Carole’s Comments (group member since Oct 19, 2016)

Carole’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Hi, sorry I haven't been around much, but I've been working hard to save my business as well as my new start up- Lady Phyllis Medium.

For those who haven't heard, I have studied this year with famous mediums to hone my own skills successfully, and you can catch some of the results of this on my sons' podcast, Okon Bros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmDMc...
Well, I am going to try and spread the word of your books on my assorted Facebook pages- I have eight with a combined following of thirty thousand. I hope it translates to sales. Nobody talks about actual results- so I am going to share- This is not bragging but the result of hard work.
I will say, that I've been posting the 90 or so titles I manage on assorted FB pages and average about 300 paperback sales per month. These are a variety of genres and five different authors.(My son and I write under five different names) I know posting works.
Kindle sales remain dismal averaging between 1 and 6 per day.
I am also posting to Tiktok- You can catch my TikToc on Lady Phyllis. If you'd like me to read a line from your book- pm me and we'll set that up. Meanwhile, I want to say that I think all of this does help sell books. So, quit your complaining and start helping others and maybe they'll help you back.

That's why you haven't finished your delightful novel that I've been lucky enough to read a small part!!! Make time for art and creativity! The world needs it now.

Book review podcasts are a really big thing now- Look for podcasts in your genre and see if they'll review your books.

I know. It was my fault- I got paid upfront with a small fee, never thinking it would sell that many. The next book I negotiated royalties, but that one didn't take off like the first. Oh well. Live and learn.
I took the job to pay for marketing for the other books. lol.

Three books are great Anna! That's the possibility of another review- I'm happy when I look at the reports and see that we've sold a few books each day. They do add up!

I know. It was a bummer.

It was a learning experience, Alex. I wanted to see what it was like working with a publisher. The book has over 10000 reviews. I thought it would translate to more sales for my other books and certainly more reviews on the others- but, no- it remains the same slog.

Thanks, Mike, every bit of information helps.

Also want to add that you're right when you point out we have different genres. What works for one genre and author may not work for another.

You're also on the money about Linkedin- don't look for sales on Linkedin- I see it as another tool to validate a person as an author.

I have had opportunities turn up on there- invitations to podcasts and we did see a spurt of book sales. I post on there with my real name and wasn't pushing books- mentions by my kids have brought curiosity and positive attention to my works.

I bought the Dawson program. It had great lessons, but it's expensive, so for many struggling authors, I suggest they try as many free ways to get a message of their book out there first. The best lessons come from people who have been there before you- so ask questions- the authors here are generous with advice, just like Mike.

Correct me if I'm wrong- but Book Bub is really hard to be accepted. I think with all our books- between our pen names I promote close to 100 different titles- I think they only took a few of my son's books and yes, we did see a jump in sales for a few weeks, but by posting on as many blogs and FB pages as I could- his books stayed in the number 1 spot in their genre for over a year, netting him a lit and film agent. This was always his goal.

When I worked with the publicity department of the publisher who published the joke book I did, they asked me to post to FB three to four times a week- We created ads and put them up three weeks before the book came out- did several newsletters and asked for editorial reviews from other authors in the genre and popular blog sites.

The joke book made it to number one on all of Amazon for a solid month and sold over 300000 copies, which would have been great if I made a better deal for myself. lol. But that landed me a lit and film agent, which was my goal.

Everybody wants to be that author making life-changing sales, and I wonder if they were previously traditionally published authors with followings before they took the indie path? Writing and selling is a lot like a start-up. What I've learned is that you have to establish an identity first- build interest, and expect a slow burn to the finish line.
I never quit my day job even though we did reach six figures on our combined books. It's a fickle business and the six figures did not last long.

A question was asked on another discussion about ways to market your book. We have a lot of new authors here and I thought it would be nice to list ways we've marketed-

Here's my postStart with creating a website, Facebook page, a blog and open a twitter, snapchat, and ticktock account (if you haven't already). Look for material related to your book to post on here regularly- this will help build your fan base. It will also drum up interest in you. These are free but take time and it takes some skill to navigate them. You can also feature other authors in exchange for them to feature you.

Never ask for an exchange of reviews- this goes against many rules on Amazon and Goodreads. I found it helpful to start writing reviews of books I enjoyed. You can get a following of people who enjoy your reviews or the subject you read and this raises interest in you.

-Use Linked In to raise awareness of this new facet of your life. Cross-reference the book on your professional pages to gather a following. I hesitated to do this for a long time- but my kids forced me 'out.' It created a flurry of interest and sales.

Don't make it only about your book. Look for bloggers and podcasters in your genre or interests and see if you can get them to feature an article or release written by you.

Look into some reputable blog tours and pick a few that you can afford. Find ones that provide a mailing list with the tour and this is the way to build your mailing list. Later you can exchange with authors that you will send out news of their books in exchange for them to do the same with yours.

Join other book promotion sites on Facebook and post news about your book. You can take part of the review and post it (make sure you identify the author of the words). You can post interesting facts to draw people to your page.

Social media has to be worked daily. I can tell you that every time I post all the books directly from Amazon- I make sales.

Pick and choose where you want to invest. I always do a Kirkus, Blue Ink, Book Trib, Foreword review. They are expensive- but IMO worth it. They expose you to libraries and serious readers.

Enter your book in a few awards- this brings both attention and good publicity to your work. Reader's Favorite is one of my favs. You can list your book for a free review or take the five reviews and pay for them. Either way, it's good publicity.

To all those wonderful authors out there- add what you have done- what was sucessful and what was a fail.

Hope this helps- good luck.

Thanks, Anna. I really appreciate your support.

lol

lol. Anna. Yep those dinosaurs made great pets. lol

;)

Love this group.

Support costs nothing, but the return is so gratifying. We truly believe that what you give out to the universe comes back tenfold. Like the song- "What the world needs now is love, sweet love-" that says it all. By showing compassion, support, understanding- going out of our way to make another person feel that they are not alone- always boomerangs back when we need it most.

Slow and steady wins the race- be consistent. That's a good investment in time.

The level of success of our books is modest. It's not enough to support- but it has sustained both my sons and myself so we can work on getting noticed. It's a slow process and sometimes we lose steam, but having a great support team helps keep up the momentum.

That’s nice Sam

When you work from home as many of us are doing now- you have to make sure to set up boundaries for each part of your life- It's hard- but I've run a business from my home for close to fifty years and I make sure to make boundaries for everything. Sometimes you have to just power down and let your brain rest.

In this crazy world where we push ourselves to use every moment- I wonder do we give ourselves enough time to rest. The real question is- when does imagination kick in and as authors are we giving ourselves space to really think so we can create? What do you do for inspiration or development?

Love to-do lists. They really help.

All you have to do is spend an hour or so a day on it.