Why don't more people read Self-published authors? Showing 2,301-2,350 of 2,452

[Faith]

I think to be noticed as a self-published author, you either have to be famous for something else (e.g. sport) or you have to co-author your own work with a silent partner who is famous (only supplying their name and endorsement) or you need to be exceptionally good at self promotion on social media (which will take up so much time that you won't be able to write anything else), or you need to think of a publicity stunt so cheeky and shocking that your name hits the front pages and journalists look you up. It's not worth getting locked up to make it as an author though, so retain an element of common sense.

[Deborah]

Michel wrote: "I have a big problem with your #2: I have a family to feed and I am not going to divert the little money I get from my pensions and put it on a book advertising campaign instead of food on the tabl..."

I agree with your answer, actually. Family comes first. If you don't have the resources to do that sort of thing, then don't. I used the resources I had from book sales roughly 20 years ago before I even had internet. Most of the sales were local, print books. Whether one puts money into a marketing campaign or not, one still has to do most of the marketing themselves.

[Kerry]

I think it takes a well developed plan to sell book. I’ve self-published three times before. Granted it was a genre with a limited market—religious books, devotionals.

Now I’m finishing a first draft of a tell-all full-length memoir. I believe it’s important to identify my target market and develop a connection with them before launch. I working to develop as big of a platform as possible. I’m blogging on Quora and Medium. (https://qr.ae/TWsAlq) and (www.Medium.com/@kerrykerrmcavoy)

Then in addition to press releases, and social media pre-order blasts, I will be planning a book launch party with a large giveaway to the fans who sell the most books and do the most social media advertising.

This is all after I have solid endorsements and advanced reviews from a soft release of the book.

Honestly, I’ll meet to hire a virtual assistant to help me with this process.

Yes, it’s a lot of work and takes a lot of forth thought and planning. I didn’t know the first time I did this. But each time I learned more. :)

[Rita]

Faith wrote: "I think to be noticed as a self-published author, you either have to be famous for something else (e.g. sport) or you have to co-author your own work with a silent partner who is famous (only suppl..."

I couldn't agree more Faith! However, I do believe that if a book is really good it will find it's own way into the world. Still to write one that good though.

[Ricki]

Kerry wrote: "I think it takes a well developed plan to sell book. I’ve self-published three times before. Granted it was a genre with a limited market—religious books, devotionals.

Now I’m finishing a first d..."

Deborah wrote: "Michel wrote: "I have a big problem with your #2: I have a family to feed and I am not going to divert the little money I get from my pensions and put it on a book advertising campaign instead of f..."

As a new indie author, I am learning what it takes to market my work. That is as important as creating the work in my opinion. I think lots of people read self published works if the covers and the hooks are there to get their attention. They keep reading if it satisfies.

[Wmba]

Ricki wrote: "Kerry wrote: "I think it takes a well developed plan to sell book. I’ve self-published three times before. Granted it was a genre with a limited market—religious books, devotionals.

Now I’m finis..."

Not if they never find it.

That takes promotion. Social media following. Reviews. And some of that takes a lot of time and some also takes money.

[Mellie]

Deborah wrote: "Unless you are a celebrity you are simply going to have to do all the work yourself..."

Apart from #1 on your list (website) I don't agree with any of the others. I don't spend out of my paycheck, I've never bothered with promoting locally, nor would I spam forums (which, from what I hear has a zero return anyway) or scour the internet for websites to spam buy links in the comments.

Personally, I put my head down and write the best book I can. I build readers one at a time. I have an offer in the back of book 1 of my series to encouarge newletter sign ups, and I cultivate a relationship with those readers.

[[deleted user]]

Basically, it goes down to the word of mouth and lots of patience. I am not a well-known author, far from it, but the audience I have was built over many years, with initial readers who were pleased with my ebooks then talking to friends and relatives, some of whom then tried my books (okay, it helps that I give my ebooks for free but I believe from their comments that they genuinely liked my books, not because they cost them nothing). Apart from patience and word of mouth, I believe that participating in the various discussions on Goodreads.com did help raise my profile and I would certainly encourage new authors to also participate in Goodreads discussions (but to discuss the subjects of the discussions, not to promote their books). So, patience, word of mouth and active participation in blogs like in Goodreads.com were the bywords for me and should work for others as well. Of course, writing really good, interesting stories is another plus.

