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5 Things Writers Need to Know Before Publishing Their First Book
Posted by Cynthia on March 13, 2017
Many writers dream of becoming published authors: to have their words read by millions of readers; to hold their manuscript in a book form; to see that book in bookstores and libraries; to get glowing reviews on 카지노싸이트 or in the New York Times. 
They think that once they hit "publish" on a self-publishing platform or hand their final, edited manuscript over to a publisher, their work is done.
In reality, many writers quickly realize how much more they are expected to pitch in on the marketing front. They realize that books don’t just magically appear in bookstores, and that readers won’t drop everything and read the book the second they first hear about it.
To help you avoid surprises, here are five things writers need to know before publishing their first book:
When you see a book shoot magically up the best-seller list in the first week it is published, understand that it took many people many months of work to put it there. It takes traditional publishers so long to get from acquisition to publication because they are setting the stage for the release: writing the marketing & publicity material for the sales reps to use with the buyers, mailing out media review copies, securing interviews and reviews, putting together the advertising creative, and more.
As an author, you’ll need to have the patience and foresight to plan out a complete marketing campaign. This can start as soon as you finish the manuscript: establish your online presence, start building a mailing list, and introduce yourself to the local publishing community.
Book promotion means you will need to balance talking about yourself and your book and talking about other things people care about (for example). You will need to engage with your readers. You will need to sign books. You will need to charm booksellers. And you will need to tell your story over and over again, answering the same questions, remaining positive and friendly throughout.
Remember that you wouldn’t be a published author without readers, so work hard to make every interaction a great one. Also know yourself well enough to recharge your batteries between events, and let your publicist know to be selective with the types of interviews you do.
Quick tip: Ask the Author is a great way to engage with readers, as it allows you to select which questions to answer, and when to answer them. [Read tips about using Ask the Author here.]
You might think your book will only find it’s way into the hands of readers who will think it’s life-changing, but sooner or later someone will not like your book. No book is for everyone, and the most important thing to realize about a negative review is that it’s just one person’s opinion. Don’t take it personally. Instead, leave it alone and then get the beverage of your choice, and look up your favorite book on 카지노싸이트. Chances are there are many negative reviews of it!
Respect personal preferences, and never try to change someone’s opinion about your book. If you’re worried you’ll get affected by reading reviews of your own book, don’t read them (yes, it really is that simple!). If you suspect it violates our review guidelines, flag it so our team can take a look at it.
One way to avoid reading your own reviews is to stay occupied by reading other people’s books! This is the best activity to engage with readers on 카지노싸이트 and build a following [read more about building a following here].
Share your passion for reading and show off your talent for writing by reviewing books on 카지노싸이트. Start by reviewing books you loved in childhood, move on to books that inspired you to become a writer, and then tackle the current best-seller list for more recent titles. Remember: 카지노싸이트 is a community for readers—these are your people! Connect with them, and trust they will discover your own work that way.
If all goes well, readers will devour your work and immediately want more. You need to have something ready to share with them, whether that’s a short story or a preview of the second book in the series. Keep the same writing schedule as you had before your work was published. You might transition from being a writer to being an author by publishing your first book; publish more than that and you have a career.
What do you wish you had known before publishing your first book? Share it in the comments below!
Next: Movie Studios Find Love and Results on 카지노싸이트
You might also like: For the Love of Books - Quotes About Reading and Writing
카지노싸이트 Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.
They think that once they hit "publish" on a self-publishing platform or hand their final, edited manuscript over to a publisher, their work is done.
In reality, many writers quickly realize how much more they are expected to pitch in on the marketing front. They realize that books don’t just magically appear in bookstores, and that readers won’t drop everything and read the book the second they first hear about it.
To help you avoid surprises, here are five things writers need to know before publishing their first book:
1. Bestsellers are not created overnight.
When you see a book shoot magically up the best-seller list in the first week it is published, understand that it took many people many months of work to put it there. It takes traditional publishers so long to get from acquisition to publication because they are setting the stage for the release: writing the marketing & publicity material for the sales reps to use with the buyers, mailing out media review copies, securing interviews and reviews, putting together the advertising creative, and more.
