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Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide To Becoming A Best Seller

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2023 Edition - A crucial book for anyone choosing to self publish in 2023.Marketing a book is difficult for most authors. It takes an incredible lot of time, and often for no measurable results in sales. Some of you may have spent hours, days, weeks, even months, writing blogs, getting active on Facebook and Twitter in order to promote your book. Then you look at your sales figures for the last weeks or months, and your heart sinks. Why isn't this working?So, have you ever wondered how other books seem to come out of nowhere and become Best Sellers? Ever suspected that there are some tricks you don't know about that others are using to promote their book? Well, you would be right.

This book answers the greatest challenge facing discovered on Amazon."Fantastic guide with simple and yet great ideas.""I now have answers and the tools needed to get a book promoted.""I've worked in Internet marketing for years. He really rips the lid off."In this book I am going to show you the secrets many of the more successful authors use to help promote and sell their books on Amazon. These are rock solid proven methods that are sure to make your book more visible on the only online store that counts - Amazon.This Secret Guide To Becoming A Best Seller reveals many of the lesser known tactics to promoting your book on Amazon,

How The Best Seller System WorksThe Wrong Way To Promote Your BookWhat They Won't Tell You About Promoting Your BookHow To Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Marketing CampaignsFinding The Best Revenue OpportunitiesFinding Engaged Readers Who Will Read Your BookHot New Releases - How To Get Your Book ThereInvestigating The Secrets Of Amazon's Search BoxThe Best Ways To Advertise Your Book To New ReadersThis is Book 2 in the "Self-Publishing” series. Download your copy today!

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2016

156 people are currently reading
75 people want to read

About the author

Richard McCartney

10 books5 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
Profile Image for Paula Cappa.
Author 17 books514 followers
October 29, 2016
Impressive! For authors just starting out and for those of us who have been struggling with trying to learn everything we can about selling books, getting reviews, and keeping the faith, this is a must read. Richard McCartney has a lot of good things to say, especially about Amazon--and for most authors, half if not most of book sales happen on Amazon.com. Lots of specific tips and solid advice not only about sales but also about how to reach readers. Browser categories, algorithms, best seller lists vs. popularity lists, this is the book that will explain it all. Are you concerned about book reviews and the star ratings? McCartney has some fascinating research from Cornell Researchers on this to share. If you are going to buy only one book on how to improve your book sales, this is the one to buy
Profile Image for Angela.
38 reviews1 follower
July 3, 2017
I'm so glad I read this book! I personally have plans to publish one of my own in the future, and this "secret guide" is just what I need. Note that this isn't a book about how to publish, but instead how to market your publication.

I'd 100% recommend this for anyone who is struggling with marketing techniques and needs someone honest with no holds barred to tell them exactly how to do it. The author gives it to us straight with the "good, bad and the ugly", which is critical info that I appreciated. I learned so many beneficial tips and tricks about algorithms, pricing, book subscription services and how to create promos that have great results. There's probably a good chance that you've got at least one questionable technique and the author covers them all, but with alternative methods for pretty much everything you can think of! The stats he compiled are really informative and eye opening. Refraining from advertising on social media was a surprise to me!

I was unfamiliar with BookBub, which is highly recommended by the author as a successful book subscription service, along with Kindle Book promotions, which he's been involved with since the beginning. And Amazon is the way to go to get our books out there! Overall, it's clear that the author genuinely cares about helping other authors get their books noticed and he's even eager to hear our own success stories, if we think his guide was helpful, etc. So thank you for that, Mr. McCartney.

