Eldon’s Comments (group member since May 30, 2016)

Eldon’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Jay wrote: "Making no comments on the writing, my question is; Did that novel sell well? Because if the beta readers loved it and it didn't..."

Putting the question to you, Jay. Did your novel sell well after following your own advice?

Tomas wrote: "Jay wrote: "Readers don’t notice point-of-view errors."

My experience would say it's the opposite. But I guess it comes down to each individual beta reader. Maybe I was lucky..."

I would agree with you Tomas. I've had no issues noticing point of view errors when I come across them reading.

Gail wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Gail wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Gail wrote: "Gary wrote: "I've been Amazon exclusive for my fantasy books, since my first one about a year ago. KU did absolutely nothing for me. The only a..."

Hi Gail! I believe Jane answered your question. You set the book free elsewhere and then ask Amazon to price match. No idea why they just don't let us set it to zero, but it is what it is.

Gail wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Gail wrote: "Gary wrote: "I've been Amazon exclusive for my fantasy books, since my first one about a year ago. KU did absolutely nothing for me. The only attention I've got is from a..."

You're not alone there, Gail. It pains me too lol

Gail wrote: "Gary wrote: "I've been Amazon exclusive for my fantasy books, since my first one about a year ago. KU did absolutely nothing for me. The only attention I've got is from advertising on other sites a..."

If you're able to do so, Gail, one of the best methods to gain traction is to put up a permafree book. This allows new readers to try you out at no cost to them. If they like what they read, hopefully they go on to buy your other books. Granted, this works best with series.

Gail wrote: "I've been going back and forth with this. Amazon reviews are most important to authors, I believe? I have tried going wide with other retailers with a few books, but I keep putting them back on Ama..."

I think most readers who will review do so on the platform where they purchase. If your goal is Amazon reviews, I don't see the logic in going wide.

Anne wrote: "Eileen wrote: "I've not used NetGalley, but $450 is a lot of money for any new author. I'm also not crazy about blog tours. The last one I participated in had bloggers who didn't read my book and s..."

I'd be very careful purchasing review packages Anne. There's a lot of leeway there to offend Amazon's ToS

Eileen wrote: "BookBub featured deals are great, but getting them is tough.

I've only gotten one and it was an International Featured Deal. Apparently those are easier than US deals are. It wasn't a fabulous su..."

Agree - David Gaughran knows his stuff. And he offers a free course.

Tomas wrote: "I don't want to derail the thread too much; Eldon, would you mind if I messaged you for specifics during the week?"

Feel free Tomas :)

Tomas wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Probably not what you want to hear Tomas, but I don't think there are any shortcuts for that."

I know that, and I'm not looking for a "get rich quick" method. Just anything that'd ge..."

Ads and other newsletter promo sites can help you gain the visibility you seek Tomas :)

Gail wrote: "I would LOVE to know how you were accepted for a Featured Deal. I only tried 1 book so far but rejected. I know if you are accepted, they're great. Any idea if it's #reviews, #followers, book content/genre, etc.?..."

BookBub will tell you that number of reviews doesn't really matter to them. Each of their selections is curated by an actual person looking at what they need for the day in question. Best advice for landing the deal is to just keep applying. Believe me, I've been turned down FAR more than accepted.

Tomas wrote: "Any tips on that matter? I think that's the hardest part, knowing how to start with building an audience...."

Probably not what you want to hear Tomas, but I don't think there are any shortcuts for that. What worked best for me was a US BookBub deal. Garnered me over 100 Amazon ratings. Obviously, not easy to get accepted though.

Eileen wrote: "I've not used NetGalley, but $450 is a lot of money for any new author. I'm also not crazy about blog tours. The last one I participated in had bloggers who didn't read my book and so didn't ever p..."

Great advice Eileen!!

William wrote: "Eldon wrote: "William wrote: "I just finished reading Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary" -- he's the guy who wrote "The Martian." Anyway, Hail Mary is full of flashbacks which are done as chapters. I ..."

Awesome!!

JAKe wrote: "If you mean the season, then of course Americans would know. If it means something else, perhaps not."

It never hurts to check. Sometimes words have different meanings depending on where they're used :)

Arch wrote: "It's 450$. That a lot of money for a new author. Is it worth the bucks?"

For my personal experience with it, I'd say no. I received a total of three reviews. Your money could be better spent elsewhere.

Arch wrote: "Lou wrote: "On Voracious, I ran a ebook giveaway there a few weeks ago, and am hoping for reviews as soon as they've read the book. The guy who runs it is really helpful and cares about authors.
La..."

Hi Arch. Links can't be posted here. Just Google Voracious Readers :)

Phillip wrote: "Eldon wrote: "JAKe wrote: "I too like to mix things up as a writer as I like variety. As a reader, if the story is good and interesting, I don't think I'd care how often said was used."

Speaking o..."

No, that's what I was using it for.

JAKe wrote: "I too like to mix things up as a writer as I like variety. As a reader, if the story is good and interesting, I don't think I'd care how often said was used."

Speaking of words and phrases, for our members in the United States, if I used the word autumn would you know what it meant? My editor seems to think this is not an American term.

Phillip wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "Repeated words can become distracting or monotonous. "Said" used to be one of the most debated words amongst readers and writers. Maybe that's not the case anymore. I haven't seen it..."

LOL