, sunshine, fod, love, and caring in order to flourish. Skimp on those things and they’ll wither and die. You won’t have a network and you won’t be successful.

PS: Remember: this is just ONE way to cultivate an asset. There are many others.

in common sense / intelligence gathering 101 / life thoughts / martial arts / self protection / ninjutsu 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

The Greatest Fans In The World…

By Jon F. Merz

Last night I had the opportunity to interact with my fans on a whole new level – a virtual author event that brought video conferencing to a whole new level. Shindig, a company based in New York City, hosted me on its incredible platform that can handle thousands of guests in multiple rooms, as well as show video clips, pictures, and more all during the event. It’s a fantastic way for authors, musicians, TV folks, and producers to get in touch with fans and drive interest and buzz around their projects. After trying it last night for the first time, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s easy-to-use and the learning curve is remarkably slight.

I’ve been pushing this event for about a month now and really cranked it up these last few days. We had a ton of RSVPs and around 50 people showed up for the actual event. I spoke for about 25 minutes on where Lawson came from, the evolution of the series, the trials and tribulations of publishing, and then into the production of THE FIXER TV series. And then I hit the audience with a never-before-seen clip from the show itself. 54 seconds of the flavor, feel, and look of the show and the whole cast. It was awesome seeing the reactions on the faces of the attendees as they watched and the feedback was immediate and intense. I’m still getting emails about it. Suffice it to say, THE FIXER is really going to blow socks off when we debut the pilot.

After the clip, I had a Q&A session and fielded questions on everything from cover art to ebooks to the cast from THE FIXER to my latest project THE NINJA APPRENTICE. And when folks had a question, the Shindig platform allowed them to “come up on stage” with me if they had a web camera operational and actually share the cyber spotlight. Otherwise, folks could type in questions and the moderator Eric would relay them to me.

This was new ground, but if you read yesterday’s post on creating your own opportunities, you’d see how this all dovetails together. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to hold this event if I hadn’t heard about it from my good friend who is very much in the same mindset as me about exploring new avenues and chances for exposure and success. Shindig is new technology and I think it’s incredible stuff.

The best part of last night was getting the chance to meet some of my many fans. And seeing the folks who showed up really made it clear just how lucky I am to be able to do this for a living. The time slot was tough on some folks’ schedules and a lot of my fans couldn’t make it. But despite the fact that they missed the event, they still wrote and told me how much they wished they could have been there. And that means the world to me.

I’ve often said that my fans are truly the greatest people in the world. I mean that. Some attendees last night were actually at work; some were in other parts of the world where it was either late at night or in the very wee hours of the morning; and still others had rushed home from work to attend. We had media in attendance as well as one or two high-level executives in some very interesting companies. It was a very impressive array of people in the audience and being able to speak to them was an honor and a privilege.

So thank you to everyone – ALL of my fans – whether you made it last night or not. I know you’re out there and I want you to know that I sincerely appreciate you counting yourself among my readers, fans, and friends. You’re the best. Absolutely, unequivocally the best.

We’ll do more of these events in the future and I can’t wait to meet even more of you face-to-face. Have a fantastic weekend and thank you again!

🙂

in Build a Bestseller / ebooks / film/TV / how I write / lawson / novels / production crew / promotion & publicity / publishing / THE FIXER TV series / Uncategorized / vampires / website / writing 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Create Your Opportunities

By Jon F. Merz

I was reading a great post by my friend and fellow ninja Chris Penn the other day about taking the long view and how the ninja masters of old would often put things into motion years if not decades prior to them coming to fruition. It got me thinking about a habit I have of creating opportunities and how it mirrors the actions of those same jonin from feudal Japan.

Our society tends to focus on the immediate, short-term, instant gratification. And with the economy being what it is, for some folks, they can only focus on the immediacy of where their next meal is coming from or how they’re going to pay the mortgage this month. I know. I’ve been there.

But even if you are still in a precarious situation, you can still take steps now that may eventually bear fruit. After all, the ninja leaders of old didn’t have a crystal ball they could look into and see which of their plans would eventually work. They had to take steps that ensured no matter what the outcome was, they were positioned to derive maximum benefit and security from it. As Chris wrote in his article, these jonin would often dispatch field operatives years in advance and allow them to work themselves into positions of power where once they were needed, they would be above suspicion.