[Ricki]

Michel wrote: "Basically, it goes down to the word of mouth and lots of patience. I am not a well-known author, far from it, but the audience I have was built over many years, with initial readers who were please..."

I totally agree. It takes time and patience and of course, a good book. :)

[Richard]

Just in case anyone needs a cautionary tale this morning...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(Lobstergirl's review of a book.)

[Leslie]

Richard wrote: "Just in case anyone needs a cautionary tale this morning...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(Lobstergirl's review of a book.)"

Yes, definitely one to steer clear of as she obviously doesn't understand that Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon can be wildly different.

This is in part due to reviewers not appreciating that their review posted on Goodreads counts as nothing on Amazon, that Amazon does not make the posting of reviews easy, so reviewers don't/can't be bothered to post there, and that reviews posted on one Amazon site do not show up on other Amazon sites as anyone living outside the US knows only too well (so one needs to trawl through all the Amazon sites and add up the reviews to get the total).

But why make life easy when you can make it complicated?

[[deleted user]]

Richard wrote: "Just in case anyone needs a cautionary tale this morning...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(Lobstergirl's review of a book.)"

This is a rather extreme case of dishonesty from an author, but it doesn't represent the vast majority of self-published/indie authors, by a long shot. Whom exactly were you targeting with your cautionary tale?

[Stefani]

Leslie wrote: "Yes, definitely one to steer clear of as she obviously doesn't understand that Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon can be wildly different. "

A cautionary tale about the reviewer? Looking at the book reviews, this is an obvious case of the author creating fake accounts to praise their own book. Unless the author legitimately knows 1600 people that didn't have GR accounts and convinced them to create GR accounts specifically for their book. Every single one of them 5 stars......right.

Why would a reader want to invest in a book by an author who's so wildly dishonest about the quality of the book?

Edit: On a book that was published 2/7/2020. Damn, other SPAs need to get their marketing plan to get that much exposure in 20 days.

[David]

Michel wrote: "This is a rather extreme case of dishonesty from an author, but it doesn't represent the vast majority of self-published/indie authors, by a long shot. "

Thankfully, no, it doesn't represent the vast majority, but if our potential customers see obviously fake reviews it will reduce their confidence in the many genuine ones written on other books. This will be deterring customers who might otherwise have bought and enjoyed our works. Sites like Goodreads must work hard to stamp out this blatant abuse of their review system.

[Wmba]

David wrote: "Michel wrote: "This is a rather extreme case of dishonesty from an author, but it doesn't represent the vast majority of self-published/indie authors, by a long shot. "

Thankfully, no, it doesn't ..."

Which is why so many people also read the bad reviews and then the middle ones. You get to see if the good/bad are really fakes then get an honest opinion from the middle.

[David]

I've also got concerns about the reverse situation - Goodreads members rating books when they can't have had time to read them. When I first listed my novel on GR, someone rated it within a few hours. There are reviewers on GR who rate three or four books each day, every day. Now I appreciate that you can rate a book quickly without reading it (as opposed to a review), but why does GR allow this? I don't think that a rating based on a few minutes overview of the synopsis, cover etc (or whatever criteria the rater is using) is likely to be fair, especially when the star rating given is clearly much lower than the average number of stars given in full reviews which eventually are given by readers later on. What do others think?

[Wmba]

Cphe wrote: "A.W. wrote: "Wmba wrote: "Digital and the internet has destroyed the ability to make money from books..."

Personally I have found the opposite to be true. Many authors now earn sufficient to suppo..."

DanPoynter used to have a list of famous authors who self pubbed first, but that list went back earlier then Ben Franklin and probably started with Gutenberg and his copy of the Bible.

Recently there is Andy Weir, Mike Omer, and Meridith Wild.
And whoever wrote those 50 shades books.

The list of successful self pubbed authors is VERY short because this is a VERY long tailed phenomenon where a VERY few authors make a LOT of money while a few more break even and the vast majority never get their costs back.

