How To Increase Book Sales on Amazon
We often talk about book promotion here at Change The World With Words, and there’s a lot to learn if you’re just starting out as a self-published or indie author.
Gaining exposure for your book can involve everything from planning blog tours to producing book trailers and a whole lot more. But if you have a book for sale on Amazon, you might be missing out on sales simply from lack of visibility on the site. Many authors have no idea how easy it is to increase their book’s exposure by updating a few things from their Amazon Central account.
Three simple tricks that can help you get more exposure for your book:
- Update your categories, keywords, subjects, and tags
If you put some time and research into choosing the best categories, quality keywords, specific subjects, and appropriate tags, you can quickly raise your ranking on Amazon, and that can make your book more visible to prospective buyers.
- Fill out your Amazon sales page
Include as much information as possible on your books sales page. The more you can tell your potential customers about you and your book, the more likely it is that they’ll spend money on it.
- Put together a best-seller book launch
Having a best-seller book launch can encourage people to buy your book, and increase your rating at the same time. Just because you’re a new or little-known author, it doesn’t mean you can’t put together a professional book launch, complete with press releases, a basic media kit, book readings and prize-winning contests.
If you want to find out more about creating a bestseller book launch, and the other strategies mentioned above, you might want to consider Shelley Hitz’s new product: ‘Amazon for Authors’. This guide for authors-on-a-budget walks you through the process of optimizing your book sales on Amazon and Kindle. Besides covering the above tips in detail, Shelley covers tricky issues like digitally “autographing” your books, how to track your sales data, and much more. Learn more at her website Self-publishing-coach.com and consider signing up for her free newsletter for regular self-publishing and book promotion tips.
Thinking about self-publishing your next book, or re-publishing a previously published out-of-print book as a self-publisher? New technology is making both options more common, and easier to do. Check out our huge resources list, Fifty Self Publishing Resources for Authors.
Two Great Affiliate Programs for Writers and Authors
This year I’m partnering with a couple of cool organisations to bring you some useful resources for writers and authors. Some of them are free, some of them aren’t. If you’re at a stage in your writing career where you want to start investing in yourself, you can choose to buy through me and support this site at the same time (see what that means here).
If you’re not, that’s fine too. All articles here at Change The World With Words are free and always will be. (I also get a real kick out of sharing other free resources I find, and I seem to find a lot – maybe it’s Karma sending me free writing goodies because I always pay them forwards. Feel free to subscribe if you want to know about new free writing resources as I find them.)
If you’re a writer looking for affiliate programs to join in order to offer your readers valuable resources and create an extra income stream for yourself, I recommend these programs.
In 2012 I’ll be working with an organisation called My Help Hub.
Why?
They have really high quality products for writers, mainly ebooks and online courses, that cover different types of writing and other skills related to writing and getting your work published.
Their paid products are reasonably priced, often come with bonuses and offer a money-back guarantee.
They have a good mix of products that will appeal to different readers (we’re an eclectic mix here at CTWWW), from The Wealthy Writer online course to their Writer’s Block CD to the Novel in a Month course. Perhaps my favourite E-product purchased last year was their excellent How To Write A Children’s Book.
Like me, they like to be generous. They offer a huge selection of free resources for writers through Writers Giveaway, that you can start downloading right now if you want (click here).
If you’re a writer with your own blog or site and you’d like to partner with My Help Hub to offer some of their products to your readers and followers, check out their affiliate program here.
I’ll also be working with the lovely Shelley Hitz from Self-Publishing-Coach.com.
Why?
Shelley also offers great products, albeit in a narrower range. Most of her products are aimed at helping writers develop specific skills in the area of self-publishing and book marketing, though her book marketing and promotion resources are also excellent for traditionally published authors looking to build their brand and sell more books.
These products are very affordable. Shelley is known for over-delivering and offering far more (including bonuses) than you would expect for the price she charges.
The range of products covers almost everything new and aspiring authors need to know (and lots of things more experienced authors should know but don’t). Products include Ebook Publishing Success, Get Your Kindle Ebook Done, and Twitter 101 For Authors.
Shelley also loves a freebie. You can pick up over 200 free tools for authors over at her site Self-Publishing-Coach.com or download a couple of her free reports, Book Marketing on a Shoestring Budget: YouTube Strategies for Authors and Book Marketing on a Shoestring Budget: Guest Blogging for Success right here at CTWWW.
If you’re looking to invest in yourself in 2012, please consider some of the products mentioned above or listed on the resources page (or check out the reading list and online book store for good-value books about writing and publishing). And if not, go ahead and download the freebies mentioned above.
