My Radish Experiment – Part 1
By: Craig | Posted on June 25, 2021
A little over a month ago I decided to experiment with the Radish Fiction reading app, using a 3-book romance series that I wrote years ago as the guinea pig. The reading app model is a fairly new one, but with even Amazon getting into the game with Vella, it seems like the model may be sticking around for a while. Radish looks to be one of the biggest players, so I thought it was worth walking through to see what the process was like from an author perspective. I’ve been providing regular updates to the authors on my weekly newsletter, but now that I’ve started to get some results, a bigger more detailed analysis is warranted. I’m calling this Part 1, though, as not all of the data is in yet so I’m sure there will be at least one more future update. What is Radish and how does… Read More >
Market to your genre, but write for your audience
By: Ginger | Posted on June 4, 2021
One of the benefits that self-publishing has brought to the book world is a breadth of genres and sub-genres that were previously underserved (if not completely nonexistent). While those sub-genres may not have been profitable for a big publishing house to chase, due to their smaller overall size, they can still be profitable for an author making the much higher commissions that self-publishing brings. That’s why it can pay to write to your audience if you’re passionate about a type of story that isn’t typically the biggest sellers. The trick is finding that audience that shares your interests and wants to read those stories, which means that even though your story may be unique or different than what’s expected within your genre, your marketing efforts should still continue to conform to norms. Otherwise you may not be able to find and attract that core audience in the first place. … Read More >
The Logistics of Selling Signed Paperbacks
By: Ginger | Posted on May 28, 2021
I love eBooks, and I admit that it’s been a while since I’ve cracked open a paperback, but there’s no denying that I sometimes miss the feel of holding an actual physical book in my hands. Of course, there are plenty of other readers that prefer hard copies over electronic. But regardless of which end of the spectrum you fall on, there is still something special about getting a signed copy of a book you love. Often these copies are handed out, or sold, in-person by the author at a conference or bookstore signing, but just because you’re a self-published author that never attends these things doesn’t mean you can’t also get in on the action. Here are the steps that Ginger uses to sell signed copies of his books, but you can also use them to send out free copies as gifts, prizes, or even rewards to valued members… Read More >
Facebook book advertising on a shoestring budget
By: Ginger | Posted on April 9, 2021
Book advertising has become an essential step to success, and when done right and with a desirable product, a bigger budget will lead to higher rewards and a faster path to success. But not everyone can afford to spend large amounts on ads, especially when just getting started. That doesn’t mean they should be ignored completely, though. There is still value in running small budget campaigns, and Ginger is offering up a few suggestions on the best ways to spend those dollars to get the most value in return. I recently blogged about how you need to have courage when you start advertising your book – and I specifically called out the temptation to start a $5 a day advertising campaign as ineffective, and ultimately unprofitable. However, what happens when you’re a brand new author and you don’t have $30 a day to spend promoting your book? How can… Read More >
BookBub Ads – Part One: Getting Started
By: Ginger | Posted on March 5, 2021
When it comes to advertising, Amazon isn’t the only game in town. Facebook is still a familiar favorite for those trying to drive traffic to their books, and some authors have even ventured into using YouTube and TikTok to promote their work. But have you given Bookbub a try? Once just a hard-to-get newsletter promotion, Bookbub now allows authors to place ads in front of their large readership. In this first installment of a three-part series, Ginger gives you the lowdown on the Bookbub advertising platform and what you need to know to decide if it’s right for you. One often overlooked but surprisingly effective advertising platform is BookBub – with many authors unaware they even run ads. For most self-published authors, getting a BookBub ‘deal’ is the only feature they’re interested in – often considered the Holy Grail of book promotions. But for a fraction of the cost,… Read More >
Calculating the real value of your book ads
By: Ginger | Posted on December 18, 2020
As an independent author in charge of your own marketing success, you owe it to yourself to make sure you can properly determine just how effectively your book ads are performing. But if you’ve been assuming that you can simply rely on the advertising dashboard provided by Amazon or Facebook to give you the answers you’re looking for, you need to understand that those numbers can be very misleading, if not completely wrong. To illustrate this, ad expert Ginger takes us through some actual numbers pulled from one of his own recent ad campaigns. Before I finally published my first successful book, I had spent 25 years carving out a career in advertising and marketing; which probably gave me an advantage when it came to promoting my books. I’m old enough to have entered the advertising industry before the days of Facebook and YouTube – back when people still… Read More >
Author Websites: The Whens, Whys and Hows
By: Virginie Carmichael | Posted on October 9, 2020
If you don’t already have an author website, you’ve probably heard or read someone, somewhere, saying you need one. What may not be as clear is why you need one. Or when you need one. Or where to go next if you do decide you actually should have one. That’s why we’ve turned to Virginie Carmichael for help. As someone who has made a business out of helping authors with their websites, Virginie has the answers to all these questions, and more. Being a successful author is not for the faint of heart. It requires dedication, planning and making some mistakes along the way. You might have already set up a website, and just given up on it because it’s too much of a time suck to manage. Or maybe you haven’t slayed that beast yet, because it just seems too daunting. Or you might not even be sure if… Read More >
Helping You Decide – Go Wide or Go KU?
By: Tracy Cooper-Posey | Posted on July 10, 2020
The debate about whether or not to self-publish exclusively to Amazon or go wide to other online distributors is a lively one, but the fact that the question is so controversial in the first place tells us one thing for sure: That there is no right answer that works for everyone. Unfortunately, this leaves many independent authors wondering how to make that very important decision. That’s why we turned to author Tracy Cooper-Posey for advice. Not only is she a successful author and blogger, but she has experience on both sides of the debate. She’s not here to tell you which way is better, but rather to provide you with the criteria you need to consider in order to make the best decision for you and your career. Wide V Kindle Unlimited: Is there a more contentious issue out there these days? We’ve resolved, more or less, that advertising is… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Marie Tuhart
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 30, 2020
Today, we continue our series of author spotlight interviews by chatting to Marie Tuhart, author of a litany of steamy erotic romance novels including Tempt, which Hidden Gems subscribers picked as one of the top romance reads of April 2020. We asked Marie about her inspirations, motivations, and what keeps her adding to her impressive catalog of books. HG: Well, my first question is – WHO ARE YOU? Or more accurately – how would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? MT: Who am I? Good question LOL! Let’s see. I live in the Pacific Northwest about 50 miles south of Seattle Washington. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and moved to Washington after I retired from the day job. I love writing. I write sexy contemporary and contemporary erotic romance. My men are always alpha males, and sometimes they skirt the… Read More >
Top 10 Tips to Going Wide
By: Erin Wright | Posted on June 26, 2020
We’ve been hearing from more and more authors lately that are cutting the cord, so to speak – stepping away from KU exclusivity for one reason or another in order to test the waters by “going wide”, which simply means selling their book across all (or most) of the digital storefronts instead of just Amazon. Erin Wright went wide back in 2016 and has never looked back, which is why she’s perfectly suited to provide you with the tips for how to change your way of Amazon-centric thinking and prepare to bring your work to a much wider audience. Howdy, y’all! *waving* I’m Erin Wright, a USA Today bestselling author. I write contemporary western romance, and am a dedicated wide author. Although I didn’t start out as a wide author, I quickly became one as Amazon went through one upheaval after another, stripping page reads from authors, shutting down accounts… Read More >