[Wmba]

Cphe wrote: "Wmba wrote: "FWIW:

2018
1. James Patterson : $86 million
2. J. K. Rowling : $54 million
3. Stephen King : $27 million
4. John Grisham : $21 million
5. Dan Brown (tie) : $18.5 million
5. Jeff Kinne..."

Yes they self pubbed first because they had to, but they promoted and got lucky so now they are trad pubbed.

[Wmba]

David wrote: "I've also got concerns about the reverse situation - Goodreads members rating books when they can't have had time to read them. When I first listed my novel on GR, someone rated it within a few hou..."

You dont have to eat all of a rotten egg to know its rotten.

I imagine a lot of reviewers for newspapers read the first few pages, last page, and quickly skim the rest before they do their reviews.

[David]

Wmba wrote: "You dont have to eat all of a rotten egg to know its rotten."

...unless, of course, it isn't actually rotten.

[Wmba]

David wrote: "Wmba wrote: "You dont have to eat all of a rotten egg to know its rotten."

...unless, of course, it isn't actually rotten."

I would hope people are more honest than to bad mouth somebodys book with a fake review. Maybe after Christ returns.

[Leslie]

David wrote: "I've also got concerns about the reverse situation - Goodreads members rating books when they can't have had time to read them. When I first listed my novel on GR, someone rated it within a few hou..."

Unfortunately, or fortunately?, there are a good number of readers here on Goodreads who seem to think that the aim of reading is to get through as many books as you can in the shortest amount of time - ref reading challenges - and not to actually read, understand and enjoy the book. A bit like train spotting really?

[Wmba]

Leslie wrote: "David wrote: "I've also got concerns about the reverse situation - Goodreads members rating books when they can't have had time to read them. When I first listed my novel on GR, someone rated it wi..."

I can see having to read slowly if you are reading a textbook in a new subject area, but a GOOD book should be able to be read fast and enjoyed, not make you plod along like you are walking through a bog.

[[deleted user]]

Frankly, I think little of those reading challenges, where people try to claim as many books read as possible in as short a time possible. Like Leslie said, that is a lousy way to enjoy a book and also a good recipe to waste a perfectly good book. Books are supposed to be meant to educate and entertain, not to get an indigestion of words. Goodreads should eliminate those reading challenges: they do nothing to promote good books.

[Stefani]

Michel wrote: "Books are supposed to be meant to educate and entertain, not to get an indigestion of words."

I'm curious how you know exactly how all books are meant to be read? Not every book is a deep tome that needs to be educational and weighty in consideration. Most fiction books are cotton candy for your brain, and that isn't really difficult to read.

I am also curious how you know how quickly all other people on GR read and how much time they have to do so? Some people make an entire job of reading and reviewing books. When I was living in San Francisco I had 4 hours of commuting every day, all of which time I could read. I was also single and had little to do with my spare time outside of work so I read. I could easily read 300 books a year or more. Now I am married, still working and have a 5 year old daughter. My lunch break and before bed are my only reading time. But I tend to read fast so I can read (and enjoy) a book in 3-4 days.

These kinds of judgments about what readers should and should not do or how they should/shouldn't read is part of the problem being discussed in this thread. It is not up to the author how someone reads a book. If the author has a personal opinion on that, fine, but subjecting readers to their opinion is inappropriate in the professional sense.

[David]

When debating "Why don't more people read SPAs?" this is how I'd summarise my concerns as posted above with relevance to that question. When a potential buyer considers whether to buy a traditionally published book, they will (correctly, in most cases) assume that the TP wouldn't publish anything "rotten". However, when considering the purchase of a SPA book, their main source of feedback will be the reviews that the book has gained to date. That's why when authors post fake written reviews which obviously over-value the book, or when reviewers rate books with no written critique and apparent lack of detailed study of the book, each of these reduce our chances as SPAs when compared to TP books, debasing the whole SPA market and hurting our chances of selling books, hard as that already often is.

