He also runs three podcasts including: The Story Telling Podcast, Game Of Geeks, and We Make Movies.
You can find out more about him and his books here: www.garrettbrobinson.com
Showing posts with label self publish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self publish. Show all posts
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Remarkable Reads Author Spotlight With Guest Garrett Robinson
He also runs three podcasts including: The Story Telling Podcast, Game Of Geeks, and We Make Movies.
You can find out more about him and his books here: www.garrettbrobinson.com
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Ebook Marketing -- Self Publishing Tips And Tricks -- Never Give Up On Your Book
You should never give up on your book...at least not right away. Not until you've given it as many makeovers as you can dream up. But before I get into that, I should probably start at the beginning.
Look, I get it. Your book is your baby. You've poured countless hours into crafting the plot and characters. You've created a unique story that you're sure people will just go ape for. But what if they don't? What if your precious tome just sinks like a stone? What if you can count all the people who have bought your book on one hand?
It happens. I've been there-far too much. And faced with that kind of lukewarm response, it's easy to get discouraged. But just because your book hasn't gotten any love doesn't mean you should give up on it.
Faced with lackluster sales, you have a number of options. You can go right back to writing on book two, then when that is complete, put book one permafree and hope the freebie will spur sales of your second book. (an option I recommend, by the way).
But that option doesn't address book number one. That's the head in the sand approach. While writing a second book in your series is always a good option, it's also one that requires a significant time investment. And while you're writing book two, book one can still be making you money as long as you give it a little makeover.
What kind of makeover?
There's four main things you can do for a book that's lagging in sales.
1. Change the title
2. Change the cover
3. Change the blurb
4. Change the books categories
I know these seem very simple, but that's because they are. Just because they're simple changes though doesn't mean they're not effective. Sometimes a cover change can make all the difference. I've seen some indie books cycle through as many as five covers before they hit on one that works. But each new cover gives your story a chance to attract a different set of eyes.
The key is to make sure your cover looks as professional as ever. You need a striking cover that conveys your books genre and appeals to your target market. And although writing is your specialty, your cover is the last thing you should ever skimp on.
With your title, you want to do one of two things. Either A. Convey exactly and indisputably what the book is about, or B. Try to intrigue them with a mysterious concept hoping they'll want to know more.
As for the blurb, make sure you sufficiently tease the reader. You have to hook a potential buyer on your concept. Make them wonder what happens next. Make them desperate to click that buy button. How do you do this? With a sense of urgency. Appeal to the readers emotions.
The final change is not as direct as it seems. Changing categories can be as simple as going to your book dashboard and popping two new categories in for your books. Sometimes that works. You have to remember, a lot of book buyers only shop in their genre. Sci fi readers sometimes will only look at other sci fi books. Same with fantasy or romance, or what have you. So if you put your book in an entirely new category, you may catch the eyeballs you've been missing. For an idea about potential category changes, check out my previous post about niche categories.
*Note: I'm not advocating putting your book in a category it doesn't belong ever. It's just that most books have a varied enough subject matter that they can fit into more than just the two categories that Amazon allows you to have.
The second option with categories is more akin to rebooting your book. If a tale is universal enough, it can be adapted into multiple genres with a little rewriting.
But no matter what, you should consider rebooting your book if you change the title, cover, blurb, or categories. For one, you're trying to sell a new book. Secondly, if your book was largely ignored, no one will there's no one to take offense with you starting over. Even more importantly, rebooting your book resets the clock on the hot new release book. So if you're going to undertake a makeover, you can take your book off sale if you wish, change the title, cover, blurb, and categories, then hit publish as a completely new book and get a fresh thirty days to try and prove itself. Who knows, a little tweaking just may work.
What if none of that works though?
I know you don't want to hear this, but some books just never take off. I know from experience. I spent the first two years of my self pubbing career writing humor books--twenty of them. And none of them took off. It was demoralizing. So what did I do? I found a new genre. I started over from scratch. New pen name. New genre (romance, if you're interested in knowing). New start.
Then something amazing happened--I started making money. People that weren't closely related to me were buying my books--and lots of them.
It was amazing. The lesson? Sometimes a change in genre can make all the difference. Sometimes it is ok to give up on your books, as long as you never give up on yourself. After all, my writing skills didn't get any better. I just started writing in a more popular genre. And it made all the difference.
