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Ereader News Today (ENT)…a Preferred Sales Platform
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It's the only site I use these days. In fact, I will be offering the Kindle edition of my second book of short stories at 99 cents for a week on ENT (it will be the Book Of The Day) beginning April 24th (actually, I'll put both of my Kindle editions of short story anthologies on sale for a week beginning that day).
I can't comment, of course, not having read the books. They do not require a certain number of reviews, but I would hope you would have at least five or six 4- and 5-star reviews before submitting a book to them. It just lends credibility. And yes, I know how difficult it is to get those reviews, believe me. Here are the requirements:
http://ereadernewstoday.com/requireme...
Your books must be:
Available on Amazon.com. We also promote book deals that are available at Barnes & Noble/Nook, Google Play, Apple iTunes and Kobo.
Free or on sale. However, we realize that some books have a regular price of 99 cents and we will promote these books for you.
A full-length book. Your book must be at least 125 pages. Children’s, non-fiction and cookbooks do not have to meet this requirement.
Not promoted by ENT in the past 90 days. Although we won’t promote the same book within a 90 day period, we have no restrictions on the number of times that an author may be promoted.
Other factors taken into consideration when looking at submissions:
The cover Books with professional looking covers do much better with our readers.
Reader reviews While we do not have a minimum number of reviews that are required, we do look at the reviews to get an idea of how well the book has been received by those that have read it.
Book is professionally edited If your book is professionally edited it has a much better chance of being promoted.
How much the book is discounted We have no requirement for the amount that a book needs to be discounted but the larger the discount, the better chance that your book will be selected.
Content of the book We will not post erotica, pornography, books that contain controversial subject matter or books that may be considered offensive to any race, gender, religion, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a book for any reason.
I wish I could be of more help. I did have one book rejected because it was just under 125 pages (my first book of short stories). But again, not knowing your books, I'm not sure why they aren't accepting them.
Ted
Alex wrote: "I've tried a few times to get on ENT without success, I have a mystery and now a thriller that would be a perfect fit but they've turned me down every time I've applied"Alex, I just went up on Amazon, and using Look Inside, peeked at your book Written in Blood. While, admittedly, it's a small window into "your world," I suspect (but again don't know) that it's the violence and language (plus the editing) that may have turned Greg and Ron off. Have you used a copy editor to go through your final drafts before publishing your books?
Ted
Okay, in the interest of being helpful and hoping to uncover whatever it is that might have attracted Greg’s and Ron’s attention—and on the possibility what I’m seeing in Written in Blood is representative, perhaps, of your other writings—I do see minor typos almost immediately upon opening the book. To wit:“I said stop!”” Georgina was a surprised as He when she slapped him, it was completely out of character.
Unless the antagonist was the Lord Himself, the error is obvious. And, arguably, the punctuation needs correction.
Farther down, one sees … “mean going past the Land Rover, and Him, which she was too afraid…” Same problem. Unless, of course, I’m missing something.
It’s stuff like this that can stop a reader from going further.
As for language—and here, I have no idea what ENT’s limits might be or what you wrote in the books submitted to them—I found this:
Georgina was almost on her feet when He caught up to her, crashing into her like a rugby player desperate to keep the opposition from scoring. He knocked the air from her lungs and crushed her to the ground with his body. The weight disappeared after a moment as He lifted himself so he could roll her onto her back, but before she could refill her lungs he had a hand at her throat, choking her.
“You f#$%ing bitch! [word spelled out]. Look what you’ve made me do,” He snarled, screaming the words even though his face was barely a foot from hers. “I was just copping a feel; why’d you have to overreact?”
Look…the language in some of my Det. Louis Martelli, NYPD, mystery/thrillers occasionally gets a bit salty as well, though I tend to keep the violence more subdued (even in Night Shadows, which dealt with child abuse, teen rape, and teenage suicide, there never was any overt sex or violence; it was accepted by ENT).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J828Q20/
All I was attempting to offer by way of help (and that was the spirit in which I offered my response) was that Greg and Ron may have thought the content was, in one way or another, not appropriate for their readership. Their opinion. Their site. I guess that gives them the right to make the rules.
Again, I’m only offering this as a possibility as to why ENT may not be the best platform for your use.
Fair enough, Alex. The great thing about indie writing is that we are free to explore a genre and write that which makes us and our fans happy.Best of luck with your books.
I'd agree that ENT is one of my preferred advertisers. They are second only to BookBub in my opinion. Both are not easy to get accepted for.Three which are easier to be accepted for are:
eBookStage $10 which is very easy to submit to, after the first time as it stores your info. The cost to sales percentage was 111% (which means I didn't lose much money!)
eBookSoda $15 was 214% (in other words, I sold about 7) Drawback- You need 8 reviews.
eBookHounds $20 and 250% - (but there are cheaper prices for different genres)
After that you don't wanna know. Trust me - it hurts.