[Jeff]

I wanted to weigh in briefly on the reading contest opinions. Everyone's experiences will vary, of course, but in my case, I gained a lot of confidence, some reviews, and several fans based on one month long contest. I'm very grateful for it. For an unknown SP author with no traffic, it was exciting to see the comments come in, and know that the book IS worthwhile to those who take the chance to read it.
To each their own.

[[deleted user]]

Stefani wrote: "Michel wrote: "Books are supposed to be meant to educate and entertain, not to get an indigestion of words."

I'm curious how you know exactly how all books are meant to be read? Not every book is ..."

How? Because I also read books, but not to win contests. I also said that books are supposed to be meant to educate and entertain, meaning either or both. As for knowing how fast certain people can read, I couldn't care less. Reading is an enjoyment, not a contest. You have your opinion, I have mine.

[Jim]

The vast majority of readers, for whatever reason, choose to never post a rating or review. Those who do are merely expressing their personal, and therefore, subjective opinion. One reader's "Best book ever!" may very well be another reader's "Worst book ever!".

An author would be much better served by striving to continuously improve upon their basic writing skills (spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and narration style) along with marketing and promotional savvy rather than soliciting and obsessing over reviews.

Very few unknown authors will ever achieve commercial success within this extremely competitive field; however, some have and others no doubt will.

[Leslie]

Come on; why is this thread becoming so black and white when we all know that everything in life is in shades of grey?

I only mentioned reading challenges because time spend on a read was being used to explain the number of (false) reviews a book might have received. Unfortunately, it is obvious from reviews of one's own books that rather too many readers / reviewers don't remember the basic facts of the story and / or have not understood the story. This is most noticable with one and two star reviews, and from, one suspects, younger readers. One of the priceless ones I had was a one star review which read, "I thought the story was about a little dog". Well, it was / is, but no, it is not about a cuddly pooch! This reviewer obviously hadn't read either the blurb or any reviews. But is reviewers getting the facts wrong because they have read the story too quickly, or because .... you draw your own conclusions!

However, I must pick up on Stefani's comment, namely, "Unless the author legitimately knows 1600 people that didn't have GR accounts and convinced them to create GR accounts specifically for their book," which I confess I don't understand. I don't 'legitimately know' the readers / reviewers who have reviewed my books and have absolutely no idea who the vast majority of them are. Indeed, Amazon rather frowns on those seeking reviews from people one knows (friends and family). So this comment rather baffles me and doesn't shed any light on the 1600 reviews.

What I do know from personal experience is that one's Goodread's ratings & reviews can easily vastly out number one's Amazon's reviews - several hundred vs less than a dozen. 1600 does seem a lot, but doesn't strike me as completely impossible. Perhaps the reason behind this is that those who post on Amazon are a little more serious? Whereas any Tom, Dick or Harry, though more likely Tomina, Helen or Susanna, post on Goodreads? However, we mustn't forget that reviewers on both these outlets are just as varied as the authors whose work appears on them. Some will be superb and others, well, the least said the better. That is the nature of this market place.

[Wmba]

David wrote: "When debating "Why don't more people read SPAs?" this is how I'd summarise my concerns as posted above with relevance to that question. When a potential buyer considers whether to buy a traditional..."

I used to assume that. Now it is more common for trad pubs to print stuff that is truly bad.

Too many of them don't even edit anymore. They expect the author/agent did that already.

They sure dont promote books unless your name is Rowling or Patterson.

And while they used to curate books so you knew there was a minimum of quality that is now getting iffy.
But still the odds are far better than any self pubbed book if only because of the humongous mass of really terrible bad books that are self pubbed every year.

[Mellie]

Leslie wrote: "...1600 does seem a lot, but doesn't strike me as completely impossible..."

In the example cited it only takes a cursory look to see the author has either created sock puppet accounts to 5-star her book, or (which I think more likely) paid a service for fake reviews. There are numerous tells that the accounts are fake when you look at the activity, or lack there of.

The kindle version of the book in question dosn't even have a sales rank, meaning it has yet to sell a single copy. In addition, the author has a Facebook page with 20,000 "likes" and almost zero interaction on anything posted - an indicator of purchased/fake "likes". The example has all the hallmarks of someone buying what they consider the attritbutes of success (ie: large number of review and likes) rather than putting in the work to write a book genuine readers want to purchase and talk about.

