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Why your self-published novel isn't selling...
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Thanks for sharing that Ann, it was an interesting read. I took a lot of trouble to make sure mine was well formatted and the spelling and grammar were precise because...I bought an ebook in a similar vein to mine in May, content wasn't bad but heck, the formatting was terrible. Lines repeated, loads of gaps for some reason... and the spelling and grammar! :0 I couldn't believe there was a proofreading credit as it was terrible, there was even a sub-heading; "You're assignment". With a proofreader who can't tell 'your' from 'you're', the author should ask for her money back.
I returned the book within the week for a refund.
Hahaha! Oh, gawd, Miss Jen!!I accidently uploaded one source file to KDP with every "because" attached to the word prior.
Justbecauase it was 2 in morning. Yep. Just like that. And yep. At 2AM.
Of course, I couldn't switch it out till after it was done publishing again so it was like that for roughly 4 hours or so? Yeah...some readers definitely got that copy...
Oops ^_^
Oh nooo...That said about mine, I sat back smugly and then received the print version through the post; flicked through it and found one darn typo in it! Arrrggghh!
Easily remedied on the print version, but I had to enlist a friend to amend the ebook Word version and return it to me as she had a 2016 version of Word. As I'd had mine professionally formatted, my 1902 Word version would have undone the formatting.
Interesting article, however, in my opinion they address only commercial presentation package, like: cover, blurb, price, reviews, etc, while the essential reasons for low sales could be also: an uninteresting theme, non-engaging writing style, lack of that 'magic' that resonates with readers and which causes them recommend the book on and on, or a narrow readership, which would be interested, that the author has trouble to find...Yeah, I know, interesting/uninteresting, engaging/non-engaging is all subjective and it's true, but to have a lot of sales, a lot of people should feel strongly positive about it.
And commercial presentation is very important, no doubt
I thought the article would be about promoting, but these things are pretty important too :).
@Mr Nik: You're right. 100% but...@Miss Marie: I think you hit the nail on the head.
I'm generalizing here (shush, Awesome Alex!!) but I find that most people stick to their comfort zone. Like, those good with design have pretty covers, those good with marketing sell like a boss, those good with whatever do whatever.
But the point is that there's a bazillion facets and we're doing ourselves a huge disservice by neglecting ANY of them. If you don't wanna do it, then pay to have it done. But if you don't wanna pay, then you'd better figure out how to do it.
Or not haha!
At the end of the day, my respect goes to indies who are not only willing to work hard but challenge themselves as well (Miss Marie is a perfect example here) because if it was easy, everyone would do it, eh?
When people say, "I just can't do that," I nod, smile, and think to myself, "Yep, you're right."
That was too blunt for a Sunday. Oh well...
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Sure, this is also not in the article and you are right about promotion. Visibility can be achieved through promotion, so people can at least see how ugly or beautiful your cover is -:)Sales can come through engaging and converting potential readers into actual, and so on.
Like it or hate it, but if you've gone that far with writing, editing, designing or buying these, one might as well cover an extra mile to give a book a chance to take off.
To be critical first of all to myself, I don't think I'm doing enough promo, but I'm working on changing that-:)
And Marie is the queen of Facebook for the very least-:)
Annie wrote: "When people say, "I just can't do that," I nod, smile, and think to myself, "Yep, you're right.""So true Ann! I had so much self-doubt whilst writing but got over that and published it anyway.
Nik and Marie - excellent comments, and very few will publish something that appeals to a massive audience. Let's face it, you could write a niche book about the history of iron nails and you're only ever going to get a small audience.
I could relate to this article though with the example I gave above - a book with great potential but the presentation was awful.
Jen wrote: "So true Ann! I had so much self-doubt whilst writing but got over that and published it anyway."Yesss! *fist bump* That's the spirit!!
Hmm. As for a niche book only ever getting a small audience? I dunno about that...
Yeah, I write Contemporary Romance, which is HUGE but my particular subgenre is a teeny tiny niche market. In fact, it's so microscopic that a legit category, subcategory, or even tag doesn't even exist for it on Amazon.
I don't see that as a hindrance, though. I kinda see it as a chance to trail blaze, ya know? Or maybe I have my head in the clouds. Who can say?
*crazy laugh*
Hugs,
Ann
Annie wrote: "Hmm. As for a niche book only ever getting a small audience? I dunno about that... "Come to think about it, you're right (thought processes are dulled from tiredness due to nocturnal stone marten mentioned in other thread). As far as non-fiction is concerned there have been a few quirky books that have become bestsellers, there was one about clouds that did so a few years ago. Who'd have thought that a book about meteorology would be a hit? They do tend to be published by the mainstream publishers though.
