Showing posts with label book marketing Amazon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book marketing Amazon. Show all posts

Amazon: A Self-Published Author's Dream

Media Graphic created by 100 Covers
Your manuscript is complete, polished . . . fini . . . ready to hit the big time—and you’ve decided to self-publish your book. Getting ready for publication means your manuscript has been vetted over time with your critique partner(s), a professional editor, and has stood the test of time, meaning during revision you’ve let it sit a few days between revision sessions. Now what?

Publishing on Amazon is the Likely First Choice
Put your mind at ease. My book, a children’s book for 7-11-year-olds, was published on Amazon less than a month ago, and my experience uploading the manuscript and book covers for both the eBook and paperback, was a positive one. Here’s why:
  • Google the question,“Can I have my book formatted and cover created at Amazon?” and you will see several companies offering these services. Or you can go to kdp.amazon.com/prepare your book, and see that your eBook manuscript can be formatted with Kindle Create, and cover designed by Cover Creator. Free tools are also available for your paperback.
  • Since I already had illustrations for the book’s cover and interior, I chose to go to professionals to format the book and create the cover, and I’m glad I did. I’ve received compliments on how professional my book looks. I purchased a combination deal with Formatted Books and 100 Covers to do the work. I sent both companies the documents for the manuscript, interior illustrations, and for the covers for the eBook, the paperback, and now a square cover for the audiobook, which is in the making. For formatting, I sent my manuscript in a Word file. All for one low, reasonable price.
Time to Start the Amazon Learning Curve
I went to Amazon KDP and looked over the material—lots and lots of material—and tried not to be overwhelmed. I decided to print the explanations and put them in a 3-ring binder so I could study them at my leisure. That cut down on screen fatigue and actually gave me reassurance, something to hold in my hand, I suppose.
  • First order of business: obtaining an ISBN number. Amazon offers ISBN numbers for free. “Amazon will auto-generate an ISBN number for your print book and an ASIN number for your digital book, register it with Bowker and www.booksinprint.com and even generate the appropriate EAN barcode for the back of your printed book.” (Google, May 28, 2019) 
  • I chose to purchase my own ISBN numbers so that I own them, and went to the source: Bowker.com. I purchased ten ISBN numbers for the rest of this series, including the audiobook, and for future books. Note: Ebooks don’t need ISBN numbers. Bowker offers other services which are worth checking out, including getting on their mailing list for self-published authors. Lots of helpful information there.
A few hiccups
  • You need to decide how much royalty you would like to receive, 35% or 70%. I couldn’t find an explanation to help me decide, so I went for it. I chose 70%!
  • Be careful how you price your book: I had the bar code made, also from Bowker, with a nice, low price on it. Then when it came time to price the book while filling out the Amazon questionnaire, my price was lower than the minimum Amazon requires. So, I had to ask 100 Covers to change the book price on the bar code located on the paperback back cover to a higher price.
  • Insert the correct imprint (trade name) for your book. My attempts weren’t accepted, so I called Bowker, a gentleman answered right away, and he told me to go to Bookwire.com and plug in the ISBN number. VoilĂ ! There was my imprint!
What Next?
Once your information is accepted into the system, Amazon says your sales page will appear in 72 hours. Mine appeared in 24 hours. Then it’s time to take advantage of all Amazon has to offer.
  • Apply to Author Central to create your Author page.
  • Apply for “Look inside,” a feature that Amazon creates and displays in about five days.
  • Order author copies right away. I ordered ten, which took about two weeks to arrive as books are Print on Demand. I’ve used five of my copies to send to reviewers (with a gift, or swag, that I created as a thank you--more on swag in a future post), and have kept five to give away or sell. I included a note to the reviewers to ask them if they would pass the book on once they’re done with it, and have gotten a positive response on the desire to do that. I reminded them about leaving a review on Amazon (that’s the only place my book is sold right now). Also, I’m taking Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s advice in her terrific book, How to Get Great Book Reviews, and am sending thank you cards and thank you emails to my reviewers.
  • Karen Cioffi, award-winning author and creator and owner of Writers on the Move, posted her review of my book on Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s very helpful website, https://thenewbookreview.com/. Check it out!
  • My first newsletter was emailed to my email list that I’ve been cultivating.
  • Swag (author gifts) was made, which I’ll cover in a future post. Hint: recipients have liked my swag because I have made it useful.
  • An audiobook is on the way from Findaway Voices. If you think you had fun writing your book, wait until you hear a professional narrator read it!
  • For my final hurrah, I have purchased Bryan Cohen’s Amazon Ad School to take the next step in selling my book. And when I find time (uh huh!) I plan to register for the free program to distribute my paperback at IngramSpark. My eBook doesn’t qualify because I signed up with KDP Select, which I think authors need to consider. Try this terrific SPF Community on Facebook for help with deciding whether to go with KDP Select or go wide, meaning you can sell your book in any market. KDP Select is a 90-day commitment to sell only on Amazon (with lots of benefits), and is renewable.
  • A note about Amazon Prime: Having your book included in Amazon Prime is by invitation only.
  • A note about KDP and Author Central's Help Desk: It is great! My questions--and there were many--were answered politely and quickly. Knowing this gave me reassurance.
  • Check out my May post "Help for Self-Published Authors" for more tips on getting started on your self-publishing journey: http://www.writersonthemove.com/2020/05/
I’ve enjoyed every step of the way, from writing the book to arriving at this juncture. The next step is cutting out time each day, or on a schedule, to keep track of my ads on Amazon, continue to expand my email list, continue to look for reviewers, and so much more!

