One month later...
It has officially been just over a month since releasing my debut novel on Kindle, and I have learned much. First, I have a ton of loving friends who have offered to read my novel, even if it isn't a genre they typically read, and I am profoundly grateful for each one of them. Secondly, there are some really kind authors out there who are willing to give advice to a newbie such as myself. Thirdly, I have a long way to go before I see significant sales (but I'm up to $30 - yea-haw!).
I have had two (!) authors contact me through Twitter so far (which I have found is good for networking, not sales) and they have given me pointers through e-mail. The first is Bethany Avery and the second is Elizabeth Marx. They have recommended that I:
1) become a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and attend their conferences and meetings for accountability/critique/advice
2) Try Query Shark to improve my pitch (which I knew could be improved, but hadn't done yet)
3) Read up on Indie publishing (there are free Kindle books on it - ha!)
4) Approach individual book bloggers to read and review my novel on their blogs, but write as if to an editor
I've had a couple of good recommendations regarding a cover too. As you might know, I'm not satisfied with my cover or my ability to market this book on my own, and I am looking into my options while I wait for somebody (anybody?) to review my book. There were plenty of positive comments when my book was on Authonomy, but then, they were mostly written by authors that wanted good things said about their book, too. I can't market a book without reviews, so my next step is to find people who are willing to take a look at it or wait until my friends have read it (and hope they liked it!).
Also, I have heard that Smashwords is the place to sell my book to all of the online retailers at once, and the royalty is often as good as Amazon. I plan on trying it as soon as my Kindle Direct contract is up (it is on the kindle library program, which pays me some whenever someone checks it out). Many authors, I have observed, write series and then make the first book free to get people hooked... Or sell them for only a few bucks to make them more attractive. Another piece of advice I hear frequently is to keep writing books and improving my craft! This selling business is hard, but eventually I could become well known if I have several books out there (there really aren't many one hit wonders out there - famous authors have multiple offerings, some of which are better than others).
I have had two (!) authors contact me through Twitter so far (which I have found is good for networking, not sales) and they have given me pointers through e-mail. The first is Bethany Avery and the second is Elizabeth Marx. They have recommended that I:
1) become a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and attend their conferences and meetings for accountability/critique/advice
2) Try Query Shark to improve my pitch (which I knew could be improved, but hadn't done yet)
3) Read up on Indie publishing (there are free Kindle books on it - ha!)
4) Approach individual book bloggers to read and review my novel on their blogs, but write as if to an editor
I've had a couple of good recommendations regarding a cover too. As you might know, I'm not satisfied with my cover or my ability to market this book on my own, and I am looking into my options while I wait for somebody (anybody?) to review my book. There were plenty of positive comments when my book was on Authonomy, but then, they were mostly written by authors that wanted good things said about their book, too. I can't market a book without reviews, so my next step is to find people who are willing to take a look at it or wait until my friends have read it (and hope they liked it!).
Also, I have heard that Smashwords is the place to sell my book to all of the online retailers at once, and the royalty is often as good as Amazon. I plan on trying it as soon as my Kindle Direct contract is up (it is on the kindle library program, which pays me some whenever someone checks it out). Many authors, I have observed, write series and then make the first book free to get people hooked... Or sell them for only a few bucks to make them more attractive. Another piece of advice I hear frequently is to keep writing books and improving my craft! This selling business is hard, but eventually I could become well known if I have several books out there (there really aren't many one hit wonders out there - famous authors have multiple offerings, some of which are better than others).
Hello, April! I found you through The Writer's Alley, which we both follow. :) Are you still looking for reviewers for your book? If so, I'd be happy to read and review it. It sounds like an interesting tale!
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you, I would love that! My sister recently sent me some edits that she thinks may turn it into a bestseller (she is an eye surgeon, and very exacting), so I may come out with a revised version in a month or two. I will let you know as soon as I have it.
ReplyDeleteSounds good! :)
ReplyDelete