David Anderson's Blog - Posts Tagged "advice"
My alternative tips for prospective self-publishers
1 - Take pride in your work
Some authors pop self-published books on Amazon that are littered with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and are not properly formatted. Instead of rushing to get your book online and make your fortune (haha), take a little extra time to check through your work and make sure it is at the highest standard possible.
I read through my book, The Wanderer, nine times in total before I uploaded it to Amazon, including one thirteen hour mammoth session the day before I published. I'd recommend you do the same, go through your work and make sure there are as few errors as humanly possible; some will escape your keen eye but the fewer the better.
Format the book properly before release. Make sure your paragraph indents are uniform and that your work looks neat and tidy. Every book I've ever read has justified text; ensure yours does too. I format my work in Adobe InDesign, it is pricey but the results speak for themselves. If you aren't computer savvy enough to do the formatting yourself, ask someone with experience for help or pay a professional to do it for you.
2 - Get your friends to help out
If you can't afford an editor (as I couldn't) ask your friends to read through your work for you. I had three different people read through my manuscripts and their feedback was invaluable. I guarantee they will pick up on mistakes that you've passed over a hundred times without noticing. Make sure you pick friends who are literate, though. And remember to offer them a few beers or something in exchange for their hard work.
3 - Get a good cover
There are a number of self-published efforts on Amazon with extremely poor covers. I know the old adage tells us never judge a book by its cover, but we all do. If you don't have a friend who will make you an excellent cover for free (like I did; I was lucky!) I'd honestly recommend you pay a good graphic designer to create one for you. If it were me, I'd avoid the cut-price amateurs who flog their wares via Twitter; let's be honest, the stuff they produce is usually pretty poor.
Remember, the cover is usually the first thing that gets a person interested in your story and it is vitally important that it does its job effectively. Something knocked up in Microsoft Paint is likely to put readers off.
4 - Don't spam the Amazon forums
This point is one of the most important. You might think that hawking your new book on all the related forums and threads you find on Amazon is a great idea. You couldn't be more wrong.
If one thing is guaranteed to put people off buying your work it is forcing it down their necks where it is not wanted. The messageboard users on Amazon have one pet hate amongst all others and that is shameless self-promotion. Anything you post in those forums regarding something you've written yourself is more likely to hurt sales than help them.
5 - Don't spend hours abusing Twitter
Don't spend hour upon hour posting about your book on Twitter; that time could be much better spent writing your next book. A single occasional message with meaning is much more powerful than posting endless inane and repetitive nonsense that will ultimately be ignored by your followers.
I created a Twitter account to post milestones about my book and important news such as price drops or special offers. People don't want to see me posting thousands of review excerpts per day and harking on about how great my book is. That's just plain annoying.
6 - Be reluctant to pay for advertising
There are hundreds of sites popping up on Twitter and Facebook that will pop a copy of your book cover and your blurb on their site for a princely sum. Before you jump in and waste your hard-earned cash on an advertisement that might never see a single hit, try exploring the free options. There are many sites and helpful services that will tweet about your book or pop a link on their site for nothing. That's right, absolutely FREE.
I did one interview for a small local magazine, had my book advertised for free at NovelSpot, posted one thread on a football forum and donated 50% of my earnings for the first two months on sale to Macmillan cancer charity. From those four simple steps I have sustained impressive sales figures (well, from my point of view anyway) for the last four or five months. At the end of the day, I'm a firm believer that if your book is good enough, it will sell regardless.
7 - Push for reviews
If you do create a Facebook or Twitter account or sanction a website for your book, use it to push for reviews once your sales start to pick up. Leave a link to each account or page you create on your author profile so that your new readers can keep in touch with you. Just remember my previous point and don't over do it. Make a polite request every three or four days in the first few weeks your book is on sale and then tone it down a bit as the book becomes more established.
I honestly believe the biggest factor in my book's success are the positive reviews it received on Amazon. People are far more likely to believe the impartial words and opinions of a fellow reader than the vain squawking of an egotistical author.
8 - Read as you write
Reading a book as you write is a great way of improving your work. I can't remember the number of times I have stumbled on a word in a book I've been reading that I have later used to massively improve a sentence I wrote earlier. Sometimes reading another person's book when you take a break from your own writing will stimulate your imagination, prompt you to consider and possibly add sections to your book that you might never have thought of otherwise. One insignificant paragraph or phrase in another novel could very well be the catalyst to bettering your own.
Well, that's all. I hope I haven't been too blunt and that the points I've highlighted come in handy. Let me know what you think below. Hope I don't regret that request!
