1-on-1 Consulting Sessions
Sometimes reading an article or getting a quick answer to a question over email isn’t enough, and you need something more substantial and personalized to your specific issues or book. Whether you’re new to self-publishing and want to vet your publishing plans and goals with an expert, or been around for a while but having problems with something specific, a 1-on-1 consulting session with a Hidden Gems self-publishing expert can get you back on track.
All consulting sessions take place as voice calls over Skype or Google Hangouts (screensharing is often helpful or necessary depending on topic) and are scheduled based on the availability of both parties (due to time zone and busy schedules, it may be possible to schedule evening or weekend sessions if needed.)
Regular sessions are booked in one-hour blocks, which is often all that is needed, however longer or follow-up sessions can be scheduled as well. Packages are available (see below) for specific areas that often need more time, or as part of a combination of services – but custom packages can be designed as well for those with more elaborate needs.
Craig
General type self-publishing sessions
Prior to starting Hidden Gems, I spent a number of years as a successful self-published author back before Kindle Unlimited and continuing on through its various iterations, learning and adapting with each new change. Despite my books regularly breaking through the top 100 on Amazon, I eventually started Hidden Gems as a hedge against Amazon making changes that would make self-publishing untenable. Soon that side gig became my full-time job as Hidden Gems continued to grow and become popular with authors.
I attribute the success of Hidden Gems to my understanding of the industry and my continued involvement in it, whether it’s working with authors, blogging, reading and participating in author forums or writing articles/participating in podcasts for other sites, – all of these things help keep me focused on what sort of deficiencies or pain points authors currently face, and the best ways to resolve them.
“I recently had a one-on-one marketing teleconference with Craig from Hidden Gems. This was prior to the launch of my new series of books that, as a new indie author, I felt I needed assistance and advice with. There are only so many internet courses et al that one can complete without the need for actual personal interaction to not only tie the loose ends together, but also provide an objective comment and some guidance.
What I was particularly grateful for was Craig's insightful advice and his tips and potential directives that have now enabled me to end up with a launch that I feel will see me in a far better place than what I had put together.
I can recommend Craig as a useful tool in your arsenal. Having someone cast an independent eye over your marketing and launch plans is well worth the time, effort and money.” - Rick Donald, Creator and author of the Cait Lennox: femme fatale series
"I recently hired Craig from Hidden Gems for a one-on-one consulting session and it was one of the best decisions I've made in preparing for the publication of my novel. He helped me consolidate information from many different sources in order to come up with a launch strategy tailored to my unique needs and goals. I've gone from feeling overwhelmed and fearful about the process to empowered and confident. Thank you, Craig!" - Scott Grusky, author of Zero Percenters
"Craig at Hidden Gems is very knowledgeable and I would highly recommend a 1:1 consult session! His guidance was invaluable and I am so happy I decided to invest in a consult session. He has firsthand experience and expertise that can be trusted. He is also very easy to talk with and I felt very comfortable asking any/all questions. Craig is an amazing resource to have in your tool belt as an author!" — M.C. Solaris, Author of Calypso’s Heart
Ginger
Advertising related sessions
Under a penname, Ginger has sold over 65,000 copies of his romantic suspense novels, and reached 320,000+ readers through Kindle Unlimited. Prior to becoming a successful self-publisher, he spent 20+ years in advertising and marketing; which positions him perfectly to advise you on how to reach new readers using advertising on platforms like Amazon and Facebook.
"My advertising consult with Ginger surpassed my expectations. He went above and beyond the stated goal of helping me understand and evaluate my AMS ads to taking a broader look at my author business to identify the activities that I will most benefit from spending my time and attention on. It felt like a career consultation, which I needed more than I realized. I was so impressed, I immediately scheduled a second consultation to focus on new goals and how to accomplish them. Highly recommend!" - USA Today bestselling author A.G. Henley
General Self-Publishing Consulting Sessions (Craig)
Base Price: $150/hr
Topic examples may include (but not limited to):
- Getting started with AI as a tool to help your writing and publishing
- Book meta data evaluation (genre, cover, blurb, sub-categories, etc) – either prior to publication or even after in more of a post-mortem fashion
- Book content issues (discussions about editing, beta readers, formatting, etc)
- Helping to figure out a publication plan, schedule, marketing or launch strategy
- Going over various tools, groups or websites useful to self-publishing
- Social media and reader outreach issues, starting/growing mailing list, author website advice, etc
- Author networking
- Ideas to help increase readership/sales
- Targeting your book to the right audience
- Overall author career planning, setting realistic goals and figuring out how to meet them
As every author’s needs are unique and the potential for discussion vast, the best thing to do is send as many details of your question or issues as possible so that I can evaluate ahead of time whether or not I can help. If so, we can schedule a session. I’ll likely also have other follow-up questions as I like to prepare ahead of the call in order to maximize the use of our time.
