Time Travel discussion
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Time Travel Books By Members
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These are very good hints for new authors. I will give another one, some will not agree but our world is functioning like this. I studied last month how promotions are working on Goodreads. As on Amazon there are a lot of professional reviewer hired to perform promotional jobs for selected books. The only difference is that here less reviewers are needed. On Amazon especially on Kindle you need as many buyers as reviews. And for an indie author is expensive. What you need here are some top users. At least three are needed. More are even better.
To find these reviewers is not easy but can be done with some effort. Here is a step by step guide.
1) Look for the group where your book can be read
2) Look on the monthly reading books
3) See if there are 3-4 users having many entries, very good entries for that book
4) Look for the key words I wrote in Deceneus thread. They are good and Amy which is also good in this confirmed them
5) Look for the reviews they wrote for that book
6) Go to Amazon and find if they wrote the same there. Look also for something like: 10-20 reviewers made a similar statement
With this you found your target.
Next step check their influence in the group, they must be able to push the book to be read in that group. So you check for last 6-8 months to see how many of their proposals were selected for the monthly read. If they have at least two that means they have the network in place for this.
One more tip: On Amazon the best reviewers have the following sign: VINE™ VOICE. They are vintage, the best but also the most expensive. The best solution is to have one Vine and two experienced.
One more advice, never never argue with a top user especially if he has a large network. Even if they say the most stupid thing about your book let it pass and try later to approach him. There is a technique named "bashing". They will create a special shelve with suggestive names like: "this book is so bad" or "I will never read this book". Next morning you find your book shelved there by the people in their network which have not read your book. If you suddenly have many entries like this you will have problems. No one would know that they did not read your book.
There is so much stuff i still don't know about digital world, creating fake profiles/accounts to boost your ratings to name one. But come to think of it its totally possible, in the poll thread i pointed out that there were only 43 votes despite the group strength of 750 votes. So, if i had 10 different accounts, i single-handedly would've picked any one of the top 3 books (is that what being a dictator feels like??? :) ). I admit that the reviews do influence me but not to high extent like "A Feast for Crows" by GRRM doesn't have as high ratings as the previous books but i didn't have any doubt whether i should read it or not, because i know the "Ice and Fire" universe and i have to know it, period. Comparing to the same context i remember reading "Hardy boys" series when i was young, some books were fast paced some were more adventurous but they were all GOOD, because i used to read them and make my our views about them.
Then came the later years at school, reading stopped. I re-entered the reading world in the form of ebooks and now (as Tealc pointed out) mass marketers are making the readers mind on what to or what not to read.
My post went way off. In short in my opinion we should just read books then form our opinion rather than blindly following others.
Jonsnow3x wrote: "But come to think of it its totally possible, in the poll thread i pointed out that there were only 43 votes despite the group strength of 750 votes. ... Then came the later years at school, reading stopped. I re-entered the reading world in the form of ebooks and now (as Tealc pointed out) mass marketers are making the readers mind on what to or what not to read. "Last month only 25 voters and Deceneus won with 5 to 4 votes. Let’s say a special situation; the frontrunner was thrown out after some negotiations about being or not a time travel book (had more votes than the next 2 books together).
In the past things were simple: publishing houses were the kings, they decided who and when. Independent authors needed very large pockets (well known examples Byron or Mark Twain). Once in the market you had more or less a fair chance, of course marketing existed but was less influent. No Amazon, no Goodreads, nor any other socialization tools to push the word in readers' skulls.
At the moment everybody can publish, the “printing” is democratized with good and bad things. I will skip some steps and refer only to marketing. Is easy for an author to publish but his book would be one in millions. If big chance is excluded there is no chance.
On Amazon things are clear but, we have Goodreads, a free area where happy people share their impression about books away from the marketing predators. False, Goodreads is as infested as Amazon by professional paid reviewers posing in simple readers. And, they have time as they “work” from office and not writing from home so they are able to have the top spots. And, they have a long established history, sometimes with multiple users. And, things are conversational here, not only reviews. A pair of specialists will make “wonders” in a thread about their “favorite” book.
Of course, most of the people here are honest people sharing their impressions, and for this Goodreads is one of the good things happening in the social media. And I am sure that, sometimes, even the specialists enjoy having free discussions. They must be bored from to much work too. Like any of us.
Mod
Amy, great advice for our author friends!