Perks: You get a free download to one of his other books (re: how to promote on Amazon) with this purchase by contacting him with your reviewer name and the link to your review, plus a 1 in 5 chance of winning a $20 amazon voucher. Very cool!
Profile Image for Marta Tandori.
Author 11 books70 followers
February 21, 2017
Richard McCartney gives something valuable to indie authors – he gives them some good old-fashioned common sense advice and the tools for their books to not only get noticed but more importantly, to thrive, in the cut-throat and fickle world of publishing, where even long-established authors are recognizing the importance of making their work visible. McCartney, who’s the founder of KindleBookReview and KindleBookPromos takes his twenty years of marketing software and online businesses and applies it to the world of book publishing in The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller – directed at the indie author. He overviews the three main mistakes authors make in trying to sell their books; the main mistake being the belief that the books will sell themselves. Yeah, right! He discusses the best ways to promote your book, how to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, finding the best revenue opportunities, finding new readers outside of Amazon and the importance of book reviews. McCartney’s prose is simple, direct and matter of fact, keeping it nice and simple for those who are newbies in the field of indie publishing. The kernels of wisdom are there and the tools are also there. The rest is up to the indie author.
Profile Image for Pegboard.
1,823 reviews9 followers
September 14, 2016
As an author, have you ever felt you didn’t even know the questions to ask about how to get your book into the hands of those who read that genre? Richard McCartney has come up with a “Magic Quadrant” that simplifies the process of getting your book out to those who would read it, even if you are publishing an “indie” book. Plus he squelches common myths about social media advertising.
KindleBookPromotions.com is a company Richard McCartney started to help authors learn what it takes to get their books ranked high enough on Amazon so potential readers can find them. Very few people look past the second page of listed books before finding one that interest them.
Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller is very detailed about Amazon, but also different avenues in which people are driven to Amazon to find books to read. I found myself reading a page then going to Amazon to view what I just learned on their website.
After reading this book, I feel like not only do I have the answers I need but the tools to get my book promoted.
Profile Image for Cliff Yates.
Author 4 books8 followers
May 11, 2017
Richard tells what you need to know as it relates to self-publishing. Much that is in the book I have learned from other books, but seeing it from a different perspective, cements the principles in my creative mind. A great read.
Profile Image for Sue Lilley.
Author 6 books260 followers
May 6, 2017
Crammed full of excellent advice. There was some reassurance about things I already knew but I learned a lot. Definitely worth a read.
Profile Image for K.C. Finn.
Author 38 books389 followers
January 16, 2020
Reviewed for Readers' Favorite by K.C. Finn

Self Publishing: The Secret Guide To Becoming A Best Seller is a work of non fiction focused on the world of writing and independent publishing, and it was penned by author Richard McCartney. Focused specifically on the marketing aspect and the visibility of your book to the reading public, this concise but effective guide takes on the biggest giant of the publishing world for indie authors: the mighty Amazon. In an in-depth study of how Amazon works, and more importantly how to make it work for you, the author unveils many lesser known tactics for new authors to navigate the murky waters of adverts and algorithms for great results.

Author Richard McCartney writes in an accessible style that will help even the newest self published authors to understand the mechanics of how Amazon marketing campaigns work, lifting the lid and explaining in simple terms how such a complex system can be made to work in your favour. The narrative style is also friendly and positive, with a ‘you can do it too’ attitude that is sure to leave budding authors feeling inspired, and perhaps veteran self-publishers with a sense of ‘finally, this is what I needed to know’. The organisation of chapters and sections makes it really easy to find aspects that you’re looking for and return to key advice later for reference, and the book is presented with professionalism and clarity throughout, which adds to the feel of confidence and inspiration that everyone will get from reading Self Publishing: The Secret Guide To Becoming A Best Seller.
Profile Image for Mariah B..
2 reviews2 followers
April 21, 2017
This book was hands down, one-hundred percent knowledgeable! Richard McCartney takes you through every single step on how to make your book not only popular but loved by every buyer as well! Throughout the entire book, there is a hint of sarcasm, which lightens the mood. This book is not for those who cannot handle the truth; he tells all in this book. The great, the good and the ugly. But, everything he tells you in this book will help you save your money, while still finding a way to sell thousands of copies of your book.

Richard takes you through the conversion rates, book reviews, book promotion services, how to make your book a best seller and so much more! He uncovers some of Amazons best-kept secrets for e-book authors, while also uncovering some of the outrageously priced services offered to e-book authors. I found myself unable to stop reading once I got four or five pages into the book. He made me want to know everything about this market and how it works!

Overall, this book is a winner in my eyes. It has honesty and hidden secrets you cannot miss out on.
Profile Image for Miguel Jr..
Author 17 books54 followers
February 8, 2024
Great.

I like the book length, and the helpful information about what it takes to gain visibility as an author. After trying some of the things in here myself, and know that the author has researched book promotion well. I recommend this book.
Profile Image for Shanell Meek.
582 reviews6 followers
September 2, 2017
Great information, I'm looking forward to using his advice!

