Jason Matthews's Blog, page 11

How Indie Authors Sell a Million Books Overnight

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How to sell a million books overnight? Easy-peasy, just do this:

Write a book fast. The faster the better.
Don’t worry about beta readers or professional editors. (Who has time for that?)
Slap on a cover, even if you have no graphic design experience whatsoever.
Formatting? Why bother when the message is what matters?
Publish it on Amazon, either exclusively with KDP Select or with every other retailer too.
Get on Facebook/Twitter and scream about your book at all times. SELL, SELL and SELL some more!
Broadcast at Goodreads and Amazon Kindle Forums, disregard their TOS. It’s not spam, it’s an investment in your future.
Keep pitching until the masses have found your book and every reader has fallen in love with it.
Kick back and count your Benjamins. Nice work, Indie Author Super-Star!

Okay, you’ve probably guessed the above advice is a joke and a recipe for disaster, yet this is what some indie authors do even if to a lesser degree. (I laugh at myself for having done a few of these as well.) Unfortunately, “one bad apple” comes to mind when behavior like this influences snarky forum comments to the tune of why someone would never read an indie book.

Reality check–the above instruction won’t work unless you’re Edward Morra, the character played by Bradley Cooper in Limitless, and the 100% human potential pill is still available.

Let’s move to plan B, shall we: How Indie Authors Sell a Million Books Overnight. Scratch that. How Indie Authors Sell a Million Books. Scratch that too. How Indie Authors Sell Books. Ah, that’s better. Settling down to realistic goals.

Write a great book, even if it drives you insane by the end of it. Maybe it only takes a month or two, but maybe it takes years. I’ve done it both ways and have yet to recover my sanity but am happy with the books.
Get as many beta readers as possible to give serious critique along the way and also once it’s done. Pats on the back won’t help. Strangers are better than friends and family because they’ll be brutally honest when that’s necessary. You may need to read and critique for others to accomplish this, which will also help you identify bad habits. If you can afford professional editors, do that too.
Make your own cover, only if you’ve spent the time to master the art. Otherwise hire out. It can be surprisingly affordably.
Learn formatting. Read Amazon’s Building Your Book for Kindle and the Smashwords Style Guide . (Both are free.)
Publish it on Amazon, either exclusively with KDP Select or with every other retailer too. (Hmm, this part hasn’t changed.)
Get on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus or any other social media site you enjoy. Participate and make friends with people without resorting to constant self-promotion. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK.
Do the same thing at Goodreads and other forums only if you have time.
Blog to a schedule you can manage. Writers need websites and need to write more. Blogging provides the platform and helps people learn about you, connect with your social media links and hopefully buy your book.
Do this until the world finds your book and some people fall in love with it (not everyone will and that’s okay).

I’ve heard many successful authors share what’s been most effective to them for selling books. While this is not a one-size-fits-all answer, in general this is what authors advise:

Blog.
Use social media to network, not to make hard sells.
Be professional everywhere.
Learn some basic SEO. Search engines help strangers find your book by subject matter.
Write more books.
Be persistent even if it takes years.
Get lucky or create your own luck by doing the steps above.

There is no magic wand, no secret to success. How could there be? The truth is boring, far more mundane than the Limitless 100% human potential example, yet that’s what successful authors report has worked. Boring, mundane, successful authors who have sold a million books.

Share your thoughts and comments below. What works for you?

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Indie Authors #61 Pubslush for Crowdfunding

How to raise money for book projects? Amanda L. Barbara, vice-president of Pubslush explains how crowdfunding helps with finances as your masterpiece gets written. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Websites:

http://pubslush.com/

http://www.thelittleuniverse.com.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Amanda Barbara — https://plus.google.com/107429938526375665403/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/104880672110890238358/posts

Share your thoughts on Pubslush or crowdfunding in general.

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Pubslush CrowdFunding for Books only

Need help financing your book project? Having extra money might be nice for all the costs that come into play: editing, cover design, marketing, etc and also pay some bills while you’re crafting the masterpiece.

