Dear reader of my novels:
So, you like my novel? Awesome. How much did you like it? Enough that you want others to read it? Enough that you would want to read another book by me? Really? Hmmm… Well, if you like it THAT much…
Here’s the thing. I’m not what is considered a “successful traditionally published author.” I am what is known as an “Independent author.” That means that I don’t have a literary agent working for me, running around setting up interviews, book signings, getting me the best deals with publishing companies, etc. I do not have a contract with a major publishing company that is pumping half a million dollars into marketing my books. Nope. All I have is my self-published novels… and you.
If you’re a typical reader just looking for the next bestseller, you may not know what goes into self-publishing, about how much work the author puts into it, and how much YOU determine whether or not we succeed. Yup, you control our fate. So, if you did like the book you read by me or another Indie author, do us a favor… spread the word. Shout it from the hilltops!
You may think, “What difference does my opinion make? One non-review isn’t going to make or break an author.” Unfortunately, that seems to be the overall consensus. In fact, I’d be surprised if 5% of readers actually rate or review the books they’ve read. That means that to get 100 ratings, I’ll need to sell a lot of books. But, as Indie authors, we don’t have huge marketing budgets that allow us to reach thousands of people right off the bat. Instead, for the most part, we rely on social networking - Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. We try to get one person at a time interested in spending .99 to 2.99 for our eBook. Hopefully, they buy it, eventually read it, like it, and then review it and spread the word on it. But even if every reader does this, it’s still a long and slow process for the author. A process that takes away from the amount of time he/she would rather be writing.
As Independent authors, writing is probably the easiest thing we do compared to the amount of work it takes to single-handedly and affordably let people know that our book has been written and is worth a read. Sure, some Independent authors may have the money to buy marketing packages, hire editors, and all the things that generally come from being traditionally published, but many do not. Certainly not me. I don't have extra cash to throw into press releases, book trailers, professional editors, cover designers, etc. Rather, I rely on what little skills I have and my more creative friends that so generously choose to help me. So instead of pounding out the next story, I have to take the time to SELL my other books. Something I hate doing. I am not a salesman, and pretending to be makes me uncomfortable. But I have to do it, or no one will know my books even exist.
The simple fact of the matter is that without tons of money to throw into the game, or the resources of a publishing house, getting recognized on a “successful” scale is almost impossible. Without YOU (man, I sound like a politician running for office!).
Now, I’ve come to understand that many readers, (friends and family especially) don’t understand how much an Independent author needs THEM, especially when friends are expecting free copies of our books. They don’t know what it cost us, what our chances of survival are, or they wouldn’t be asking for such things (hopefully). Because, sure, I can give you a copy of my book (I would love to), but it's going to cost me around eight bucks, it won't count as a sale, and when I know you're not going to review it or promote it... In fact, a friend the other day assumed that because I'm an author and work at a school, I must be raking in about 80,000 a year. Indie authors don’t get publishing deals with signing bonuses, rather everything we do to publish a book is out of our pocket. And while it’s true that we get a higher royalty rate than traditional authors, our sales are, for the most part, not even on the map compared to what they can sell with an army of people promoting them 24-7.
So again, how much did you like that novel? Enough to support the author? Well, here are some ways you can help us out.
1. Buy the books. Most Indie authors usually sell their ebooks between .99 and 4.99, and the higher our sales ranking, the more attention we get.
2. If you like the books, tell the world. Write reviews on Amazon, Barnesandnoble, Goodreads, and anywhere else you can think of. When people are looking for a book to read, they usually check out the reviews. The more reviews a book has, the more confident a reader is going to be in buying it. If I have five bucks to spend in the Kindle store, and I have to decide between a book that has 280 reviews or a book that has 2, I'm probably going with the 280. And authors can use excerpts of your reviews to market their books too. Reviews are probably the biggest way to help an author, and it only takes a few minutes.
3. Click the "like" buttons on Amazon book pages and author pages. It takes less than a second:)
4. On the Amazon page, scroll down and select the appropriate tags for the novel. This will increase the chance of the novel coming up in searches. It will also help weed out incorrect tags that misrepresent the book.
5. Follow the author on Twitter if you twitter. When the author posts things, retweet them! The more people that retweet a message, the more people get to read it (obviously).
6. Leave feedback on blogs and Facebook updates (share them too!). It looks better when there is some author/reader interaction on the author's site. It shows that he/she really does have a following, and more people will want to follow, too!
7. And, of course, tell everyone you can about that great book you just read and where they can get it.
8. If you REALLY want to support an author, whenever you're in a bookstore, ask the manager if they carry the book. If not, ask if they would (if it’s a local author, sell them on that). Sometimes this can actually work, depending on the way the author published his/her book. My aunt did that with my first novel, and my local Barnes and Noble carried it on their shelf for years.
9. Buy more books whenever you can. Christmas presents, birthday presents, whatever... It supports the author financially and increases his/her fan base… which can have a trickle down effect (another person retweeting, posting, sharing, reviewing).
There are countless ways you as the reader can help make Indie authors more successful, but I think you get the point. I think in most cases, and I used to be one of these, people just assume that if you're published, you've got it made. That isn't even true of traditionally published authors let alone Indie authors. So, if you help the author spread the word, it would allow him/her more time to do what we really like - write you more stories!
So, you like my novel? Awesome. How much did you like it? Enough that you want others to read it? Enough that you would want to read another book by me? Really? Hmmm… Well, if you like it THAT much…
Here’s the thing. I’m not what is considered a “successful traditionally published author.” I am what is known as an “Independent author.” That means that I don’t have a literary agent working for me, running around setting up interviews, book signings, getting me the best deals with publishing companies, etc. I do not have a contract with a major publishing company that is pumping half a million dollars into marketing my books. Nope. All I have is my self-published novels… and you.
