what sort of platform do you have already ? Twitter/ facebook presence ? , author website? , Mailing list ? Other publications ? Assuming you are starting from absolute zero my advice would be to sort out the first three (ideally you'd have done that before launch because really you ought to include them in the back matter of the book), claim your author page on amazon, and possibly put a bit of cash on amazon ads (although paid advertising isn't a great deal if you only have one book because there's no spend through effect) I'd highly recommend getting Joanna Penn's book "how to market a book" don't expect to make much money in your first year - and write more books
Thx for the advice, I have launched mine on amazon. And I am struggling to advertise it. It seems its so difficult to get it done
Often the best advertisement for a novel is a second novel. In addition, having more than one novel available, especially in a series can have benefits. That said, there are mailing lists such as bookbub (by far the largest) which for a substantial fee will push your title out to those that have signed up for the service (by genre and other categories)--most who have been able to go that route report that the sales more than pay for the ad. There are a host of other sites that do this for various fees. However, most of the sites are selective. They have a vetting process, because they want the best books suggested to those on their lists. And they can be expensive, anywhere from $5.oo to several hundred dollars. The thing is, if you have several books, there is a residual effect in that if someone gets and reads the first book in your series, for example, they will likely pick up the second, etc. So, even if the first is purchased at a discount price (or possibly free) if they enjoyed that one, they may purchase the next. There are are other strategies, such as FB ads and Amazon ads, and advertising elsewhere, doing guest blogs and interviews, twitter, things like that. But it generally takes a concentrated/determined effort over time--with no guarantee of success. There are a number of blogs and podcasts that discuss the strategies. There is no way anyone in a post here could adequately give full advice on the myriad of options/possibilities/strategies.
@lawrencelpy, I have had extremely good success with FB advertising Check out Lewis McIntyre (https://www.facebook.com/LewisMcIntyreAuthor/) , with links to my two books, and my wife's, Karen D. McIntyre (@K McIntyre) (https://www.facebook.com/KarenDMcIntyreAuthor/), with links to her single book, Parham's Mill. You have to get outside of your circle of immediate friends, so use paid boosted boosts to reach several thousand people you don't know, the price is $50 to $100 per boost running for days to weeks. A general metric I have found to be true is less than one sale per each person reached (about how often you respond to unsolicited ads), so the first challenge is to reach enough people that they begin recommending your book to friends, where the success rate is perhaps 1 in 10 to 1 in 100... about how often you will respond to friend's recommendation. Don't expect to make any money for a long time, but aim for sales, because sales is rank, and rank determines how quickly book comes up on amazon search. This is a souce of friendly disagreement between @BayView and me, but she is traditionally published with around 30 titles published, with a publisher's marketing team behind her, and I am self-published, which means self-marketing. Feel free to PM me for any details. Setting up the FB is free and you can do that yourself, I can send you some Powerpoint templates to use to make banners, posts, etc. that come out right in size. You can also post for free in FB sites catering to self-published authors or specific genres, of which there are thousands. Read their rules so you don't offend the site management. And of course, you can advertise for free here by lisitng your book, after you have made 100 posts
Thankyou haha! Let me try with facebook first haha!!! I have my book, The Sorrow of Tredecimber on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078H4ZRB2/?tag=writingfor07a-20 Let me try your book and your wife's book. If you have time, please check out my book and recommend it to your friend! Thanks!!
Not to be harsh but having looked at the look inside content - my first advice for selling this would be to take it down and get it edited (or at the very least proof read ) before you release it.
If you paid them you need your money back There are so many errors in English its hard to know where to start - it reads as though its been badly translated from another language... some are minor , like that the plural of space craft is space craft, not crafts ... some are more major such as the idea that his father has given birth to him (this could be deliberate but doesn't feel like it is), or the misuse of the word 'rhetoric' You've also got duplication like "It seems as though my father doesn't understand me and never tries to understand me" - you only need one, not both Hell you've even got errors in your amazon description "In the New Universal Standard Time 2017, a space archeologist finds a diary by a boy who exists some thousands years ago. While the space archeologist reads through the pages of space adventures experienced by the boy, a unique philosophy of love, art, time, and sufferings dawns on the archeologist, who shares the sorrow in words with the boy in the sorrowful days of the thirteenth month, Tredecimber." e.g the boy existed (not exists) - you've spelled archaeologist wrong, and you've got duplication of the word sorrow in the last line. You don't need to say archaeologist twice in the sentence about the philosophy dawning (which isn't the right word anyway) , not do you need to mention that the sorrow is in words (since you've already said its a diary) The errors throughout the pages I can see on look inside are more of the same "In New Universal year 2017, a space archaeologist finds the dairy of a boy who lived thousands of years before. Reading the account of the boys adventures and sorrows the archaeologist discovers a lost philosophy of love, time, art, and suffering" Also it could do with a better cover . Also pricing wise $2.98 is a bizarre price point to choose - you can get into the 70% royalty bracket by charging 1 cent more , while if you want to be cheaper than the 70% bracket allows I'd suggest being a lot cheaper like 99 cents or 1.99
Thanks about that! Gonna change it haha! That's the problem when English is my second language. I am still learning and improving. Maybe I will take it down first. I am actually thinking of taking self-publishing company as an option...
Really really don't ... unless you mean like Draft to digital (who won't help with your editing) , most "self publishing companies" are vanity publishers who will charge you a fortune for not very much. If you've got money to spend I'd suggest a decent editor as a priority - although a line edit isn't - also be aware that it is very unlikely you'll make it back on book 1
Oh... thanks for the advice... I have got so many ideas in my head, but my tool (English) is still not so good. I am writing my second book. And I only want some publication in this stage now... But I don't think Amazon self publishing helps as there is no marketing. I am still struggling what to do.
As I said Joanna Penn, how to market a book, covers all this stuff in more detail than I can fit in here, but once it is actually fit for publication I'd be inclined to go through an aggregator like draft to digital (no up front cost they take 15% net royalty which equates to about 10% of cover price) - to sort out formatting and get it on Amazon, Nook, Kobo and Ibooks (and various smaller markets) in one hit. Marketting wise it may not be worth doing much paid activity until you've got more than one book but claim your author page, and set up a website and social media .. when you do start paid advertising the main ones to look at are facebook, amazon, and bookbub (the adverts not the featured product - you'll not get the latter).
Many thanks for your advice. I am too hasty for success. Perhaps I will take it down and make a better plan before I launch it
