So here are just five really good tips that are best practices if you wish to self-publish and promote your stories. They're the types of things I do, and they work very well, although there are certainly a great deal more than just these five things you could do to make things happen (which I can share if anyone is interested, just hit me up).
1. Write a damn good story that is professionally presented and well-edited.
This should be a "no-brainer", right? But you will be amazed at what is floating around out there that some writers are trying to sell. The story is unoriginal, formulaic, and is nothing new under the sun (sorry for the cliché). Then to add to it, the presentation is less than professional, meaning poor grammar and spelling, dropped words, missing punctuation, and incoherent paragraph structuring. I could go on about this, but the bottom line is a reader will start in on such a poorly edited and presented story, and then drop it like yesterday's spoiled tuna salad sandwich right into the trash. And that is just while they are viewing the free sample. Heck, sometimes they will not even get that far because the poor presentation will show up in the "back of the book" description of the story, and then the reader won't even download or purchase the story at all. So, take the time to put something down that has a good plot, is structured well (meaning a beginning, a middle, and an end, as well as a story arc, some character development, and tad bit of descriptive setting), and, also, perhaps one should add a bit of originality to it, too. Take the time to edit the story to make sure the spelling is correct, and I don't mean use the spell check on the computer. Actually use a dictionary; they're quite useful. Check for dropped words. Check for the proper use of punctuation, most especially commas (or the lack thereof).
2. Free
Nothing sells better than free. If you are starting out, put those first few stories out there for free. Build a fan base by giving the readers the opportunity to view your stories by making it risk "free" (meaning, they're not out any money on the deal). Once you have a few readers that check you out, then they will come back later for the stories that are not free because you will have established trust with those readers of the "free stuff". And I am not just saying make your short stories free, and then charge for the novels. I have seen authors publish well-written, professional novels that may have taken them a couple of years to compose who release them for free. If the story is excellent this draws in a large number of fans, and then when the writer puts out the sequel he can charge for that one. Believe me, those readers of the first book are all in for paying for the sequel or what have you if the first novel was excellent. Statistically, free downloads happen fifty times more often than the priced downloads, so exposure is the strategy here, with profitability being the long term goal.
3. Social Media
Once you put something out there, let everyone know about it. Set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a basic author website, and a blog about your writing. Share the news about what you just published so that readers can find your story. The more hooks in the water, the more fish you can catch. And be creative with social media. Release samples of the story. Set up contests. Announce cover releases prior to the release of the story itself.
4. Book Covers
Speaking of book covers, it is very true; people do judge a book by its cover. One time I put a short story out (yes, you can self-publish your short stories through Smashwords, Wattpad, Kindle, etc.), and the cover was "okay". I monitored the downloads of the story for the first week or so, and noticed that the story was not really going anywhere. I scratched my head about this for a moment, and then decided to re-work the cover. I came up with something a little more appealing, and then uploaded that with the story. Sure enough, the downloads for that story took off. So, work on book cover design, and if you just can't figure it out (yes, I know book cover design is somewhat tedious), then find someone to do it for you. There are plenty of outfits floating about that will design very affordable book covers that will "pop" and draw interest to your story like chum in the water.
5. Write another damn good story
And so the circle of life continues. The sale of your previous stories can be driven by the release of another "damn good story". I have experienced this myself. I put one story out, and it took off for a while, and then eventually interest in it faded. About the time it was fading, I put out another story, and this drove interest in the previous story published. You see, on the online retailer platforms, they do this thing called "Other books by the Author", and so if a reader liked your story, they will go looking for that and buy your other books. Also, each time you put out a story, at the end of your story, you should have a section where you list your previous stories published with links that direct the reader where to go to download a copy of those stories.
These five pointers, as I have said, are just a few of the things you can do to promote your stories. There are many, many other things you can do, and in future posts I will mention those to help everyone along. If you have some ideas yourself, I would love to hear about them as I am also always striving to find new ways to promote and publish.
For those of you who might be interested, One Second Before Awakening, my first novel, is due to be released on July 2, 2014, and you can pre-order it now through Smashwords.com, as well as some of the other major online book retailers in the upcoming days and weeks. Check out a sample of the novel at the following link https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/442792 , or you can view the first chapter for free on my website https://www.roberthillauthor.com .
No comments:
Post a Comment