Advertising Specific Consulting Sessions (Ginger)
Base Price: $150/hr
Whether you’re wondering where to get started, or if you’ve tried advertising your books, but haven’t achieved the results you wanted, Ginger can help.
During a 1-hour session on Google Hangouts, Zoom, or Skype, he’ll direct you into actionable action to launch or improve your book advertising, and you can direct the focus depending on your goals - or whether you’re focused on Facebook, Amazon, BookBub or Newsletters.
Topic examples may include (but not limited to):
- How to start advertising and marketing your book
- Getting the most “bang for your buck” with your advertising budget
- Why aren’t your ads performing?
- Making your product page ‘convert’ more traffic into sales
- How to source keywords for Advertising on Amazon
- How to set and adjust bids to keep your advertising profitable
- Using Facebook to build subscriber lists
- Refining your audience to get lower-cost traffic
- Creating complex advertising strategies to gain more impressions
- Understanding, setting up and using Amazon Attribution tags in your FB ads
What you get:
- Email touch-base to swap information prior to call - like previous advertising performance, book details, etc.
- Scheduled 1-hour consult call over Google Hangout or equivalent to discuss strategies, actionable tactics, and your advertising priorities.
- Recording of call, as audio or video file
- Email check-in following call, to answer any questions/concerns
Session Packages
We’ve put together a set of packages around common issues and questions, especially where more than an hour is usually needed, and priced them at a discount.
AI for Authors - $200 (Call duration 1.5 hours)
Depending on your level of knowledge, this can be a beginner session where we go through a variety of ways that you can use AI to help you with your writing or publishing, or if you already have some knowledge or have a specific focus, we can drill into ways to use AI to help you meet your goals. AI can be used in a variety of ways such as with blurb writing, editing, brainstorming, beta reading, plotting, characterization, helping with social media, etc.
Book Doctor - $200 (Call duration 1.5 hours)
Get feedback on everything about your book except the actual story! Ideal for an underperforming book (or one soon to launch), I’ll take a look at everything that may attract or stop a potential reader from clicking buy now. Your cover, your blurb, your formatting, your categories, even your KDP keywords if you want to share them.
Launch Strategy/Planning - $200 (Call duration 1.5 hours)
Not sure on how best to launch your book? We’ll talk about the different promotions you can/should run, when and where to launch, the best order to do things in. For series, we can discuss timing of each book, how to best promote them and draw the most readers to them. This package can also be used for planning a publication schedule.
Beginner Bootstrap - $250 (Call duration 2 hours)
Designed for those new to self-publishing, we will go over a number of things that you need to know prior to launching your first book (or even shortly after launching, if you feel things didn’t go as planned). Discussions can be around things like Amazon or Wide, KU or not, whether or not you need editing, beta reading, reviews, promotions, and how best to get the things you need and when to schedule them. Your plan for writing, for publishing, for marketing. Realistic goals and time management, etc.
Double Header – $250 (Call duration 2 hours split between general and ad related)
For those that need help with both general self-publishing and advertising, we’re offering a double header of calls with both Craig and Ginger. For a total of 2 hours (typically an hour each, but if you need more time with one topic than the other we can adjust that), you can split your time talking to both of us about your specific needs. This would be two separate calls (not a conference call) and would require setting the times up separately, depending on scheduling.
Custom Package – TBD (Duration and price based on needs and details)
For those that have specific needs or want more time, please contact us to discuss a customized package. This can include longer calls, bundling calls with multiple services, etc. We’ll do our best to work something out to meet your needs and give you a discount on the regular price of booking separately. Note that not all Hidden Gems services can be bundled, but let us know your needs and we’ll see what we can work out.
For any of the consulting services/packages ordered, a 50% deposit is due once the details of your order are finalized, with the balance due on delivery. All payments are in USD and through Paypal. Please fill out the form below to place your order and we will get back to you shortly for more info/scheduling.