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 150 articles for adults and children, and several short stories for children. She has recently become editor of the New Mexico SCBWI chapter newsletter, and is working on several projects for children. Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery, Linda's first book, is available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/author/lindawilsonchildrensauthor. The next book in the Abi Wunder series, Secret in the Mist, will be available soon. Follow Linda on https://www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

Increasing Visibility on Amazon


I attended the IndiRecon, a free online conference for writers.

One of the things that struck me most was this point, by David Gaughran. New authors tend to spend a lot of time promoting on social media, blogging, etc.

 But think about this. “If someone is on Facebook, they're probably chewing the fat with friends or looking at cat pictures.

On Google, they're searching for something—their wallet is only half out. On Amazon, they are ready to buy.” It makes sense, then, to focus more on Amazon until you get well known enough that social media and blogging will help you connect with the readers you already have, and through them expand to new readers.

So here's the advice I compiled from several presenters who held similar opinions, all about how to increase your discoverability on Amazon.

Make Your Title and Cover Work for YOU

-Do NOT confuse anyone with your title or cover. This includes, but is not limited to: unpronounceable words, cutesy non-fiction titles that don't explain what the book's about, titles completely at odds with the genre listed, titles too small to read on the thumbnail, books where the reader isn't sure which is the title and which is the author.

-Remember that shorter titles tend to sell better.

-Make sure the title and cover convey at very least the genre and tone of your book. Better that they convey some of the story too.

Choose Categories Strategically

-Get as specific as you can. In the Kindle store, “Fiction—General” may have a million books in it, and the chances of a browsing customer just happening upon your book are extremely slim. “Genre Fiction-Sea Adventures” has less than a thousand titles, and will bring you and potential fans together better. Provided, of course, that your story really is a sea story.

-Find smaller categories. They make it easier to get into top-100 lists.

-Decide on your ideal categories by looking up popular books similar to yours. You can also browse categories by clicking on the“shop by department” drop down menu and then drilling down (you'll often have to scroll to the bottom to find the department subcategories).

-If the category you want is not available to you through KDP, select non-classifiable as one of your categories and then e-mail Amazon, giving them the exact path you want to be in. Example: Kindle Store>Kindle eBooks>Teen&Young Adult>Historical Fiction>Ancient Civilizations.

