"I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages."
-- William H. Mauldin
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Thursday, 25 March 2010
E-Books 101: Part 3 - Marketing and Promotion
Once you've uploaded your book, set the price, provided the description (your basic back cover synopsis, along with any blurbs, reviews, etc.) and arranged with Amazon or Smashwords for payment, you're ready to take the next step. It's the same step you'd take if you published a print book: marketing and promotion.
Traditional marketing and promotion is all well and good, but since your work is now online, there are all sorts of interesting new possibilities to explore in spreading the word about your book.
In addition to emailing a notice to every list you're on (as well as sending out an email blast--more on this in a moment), you can explore the Kindle and e-reader forums. There are too many of these to count on Amazon alone.
For instance, check out the Kindle Community. Be on the lookout for threads like "Have you published a book on the Kindle" and other invitations to talk about your work. Reply to those discussions. Otherwise, avoid BSP (forums can be very strict and readers unforgiving on this point), but feel free to post a comment in the forum of your choice (one pertaining to your genre), with a mention of your book (and a link to the Amazon order page--using the "Insert a Product Link" button) in your signature line.
So how do you find these Amazon forums? Click on "Community Directories," then check under the topics (mine would be "mystery" or "thriller"). Click on the one you want and--voila! You'll have a load of threads to choose from (too many!).
And that's just Amazon alone.
Along with these you can post to the following forums:
The Kindle Boards: http://www.kindleboards.com/
MobileRead Forums: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/
Kindle Forum, Kindle Social Network: http://www.booksummit.com/forum/
Google the terms "kindle e-reader forum"--there may be even more.
There's also a Yahoo group called the Kindle Korner. I've seen people post reviews there. While BSP is prohibited, you could always request someone read your book and post a review. Also, participating in the discussion is to be encouraged (with your name and book title in the signature line, natch).
Just don't toot your own horn all the time. Post something interesting about e-books in general. Share an article you found. Recommend an e-book. Post a review. Engage readers. (You're writers. You should know how to do that! :)) It isn't all about you.
There's an expression for this. It's called "relationship marketing." Establish a relationship with your readers online. You can do this through email lists, forums and social media like Facebook and Twitter. Participation is the key to success here.
And another nice thing about e-books is the awesome potential for cross-promotion with other authors.
For instance, I currently have an excerpt from J.A. Konrath's book, THE LIST, tacked on as a bonus to my e-book version of IDENTITY CRISIS. And, Mr. Konrath has kindly added an excerpt from my book to his, in return. (Along with two other excerpts--from Lee Goldberg's THE WALK, and SUCKERS, written jointly by Konrath and Jeff Strand--talk about being in good company!)
It's that kind of flexibility that lets you get a bit more creative with your promotion and marketing.
And that's not all. Ask your fellow authors to review your book and post their reviews to these forums I mentioned. There's nothing like good word of mouth (and from a fellow author, no less) to sell your work. Then, do them the return favor, by reading their work and posting your review online.
Some other online review sites you might want to consider include:
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/
LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/
And these are just three I happen to know about.
And the email blasts. I'd encourage you to network (yes, leave your house and meet people), tell people in various walks of life about your book (not just other authors, but business people), get people's cards and add their email addresses to your list (or lists, if you'd like to keep separate ones). Then, when you have an important announcement about yourself or your book, you can tell everyone at once.
This is what's known as "push marketing." You push the message out to others (as opposed to "pull marketing," which you do through blogging or your Web site). Just make sure you have an interesting message when you do this. I'm not big on email newsletters for this reason. I see a newsletter, I equate it with puffery. I automatically delete it. Make your message compelling. Don't do frequent email blasts. Don't bore everyone with self-promotion and empty content constantly.
And, you realize that, with every online post and email you send, you can include a link to your e-book's order page. Make it easy for people to buy it. (Just be careful doing this on forums. It's considered advertising on the Kindle Korner, for instance, to provide direct sales links. Just sayin' ... watch what you do ...)