[Aisha]

I am a new, self-published author and I find people are usually helpful when it comes to reviews or at least at pointing me towards someone who would be interested.

It is all new to me and I am early in the process, waiting patiently for reviews to roll in, with the genuine intent of making my writing better. I already have the main story of my trilogy worked out in my head but would love to hear some feedback too. I guess reading self-published books could be challenging for people if they are expecting masterpieces rather than work by a writer in progress.

[Roderick]

I've published 4 books in less than 6 months and keep trying to garner a larger readership. I know readers are out there but do they only read established authors? https://amazon.com/author/roderickedw...

[[deleted user]]

Roderick wrote: "I've published 4 books in less than 6 months and keep trying to garner a larger readership. I know readers are out there but do they only read established authors? https://amazon.com/author/roderic..."

It would seem so. I read too many times on Goodreads generalized complaints about self-published authors not being professional in their work, having sloppy editing/grammar/orthograph/pick your choice of complaints and basically putting us all in the same big basket. I have now self-published ebooks for about eight years now, working constantly to improve my writing and English grammar (French is my first language) and learning from my past mistakes. I have now a small but pretty loyal following of readers around the World who seem to genuinely like my stories and with some of whom I correspond occasionally. Patience is the key in this game, that and the love of writing. We may not be able to compete with big names associated with traditional publishers (including some awful 'bestselling authors'), but do not give up and continue writing for yourself and for your readers. As they say, practice makes perfect.

[Jim]

Too many novice self-published authors seek and receive advice from other self-published authors who possess little or no more experience and expertise than those whom they are advising.

There are books, articles in literary periodicals, lectures, community college courses, and formal presentations written or presented by authors who have already established a reputation and achieved substantial commercial success.

Seek professional advice from a professional and that is what you will receive. "The blind leading the blind" is an axiom well worth heeding.

The odds against anyone achieving commercial success within this extremely competitive field are great. That said; some have succeeded. You may eventually become one of them. I wish you success.

[Wmba]

Jim wrote: "Too many novice self-published authors seek and receive advice from other self-published authors who possess little or no more experience and expertise than those whom they are advising.

There are..."

It is a VERY long tailed phenomenon. A FEW will do very well. Some will do okay. Most will never make back what they spent and certainly wont get minimum wage for their effort.

[Jim]

One must only take note of the misspelled words, improper grammar, and obvious lack of knowledge regarding syntax and paragraph structure within comments posted in Goodreads discussion groups by self-proclaimed professional authors to understand why so few people read self-published books.

If a writer cannot or will not expend the time and effort to proofread and correct errors in a fifty-word comment prior to hitting the post button, one can only imagine the quality level of their self-edited or, more than likely, unedited published works.

[Wmba]

Jim wrote: "One must only take note of the misspelled words, improper grammar, and obvious lack of knowledge regarding syntax and paragraph structure within comments posted in Goodreads discussion groups by se..."

Not relevant.

Online postings are hard to edit. Anything online is harder to read and edit than paper is.

The problem is that people do not hire an editor. Some admit they dont even edit themselves. One apologized when people starting noting all the errors in their ' self published ' book. And said he would update the mss and everyone could get a new copy at no cost.

The core problem is that nobody can truly edit their own work. Every writer needs an independent editor.

However a far bigger problem is that most 'authors' do not realize that there are FIVE levels of editing. Most people jump write to SPaG and assume that that is what editing is.

Fixing SPAG is necessary but first one must have a well architected and designed book to make it worth bothering with the SPAG at all. If the story is cruddy and the writing poor then no amount of SPAGing will fix that.

[Wmba]

Gail wrote: "To reference the plot my SP novel, Fire Blossom - there is good and evil (good writing and bad writing) on both sides of the spectrum, Indians and settlers (Self publishing and traditional). To cru..."

Huh? Almost ALL SP writing is BAD.

It is up to the good authors to find a following and market their work. Nobody is going to hunt through the pile of slush looking for their wonderful tome.

Like my bookie said: The battle is not always to the strong, the race not always to the swift, but that is the way to bet.
I bet that self pubbed work is crud at best and (censored) for a humongous percent of what is out there.

