Angie Blake's Blog: Angie Blake's Blog
March 5, 2016
Tips for Writers
Let's say you've been an Amazon author since 2011 and you have twenty books on Amazon, so far. They have great covers, an awesome editor, but they still aren't ranking high on the sales.
The hardest part about being an independent publisher is getting read and advertising. You have used Facebook, and its groups and advertising to advertise your books, but now you want more. A more permanent place for your books to live on the internet. You already have a website, and when you Google your name it comes in as the second entry on Google.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
You want more.
Well, of course, you do.
Where do you start?
1. Pick your focus.~ Your focus are readers. How do you get your books in front of the readers you need without putting them in another Facebook group just to watch your ads disappear by the next day?
You can pay hundreds of dollars for ads on Bookbub and other sites, but what if you don't have hundreds of dollars to spend? This takes a lot more research.
2. Reviews~ Reviews are an essential part of getting your book out in the public. It's not necessarily whether its a bad review or a good review it's whether there is a review. It can be a three star review with the simple words "I liked this story" without a four paragraph review stating everything that happened from beginning to end. Or it could be a one star review with a five hundred word essay of why they hated the book. It doesn't necessarily matter. As long as there are reviews the story is moved up higher on the Amazon platform.
How to get these reviews without spending a million dollars?
Bloggers ~ Bloggers are an excellent way of getting reviews. There are several book blogging sites out there to help you with your quest. There are some that charge for their reviews, but if you don't have the money for that with a little more research there are others that don't.
To help aid you in your quest here is a list of book reviewers who don't charge for their service. Pay special attention to the genre's they will read and won't read. Most of them leave a list on their site.
http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.com/
There is a list of books she will read and won't read on the site. Please pay special attention to these books.
http://www.aleisuremoment.com/
It does not say on this site whether they charge or not, but it does have pictures of three reviewers and how to get in-touch with them via the internet.
A Writers Tales
http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com/
http://melanierockett.com/asking-for-... This is an awesome site. She even covers book marketing as well. Make sure you read the instructions to know what is accepted and what is not.
There are four sites to get you started and they are golden.
Usually when a site reviews your book it puts it up on their site and lets it sit for a while. This helps with visibility and helps get your books in front of more of their readers.
3. All social contact media~ Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Google, etc. all have pages you can put your name on and link your books. It's a good idea to sign up for as many sites as possible, so more readers can contact you and read your stories. Readers enjoy learning about your hobbies and interests. Having readers on these sites can only benefit you.
4. Signature ~ Most emails have a signature you can add at the bottom of your emails. You can put almost anything in those signatures. The title of your book and the place where you sell them at is always helpful.
These are only a few steps you can take to 'step up' your book sales. Remember for most authors it doesn't happen over night. It takes a lot of hard work and persistent advertising to make sales and keep afloat. Don't let your books sink into the indie publishing ocean of authors. Always know what your next step is going to be and keep your eye on the future. Its your future. It's your dream and you are the only one who can pursue it.
The hardest part about being an independent publisher is getting read and advertising. You have used Facebook, and its groups and advertising to advertise your books, but now you want more. A more permanent place for your books to live on the internet. You already have a website, and when you Google your name it comes in as the second entry on Google.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
You want more.
Well, of course, you do.
Where do you start?
1. Pick your focus.~ Your focus are readers. How do you get your books in front of the readers you need without putting them in another Facebook group just to watch your ads disappear by the next day?
You can pay hundreds of dollars for ads on Bookbub and other sites, but what if you don't have hundreds of dollars to spend? This takes a lot more research.
2. Reviews~ Reviews are an essential part of getting your book out in the public. It's not necessarily whether its a bad review or a good review it's whether there is a review. It can be a three star review with the simple words "I liked this story" without a four paragraph review stating everything that happened from beginning to end. Or it could be a one star review with a five hundred word essay of why they hated the book. It doesn't necessarily matter. As long as there are reviews the story is moved up higher on the Amazon platform.
How to get these reviews without spending a million dollars?
Bloggers ~ Bloggers are an excellent way of getting reviews. There are several book blogging sites out there to help you with your quest. There are some that charge for their reviews, but if you don't have the money for that with a little more research there are others that don't.
To help aid you in your quest here is a list of book reviewers who don't charge for their service. Pay special attention to the genre's they will read and won't read. Most of them leave a list on their site.
http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.com/
There is a list of books she will read and won't read on the site. Please pay special attention to these books.
http://www.aleisuremoment.com/
It does not say on this site whether they charge or not, but it does have pictures of three reviewers and how to get in-touch with them via the internet.
A Writers Tales
http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com/
http://melanierockett.com/asking-for-... This is an awesome site. She even covers book marketing as well. Make sure you read the instructions to know what is accepted and what is not.
There are four sites to get you started and they are golden.
Usually when a site reviews your book it puts it up on their site and lets it sit for a while. This helps with visibility and helps get your books in front of more of their readers.
3. All social contact media~ Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Google, etc. all have pages you can put your name on and link your books. It's a good idea to sign up for as many sites as possible, so more readers can contact you and read your stories. Readers enjoy learning about your hobbies and interests. Having readers on these sites can only benefit you.
4. Signature ~ Most emails have a signature you can add at the bottom of your emails. You can put almost anything in those signatures. The title of your book and the place where you sell them at is always helpful.
These are only a few steps you can take to 'step up' your book sales. Remember for most authors it doesn't happen over night. It takes a lot of hard work and persistent advertising to make sales and keep afloat. Don't let your books sink into the indie publishing ocean of authors. Always know what your next step is going to be and keep your eye on the future. Its your future. It's your dream and you are the only one who can pursue it.