Well ... enough to get you started? (And I didn't even mention using blogs. Okay, next time ...)
Next week: promoting your e-book through blogging.
Traditional marketing and promotion is all well and good, but since your work is now online, there are all sorts of interesting new possibilities to explore in spreading the word about your book.
In addition to emailing a notice to every list you're on (as well as sending out an email blast--more on this in a moment), you can explore the Kindle and e-reader forums. There are too many of these to count on Amazon alone.
For instance, check out the Kindle Community. Be on the lookout for threads like "Have you published a book on the Kindle" and other invitations to talk about your work. Reply to those discussions. Otherwise, avoid BSP (forums can be very strict and readers unforgiving on this point), but feel free to post a comment in the forum of your choice (one pertaining to your genre), with a mention of your book (and a link to the Amazon order page--using the "Insert a Product Link" button) in your signature line.
So how do you find these Amazon forums? Click on "Community Directories," then check under the topics (mine would be "mystery" or "thriller"). Click on the one you want and--voila! You'll have a load of threads to choose from (too many!).
And that's just Amazon alone.
Along with these you can post to the following forums:
The Kindle Boards: http://www.kindleboards.com/
MobileRead Forums: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/
Kindle Forum, Kindle Social Network: http://www.booksummit.com/forum/
Google the terms "kindle e-reader forum"--there may be even more.
There's also a Yahoo group called the Kindle Korner. I've seen people post reviews there. While BSP is prohibited, you could always request someone read your book and post a review. Also, participating in the discussion is to be encouraged (with your name and book title in the signature line, natch).
Just don't toot your own horn all the time. Post something interesting about e-books in general. Share an article you found. Recommend an e-book. Post a review. Engage readers. (You're writers. You should know how to do that! :)) It isn't all about you.
There's an expression for this. It's called "relationship marketing." Establish a relationship with your readers online. You can do this through email lists, forums and social media like Facebook and Twitter. Participation is the key to success here.
And another nice thing about e-books is the awesome potential for cross-promotion with other authors.
For instance, I currently have an excerpt from J.A. Konrath's book, THE LIST, tacked on as a bonus to my e-book version of IDENTITY CRISIS. And, Mr. Konrath has kindly added an excerpt from my book to his, in return. (Along with two other excerpts--from Lee Goldberg's THE WALK, and SUCKERS, written jointly by Konrath and Jeff Strand--talk about being in good company!)It's that kind of flexibility that lets you get a bit more creative with your promotion and marketing.
And that's not all. Ask your fellow authors to review your book and post their reviews to these forums I mentioned. There's nothing like good word of mouth (and from a fellow author, no less) to sell your work. Then, do them the return favor, by reading their work and posting your review online.
Some other online review sites you might want to consider include:GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/
LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/
And these are just three I happen to know about.
And the email blasts. I'd encourage you to network (yes, leave your house and meet people), tell people in various walks of life about your book (not just other authors, but business people), get people's cards and add their email addresses to your list (or lists, if you'd like to keep separate ones). Then, when you have an important announcement about yourself or your book, you can tell everyone at once.
This is what's known as "push marketing." You push the message out to others (as opposed to "pull marketing," which you do through blogging or your Web site). Just make sure you have an interesting message when you do this. I'm not big on email newsletters for this reason. I see a newsletter, I equate it with puffery. I automatically delete it. Make your message compelling. Don't do frequent email blasts. Don't bore everyone with self-promotion and empty content constantly.
And, you realize that, with every online post and email you send, you can include a link to your e-book's order page. Make it easy for people to buy it. (Just be careful doing this on forums. It's considered advertising on the Kindle Korner, for instance, to provide direct sales links. Just sayin' ... watch what you do ...)
Well ... enough to get you started? (And I didn't even mention using blogs. Okay, next time ...)
Next week: promoting your e-book through blogging.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Quotation for the Week of March 21
"When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it."
