How To Become a Best Selling Author?

How to become a best-selling author is one of my most frequently asked questions. Well, now that both my recently released books Your Husband My Man and Your Husband My Man 2 has reached the higher end of the top 100 best seller’s (#3 & #4) on Amazon for over a month now with no signs of relenting as of right now I’ll take a minute to tell you what I’ve learned. Before I begin I wanted to share that both books have reached as high as #2 in a few categories out ranking Wendy Williams and Stephen King just to name a few.

Step # 1 You Need a Compelling Book Title

This is harder than it looks. Having a compelling cover is very subjective as it may appeal to one reader and not another so you have to use creativity. Your title should fit with your competition but be good enough to call the attention of your potential reader. Shorter titles are more successful and fit better on your cover as well. Give the reader something short, sweet and tells a bit of the story idea. I chose Your Husband, My Man because it let the reader know the story is going to be about some form of infidelity however, it was short and sweet and fit nicely on the cover as well. This is more important than you think, in reader groups this question has come up and most if not all of them answered shorter is best.

Step #2 Professional Book Covers are best

Having a professionally done book cover is the biggest difference between you and a best-selling author. Covers that are vibrant with colors generally catch the reader’s eye faster. Covers with visible titles or words that don’t fade into the cover also gets the attention of the reading audience as well. People generally steer clear of low-budget looking covers or anything that looks homemade. If you’re trying to make it in the literary world this is definitely a must investment.

Step #3 Mind Blowing Book Description is Mandatory

This is one of the most important factors in creating a best seller. Your reader gives you only one chance to impress them and it generally starts with your book title and book cover. Once they are pulled in they will slow down enough to read your book’s description. I can’t tell you enough about the amount of authors who master part one and two just to lose the customer at the description. Your description should be about one to two paragraphs in length. It should also tell about the story but not from the writers point of view. I like writing in third person when doing my description. Consider this your literary movie reel. Make it so compelling they have no choice but to hit the one click button.

Step #4 Be Prepared to Sacrifice

I have tried a few different marketing strategies on a few different books I have written under a pen name just to find that writing more books may gain you more sales but never the best seller’s list. If your goal is to become a best seller and not just a fly by night best seller than you have to be willing to sacrifice. I have promoted my books relentlessly using banner ads with links to my amazon page. Promotion requires lots of time so be prepared to sacrifice a night out with friends, a romantic dinner or two. It’s hard at first but eventually it will be beneficial. Nothing worth having is free.

Step #5 Don’t be Afraid of the $0.99 Promo

My book is apart of a series so my publisher has marked the first book at only 99 cents. I’ve heard so many authors talk bad about the 99 cent price point. Though it isn’t a great place to remain financially it serves a purpose from a marketing standpoint. Quick example of why this is a good strategy. Unknown Author 1 uses the $4.99 cent price point for part one of their story and receives 100 sales receiving a royalty payment amount of $449. Unknown Author 2 uses the 99 cent price point for part one of their story and make 1000 sales receiving a royalty payment amount of  $300 according to Amazon’s payment structure. Looks bad right? Wrong! though author 2 receives the lower royalty payment initially they sold 900 more books which means they have 1000 potential readers coming back for part 2 of their book which can increase their royalty payment substantially at a higher price point on the second book of the series even at the 2.99 price point. Look at the bigger picture when pricing.

Step #6 Series versus Stand alone

This is a tricky one because many readers love a good series and others enjoy a complete novel. I personally like writing series and my readers enjoy it as well. Series are great for building a following. When your reader feel connected with the characters they want to follow the story line. However, never drag the story beyond its ending. No when to let go but be sure to tie up all loose ends first. If you are writing a series make sure you are giving a cliffhanger worthy of coming back to the next part. Great  cliffhangers leave your readers talking and hungry for more. I have many of my fans reaching out to me via Facebook & Twitter as well as Goodreads just to tell me they love my series so far and can’t wait for the next part. Research your audience by going into your genre and see what the reviews are saying about your competition. Many readers are very vocal on telling you what they like and don’t like about a book.

I hope this article was able to give you a bit more insight into the word of becoming a best-selling author. Don’t forget to subscribe for more Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Resources.

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