As an author, you’ll need to have the patience and foresight to plan out a complete marketing campaign. This can start as soon as you finish the manuscript: establish your online presence, start building a mailing list, and introduce yourself to the local publishing community.
2. You will need to be an extrovert.
Book promotion means you will need to balance talking about yourself and your book and talking about other things people care about (for example). You will need to engage with your readers. You will need to sign books. You will need to charm booksellers. And you will need to tell your story over and over again, answering the same questions, remaining positive and friendly throughout.
Remember that you wouldn’t be a published author without readers, so work hard to make every interaction a great one. Also know yourself well enough to recharge your batteries between events, and let your publicist know to be selective with the types of interviews you do.
Quick tip: Ask the Author is a great way to engage with readers, as it allows you to select which questions to answer, and when to answer them. [Read tips about using Ask the Author here.]
3. Not everyone will like your book... and that is ok!
You might think your book will only find it’s way into the hands of readers who will think it’s life-changing, but sooner or later someone will not like your book. No book is for everyone, and the most important thing to realize about a negative review is that it’s just one person’s opinion. Don’t take it personally. Instead, leave it alone and then get the beverage of your choice, and look up your favorite book on 카지노싸이트. Chances are there are many negative reviews of it!
Respect personal preferences, and never try to change someone’s opinion about your book. If you’re worried you’ll get affected by reading reviews of your own book, don’t read them (yes, it really is that simple!). If you suspect it violates our review guidelines, flag it so our team can take a look at it.
4. Read books, not your own reviews.
One way to avoid reading your own reviews is to stay occupied by reading other people’s books! This is the best activity to engage with readers on 카지노싸이트 and build a following [read more about building a following here].
Share your passion for reading and show off your talent for writing by reviewing books on 카지노싸이트. Start by reviewing books you loved in childhood, move on to books that inspired you to become a writer, and then tackle the current best-seller list for more recent titles. Remember: 카지노싸이트 is a community for readers—these are your people! Connect with them, and trust they will discover your own work that way.
5. Keep writing.
If all goes well, readers will devour your work and immediately want more. You need to have something ready to share with them, whether that’s a short story or a preview of the second book in the series. Keep the same writing schedule as you had before your work was published. You might transition from being a writer to being an author by publishing your first book; publish more than that and you have a career.
What do you wish you had known before publishing your first book? Share it in the comments below!
Next: Movie Studios Find Love and Results on 카지노싸이트
You might also like: For the Love of Books - Quotes About Reading and Writing
카지노싸이트 Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.
Comments Showing 101-150 of 160 (160 new)
Margery wrote: "Charlie wrote: "I got lots of rejections and I quit writing forever after every one! The general feedback was that they were too different to the other books in my supposed genre (crime/thrillers)...."Of course! Bad or one star reviews are part of it. I think you have to try and strip out anything constructive but a lot of authors don't even read them. They are hard to take but I always try to look at the positive - finishing a book is always an immense achievement no matter what people say.
Don't ever stop. I try and remember that I don't do this for good reviews or big numbers, I do it because I have stories rattling around my head and if I don't get them out what happens to them then!
Charlie wrote: "Margery wrote: "Charlie wrote: "I got lots of rejections and I quit writing forever after every one! The general feedback was that they were too different to the other books in my supposed genre (c..."Thank you so much. Not only will that make my friend feel better, its helped me too
It took me decades to make my dream to become a published author true. And yes, writing books and then promoting them is a long way to go. However, my experience is: The moment I finally was really, really committed to become a published author and then consequently worked towards it, eveything WAS de facto much easier than I has thought before!
Fascinating to see the experience of other authors competing for attention in a now very crowded field. I hope my own experience will shed light for budding authors. When I finished my first novel in 2010, I was very fortunate to get an agent almost immediately, and they kindly touted my Regency romance (I will spare you the plug) around 9 publishing houses, most of whom said nice things, but all of whom said no.