Known as crowdfunding or crowdsourcing, several business models exist. Some require applications and approval. Many start-ups have come and gone in just the past few months. You may know biggies like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, sites used to raise money for any type of idea. If you’re a writer and want to do this, have a look at Pubslush–different because it’s just for authors.

Pubslush is a global crowdfunding platform only for books (every genre). Authors can raise funds, understand their audience and publish successfully via self-publishing or traditional means. It allows you to gauge the initial audience with book ideas while also enabling readers to pledge financial support to bring promising books to life. Check out some of the Current Campaigns and Successful Campaigns.

How does it work?

1. Authors build a book campaign, submitting a summary and sample of their work.

2. Readers financially support their favorite submissions in exchange for a reward (like a first edition, digital preview, etc).

3. Authors raise money and use supporter analytics to publish successfully via any publishing route they prefer.

Why Pubslush verse other crowdfunding sites?

Personalized Service - The Pubslush team provides one on one service to all authors. They are an organic, hands-on company focused on educating users and providing resources and tools to facilitate the publishing process.

Analytics - Pubslush offers a special service to all authors called Market Analytics. At the end of your book campaign you will receive a detailed demographic summary breaking down important information regarding your supporters such as location, age, traffic source and more. This is a powerful tool for effective marketing.

Flexible funding – Determine a book’s viability by setting a dollar threshold. Pubslush offers flexible funding, which allows authors to keep all funds they raised after they reach their minimum.

Free, Risk-free - No up front costs! Pubslush charges a 4% commission plus third party processing fees at the end of a successful campaign.

Pubslush 101 and Author Education provide a healthy amount of information to help you succeed.

Below are a few questions posed to Amanda Barbara, vice president of the company.

Does Pubslush still donate one book to a child in need for every book sold? Is that for print only?

The Pubslush Foundation allows us to act on our commitment to literacy initiatives for children worldwide. Our one-for-one program is the cornerstone: for every book we sell, we donate a book to a child in need. Pubslush’s main giving partner is Flying Kites, an orphanage in Kenya. Our president had been involved in education and human rights nonprofits before launching Pubslush. During her travels, she discovered an ideal inaugural giving partner. Flying Kites was a perfect fit for us, and it’s near and dear to our hearts. We work very closely with the organization; we’re working together to fund the construction of a new library and have already funded three new teachers for their school.

As we continue to grow as a company, we’re expanding our relationships and partnering with other organizations in Brazil and Israel. Our dream has always been to provide e-readers to children without access to literature. We are very excited and hopeful that we will be able to make this dream a reality with the help of our loyal writers and readers.

It is for both print books and ebooks. Authors who crowdfund on our site are also able to donate a portion of their proceeds to the foundation as well.

What is Women on Wednesday?

Women on Wednesday is a blog feature that showcases the stories of amazing women authors. These authors don’t necessarily need to be Pubslush authors but women who have published a book and want to share their story with our blog community.

There’s a Brazil expansion?

Brazil is still very much in progress but it is taking longer than expected. We are currently looking to expand into other nations such as Italy. We strive to eventually have platforms in different languages as well.

What is Pubslush Press?

Pubslush Press published our first book in May 2013: a beautiful mess by Ali Berlinski. The book is amazing and we are very excited we decided to publish it. As a team, we have decided to put more emphasis on the platform and its growth at this time. We will continue to have our publishing imprint and the next book we believe in, we will publish. However, Pubslush’s main business is the crowdfunding platform.

What reassurance do investors have that the book project gets completed?

Authors are entered in Pubslush’s terms of service when they create a campaign on Pubslush. We have never had an author not fulfill the rewards they have promised to their supporters as of today. The Pubslush team does extensive follow up with author’s post campaign to ensure they fulfill their rewards. Pubslush has also introduced the “Buy Button” which allows authors to share their Amazon links on their campaign page after their campaign has been completed. This feature helps Pubslush ensure books are published with the funds raised.

