Now on to some serious wordpreneur stuff.
While doing my regular rounds this past week through various online forums for indie authors, I saw no less than five rants — well, whines really — about the authors’ failure at selling any of their books.
Nothing unusual about that kind of whining. What caught my attention this time, however, was this: Every single one insinuated Amazon was at fault and to blame for their inability to sell their stuff.
Wha?
All those other competing authors and their books and marketing activity had nothing to do with the fails, I guess.
Nor did those crappy homemade covers, those poorly written blurbs, those inadequate keyword selections, yada yada.
One guy even threatened ultimatum-style to quit the indie authoring game. Um, OK dude, we’re devastated.
I’m not really sure where I’m going with this observation — I’m still quite firmly planted in the “WTF people?” head-shaking stage — probably in awe of all that oozing entitlement.
Is it more info you need? There’s no shortage of that, as you can see in every Wordpreneur Reader issue. Or maybe you just like things handed to you. I think I’ll vote for the latter.
Well quit it. We’re all in the same boat. That “I can’t afford it” excuse when someone points out your covers suck and your work needs professional editing? That doesn’t fly either. Skip Starbucks every now and then like many of the other authors do. Or whatever. No excuses, Grasshopper — it’s all on you.
Indie stands for independent, you know that, right?
Well, on that pleasant note, let’s do some reading. Have fun!
— EES
Please Share the Love!
Marketing
![1+tip[1]](https://wordpreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1tip1-167x130.jpg "1+tip[1]")
“Can’t you give me just 1 tip (for getting book reviews)?” she asked
“The other day a newly published author who had befriended me 5 minutes earlier asked me if I could give her just one tip how to get book reviews from Amazon top reviewers.
I told her to read my book.
She came back with, ‘Can’t you give me just 1 tip?’
Hmm… Apparently this author was not aware how much in demand these reviews are; on average Hall-of-Fame reviewers get 250+ review requests per month.
So, I told her that getting a book reviewed by an Amazon top reviewer isn’t a ‘1-tip thing,’ especially if the book did not have any reviews yet. Getting reviews is a challenging task that encompasses many steps; which is why my book has 100 pages.
She immediately un-friended me.
I guess that says it all. Just another wannabe author who does not really want to learn the trade. The indie author industry is overrun with people like that. The sooner they get out and make room for the people who really hone their craft and all skills, the better for all.
Of course, from experience I know that most indie authors work a lot harder than this one.
So, here is one tip for authors whose books received already a few reviews (including from top reviewers).
‘Like/find helpful’ the reviewers’ reviews!!!”
Continue reading @ Gisela’s Straightforward Blog »
“Self-Made” is a Myth; Here’s the Real Formula for Success
“[T]hat’s what most people get wrong. They never learn how to reach out. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there…”
» Medium
$4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book Only Spending $30 on Advertising
“I had a plan. A big plan. Heck, I had the plan of the universe — to sell thousands of copies of my new release Science Fiction book, Project Atlantis, during the first month I published it.
This plan started six months before I started writing the book. The plan entailed rapidly finishing three books in a series — Project Atlantis, Destination Atlantis, and Colony Atlantis — and once it had been edited, beta-read, and sent out to my ARC reviewers, I’d release Project Atlantis, then Destination Atlantis seven days later, and Colony Atlantis fourteen days after Destination Atlantis. Additionally, I’d have the fourth book, Beyond Atlantis, almost 100% written. Yet, I’d have Beyond Atlantis’s pre-order already up and running before Colony Atlantis was released, all the while dropping over $1500 dollars in Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, and on Promo Sites, and whatever else I could get my greedy paws on.
Well, I did none of the above.
Here is what happened that led me to only spending $30 on Facebook and Amazon ads and how I was able to make $4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book.”
Continue reading @ Medium »
10 Actionable WordPress Security Tips for the Layman
“[T]he more popular something is, the more people want to leverage on it for nefarious means… Fortunately, WordPress is a platform that offers you a multitude of opportunity to defend yourself.”
