Successful Pen Name: Case Study Report #1

I did something scary this week. I took my own advice and published the first eBook in a series of niche eBooks. Due to my health transformation of the past few months and my growing passion for sharing the message of health with the world, I chose to begin writing a series of niche raw food cookbooks. I totally understand now why health and wellness people jump into this field when most of them previously had other unrelated careers. The amazing way I feel has drawn me to share my experience with the world. But rather than change my career to jump into the health and wellness industry, I decided to take my own advice and begin a case study as a “new” author.

Reasons I Chose to Write “Non” Cookbooks:

• I haven’t eaten a peanut M&M since October 6, 2012. And that’s a really big deal.
• To date I’ve lost 36 pounds.
• I feel amazing and healthy… for the first time in my entire life.
• I’ve had to convert a lot of recipes to deal with my own food allergies to gluten, tree nuts, and my sensitivity to dairy.
• I know how hard it is to live with food allergies, and the limit of cookbooks currently available in this niche, so I chose to fill this gap with my own recipes.
• I wanted to freak out my mom, who never in a million years would believe I of all people would be playing in the kitchen.

Reasons I Chose to Write Under a Pen Name/Alias:

• While I’m becoming more passionate about healthy eating, I don’t want to be known as the “raw food girl.”
• I want to help people in this industry who suffer from severe food allergies, without changing my career.
• I want to see what it’s like to start from scratch in a hot niche as a “newbie” author with zero marketing platform… and blog my struggles and successes so you can learn, too.
• I think it’s cool to live a double life… sorta like a super hero.

Choosing a pen name/alias:

My pen name is Joy O’Clements. Joy is my middle name that no one really knows about (until now) and Clements was my great grandparents’ last name. They dropped the “O” when they immigrated to the US from Ireland, so as a nostalgic connection to my Irish roots and family history, I chose to bring the “O” back. Besides, it just sounds cool.

Today I’ve officially launched the first cookbook in this series. The series is called Easy & Raw and each cookbook will feature 30 recipes targeted to a specific food group. The first eBook is more of an overview of various allergen-free raw food snacks, while the rest will be even more niche. I’m currently working on chocolate and kale chip cookbooks, which will be the next two in the series, and I’ve mapped out about 10 more titles.

My launch marketing plan is simple…

• Reach out to current contacts in various weight-loss groups I’m a member of and ask them to promote the book today to their audiences. They’ve all witnessed my personal transformation, and so far several of them have sent it out to their audiences.
• Experiment with a “Promoted Post” on my Facebook Page of about 20,000 people.
• Ask people who have already read the eBook or purchased it to post a review on the Amazon listing.
• Set up an Amazon Author Central page for my alias, where I’ll keep the book’s description updated and add stellar reviews as I receive them.

My long-term marketing plan is also simple, though it will take more work…

• Endeavor to get the book on the Amazon Top 10 Best Seller list in one to two categories to give it further exposure. Try to keep it on that list for a week. (It’s already in Amazon’s Top 100 Best Sellers for one category.)
• Post on-going Case Study Reports like this one so you, my audience, can follow my eBook’s progress in real time… and hopefully want to spread the word as everyone knows somebody who’s trying to eat healthy. 😉
• Continue publishing one new cookbook in the series every month or two to make the alias author more well known on Amazon and build brand recognition.
• Put one or more previous cookbooks in a free Amazon KDP promotion when a new eBook is released, both driving traffic to the older cookbook and others in the series.
• Continue bugging my friends each time I release a new cookbook or do a free promotion.
• (Maybe) create a Facebook fan page for the eBook series and post new recipes and photos as I create them.

I’m using a combination of my existing network of followers and friends as well as building an entirely new book marketing platform from scratch. I haven’t joined any large health groups on Facebook, my eBook series doesn’t have a fan page (yet), the website isn’t even built yet. In fact, less than 300 people so far have even seen the eBook (that I know of, counting those who have seen my promoted post on Facebook so far today).

This is an adventure of a brand new author with zero credibility or recognition… And I look forward to seeing “her” climb her way to the top.

I’ll continue to post updates and reports on this blog so you can follow along and learn what’s working, what’s not and how to apply it to your book’s marketing plan. Click here to check out the eBook!