Test Keywords

-Brainstorm keywords and phrases for your book, then run them through a keyword analyzer to see which ones have the most searches. One program is the Keyword planner on Adwords. To get ideas for more words, you can also type your keywords into Amazon or Google and see what it autosuggests.

-Remember that Amazon allows you 7 keyword phrases, so “Young Adult Paranormal” is counted as one keyword.

-Test your keywords by putting them in the Amazon search box and see if the right sort of books pop up.

-Use associated words to improve SEO (search engine optimization), so if “young adult dystopian” and “teen science fiction” both apply, and you think people will search by both, use them both. Search engines think this makes your content a more reliable.

-Use your keyword phrases in the title, subtitle, or description. Repeat your classification/sub genre in the keywords, even if Amazon tells you it's unnecessary.

Pretty Up Your Book Description

-Think of your description as sales copy. It's not just your back-of-the-book blurb.

-Use headlines, sub headers, and bullet points to draw the eye. Bullet points in fiction, you ask? If nothing else lends itself to bullet points, use blurbs from reviews.

-Use html to get bold, headlines, etc. A list of approved html: http://www.tckpublishing.com/amazon-kdp-kindle-book-description-html-update/

-Use actionable words.

-Show social proof that it's good (awards won, best-seller status, etc)

-Include a call to action, like “Scroll up and grab a copy today.”

-Repeat your title in your description. You can also include excerpts. Especially for non-fiction books, include the table of contents in the book description. It's a really slick way to get your keywords in without sounding forced.

-Try using keywords in a subtitle, like “An Inspirational Romance.” Just don't make it too cheesy.

Price to Sell

-Price your books competitively.

-Johnny Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright advocate always having some way for readers to get a complete, stand-alone, satisfying entry into any book or series you've published. This is not the same as the standard e-book sample, which comes with the understanding that the reader will reach the end of the sample—maybe mid sentence—and have to buy the rest. It shouldn't simply be an excerpt on your blog or Facebook, which isn't the same experience as a book. Possibilities for free entries:
'
a) For a series, make the first book free.

b) For a stand-alone novel, publish a free short story or novella set in the same world or with the same characters.

c) For a non-fiction book, publish a free essay on a similar theme or a stand-alone chapter on one specific topic covered in your book.

-Don't fear giving your books away. This may seem counter intuitive if your goal is to make money, but people love free things. They'll be more willing to gamble zero dollars on a new author. Then, if they like it, they may very well buy others. But these people never would have been exposed at all if that first bite weren't free. Think of it as a loss-leader in a grocery store.

-Amazon won't allow you to simply price your e-book free. However, they match other sites. So, if you want it perma-free, make it free somewhere else, like Smashwords, and then have someone report it to Amazon. They'll turn it free.

Get Reviews

-Ethically-obtained reviews legitimize your book and attract customers. For ideas on how to get more, join me next month.

Think like Amazon

Understand that Amazon's mysterious algorithms are all to help customers find things they will buy. Set up your product in a way that helps Amazon link you with the right customers, and your sales will increase.

Resources:

Michael Alvear's The Guerrilla Marketer's Guide to Selling Fiction On Kindle
Optimizing Searched on Your Book [Metadata/SEO] by Lori Culwell
Jim Kukral's Webinar: The Amazon Power of Selling by Jim Kukral from Author Ad Network
David Gaughren's article: Understanding Amazon's Recommendation Engine
Write, Publish, Repeat: How to Turn your Art from a Hobby into a Real Business Live Podcast with Johnny Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright.
(Sorry, but none of links work so had to be removed!)


Melinda Brasher loves to travel, write, and play difficult card games.  She has short stories and travel writing published in various magazines, and is the author ofFar-Knowing, a YA fantasy novel. Visit her blog for all the latest: http://www.melindabrasher.com


10 Common Challenges Many New Novelists Face

by Suzanne Lieurance New novelists often encounter a range of challenges as they begin writing their book.  Here are 10 of the most common p...