That's terrific! I've attempted on several occasions, as I mentioned, to place my books on BookBub, without success. That said, I was just notified that on April 24, 2017, Ereader News Today (ENT) will feature my second book of short stories, The Road Less Taken: a Collection of Unusual Short Stories (Book 2) as its Book Of The Day. At that time, and during the week that follows, the Kindle edition will be on sale for 99¢.To celebrate this event, I'm also putting the Kindle edition of Book 1 on sale for 99¢ during the same period.
Congratulations Ted!!And thanks for sharing your blog on this; very helpful. FYI, like you I'm strongly against the free book market. Some say there's value in giving your work away but I can't find it. #endoffree
Thanks, Eldon. My feeling: if YOU don't value your work, why should others?!Have a great day.
I'm with you both on that. With my first book, I tried free and I had about 10,000 downloads (those were the days) but what good did it do me? Very little follow on. And 10,000 people fewer to market my book to. I live and I learn - sometimes.
Anna Faversham wrote: "I'm with you both on that. With my first book, I tried free and I had about 10,000 downloads (those were the days) but what good did it do me? Very little follow on. And 10,000 people fewer to mark..."Hear hear Anna!! Welcome to the end of free! Like Ted says...if we don't value our work who will?
I think free works if you have a series because then people will be more likely to read the rest of it. It can also work if you're selling zero anyways. Giving it away for free could then at least maybe result in some reviews.
I value mine to the tune of 2.99 for an ebook of this length. It was downloaded a mere 9 or so times when Smashwords did their annual free event recently. No reviews though. I am quite convinced I'm going to be one of those authors that people say "I don't understand it, you're not a terrible writer and yet no-one buys your books." I'd say that's the risk of writing erotica, except that others have huge success.
Alexis wrote: "I think free works if you have a series because then people will be more likely to read the rest of it. It can also work if you're selling zero anyways. Giving it away for free could then at leas..."
I have heard this argument for series before but I just can't subscribe to it for the following reasons:
1. If you get a book for free you have little incentive to read it since it cost you nothing. It will always come second to bought books on your shelf and may never be read at all.
2. Most readers likely realize that if they wait long enough they can get those other books in the series for free as well. It is the number one tip amazon gives us.
3. The vast majority of readers don't leave reviews so giving away in hopes of reviews is a losing game.
I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here. If we want to compete with trad publishers we have to start valuing our hard work. We have to stop acting like we belong at the kids table and realize that our work can be just as good as any trad published book.
It's time to #endoffree
Eldon wrote: "Alexis wrote: "I think free works if you have a series because then people will be more likely to read the rest of it. It can also work if you're selling zero anyways. Giving it away for free cou..."
I don't doubt the quality of the work, but without the budget and connections of the trad published books it's much harder to compete. It's not a question of wanting to belong to the big boy's table but lacking the resources and network to do so. Plus lately, I'm seeing even trad published authors offering first book in their series or for free or at very very steep discounts, e.g. A book usually listed at $7.99 on sale for $0.99
Another worthless "giveaway," literally, is Goodreads' giveaways! While it may have been well-intentioned on the part of the sponsor initially, it's nothing but a sham today (my opinion) as none of the six or seven such events I've run (with multiple books given away (in some cases, up to four paperback copies, all Priority Mailed to the winners)) resulted in even ONE review. The fact is, I view them either as a way for people to build their libraries or even more, as a way for people to earn money by selling the books--which they want autographed--on the used market. Look at this e-mail I received from one participant. They are even getting bolder, now...hinting at how they would like their books autographed, should they win. Here's the PM I received regarding the giveaway I ran on my novel, Night Shadows:subject: JUST WONDERING
message: Hi Theodore
I've just entered your giveaway here on GoodReads.com. (sic) Since you've self-published your book, would you be signing the books for the winners.
Have a GREAT DAY !!! :-) :-) :-)
[name withheld]
NOTE: I've been told by someone who collects signed books that if the signing has been personalized with someone's name on it, should the author become "famous" it would be worth less than just having it signed/possibly dated.
------------------------------
You can bet if she had won, I would have written her a LONG letter of congratulations...a very LONG, personal letter.
I know for certain, in one case, a winner of one of my books in Texas put the book up for sale on her used book site within a week of receiving it.
I've also purchased used books on Amazon that I've signed. I sometimes pick up used copies when the prices are right, and in the case of this book, I simply used a scalpel to remove the cover page on which I had autographed the book. No harm, no foul.
I recall a story from years ago in which a well-known author, while browsing in a used bookstore, found a book he had autographed for a friend. He immediately purchased it and sent it to that person along with this note: "I hope you will enjoy this book as much the second time as you did the first."