If you haven’t already seen our Win an iPad2 or Kindle Fire contest, you might want to check it out. You’ll need something to read your new Ebooks and online course materials on:)
Four Great Author Resources
| Just a quick post today to let you know about a great offer for authors looking to improve their social media presence, build a platform, gain exposure and promote their books. Shelley Hitz, the author of the “Book Marketing on a Shoestring Budget” series, is moving house, and celebrating with a giant moving sale over at her website, Self-Publishing-Coach.com. For a limited time only, when you purchase four of Shelley’s products, you get them for 75% off!
Here are the details:
For 72 hours only – December 7th, 8th and 9th – you can get the following promotional package for only $21:
• “Get Your Facebook Page Done!” ( usually $47) • “YouTube Marketing for Authors” (usually $17) • “A Step-by-Step Guide to Guest Blogging” (usually $10) • “Twitter 101 for Authors” (usually $10)
Here’s what authors are saying about Shelley Hitz, and her author resources: “Shelley helps you get your Facebook done and is a great resource if you need more personal help. She is professional, has great follow-up and will get you up to speed quickly. I highly recommend her seminars and personal services! She makes it fun.” - Linda Pyle, Author of “Peaks, Palms and Picnics” “If you’re looking for a resource that will teach you how to increase your online exposure quickly and easily, then you need to read Shelley Hitz’s, A Step By Step Guide to Guest Blogging…. A Step By Step Guide to Guest Blogging gives you the training, the tools, and the direction you need to jump into the exciting and valuable world of guest blogging. This is a must-read resource that needs to be within arm’s reach of every author tasked with doing his or her own promotion and marketing.” - Tony Eldridge, MarketingTipsforAuthors.com “I am grateful to have found Shelley’s website because she is an incredible source of information and resources related to self publishing. She way over delivers and offers so much for free and the content is high quality. She is also warm, friendly and caring with her customers.” - Sharon Gibson, www.15minutewriter.com I’ve been working with Shelley for a while now (yes, these are affiliate links, find out what that means here), and I’m so impressed with her products and attitude. Plus, she’s offering a 60 day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with this promotional package, so you can see if you like her resources as much as I do, and return them if you don’t! To learn more about the products Shelley has to offer and take advantage of her $21 offer, visit her website before the end of Dec 9th 2011 : Self-Publishing-Coach.com. |
Kindle Publishing: Diversify Your Income and Sell More Books
Publishing for the Kindle is something you can do yourself relatively easily, once you have the right tools, yet many authors still don’t bother. Whether you’re working on your first book, or an experienced author with many books in print already, it’s definitely worth considering publishing for the Kindle. In this guest post, author Shelley Hitz explains why.
Kindle Publishing: Diversify Your Income and Sell More Books
Every writer wants to get their work out there. They actually want people to read their books. In today’s world, one of the best ways to get your writing out there and actually be read, is to put your work on the internet.
The eBook industry is growing rapidly these days, and there are some pretty practical reasons. You don’t have to wait to have the book shipped to you; you simply download it and start reading immediately. If you have a Kindle or a Nook, it’s so simple to take your entire library of books with you. Instead of lugging around a heavy book bag, you simply have one small item to carry. Most ereaders hold thousands of books. They just make things simpler.
Even with eBook sales outpacing hardcover sales, many authors still miss out on the eBook market. Again, for legitimate reasons: they don’t know where to start, they don’t know how to format eBooks, or they might just be ready to be done with the book after it’s published as a hardcopy and are ready to start their next one.
However, publishing an eBook shouldn’t be something that any author overlooks these days.
Once you have written your book, you might as well get it out there in as many formats as possible. Why not diversify your income from that book, so you have more time to work on your next one? Think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more money flowing into your bank account? I believe ePublishing is the key to making that happen.
However, knowing you should publish an eBook is just the beginning. You still have to find the answers to the original questions, or you could end up hurting your reputation as an author. Get Your Kindle eBook Done! covers every aspect of getting your book eBook ready. While its main focus is Kindle, it covers Smashwords and iBooks as well. It also highlights ways to market your eBook and maximize your profits.
With the continued growth in the eBook market I have to ask, what are you waiting for? Get Your Kindle eBook Done, today.
Shelley Hitz is the author of Get Your Kindle eBook Done! She provides valuable advice and free tools for authors at her website self-publishing-coach.com.
Image by Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Five Tools To Help You Plan Your Online Book Tour
Online book tours, along with other forms of online book promotion, are the obvious way to promote your book in an efficient, cost effective way. An online book tour (or virtual book tour, as they’re often called), is simply a series of interviews or guest posts on blogs that reach the book buying public, with a link to where they can buy your book online.