Five years later, for sentimental reasons, I pushed it out via Amazon KDP. It sold 1200 ebook copies in the first month, and over 2000 in the second month. It was UK #1 bestseller in its genre for a fortnight. To date, it's sold over 7500 copies (of which over half are actually Kindle Unlimited equivalents). It continues to sell about one or two a day. I created a paperback with CreateSpace which sold just 42 copies. I did no marketing, but at the time Amazon did a great job of letting folks know it was there.
At that time there were about 400k books on Amazon. Now there are an estimated 6million, many of which are free at times.
I just released my sequel novel, and it is set to sell just 200 in its first month, despite 5 star reviews on Amazon (UK & US) and 카지노싸이트, and a healthy forum of fans.
Amazon no longer gives the free hand-up, but how could they give equal help to the tsunami of new offerings every month?
As a new writer, this is the reality - low/no cost publishing but a very crowded market. Rather like readers shopping in a warehouse now, rather than a bookstore.
I focus on writing quality, well-researched books, so they are few and far between. That may be a factor in slow sales, but I see it as a long-term investment ... my legacy, if you will.
My point is that, in a very crowded self-publishing world, you have to be prolific or lucky to make a living at writing.
Without Amazon, I could not now call myself an author. But though I have benefited hugely, I can see the downsides for writers, publishers and readers all around me, as well as potential opportunities for those who can help fix the issues.
Publishers offer quality control and marketing know-how. Their editors don't just spot typos, they help their writers tighten saggy middles, ratchet up tension and deliver satisfying conclusions. They give the tough love that can necessitate a rewrite, which delivers a classic. This rigour is missing in many of the self-published works I've seen, and probably my own too. Books are the less for it, and potential gems are presented still in rough diamond form.
Writers are forced to self-publicise, a time-consuming, expensive and often soul-eating process.
And readers get a mishmash of offerings: some temptingly free but of poor literary quality; some more pricey but professionally crafted. My worry is that readers may cease to perceive or care about the difference. Good for some, bad for me.
Despite much lower sales this time, I still get a thrill when I see the page read count rising as someone somewhere reads my book - my imagined story made prose - and creates my world and characters in his or her head. That feeling is priceless.
So ... advice to new writers? It's not easy to write a good book, and it's probable that you won't make a living out of writing ... but that should not put you off. Whether you market or not, a book is as good a legacy as any. And what would you do with the time anyway? Watch TV, go shopping, or play video games? None of those transient time-fillers will etch your initials on the footpath we all walk. So give it a go, use writing site advice to craft the best book you can, find tough love beta readers, get your baby out there on stage ... and never ever respond to the reviewers who don't like it ;-)
Patricia wrote: "My self-publishing company, who shall remain nameless, has gone to the wall. Even before the company dissolved I received no sales or downloading royalties whatsoever even though I know my books we..."I'm surprised you didn't use Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing to publish your book. I haven't had any real success as an author either, but it hasn't cost me much to get my books published since I do most of the work myself, and my books don't go out of stock.
I even wrote a book on how to self publish cheaply:
Format Your Own Damned Book: And Save a Bundle
So far that isn't selling either.
Bhakta wrote: "Patricia wrote: "My self-publishing company, who shall remain nameless, has gone to the wall. Even before the company dissolved I received no sales or downloading royalties whatsoever even though I..."The problem with self publishing, besides not making any sales, is that an agent and publisher won't touch it if it's been self-published, unless there's been a lot of sales. Despite all the bull about how to sell your own stuff, the only ones who sell anything are those who buy fake book reviews. The question is: does one want to be a liar to sell his or her crappy book?
Bhakta, if you are reading this I would like to say thank you. My brother and niece did mention to me some little time ago that ebooks were replacing actual paper books and that I may do better by going with Amazon Kindle because this was the way things were going. I have checked this out on the on the internet, but before I commit myself I should be grateful of your opinion.