Being an indie writer is not for the timid.
Regarding Goodreads Giveaways, I don't think of that as a way to get reviews. I think of it as a way to get exposure. I did a giveaway and my book got added to something like 400 people's to-read lists. I also saw a spike in sales of my ebook at the same time.
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C.L. wrote: "Regarding Goodreads Giveaways, I don't think of that as a way to get reviews. I think of it as a way to get exposure. I did a giveaway and my book got added to something like 400 people's to-read l..."Totally agree C.L. :) Goodreads giveaways are really only good for increasing to-read shelf numbers.
I'm with you guys! I'm done with free. I think it's maybe one of the reasons your newest release isn't selling, because readers know that you're probably going to give it away anyway. I've had my books in the Amazon giveaway, and downloaded free from the KDP Select thousands and thousands of times, and in return I've received 1-2 reviews. I don't even see results from the word-of-mouth exposure they talk about.When we were doing the Spring Event, someone thanked me for letting them know about it. I told him there will be books discounted down to 99c. He said no thanks, he never buys books, because he always gets them for free. That really bothered me when he made that statement, but he's right.
My books are on a lot of people's to-read list, been that way for three years now. I have yet to see any good results from it. So, I'm going to budget and pay to have my books listed from now on, if they'll accept me, and advertise on book sites.
I'm still going to court book bloggers so I can get more reviews, there's no way around that. Thanks for the article, Theodore.
Mod
I agree with Theodore's point about YA book performance on ENT. The times they listed my book in that category, it didn't have great results. When they listed my book as a mystery, it fared much better. I've only run free promos with them so far. I am glad you posted this though because I did not realize ENT would list a book that wasn't first in a series.I have a historical fiction series of 6 books that had staggered releases all in the past year. I use the free promotion days offered by Select for the first book of my series. Sales across all books are always best on the day/week of my free promotions. Sales and ranks tend to take a dive about 3 weeks after a promotion. So I'm a believer in carefully planned free promotions.
It won't necessarily work for every book. That being said, the indies I've run into with the most (full price) sales have series with the first book permafree. I haven't tried permafree yet. Maybe someday :).
Something to keep in mind is that ebook promotion sites and newsletters, including ENT and most others, have an audience of primarily women age 28ish to retired. The highest genre in demand in mystery. The second highest is romance. If this does not sound like your target audience, you might have a more difficult time getting bang for your buck with newsletter advertising.
Goodreads giveaways are a great promotional tool imo. I do them every month.
Some advertising sites charge different rates for different genres. I know BookBub does. Anybody remember other sites which have differing rates?I wish I'd made a note of them! I shall do from now on.
Anna Faversham wrote: "Some advertising sites charge different rates for different genres. I know BookBub does. Anybody remember other sites which have differing rates?I wish I'd made a note of them! I shall do from no..."
Bargain Booksy
Rant:Before I published my awesome Erotic Sci Fi novel (yes I'm calling it awesome because it is and everyone should buy it, read it and FFS review it!) I asked the 300+ FB friends I have about ebook pricing. Of the dozen or so who responded some said they never paid for books they only downloaded them for free. To be honest that annoyed me. They wouldn't like it if they were expected to go to work and not be paid.
Some said they didn't like books under £3 because if it was less than that there had to be something wrong with it. I liked these people more!!
I will never be convinced that allowing hundreds of people to download it or free will help. All I see happening from that is that hundreds of people get a free book out of me. They may or may not read it and of the ones that read it, they probably won't review it or tell anyone anything about it. But boy people do like getting something for nothing.
I need to compile a list of all these advertising sites people keep mentioning and make a large note of the ones that won't take erotica. I keep looking at the same sites and then thinking "oh yeah, this one won't accept me"
Thanks Alexis. Bit pricey though, by the looks of it. I wonder what results are like. Edit: I've just checked via Google/KBoards and someone is speaking very highly of it.One for your list, Amy?
Anna Faversham wrote: "Thanks Alexis. Bit pricey though, by the looks of it. I wonder what results are like.One for your list, Amy?"
Bargain Booksy had tremendous results for me Anna :) Well worth the investment! I ran mine at $1.99
Carole wrote: "We did very well with it, too."Awesome Carole :D
When I've got some money, I'll consider a Bargain Booksy thingy. I've started writing a list of things to try. No income to speak of at the moment though.
Amy wrote: "Rant:Before I published my awesome Erotic Sci Fi novel (yes I'm calling it awesome because it is and everyone should buy it, read it and FFS review it!) I asked the 300+ FB friends I have about e..."
Amy, I couldn't agree with you more. That's exactly what happens. They feel that since we're Indies and not on the New York Times Bestselling level, then our work is not as important, or we don't work as hard as authors like Stephen King or J.K. Rowling.