Traditional book tours are a thing of the past for most authors. Unless you’re J K Rowling or an author of similar standing, your publisher won’t spring the money for a book tour any more. The return on investment is too low.
You may be tempted to fund your own book tour, but I’d encourage you to think twice. The chances of you selling enough books to cover your costs range from slim to fat, and more importantly you could damage your long term career. If you fund your own book tour for your current book you will make extra sales, but unless you can do it for your next book you may find sales of your next book are down on your current one. Publishers care about the bottom line. Falling sales are never a good thing. You’ve actually jeopardized future book deals.
If you’re traditionally published whatever you do to promote your first (or current) book should be sustainable for the next one. That way your sales should (all other things being equal) go in the right direction. If you’re a self-published author you can promote your book however you want, but I’d still advise an online book tour, and if you take my advice you’ll definitely want to check out these resources.
Savvy Authors Blog Tour Wizard
The blog tour wizard at SavvyAuthors.com is a program that puts authors with a new book out in touch with bloggers who are willing to ‘host’ those authors on their blog. Authors and bloggers fill out a short form so the wizard can match them with the most appropriate partners. Authors can request up to 10 stops per blog tour, and once the wizard has made the matches it will put you in touch to confirm details.
This service is only available to premium members but premium membership only costs $30 a year and if you’re an author there are lots of benefits, such as writing tools, an agent/editor database and blog pitch events with agents and editors. If you’re a blogger you can submit your blog for free. As an author, you can also try out the basic (free) membership first if you just want to get a feel for the site. Find the details here.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Guest Blogging by Shelley Hitz.
This guide is specifically aimed at authors planning a virtual book tour. It’s the perfect resource if you really don’t know where to start, or need help pulling together all the details. It’s very affordable, at only $10, and currently comes with several bonuses that make it even better value. If you’re on a tight budget, this may be the only resource you need to invest in. Check out the details here.
If, however, you’re on a bigger budget…
Virtual Book Tour Packages from Pump Up Your Book
Pump Up Your Book offer three virtual book tour packages (silver, gold and platinum) ranging in price from $399 to $799. These packages offer one to two months of tour stops, personalized tour pages and banners and lots of publicity.
They claim that their online book tours reach “USA Today, Chicago Times, Washington Post, Reuters and more.” The price seems a bit steep but it’s possible the publicity could be worth it. I haven’t personally used this service. If any readers have I’d appreciate a comment about whether you thought it was worth the money or not.
Book Blogs “Promote Your Book” Page
Book blogs have a “promote your book” page where authors can add their books, book trailers and announcements of online book tours. You have to be a member but membership is free. Once you’ve got your online book tour organized, this is a simple, no-cost way to promote your book tour to a targeted audience of book lovers.
Writing forums and social media
We’re back to no-cost options here. If you’re a DIY enthusiast on a budget you can certainly find opportunities through writing forums and social media. I interviewed Lynda M. Martin (author of the wonderful This Bird Flew Away) right here on my blog after ‘meeting’ her in a writing forum, and this guest post, (Na)No Pain, (Na)No gain? by author Maija Haavisto was the result of a shout out I sent out on Twitter asking NaNoWriMo participants if they wanted to share their experiences and promote their books.
What are your plans for your online book tour? High budget, low budget or no budget?
As always, if you have friends or followers who may find this post useful, please share or forward. Thanks.
Image by JSCreations at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Fifty Self-Publishing Resources For Authors
I’ve been doing some serious research into self-publishing options recently and one thing I’ve learned is that self-publishing is not for everyone. It can, however, be a great option for those who are prepared to market, promote and sell, as well as write.
My research has turned up over fifty resources (including some great freebies and some very affordable paid services) that I think could be useful to self-publishing newbies (and some of them to traditionally published authors too). Have a browse through them and let me know what you think.
Six Self-publishing Companies That All Offer A Little Extra
AuthorHouse offer a free Writers Guide To Publishing in their Author Resources section.
Booklocker.com has an online Guide to POD and Ebook Publishing at their website that offers a surprisingly honest look at the process of self publishing (including a section titled “The Reasons Not To Use Us”)
CreateSpace is the self-publishing branch of Amazon, and provides self-publishing services including free DIY tools such as a Cover Creator for easy online design. Note: You do not have to publish with CreateSpace to make your book available on Amazon. You can do that through the other self-publishers.
Lulu offers a free consultation with one of their services consultants to assess your needs. Some of their book options also include a free ISBN.
Trafford offer a free publishing guide and monthly newsletter to potential self-publishers.
Xlibris also offer a free Publishing Kit to prospective authors
Six Essential articles about self-publishing:
Subsidy Press or Author Services Publishers
A good article that explains exactly what the self publishing companies or book packagers actually do.