-- Bernard Bailey
-- Bernard Bailey
Thursday, 18 March 2010
An Importance Message for Publishers and Authors
I am interrupting my series on e-books (and will try to post about it later, if I have time--but this message is just screaming to be heard) to post a video about the younger generation, the digital revolution and the future of publishing.
I found this, BTW, on the Kindle Korner forum. Please just watch it--all the way through.
This is my answer to anyone who says, "Kids don't read anymore." Bullsh*t. They most certainly do.
People (even young ones) still love stories. That hasn't changed. What's changing is how they're delivered.
Publishers and authors need to adapt to new technologies. Don't dismiss the kids--they're the future market. (Hell, even elderly people use Kindles.)
As someone who commented on the forum about this video asked, "Hey, any publishers out there? Are you listening?"
ADDENDUM: Okay, I can see some of you are skeptical. (Admit it! The first step to addressing a problem is to admit you have one.) Okay, fine.
Check out the index from the April issue of Southern Review of Books. Take a look at number 17. What's it say? (Read it out loud.)
"Books overtake games as most popular iPhone apps."
Louder! I didn't hear you. :)
I found this, BTW, on the Kindle Korner forum. Please just watch it--all the way through.
This is my answer to anyone who says, "Kids don't read anymore." Bullsh*t. They most certainly do.
People (even young ones) still love stories. That hasn't changed. What's changing is how they're delivered.
Publishers and authors need to adapt to new technologies. Don't dismiss the kids--they're the future market. (Hell, even elderly people use Kindles.)
As someone who commented on the forum about this video asked, "Hey, any publishers out there? Are you listening?"
ADDENDUM: Okay, I can see some of you are skeptical. (Admit it! The first step to addressing a problem is to admit you have one.) Okay, fine.
Check out the index from the April issue of Southern Review of Books. Take a look at number 17. What's it say? (Read it out loud.)
"Books overtake games as most popular iPhone apps."
Louder! I didn't hear you. :)
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Quotation for the Week of March 14
"For most men life is a search for the proper manila envelope in which to get themselves filed."
-- Clifton Fadiman
-- Clifton Fadiman
Thursday, 11 March 2010
E-Books 101: Part 2 - Pricing
One of the most controversial issues related to e-books is how to price them. How much is too much? Is giving them away for free a good strategy? Is selling them cheap (say, 99 cents) a way of promoting your sales or selling yourself (and fellow authors) out?
I wish I had a simple answer to all these questions. Unfortunately, the real answer to how much to charge for an e-book is that no one knows.
Having said that, I'll speak from experience when I say that, if you're a lesser-known (or even unknown) or new fiction author, you're probably better off charging on the low side for your books.
How low? That really depends. There are so many variables, it seems impossible to simply come up with a single one-size-fits-all price.
One thing I'd suggest is taking a look at what other (more established) authors in your genre are charging for their unpublished or backlisted books.
I've noticed that many such authors in my genre are charging $1.99 per download. So, I initially set my price a bit lower, to be competitive. I was charging $1.59 per download for several months. My sales were good, but not spectacular.
So, I decided early last December to hold a sale. I dropped the price to $.99 per download. Suddenly, my sales spiked. I was selling downloads by the gross. This trend continued up until and after the first of the year. January saw record sales of 1,124 downloads. February started off with a bang--71 downloads sold on Feb. 1 alone. I simply couldn't believe it. And my February sales surpassed those of January. 1,258 downloads in a month. Amazing.
During this time, my e-book was maintaining a rank in the hardboiled mystery category in the Kindle Store of around #3 or #4, fairly consistently. As well as the same rank for hardboiled mysteries on Amazon in general.
Things began to slow down toward the end of February. Maybe my price reduction was just in time for Christmas and my book appealed to new Kindle users, looking for deals.
Keep in mind I was marketing and promoting my book online (the subject of next week's post), so I was helping the process along with my efforts.
And if you have any more doubts that $.99 downloads can benefit new authors, just check out this post by Elisa Lorello, a new author whose book made the Kindle bestsellers list--and she charged $.99 per download and did a lot of marketing and promotion.