I have been looking into self publishing for awhile. I have the material to publish, it’s just finding where I want to go through to do it and how to market myself as an author, or market particular books that I’ve put so much effort into! This book was so helpful laying everything on the line for me! From what not to do for marketing my book, to step by step guide of what really works to successfully market my writing, I think it’s pushed me a little closer to reaching my self publishing goals! It’s still a little overwhelming but I definitely feel like I’m better armed with knowing how to best use my resources to promote my writing! Now just to decide which avenues I’m going to choose to use to get my name out there when the book world is saturated with great writers!
Profile Image for Troy Shepherd.
19 reviews
December 29, 2021
An authors guide to gain an advantage

WOW! This book is directly aimed at authors who want to make it fast and easy for probable readers to find their published book. While it's not a step-by-step, hold your hand through every click type of guide, the author does make it super easy to understand and follow a methodology that is sure to increase an authors readership by pushing their book up the Amazon rankings. A few hours reading this book will undoubtedly save countless hours trying to figure out a successful approach to higher book sales on ones own. McCartney doesn't just focus on one surefire way to accomplish breaking into the bestsellers list, but offers different strategies and multiple ways in which to increase readership, and ultimately how to increase sales.
Profile Image for Kate Brackett.
Author 3 books4 followers
May 10, 2017
As a newcomer to self-publishing, I wanted to research a bit before jumping in and trying it. This book is an excellent starting point and have some good points that I will consider on my endeavors, such as sometimes the free promotions just aren't useful. Another excellent point that he elaborates on is that of the niche. This is a common term in the self-publishing world and thinks to this book I have a better understanding of not only why to choose a niche but how. Online marketing is also explained in some depth and it is fascinating to see how learning the trade can improve your numbers. McCartney reveals that there is no magic tricks to getting your book out there, but by understanding your marketing numbers and how and where to advertise to make your book succeed. This is a great book for beginners such as myself or even for those who have a few books already self-published, as it can help you improve your results in future endeavors.
Profile Image for Amy.
8 reviews
June 29, 2023
Impressive! Richard McCartney gives something valuable to indie authors – he gives them some good old-fashioned common-sense advice and the tools for their books to not only get noticed but more importantly, to thrive, in the cut-throat and fickle world of publishing.
Lots of specific tips and practical advice not only about sales but also about how to reach readers. Browser categories, algorithms, bestseller lists vs. popularity lists, this is the book that will explain it all.
Are you concerned about book reviews and star ratings? McCartney has some fascinating research from Cornell Researchers on this to share.
This book is an invaluable resource to rookie and veteran authors alike, from those who are new to the publishing/marketing game to those who are looking for a more modern method to get their work noticed.
Profile Image for William Shatspeare.
Author 2 books2 followers
May 3, 2020
Invaluable insights tho the world of Kindle publishing!

eBooks are a whole new universe. Being a successful author in that new environment requires a whole new approach to publication and promotion. McCartney provides a wealth of insights into that strange new world. He's seen it all before. He knows where neophytes are likely to stumble and offers clear, simple solutions to republishing challenges. Every new e-book author should read this insightful and engaging book.
Profile Image for Eldon Farrell.
Author 17 books106 followers
February 9, 2017
So that happened...

You would expect judging by the title of this book that some amazing secret would be contained within its pages that would allow an author to scale the heights of the Amazon sales charts. Of course, as with so many of this type of book, the secret's out.

I don't think I really learned anything new or earth shattering from this read but I did feel as if I was being pitched to for 120 pages. Let me give you an example of where this feeling started to rise in me. Somewhere around the one third mark, Richard McCartney begins to suggest that book subscription websites are full of a wealth of potential. OK, fine with me. I can see the point that he's making. One of said websites that he mentioned was Kindebookpromotion.com and numerous times after that he extolled the benefits of this particular website. A website he admits a few pages later that he founded.

So wait a minute...is this a book to help me out or to help him out? We all gotta promote, I get it and his service might just be as phenomenal as he claims (portrayed as a better option than BookBub a number of times) but the delivery of it just left me feeling as if I was sitting in a time share meeting.

Oh, and by the way, just a little pointer for all those out there thinking of putting out a similar book...you lose a ton of credibility when you talk about how self published books need to be grammatically correct and you (several times) can't spot the difference between you and your.