» WHSR
Free
How To Find And Work With A Book Cover Designer
“You want the best possible cover for your book. And if you’re self-publishing, you do have to go through this process, because designing your own book cover is a bit of a no-no unless you have some book design chops, which let’s face it, most of us don’t.”
peeps: Nancy K. Duplechain
Reared in Ville Platte, Louisiana — part of Cajun Country — Nancy K. Duplechain is the author of Dark Bayou and Dark Carnival, the first two books in her soon-to-be completed Dark Trilogy. It shouldn’t be surprising then that her stories take place in Louisiana, where she still currently lives.
Nancy did move to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue screenwriting. On a visit back home a year later, however, she was struck by and reminded of the beauty and mystery of the area while taking a swamp tour with her friends. More importantly, she found it inspiring. Immediately upon her return to Hollywood, she began writing Dark Bayou, and eventually returned to Cajun Country in the summer of 2011.
After she finishes The Dark Trilogy, Nancy is excitedly looking forward to trying her hand at the young adult fantasy genre.
How Nancy Got Started Self-Publishing
When Nancy finished Dark Bayou, she gave it to the mother of an acquaintance to look over. The lady, who edited for some big authors, reviewed the work and said Nancy had promise, giving her a list of boutique agencies to query, with her permission to use her name as a reference.
None of them were taking on new clients.
The next suggestion? Try self-publishing. So Nancy did the research and just went for it.
Nancy released Dark Bayou in paperback, hardback and ebook formats. But she reports that “it didn’t start to see much success until after I utilized Kindle’s KDP Select program.” When she released Dark Carnival in 2012, she promoted Dark Bayou as a free download for the Kindle market, and sales of Dark Carnival took off as well.
Good timing. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, I found myself out of a regular job in August of 2012,” she says. “I had made enough in Kindle sales alone to carry me through to 2013, to keep me afloat until I found another job. For the first time, I felt like a real author, because my work was paying the bills, and it still is.”
Self-Publishing Tips and Observations
- “eBooks are such game changers! You don’t have to pay anything up front. You set the price, and you keep most of your profit. The consumer pays far less because you’ve cut out the printing-and-shipping process. It’s a win-win situation. There will always be a need and want for actual, physical books, but ebooks have taken the publishing world by storm and will continue in a holding pattern for a while.”
- “What’s brilliant about KDP Select in particular is that, if you sign up with them, you’re in the program for ninety days, and they give you five days of free advertising. During those five days, your book can be downloaded for free. You won’t make any money on this, but it really pays off if you have other books, because if the reader likes you, they will check out more of your work.”
- “Also, Amazon Prime members can ‘borrow’ your book for free at any time during your ninety-day promotion period, but Amazon has a fund that will pay you when someone ‘borrows’ your book.”
- “I would rather hold an actual book in my hands than an e-reader, but I can’t deny how wonderful the technology is and how much it’s changed my life.”
Learn more about Nancy and her work by visiting her Amazon author page. You can also follow her on Facebook.
Originally published: March 25, 2013
The lords and ladies of LOL: Inside the minds of America’s top humor editors
Web Article
The lords and ladies of LOL: Inside the minds of America’s top humor editors
Wordpreneur
Reader
This is just one of many useful Wordpreneur Reader “discovered” Web articles and content. For lots more, click below!
How To Analyze Your Competition And Create Your Own Author Success
How To Analyze Your Competition And Create Your Own Author Success
SOURCE: Kindlepreneur
LINK: https://kindlepreneur.com/replicate-author-competition/
The difference between you and your competition is they already know who their readers are, where they hang out, what they like, and how to talk to them… These are all things you have been trying to figure out, but why not learn who your most successful competitors are and leverage what they’re doing instead?”
Entrepreneur
“Can’t you give me just 1 tip (for getting book reviews)?” she asked
“The other day a newly published author who had befriended me 5 minutes earlier asked me if I could give her just one tip how to get book reviews from Amazon top reviewers.
I told her to read my book.
She came back with, ‘Can’t you give me just 1 tip?’
Hmm… Apparently this author was not aware how much in demand these reviews are; on average Hall-of-Fame reviewers get 250+ review requests per month.
So, I told her that getting a book reviewed by an Amazon top reviewer isn’t a ‘1-tip thing,’ especially if the book did not have any reviews yet. Getting reviews is a challenging task that encompasses many steps; which is why my book has 100 pages.
She immediately un-friended me.
I guess that says it all. Just another wannabe author who does not really want to learn the trade. The indie author industry is overrun with people like that. The sooner they get out and make room for the people who really hone their craft and all skills, the better for all.