25 Self-Publishing Companies Analyzed, Compared and Ranked
Essential reading before you even make a shortlist of self-publishing companies to approach.
Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know
25 tips from someone who has been through the self-publishing process, and learned a lot along the way.
Top 10 Tips for Self-Publishing a Book That Doesn’t Look Self-Published
There’s no shame in self-publishing, but there’s also no reason for your self-published book not to look every bit as professional as a traditionally published book.
Top Ten pitfalls to Self-Publishing Success
What not to do and how not to do it.
Marketing Your Self-Published Book
From creating a marketing plan, to book signings to web casting, everything you need to know about marketing your book, with links to a sample press release and web page.
Three Great How-To Ebooks for Self-publishers:
Self-Publishing Secrets
No-nonsense guide that reveals the tips, tricks and secret pitfalls every self-publisher needs to know.
Kindle Kash
How to publish your book for the Kindle, make it available on Amazon, and earn 70% in royalties.
The Best-Seller Secret
How to turn your book into a #1 Amazon best-seller. This system guarantees your book will hit the #1 spot on Amazon – in its category – or your money back. (Note: I haven’t used this system, yet. I’m told it really does work, but it requires time and effort. If you have time and effort to spare – why wouldn’t you try it?)
Four Professional Editing Services for Self-Publishers
Professional editing/critiquing is often what makes or breaks a self-published book. Don’t publish your book without putting it through the editing process. The following are all professional editing companies that offer editing services to self-published authors.
Twelve Useful Free Resources for Self-Publishers:
You don’t have to pay a fortune (or a penny) to start researching your self-publishing options, or creating your books.
WritersGiveaway.com offers The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing – By author Shelley Lowery. Available for free download when you sign up for the free newsletter
WritersGiveaway.com also offers a free E-book creator.
50 YouTube Strategies for Authors is a free report from SelfPublishingCoach.com.
Book Marketing on a Shoestring Budget: Guest Blogging for Success is also free from SelfPublishingCoach.com.
Self Publishing Resources is giving away JUMP START YOUR BLOG IN 28 DAYS: Blogging Checklist for Authors & Self-Publishers free when you sign up for their monthly newsletter.
Fast Pencil provides a range of free writing and publishing tools, including a way to import your blog posts if you’re converting your blog to book form (an increasingly popular way of producing a self-published book)
Go Publish Yourself is a site you can join for free and receive a self-publishing package including an “Author’s Bill of Rights”, “Why Self-Publish” PowerPoint, “32 Simple Ways to Market Your Book Online”, Teleseminars on publishing and marketing, plus a load of discounts on self publishing services.
Smashwords Book Marketing Guide: How To Market any Book for Free is available for free download from Amazon.
FreeEbooks.net have A Cheap and Easy Guide to Self-Publishing eBooks available for free download (you’ll have to register, but this is also free and then you’ll be able to download 5 free ebooks each month).
FreeEbooks.net also have 147 Killer e-publishing Strategies available for free.
The Top 10 Things You Should Know about Self-Publishing Your Book (free video tutorial)
How To Self-Publish A Book (free video tutorial)
Four Specialist Book Promotion and Marketing Companies:
You can do all the promotion and marketing for your self-published book yourself, but if you do decide you need to hire some help you could consider these specialist marketing companies:
Three Book Trailer Production Companies:
Books have trailers these days, just like movies. It’s not essential to have one but if you do you can post it on Youtube, your Facebook fan page or your blog. They can be quite an attention grabbing promotion tool.
Four Cool Book Design Companies
You’ll need a cover design and perhaps a design for some of your interior pages. As with most self-publishing tasks you can do it yourself, but if you want to look into professional design, consider the following:
Ten Useful Books For Self-Publishers
The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living by Peter Bowerman
The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote and Sell Your Own Book by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier
Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters (Kindle eBook)
Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book by Dan Poytner
Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking by Steve Weber
The Self-Publishers Marketing Guide by Debbie Higgs (Kindle eBook)
Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book by Patricia L. Fry
Wham! Bam! Publishing: The Strategic Marketing Plan for Authors and Publishers by Janice Marie Phelps, Joan E. Phelps and Janice Phelps Williams
Promote Your Book: Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author by Patricia L. Fry
There are, of course, hundreds more that I could have included. If you have a self-publishing resource to recommend, please share in the comments. If you have friends, followers or blog readers who are interested in self-publishing, please consider sharing or linking to this page.
Twenty Twitter Tips For Writers
Writers used to just write, and not worry about marketing themselves or their work. Blogging and social media and tweeting and sharing were for B-list celebrities and trendy dot.com companies run by nineteen year old millionaires.