Amanda L. Barbara is the vice president of Pubslush. A philanthropist at heart, she serves on the board of directors for the Pubslush Foundation, which supports children’s literacy initiatives worldwide, and is a founder and director of The Barbara Family Foundation, an organization committed to assisting charities and children in need. Amanda is an advocate for crowdfunding in the publishing world and has spoken at various conferences, such as Writer’s Digest, Tools of Change, and the Digital Publishing Innovation Summit, and has been invited to serve as an ambassador and speaker at CONTEC at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

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Share your thoughts on Pubslush or crowdfunding in general.

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Oscars for Indie Author Book Video Trailers

And the Oscar goes to… *nervously opens envelope*

In a previous blog post, indie authors of all genres sent examples of book trailer videos for us to enjoy and learn from collectively. Among the analysis, these questions were presented (some authors even had answers):

How was it made?
What did it cost?
Has it sold books?
What advice can you give for making one?

We saw wonderful videos and some dreadful ones too, which seems par for the course in the indie author crowd. At the bottom of this post are YouTube tips that could have helped them all do better with results (SEO, views, book purchases, etc), but the Oscars have been chosen purely for cinematic reasons. (Props to a great author, Charlotte Abel, for suggesting this.)

Due to Academy rules, my all-time favorite book trailer video is exempt from voting. Instead here are 5 excellent videos, each winning a specific category.

Best Romance – Wait For Me by Samantha Chase

Made by Animoto (Plus Plan, very affordable). Currently ranked #433 in paid Kindle store. Wow! The author says she’s “not sure it’s helping” but my feeling is the opposite–definitely worthwhile.

***

Most Views - Time-Lapse Photography by Ryan Chylinski

36,426 views and counting! Made entirely by the author. Selling books and worth it.

***

Best 4-Legged Friends genre – Just One More Day by Geoff Bain

Pictures, text and music used in effective simplicity. Powerful result. Free to the author. Great promotional video.

***

Best Cinematography – The Publicist by Christina George

Received high marks for setting, live action, intrigue, music and overall effect.

***

Best Beyond Low Budget – Too Close by Elizabeth Krall

Extreme basics (only one image) accomplished in just 25 seconds! Made in less than two hours. Props for pushing boundaries on what we don’t like to think about but is entirely possible. Refreshingly disturbing, as one Amazon reviewer said.

***

Tips for how most of these videos could have been more effective on YouTube at converting viewers to book buyers:

better SEO in YouTube title with words like Book Trailer, Book Video to help YouTube’s search engine (world’s 2nd largest) link searchers to what they’re looking for. Unfortunately most authors don’t practice smart and simple SEO.
add hyperlinks in the description to the Amazon page or author’s website. This baffles me, but many authors do not include this even when those YouTube description hyperlinks become active.
higher view counts can be had with more promotion. Just because it’s on YouTube doesn’t mean people will see it. Authors must make the effort to direct traffic.

These small tips are displayed in this example video on YouTube.

Thoughts or comments? Do share.

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Indie Authors #60 Gayle Carline Humor Columnist Mystery Author

Accidental indie, Gayle Carline, shares humor From the Horse’s Mouth. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Gayle-Carline/e/B002C7FHZW/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://gaylecarline.com/

http://www.thelittleuniverse.com.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Gayle Carline – https://plus.google.com/114884318629218782815/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/104880672110890238358/posts

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Little Comments Big Author Platform

http://www.flickr.com/photos/irenewn/2238687658/

Ever read an article or post and not comment when you easily could have? Why not, after all, you already invested time to read the article? This seemingly insignificant omission is often not recognized for what it is–a moment of missed opportunity. Some of the best traffic to my websites has come from simply participating in comments at other sites. Doing it regularly always helps to get a bit stronger online. In time, the power develops in ways that surprise.