Imagine doing the same in your life. You put things into motion now – even little things that don’t obviously seem to have much tangible benefit – that might one day play a critical role in your success. I’ve been in the habit for a while now of reaching out to all manner of people whether I know them or not. I make it a point to establish relationships, even if it’s as seemingly superficial as simply saying hello to them. As time goes by, the relationship develops beyond the superficial until I good conversations, talk to them about their lives and their work, etc. Those relationships have led to some pretty amazing opportunities over the years.

When I got started on Twitter and Facebook, this became much easier. I would find interesting people and friend request them or start following them on Twitter. I can remember a conversation I had with someone who asked me why I was following people I didn’t know. My answer was simply, “because I want to know them.” Maybe they had a job that was in an industry I want to penetrate. Perhaps they have friends that I’d like to eventually know. Or maybe they’re extremely accomplished people I admire.

I’m sure this sounds opportunistic and it certainly is. That’s the point. I don’t look at my career and think about tomorrow. I look at my career and think about ten years from now. Twenty years. Forty years. And then I look at the trends and various businesses that I want to get involved with and map a route to actually getting into those areas. That involves social engineering.

Obviously, relationships are a big part of creating opportunities. We’ve all heard the old adage “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” And that’s true…at least to a certain extent.

People often ask why I have the word “ninja” on my website and my personal brand. Is it because I like to think of myself as some dude swathed in black with a sword strapped across my back? Hardly. I use that term to help market myself, knowing the allure the word has, as well as for the very reasons I’ve outlined here: I take the lessons from the old and apply them to the modern world to create my future success.

You can do the same.

Every day, I make a conscious habit of reaching out to someone new that I don’t know. I do some basic research on them – a quick glance through Google is usually enough – and then reach out. Sometimes, the friendship is rejected, but often it is not. And then the process starts. A key aspect is the fact that these are not one-sided relationships; you have be willing to give of yourself as well to really make them work. It might takes years to see something beneficial, and some relationships never bear any tangible fruit at all – although I would argue that interacting with others is its own reward and keeps us all mindful of the larger global community.

Social engineering is just one example of how you can create your opportunities. There are many other ways. I’ve often said that writers need to study the business they’re in and then study any other business tangential to writing. Then look beyond that. Get out of your comfort zone and explore things. You might start to see opportunities long before other people do. A lot of companies try things out in beta and if you’ve got your eyes open, you’ll see a chance to get involved before anyone else. That helps put you in a unique position and can be good for generating buzz, putting you in touch with other people who might prove beneficial, and even selling your products. My good friend Joe Nassise got involved with a new company called unglue.it and they launch today at noon – it’s crowdsourcing to keep one of his novels forever free if they crowdsource enough money. Joe’s one of the first four authors to take part in this and it’s a great opportunity for him. (You can get involved in it by going here.)

The point is, you have the ability to create your opportunities every single day – even when in the midst of the most dire circumstances. Make my habit yours and reach out everyday to someone new; read something you didn’t know about before; watch a show or attend an event you have no current interest in. When you continually open doors, the odds start improving that you’ll eventually find some amazing pathways to explore.

Be like Gregor the Oligarch from the DirectTV commercials. Say it with me in your best Russian accent: “Opportunities…I creates them.” 🙂

PS: TONIGHT at 6pm EST is my amazing virtual author event with Shindig. I’ll be talking to fans, answering questions AND showing an exclusive NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN clip from THE FIXER TV series. It’s FREE but you must RSVP NOW by clicking here.

in common sense / general / life thoughts / martial arts / self protection / ninjutsu / publishing / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

A Writer’s Best Defense

There’s an inherent problem with being an aspiring writer: you’re not all that sure of yourself yet. You have this “Go get ’em” attitude and you want your stories to be read by the public and you hope way down deep inside for that validation that comes with publishing and seeing your name in print. Every writer remembers what it’s like to finish a story you know is good, but then to have niggling doubts nibble at the fringes of your consciousness. “Maybe it’s not THAT good.” That’s when you seek out the approval of others. Sometimes, it’s family. But most times, writers put their faith in the expertise of an editor – be it a book editor or a story editor. If you submit that story enough, you just might get the validation you seek through a contract to publish it. And it feels good.

It feels REALLY good.

