Giving Away Content
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 22nd, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
I’m in favor of an author offering free excerpts of their writing. This is especially important for eBooks and should be strongly considered with free chapters of their print book. Recently one of my newsletter readers asked the following.”Last month you convinced me that my self-published book should be available for Kindle. Now I’m wondering if I should make the first chapter available as a free download, in hopes of enticing people to read more. Is that the kind of question you might address in your newsletter? If so, I bet a lot of other writers would be interested in the answer as well! Not quite sure where the line falls between publishing and marketing.”
This is a great question and the answer is yes, every author with an eBook should consider offering as much as 20% of the content free. This coupled with a low price point makes the content more enticing to readers. The bottom line is you want to sell more eBooks and the best way is a (1) offer a free download for a portion of your book, and (2) set a low price point for novels, a bit higher for non-fiction.
In addition, marketing is always important. You are an author with a book and yet your audience doesn’t know you exist. How do you reach your audience? That is a question for the ages and there is no set formula. Successful marketing involves a number of components in the right combination based on the genre and distribution for each book. For independent authors it means lots of work via social networking and posting as much content free on the Internet as possible. Marketing is never easy nor quick; my suggestion is to always consult with a professional book marketer before you spend money and time. Let them help you establish a strategy and marketing plan. You save money by following their advice. It would be a wise investment.
Digital Demand is Growing
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 13th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Experts in the digital marketplace all say that the future price of eReaders will directly impact demand for eBooks. Once the price point goes below the $200 dollar level, the demand should increase exponentially. Now that the price has gone significantly under that magic $200 level, expect to see tremendous increases in the demand and sales of eBooks.
Ironically all the eReader manufacturers such as Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble proclaim they are having difficulty selling more eReaders simply because the list of available eBooks is small. For the independent author and small publisher this creates a tremendous opportunity to capture market share and generate sales. There is no doubt that window is open for new digital content and the time is right to add your book to the list.
Major publishers are reluctant to release a wider array of older backlist titles simply because they do not want to cut into their print business which is the lifeblood of the big publishers. This creates opportunities for authors and with the right distribution, beyond Apple, Amazon and B&N the better chance you have of making a name for yourself as an independently published author.
Global Market
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 6th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There are a variety of stories circulating the Internet about authors who have suddenly become “successful” with eBooks and in most cases were virtual unknowns. Luck plays a small part since we all know that being in the right place at the right time always helps, but each author was also tenacious and a pretty darn good writer. There are thousands of writers with as much talent as the ones we have read about but each possessed a strong desire to be successful, worked extremely hard and marketed their socks off.
All of these success stories have been circulated by Amazon, where the majority has made their mark. However not everyone can depend on one web site for all their sales. The answer is a much wider, global distribution for your content, especially eBook. To improve your chances of success you must cast a wider net and reach a much larger audience, regardless of how much traffic one web site receives. Who can afford to ignore fifty percent of the market?
Access to the market and reaching readers through global distribution is important to improving your chances of selling more copies and becoming a successful author.
Your Publisher Defines You as an Author
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 1st, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Writers who make a decision to publish independently in any format have plenty of choices. Since the eBook is a hot topic I receive lots of emails from companies touting their services. Recently I received a blind email from a consulting company offering to publish my book in an eBook format and offered me a whole list of added bonuses if I responded immediately. Obviously they purchased a mailing list and thought I would be a good candidate.
It seems the more that is written about the opportunities with digital publishing the more the competition for conversion from a vast array of people calling themselves publishers’ pops up in our inbox. The real decision for any writer is: who do you trust with your writing? Understand that your publisher is the one who defines you as a writer. Your publisher is someone you need to feel confident in their ability to maximize the potential for your writing.
Printing is not publishing, creating a Kindle edition and throwing it up on Amazon is not publishing. This is a business of creating content that offers the reader something special. Good publishing involves skills gained from years of experience in the business of making quality content better, more marketable and potentially bestselling. Publishers have experience with all types of genres, authors, marketing plans and distribution. They understand the nuances of the market for readers and books.
Today I’m fortunate to work with a group of editors, designers and marketers with unmatched experience and qualifications in New York publishing. The decision for writers is who do you place your trust in to make your writing the best it can be? Who do you want to be associated with as a publisher? Would you prefer working with a company who sends blind emails? Or do you think experience in publishing is a major factor? How successful do you want to be?
It boils down to choice and certainly who you decide to team up with regarding your writing is very important. If you feel you made a mistake with your print edition then correct that for the eBook and consider someone with experience. Publishing is perception and the logo on your published content sets the stage for much of what will follow. Publishing is about writing and selling quality content to share with the world.