Look, I get it. Your book is your baby. You've poured countless hours into crafting the plot and characters. You've created a unique story that you're sure people will just go ape for. But what if they don't? What if your precious tome just sinks like a stone? What if you can count all the people who have bought your book on one hand?
It happens. I've been there-far too much. And faced with that kind of lukewarm response, it's easy to get discouraged. But just because your book hasn't gotten any love doesn't mean you should give up on it.
Faced with lackluster sales, you have a number of options. You can go right back to writing on book two, then when that is complete, put book one permafree and hope the freebie will spur sales of your second book. (an option I recommend, by the way).
But that option doesn't address book number one. That's the head in the sand approach. While writing a second book in your series is always a good option, it's also one that requires a significant time investment. And while you're writing book two, book one can still be making you money as long as you give it a little makeover.
What kind of makeover?
There's four main things you can do for a book that's lagging in sales.
1. Change the title
2. Change the cover
3. Change the blurb
4. Change the books categories
I know these seem very simple, but that's because they are. Just because they're simple changes though doesn't mean they're not effective. Sometimes a cover change can make all the difference. I've seen some indie books cycle through as many as five covers before they hit on one that works. But each new cover gives your story a chance to attract a different set of eyes.
The key is to make sure your cover looks as professional as ever. You need a striking cover that conveys your books genre and appeals to your target market. And although writing is your specialty, your cover is the last thing you should ever skimp on.
With your title, you want to do one of two things. Either A. Convey exactly and indisputably what the book is about, or B. Try to intrigue them with a mysterious concept hoping they'll want to know more.
As for the blurb, make sure you sufficiently tease the reader. You have to hook a potential buyer on your concept. Make them wonder what happens next. Make them desperate to click that buy button. How do you do this? With a sense of urgency. Appeal to the readers emotions.
The final change is not as direct as it seems. Changing categories can be as simple as going to your book dashboard and popping two new categories in for your books. Sometimes that works. You have to remember, a lot of book buyers only shop in their genre. Sci fi readers sometimes will only look at other sci fi books. Same with fantasy or romance, or what have you. So if you put your book in an entirely new category, you may catch the eyeballs you've been missing. For an idea about potential category changes, check out my previous post about niche categories.
*Note: I'm not advocating putting your book in a category it doesn't belong ever. It's just that most books have a varied enough subject matter that they can fit into more than just the two categories that Amazon allows you to have.
The second option with categories is more akin to rebooting your book. If a tale is universal enough, it can be adapted into multiple genres with a little rewriting.
But no matter what, you should consider rebooting your book if you change the title, cover, blurb, or categories. For one, you're trying to sell a new book. Secondly, if your book was largely ignored, no one will there's no one to take offense with you starting over. Even more importantly, rebooting your book resets the clock on the hot new release book. So if you're going to undertake a makeover, you can take your book off sale if you wish, change the title, cover, blurb, and categories, then hit publish as a completely new book and get a fresh thirty days to try and prove itself. Who knows, a little tweaking just may work.
What if none of that works though?
I know you don't want to hear this, but some books just never take off. I know from experience. I spent the first two years of my self pubbing career writing humor books--twenty of them. And none of them took off. It was demoralizing. So what did I do? I found a new genre. I started over from scratch. New pen name. New genre (romance, if you're interested in knowing). New start.
Then something amazing happened--I started making money. People that weren't closely related to me were buying my books--and lots of them.
It was amazing. The lesson? Sometimes a change in genre can make all the difference. Sometimes it is ok to give up on your books, as long as you never give up on yourself. After all, my writing skills didn't get any better. I just started writing in a more popular genre. And it made all the difference.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Ebook Marketing -- Self Publising Tips And Tricks -- What Sells Best
I've spent a lot of time on this blog talking about niche marketing and categories, so I figured it was time to cover the other end of the spectrum. Namely, what sells best in the book world. Let's face it, some writers prefer to swim in the deep end. So what does it take to hang with the big dogs?
At last calculation, it takes about 1000 sales a day to crack the Top 100 on the Amazon paid list. Granted, that's 1000 sales in a 24 hour period just to be number 100 overall. To break the Top 50 or Top 20, that number goes up to 1500-2500 copies. And although these numbers are approximates because everyday sales fluctuate, there is one thing that never changes--romance and thrillers rule the charts.