Because I got this book for free I'm only mildly annoyed with it; had I paid the $10 admission that would be another story entirely!
Profile Image for J Edwards.
5 reviews3 followers
December 17, 2017
Great resource for new authors who want to thrive on Amazon

Easy approaches to incorporate and quick read for busy authors. The book divides the topics into digestible chapters. I would highly recommend!
Profile Image for Brian Aird.
216 reviews14 followers
May 3, 2017
In the words of the author, "This book is about marketing your book and not how to publish it." In a practical and easy to read manner, "Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller" is an indepth marketing journey that outlines a plan of action for the self-published writer. Sprinkled with humor, common sense and convincing statistics, the author places a heavy emphasis on utilizing Amazon, the largest online book seller, and utilizing Amazon tools and resources to maximize success in promoting the independent author's creation. Additionally, Richard McCartney explores and shares other proven strategies and actions to round out a successful marketing strategy for the self-supporting journalist. His convincing style of writing and plan of action is obviously rooted from his own experience as he shares his successful strategy in maximizing book sales and obtaining optimal exposure for the self-publishing writer and their labor of love.
Profile Image for Janet.
Author 6 books6 followers
January 21, 2021
A book like this easily gets out of date due to the speed at which social media changes but the author provided a lot of practical insight, though, pitched his own company quite a lot in the process
2 reviews1 follower
April 27, 2017
Richard McCartney tackles on one of the most difficult obstacles in publishing a book, second only to the writing itself. With the tone of an objective mentor and the wisdom of direct experience, this book puts to rest a great deal of the indie author’s anxieties by providing tangible methods to generate more sales. The prose is conversational and easy to read – this book is full of “why didn’t I think of that?” moments, which add up to a collection of advice that could only come from someone who’s been there before and seen the light of success at the end of the writing tunnel.

What I appreciate about McCartney’s effort is his devotion to Amazon as a relatively new and viable marketing platform, especially with the rise in popularity of Ebooks and Kindle downloads. The depth at which this subject is explored makes it impossible to not learn something, from information spanning the Bestseller List to “Customers Who Bought this Item Also Bought”. This book is an invaluable resource to the rookie and veteran author alike, from those who are new to the publishing/marketing game to those who are looking for a more modern method to get their work in the hands (and screens) of readers everywhere.
Profile Image for Amanda.
329 reviews
January 16, 2019
McCartney takes self published authors through all the steps of marketing their book. From the very best to the absolute wrong way to promote a book and everything in between. He is no fan of the social media route to making sales and convincingly proves his point, complete with the numbers to back up his position. He is honest by saying you get what you pay for so you're going to have to spend money on successful promotion.

Amazon is still the center of attention in the literary world and the author rightly puts a lot of focus there. You will find specifics on how to get on the Amazon list you need and want to be on. He provides solid advice about reaching readers and reviewers while stressing the importance of quality reviews. McCartney also helps to explain Amazon's algorithms, categories, and even search features which is oddly fascinating.

While Amazon is a major avenue, the author does give plenty of non-Amazon alternatives such as ebook subscription services and paid book promoting sites such as his own KindleBookPromotions.

A book about book publishing could have easily been boring, mundane, and difficult to get through but not this one. There's a lightness and a positive overall tone even when delivering somber news to those who were so sure their book's Facebook page was going to translate into a million sales.
Profile Image for Jordan Ring.
Author 15 books15 followers
January 23, 2018
Practical Advice and Fun to Read

Let's face it, non fiction books can be boring! We read them for a specific purpose yes, but some can just drag on.

Not this book. Black hat methods (of which the author isn't afraid to talk about) are coded as "the dark side" of author marketing. I LOVE it.

I learned a fair bit from this book, even though I often read new books and blog posts related to author marketing. Richard breaks concepts down into easy to read and understand little bits.

Good book overall with no fluff. I highly recommend anyone new to author marketing, or even those that considered themselves to be advanced in the field. Hard to argue with the conclusions and advice contained within.