Now, if you want to be a successful writer, and certainly if you want to sell your books, it’s all about building a writer platform and getting yourself known.
Love it or hate it, Twitter is part of that platform building process for many writers. It’s taken me over a year to find my way round, so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned so far, and particularly the tips and tricks that have helped my writing career.
1. Use your profile to say what you are as well as who you are
Freelance Writer, Children’s Author, Self Publisher etc. People often search for people similar to themselves to follow, and potential clients may search for what they need (Eg. Freelance Writer or Editing Services).
2. Sound interesting in your profile
Yes, this is a challenge in such a small space, but because you have so little to work with it’s even more important. You have to sound interesting enough that people will think your tweets will be worth reading.
3. Add a photo
If you don’t you will be left with Twitter’s strange anonymous egg image. This is off-putting for many people, not least because it can be the mark of a spammer.
4. Add a link (or two)
When your profile has to be super short, anyone in doubt will click on your link(s) to decide whether you’re worth following. Put a link to your blog, writer’s website or at least somewhere else online that you have a more detailed profile (such as Linked In, or a site you regularly write for).
5. Use the Wefollow application
Head on over to WeFollow and add yourself under the “writing” tag. You can also be more specific. There’s a “writingbooks” tag, for example, and a “writingpoems” tag. You can also add yourself under “blogging” or “creative”. This is a good way to let like minded tweeters (who are often searching for similar people to follow) know you exist.
6. Only follow people you’re genuinely interested in
If you follow a load of random people in the hope that they will follow you back you’ll soon find yourself overwhelmed with dubious tweets you aren’t interested in.
7. Unfollow people who don’t provide value
It’s OK to unfollow people whose tweets aren’t relevant to you. If you don’t you’ll miss the ones that are. If you ignored the tip above and started out following people in the hope they’d follow you back you can use a handy little tool called Friend or Follow to work out who didn’t, and at the very least unfollow them.
8. Tweet useful stuff
Sometimes it’s OK to tweet things just for fun or do a status update type tweet, but generally speaking writers use Twitter to find useful information in their niche. Tweet about good articles, blog posts and resources you come across, with a link. After looking at someone’s (very short) profile and their link, the only other thing people can use to decide whether to follow you or not is the quality of your previous tweets. High quality tweets are more likely to get re-tweeted as well.
9. Self-promote respectfully
It’s fine to tweet your own articles and blog posts, or to tweet about your book launch. In fact it’s expected. But remember to tweet and re-tweet other writers’ posts and articles as well. Nobody likes someone who only talks about themself. And on that note…
10. Don’t link direct to sales pages or sign up pages in your tweet
This is really annoying.
11. #Use #Hash #Tags #With #Caution
Hash tags are useful to indicate what your tweet is about and help others in your niche find it (I use #writingtips regularly). But if your #tweet #looks #like #this, you’re overdoing it.
12. If you are going to use hash tags, consider #amwriting
Find out more about it here.
13. Use lists
I was really slow on the uptake with this and am still trying to rectify it. Get organized from the start if you can and create lists to “file” people into (such as writers, editors, agents, bloggers). You’ll be able to find all the tweeters you follow in a particular area really quickly, and at the very least it will help you remember why you followed people.
14. Use @mentions when possible
When you want to communicate with someone directly (especially to say something positive or to thank them for a service) do it with an @mention, not a direct message. This is a public shout-out to them and will get them new followers, which is the least you can do if they’ve helped you out, or you’ve found their content particularly useful.
15. Put a Twitter button on your blog or writer’s website
May sound obvious but some people really don’t make it that easy to follow them.
16. Put a ‘Tweet This’ button on your blog or site
If you’re active on Twitter (or even if you don’t use it at all) make it easy for others to tweet your posts and articles.
17. Connect with editors and agents (appropriately)
Yes you can get an editor or agent interested in your book on Twitter, but there is etiquette involved. See this post for some tips.
18. Try and build a targeted following
It really is better to have 500 followers who genuinely know who you are, want to read your work and maybe even buy your book when it comes out, than to have 5000 followers who have no idea who you are or why they followed you. Building a targeted following takes time and happens organically, which brings us to the next point.
19. Be patient
It takes time to find your way round Twitter. Don’t give up if you don’t ‘get’ it straight away, or if it doesn’t bring a sudden flood of traffic to your site, or sales of your book. Hang out a bit more and see if it starts to make sense to you. Lots of articles will tell you how to get loads of followers really quickly but, as with so many things in life, quality is more important than quantity. Grow your following slowly and naturally you’ll get a better class of follower.
