Ten Things I Learned From Being In A USA Today Bestselling Boxed Set
When I joined the Billionaire boxed set, it was with the intention of making a list. I had no idea how to achieve this or even if it was possible. Having mediocre success with my other books didn’t lend itself to feeling as though I could do it on my own so this was my best shot at the time.
Whatever you think of your writing, you have to know that giving your career a boost when an opportunity arises, revolves around risks and challenges.
Here are some of the things I learnt:
- Always write the best book you can. It matters. If a boxed set is to sell, and sell it must to achieve a list, then each story needs to help carry it over the line.
- Who is the organizer? Is this person well respected and are they capable of running the set? (What is their experience to do so? I was lucky enough to have a good friend already signed up in the set who put my name forward. I trusted her judgement, but I still checked into the organizer. She turned out to be a go-getter and that made the decision a no-brainer.
- Read up on the theme of the boxed set you intend to join. Is it something you can, want to/should write? There is no point in writing a sexy story if all your other books are sweet. Unless you don’t want/need follow through readers, and I think we all do.
- Understand what you have to put in financially. Can you afford it? Are you happy at the percentage they will take to manage this, and what you are expected to pay to achieve the list? It won’t be cheap, but it shouldn’t be exorbitant, and will naturally depend on how many people are in the set with you
- What are the expectations from the organizer? Can you write this book in the timeframe set? Don’t agree to joining if it’s not doable. There is nothing more annoying to deal with than people messing about with deadlines. It can affect the whole deal and waste not only time, but money.
- You need a decent following. Every member will need to share the set with as many people as they can, on as many social media platforms as possible. If your numbers are too low, and you should be honest about this, you might not be accepted. To succeed be ready to pimp this set!
- Who will do the cover? Graphics? In my USA Today set we produced our own covers- mine was outsourced. Then the organizer had someone create the boxed set cover and all the graphics for advertising. (These were mainly for Facebook and Twitter, but also for newsletters.
- What can you offer to do other than sharing? Can you do graphics, formatting or make covers?Having people in the group capable of such things will help with costs and share the workload.
- You will need to be focused on the end game, and do what is expected when asked. It may be hard to give up some control when you are used to working for and by yourself. This is when you need to be strong and fingers crossed the outcome will be favourable.
- Lastly, enjoy the ride. It might be the toughest thing you do. Harder than writing or editing, this will take up hours and hours. Seriously, you will have to work your butt off to make this work.
Tip: Forward planning. The boxed set is now unavailable-it was up for 4 months. Since then we republished our own books. I was in two sets around the same time so I built a series around those two.
Was it worth it? Definitely. Would I do it again? Maybe.
Cheryl x