Thanks for sharing the article. No matter how many times we may be reading these advises, I guess most of us tend to (voluntarily) forget about them :-)
Jen wrote: "They do tend to be published by the mainstream publishers though."Challenge... *cracks knuckles* ...accepted!
1. I'm a legit dork
2. I don't actually crack my knuckles. Grosses me out haha!
OMGoodness, Miss Jen! Thanks for sharing that!! My Sci Fi/Erotica buddy also published a book about storm chasing. I gotta tell him that ALL of his genres are popular haha!
@Mr Luca: You're most welcome, good sir!
And I totes agree! Sometimes I'll read something and be like "Ooooh! That's great advice!!" then realize later that I'd read it before LMAO!!
Hugs,
Ann
Annie wrote: "My Sci Fi/Erotica buddy also published a book about storm chasing."Oooh, I'm interested - I've seen a couple of documentaries about storm chasers, riveting but just so dangerous! I run from storms, not towards them!
Hahaha Miss Jen! that's him too! We've been chatting and he's like, "Err, I hear thunder. Gotta go!" LOL
"I am going to be a working indie author." Simple statement, right?Translation: "I am going to learn Word, formatting, how to proof, how to edit, how to draw, how to do my taxes, how to market, how to design for print, how to use Photoshop and Adobe...oh, and I am going to do all of this while finding thirty-six hours per week to write content."
Yeah, I realized, I can wear more of those hats than most indie authors - but I don't know anyone who can wear them all. I went out and found myself an illustrator, have a good tax guy, and plan to spend a little money soon on the front end for some sales on the back end. One must play the game, to have any shot at winning.
Kevin Kinnen
KevinThis is a great example of how being an indie lets you tailor your own approach to authorship. Mo two strategies are alike. I'm very interested in how things turn out for you so please keep posting and let me know if you keep a blog.
@Miss Tara: Hmmm...Do we need a "Post your blog" thread? Would that help ya out some?
٩(๑•◡-๑)۶ ⒽⓤⒼ ❤,
Ann
Annie, I love it!! And maybe even a friendly shelf request repository?
I'll do the thread? You do the shelf?Divide and conquer, baby!
#GirlzRuleBoyzDrool
Tara wrote: ""yay!
(aren't men's handkerchiefs back in vogue?)
Dah-ling what a true gentleman does *becomes* vogue.
Tara wrote: "Dah-ling what a true gentleman does *becomes* vogue."lol
Kevin wrote: ""do my taxes..."I'd say expecting taxes part is optimistic -:)
I believe one can master any craft, anything learnable. After all there are rare examples of zero expenses and well selling book.
The question is for what and what effort it requires from you. If one can spend a little money on a cover and have no time, nor desire to install designing programs, look for free or paid images, then outsourcing is a solution and with anything else too.
Ideally, I'd outsource everything I don't like and concentrate only on things I enjoy, which probably means I'd be better off with a trad publisher -:)
Agree, that if your aim is money, you must play the game
To ruling girls and drooling, but fashionable boys!
Nik wrote: "which probably means I'd be better off with a trad publisher -:)"in that case, it'd better be one of the big 5--they're the only ones who'd have pockets deep enough for you--but by then you'd be able to cut your own deal like hugh howey.
@Mr Nik: Have you forgotten who picks out your wardrobe here? ^_~@Awesome Alex: I vote that Mr Nik is just channels his inner Howey!
True...that one surfer girl best seller has a publisher but only gets promo and marketing help 3 months out of the year and *only* in the years she publishes anything.
No worries, trad publishing was relevant a couple of years ago, but totally irrelevant now. I don't look for them, they - for me. All is cool. Wouldn't trade my wardrobe for anything -:)
Hey, I will be paying taxes next year on income from the first year! Admittedly, not much...LOLThat is the beauty of the direct deposit, the IRS already knows how much I made. For them, anyway.... Seriously, I will use the ancillary expenses and overhead as a deduction from our combined income for years to come!
You are correct Nik, any skill may be learnable, and some necessary - but the time taken from the writing work is not always worth the return.
Kevin Kinnen
Kevin wrote: ""I am going to be a working indie author." Simple statement, right?Translation: "I am going to learn Word, formatting, how to proof, how to edit, how to draw, how to do my taxes, how to market, h..."
Well stated!
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