The reason I am writing this blog post is to try and understand just what motivates people. It’s obviously not everything to do with the money. If it was then anyone buying one of my books would simply buy them all. Maybe I should increase my book prices to $14.99 each. Would I sell more, or less? Probably a lot less. So that leads me to believe it’s also a lot to do with exposure. I have limited means to get exposure for my books. I’m just going to have to try harder somehow. My 2,000 Facebook friends and 54,000 Twitter followers equates to a very small percentage of the world’s population (in my case 0.001%), and that’s just my potential reach (not including drop-bys to my blog, etc.). When you look at things this way, it’s no wonder that new authors struggle to make a breakthrough in book sales.
So, I’ve decided to make June another crazy marketing month. I don’t know quite how I’m going to do this yet, but I need to somehow get my potential reach numbers higher. I’ve begged and pleaded for book reviews and I’ve had a few (it seems everyone is just so busy nowadays) and I’ve tried to get newspaper interviews. I’ve tried a lot of things, but it’s very tough and it all shows slow progress. I also need to publish more books (but come on, there are only so many hours in the day).
Anyway, there will be more on my marketing effort in the next few days. In the meantime, I am going to shamelessly promote this blog post and provide links to all of my books that are currently on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. The links below all point to Smashwords. Smashwords allows you to read a portion of my books for FREE (usually around 20%). You don’t even need an ereader to read the books – they can be read directly onto your computer! Then, if you like the FREE sample, you can either buy the book on Smashwords, or head over to Amazon or Barnes & Noble to find them there. So, go ahead, knock yourself out. Read a sample of my writing and help me realize my retail worth of $15.94.
PS. If you liked this post or can empathize with it, please re-post, link to it, or retweet it. Thanks!
For fans of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter & The Narnia Chronicles, the 1st in a thrilling epic fantasy series. Would you wake up in a hot sweat if you lived your night’s dreams as a soldier battling un-earthly creatures, witnessing powerful magic and fighting to save your own life on a daily basis? English schoolboy Terry West does. Frequently. And someone wants him dead... *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Continuing on from The Prophecy, this book follows the journeys of two groups of travelers who are both trying to heal their charges. Back in England, Terry West is distraught after the loss of his best friend. But as Teern Truthbringer the soldier, Terry is busy battling un-earthly creatures & witnessing powerful magic on a daily basis. But is he prepared for the perilous journey he has to take to heal his charge; the Xannu. *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Farnsworth is worried. Bags of the Food Factory’s vegetables are definitely missing! What will his boss, Fergus Fedderfeeny, say when he finds out? Then there’s the wonderful tasting pies. He doesn’t know how the recipes got changed or if it’s because of the missing vegetables. Armed with a toolbox of hammers & staying well away from The Mangler, Farnsworth is going to solve the mystery.*** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Jai hates the stink of rotting vegetables and he’s been thinking about them and the smelly ship ever since he arrived in Gwillville. Maybe the ship is the secret to being reborn and maybe it’s a way to find Farnsworth’s missing father. Jai is convinced he needs to make a jeopardous journey of discovery, but his cousin Jasmine is not so sure it’s such a good idea. *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
This book gives you the tools to successfully manage the majority of most projects in only 10 hrs a week. It is about the meta-rules associated with projects and the management skills that help you decide what to pay close attention to and what can safely be de-prioritized. You will learn the important things to focus on, because although every project is different the meta-rules are the same. *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Writing and publishing your first novel is tough. It usually takes a long time. Years for most people. It can be soul destroying too. This ebook is a series of essays solely concerned with improving your writing skills and getting your first novel successfully self-published, and marketed. It is written from thousands of hours of experience and every essay in it is relevant and has a purpose. *** READ 15% FOR FREE ***
Always respect people who manage to get books published. I know I have a book or 2 in me but its getting into the habit of writing things down then preparing it for presentation to an editor. One of the reasons why I blog is to get ideas filed away for use at a later time. Will look into your listing and may buy a couple of your works. Thanks R
ReplyDeleteThank you :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're not on www.Goodreads.com! I try to integrate that site as much as possible with my two book blogs and I hear constant happiness from authors I review who join the site. Giveaways, linking your blog to your author page, listing events and targeting the readers who love our genre all work incredibly well here and on a massive-reach scale. (I'm a librarian, reviewer and an author who is on the site myself.)
ReplyDeleteIf you need help tackling it, just email me or send me a message through the site. I'm off to fix your missing book covers on there now (they grab data automatically and sometimes clumsily from Amazon).
Send a review copy to fantasycookie.blogspot.com (info on site) if you need a review of Xannu as well. I'm just starting to assemble my list for October. =) http://www.goodreads.com/wist
Hi S.J. - I think you found me on Goodreads! I don't get on there much as I have also heard a lot of negatives about the site. Anyone can comment on books and validation is not like Amazon. I have heard a lot of people getting spammed with negative comments on their books...
ReplyDeletePS. Will touch base with you re. a reviews etc. :-)
If I may, I don't Think you're using Twitter to it's fullest potential. You've got a massive audience, but all you talk about is writing. True, many readers are writers, but I think you're marketing to the wrong crowd.
ReplyDeleteI've found Twitter has had a huge impact on my sales. But, if you look at my profile, I'm using it in a very different way.
I'm really not trying to be rude. Just trying to help. DM me if you don't think I'm a jerk.
Best of luck.
@BenMWallace
ReplyDeleteStupid of me not to mention that.
As an avid reader, I love goodreads.com. I spend a lot of time with other avid readers, and many of us use Goodreads to find new books, review books we've read, compare what we've read with others, and manage our ever-growing To Read bookshelves.
ReplyDeleteA lot of serious readers use Goodreads (as well as Shelfari and LibraryThing, of course.) One thing that might hurt you is that you are a Goodreads Author, yet you've only reviewed or rated your own books. As a reader, I'm more likely to be interested in writers who are also readers, and who contribute to the larger reading culture in ways beyond publishing and marketing their own books.
I've only been on Twitter for a short while, and I really love following writers on there. But one thing has really surprised me: Many of the indie authors who are tweeting and blogging to promote their books don't really seem like avid readers, and they write their blog posts and tweets to an audience of other writers, not potential readers.
Readers do not read blogs about the craft of writing, they read blogs with reviews of great books. (Or sites, such as Goodreads.) Readers are interested in the product, writers in the process.
This has been the most shocking trend I've seen on Twitter: Writers trying to sell books by appealing to, and engaging with, other writers rather than readers.
(Just some thoughts from a book-obsessed reading specialist. I write, too, but just for fun.)