Though I've told other authors about my $.99 download success (and even did a semi-scientific market comparison on the question of how to succeed in selling e-books), I've recently seen authors who've reduced the price only to sell one more book than usual (or even none).
I can no more explain this than I can explain why I succeeded with my pricing and marketing strategy.
I only know that, at the moment, it's best for fiction authors to keep their e-book prices low. Especially if you're unknown and want to get additional exposure.
There is a complicating factor, at least with respect to Amazon. Right now, Amazon pays authors one-third the retail price in royalties. However, at the end of June, Amazon will up the royalty payment to 70%, if (and it's a big "if") the author sets the price at no less than $2.99 per download.
Considering what a difference a mere 60 cent drop in my price made in sales, I'll have to think about this. How many sales will I lose due to raising the price? And will the difference be made up in greater royalties? Plus there's the whole exposure issue. I want to be paid, naturally. (See my Web site's slogan. :)) But I'm willing to take less, in order to spread the word about my books.
Besides selling e-books cheap, may actually enhance print sales. (It seems to work that way for free e-books, anyway.)
Plus based on the backlash I've been reading on various e-reader forums about the MacMillan-Amazon dust-up over the publisher's desire to charge $12.99 - 14.99 for e-books, which I've written about here and here--well, unless you're writing really expensive textbooks or other books that make that price a deal by comparison, I wouldn't go there, if I were you.
I know this isn't the quick and easy answer you probably hoped for, but check what your peers are doing (and be sure to compare with others in your genre--different types of fiction and non-fiction could command different prices) and try things. See what happens. If your sales aren't what you hoped for, try running a sale or doing a promotion. Which leads to the topic for next time.
Next week: Marketing and promoting e-books.
I wish I had a simple answer to all these questions. Unfortunately, the real answer to how much to charge for an e-book is that no one knows.
Having said that, I'll speak from experience when I say that, if you're a lesser-known (or even unknown) or new fiction author, you're probably better off charging on the low side for your books.
How low? That really depends. There are so many variables, it seems impossible to simply come up with a single one-size-fits-all price.
One thing I'd suggest is taking a look at what other (more established) authors in your genre are charging for their unpublished or backlisted books.
I've noticed that many such authors in my genre are charging $1.99 per download. So, I initially set my price a bit lower, to be competitive. I was charging $1.59 per download for several months. My sales were good, but not spectacular.
So, I decided early last December to hold a sale. I dropped the price to $.99 per download. Suddenly, my sales spiked. I was selling downloads by the gross. This trend continued up until and after the first of the year. January saw record sales of 1,124 downloads. February started off with a bang--71 downloads sold on Feb. 1 alone. I simply couldn't believe it. And my February sales surpassed those of January. 1,258 downloads in a month. Amazing.
During this time, my e-book was maintaining a rank in the hardboiled mystery category in the Kindle Store of around #3 or #4, fairly consistently. As well as the same rank for hardboiled mysteries on Amazon in general.
Things began to slow down toward the end of February. Maybe my price reduction was just in time for Christmas and my book appealed to new Kindle users, looking for deals.
Keep in mind I was marketing and promoting my book online (the subject of next week's post), so I was helping the process along with my efforts.
And if you have any more doubts that $.99 downloads can benefit new authors, just check out this post by Elisa Lorello, a new author whose book made the Kindle bestsellers list--and she charged $.99 per download and did a lot of marketing and promotion.
Though I've told other authors about my $.99 download success (and even did a semi-scientific market comparison on the question of how to succeed in selling e-books), I've recently seen authors who've reduced the price only to sell one more book than usual (or even none).
I can no more explain this than I can explain why I succeeded with my pricing and marketing strategy.
I only know that, at the moment, it's best for fiction authors to keep their e-book prices low. Especially if you're unknown and want to get additional exposure.
There is a complicating factor, at least with respect to Amazon. Right now, Amazon pays authors one-third the retail price in royalties. However, at the end of June, Amazon will up the royalty payment to 70%, if (and it's a big "if") the author sets the price at no less than $2.99 per download.