The reason is obvious–comments create links back to your websites and/or social media profiles, both of which continually build online presence. The internet is a GLOBAL experience with citizens around the world tuning in, and that includes more English speakers/readers than you may have thought possible. Think India, for example. Like it or not, online presence is measured in more ways than one, and sites like Klout exist to identify and connect people who are putting themselves out there in a myriad of ways.

Plus it’s also good for the person who wrote the blog post or article–it gives them SEO power too. It’s a win-win. This business is about networking. You’ve heard the term author platform. In addition to your books at vendors and your websites, everything you do online builds that platform including small mentions in the comments section of articles, blog posts, even social media sites like Google Plus, Facebook, Twittter.

Some might lament, “What about privacy? What about the Big Brother effect?” Sorry, most authors will need full transparency to rise above the soon to be millions of indie authors vying for readers. There are exceptions, but the hermit-author-bestseller is getting rarer by the day. This doesn’t mean one needs to grant Facebook permissions to everything that asks for it or comment on some of the more ridiculous posts; it just means to weigh the option and make the effort when the time is right.

How this concept helps:

comment boxes often contain URL links where you can input your site or blog or even your Amazon book page, which always benefits SEO.
sometimes a social media option exists for your Facebook, Google Plus or other profile link, depending on how you sign in, which helps others discover more about you.
people who like your comment (or avatar) often click the links to delve deeper.
the post or article writer may connect with you, which leads to good things because these people are networkers.
in time, sites that monitor this activity view you more favorably (Google, Klout, PeerIndex, Kred, etc.)

All of us are building online presence, and networking is a huge part of an author platform. Until the meteor strikes, the aliens land or something happens to make the internet obsolete, the continued construction of a bigger and better online existence is one of the best things anyone can do for her/his message and business. Think of it as platform jumping-jacks. It’s surprising how many authors don’t do them, especially since it takes so little time.

Would you like to comment? I hope so. Besides, we’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

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Indie Authors #59 Slash Coleman Bohemian Love Diaries

Storyteller extraordinaire, Slash Coleman, discusses a life with eccentric artists, profound comedy, the unending quest for love and more from his memoir, The Bohemian Love Diaries. Hosted by Jason Matthews and Marla Miller.

Amazon author pages:

http://www.amazon.com/Slash-Coleman/e/B00D2YM8WY/

http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Matthews/e/B004A8W4BG/

http://www.amazon.com/Marla-Miller/e/B000APJYSE/

Websites:

http://www.slashcoleman.com/

http://www.thelittleuniverse.com.com

http://marlamiller.com/

G+ Pages:

Slash Coleman – https://plus.google.com/110549630704046615573/posts

Jason Matthews — https://plus.google.com/117850331447734054313/posts

Marla Miller — https://plus.google.com/104880672110890238358/posts

Share a comment?

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Monday Must See/Read Bohemian Love Diaries

Bohemian Love Diaries? Aren’t those terms somewhat oxymoron? True, Bohemian has multiple meanings, but when someone describes another as acting like a Bohemian my initial thoughts are not flowery reflections of love.

And neither is this book, flowery that is. Oh it’s descriptive, way more than your average read. At an age when most of us could barely pencil down what we did last summer, Slash Coleman was declared by college writing professors to be “either a genius or full of shit.” Man, I wish my writing had that kind of polarizing effect. Slash is an artist, story teller, live performer, musician, philosopher and helpless romantic; the pages brim with all of that.

Within this hilarious and deeply introspective memoir you’ll find moments like these:

(at the grocery store, age 7) – My dad stands to one side, shirtless, wearing bleach-spotted jeans with a deerskin loincloth on the front and his Nazi Soldier helmet with fake pigtails on his head. He holds an open can of Schlitz in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth. . . My bets are placed on a preemptive strike by my father because, with him, after midnight all bets are off when it comes to diplomacy and surrender.
(a first date) – I arrive at the Chapmans’ with Goldie on my arm, and we enjoy the illusion of belonging as we walk through the large oak doors of the mansion. I feel taller and smarter. Goldie says her boobs feel bigger.


