Practical Advice for Self-Publishers--Increase Your Odds of Selling

jmichaelfavreau

Smells like bacon
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
59
Reaction score
4
Location
Vermont
So much good advice in this thread. I have found more success with Twitter then a blog. As I am writing books, writing a blog has been counter-productive and I just don't put the thought into it I should be. While I still post blog posts, most of my social media presence is in Twitter and to a lesser extent Facebook. Quick tweets, which usually have nothing to do with writing, let a lone my book, have generated a slightly bigger audience.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Elenitsa

MartinP

Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Great advice here thanks.
For my two'penneth, I recently had one of those 'lightbulb' moments (I don't have many) - when thinking up a non-fiction book idea, some people go: 'I know, I'll write about x' - they then throw themselves into the project, write an absolute masterpiece and then wonder why it's not flying off the shelves.
Often the painful truth is, the topic (and more especially the title) is just not being actively searched for by more than a handful of people either on Google or on Amazon!
I know, I've been there! So now, I ALWWAYS make sure I use the Google Keyword Planner to ensure there's enough monthly traffic and that I have a 'high-value' title from it!

Just thought I'd throw that in! ;-)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

Skabr

Inspire.Motivate. If nothing, drag!
Registered
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
46
Reaction score
2
Wow! I'm hoping to integrate these tips into my next self-published book. But do these help even self published short-stories? Because that's what I'm writing most of the time.
 

LSMay

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
93
Reaction score
9
Location
New Zealand
I'm just going to say this because it's been bugging me: if you are going to post in a forum/discussion board (e.g. Goodreads) that your book is on sale, at least also post the cover and blurb.
I'm not convinced a post like that has any real influence on sales - might depend where exactly it's posted - but I'm not going to go and search out your book to figure out if I'm going to like it because it happens to be 99c for a day. Give me something to interest me in it.
 

Punkin

Banned
Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
45
Reaction score
2
Let's get real: Most of the "self-publishing" vendors out there, aren't "publishers" at all. They're book printers. This is neither good or bad, but you should be realistic in your expectations.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
Actually, a printer's precisely the sort of vendor a self-publisher wants. Do you mean instead to warn folks away from the vanity outfits which pose as self-publishing services?
 

Punkin

Banned
Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
45
Reaction score
2
No, Cao. I'm saying that a writer should manage her expectations. Don't suppose that you're getting "published," when you're only getting printed. Thousands of people out there want to sue their "publisher," because they assumed they would get much more.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
I think there's a couple issues being conflated here, but, yes, self-publishers should be aware of the limitations of whatever service(s) they use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elenitsa

Ferrenzig

Registered
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Wow! I'm hoping to integrate these tips into my next self-published book. But do these help even self published short-stories? Because that's what I'm writing most of the time.

A quick check on Amazon shows me there are over 200k other publications listed as short stories to compete against. However, (depending on the length of your stories) Flash Fiction has fewer than 4k books listed in that category.

It's a lot easier to get noticed if you can get your work into smaller categories.
 

Honalo

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
663
Reaction score
155
Unfortunately, self-publishing has received a bad rap because many people who self-publish, quite frankly, don't put in the work. They finish a first draft, get a mediocre cover, hit send, and their POD book is out there. Not well edited or proofed or well-designed. Either because they can't afford to go up a level from POD or are so new to the writing/publishing industry that they don't understand how to really craft a book. A good editor is always necessary to take the project up a level. It's not easy, but my feeling is, if you're going to take the time to write a book, take the next step and have it well-edited. I think the end result is always worth it.
 

ecerberus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 11, 2017
Messages
150
Reaction score
17
Awesome thread, really valuable stuff for those considering self publish (I know I am)
 

J.T. Marsh

intemperate
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2017
Messages
43
Reaction score
3
Location
Canada
Website
www.jtmarshauthor.com
This may not be a groundbreaking observation, but in my experience price has little impact on sales, within a certain range of course. There's always the temptation to lower the price of novels to 99 cents in the hopes of spurring an increase in sales, but that doesn't happen, or if it does it's minimal. I'll price short books of poetry (less than or around 25-30 pages) at 99 cents regularly, but never full-length novels. When you price full-length novels (and other proper books) at such a low price, you're only hurting the other struggling authors by helping to create the expectation that an ebook should be 99 cents as the standard price.
 