Hi Patricia,As I mention above, I have sold thousands of ebooks, but only 42 paperbacks. I would recommend the ebook route if you do not have an agent.
I make my books available through Kindle Unlimited (there are strings attached) and revenue from that source is actually higher than from ebook sales.
In KU, you are paid for every page read, so if someone re-reads the book or a particular few pages you get paid for that. The KU value of a completely read copy of my novels is more than I make on 70% royalties of the ebook.
Also, with KU, you know your book is being read, whereas with ebook or paperback sales, you can't be certain that it's not sitting unread on a device or shelf.
Patricia wrote: "Bhakta, if you are reading this I would like to say thank you. My brother and niece did mention to me some little time ago that ebooks were replacing actual paper books and that I may do better by ..."Create Space can give you a nice printed book that never goes out of stock because no books are made until someone buys one, and then just that one book is made and sent out. No inventory. If you do the formatting work yourself your only expense is proof copies, which you buy at cost. You don't need to buy hundreds of books.
The Kindle Store and Nook Store cost even less than that to get a book in, if you do the formatting work yourself. It is not that difficult, and there are books and articles (besides my own) that explain how to do it.
Patricia,There's also some youtube videos, some better than others. Also if you go to Create Space and Kindle, you can download the formatting instructions. Be sure to order a proof copy and check it out before clicking the publish button. Create Space has stock covers you can use or u can make your own. Don't spend $ for formatting or covers because it is unlikely u'll ever recoup it in sales. It's easier than you think.
Most of those who have been published for a while know from experience that what has been posted above is true, it's hard work balancing writing and marketing. Those new to publishing might want to live in denial for a while! I'm only reinforcing what others have written above. To continue writing and marketing as reality sinks in, you must love what you've written, and are currently writing. After the first rush of excitement, when Warlocks of Evergreen was published, my writing slacked off as I spent some time learning about marketing and my audience and then "building my brand". Then the challenge of patience needed in honing the craft, and not letting the poorly written become published, became evident as more and more fans asked for the second book. I've read too many poorly written and edited, self-published books. I'm as eager as anyone to get my second novel out there, but I feel it's a disservice to do a sloppy job on my second book, The Warlocks Hidden City. So I push myself to learn balance.Warlocks of Evergreen: The Evergreen Journals Book I
Robert wrote: "Patricia,There's also some youtube videos, some better than others. Also if you go to Create Space and Kindle, you can download the formatting instructions. Be sure to order a proof copy and check..."
Patricia,
I did some blog posts on this very site which you might find helpful. They end with this post:
/author_blog...
So work your way back from there.
Making your own covers is not necessarily a bad idea, but there are tricks that can help you make good ones. You don't want one that looks amateurish.
Have you ever noticed how much book covers for the different genres look the same? They usually have the same cliche characters and dialog as well. If you're interested in being a seller of books, rather than a creator of books, then you are better off if you're a conformist. Familiarity sells, where as creativity and originality scares away the buyer. Why do you think McD's has sold over a billion hamburgers? Sales number and quality of writing are two different things. There doesn't seem to be any correlation.
Bhakta wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Bhakta, if you are reading this I would like to say thank you. My brother and niece did mention to me some little time ago that ebooks were replacing actual paper books and that I ..."I use Create Space. It's easy and if you want proof or finished copies, you can get them at cost like Bhakta said. I recently moved my first Create Space book over to Amazon and now have to pay full price for it and I can't move it back to Create space. I inquired at Amazon and they informed me that they don't have it set up yet for authors to buy their own books wholesale, but they're working on it. For now I'm staying with create space. They do a great job and if there is a problem, they will fix it.
Margery wrote: "Bhakta wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Bhakta, if you are reading this I would like to say thank you. My brother and niece did mention to me some little time ago that ebooks were replacing actual paper bo..."After u log in at Creatspace u will see your "Member Dashboard" with your book title. Look to the right of the title and you will see "order copies." Click on that and u can order copies at the cheap proof wholesale price.