I am sure 99% of them would not stoop to dishonorable tactics but such is life, there is always the 1% that do. But I am happy its only the 1% and I for one am very grateful to our resident authors for introducing us to their books. Having read many of them, most are wonderful and not one of them, have I any regrets in reading even the ones I gave as low as a 2 star rating. Time travel is a narrow niche in the sci fi genre, yet our group authors have brought an incredible diversity of sub genres to the table. From vampires and romance to historical settings such as the Titanic and the Roman empire to witty thrillers, alien thrillers, a comedy involving a wizard, a thief and computer hacker; a quirky tale of time travel by telephone, a cerebral fantasy involving Ceasar and a 16th century maestro, a crazy children's novel that has Sherlock co existing with Conan Doyle, a futuristic sci fi adventure involving Explorer Titus Oates doing Buck Rogers and much more diversity all written by our resident authors :)
We have a joke in office, the first marketing campaign was made by a clever cave-man hurling to look stronger than he really was. This is marketing a mix of science and art used to convince consumer that:- things are better than the look
- they are better than all other competitors.
For books marketing starts with writing about your book on every wall or thread, asking friends from help, using clones or hiring hundreds “Sherpa reviewers” to do the same thing in a professional way.
I already said in another thread that I am working in marketing, post-analyze after the “reviewers” finished writing their “this wonderful book” messages. I agree that such is life; we live in a society where marketing is part of every day and we have to adapt with each new technology, and people needs jobs. Where I don’t agree is when people being involved in professional campaigns start to give moral lessons to poor authors not having money to hire professional like them, speaking about honesty and so on. There is no big moral difference between using friends or clones and using paid reviewers. And from effects using reviewers is much more efficient so the worst of all from moral perspective.
Writing this I just remembered this old saying: He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone
I will add 3 more observations:
Goodreads is better marketing place for books ranking lower than 1000 on Amazon and maximum efficiency for those lower than 5000.
Free books campaign should be done like following:
-no reviewers hired, do it in the first 3 days after the book is put on sale.
-reviewers hired do it after one month when the first campaign lost steam
Authors should take into account that 90% of the people downloading free books are not reading them. “Monthly give away” is a better strategy and this is why: if the “buyer” has the impression that paid a price, doesn’t matter if it is a symbolic one, it is more determined to read the book.
Thanks for the suggestions, Amy, including those about appropriate conduct. People don't want to be "sold to" all the time, whatever the product. If we're all output and no input, there's a problem.I also appreciate the quality and hospitality of this Group, giving credit to you, John, and Tej, and to a superior membership that obviously benefits from the effects of extensive time travel. Some websites aren't quite so cordial. They love books but detest writers? Hmmm. Not here. I've already discovered new books for my reading list that I might not have found were it not for author membership.
I found Tealc's description of the book world interesting, if somewhat depressing, but appreciate the reality check. No surprise, it's big business. And the idea of paying reviewers isn't questionable in itself -- New York Times reviewers get paid, don't they? -- not quite the same, I know, but there are also name, credible, companies where an author can buy an "honest" professional review for distribution. So I think it comes down to credibility and intent. Is it to spread the word about a book with honest reviews, or is it to deceive people? It may be a matter of semantics in some advertising circles -- actors give "testimonials" on TV all the time. Fake profiles are something else altogether. But the idea of powerful networks of expensive reviewers running the business isn't so so far removed from large publishers controlling the gates, is it? The networks may still be better, as long as readers do their homework. And for authors, it may depend on circumstances and goals, but I'm sure there are plenty who simply enjoy writing and being read. I liked Jonsnow3x's comment that readers should form their own opinions rather than just following others. Same goes for authors, I would think. People always have choices to make. And as Tej stated, 99% (or more) here will do the right thing.
Mod
However, I will say that when I find a book that I love I have no trouble tooting a horn on behalf of the author. I will also say that when I encounter an author that does a lot of self-tooting, it actually detracts from the book and makes me not want to read it even though it may be a great book.
What you're calling overzealous, John, I see as enthusiasm, which is always appreciated. Keep it up! And I have no idea what certain unnamed book series you could possibly be referring to, but I hope I win the drawing. :-)
Mod
I have had no one offer up their book for the month of October. Please contact me if you would like to be featured in next months giveaway.
Thank you.
Mod
Thanks for understanding.
Amy wrote: "We have lots of authors here that I would like to see succeed with selling their books. We have several tools here within our group to make marketing your time travel book a little easier:1.
M..."
