C.L. Currie's Blog
April 11, 2019
The Terrible Trio
A Writer’s Terrible Trio When it comes to writing, there are three areas where an author can be severely lacking. I have labeled them “The Terrible Trio.” I’m not talking about DC Comic’s millionaire thieves or the age when your offspring annoys you the most. These super villains can be far more destructive. They are: …
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March 10, 2019
How To Setup Messenger Chat on Your Website
Why use Messenger? If you have a website, no matter what the purpose, one feature that visitors like is the.
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March 7, 2019
Copyrights and U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
Recently some of my author and songwriter friends were nervous about a Supreme Court ruling. They made me nervous by.
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December 27, 2018
Is Your Fear Of Not Enough Holding You Back?
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Aenean sollicitudin, lorem quis bibendum auctor, nisi elit consequat ipsum, nec sagittis sem nibh id elit. Duis sed odio sit amet nibh vulputate cursus a sit amet mauris. Morbi accumsan ipsum velit. Nam nec tellus a odio tincidunt auctor a ornare odio. Sed non mauris vitae erat consequat auctor eu in elit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Mauris in erat justo.
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December 12, 2018
Free Surveys – Increase Readers
Survey Your Potential Readers FREE! There are several authors who involve their readers through games and surveys. One author who.
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FREE Surveys to Increase Your Readers
There are several authors who involve their readers through games and surveys. One author who does this successfully is Janet Evanovich for the Stephanie Plum series. Her readers are asked to submit their ideas for the title of her next book in the series. Another author gives away free copies and asks for feedback and reviews. Some give the first book in a series away.
This is brilliant marketing as well as a great way to involve your reader in future publications.
Where does one get a survey and how much does it cost?
Lucky for us, Google has a number of free services. You can find free surveys in Google Forms. The survey I used is called “Customer Feedback.” I wanted feedback on several book covers I had designed and the title. As an incentive, I offered a free copy of the book.
How do you give away a free copy of a book? There are several ways to do that. Probably the easiest way is to print to PDF and email it as an attachment.
If you want feedback, you can save your book to Google Drive documents then share by sending your reader a link (with no editing rights). Google lets the person make comments anywhere on the document which is a great way to get critiques and catch typos.
Here are some of the amazing benefits of a Google Forms survey:
Collects the email if you request it so you can send the person his/her reward or more informationThere are several options for the answers (short text, paragraph, multiple choice)You can choose if the question is required or notYou can add a progress bar so they know how close to the end they areYou can add a picture (automatically formatted including size) as a headerYou can add a picture (product, book, etc.) on each questionYou can choose or upload a background pictureYou can choose the color of the invitationThere’s an option for the answers, including essay answers, to go directly to an excel sheet in Google DocsThe survey is easy to edit and it’s automatically savedEasy setup with simple instructionsDid I say easy? Try SUPER EASY!When done, the survey has a link you can post on Facebook, Twitter, send in emails, or you can use the embed code to put it directly on your websiteAfter a person completes the survey, a “Thank you” message appears which is editable. You can give them a link for an instant reward or redirect them to a website pageOh, and I did mention it is COMPLETELY FREE!
Here are some examples of how the responses look:
I recommend getting about 100 responses to get a good cross section of public opinion. Use this tool and find out what your public is thinking and what they want.
If you have other ideas for saving money or helping authors succeed, please add them to the comments
The post FREE Surveys to Increase Your Readers appeared first on Cheryl Currie, Author.
Survey Your Potential Readers FREE
There are several authors who involve their readers through games and surveys. One author who does this successfully is Janet Evanovich for the Stephanie Plum series. Her readers are asked to submit their ideas for the title of her next book in the series. Another author gives away free copies and asks for feedback and reviews. Some give the first book in a series away.
This is brilliant marketing as well as a great way to involve your reader in future publications.
Where does one get a survey and how much does it cost?
Lucky for us, Google has a number of free services. You can find free surveys in Google Forms. The survey I used is called “Customer Feedback.” I wanted feedback on several book covers I had designed and the title. As an incentive, I offered a free copy of the book.