*I was not given a free book in exchange for this review, but was forced choked into leaving a 5 Star instead of a 4 star.
Profile Image for Paul Roman.
Author 1 book6 followers
May 26, 2018
It's a known fact that only a very small fraction of population has an interest in any one particular item. One has to reach a huge audience to generate any reaction. But an advertisement on Facebook does reach a huge audience – tens of millions, even when a very fine filter is used – and sure, it generated a lots of 'cliks' for me, but practically no other desirable reaction. Why is that? This book explains why, and it's a bad news. Good news is that there are few ways around the obstacle.
Profile Image for J.P. Willson.
Author 4 books61 followers
May 30, 2018
Holy Crap- there is so much information in this book!
I believe I shall be referring back to this time and time again.
A valuable tool to have indeed.
19 reviews
May 25, 2024
Great read for new authors!

As a new author who has been struggling with the daunting task of marketing my book, "Self-Publishing: The Secret Guide to Becoming a Best Seller" was a true revelation. This book has invaluable insights and practical advice that have provided me with the knowledge and tools available to help in promoting my work.

From the outset, the author tackles the core issues many face: spending countless hours on social media and blogs with little to no impact on sales. The book clarifies the process of becoming a best seller on Amazon, revealing proven methods that seem sound to me. I will be focusing on testing these ideas myself in the future.

One of the most impressive aspects of this guide is its comprehensive approach, covering not just the basics but also lesser-known tactics that can make a significant difference. It delves into how to navigate Amazon's intricate system, the pitfalls to avoid, and the secrets behind effective book promotion. I found the detailed breakdown of measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and the strategic insights into Amazon's search algorithms extremely valuable.

The section on finding engaged readers and capitalizing on hot new releases was a revelation. Unfortunately, I ran a free book promo out the gates so I will have to wait 60 more days until I can test some price changes. It's evident that the author has conducted extensive research and has firsthand experience with these strategies.

I feel that this book is a must-read for any self-published author looking to boost their book's visibility and sales. It has significantly impacted the way I'm thinking about my marketing efforts. Highly recommended!

Profile Image for j v sanford.
16 reviews2 followers
March 21, 2018
A really informative read, the author done the research and number crunching so I did'nt have to. I will certainly be using some of the tips mentioned to aid sales on my own books.
Admittedly the self-promo of the authors own services was a little prominent but he would always counteract by name dropping other alternatives.
I only wish I could afford the services his company offer. until then I will continue to plug away, but maybe now I will apply the effort to the relevant parts of self publishing instead if wasting time and effort on the areas which have little or no impact on gaining readers.
Profile Image for Bonnie Dale Keck.
4,677 reviews58 followers
July 13, 2017
Kindle Unlimited but got this through authorxp...which begs the question of why someone who is talking about being able to help promote others' books uses a site such as authorxp or librarything etcetera which is a review site that gives out free copies of books in hopes of a review for the books.... By the way, he may want to totally rethink sending out review copies in pdf, as neither my computer {chromebook at this time} nor his computer {mobi, kindle cloud} wanted to read this book the way it was formatted. This 'book' was inaquate length due to the massive amounts of unusable, unnecessary, and extraneous/unneeded and repetitive information, which reminded me of War and Peace {the length it felt} but no where near the same amount of usuable interesting information.

Don't like short books of x amount of pages not where the pages are gapped heavily between sections just to up the page count. Why talk about 'guaranteed' results when the book had said right before then that NO results could be 'guaranteed'? Using a 'book' supposedly about how to set up and sell books to basically sell/promote a business promoting books, hmmmm. A book, even one that was gotten, in ANY way at no cost, STILL needs to be READABLE, and that is NOT asking too much of a 'free' book, that I spent part of my internet money to download, or my time which is worth something, or the extra time to write a review, so no, even free books are not free, just as kindle unlimted books are free to read but NOT free to get {and my 6month charge is proof of that}. When I review anything, I HAVE read the book, the whole book always, even if it's painful to do so, because unless I read the whole book I don't want to do a review on it so don't. There is a difference, therefore, between someone who the book claimed trashed a 'free' book versus someone who didn't read it. Again, quit talking about 'guaranteed' results when it was already asserted, several times, that NO ONE can guarantee results, that nobody should because nobody can guarantee results because of all the factors involved {and it then also fails to mention if the business recommendations quotes in that book, regarding other uses of that company, if they sold a lot, a little, or some but not for long or what, so that is irrelevant without the proper background.

