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

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

Tomas wrote: To quote David Gaughran: "Typo-free book wasn't ever published."

Their rules, not mine :)

Tomas wrote: "Gail wrote: "You don't need reviews, but you do need followers to be considered for their feature ads"

That seems even harder to achieve, tbh."

Not sure it's required Tomas. From their own site they list these as the requirements:

In order for us to consider your submission for a BookBub feature, your title must be at minimum:

Free or discounted by at least 50%. We promise our members that we will only feature books that have been deeply discounted.

The best deal available. We won’t consider a book if it has been offered for a better price in the last 30 days, or if it will be offered for less in the near future.

Error free. We look for content that is well-formatted and free of typos and grammatical errors.

A limited-time offer. While we do consider permanently free books, we otherwise don’t feature low-price offers that are always available.

A full-length book. Novels and collections of short stories or novellas should be at least 150 pages in length, works of nonfiction at least 100 pages, cookbooks at least 70 pages, middle grade books at least 100 pages, and children’s picture books at least 20 pages. We currently do not feature stand-alone novellas or short stories.

Widely available. We only feature deals that are available on at least one major retailer in either the US or the UK. And the more, the merrier.

Lastly, we will not feature the same book more than once every 6 months. Nor will we feature the same author more than once every 30 days. Visit our Support page to find out how this policy applies to box sets.

Gail wrote: "You don't need reviews, but you do need followers to be considered for their feature ads"

Hi Gail,

When you say "feature ads" do you mean Bookbub ads or the featured deal?

Helen wrote: "I thought BookBub was just for discounted books.

I'll definitely check out FB click per ads. Thank you!"

Hi Helen. Upon further research (and according to David Gaughran) FB doesn't offer a CPC option. They quote it, but at the end of the day it's based off an impression model.

L.K. wrote: "Blog tours aren't so great for sales but are quite useful for getting reviews that you can use quotes from (good idea to ask the bloggers permission to use quotes from their review). My most recent..."

Same here L.K. My rule of thumb is if they contact me it must be for their benefit, not mine :)

Gail wrote: "B.A. wrote: "I'll repeat this again. Rule of thumb: If they contacted you, delete or hang up. They are scammers who want your money for doing very little for you. Legitimate companies have more bus..."

TaleFlick is very suspect.

Tomas wrote: "Don't you need some amount of reviews to be considered at Bookbub? That's the main hurdle for new authors, I'd say, getting the first couple of reviews."

There is no stated threshold for reviews at BookBub that I've ever seen. Obviously, your chances are better with more reviews, but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Apply for it - there's nothing to lose.

B.A. wrote: "Blogging tours used to be the thing until these companies started up and were trying to promote books of the wrong genre on blog sites. The bloggers these companies used were not that well known an..."

Great advice B.A. :)

L.K. wrote: "Eldon wrote: "things with BookBub are not as dire as you make out. I have had 3 feature deals with them this year (one in the coveted US market). I assure you, I have far less than 1,000 followers ..."

It is possible :)

Gail wrote: "Helen wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Helen wrote: "Hi,
Yes, I have several books. Two historical novels and one children's book. My newest novel came out in June and it's going well, but I need to market it..."

Gail, things with BookBub are not as dire as you make out. I have had 3 feature deals with them this year (one in the coveted US market). I assure you, I have far less than 1,000 followers on BB. My feature deal for the US market is a permafree book. And the books used for the other deals are Amazon exclusive.

Without a doubt they are difficult to land, and I've had my share of rejections too, but it can be done, and should be strived for because the results are worth the effort :)

As for their ad platform, there are no restrictions to advertising with them I'm aware of. It's tough to get an ad to perform if you lack the skill (which, honestly I do), but many authors do find success there.

B.A. wrote: "Okay ,you want to write a blurb.
1. Write a really good log line. That is one sentence of usually 25-30 words that describes your book. Do not use names, setting, etc. Use no more than 3 words for..."

One sentence of 30 words? That seems long to me for some reason.

Erika wrote: "Wow! Now that's aggressive..."

Aggressive is one word for it. Yikes!

Jay wrote: "… marketing communications are completely different kinds of writing than novels/essays/poetry.

You miss the point. If you cannot learn how to write a blurb on a professional level you don’t have ..."

I think you miss the point Jay. Someone could be able to write an epic novel and still be clueless when it comes to writing ad copy. The two do not go hand in hand. And while it might be possible to spend time acquiring the skill, for some, that time is better spent writing more books. There is nothing wrong with hiring out certain aspects of this business. Each of our journey's are unique, and there is no wrong way to the top if you're lucky enough to reach it :)

Bryan wrote: "Here is a gripe concerning author newsletters:

I set up a promotion where I provide the first three chapters of my novel free in exchange for an email address. I then add that email address to a m..."

I hear you Bryan. Look at it this way though, once they're gone you no longer need to pay to carry dead weight, as it were :)

Laura wrote: "Yes. They can be prohibitively expensive, and perhaps there is no ROI. I did not find anyone with this last post, and wrote my own for the last book. A year or two ago, I got help from someone I fo..."

You could be right about that. Given the growing need for ad copy, there does seem to be a shortage of freelancers capable of filling the need. I hope it works out for you!

Laura wrote: "Jay wrote: "if a given writer can't write their own blurb, professionally, "

IMO, marketing communications are completely different kinds of writing than novels/essays/poetry. There is an art to a..."

I agree Laura - writing a novel is entirely separate from being able to write marketing copy. Being able to do one, doesn't grant you the ability to do the other.

Back on point, I used a copywriter through Reedsy for one of my books but haven't seen any appreciable uptick in sales as a result. These fees can be expensive too. You might try finding a free copywriting course first just to see if you can pick up the skill before you sink a large investment into someone else.

Erika wrote: "Hello- has anyone had success/positive feedback from sending a copy of their book directly to an indie bookstore? Thanks"

Hi Erika!

Not sure what you mean by sending a copy direct to them? In my experience, you need to speak with the store's manager/buyer to work out a deal for them to stock your book. This deal typically includes a return option for unsold books.

It can be beneficial for both parties if you also agree to do a signing/reading at the store.

T.L. wrote: "Eldon wrote: "J.U. wrote: "Over a time, I realized that one of the most important things in book marketing is social proof by way of reviews. Problem is finding reviewers 1) that are actually avail..."

There are services you can use like BookSweeps to increase your email size, but what you often wind up with is a bunch of people who only signed up to win a prize and are not interested in your work at all.

The best way is to include links in your books for signing up, and taking part in author newsletter swaps within your genre. It takes time, but there are no shortcuts in this business.

Gail wrote: "Having a physical presence in a well-known bookstore is a lot easier said than done. Any ideas on how to accomplish this? I'm sure many writers like myself would be eager to hear how it's done."

I would suggest starting small. Approach local bookstores that aren't chains and many will be glad to put your wares on their shelves.

J.U. wrote: "Over a time, I realized that one of the most important things in book marketing is social proof by way of reviews. Problem is finding reviewers 1) that are actually available (many are busy and are..."

Hi J.U.! I would steer clear if I were you. Amazon takes the integrity of its reviews very seriously. It's not worth incurring their wrath just for a few reviews.

You'd be better off cultivating a reader newsletter where your readers could subscribe to learn more about you, and hopefully review your books after reading them.