How do you give away a free copy of a book? There are several ways to do that. Probably the easiest way is to print to PDF and email it as an attachment.
If you want feedback, you can save your book to Google Drive documents then share by sending your reader a link (with no editing rights). Google lets the person make comments anywhere on the document which is a great way to get critiques and catch typos.
Here are some of the amazing benefits of a Google Forms survey:
Collects the email if you request it so you can send the person his/her reward or more informationThere are several options for the answers (short text, paragraph, multiple choice)You can choose if the question is required or notYou can add a progress bar so they know how close to the end they areYou can add a picture (automatically formatted including size) as a headerYou can add a picture (product, book, etc.) on each questionYou can choose or upload a background pictureYou can choose the color of the invitationThere’s an option for the answers, including essay answers, to go directly to an excel sheet in Google DocsThe survey is easy to edit and it’s automatically savedEasy setup with simple instructionsDid I say easy? Try SUPER EASY!When done, the survey has a link you can post on Facebook, Twitter, send in emails, or you can use the embed code to put it directly on your websiteAfter a person completes the survey, a “Thank you” message appears which is editable. You can give them a link for an instant reward or redirect them to a website pageOh, and I did mention it is COMPLETELY FREE!
Here are some examples of how the responses look:
I recommend getting about 100 responses to get a good cross section of public opinion. Use this tool and find out what your public is thinking and what they want.
If you have other ideas for saving money or helping authors succeed, please add them to the comments
Is Your Book Promotion Working?
The Five Day Free Promotion on KDP Select
For five days, Amazon promoted the e-book version of one of my booksabsolutely FREE. It’s one of the perks for Kindle Select. During that promotion, my book jumped from from #1,300 to #16–That’s quite a jump!
Why would anyone want to give away their book?
Test the waters. One reason to do book giveaways is to check the books appeal. If people won’t download your book when it’s free, then it needs an overhaul. It might be the book cover or the description or it’s listed in the wrong genre. A new author needs to “test the waters” and a good way to do that is to offer someone (who reads that genre) a free copy. Get your name and work seen. If you’re a new author and you’re not famous, nobody has heard of you. Even if a big publisher picks up your book, they expect you to promote yourself and your works with book-signings and other public events. For a self-published author, free copies can get you and your work more widely known.Find your audience. There are readers looking for a good book and they often look only in their favorite genres. They know they can count on the authors they’re familiar with to tell a good story, but your cover caught their eye and they can download it free. Get reviews. Besides becoming known as an author and finding your audience, there is also the matter of reviews. Offering a free copy to someone in exchange for a written review is a standard action. Let them know you want an honest review, hopefully with a description of what they liked and didn’t like. Not only will that help you, it also helps other potential readers who read the review decide.Rise on the charts. Another advantage is rising on the Amazon charts. If you get up to the top ten or even within the top 100, you appear on a different page of Amazon and increase the visibility for your book. Other book outlets have a similar tracking system. Also, you can honestly say “over a 1,000 copies downloaded” or whatever the number is.Grow as an author. All this feedback helps you discover your strengths and weaknesses as an author. Reviews also lend credibility to you as the author. You can use them in your book, in your emails and on social media networks.
My Top Reader Reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I’ve read in a long time! By bmaryann on September 15, 2017. “I LOVE this book! Amazing Author and talented story teller! The plot Grabs you and makes you want to read more! I could hardly put it down! I Highly recommended this book because of the great entertainment value, amazing characters and in depth educational content that spurs the imagination! Love it!”
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended. By Kaaren on September 29, 2017. Format: Kindle Edition |Verified Purchase “Great book. Always moving forward and held my interest start to finish. I usually have trouble with back and forth timelines but this author has it together with just the right balance. Highly recommend.”
