Finishing a book is difficult, but you’ve probably done it.
Publishing a book is tricky, but you somehow cracked that mystery as well.
Now the question is, how do you get people to care?
I put out a book a month on Amazon, and typically more. These range from full-length novels of 70,000 words to shorter non-fiction books and even novelettes. I like to try new things and see what works and what doesn’t.
To really get an idea of what works, or what books people might be interested in, I do a lot of internet work. So what does that mean? Let’s take a look.
Publishing a book is tricky, but you somehow cracked that mystery as well.
Now the question is, how do you get people to care?
I put out a book a month on Amazon, and typically more. These range from full-length novels of 70,000 words to shorter non-fiction books and even novelettes. I like to try new things and see what works and what doesn’t.
To really get an idea of what works, or what books people might be interested in, I do a lot of internet work. So what does that mean? Let’s take a look.
Publish a Blog Post
Panum Institute, Copenhagen Nearly every time I release a new book I’ll write a post about it on my website.
I’ll discuss what the book’s about, include the Amazon blurb, the links to Amazon and Smashwords (I’ll add in the other links when the other retailers go live in a week or two) and also give an excerpt.
It might not sound like a lot, but depending on how large your excerpt is, you’re looking at a 1,500 to 2,500 word blog post there. I always try to include some kind of action sequence in my excerpt, or an extremely interesting part of my non-fiction book.
I’ll discuss what the book’s about, include the Amazon blurb, the links to Amazon and Smashwords (I’ll add in the other links when the other retailers go live in a week or two) and also give an excerpt.
It might not sound like a lot, but depending on how large your excerpt is, you’re looking at a 1,500 to 2,500 word blog post there. I always try to include some kind of action sequence in my excerpt, or an extremely interesting part of my non-fiction book.
Sharing a Post
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium I use Weebly for my websites, and right when I hit publish that post gets shared on both Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook doesn’t do too much for me as I don’t have a lot of friends on there (I lived in China for 5 years where Facebook isn’t allowed), but I do get some action from Twitter.
My website isn’t configured to work with Google+, so I always go and share the post there. Since I’m a member of several groups or communities there, I also will share it in SEO, Amazon Self-Publishers, or whatever other groups apply.
I always share my blog post on Kboards by going to the “Have you posted to your blog recently” thread. Having your profile configured with your website prominent like mine is will also give you some traction.
Facebook doesn’t do too much for me as I don’t have a lot of friends on there (I lived in China for 5 years where Facebook isn’t allowed), but I do get some action from Twitter.
My website isn’t configured to work with Google+, so I always go and share the post there. Since I’m a member of several groups or communities there, I also will share it in SEO, Amazon Self-Publishers, or whatever other groups apply.
I always share my blog post on Kboards by going to the “Have you posted to your blog recently” thread. Having your profile configured with your website prominent like mine is will also give you some traction.
Showcasing Your Book
Helena, Montana I have a spot on the homepage of my website (the page that gets the most hits) showing all of my books.
As soon as a new one is written I put that cover up there with the others, with a link pointing to Amazon as well.
For some books I’ll schedule a blog tour after release, which’ll give that book a little boost in 6 to 8 weeks when they can get to it.
For those knowing when the release date is, or who don’t write books as fast as I do, scheduling a blog tour while your book is in that Amazon 30-day Hot New Releases window is your best option for climbing your categories quickly.
On a side note, I’m not sure how effective a 30-day release window is anymore. Many big name authors have pre-releases, and these sit on the charts several months in advance of release, eating up the spots you could’ve had.
As soon as a new one is written I put that cover up there with the others, with a link pointing to Amazon as well.
For some books I’ll schedule a blog tour after release, which’ll give that book a little boost in 6 to 8 weeks when they can get to it.
For those knowing when the release date is, or who don’t write books as fast as I do, scheduling a blog tour while your book is in that Amazon 30-day Hot New Releases window is your best option for climbing your categories quickly.
On a side note, I’m not sure how effective a 30-day release window is anymore. Many big name authors have pre-releases, and these sit on the charts several months in advance of release, eating up the spots you could’ve had.
Moving On
I have no idea After awhile you have to move on, letting a book live on its own, much like an animal will let go of its young.
Yeah, it’s hard, I know. But we’ve all seen those authors pushing the same book from six months ago or longer. That’s desperation, and that’s not the route you want to go.
Perhaps I don’t spend as much time or money on marketing as I should (what I listed is about it), but it just doesn’t really bother me.
How about you? Do you have any secrets that you do after hitting the ‘ol ‘Publish’ button?
Yeah, it’s hard, I know. But we’ve all seen those authors pushing the same book from six months ago or longer. That’s desperation, and that’s not the route you want to go.
Perhaps I don’t spend as much time or money on marketing as I should (what I listed is about it), but it just doesn’t really bother me.
How about you? Do you have any secrets that you do after hitting the ‘ol ‘Publish’ button?
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