There are also such things as nice, professional covers {for this book, that's NOT one}, proofing, sometimes beta or arc readers, paying review sites to set up things so writer can get reviews {which this book did with me and who knows who else here}, and also not causing the reader to feel cheated, even or especially on a 'free book' that the margins are wide, the gaps are wide between chapters, there are orphaned sentences that end up being a whole page until another chapter, and so on. As for stopping to promote another one of how to book or company worse yet, before even getting to the actual parts of this book, uh no, just NO, and more so with the extra gap between chapters or whateve that that caused. So far, this book with all the gaps and spaces and skips is short {but in a bad way} and painful {in a very bad way}. For a book that claims to know how to find things and promote and all that, talking about Bing is so glaringly bad and more so next to google. The analogies and comparisons used are unsuitable and confusing as well. As far as numbers and stats, I don't find them boring {used to be an accountant} but was also a language major, and seeing something such as 0,03 {yes, that's a comma there not a period}, and in a book talking about all the things to do when trying to sell a book, one should be proofing {and this may be covered but hasn't been so far in the drawn out other useless junk}.

"how many of the people clicking through to your Amazon page even have a Kindle to purchase your eBook?...uh what does that have to do with ANYthing? Heard of kindle cloud? How about ereaders? How about kindle for pc, for mac, for andoid {phones and tablets}? "It’s just not in lead generation for authors who want to sell books." WHAT does that sentence even mean, really: I know 4 different languages {counting British and American English as 1} plus computer languages, an immense vocabulary, and have NO idea what is talking about. The language skills and lack thereof combined with fragmented sentences, run on sentences, weird synax and sentence structure, side examples that only serve to confuse not to illustrate or illuminate, and errors such in spelling and punctuation {i.e. , instead of .} make this book almost unreadable. Glaring mistakes such as 'pay anything from' when it shold be 'pay any amount from', and as an ex-accountant even I find your 'stats' confusing and not believable or usable. Comparing apples to oranges, or social media to book promo sites, makes no sense. Made more sense then quoting Galaxy Quest, but still.... As for the {supposed} cost of book promotion via bookbub versus social media, it would not have made much more sense, but a little, if the figures for that subject had not been split between 2 pages, top of one and bottom of the other} and being more than a little suspect as to their computed validity. 'We' did not share the conversions figures; the book sort of kind of but not really put them out there and then I basically said it was flawed and incompete and confusing.

The book makes it seem as if marketing and promotion is the same thing, when they're not, because promotion is part of the overall marketing mix but all of marketing consists of price, product, place, and promotion; so marketing can exist without promotion but promotion doesn't exist without marketing. In 'The Magic Quadrant' {quadrant is each of four quarters of a circle so again making no sense} addressing TWO {not 4} questions of which will deliver the best revenue for the marketing money then which will have the best reach, presumes {wrongly} that these two things are totally separate and independent of each other, when they very much are not. Free book promotions do not take in to account the fact that at least some of the time those free books result in sales of other {not free} books by that writer and/or more/new reviews. Also, "Once your book is enrolled in KDP Select, you can offer it for free to readers for up to 5 days out of each 90-day KDP Select enrollment period. Because your book is available for free during a free book promotion, you will not receive royalties for it while the promotion runs.If the digital version of your book appears to be available for pre-order, for sale, or for free elsewhere (such as on your website or blog, or a third party’s website), then it is not eligible for KDP Select. NONE of THAT was even mentioned, not even hinted at, and while that does not stop paperback/hardback giveaways, any ARCs would have to be set up and done BEFORE the kdp went in to effect.And again repeating, writers make no money, directly, from free book promos BUT there are quite a few that will only look for books or writers they have read before, so without freebie books there would be no extra exposure to those people at all.