Considering what a difference a mere 60 cent drop in my price made in sales, I'll have to think about this. How many sales will I lose due to raising the price? And will the difference be made up in greater royalties? Plus there's the whole exposure issue. I want to be paid, naturally. (See my Web site's slogan. :)) But I'm willing to take less, in order to spread the word about my books.
Besides selling e-books cheap, may actually enhance print sales. (It seems to work that way for free e-books, anyway.)
Plus based on the backlash I've been reading on various e-reader forums about the MacMillan-Amazon dust-up over the publisher's desire to charge $12.99 - 14.99 for e-books, which I've written about here and here--well, unless you're writing really expensive textbooks or other books that make that price a deal by comparison, I wouldn't go there, if I were you.
I know this isn't the quick and easy answer you probably hoped for, but check what your peers are doing (and be sure to compare with others in your genre--different types of fiction and non-fiction could command different prices) and try things. See what happens. If your sales aren't what you hoped for, try running a sale or doing a promotion. Which leads to the topic for next time.
Next week: Marketing and promoting e-books.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Read an E-Book Week Starts Today!
For all you e-book authors out there, as you may or may not know, today kicks off Read an E-Book Week.
This week will be a celebration of the now small, but burgeoning e-book market. And to fully celebrate the occasion, it's my pleasure to announce that I'll be participating in a Smashwords promotion. (E-book authors, are you listening? Get in on this, if you haven't already. The week just started and there's still plenty of time.)
This week (up until Saturday, March 13), my e-book, IDENTITY CRISIS, will be on sale at 50% off the usual retail price (just click here to get to the order page), which makes it a steal at $.99 (the lowest price Smashwords will let me set, BTW).
If you're not familiar with IDENTITY CRISIS, you might want to watch this book trailer, which (in a bit of astonishing good timing) premiered this weekend.
Totally cinematic stuff, huh? :)
This week will be a celebration of the now small, but burgeoning e-book market. And to fully celebrate the occasion, it's my pleasure to announce that I'll be participating in a Smashwords promotion. (E-book authors, are you listening? Get in on this, if you haven't already. The week just started and there's still plenty of time.)
This week (up until Saturday, March 13), my e-book, IDENTITY CRISIS, will be on sale at 50% off the usual retail price (just click here to get to the order page), which makes it a steal at $.99 (the lowest price Smashwords will let me set, BTW).
If you're not familiar with IDENTITY CRISIS, you might want to watch this book trailer, which (in a bit of astonishing good timing) premiered this weekend.
Totally cinematic stuff, huh? :)
Quotation for the Week of March 7
"Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts."
-- Jim Morrison
-- Jim Morrison
Thursday, 4 March 2010
E-Books 101: Part 1 - Publishing on Amazon and Smashwords
So many people ask me about how to publish e-books. You'd think I was some kind of expert or something.
I published my novel, IDENTITY CRISIS, as an e-book through Amazon's digital text platform (DTP), as well as Smashwords, on June 2, 2009. Since then, I've sold close to 3,300 downloads of my novel.
This is nothing short of astonishing. I tell people about my e-book success and they ask me, "How'd you do it? How does all this e-book stuff work, anyway?"
They also want to know how I've promoted and marketed the book. Well, maybe it's about time I posted about this, because (much to my surprise) I do seem to have become something of an e-book maven.
In fact, I've been interviewed by Voice of America on the subject of e-books and digital publishing. (I appear at about the one-minute mark. The intent-looking blonde gal at the keyboard. :))
So, let's start with the basics: getting your work up on Amazon's and Smashword's publishing platforms.
First, Amazon is a company that needs no introduction. You've no doubt heard of the Kindle. The e-books you publish through Amazon's DTP go into the Kindle Store. And when you put them up yourself, you get to set your own price (a subject I'll cover later, because it's complicated).