20. Follow me
I tweet lots of useful writing-related stuff. Find me here.
I still consider myself on a steep learning curve when it comes to Twitter. If you have any other tips to share, please throw them into the comments.
Update: Just came across a great, and very affordable, resource: Twitter 101 for Authors. Well worth checking out if you’re an author or freelance writer looking for the most effective ways to use Twitter.
Image from ProductiveDreams.com
Promote Your Book on a Budget
Whether you self-publish or go the traditional publishing route, it’s likely that you won’t have a huge publicity budget for your first book (or first few books). This may not be a bad thing (read on to find out how you can potentially damage your writing career by spending too much money and time on publicity). There are hundreds of cost effective ways to promote your book. Here are just a few.
A Writer’s Website
This can be a very simple site that you put together yourself. The best domain name is obviously YourName.com (You can have a site for each book that is NameOfTheBook.com, but we’re on a budget here).
If money is really tight you could even use a free blogging platform such as Blogger or WordPress.com (in which case the domain name will be YourName.blogspot/wordpress.com).
If you have a traditional publisher that allows you control over an “author page” at their site you could consider developing and promoting that as your author site. If you already have a blog, you can add a page entitled “my book” as a promotional tool. In an ideal world these options would be in addition to a “proper” author site, but the world of writing and publishing isn’t always ideal for new, cash-strapped authors.
A giveaway
You will doubtless have some “free’ copies of your book to give away (remember there is no such thing as a free book – that is valuable merchandise you hold in your hand. Use it wisely).
If you decide to do a promotional giveaway (perhaps a signed copy of your book) decide what your objectives are. What do you want the potential readers of your book to do? Sign up for your monthly newsletter so you can market this and other books to them in the future? “Like” your book’s Facebook page so that they spread the word to their friends, their friend’s friends and so on? Whatever you want them to do, make this a way to enter the giveaway.
Free reads
Even cheaper than a giveaway – simply make something related to your book available for free download. An excerpt from the book itself is popular, preferably the first chapter. A perfect first chapter is compelling and exciting, portrays fascinating characters in an intriguing, believable world/setting, introduces a high stakes problem to be overcome, raises questions the reader can’t wait to have answered and ends with a hook (your opening chapter does do all this, doesn’t it?). Generally people will want to buy the book if they loved the first chapter.
Alternatively you could post something exclusive for download. I recently saw an author site where the author had posted a short story that was actually a prequel to the book. A good tool for getting new readers hooked on the story, but also interesting for readers who have read the book, loved it and decided to check out the author site.
Guest posting
Beware: guest posting can be time consuming, but a few well placed guest posts about the publishing process on popular writing/publishing related blogs (with a link to your own author site and somewhere to buy the book) can bring in extra sales. Remember blog readers don’t want to read a sales blurb for your book. They want to learn something about what you learned during the process. You have to be quite skilful to provide this and work in enough detail about the book that people want to buy it. Of course, if you do a series of guest posts on different blogs, all highlighting your book launch, what you’re actually doing is a virtual book tour (see below).
A Virtual Book Tour
IMPORTANT TIP: A real book tour can cost you money AND your future as an author. Unless your publisher is paying for it (and unless you’re a well-known author, he isn’t) your book tour will cost you money (your traveling costs). It is extremely unlikely that you’ll sell enough books to cover costs and you’ll be using time you could use to be writing the next book.
Dean Wesley Smith addresses this issue in Write Good or Die (highly recommended and available for free download from Amazon). He points out that a new author can easily spend about $5000 on a three week self-funded book tour, and he can reasonably expect to earn about $250 in royalties on extra books sold during that time. As if that’s not bad enough, he goes on to point out:
“Here’s the worst part. Remember, publishing is bottom-line focused. Let’s assume that’s the author’s fist book for Bantam and he doesn’t do the exact same thing for book number two. What would happen? The second book sales will decline from book number one. The sales trend will be DOWN on the accounting sheets. Not a good thing in publishing and he won’t sell book number three.”
In terms of book tours whatever you do for your first book should be sustainable for your second and third, and so on (until you’re so famous your book sells itself).
A virtual book tour (being interviewed or guest blogging about your book on websites and blogs frequented by the book buying public) may not sell the same amount of copies, but it is a lot less time consuming and more cost effective. You can contact blogging buddies or the owners of sites and blogs you read regularly and ask them about an interview or a guest post. Or you can consider using a site like Savvy Authors. They have a program that puts authors who want to do a virtual book tour in touch with bloggers who want to host them. Shelley Hitz from self-publishing-coach.com publishes a great guide for authors planning a virtual book tour. You can check it out here.
