By Terri Reid
I published my first e-book in 2010 and it was a
great time to be an indie author. We were all so excited about the new
possibilities of reaching people all over the worlds through the channels of
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple and Smashwords. Have things
changed since then?
Yes, they have. When I first started there
were less than a million e-books available on Amazon. I just quickly checked
Amazon’s numbers (unscientifically) and there are over two million fiction
books and there were 70,000 new releases in the past thirty days. The
dance floor is definitely more crowded!
So, how do you publish a successful e-book
today?
Here’s some information that has helped
me. I hope it will do the same for you.
When you start, learn from people who have
already walked the path. Find forums where indie authors hang out and ask
questions. That’s the best way to learn. One of the places I used
when I started was www.kindleboards.com –
Listen to the professionals. E-publishing
is relatively new, but there are some folks out there who take the time to be
“in the know” and, thankfully, they are willing to share what they learn.
Two of the ones I enjoy are: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ -
This is Joe Konrath's blog called a Newbie's Guide to e-publishing. There is a
lot of great information there. http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/ - This
is David Gaughran's blogsite - it is also filled with all kinds of great
information.
What’s next? Marketing! From my
experience, these are the most important things you can do to market your book:
1. Have a great book! (I know this seems like a "duh"
comment - but so many people mistakenly think they can push out an “almost
perfect” book - just as long as they get it out. WRONG! You only get one chance
to make a first impression.) And consider writing a series, because you
will have your readers coming back for the next installment.
2. Have an author's Facebook page. Call in some favors, have your
friends and family “share” the link to your new book. Post about your book’s
successes, but don’t be obnoxious about it.
3. See if you can get bloggers in your genre to read and review
your book. This will give you more visibility.
5. A website is nice - I have one - but it has nowhere near the
hits I have on Facebook. I would say if you can create your own, great! But, in
my opinion, Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest will give you a lot more bang
for your buck.
6. Pay some money for a marketing push at places like BookBub,
Read Freely and others. Best of luck!!! I wish you so much success!
Best of luck!!! I wish you so much success!
________________________________________________________________
Terri Reid is the author of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mysteries. An
independent author, Reid uploaded her first book “Loose Ends – A Mary O’Reilly
Paranormal Mystery” in August 2010. By the end of 2013, “Loose Ends” had sold
over 200,000 copies and, has consistently ranked as one of the Top Ten books in
Amazon’s ranking of Ghost Stories in the Book/Literature & Fiction/Genre
Fiction/Horror/Ghosts section and in the same area in the Kindle eBooks
section. She has thirteen other books in the Mary O’Reilly Series and has
enjoyed Top Rated and Hot New Release status for many of them in the Women
Sleuths and Paranormal Romance category through Amazon US. Her books have been
translated into Spanish, Portuguese and German and are also now also available
in print and audio versions. Reid has been quoted in a number of books about
the self-publishing industry including “Let’s Get Digital” by David Gaughran
and “Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published
Authors” by Claire and Tim Ridgway. She was also honored to have some of her
works included in A. J. Abbiati’s book “The NORTAV Method for Writers – The
Secrets to Constructing Prose Like the Pros.” Her social media links are: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terri-Reid-author/179591462080204?fref=nf website – www.terrireid.com and Twitter - @terrireid10
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