Patricia wrote: "My self-publishing company, who shall remain nameless, has gone to the wall. Even before the company dissolved I received no sales or downloading royalties whatsoever even though I know my books we..."I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with a vanity publishing company. I did pay one for formatting, final line editing and putting it together. Expensive...yes. But I had no idea of how to get a professional looking book without using them at the time. They sent me the files so I can upload it to all the bookstores without them. It was something I made sure I would have prior to paying them. They should have sent you the PDF files of your manuscript and cover so you could use them where you wanted. It is your book, not their's.
You can publish on a shoestring if you are willing to learn formatting, cover design and how to make the ePub, mobi and other formats required by the on line bookstores. That is where I am now....learning how to format and market.
There's all kinds of ways for a writer to get ripped off. You don't hear much from writers' about the way they've spent good money for a lousy idea. I just wasted $29 for a service that was supposed to put out the notice about a free book giveaway. I got more downloads from my blog. I would like to hear what you had to pay for, but was either a scam or just a flop. It would help your fellow writers.
This is my first children's book, marketing is hard to budget. Promoting my book is important to help make people aware of it, however not being able to drive makes marketing more expensive.
The Pocket 109 Cook BookI really enjoyed creating this book, as for many years friends and families have been asking me for recipes and complimenting my foods. Eventually I decided to share them with the world via my Cook Book. I am currently still creating the hype for it online however locally I am still unable to print copies of the book for all my local foodies who are waiting for it. I just wish I had known that I would need a fortune just to print copies of my book. But never the less, I will not give up. I am currently running a campaign on Thundafund (crowdfunding) to raise the monies for printing and soon my book will also be featured in the local newspapers as well as around 10 recipes. So hopefully my campaign will succeed and I will be able to get my printed books to the many food lovers who are waiting for it.
Thank you for the article and comments. All very very helpful! I am currently working on my first book: a non-fiction account of a brutal crime (the information kept landing my way; I did not go looking for it). I need to learn all I can about copyright & publishing so I have the best approach to my work. I will refer to this article & comments as a guide often!
Scott wrote: "Marketing. I never thought about marketing when I started writing. Reviews are ridiculously hard to get, good or bad."So true. I got two reviews for my debut novel. At first I was disappointed, but then found out just how hard it is to get any at all! Tough business, and getting tougher.
Cheryl, The Book Contessa wrote: "Thank you for the article and comments. All very very helpful! I am currently working on my first book: a non-fiction account of a brutal crime (the information kept landing my way; I did not go lo..."Check out this info, it was passed on to me when I asked about copyrights Self-Publisher's Quick and Easy Guide to copyright I paid the $10 for the PDF file so I can refer to it when I need to. I tried to send a link but it wouldn't work.
Great article, Cynthia, with some real words of wisdom. I would also say to the new author that it is very important to reciprocate advertising other author's books. Joint efforts at selling each others books is very important and the new author will want to join in the collective efforts.
I guess I join the group on the efforts of marketing and promotion. I hadn't expected to become a salesperson. I'm an introvert. A bit of a hermit. This is not good for recruiting sales, it seems. I have a bit of an email list that I make use of. Well, it is what it is. Thank goodness I enjoy the process of writing, illustrating, designing the book and publishing it. The fun is in the doing, so I put it all in perspective. I've even had the pleasure of helping others get their books published.
Nicole wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Point two is the hardest for me. I will work happily on my own but the whole networking and schmoozing scene is something very foreign to an introvert. To be honest, that's one reason ..."Me too, Lisa and Nicole! One thing that has worked well for me is to pretend that I am an author who enjoys public speaking and schmoozing. So that it's my outgoing alter ego, rather than me, who gets "exposed." It sounds like Dumbo's magic feather, but hey, we writers are good at imagining other characters, right?