A Facebook Fan Page
It’s free and surprisingly simple to set up. You can post news about any events (online interviews, author talks, giveaways etc) there. As mentioned above, you can make liking the Facebook page (and perhaps leaving a comment) a way to enter a book giveaway, pulling in fans and activity, which will show up in the newsfeeds of the friends of people who liked your book.
We’ll be returning to the subject of cost-effective book promotion here at Change The World With Words on a regular basis. If you’re interested in hearing more, consider subscribing to the newsletter.
If you’re currently on the book promotion trail (and on a budget) you might want to consider the following books:
Promote Your Book: Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author and
1001 Ways to Market Your Book.
Or check out the ‘publishing’ section of the brand new Change The World With Words Online Book Store. (This is my first attempt at putting together an online Amazon store, so I’m on a steep learning curve. Feedback and constructive criticism welcome, but please be gentle.)
Image by Bill Longshaw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Had any rejections lately? You’re in good company.
If you’re a writer, accepting rejection is, as Walter Mosley puts it (in This Year You Write Your Novel), “part of the job description”.
Take some comfort from the company you’re in, and then read on for some tips on overcoming rejection.
Famous writers who had to overcome rejection:
George Orwell’s Animal Farm was reportedly rejected by a publisher who assured him:
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.’
Apparently millions of members of the book buying public disagreed.
One of the publishers who rejected Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov recommended that it “be buried under a stone for a thousand years.” It sold over 50 million copies.
Crash by J G Ballard was once rejected by a publisher who added:
‘The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.’
He was probably able to afford all the psychiatric help he needed with the proceeds of his 25 million book sales.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding was rejected 20 times, once by a publisher who assured him his story was:
‘An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.’
15 million book buyers clearly disagreed.
John Grisham’s A Time to Kill was rejected by 16 publishers. His books have since sold over 250 million copies and he’s one of only three authors with a book that has sold over 2 million copies on a first printing.
Another one of those elite three is J K Rowling. The first book in the Harry Potter series was rejected 12 times, and we all know how that turned out (450 million copies and counting).
Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 18 times before being published and selling 40 million copies.
Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance faced an amazing 121 rejections. (The Guinness Book of Records lists it as the most rejected bestseller ever, so you’ll have to submit yours at least 122 times if you want to beat that particular record).
Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time faced 26 rejections before winning the Newberry Medal and selling over 8 million copies.
Anne Frank’s diary had 15 rejections, before selling 30 million copies.
Personally, I plan to follow the example of E.E. Cummings, who named the 14 publishers who rejected No Thanks in the book itself.
For more funny rejection letters see Andre Bernard’s book Rotten Rejections: The Letters that Publishers Wish They’d Never Sent.
In the meantime what do you do if you’re facing your own rejection nightmares, whether it’s with your book, articles or short stories?
Overcoming rejection:
Keep submitting
J K Rowling could easily have stopped at 11, or Robert Pirsing at 120.
Understand the process
You see it as a rejection. The publisher or editor is actually hand picking a few perfect books, stories or articles. It’s not necessarily that your writing is bad or even mediocre. I might be very good. But it isn’t a perfect fit for their publishing list right now, or for that issue of the magazine.
Recognize that rejection is subjective
Just as you prefer one book or article over another (often based as much on your interests and personal preferences as the quality of the writing) so does the publisher/editor. This doesn’t mean you should ignore any comments or advice you’re offered. But you should know that just because one gatekeeper rejects your work doesn’t mean another one won’t love it.
Minimize your chances of rejection
You will get rejections. Make sure it’s not for a silly reason like not having read the writers’ guidelines properly, or for having submitted fiction to a publishing house that only accepts non-fiction (it happens).
Cultivate regular jobs
If you’re already on contract to produce X number of articles each month, and know you’ll receive $X for them, rejections won’t panic you. If you’re getting short stories published regularly it will encourage you to keep submitting your novel.
Consider self-publishing
There’s no need for anyone to remain unpublished these days. Technology has made self-publishing a relatively easy option, but it’s not for everyone. Only self-publish if you’ve already built a platform, and you’re prepared to market and sell your book. So consider the option of self-publishing – but be prepared to reject it.
Be aware that even published authors get rejected
In This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley confesses:
“At this moment in my career, after publishing twenty-seven books and at least as many short stories, I still get rejected on a regular basis. Recently I wrote a story that every major magazine rejected. After going to the major presses, I went to the smaller ones. Nobody with publish it – nobody.”
There does eventually come a point when you’re so famous that anything you write will get published. Unfortunately that applies whether you’re an uber famous author or a reality TV star/footballer’s wife – but that’s a subject for a whole other blog post.