I know, that's hardly surprising. But what may make you do a double take is just how dominant those two genres really are. I did a quick tally of the Kindle Top 100 yesterday and found some overwhelming results. Of the Top 100 ebooks on the bestseller list, the genre breakdown went like this:
Romance -- 45 books
Mystery/Thriller -- 24 books
Literary Fiction -- 13 books
Dystopian -- 6 books
Non Fiction -- 5 books
Science Fiction --4 books
Periodicals -- 3
That means nearly every other book in the Top 100 was a romance. One out of every four books was a mystery or thriller. And seven of every ten books was either a romance, mystery, or thriller. That's amazing news if you write in any of those genres, but awful news if you write anything else.
But there's even better news if you write romance. Of those forty-five romances, there was a mix of New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Erotic Romance, and Paranormal Romance.
Even more staggering were genres that didn't make the Top 100 at all. No horror, no humor, and the only Fantasy books were paranormal romances.
So what does this mean for you? Well, if you aren't writing romance or mystery/thriller, it may mean that the odds just got longer for you. Or maybe it just means that chances aren't you won't be a best seller. But there's good news--you can still find your niche and make livable wage. It's up to you though--are you up for swimming in the deep end?
At last calculation, it takes about 1000 sales a day to crack the Top 100 on the Amazon paid list. Granted, that's 1000 sales in a 24 hour period just to be number 100 overall. To break the Top 50 or Top 20, that number goes up to 1500-2500 copies. And although these numbers are approximates because everyday sales fluctuate, there is one thing that never changes--romance and thrillers rule the charts.
I know, that's hardly surprising. But what may make you do a double take is just how dominant those two genres really are. I did a quick tally of the Kindle Top 100 yesterday and found some overwhelming results. Of the Top 100 ebooks on the bestseller list, the genre breakdown went like this:
Romance -- 45 books
Mystery/Thriller -- 24 books
Literary Fiction -- 13 books
Dystopian -- 6 books
Non Fiction -- 5 books
Science Fiction --4 books
Periodicals -- 3
That means nearly every other book in the Top 100 was a romance. One out of every four books was a mystery or thriller. And seven of every ten books was either a romance, mystery, or thriller. That's amazing news if you write in any of those genres, but awful news if you write anything else.
But there's even better news if you write romance. Of those forty-five romances, there was a mix of New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Erotic Romance, and Paranormal Romance.
Even more staggering were genres that didn't make the Top 100 at all. No horror, no humor, and the only Fantasy books were paranormal romances.
So what does this mean for you? Well, if you aren't writing romance or mystery/thriller, it may mean that the odds just got longer for you. Or maybe it just means that chances aren't you won't be a best seller. But there's good news--you can still find your niche and make livable wage. It's up to you though--are you up for swimming in the deep end?
Friday, August 30, 2013
Self Publishing Tips And Tricks -- Using Novellas To Grow Your Audience
For the longest time, novellas have gotten the short shift in literature. Traditional publishers found it cost prohibitive to put out 60-100 page books. But in the age of ebooks, that has all changed. Now publishing novellas can be both lucrative and a quick way to build an audience.
Novel writing is a long process. Depending on the length of your book and the speed you write at, it can take anywhere between 3 months and 3 years to put out a new novel. But just because you finish a novel doesn't mean you can find anyone to buy it. And just say your novel finds either no audience or a limited one. The prospect of putting out book two becomes even more daunting.
That's where novellas come in. At roughly 60-100 pages, novellas are much easier to write. In the same time it takes you to write 1 full novel, you could put out 2-6 novellas. And if those novellas are part of a series, you can be quickly growing your audience, getting closer and closer to reaching a critical mass.
The allure of novellas is simple. They're short enough to be read in one sitting, yet long enough to provide a satisfying story.
So how do you write a novella?
The easiest comparison is to look at your favorite TV series. Each novella would be the equivalent of an hour long episode. And whereas a novel has both the main story with a number of subplots, novellas tend to focus on just the main drama--or romance--or thread of action. Keep it lean. Get right to the point. Then get out. Just like novels though, novellas are the most effective when they are part of a series. That way you can deepen the characters and flesh out the world with every subsequent book.
How will writing a series of novellas grow my audience?
The main hurdle keeping an author from sales is the fact that they haven't been discovered. It's hard for readers to buy your books if they have no idea who you are. Writing novellas can help with this though.
* First, the fact that they are shorter means you can write them quicker. The more books you have out, the more likely a reader will be to stumble onto your work.
*Also, if you can write two novellas in a short amount of time, you can make the first book permafree with a link in the back to sign up for your mailing list, thus building your fanbase.