Of course, from experience I know that most indie authors work a lot harder than this one.
So, here is one tip for authors whose books received already a few reviews (including from top reviewers).
‘Like/find helpful’ the reviewers’ reviews!!!”
Continue reading @ Gisela’s Straightforward Blog »
“Self-Made” is a Myth; Here’s the Real Formula for Success
“[T]hat’s what most people get wrong. They never learn how to reach out. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there…”
» Medium
$4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book Only Spending $30 on Advertising
“I had a plan. A big plan. Heck, I had the plan of the universe — to sell thousands of copies of my new release Science Fiction book, Project Atlantis, during the first month I published it.
This plan started six months before I started writing the book. The plan entailed rapidly finishing three books in a series — Project Atlantis, Destination Atlantis, and Colony Atlantis — and once it had been edited, beta-read, and sent out to my ARC reviewers, I’d release Project Atlantis, then Destination Atlantis seven days later, and Colony Atlantis fourteen days after Destination Atlantis. Additionally, I’d have the fourth book, Beyond Atlantis, almost 100% written. Yet, I’d have Beyond Atlantis’s pre-order already up and running before Colony Atlantis was released, all the while dropping over $1500 dollars in Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, and on Promo Sites, and whatever else I could get my greedy paws on.
Well, I did none of the above.
Here is what happened that led me to only spending $30 on Facebook and Amazon ads and how I was able to make $4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book.”
Continue reading @ Medium »
10 Actionable WordPress Security Tips for the Layman
“[T]he more popular something is, the more people want to leverage on it for nefarious means… Fortunately, WordPress is a platform that offers you a multitude of opportunity to defend yourself.”
» WHSR
Indie Author/Publishing
“Can’t you give me just 1 tip (for getting book reviews)?” she asked
“The other day a newly published author who had befriended me 5 minutes earlier asked me if I could give her just one tip how to get book reviews from Amazon top reviewers.
I told her to read my book.
She came back with, ‘Can’t you give me just 1 tip?’
Hmm… Apparently this author was not aware how much in demand these reviews are; on average Hall-of-Fame reviewers get 250+ review requests per month.
So, I told her that getting a book reviewed by an Amazon top reviewer isn’t a ‘1-tip thing,’ especially if the book did not have any reviews yet. Getting reviews is a challenging task that encompasses many steps; which is why my book has 100 pages.
She immediately un-friended me.
I guess that says it all. Just another wannabe author who does not really want to learn the trade. The indie author industry is overrun with people like that. The sooner they get out and make room for the people who really hone their craft and all skills, the better for all.
Of course, from experience I know that most indie authors work a lot harder than this one.
So, here is one tip for authors whose books received already a few reviews (including from top reviewers).
‘Like/find helpful’ the reviewers’ reviews!!!”
Continue reading @ Gisela’s Straightforward Blog »
“Self-Made” is a Myth; Here’s the Real Formula for Success
“[T]hat’s what most people get wrong. They never learn how to reach out. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there…”
» Medium
$4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book Only Spending $30 on Advertising
“I had a plan. A big plan. Heck, I had the plan of the universe — to sell thousands of copies of my new release Science Fiction book, Project Atlantis, during the first month I published it.
This plan started six months before I started writing the book. The plan entailed rapidly finishing three books in a series — Project Atlantis, Destination Atlantis, and Colony Atlantis — and once it had been edited, beta-read, and sent out to my ARC reviewers, I’d release Project Atlantis, then Destination Atlantis seven days later, and Colony Atlantis fourteen days after Destination Atlantis. Additionally, I’d have the fourth book, Beyond Atlantis, almost 100% written. Yet, I’d have Beyond Atlantis’s pre-order already up and running before Colony Atlantis was released, all the while dropping over $1500 dollars in Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, and on Promo Sites, and whatever else I could get my greedy paws on.
Well, I did none of the above.
Here is what happened that led me to only spending $30 on Facebook and Amazon ads and how I was able to make $4,344.81 in 40 Days with my Fiction Book.”
Continue reading @ Medium »
10 Actionable WordPress Security Tips for the Layman
“[T]he more popular something is, the more people want to leverage on it for nefarious means… Fortunately, WordPress is a platform that offers you a multitude of opportunity to defend yourself.”