(on wooing the love of his college years) – “When I stop by, she’s never home. When I try to surprise her at work, she’s never there. When I call her, I just get her answering machine,” I lament. “Did you try her parents?” Grady says. “I don’t know her last name,” I admit.

If ever memoir reads like great fiction, it does with this book. Just released, Bohemian Love Diaries will be big.  Join us live at this blog Monday July 29th 6pm PT (9pm Eastern) for an Indie Authors TV exclusive interview with Slash Coleman (details at the Google Plus Event). YouTube link will be posted here for latecomers.

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Upgraded Book Country, Penguin’s Self-Pub adds Bookstore

Since its launch in 2011, many indie authors recommended a run-don’t-walk-away policy when it came to self-publishing at Book Country, a subsidiary of Penguin Group (now Penguin Random House or Random Penguin for some). Even though the site offered a place to network with other writers, post books, critique and get critiques, perhaps get discovered–most agreed the negatives far outweighed all of that: expensive self-publishing and high cuts on sales at distribution partners like Amazon.

Now things may have changed, at least a bit. Book Country has created its own bookstore, which offers ebooks extending well beyond the Penguin-Random umbrella. Other updates include more categories (genres), a free publishing option for do-it-yourself types, direct messaging for members (over 8,300), and more bang-for-the-buck if you want a publishing package with bells and whistles. Selling an ebook directly through the bookstore will command an 85% royalty, which would be great IMO if they also made e-reading devices and had a loyal base of customers.

As with other ebook distributors like Smashwords and Draft2Digital, Book Country allows members to pick which retailers they want to distribute to and opt-out for the ones they don’t (e.g. Amazon because it’s wiser to upload directly there). One strategy might be to upload to Book Country for direct sales at the new store and only opt-in for distribution to venues like Scribd and Google, places where most authors don’t sell much anyway. Why? Because more exposure is usually a good thing. If sales happen, all the better. In the meantime I recommend uploading ebooks directly wherever possible (Amazon, Kobo, B&N) and using distribution partners (Smashwords, Draft2Digital) that take the least cut from sales at other places.

A human element during the whole process is one feature that separates Book Country from the others. Upon submitting my book for the site, I received a personal email from a real person saying she/he would be looking into my work and making sure everything was up to snuff. Within 48-72 hours I should hear back. “That’s different!” I thought. Different good or different not good, we’ll see in time, but for now different is interesting.

Have an experience or comment to share? Please do.

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Cyber Terrorism vs Authonomy, The Spam Wars

How do cyber-terrorists invade Authonomy, a writer’s site run by big 5 publisher HarperCollins? By invading the forums with post after post of spam links to live-streaming sports and other programs (less than half of the posts in the photo below are from legit forum users).

But isn’t the website for writers with unpublished books, seeking critiques and eventual publishing representation? Err, yes it is, but the forums are quite active there and fun too.

Why would the spammers do it? Good question. Probably to rank higher with search engines by having hundreds of one-way links coming from a site used by thousands of people, even if the links aren’t getting clicked by the writers.

Who are the spammers: people or bots? Debates rage on but it appears to be people, probably making very little money but hey, a job’s a job. And they were winning for awhile, filling the forum with so much spam that good people were leaving in droves, possibly being forced to do some actual writing. Thankfully recent updates to the forum’s captcha code and the efforts of diligent admins plus forum watchdogs have finally prevailed, at least for now. Writers can get back to where they’re needed: the forums.

So is it really safe to return to Authonomy? Some of us aren’t sure it ever was safe to be there–ala a monumental waste of time trying to reach the coveted editor’s desk when we could have been writing–but that’s another blog post.

For now, yes it’s safe. Grab digital equivalents to yellow pads, pencils and erasers and come back to the site that helps writers beat the slush pile, or become authors–or complain about that not happening in a spam-free forum with thousands of others.

Personally, I’m glad to spam is gone. The place feels like Autho again.

Thoughts or comments? Do share.

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