*The more books you have out in a series, the more you can experiment with categories. Just say you have 4 novellas in a series--that means you have as many as 8 potential categories to put your books in. This is crucial. A lot of people only search books in their favorite category--whether sci fi, fantasy, horror, or romance. But by fanning out your categories, you can get eyeballs to your book that would be hard to grab otherwise. --Note: I am not advocating putting your books into categories that they don't belong. That's the best way to get a series of 1 star reviews. But given how Barnes & Noble allows you up to 5 categories while Amazon only allows you 2, most books can fit safely into as many as 5 categories.
*With Amazon especially, the first 30 days are crucial. That hot new release window is when you get maximum exposure. Now depending on how quickly you write, you can feasibly have a new title out every 1-2 months, allowing you to nearly always have a book on the new release list.
*Writing a lot of content gives you the opportunity to create boxed sets. When you reach three novellas in your series, you can bundle them up not only giving you a new release, but also the opportunity to sell your book for three, four, or even five ninety-nine. Then you can create another boxed set when you reach five or six titles, followed by a mega six book boxed set, etc...
The potential to make good money on novellas is there, but you don't know until you try. So as always, get writing.
Novel writing is a long process. Depending on the length of your book and the speed you write at, it can take anywhere between 3 months and 3 years to put out a new novel. But just because you finish a novel doesn't mean you can find anyone to buy it. And just say your novel finds either no audience or a limited one. The prospect of putting out book two becomes even more daunting.
That's where novellas come in. At roughly 60-100 pages, novellas are much easier to write. In the same time it takes you to write 1 full novel, you could put out 2-6 novellas. And if those novellas are part of a series, you can be quickly growing your audience, getting closer and closer to reaching a critical mass.
The allure of novellas is simple. They're short enough to be read in one sitting, yet long enough to provide a satisfying story.
So how do you write a novella?
The easiest comparison is to look at your favorite TV series. Each novella would be the equivalent of an hour long episode. And whereas a novel has both the main story with a number of subplots, novellas tend to focus on just the main drama--or romance--or thread of action. Keep it lean. Get right to the point. Then get out. Just like novels though, novellas are the most effective when they are part of a series. That way you can deepen the characters and flesh out the world with every subsequent book.
How will writing a series of novellas grow my audience?
The main hurdle keeping an author from sales is the fact that they haven't been discovered. It's hard for readers to buy your books if they have no idea who you are. Writing novellas can help with this though.
* First, the fact that they are shorter means you can write them quicker. The more books you have out, the more likely a reader will be to stumble onto your work.
*Also, if you can write two novellas in a short amount of time, you can make the first book permafree with a link in the back to sign up for your mailing list, thus building your fanbase.
*The more books you have out in a series, the more you can experiment with categories. Just say you have 4 novellas in a series--that means you have as many as 8 potential categories to put your books in. This is crucial. A lot of people only search books in their favorite category--whether sci fi, fantasy, horror, or romance. But by fanning out your categories, you can get eyeballs to your book that would be hard to grab otherwise. --Note: I am not advocating putting your books into categories that they don't belong. That's the best way to get a series of 1 star reviews. But given how Barnes & Noble allows you up to 5 categories while Amazon only allows you 2, most books can fit safely into as many as 5 categories.
*With Amazon especially, the first 30 days are crucial. That hot new release window is when you get maximum exposure. Now depending on how quickly you write, you can feasibly have a new title out every 1-2 months, allowing you to nearly always have a book on the new release list.
*Writing a lot of content gives you the opportunity to create boxed sets. When you reach three novellas in your series, you can bundle them up not only giving you a new release, but also the opportunity to sell your book for three, four, or even five ninety-nine. Then you can create another boxed set when you reach five or six titles, followed by a mega six book boxed set, etc...
The potential to make good money on novellas is there, but you don't know until you try. So as always, get writing.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Ebook Marketing -- Tips And Tricks To Building Your Audience
There are a lot of book blogs and mailing list services out there--Bookbub, Ereadernewstoday, Pixel Of Ink, Bookblast, and Kindle Books & Tips just to name a few. So does the self publishing world really need another one? Yes...yours.
I know what you're thinking. What good does it do to create a new book blog in a marketed that's already saturated with hundreds of Kindle related blogs? It's easy really. Most of those blogs feature Kindle books of all genres. One day they'll feature a romance book, the next a thriller. But with the noted exceptions of Bookbub, Bookblast, and Book Gorilla, very few of these blogs focus on specific genres.