Thanks for this, Amy. It helps a new member like me get up to speed. Cheers, Kim
Go to.my website genepabelbooks.com to see my books
Hi, Amy. I'm a new member of this group and have written four time travel books. The books are a series with many of the same characters, but they do NOT have to be read in sequence.
I'd like to contribute a topic for my works in the "Time Travel Books by Members" discussion. Should I create a separate topic for each of the books or is it expected that an author would create one topic for all their books? It occurred to me that having one topic for all might be bad if people share spoiler information.
Cheers and Regards,
Kim
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1. Monthly Giveaways : If you would like to give away a copy (or copies) of your book, drop a line to Lincoln to put your book in the queue. Not only will your book have a month of exposure as people answer the question of the month, but hopefully the winner(s) of the giveaway will write a review that help draw others to your book.
2. Time Travel Books by Members : Start a new topic in this section of our group in order to talk about your book.
3. Free eBooks and Giveaways : Drop your price temporarily and start a new topic in this section to promote your book. Don't forget to read the rules first.
4. eBooks Under $3 : Add your book here if your book is under $3. Don't forget to read the rules first.
5. Add Your Book to Our Group Bookshelf: Please mark your book as "to-read" (NOT "read") and place it on the "tt-books-by-group-member-authors" shelf.
6. Nominate Your Novel For Our Book Club: Not all book club book nominations are open to authors who are group members, but be on the lookout for the months that nominations are open for you. Don't wait quietly hoping that someone will notice your book and nominate it for you. Be proactive for yourself. Just be sure that, if the book of the month has a particular theme that your book fits the theme. And DO NOT get your friends to nominate your book or make up fake profiles to boost your votes. If we realize that you've done this, we'll disqualify your book.
When is it appropriate to mention your book?
1. In a discussion thread dedicated to your book. These belong in the Time Travel Books By Members section.
2. Monthly Book Giveaways for your book only
3. Games and Challenges if your book can be the answer to a game or challenge question
4. Picking Monthly Books if you want to nominate your book for an appropriate category
5. Free or Cheap Time Travel eBooks if you're offering a free or cheap copy of your book
6. Member Introductions if you're introducing yourself for the first time
7. Time Travel at the Movies or Short Online Time Travel Films if your book is getting made into a short film or movie
8. Non Time Travel Books By Group Members
9. When a discussion topic is directly related to your book. For example, someone asks, "Have you read any books about time traveling to kill Hitler?" And you could reply that your book, in fact, contains a time traveler who attempts to do just that.
When is it NOT appropriate to mention your book?
In any other case. For example: "You've got blue eyes? What a coincidence; so does a character in my book."
What Happens If You Inappropriately Mention Your Book?
See the Time Travel Drinking Game
Adding your book to our bookshelf
If you add your book to our bookshelf, please set it as "to read", but do NOT set a time period to be read. If your book is chosen to be featured in our Book Club by vote or by moderator choice, then the moderator will take care of that. Do not take it upon yourself to create a reading group for your own book. Also, be sure that your book is not listed as "read". This category is reserved for books that we have read together in our Book Club as a group.
After watching the successes (and failures) of many of our authors, I have some suggestions of my own:
1. When you start out, forget profits. You need to first establish some good reviews and good ratings for your book. And that's going to require giving away books or selling them cheaply at first. Of course, if you're Stephen King, you can ignore this suggestion and price your book as you'd like. But if nobody knows you, you've got to make yourself known somehow.
2. Avoid making up fake profiles on GoodReads in order to boost the popularity of your book. Even well-done, complex profiles aren't impervious to the discerning eye. And when a possible reader (or current reader) discovers that the profiles and ratings are fake, you may not be able to recover. We have been known to kick authors out of our group for this.
3. Don't promote your book every time you comment in the group: I'm sure your book is wonderful, but if someone says that they like peanut butter and you mention that a character in your book likes peanut butter ... we DON'T CARE. Seriously, you're doing yourself more harm than good when you become a broken self-promoting record. Sure, you're welcome to mention your book when it's appropriate, but don't wear out your welcome and become the kid that keeps on saying, "one time at band camp..." You don't want to become that kid.
4. Break your story up into serialized novels or novelas. With a good cliff-hanger, you can get a reader to pay slightly more for a second or third book or could make more profit selling the series collection once (even at the same collective price) rather than individually. If you're interested in this strategy, do yourself a favor and read this article: "The Serialized Novella and You (AKA Working That 99 Cent Price Point)"