Again, after saying many many times that nothing can be guaranteed, by anyone, the book gives a list of people who supposedly do just that, for a fee, in the book promotion business, but it's promoting free books, which this book keeps saying does little to nothng for a writer. Really fail to see what 'providing expected results based on the results of their customers is also great to see' as {first} that sentence doesn't make sense, {second} basing 'results' of their customers {currently involved one or some of the others?, because others not in same genre or whatever is meaningless} and if the customer then {third} based on just what information, especially if they have only had the 1 book out, not very established or whatever else. Once again book is back to saying it/the company can guarantee results, when that is a lie, because keeps repeating {when not talking about htis book/company} no one could guarantee results several times before, only to come back with promotion business and a couple of others in the same type business and try to claim that any of those CAN guarantee results. The $2.99 promotions are not going to work if something such as the free promotions or other ways of getting customers to know of the writer have not been laid first. Egaging reader{s} by giving away a book with a personalized signature or whatever not also makes no sense, because not only is there no money off of that, but it's worse than free because the writer has to pay to send the physical book. I can understand mentions of googling, maybe, but there is no reason to keeping pushing Bing, all the promotion in the world can't help Bing.

Then it goes back to claiming that something could influence 20% of the visitors, yet earlier had stated that the click throughs and other attemps only ended up with less than half of one percent. Judging from what Amazon success indicates influence on which books are promoted due to prior sales, when I know plenty of people that do not read in detail the bookbub/freebooksy and other site offerings {book bub's catergories are laughable} and therefore THAT is where 'free book does not equate' pops up yet again because even if I dowload a handful of romances that does not mean that amazon knowing that and then suggesting those type books will even get noticed because it has no bearing on anything for me, I'm never going to read them so never going to rate them. Then it goes back to that {WRONG} area that mentions even though without proper marketing sales mean nothing, so hardly number one importance, then go on to claim a fair number of reviews {although as with this review a 1 or 2 star will lower your score quite a bit} and saying a decent cover when this one is iffy at best and doesn't look to have anything to do with the the subuect absolutely makes no sense.

Regardless of 'understanding' of the cover size, from being a tech as well as messing with the kindle publishing set up, it can't de-rank someone because of picture size being too small because if it's under a certain size, Amazon won't let it be use it anyway. Telling someone the best way to get noticed is to get on the best selling lists also can't be right, because earlie said it was useless to be on the free best seller list, and that as far as paid list that if book were not at the upper area that few would go beyond a page or 2, yet gave nothing in all the rampling to really say how to do that, even though that is the type of thing the company owned by this book writer is supposed to do. It doesn't take in to account that bookbub and freebooksy and perhaps other book sites lead to amazon when a book is clicked on so there all over again is the free books matter part although keep saying it, is not so, and that amazon is a very hard site to use for such things as book searches so it is usually other book sites leading to there which even that being possibly muted or void/void ranking wise because claimed over and over that free books account for very little. That also means that for those who DO use those types of sites that those sites have their own categories {freebooksy way less, but as in less categories so better in most ways} with sub and sub sub genres, many or them highly overlapping, but more importantly by the book's own admission someone would only be clicking on the few categories they cared about or else would miss some books altogether because they didn't have a category or were thrown in with some catebory not usually checked for a particular genre. {I click on all of freebooks's except the one, think it says chick lit or something} but only on half or less of bookbub's {so no romance or any of the half dozen or more that is some kind of 'romance'} and count in a few that claim {for example} sci-fi/e.g. time travel romance, so the first word is time travel NOT romance but rarely are NOT riddled with plots and subplots that would make 50 shades of grey at least go hmmm if not blush and turn away/

Since viewers do not look beyond the first first page of the first 20 books why would it matter or what purpose would it serve to get up to even #20? Then claim that bundles or freebie/buy 1 get x# works, when before over and over were saying freebie days were basically useless and cheaper books were almost that way because you could mark then 2.99 are higher and {TECHNICALLY} make as much? Now flip back to claiming that free books do help in some way, ranking or otherwise, when just spent several pages saying that they didn't. The movie, television, and geek refernces are just making this too short but too long {to read} book even more aggravating than even the metaphors which are so out of place. Bitly and shorturl has 'issues' with working right/linking customers over with their URL nonsense, anyone with an inkling of computer knowledge knows this, knows it has been happening 'forever', and tend to do links in ways that, well, actually link right. Back to no free/99 cent books, yet said those for ranking, and now it's talking about sales, which means you can't figure out how the 2, even though they do have to work together, are not incompaible and have to have a blalance, otherwise doing the 1 parts hurts the other and vice versa.