Just say you write Zombie books, or Sports Romance, or Time Travel Science Fiction. Odds are you aren't going to find a blog or service devoted to your specific genre. Even if you write general horror, sci fi, or romance, it's still hard to find a blog that focuses solely on what you write. And that void is exactly how you can stand out.
For example, in the last week I started a new Twitter feed--@dystopianebooks. The feed is devoted just to Dystopian ebooks--which is also a genre I happen to write in. Every day, I pick two or three dystopian books off of Amazon and feature the authors and their books on it. I always @ mention the authors, followed by a # of your genre, then provide a link to their book so they know I've spotlighted their work.
Why do I do this? First, because I like to help out other authors (case in point, this blog). Second, it helps me build an audience in my general category. The only people that are going to follow a Dystopian Ebook Twitter feed are going to be those interested in apocalyptic type stories. And the more authors I feature, the bigger my audience gets. In the future I'm going to be rolling out a Dystopian ebook blog and Facebook fan page to further the reach. In the meantime I also have a Dystopian ebook mailing list sign up link in my Twitter profile. This is all to build up the largest dystopian fanbase I can. Then once every couple of weeks or so I can use that audience to promote my own books.
It's a great give and take. For three and a half weeks a month, I'm promoting other authors within my genre. Then the rest of the month, I'm using that following to help my own books. The general principle is that readers will more likely join a feed or blog devoted to a topic they like rather than take a chance on an author they don't know.
The best part is, this doesn't take up much time. After the initial set up, you can pick two or three books a day, then just cross post them to Twitter, Facebook, and your blog. The whole process takes less than fifteen minutes a day. The payoff is more than worth it though.
And this idea can be adapted no more what genre you write in. Odds are, you'll be one of the few fantasy blogs, or steampunk feeds, or historical fiction fan pages around. The key is not to get discouraged right away. Just remember, you're building an audience for the long term. But once that audience is established, you can use them for each of your new releases. So get blogging and tweeting. #success
I know what you're thinking. What good does it do to create a new book blog in a marketed that's already saturated with hundreds of Kindle related blogs? It's easy really. Most of those blogs feature Kindle books of all genres. One day they'll feature a romance book, the next a thriller. But with the noted exceptions of Bookbub, Bookblast, and Book Gorilla, very few of these blogs focus on specific genres.
Just say you write Zombie books, or Sports Romance, or Time Travel Science Fiction. Odds are you aren't going to find a blog or service devoted to your specific genre. Even if you write general horror, sci fi, or romance, it's still hard to find a blog that focuses solely on what you write. And that void is exactly how you can stand out.
For example, in the last week I started a new Twitter feed--@dystopianebooks. The feed is devoted just to Dystopian ebooks--which is also a genre I happen to write in. Every day, I pick two or three dystopian books off of Amazon and feature the authors and their books on it. I always @ mention the authors, followed by a # of your genre, then provide a link to their book so they know I've spotlighted their work.
Why do I do this? First, because I like to help out other authors (case in point, this blog). Second, it helps me build an audience in my general category. The only people that are going to follow a Dystopian Ebook Twitter feed are going to be those interested in apocalyptic type stories. And the more authors I feature, the bigger my audience gets. In the future I'm going to be rolling out a Dystopian ebook blog and Facebook fan page to further the reach. In the meantime I also have a Dystopian ebook mailing list sign up link in my Twitter profile. This is all to build up the largest dystopian fanbase I can. Then once every couple of weeks or so I can use that audience to promote my own books.
It's a great give and take. For three and a half weeks a month, I'm promoting other authors within my genre. Then the rest of the month, I'm using that following to help my own books. The general principle is that readers will more likely join a feed or blog devoted to a topic they like rather than take a chance on an author they don't know.
The best part is, this doesn't take up much time. After the initial set up, you can pick two or three books a day, then just cross post them to Twitter, Facebook, and your blog. The whole process takes less than fifteen minutes a day. The payoff is more than worth it though.
And this idea can be adapted no more what genre you write in. Odds are, you'll be one of the few fantasy blogs, or steampunk feeds, or historical fiction fan pages around. The key is not to get discouraged right away. Just remember, you're building an audience for the long term. But once that audience is established, you can use them for each of your new releases. So get blogging and tweeting. #success
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