One issue I didn't appreciate when I had my first book published, and reinforced when I self-published another, was it helps to have a bundle of cash behind you to put the books in stores. If you want to place some copies in every book store in the country, or even the region, you need to purchase enough copies up front in order to do that, and be able to stand the loss if they don't sell. (But also see Tony's point below).There's also a lot of mention on this thread of using Amanzon's CreateSpace for self-publishing physical books. I used them and they were very good and easy to use but I've found Ingram/Lightning Source much cheaper when shipping is taken into account because I live outside the US and can have them shipped from the UK.
I tried to go the 'free delivery to bookstore' route, trying to give them the books free on a 'sale or return' basis. None would take them, so I tried other outlets, like garden centres, who also sell books. Each offer was refused for the same reason: their accounting systems only recognised items from the names on their suppliers' lists. There is, physically, no means that they can record sales. Many of them told me they would love to sell the books if they could. Make sure you can get them to take your books before you spend all sorts of money having a load printed.
Tony wrote: "I tried to go the 'free delivery to bookstore' route, trying to give them the books free on a 'sale or return' basis. None would take them, so I tried other outlets, like garden centres, who also s..."Good point, Tony. I also had problems placing some of the ones I had purchased.
Great article! Appreciated the read and reminders!
Honoree Corder
You Must Write a Book: Boost Your Brand, Get More Business, and Become the Go-To Expert
I wish I’d known to market my book before I even started writing it. To some this may sound like something overwhelming, but it’s not when you consider that I’m more or less speaking about do content (pull) marketing to generate interest in the book.
Wishing you all Sweet Success with writing and marketing your book
FBKwrites (Frankie Johnnie writing books)
Marketing is hard when you are not used to this, I'm a fan of Social Media and my niece is helping me because she's so good at it, getting lots of feedback on Instagram, but I'm not sure about the sales. I've approached some of the books stores around here, but not much is happening. I'm not giving up though, I keep on top of Social Media, and I guess it takes times.
What do I wish I knew before I published my first book?I was published by a name publisher in 1989. I knew nothing. I didn't know I'd have to market it though I did have bookmarks printed up and did contact local bookstores for signings. When my publicist called me one day about speaking to a reading group, I said, "When did I get a publicist?" Well, that was a different time. I've given up on traditional publishing and am learning that not only do I have to market my own books now, I have to do everything. With the business changing every day, that means educating myself about what's going on out there every day, or just about.
The Recusants - Amazon Kindle Store. Give it a read and let me know you thought, would love to hear them.
I learned one thing for sure. If you want to self-publish do it with a series and have the second one ready before you publish the first.
Chris wrote: "Charlie wrote: "One point not mentioned is that it can cost a lot of money to become a best seller. One of the highest selling books of the last couple of years sent out 4,000 review copies. The st..."Cynthia wrote: "These are all great points! I wonder how many writers start writing with the intention of becoming Authors (with a capital 'A'!) and how many writers just write for the love of writing, and decide ..."
Frank wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Frank wrote: "When I 'finished' my first novel, Diary of the Wolf, I sent it to one publisher and upon receiving just one rejection letter, I decided I would self publish and let th..."
Great points! I began writing my imaginings of the story behind my paternal great grandmother's reason for her whisper, instead of normal voice due to our horrible winter. On January 1st the story poured out, and a series developed. I knew nothing, not even proper formatting, but took a chance with Amazon kindle. Now I have the Mississippi Plantation Series, that culminates in a cookbook. I hold cooking discussions at the local library, offering it for sale. Yesterday, I attended someone else's event there, and she let me talk about it, and others are now asking me to bring the discussion to their senior centers. I'm not going to feel pressured, just treat it as a part of my daily pleasures. (while still doing business)
Toni Mariani Author
Tony wrote: "I tried to go the 'free delivery to bookstore' route, trying to give them the books free on a 'sale or return' basis. None would take them, so I tried other outlets, like garden centres, who also s..."Have you tried doing book signings at bookshops or other outlets? Selling the books yourself and then giving them a percentage?