And no, bookbub {nor freebooksy} are 'all about subscription' sent out every day; many do as I do, which is to simply visit the site every day, because the email is rather useless {and in the case of bookbub categories very useless}. Oh, NOW you want to say reviews are important, now that are hawking THIS book and the company supposed services, hmmmm. "1. First consider what your goal is before using any of these services. Take your time to analyze the benefits of each service, and ask yourself which ones come closest to what you are seeking– More sales? More reviews? More visibility? SINCE WHEN WERE THESE THINGS EITHER OR, they GO together, in some degree or other, but NOT separate. The best recommendation, that someone could make to this book, is to learn how to proberly space and format and proof the book, since this book that talks some about needing to do that, did NOT do it, make it comprehensible and less confusing, and reproof for large gaps and other irritation. Would have been much easier reading the book if didn't keep falling asleep from boredom and the repetitious nature of the book. God the lack of correct formatting is giving me a spliting migraine. NO, just because I bought a book I am NOT more likely to post a 'good' {higher star} review; how I got the book doesn't matter to me, just whether it is readible and interesting {of which this book is neither}.

'Verified Review' is for those who purchase the book? No, not exactly; 'freebie' days 'sales' are considered Verified, as long as the account use has spent more than x amount of $$ on ANY purchases on the site, and it's a one shot thing so once I spent that amount {years ago} I will ALWAYS be verified for freebie day books, because amazon puts those under sold/paid, and that is yet another reason for freebie days, to have Verified reviews not just reviews {although non-verfied such as from kindle unlimited of any type, regardless of reviewer} are still there but have to be seen by clicking on the 'see all reviews', but yes they still count on the percent of people who liked/didn't liked reviews star average/rating.Either you SHOULD know this already, or you SHOULD be telling the entire truth, or you SHOULD know better, not just the ones think will help attempt to sell your book promo company servies. I actually read/review books, a lot, daily, and I have noticed whether my stars {or lack of them} have changed the overall rating of the book; they DO, verified or NOT. No, more readers do not prefer pysical books, it is about half and half now due to ereaders and audio book players and so on. And 'traditional publishing' would by nature of its name mean NO ebooks, so even self published soft and hard covers are only non-traditional by way of who published them, not how. The 'recap' was doubly boring, doubly unnecessary, and triply redundantly useless.
Profile Image for Mike Kowis.
Author 15 books31 followers
August 24, 2017
This book contains some good tips for getting your self-published book on the best-seller list at least temporarily, but the methods may cost you some $$$. It is worth the read.

For any aspiring authors looking to self-publish, I strongly recommend 14 Steps to Self-Publishing a Book.
17 reviews1 follower
July 13, 2018
As the title indicates, “Self-Publishing: the secret guide to publishing to becoming a bestseller” reveals how prospective writers can get closer to their one true desire: achieving success through book sales.
Having bought an earlier copy of the author’s book, I kind of knew what to expect. The author writes in a simple, concise, direct and knowledgeable way, which reveals the extent of his knowledge, most likely gained from the amount of experience in the industry. As a friend, who’s interested in putting some desirable information she’s compiled over the years into a book format, recommended books from the author, it was well worth the purchase.
Personally, I would say, as someone who enjoys reading, there are no excuses for having typos in a book or poorly written content published. Any book with issues like that is a red flag that I shouldn’t buy books from the author. In that context, no amount of advertising would convince me to reconsider.
So if you have £5 to spare, and you are interested in showcasing your books in front of lots of buying customers, you probably have nothing to lose and lots to gain. I once bought a fiction book by Stephen King for £10, and had lots of fun reading it, so I considered this an investment.
Profile Image for Rachel Blue.
3 reviews1 follower
September 6, 2017
This book is a great resource full of tricks and tools needed to self-publish in today’s market. This is definitely beneficial as the market is flooded with authors trying to self-publish. The book offers many hints to get you a step up in the game.
Although the tools mentioned are incredibly valuable today, I am not so sure how this book will age. It goes into depth discussing the algorithms of how amazon displays, promotes, and sells books and I don’t know how constant that will stay in the years to come. Having said that, if you are wanting to promote a book NOW (like, you already wrote it or are in the finishing stages) then this is a must read.
The author does heavily promote a service, kindlebookpromotion.com. I do see the value of the service and he is convincing as a salesman so it really didn’t bother me. The information throughout was thought provoking and helpful for those wanting to publish in the near future. I will be recommending to my mom who is in the finishing stages of her own manuscript.
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