Andrea’s Comments (group member since Jun 16, 2017)

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

Editing is still essential, but a lot of times, I think authors feel they can't afford it or don't realize what it can give them, so they try to go without or do it themselves.

That's why I'm glad that Writer's Clubs like this one (https://www.patreon.com/AWritersPath) includes editing with a professional as part of the membership package, to where authors can finally afford the help they don't even know they need. Maybe, in scenarios like this where it's free, we'll discover what we're missing. :-)

I read a lot of traditionally published works that have errors. The more people read something, the better your chances are of catching the errors, but hiring a professional certainly helps, as they're in the business because they're good at finding these things.

As for low-budget options, you might try joining a writer's group like the one found here: https://www.patreon.com/AWritersPath

They act a bit like a AAA club for writers, giving members free editing, blurb coaching, and promotion opportunities, working with them to reach their writing goals. I've known the blogger behind it for years, and he's a self-published author himself, an entrepreneur who wants to help make publishing easier for all of us, so it's a great option if you truly don't have a lot of money to make your dreams possible.

This is a great list! Thanks Alex and Angel!

Another one you might add is https://ryanlanz.com/advertise-your-b.... The popular writing blog offers ads by book quote (in a post), book cover via the sidebar ads, or as an editorial review, and with tens of thousands of followers and daily posts, the traffic and visibility is definitely there. And as Carole said, advertising is all about increasing visibility. If readers don't know a book is out there, they can't buy it. :-)

https://ryanlanz.com/advertise-your-b...

All genres, and you can choose to promote your book via quote, book cover ad on the sidebars, or an editorial review. The pricing options make sure there's something for every budget, and I've personally found a number of authors through these ads, so I can attest that they work from a reader point of view. :-)

Another marketing option is reaching readers through ads on popular writing blogs, like here: https://ryanlanz.com/advertise-your-b...

I've found many authors through the ads here, whether as book quotes (which I think is a great option, introducing readers to your actual writing) or through the book cover ads. And the cost means giving it a try won't require as many book purchases to make it pay for itself, which is always nice--it makes trying an ad campaign like this less scary.

You also might look at networking with other bloggers. Personally, that's what has worked for me, whether through groups like the A-Z challenge or through commenting on others' blog posts.

And then, there are advertising options on other blogs that let you post your book quotes, submit guest posts, etc., like those found here: https://ryanlanz.com/advertise-your-b... Some networking options are free while others are geared more as advertisements for your product (novels or writing service), but they offer ways to reach out to more readers, which is always a plus for both your blog and your writing work.

I'd think looking for a way to pay for your ads through other books just makes sense. Writing is a business, and we have to cover our overhead somehow, so even if the first book is free or cheap, the later books will have to cost more to make up the difference.

But, as some of the authors have said in this thread, having a promotion plan definitely helps. If you don't know how much you're spending on book promotion, you won't know how much you need to make on your books, overall, to make that money back.

In addition to the Facebook ads and BookBub mentioned, there are also popular writing blogs like https://ryanlanz.com/advertise-your-b..., where you can advertise via book quotes, your book's cover image, or through an editorial review. With the different pricing options out there, it wouldn't take that much of an increase per book to cover the ads, even if sales are relatively slow. But it's another business expense to consider, definitely.