Of course there are a FEW, but very few, good SPed books. And there are too many bad tradpubbed ones now too, but avoiding SP work unless you already know the author is good is the way to go unless you are a masochist.

[Longoria]

Kodai wrote: "Elle wrote: "It seems that either people love to read self-published authors, or they refuse to. Why do you or don't you read self-published authors? Likewise, if you find a book that looks good bu..."

Well, I hope this isn't offensive, Kodai, but is there any chance you'd take a look at my book when you have the time. It is professionally edited. Happy to send a copy print or ebook. Evah & the Unscrupulous Thwargg

[Daniel]

Honestly, I dont get those that doubt how fast someone can read any book, DON'T apply your personal reading speed on the universe!

I can sit down.. and read a 400 page or less book in a couple hours or three, faster the smaller it is with
those of 300 or less done in a hour or two

IF I am going to just sit and read non-stop, with
only bathroom breaks if need

So one can take a book and in fact read it through in 3 hrs or less

Perhaps for me its due to a high reading comprehension, since way back when a HS Senior we had a statewide test and the part on reading was not if could read but if could comprehend what read In my score vs all Statewide I scored a 96 out out possible 99 percentile

probably one missed question

Those who can read well, and also can read quick simply can read a book faster then the norm especially if sitting and reading it right through as I may do

More often people read a few chapters and then put it down to do other things and come back to it here and there a few chapters and take a few DAYS to finish a book..

So....people simply don't put on all others your personal reading ability fast or slow especially slow as your then making assumptions about others reading speed

[Amanda]

I have recently self-published my first fantasy novel. I went this route because I didn't enjoy the process of submitting to traditional publishers.
It didn't mean that I chose to do it to a lesser standard. I paid for a good cover, editing, and a proof read.
Here's hoping that not all self-published authors are grouped together as sub-standard, without being given a chance.

[Lynda]

I agree with Kristi. I don't think a typical reader even necessarily pays attention to publishing rights, etc. I believe it boils down to presence and access. There is so much noise in the field (ads, promotions, etc.) and so many authors, it's difficult for an author without an established audience to get a foot in the door.

[Diana]

Lynda wrote: "I agree with Kristi. I don't think a typical reader even necessarily pays attention to publishing rights, etc. I believe it boils down to presence and access. There is so much noise in the field (a..."

Agreed. I've written 9 books in 4 years. In 2016 the first book in my `Scythian Horse Lords' series was on Amazon's Top 100 Historical Fiction - Ancient Worlds. This is now just about impossible without a financial $$$$ boatload of promotion.

And even that doesn't work. Unless your book is with a major publisher who thinks it's worth putting money and effort behind it.

It's time for Indie authors to reassess their promotional campaign strategy and the money they put into getting books ready for publication. The competition is HUGE.

At first major publishers were against Amazon bec they didn't get to be the gatekeepers anymore. Now mainstream publishers realize what a financial GODSEND Amazon is. Imagine - charging full price for AIR! No storage fees. No printing costs. etc etc.

Major publishers are FLOODING Amazon with their mid lists, back lists and front list authors.

I have some ideas for an effective marketing system at much less cost. If you want to chat contact me at -

diana.drakulich@gmail.com

[Julie]

It is so nice to hear from all the unbiased readers on this thread. I have one book, my first, under my belt. I followed the advice of fellow authors with more experience than I and spent over $1,000.00 getting a cover, editing, and formatting. The cover was fine, the editing and formatting were a joke. I had planned my marketing campaign in advance with target dates. I sent the book to the company for their "professional" assistance in plenty of time to make my debut date. But, it took them so long that I didn't have time to proof it before publishing as thoroughly as I should. The paperback was a disaster, with numerous formatting errors. The ebook was not as bad. I ended up pulling the paperback. I had over 5,000 copies sold and downloaded, some for free, worldwide. So, I was very happy. I read on another thread on GR one particularly snooty reader who said they felt all self-published authors were inferior. Making such a generalization lets me know this is a closed-minded individual who probably has missed a lot of good things in life. A good story is a good story. I will overlook errors if the story grips me. I am getting ready to publish another book. What I have learned is that, in the nascent industry of self-publishing, there are a lot of overnight experts just salivating to take your money. I will be more careful about how diligently I proof the edited and formatted final draft this time around and about how I spend my money. So, as Dan said, to my fellow pioneers, ignore the arrows in your head and plug on. We are in it for the love of it.