How do you deal with rejection? Feel free to share in the comments.
Platform Resolutions for Writers 2010
Today’s post is a guest post by the original Writer Mama, (also author of the recent ebook, Author Mama) Christina Katz.Your “platform” refers to what you do in the world with your professional expertise that makes you visible and influential in the world. Having friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter is not your platform, unless the majority of those people know who you are, what you do, and are enthusiastic about your work.
I thought I would offer some advice about how to slowly and steadily establish a lasting platform. You may note the lack of fanaticism in this advice and the emphasis on enduring success instead. I’m a mother and a wife, a freelancer, a speaker, a teacher, and a blogger, so aiming for balance is the only way I can afford to work if I plan on sticking around for the long haul.
This advice has worked consistently for my students over the past several years. I think you will find that a grounded, step-by-step approach works just as well for you if you choose to follow it:
- Develop a platform topic that you love and can work on tirelessly for the next few years. Your passion of the moment should come in second to the topic you could delve into deeply for a good, long time. Prior professional education and a depth of personal experience are going to be a boon to your platform if you have an eye on a future book deal.
- Hang back from establishing a blog on your topic until you have cultivated a wealth of content and experience working with others on specialty-related activities that lend credibility and trust to your name. Others will tell you to start blogging immediately, but don’t, if you want to be efficient with your time and money.
- Instead, gain authority by seeking publication in established, highly visible publications both in print and online that serve your target audience. Avoid the kind of publishing that anyone can accomplish, like posting on article sites, and work on your professional communication skills instead. By all means, avoid the content mills offering writers slave wages with the promise of future earnings.
- Don’t begin any kind of marketing campaign for any product or service offerings until you have established yourself as a go-to person on your topic, again saving you time and money. Before you look at ways to serve others directly, channel your expertise into the best service methods possible based on your strengths and weaknesses. This is a meaty topic that is covered in-depth in my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books 2008).
- Then, develop a product or service that can become one of several multiple income streams over time that will support your goal of becoming a published author. For example, teaching classes over the years has allowed me to re-invest more of the money I earn from writing books back into book marketing. Make sure any offerings you produce are released conscientiously and are integrated into the professional writing you already do. Otherwise, you will seem like you are all over the place and just trying to score a buck.
- Don’t expect your platform to support you financially for at least one or two years, as you micro-invest in it, re-invest in it as it grows, and expand your visibility.
- Once you have a professional publication track record in your niche topic, then it’s time to hang your online shingle. I’ve seen this accomplished in as little as six months by exceptionally focused students. Take a portion of the money you’ve earned writing and invest it in a professional quality online presence.
- A low-cost way to do this is to purchase your name as a URL and use a hosting site like GoDaddy.com to host a WordPress.org blog. I use the Thesis Theme, which you can see in action at my blog. In this way, a blog can also serve as your website where you post your published clips, offerings and bio. If you don’t have a ton of money to invest in the look of your site, you can always pay a designer later.
- Delay partnering with others on joint ventures until you have a clear idea of your own strengths and weaknesses in and around your topic. And when you do partner with others be extremely discriminating. Make sure the partnership is going to be win-win-win for everyone involved.
- Start an e-mail newsletter or e-zine with those who are most interested in your topic. Build your list by invitation and then grow it into a permission-based following over time. Create an expected, ongoing dialogue that is mutually beneficial to everyone involved and your list will grow.
- Now you are ready to start blogging. And yes, I mean while you continue to do all the things we’ve already discussed. Be sure to zoom-focus your blog on what you have to add to the conversation that is already going on about your topic. Don’t just share information; make an impact. Make your blog a go-to, up-to-date resource for your audience.
- Partner selectively with others who serve the same general audience that you do with integrity and humility. Spend time getting to know folks before you decide to partner with them. You can’t afford to taint the reputation you have worked so hard to establish by partnering with just anyone.
- Now that you have an established niche and audience, definitely participate in social networking. I like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn because they all offer something unique. The best way to learn is to jump in, spend an hour online each week until you are up and running. Follow the instructions for getting started provided by social media expert Meryl K. Evans.
This start-up plan for a writer platform will eventually blossom into an author platform. From start to finish, implementing a solid platform following this advice should take you about a year. By the end of that year, you will have established yourself as a serious contender in both professional and online circles, without killing yourself for some huckster’s promise of overnight success.
Have a plan. Leave a legacy in words, connections and professional influence. If you are consistent, by the time the year is done, you will have made effective use of your time and money in 2010. I wish you the best of luck in your platform-building efforts!
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz publishes a weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, and hosts The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published. Learn more at ChristinaKatz.com.