The first time I sold a short story was way back in 1996 to Rictus Magazine. It was for my story “I, the Courier,” and it earned me a whopping $5 bucks. It could have been a million. Or it could have been a penny. It wouldn’t have mattered; what counted was that someone had finally read something I wrote and judged it worthy enough of being published. It was a high I’ll never forget. And the Peking Duck my wife and I had that night at our favorite Chinese restaurant was one helluva meal. I never cashed that check, either. I framed it and it hangs on the wall in my office.

So, much like baby turtles squirming through the sands on their way into the ocean for the first time, aspiring writers are somewhat clumsy, mostly insecure, and vulnerable to the sharks cruising just beyond the beach anxiously awaiting an easy meal. Except the predators awaiting aspiring writers aren’t really sharks at all – that would be an insult to sharks – they’re scumbags and sleazeballs and pretty much every other degrading insult you could come up with. Mostly, they’re insecure wanna-be writers themselves who couldn’t write their way out of a paper bag, so they open up fly-by-night sham operations and publish themselves. Maybe they make a little money. They get a taste of power. Perhaps they decide to publish an anthology and put out submission guidelines, and then they sit back and wait for aspiring writers to send them stories. Having been rejected themselves, they enjoy the power they have over those aspiring writers. That’s when the nightmares start for the aspiring writers. Maybe they get scammed out of money. Maybe they get treated like dirt. Or maybe, just maybe, they get their story “edited” but it’s not really an edit – it’s a completely different story.

Such was the case with Mandy DeGeit and her story, which was accepted into an anthology by some pathetic schmoe named Anthony Giangregorio. In short, Giangregorio runs an outfit called Undead Press, which was previously Open Casket press, and at least one other name, which is never a good sign. In Mandy’s case, Giangregorio (who is himself also a writer – although probably only in the least complimentary terms possible, as in “learning my letters” given his various responses online) changed whole parts of Mandy’s story without telling her about it and when she cried foul, he proceeded to dump all over her and strut about in full peacock douchebaggery mode. Mandy’s account is well worth reading although I won’t even dream of linking to Giangregorio’s effluence here.

Suffice it to say, I think this guy is utter scum. But therein lies the problem: people like this fermented dung stain exist, and they’re all too eager to take advantage of the desire of aspiring writers to be validated and vindicated for their efforts. It’s tragic, but it’s also part of the world that exists in writing & publishing. So how do you protect yourself?

1. Google: it’s quick and it’s easy. And if you’re going to do business with someone, Google them. Then don’t just quickly scan the first page of results, but get deeper in. This is your hard work we’re talking about. Treat it like it’s got some worth. Go at least ten pages into search results and learn about your potential business partner.

2. The obvious: look at the website of the publisher you’re going to deal with. A quick glance at the Undead Press website shows it’s a mess of cover art that would be better if it had been done by a blind, rabbit ferret with a crystal meth addiction. That alone should be enough to make you steer clear: who wants horrible cover art on their work? If the publisher was making a serious, honest attempt, they’d be willing to invest in superior packaging for their books. It’s that simple.

3. Terms: contributor copies – uh uh. No way. Sorry, I know there are a lot of good people out there trying to be publishers (I tried myself at one point and failed miserably) but if all you can offer is contributor copies then no dice. At least offer twenty bucks – give the author you’re publishing enough to pick up a pizza for the family and celebrate their accomplishment, for crying out loud. Twenty bucks against royalties isn’t that much of a stretch and if you can’t afford to do even that, then you shouldn’t be in business in the first place.

4. Communication: if you communicate with an editor and the editor’s email is chock full of typos like “alot” and “its” when they mean “it’s,” then I’d run. They may not be writers, but they still need to be able to use the English language.

5. Study the business! I can’t say this enough. If you are a writer, it is NOT enough to simply write. It’s not. Those days of being groomed for superstardom by some wizened editor in NYC are gone. Seriously. Stop living in that fantasy world because it simply does not exist anymore. These days, you need to know what is happening in the business itself and then all the other businesses that are tangential to it. How are people making money with content? As writers, we are part of an industry that generates trillions of dollars in revenue. Seriously. The film/TV industry could not exist without writers. Neither could the video game industry. Nor could a host of other industries that rely on content and writers to generate story ideas, news reports, etc. Treat your work with the respect it deserves – and if you hone your craft enough, then your writing will have value to it.

While validation feels great – it is not worth the anguish you’ll feel after being screwed over by someone like a Giangregorio. So do your homework. And only do business with people who are reputable and show some measure of business savvy.

in common sense / ebooks / film/TV / how I write / publishing / Uncategorized 0 comments