Ronel wrote: "The Pocket 109 Cook BookI really enjoyed creating this book, as for many years friends and families have been asking me for recipes and complimenting my foods. Eventually I decided..."
You don't need a fortune to print your book. Use pod printer like Lightning Source - you can print a few copies at a time.
Zhana wrote: "Tony wrote: "I tried to go the 'free delivery to bookstore' route, trying to give them the books free on a 'sale or return' basis. None would take them, so I tried other outlets, like garden centre..."
Exactly! Consignments! I have 6 in a bookstore now. It's been over a month, but I wait for the call, to come get a check, and bring more in!
Hi fellow authorsI am a participant of StorytellerUK2017 contest. My recent book "Life In Shackles" tops the on the basis of customer reviews. I ran promotion on Kindle, notified my social media circle and had a good response. As a new author I am selling every alternate day in US, UK and India.
Thanks for your valuable inputs.
Life in Shackles
Writing a book well is one thing. Writing a bestseller is a whole different ball-game and it takes skill, patience and hard work. And once you finish the 'sweat and tears' manuscript that's when the real work begins. It takes a team to make a bestseller and challenges even with the best of the best can seem insurmountable.
Frank wrote: "Point number one rings big clanging bells in my head. Patience. Patience is key. When I 'finished' my first novel, Diary of the Wolf, I sent it to one publisher and upon receiving just one rejectio..."
I always want to jump the gun, but your completely right. Waiting and making sure it's the best it can be is best.
I always want to jump the gun, but your completely right. Waiting and making sure it's the best it can be is best.
Toni wrote: "Exactly! Consignments! I have 6 in a bookstore now. It's been over a month, but I wait for the call, to come get a check, and bring more in!"
Don't hold your breath for the call. I have three books in a number of local stores and never have they called to tell me they've sold out I've always had to check and restock.
As I am sure you know, you will still need to promote the books. Can you do this in partnershp with the shops?
Speaking of The New York Times, about 2 years or so ago, I listened to a podcast Tim Ferris did. He said that authors, who have money can pay The New York Times to say their books are New York Times Best Sellers, when they NEVER were.
After learning that tidbit, I take them worth a grain of salt. Every time someone mentions The New York Times, I roll my eyes. The New York Times is highly misleading and holds very little merit. Wikipedia is more credible than The New York Times.
After learning that tidbit, I take them worth a grain of salt. Every time someone mentions The New York Times, I roll my eyes. The New York Times is highly misleading and holds very little merit. Wikipedia is more credible than The New York Times.
Tony wrote: "Help, folks! I would dearly love to find some beta readers for my novels. How does one do it? The books seem to sit out there in limbo, and though I have wasted a great deal of time sending letters..."Self publish. join and give away copies on goodreads (for reviews) keep a blog and run an rss feed into goodreads. link your book for sale on your blog. read and write on. And if you go the traditional route, you need to use an agent. many publishers won't even look at work without an agent involved. best
What I want to know is this: Why would anyone want to use a traditional publisher when the royalties are so low and when they expect you to do most of your own publicity? Nah... sticking with my Amazon. Thank you Amazon
I wrote a short, quirky memoir about my childhood in the rural West and its impact on my adult life (New Mexico Legacy). I self-published and Amazon has sold about 70 copies in six weeks. I said to one of my friends who has published a couple of textbooks that I assumed that every book published sold several hundred copies on the first day of availability. He said that I have a lot to learn. I was surprised that I've been asked to give a couple of readings at clubs. Making money appears to be out of the question; I just want people to read it and enjoy it.
Frank wrote: "I wrote a short, quirky memoir about my childhood in the rural West and its impact on my adult life (New Mexico Legacy). I self-published and Amazon has sold about 70 copies in six weeks. I said to..."That's fabulous! My writing is my stress reliever :)
May I quote your last paragraph? there is a big discussion right now with a bunch of authors about people leaving bad or 1 star reviews. What you said may just cheer up a couple of people I know that are really down right now. I know I took it to heart because I have been thinking about putting down the pen. Thanks