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic journey pushing the edge of reality. By Iceophene on October 4, 2017. Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase “In The Supernatural Prodigy, author C. L. Currie skillfully weaves an authentic, modern-day tale of complex relationships wrapped in the potential of science and technology. The science fiction paranormal mystery develops around an unlikely group of high school students brought together by protagonist Tom Patterson and his childhood friend Justin Fischer. Initially created as a study group aptly named the Supernatural Prodigy, its members develop intricate relationships, travel the road to self-discovery, and delve into the realm of supernatural awareness. Together, they test the limits of science, challenge the possibilities of technology, and discover the power and unpredictability of the human mind. Presented in a time-shifting format, author C. L. Currie successfully moves The Supernatural Prodigy between the 1990s and 2015. Both engaging and entertaining, the story is solid, well written, and edited to shine. The Supernatural Prodigy prompts the reader to question societies’ understanding of the mechanics of time, the notion of reality, and the workings of the human psyche. Excellent read.”
Promoting your book
If you’re a new author, my message to you is don’t despair. Find ways you can afford to let people know what your book is about and discover their interests. Your audience is out there. All you have to do is find them.
Know other ways to get your book known and promoted? Help others by writing your experience in the comments.
December 11, 2018
Is KDP Select The Right Choice?
Most authors will tell you “I can only share my own experience.” Nobody wants to say anything bad about Amazon
. It is the number one place to self-publish your book.
However, there are some facts to keep in mind, especially if you are a first-time author.
There are two main reasons people self-publish:
They could not or did not want to go through the maze of getting a traditional publisherThey wanted to maintain control of their literary product.
With that in mind, realize that when you sign up with KDP Select, you cannot offer the e-book version to anyone else–-not a reviewer, not a contest, not a friend. The penalties for doing so are quite strong.
KDP Select puts you on Kindle Unlimited with a free version, but you’re competing with over a million other authors. Divide that almost $20 million by over a million. Even if every author was equal, which they aren’t, you’d get $20. Top well known authors are the ones pulling the cash. If you’re a brand new author, your chances of making good money are not great. It’s just a fact.
Another point to consider is building your readership. You can’t promote to Kindle Unlimited users; only Amazon knows who they are. Ads to gain more readers via Facebook are a shot in the dark. I tried using “Kindle Unlimited” as a target audience category for Facebook and got Kindle users or people who have mentioned Kindle. In other words, I couldn’t advertise to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. That audience is unknown to you, nameless, and you can’t contact them.
The above is my experience and may not be yours. The contract is short so if you think you can pull enough readership, by all means, try it out. However, I can tell you this for certain — an author needs to promote their books whether they are published traditionally or otherwise, I take my stand with offering a self-published book on every outlet possible.
The way to maintain control of your publication is easy.
Build a list of readers. I have learned the best thing to do is write minimally TWO books. One is free and the others are your income. The free book could be the first in a series, an e-book about your writing journey or a collection of deleted scenes. Or, you can offer participation in writing your book with beta reading, title contests, etc. The point is to offer your audience something fun and valuable to build your own mailing list of readers and fans.
The tried and true way is to accumulate names of people who want what you’re offering is to use a landing page (a page where someone gets something of value in exchange for their email address) and an email service such as Mailchimp (funny name, great service). Podcasts, YouTube, hangouts and other media-based efforts are all good, especially if it gets more names onto a list that is under your control.
When I did network marketing, the phrase was always “the money’s in the list.” A customer base that belongs to you is as important as the literary product that belongs to you. Every time you turn over control to someone else, you put your income at risk.
Help others be successful.
Getting something for nothing never works in the long run. This universe seeks balance. For example, if you need reviews, help others with reviews. Buy and read books from your favorite authors. Read articles and subscribe to author websites. Connect with them on social media. At the very least, you’ll learn something.
Authors like Mark Dawson, Joanna Penn, Nick Stephenson, Dave Chesson, Joe Nassise, Dave Farland, Jane Friedman and many, many more, have awesome advice on writing and publishing.
If you have other tips and tricks of the trade, feel free to share them in the comments.
October 22, 2018
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