Some authors pop self-published books on Amazon that are littered with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and are not properly formatted. Instead of rushing to get your book online and make your fortune (haha), take a little extra time to check through your work and make sure it is at the highest standard possible.
I read through my book, The Wanderer, nine times in total before I uploaded it to Amazon, including one thirteen hour mammoth session the day before I published. I'd recommend you do the same, go through your work and make sure there are as few errors as humanly possible; some will escape your keen eye but the fewer the better.
Format the book properly before release. Make sure your paragraph indents are uniform and that your work looks neat and tidy. Every book I've ever read has justified text; ensure yours does too. I format my work in Adobe InDesign, it is pricey but the results speak for themselves. If you aren't computer savvy enough to do the formatting yourself, ask someone with experience for help or pay a professional to do it for you.
2 - Get your friends to help out
If you can't afford an editor (as I couldn't) ask your friends to read through your work for you. I had three different people read through my manuscripts and their feedback was invaluable. I guarantee they will pick up on mistakes that you've passed over a hundred times without noticing. Make sure you pick friends who are literate, though. And remember to offer them a few beers or something in exchange for their hard work.
3 - Get a good cover
There are a number of self-published efforts on Amazon with extremely poor covers. I know the old adage tells us never judge a book by its cover, but we all do. If you don't have a friend who will make you an excellent cover for free (like I did; I was lucky!) I'd honestly recommend you pay a good graphic designer to create one for you. If it were me, I'd avoid the cut-price amateurs who flog their wares via Twitter; let's be honest, the stuff they produce is usually pretty poor.
Remember, the cover is usually the first thing that gets a person interested in your story and it is vitally important that it does its job effectively. Something knocked up in Microsoft Paint is likely to put readers off.
4 - Don't spam the Amazon forums
This point is one of the most important. You might think that hawking your new book on all the related forums and threads you find on Amazon is a great idea. You couldn't be more wrong.
If one thing is guaranteed to put people off buying your work it is forcing it down their necks where it is not wanted. The messageboard users on Amazon have one pet hate amongst all others and that is shameless self-promotion. Anything you post in those forums regarding something you've written yourself is more likely to hurt sales than help them.
5 - Don't spend hours abusing Twitter
Don't spend hour upon hour posting about your book on Twitter; that time could be much better spent writing your next book. A single occasional message with meaning is much more powerful than posting endless inane and repetitive nonsense that will ultimately be ignored by your followers.
I created a Twitter account to post milestones about my book and important news such as price drops or special offers. People don't want to see me posting thousands of review excerpts per day and harking on about how great my book is. That's just plain annoying.
6 - Be reluctant to pay for advertising
There are hundreds of sites popping up on Twitter and Facebook that will pop a copy of your book cover and your blurb on their site for a princely sum. Before you jump in and waste your hard-earned cash on an advertisement that might never see a single hit, try exploring the free options. There are many sites and helpful services that will tweet about your book or pop a link on their site for nothing. That's right, absolutely FREE.
I did one interview for a small local magazine, had my book advertised for free at NovelSpot, posted one thread on a football forum and donated 50% of my earnings for the first two months on sale to Macmillan cancer charity. From those four simple steps I have sustained impressive sales figures (well, from my point of view anyway) for the last four or five months. At the end of the day, I'm a firm believer that if your book is good enough, it will sell regardless.
7 - Push for reviews
If you do create a Facebook or Twitter account or sanction a website for your book, use it to push for reviews once your sales start to pick up. Leave a link to each account or page you create on your author profile so that your new readers can keep in touch with you. Just remember my previous point and don't over do it. Make a polite request every three or four days in the first few weeks your book is on sale and then tone it down a bit as the book becomes more established.
I honestly believe the biggest factor in my book's success are the positive reviews it received on Amazon. People are far more likely to believe the impartial words and opinions of a fellow reader than the vain squawking of an egotistical author.
8 - Read as you write
Reading a book as you write is a great way of improving your work. I can't remember the number of times I have stumbled on a word in a book I've been reading that I have later used to massively improve a sentence I wrote earlier. Sometimes reading another person's book when you take a break from your own writing will stimulate your imagination, prompt you to consider and possibly add sections to your book that you might never have thought of otherwise. One insignificant paragraph or phrase in another novel could very well be the catalyst to bettering your own.
Well, that's all. I hope I haven't been too blunt and that the points I've highlighted come in handy. Let me know what you think below. Hope I don't regret that request!