My Rant: We can spend $200 or more on a Smartphone, but 2.99 for a book? Amazon will give you a refund if you don't like it.
You can't help but see how everyone here works hard at writing "awesome" stories that hopefully will evoke a variety of emotions no matter what genre, and tempt the reader to come back for more. I wish those that think our work is only worth it if it's free could see that, too:)
Congratulations, Alex. Bargain Booksy, here I come!
Groovy wrote: "My Rant: We can spend $200 or more on a Smartphone, but 2.99 for a book? Amazon will give you a refund if you don't like it."This
I looked at Bargain Booksy and it wanted dates for when my book was going to be discounted. Discounted to them is under 5.99, I haven't yet worked out if I can just go in with a price of 2.99 or if I have to discount it again to 0.99 to sell another 2 copies lol. At this stage I think I would be unlikely to make my $70 back.
Thanks Alex, it's on the list of things to try when I've got some money, which will be any year now.
Question: (you probably already said it, but I can be slow in getting it:)If your books are already at 2.99, do you have to lower the price further on Bargain Booksy?
Groovy wrote: "Question: (you probably already said it, but I can be slow in getting it:)If your books are already at 2.99, do you have to lower the price further on Bargain Booksy?"
"If you are planning to discount your Erotic Romance novel (or if your book is already priced between $0.99 and $5), the Erotic Romance Feature is for you. A Bargain Booksy feature can help you to drive sales of your book, find a new audience of readers, generate reviews for your book, and improve your book rank on retail sites."
According to that, you don't need to discount, just need to be under 5.99
Hey Groovy, what category is your book in?
When I did Bargain Booksy I didn't discount the price from normal :)
Mod
Amy, my books are mostly romantic/suspense. Why? You got bad news for me:)
No not at all I was just being nosy so I could look up how much your bargain booksy would be. Mine is $70! And won't be happening for a good while because of it.
Oh bad luck. Yours looks like it's also $70.
Mod
Amy wrote: "Oh bad luck. Yours looks like it's also $70."***high-pitched scream***
Oh well, if it gets results:) We'll just have to eat macaroni and cheese for a week--LOL!
Lol at high pitched scream. Yeah makes me want to have picked a different genre. Science Fiction is half the price!
A lower price likely means smaller distribution though...
Many of us, of course, resort to all manner of marketing and sales mechanisms, from websites to online advertising (e.g., on Amazon.com and other sites), from e-mail and Twitter blasts to blogs, and from running giveaways on Goodreads (a waste of time and money, in my opinion…but that’s for another blog) to sales on such sites as BookBub and Ereader News Today (ENT), among others. It’s to the latter two sites that I’ll devote this blog entry.
Both sites alert subscribers to books that authors either are offering for free or at discounts for a limited time on such retail sites as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and others. For this they charge a fee that is dependent on your book’s genre or how the book is being presented (e.g., Book Of The Day on ENT). Alas, despite several efforts, I’ve never had any of my mystery/thrillers accepted by BookBub, to whom they were submitted despite some misgivings I perceived regarding the risk/reward ratio. That is, my concern here was the cost to place my book on their site vs. the potential number of sales I might expect. You can estimate for yourself what your return might for this site here:
https://www.bookbub.com/partners/pricing
For example, if you were to list a Thriller and wanted to discount it to, say, 99¢, the charge would be $788 with an average expected sale of 3,370 books. That’s big coin for my wallet, even though I was tempted to give it a try. Rejection (three times) at least had a silver lining; my bank account remained intact.
Searching for an alternative, I chanced upon ENT. This site’s price list can be found here:
http://ereadernewstoday.com/pricing/
In addition to a conventional listing, ENT offers you the opportunity to sponsor their Book Of The Day. The cost is $60 for a book priced below $2.99 or $150 for a book priced $2.99 and above.
I’ve done both types of ENT listings, with mixed success, depending on the genre! In the case of my mystery/thrillers (my Antarctic Murders Trilogy and Detective Lou Martelli, NYPD, series), I sold hundreds of discounted eBooks (Kindle) through ENT over the last three years (somewhere in the range 800-1000, to be exact). On the other hand, attempts to sell discounted Kindle editions of my YA novel The Hypnotist (written under the pen name Alyssa Devine) and my illustrated children’s storybook Pepe Builds a Nest were disappointing. When I discussed these disappointments recently with Gary at ENT, he indicated the best performing genres on their site were, typically (with some variance, of course), Mystery, Thriller, and Romance. You’ll have to be the judge, here, depending on the genre of your work.
By the way, I never give my books away. I worked hard to write and publish them. It’s never been my experience that giving someone a book for free has resulted in a future sale (much less a review, on most occasions . . . and what’s up with that!).
Explore the possibility of engaging ENT. You could be well rewarded by the results.
*https://www.bkconnection.com/the-10-a...