To publish an e-book in the Kindle Store, just go to this Web site: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin, set up an account, then follow the simple directions. Amazon has a nice "getting started guide," as well as forums where you can find information you need.
For my own part, I uploaded a document formatted for publication in print. I also had cover art prepared in JPG by a graphic artist. The result is my e-book is available in the Kindle Store.
Uploading is a simple process--believe me, if I can do it, anyone can.
Now let's talk about Smashwords, through which I make far fewer sales--but don't count them out.
To publish through Smashwords, just click here and click on "Publish."
From there (again), it's simply a matter of following instructions. Be sure to check out the formatting requirements and adhere to them. Smashwords provides samples of the correct format. (Don't ask questions, just follow them.)
Why follow the format? So you can qualify for Smashwords premium catalog, which provides e-books for BN.com. By so qualifying, I was able to have my novel sold as an e-book through BN.com: voila.
So, while e-book sales may primarily be through Amazon right now, it's probably a good idea to position yourself to sell books through BN.com, in case the Nook takes off.
Besides, Smashwords provides your e-book in a wider variety of formats (as you can see from my book's order page), so it can be downloaded to almost any e-reader from their site. Amazon provides e-books for Kindle only. (At least, this is my understanding.)
There's also Scribd.com, which allows you to sell e-books through the Scribd Store. IDENTITY CRISIS is available in the Scribd Store, but I've sold all of one copy through them, so far. However, you never know what plans Scribd might have for the future, so keep your eye on them.
Next week: Pricing e-books.
I published my novel, IDENTITY CRISIS, as an e-book through Amazon's digital text platform (DTP), as well as Smashwords, on June 2, 2009. Since then, I've sold close to 3,300 downloads of my novel.
This is nothing short of astonishing. I tell people about my e-book success and they ask me, "How'd you do it? How does all this e-book stuff work, anyway?"
They also want to know how I've promoted and marketed the book. Well, maybe it's about time I posted about this, because (much to my surprise) I do seem to have become something of an e-book maven.
In fact, I've been interviewed by Voice of America on the subject of e-books and digital publishing. (I appear at about the one-minute mark. The intent-looking blonde gal at the keyboard. :))
So, let's start with the basics: getting your work up on Amazon's and Smashword's publishing platforms.
First, Amazon is a company that needs no introduction. You've no doubt heard of the Kindle. The e-books you publish through Amazon's DTP go into the Kindle Store. And when you put them up yourself, you get to set your own price (a subject I'll cover later, because it's complicated).
To publish an e-book in the Kindle Store, just go to this Web site: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin, set up an account, then follow the simple directions. Amazon has a nice "getting started guide," as well as forums where you can find information you need.
For my own part, I uploaded a document formatted for publication in print. I also had cover art prepared in JPG by a graphic artist. The result is my e-book is available in the Kindle Store.
Uploading is a simple process--believe me, if I can do it, anyone can.
Now let's talk about Smashwords, through which I make far fewer sales--but don't count them out.
To publish through Smashwords, just click here and click on "Publish."
From there (again), it's simply a matter of following instructions. Be sure to check out the formatting requirements and adhere to them. Smashwords provides samples of the correct format. (Don't ask questions, just follow them.)
Why follow the format? So you can qualify for Smashwords premium catalog, which provides e-books for BN.com. By so qualifying, I was able to have my novel sold as an e-book through BN.com: voila.
So, while e-book sales may primarily be through Amazon right now, it's probably a good idea to position yourself to sell books through BN.com, in case the Nook takes off.
Besides, Smashwords provides your e-book in a wider variety of formats (as you can see from my book's order page), so it can be downloaded to almost any e-reader from their site. Amazon provides e-books for Kindle only. (At least, this is my understanding.)
There's also Scribd.com, which allows you to sell e-books through the Scribd Store. IDENTITY CRISIS is available in the Scribd Store, but I've sold all of one copy through them, so far. However, you never know what plans Scribd might have for the future, so keep your eye on them.
Next week: Pricing e-books.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)