If you’re a typical reader just looking for the next bestseller, you may not know what goes into self-publishing, about how much work the author puts into it, and how much YOU determine whether or not we succeed. Yup, you control our fate. So, if you did like the book you read by me or another Indie author, do us a favor… spread the word. Shout it from the hilltops!
You may think, “What difference does my opinion make? One non-review isn’t going to make or break an author.” Unfortunately, that seems to be the overall consensus. In fact, I’d be surprised if 5% of readers actually rate or review the books they’ve read. That means that to get 100 ratings, I’ll need to sell a lot of books. But, as Indie authors, we don’t have huge marketing budgets that allow us to reach thousands of people right off the bat. Instead, for the most part, we rely on social networking - Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. We try to get one person at a time interested in spending .99 to 2.99 for our eBook. Hopefully, they buy it, eventually read it, like it, and then review it and spread the word on it. But even if every reader does this, it’s still a long and slow process for the author. A process that takes away from the amount of time he/she would rather be writing.
As Independent authors, writing is probably the easiest thing we do compared to the amount of work it takes to single-handedly and affordably let people know that our book has been written and is worth a read. Sure, some Independent authors may have the money to buy marketing packages, hire editors, and all the things that generally come from being traditionally published, but many do not. Certainly not me. I don't have extra cash to throw into press releases, book trailers, professional editors, cover designers, etc. Rather, I rely on what little skills I have and my more creative friends that so generously choose to help me. So instead of pounding out the next story, I have to take the time to SELL my other books. Something I hate doing. I am not a salesman, and pretending to be makes me uncomfortable. But I have to do it, or no one will know my books even exist.
The simple fact of the matter is that without tons of money to throw into the game, or the resources of a publishing house, getting recognized on a “successful” scale is almost impossible. Without YOU (man, I sound like a politician running for office!).
Now, I’ve come to understand that many readers, (friends and family especially) don’t understand how much an Independent author needs THEM, especially when friends are expecting free copies of our books. They don’t know what it cost us, what our chances of survival are, or they wouldn’t be asking for such things (hopefully). Because, sure, I can give you a copy of my book (I would love to), but it's going to cost me around eight bucks, it won't count as a sale, and when I know you're not going to review it or promote it... In fact, a friend the other day assumed that because I'm an author and work at a school, I must be raking in about 80,000 a year. Indie authors don’t get publishing deals with signing bonuses, rather everything we do to publish a book is out of our pocket. And while it’s true that we get a higher royalty rate than traditional authors, our sales are, for the most part, not even on the map compared to what they can sell with an army of people promoting them 24-7.
So again, how much did you like that novel? Enough to support the author? Well, here are some ways you can help us out.
1. Buy the books. Most Indie authors usually sell their ebooks between .99 and 4.99, and the higher our sales ranking, the more attention we get.
2. If you like the books, tell the world. Write reviews on Amazon, Barnesandnoble, Goodreads, and anywhere else you can think of. When people are looking for a book to read, they usually check out the reviews. The more reviews a book has, the more confident a reader is going to be in buying it. If I have five bucks to spend in the Kindle store, and I have to decide between a book that has 280 reviews or a book that has 2, I'm probably going with the 280. And authors can use excerpts of your reviews to market their books too. Reviews are probably the biggest way to help an author, and it only takes a few minutes.
3. Click the "like" buttons on Amazon book pages and author pages. It takes less than a second:)
4. On the Amazon page, scroll down and select the appropriate tags for the novel. This will increase the chance of the novel coming up in searches. It will also help weed out incorrect tags that misrepresent the book.
5. Follow the author on Twitter if you twitter. When the author posts things, retweet them! The more people that retweet a message, the more people get to read it (obviously).
6. Leave feedback on blogs and Facebook updates (share them too!). It looks better when there is some author/reader interaction on the author's site. It shows that he/she really does have a following, and more people will want to follow, too!
7. And, of course, tell everyone you can about that great book you just read and where they can get it.
8. If you REALLY want to support an author, whenever you're in a bookstore, ask the manager if they carry the book. If not, ask if they would (if it’s a local author, sell them on that). Sometimes this can actually work, depending on the way the author published his/her book. My aunt did that with my first novel, and my local Barnes and Noble carried it on their shelf for years.
9. Buy more books whenever you can. Christmas presents, birthday presents, whatever... It supports the author financially and increases his/her fan base… which can have a trickle down effect (another person retweeting, posting, sharing, reviewing).
There are countless ways you as the reader can help make Indie authors more successful, but I think you get the point. I think in most cases, and I used to be one of these, people just assume that if you're published, you've got it made. That isn't even true of traditionally published authors let alone Indie authors. So, if you help the author spread the word, it would allow him/her more time to do what we really like - write you more stories!
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Beautifully written and so true! I'm in the throes of the indie publishing process now, and personally have never worn so many hats. Book design, PR, video editing, web design, not to mention that whole writing thing... I'm getting better about making reviewing an innate part of my reading process; with the benefit of great articles like this, hopefully other readers will take a similar approach. Thanks for getting the word out there!
I will do all I can to promote you books now that I have read them. I did not know about the tags on Amazon and will start to use them.
I do understand and can see now how important us readers are to Indie authors.
I remember making a rather critical comment in a review where I did not appreciate the author, IMHO, abusing and distorting a biblical doctrine (rather fact) which made that part of the story just ridiculous and distorts God's gift of salvation and forgiveness. He took it badly, but took the step of contacting me for more information. The end result was that we are now friends and I have promoted his book as much as I have been able. In actual fact it seemed that my critical comment actually increased interest in his book and may have increased sales slightly!! LOL
Regards