Monday, March 10, 2014

Multi-Author Boxed Sets, Anthologies, and Collections. Great Ways to Find New Authors

Laura Breck


How many boxed sets do you have on your Kindle? I bet you paid .99 cents for most of them, right? Boxed sets are a great way for authors to get their work into the hands of lots of readers, and for readers to sample the writing of a number of authors at a reasonable price.

The authors' best use of a boxed set is when they include book 1 of their series in the set, and include a portion of chapter one from book 2 of that series to hook readers. (I know I've purchased a number of book 2s.

The newest thing in boxed sets is all-new stories. Books that have not been previously released. More and more readers are requesting these.

Boxed set books can be any length because they’re usually ebook only, and often boast teasers like “943,527 Words in 8 Stories for Only $.99!”

Anthologies typically contain shorter stories that are usually new, unpublished works. These are sold at a higher price, and often are available in both ebook and paperback. These are great ways for readers to find new authors.

Another way for authors to reach readers is with Collections. This is a group of authors who each write a new short story, create a cover, and self-publish their book. The books each go for $.99, and in the back of each one are the blurbs for the other authors’ stories, and a link to the author’s website.

Collections are nice for the authors because they handle their own finances. They’re not dependent on one author to handle the dispersion of royalties. One of my favorite collections is the Red Hot Authors. They released eleven books for Valentines Day, and plan to release fifteen books for Independence Day called Red Hot and BOOM! I hear they’re planning another collection release for the end-of-year holidays, as well.

Whichever of these options you choose to purchase, it’s a value-packed way to find your new favorite author.

Happy reading!
Laura
~Smart Women ~Sexy Men ~Seductive Romance
~Dancing in a Hurricane is available in digital formats at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble and in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Createspace
~Love in the Land of Lakes is available in digital format at Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, and in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Createspace

6 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

Working with a group seems like a great marketing tool. Hmmm...the wheels are turning. Thanks for sharing, Laura.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Great advice, Laura. I'd seen some of these but had yet to look into them. You bet the wheels are turning!

Laura Breck said...

Jannine, it's a great way to get your writing into lots of homes!

Margo, you can't go wrong when you find a group of writers that share the same genre. Good luck!

Unknown said...

I've never participated in a boxed set with other authors, but I have in a few anthologies, which was a lot of fun. Wild Rose Press has just released a boxed set of my first four suspense stories, a novel and three shorts. It goes on sale the 14th. I'm excited to see how it goes over. Thanks for the interesting post!

Diane Burton said...

Terrific concept. Thanks for sharing.

Leah St. James said...

It is a great concept. I'm confused about how the collections thing works (how each author is paid separately). Thanks, Laura!