Interview with self-published thriller author Apollo Butler
Today our guest is Apollo Butler who lives in the Bahamas.He is a self-published thriller author but unlike many authors he sells his books directly from his website instead of on Amazon. We have conducted an interview with him.
How do you 'change' the game of self-publishing?
I don’t sell my books on Amazon, instead I sell them directly from my website. By me doing this I don’t have to give Amazon their demanding 35% on every sale. Instead I just pay 2.9% via PayPal and the remainder is mine.
What makes you unique as a thriller author?
Because I touch upon subjects that other writers normally stay away from! I love revealing information that people prefer to keep hidden from the public and to be honest that’s what my current novel is about.
All my life I was told that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the result of Japanese aggression. That is not exactly true! My novel takes you back to the year 1854 and it shows when the United States Navy sailed to Japan, shoved their guns down the Japanese throats and had their way with them politically. Shortly after that the Japanese started building their navy—as a result of what The United States did!
So in reality, the attack on Pearl Harbor was the result of American imperialism—not Japanese aggression! Because the war in the Pacific would never have happened if the United States had just minded their business…
How do you use Facebook ads to generate traffic? How do you create sales?
With Facebook ads you have to know your audience and your product. When I first started with Facebook ads I was marketing to around one million people but I quickly learnt that I was attracting the wrong audience, basically people that don’t buy books.
So I started fine tuning my ads and now my audience is just over forty five thousand. Once I found my audience, and once traffic got serious, I made sure my site was as simple as possible for the customer.
Now you have to understand that over three hundred thousand books are published every year. So to get my ads noticed I use very controversial “hook lines” along with short audio snippets of heated dialogue between my characters to get people’s attention.
What is your opinion about the importance of how new writers must educate themselves on the haves and the have nots?
The reason new writers should educate themselves about the business is because there is an industry—within the publishing industry—that’s designed to prey on new writers. Freelancers and other service providers love to over-charge for simple tasks. Sites like Hulu actually offer packages for new writers for around $5,000 dollars. And when you look at the big picture these people are only paying for a super expensive editor, a cheap book cover and to get their book on Amazon. People you can do all of this yourself.
My first book cost me around $2,000 and that was because I didn’t know any better. But as a self-published writer your cash pool isn’t that big! And because of this I was forced to find cheaper, but professional, options to help move my career.
So for my second project I hired freelancer to create the book cover and edit the book. After about one year my second book only cost me around $650.00 dollars!
Could you please tell us more about your new book? What is so unique about your publishing journey of Ashes of the Shogun?
The very fact that I created this book was because it is a testament that I did not quit when my first book failed! Folks, before you even begin writing you have to first decide if you want to be a writer or a brand! There is a big difference.
Many people just publish their books so they can tell people “I’m published”. But then their books are complete failures and guess what? They don’t care!
When you see yourself as a brand you think differently and it shows not only in your writing but also in your overall product. Every day people ask me which publisher I’m I under and when I tell them I’m self-published they can’t believe it! Because my book covers are professionally done, all of my books now go through FOUR editors, I have a professional website which serves as my calling card, and I market my products like the big boys! That’s what brands do!
Now my novel is centered on my antagonist, Kami Akira. He wants revenge for what the United States did to his country because in his mind. There would never have been a war in the Pacific if America hadn’t messed with Japan.
So he creates a deadly weapon and plans to detonate it in the American state of California. He also intends to sell it to one of American’s closest enemies, so he plans to use the destruction on the American city as a demonstration that will hopefully convinced potential buyers.