[Diana]

Julie wrote: "It is so nice to hear from all the unbiased readers on this thread. I have one book, my first, under my belt. I followed the advice of fellow authors with more experience than I and spent over $1,0..."

Yes, having learned the hard way that most of those making money in epublishing are in editing/advertising/graphics etc. I have pared my expenses wa-aay down.

Editing - I do my own editing and proofreading. No editor is going to edit your book as carefully and lovingly with as much eye to detail as the author. That said I've found a good (free) BETA Reader can give a lot of valuable feedback on your draft. Or do an Author Critique Swap.

Cover - Never spend a fortune on a cover. You can get great covers done on Fiverr for $25. Get an account with a stock photo site and pick out your OWN cover photo(s) instead of depending on a graphics person who may have 20 other projects on line.

Advertising - That's the tough one. Amazon sponsored ads used to bring in sales but there are so many ads on the carousel now -literally hundreds of pages of sponsored ads off ONE FEATURED BOOK. Amazon is always asking to increase your daily $Ad Limit. I spent $1600 in ONE MONTH and only made about $700.

Giveaways - That used to work. Now there are giveaways coming at Readers from every direction - Amazon, FreeBooksy, Bookbub, Book Funnel, Book Sprout. etc etc. Why BUY when you can get your pick every day of Free Books? To make it worse - it can cost alot of money to give your book away! Freebooksy charges $100. Bookbub much more.

I've come to the opinion that the cheapest most effective way to get Reader visibility is to get a group to buy each other's books for a limited time at .99. I've seen this used very effectively.

If anyone has any Creative Marketing ideas feel free to let me know!

[Diana]

As far as why Self Pubbed authors are sinking in rankings, I don't think it has anything to do with who the publisher is. It's a matter of VISIBILITY. Look at the volume of competition now.

If you have a good cover and blurb - people will buy. But if your book is drifting at the bottom at the Amazon River, fuhgeddaboudit.

[[deleted user]]

As I said some time ago on this thread, I found that both time and the word of mouth are two of the better tools to gain readership. That and writing good stories. If you write interesting and captivating stories, you will be bound to eventually catch the eyes of a few readers, who will then talk to their relatives and friends, and on and on. If you write stories that leave the readers yawning or uninterested, then it won't matter how well edited your book is or how nice the cover looks, because people just won't come back to your books.

Many critics of self-published authors (SPA) unfortunately seem to concentrate nearly solely on complaining about grammar or syntax mistakes while ignoring the story itself (or reading only a small part of the books concerned) and demanding that SPAs spend lots of money on 'professional editing'. Those critiques also often claim that professional editing is actually cheap, quoting figures of 'only a few hundreds of dollars' or 'a couple thousand dollars at the most'. Well, for many SPAs, that kind of money is already taxing for their limited means, something that those perennial critics seem to ignore. I find that both obtuse and hypocritical and I have ignored those critics for some time now, relying instead on the opinion of those readers who took the time to read my books in full and appreciated them for their storytelling rather than on how 'perfect' the grammar or syntax was. Ultimately, a good author will write books because he/she loves to write. If you are into writing solely for the money, then forget it. Passion is what counts here.

[Julie]

Michel wrote: "As I said some time ago on this thread, I found that both time and the word of mouth are two of the better tools to gain readership. That and writing good stories. If you write interesting and capt..."
Agree entirely. I wonder if these critics to whom (or is it who) a few hundred or thousand of other people's money is so easy to spend would have that to spend themselves? My characters speak to me whether anyone reads my books or not, and I love giving them their voices. I have no illusions about becoming a best-selling author from the overcrowded field of self-publishing. It is the old saying about the man in the arena, he is the one doing battle while those on the sidelines are merely that, sidelined critics. Readers have nothing to read if writers don't write.