True Power

True Power

Friday, March 9, 2012

Self Publishing Persistence is Key

                                                         
I know you wonder sometimes why you are spending all of your time trying to get just one person to purchase your book. Well, you figure if you land one person and they love it and in turn tell another person to get your book soon hundreds will have your book. And if that is your logic, then that's why you spend so much time promoting your book. And that is just what you must do to have the slightest level of success.
                            
I ran across an article that speaks to this point. It gives you an idea of where ebooks is heading and if you should get on board or continue in the way you are going. I hope you find this informational

Why the future looks bright for self-publishers, even without control of placement on Amazon

by Robert Francis on October 11, 2011  http://www.fallofprint.com/?p=248

Everyone seems to be concerned at the moment with how to find readers. And with good reason. Without visibility in bookstores, newspaper reviews, or the Amazon 100, it isn’t easy.

In a provocative new post, Bob Mayer, a top-selling epublisher, explains why he thinks it’s only going to get harder — raising an issue that few ebook evangelists want to address. While I take Bob’s concerns seriously, my aim here is to place them in context, and to argue that the future for self-publishers still looks bright, for at least 3 reasons.
                                                                                                      
Bob’s conundrum:
At the moment, Bob sells tens of thousands of ebooks a month. But he suspects it won’t last. Soon, he’ll come to the end of his backlist and sales will plateau. He may fall out of the top 100, and if that happens, sales would plummet.

His argument:

1. The ebook pie may be growing, but your piece of it isn’t. The number of readers is rising and shelf space is infinite, but promotional space on Amazon is finite. The more authors, the more competition for this, the harder it is to sell.

2. This is especially problematic, because KDP won’t let self-pubbers buy placement or ads. And you can only get mentioned in the “also liked/bought” space of another chart-topping author if you’re already a top-seller yourself.

Thus, in his view, it’s the same chicken and egg problem we saw with print. You can’t get big unless you already are big.

So, in a comment on his blog, I asked:
Is it really only the top 100 or bust? Is there not a profitable middle ground? He agreed:

I think there are ways other than lists. There’s niche marketing, social media, and viral promotion. So there are great opportunities now for authors that didn’t exist before, but it’s a lot of long hard work…

Taking up the thread:
It certainly is, but the fact that there are these other options is worth noting. They point to a brighter future for writers, in at least three ways:

1. The lottery is no longer the only game in town. To sell in large numbers, you don’t have to wait until you win the lottery and land a spot at the front of the bookstore or in the Times Book Review. All of this is rapidly receding and soon to be gone for all but a tiny few.

For lesser known authors, there is at least the possibility of promotion through online reviews, forums and other social media. Some, like Lindsay Buroker, have done quite well (10,000 ebooks in 9 months). For better known writers, one major alternative seems to be the use of sites that function as authorial hubs. Perhaps the most notorious example of this will soon be Pottermore.

I will save for a future post why I think the Pottermore model will become more common among epublishers. But suffice it to say that it holds out many obvious advantages: it’s always open, always on, always attracting business — to you and you alone.

It’s a space where a writer can be much more effective in getting readers/tribe-members to connect with each other and deepen their interest in the work. And your moment in the spotlight is no longer seasonal: it’s 24/7, 365. It certainly takes longer to build it. But once built, it only grows.

2. The major bottleneck for starting and lesser known writers is gone. It will always be hard to find readers, but at least nothing now stands in the way of your access to them. It may take time, but while you wait, you can be selling, perfecting your craft, building your skills as a writer/publisher/marketer. Before, there was little to do but wait.

3. The lists are important but not everything. If you’re not on a top 100 or 1,000 list, you might still do well as a writer by selling less of more.

To be sure, nothing beats great placement on Amazon. But with ebooks, there are many other ways to reach readers. And more than one path to where you want to go.
                                                                           

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Writer's - Don't Feel Rejected

                                                             
I know you are already thinking 'easier said than done." but the truth is a rejection letter is not a personal attack. It simply indicates your submission is not appropriate for the market. I had an opportunity to speak with a editor about a query letter I had sent in for a book and the feedback I received was that I needed to think about HOW my book could be marketed. It should be either the 'history of' or a 'How to' book. Well, my book was more in the line of the Soup for the Soul type of books. But, I was happy to have some idea of what a publisher was looking for and marketability was a key factor.

If you are going to be a writer or have a career as a writer you should resign yourself to facing rejection now. You will live through it and you'll eventually overcome it.
                                                              
I was happy that may query letter was clear enough for the publisher to understand what I was trying to do even if it was missing their particular mark. A query letter is a brief, one-page letter used as a tool to hook an editor and get him interested in your idea. When you query a book publisher - you are attempting to get an editor interested in your idea and request your book proposal or your entire manuscript.

Keeping your query letter out of the trash requires;
Using a normal font size and typeface, such as Times New Romans and 10-12 point type
Include your name, address, phone number, e-mail and web address if possible
Use a one-inch margin on queries
Address a specific editor or agent
Limit query letter to one single spaced page
Use block paragraph format (no indentations)
Include a self-addressed stamped envelope or post card for response with post submissions (thank goodness a lot of agents and publishers will take queries by e-mail now)
Thank the editor for considering your query.

Why would I include instructions for submitting to a publisher or agent if this is about being proud of being a self published author? Well, I have found that if you can write a good query letter than you have a clear idea of how to self promote your book. Great practice. And just because you have self published a book and like doing it that way, there may come a time when you write a book that fits a particular publisher and you do not have to be an all-or-nothing writer. It is fine to submit your book to an agent or publishing house just as it is just as okay to self publish.

Both processes have the same thing in common - REJECTION
                                               
No matter how hard you work on your book or how wonderful you believe your book is; the public at large may not jump right in with their dollars to purchase your great work. Yes, self promotion never stops so rejection never stops either. Using every resource available to keep your name and book title out there in cyberspace is your best bet.

So here is yet another place for you to get your book into the eyes of other readers. I am here to try to get reviews out there for self published books and I hope it will be a successful venture. Join my face book page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Self-Published-and-Proud-I-Wrote-It-With-You-In-Mind/362958863734051 to show your wonderful cover and to direct people to your web page or facebook page. We are in this together.

This Could Be Me At Your Next Event

This Could Be Me At Your Next Event
Author And Public Speaker

NEED A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?

Do you have an upcoming gardening, church, or women's event planned and need a speaker? Contact me. I can speak on various topics such as:

1. Detangling Ancient Mythology From Christianity
2. The Female Presence In The History Of Christianity
3. Superstitions and Gardening In The 21st Century
4. The Politics Of Prayer: The Bible Speaks
5. African American Geneaology: Pride From The Grave


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