TheListener

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
468
Reaction score
21
Location
UK
I just finished reading the majority of the posts and there is a lot of great ideas and advice in here. What I want to know now is if this is all still relevant 2-6 years later? Things change and marketing sure changes. Are there any updates on how to sell or something new that is working for anyone else? Is there another thread with more updated info? Thanks if anyone can answer this.
 

Woollybear

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Messages
9,723
Reaction score
9,704
Location
USA
Also on the covers, remember that your discoverability is not the 1600-2500 pixel cover you get from the artist. What sells is the 160 pixel high postage stamp people see in the search results and the even smaller also bought. Cover art and even title choice needs to grab the eye at that tiny resolution. That means a relatively simple picture and a high contrast easy to read and probably short title.

I suspect this is why so many of the New Adult bestsellers have these one or two word titles done in a geometric font. Part of that is branding, but I think it's also about literal visibilty among the results.

Also, a good blurb won't just catch the reader's attention, it'll also provide a bunch of keywords to the search engine. If the book doesn't have a really grabbing first page, then find an excerpt that will grab the reader and stick it in the blurb.

Genre counts for a lot. Mass market genres like action adventure and romance. The stuff that used to be in 30s pulp magazines then in 50s pulp paperbacks is what seems to sell the best.

This all seems really valuable and I am curious if it still holds in 2019. ?
 

thewonder

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 23, 2021
Messages
127
Reaction score
26
I feel lost within a sea of information, here, and am rather unsure as to where to go for good advice.

I'm looking to print a booklet to be released with a cassette on bandcamp of only five poems, around twenty-two minutes in length, which, I think, should only amount to around ten to fifteen pages. I was thinking of just having a deep sea blue cover with the title written in white on the spine, a bit of information in the opening pages, table of contents, and, of course, the poems, and, so, it wouldn't seem to be a very complex printing job. I'll have to find something that is extraordinarily affordable, however.

I'm also looking to arrange between twenty and forty-five poems in a book to shop around to some local booksellers, and, so, am looking for all kinds of advice in those regards. I'm not really looking to break out in any immediate future. I've just had these poems for a long time, would like to somehow share them, and want to be able to read them in a printed and published booklet.
 

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
14,534
Reaction score
24,104
Location
Massachusetts
Website
elizabethbonesteel.com
I'm also looking to arrange between twenty and forty-five poems in a book to shop around to some local booksellers, and, so, am looking for all kinds of advice in those regards. I'm not really looking to break out in any immediate future. I've just had these poems for a long time, would like to somehow share them, and want to be able to read them in a printed and published booklet.

Print distribution for self-published work is extremely difficult. For what you're talking about, it's my understanding you'd want to approach the management of each bookstore and ask if they'd take copies on consignment. Sometimes indies will have local author sections; AFAIK they're more likely to be flexible than a chain store.

If all you want from this is a bound copy for your own satisfaction, there are places like Blurb that can bind whatever you like. I've got a number of volumes from them, and am pretty satisfied with the quality. IMHO, though, their prices are too high to make them a good choice for bulk printing.

The volume in self-publishing comes from ebooks, largely Amazon. That doesn't mean you have to deal with either, but that's the current reality of the market.
 

thewonder

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 23, 2021
Messages
127
Reaction score
26
Print distribution for self-published work is extremely difficult. For what you're talking about, it's my understanding you'd want to approach the management of each bookstore and ask if they'd take copies on consignment. Sometimes indies will have local author sections; AFAIK they're more likely to be flexible than a chain store.
I plan on exclusively approaching independent bookstores, as they are my only hope of selling this, who, to my estimation, all have local author sections, usually at the front desk, as I'm only really looking to share this with myself and the local art scene here, and, so, I'm mostly just looking for advice on how to curate a book, format it, and get it printed at a relatively low cost.
 

RandyG

Registered
Joined
Dec 24, 2022
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Being a complete beginner, I find this thread to be very useful. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
 

nellywilk

Banned
Registered
Joined
Nov 10, 2022
Messages
16
Reaction score
9
Being a complete beginner, I find this thread to be very useful. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
There are a lot of great tips here!
One thing from my side - get familiar with the microsoft teams phone number and the ways how to use it for the promotion.
It is one of the best business messengers in my opinion and definitely should be used to reach the potential customers/readers.
 
Last edited:
  • Angry
Reactions: Maryn