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 >
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 >
Is Mark Dawson’s Ads for Authors worth the price?
By: Ginger | Posted on June 19, 2020
Recently, the famous Ads for Authors class from Self Publishing Formula opened up. With access available until June 24, this course promises to teach aspiring authors what they need to know to amplify the impact of their books on Facebook, Advertising for Amazon, Instagram, and more. But is it worth the money? With less than a week left to sign up before it disappears again for months, we wanted to give you the answers you need ASAP. Mark Dawson’s course is generally regarded as the essential advertising resource – but it’s not cheap. With $849 to lay out for lifetime access, one question I get from many authors considering the program is – is it worth the money? Well, based on my experience – my answer is a “qualified” yes. That’s probably not exactly the straight-forward answer you were looking for, but at Hidden Gems we’re all about transparency, and… Read More >
Series-Writing Advice: Think Like a Reader!
By: Ginger | Posted on May 15, 2020
If you want to generate a following as an author, it’s important to think like a reader. This means not only determining what it is that they want from your books themselves, but considering how it is they discover you as an author, what works best in drawing them into your stories, and most importantly, how to keep them hooked and reading more of your work! While writing is a craft, being a successful self-published author is a business; and it’s important to think of it exactly like that when it comes to advertising and marketing your books – a business. You want to score the most sales you can; and that begins with one of the core strategies for successful business – empathizing with your customer. I’ve written about the importance of the Back Matter of your book – the things you include after your story is over. However,… Read More >
ONE MORE THING that may be killing your Amazon book sales!
By: Ginger | Posted on May 8, 2020
If there’s one thing for certain about Amazon, it’s that they’re reliably uncertain. And while it’s true that they just about single-handedly created the industry, it’s only from their ruthless and monopolistic practices that they’ve maintained a strangle-hold over it. Sure, other online store fronts still exist, but very few authors make a living from those alone, while many do very well selling exclusively on Amazon. The unfortunate side-effect of this is that when Amazon moves the goalposts, you need a strategy to keep up. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve probably already learned this lesson but if you’re new to writing, it’s a lesson you have to learn fast in order to survive and thrive. Here’s Ginger with the latest change you may see affecting your sales. I recently received an email from an author who’d “given up.” In a message he sent to subscribers – one entitled… Read More >
Combining Entrepreneurialism and Self-Publishing – The “Billy Houston Method”
By: Ginger | Posted on March 27, 2020
Recently, we interviewed Australian entrepreneur and author Greg Holman, and one of the nuggets he shared in his debut novel, Billy Houston Rags to Riches, was the secret to a successful business. And while you may be one of those authors that embraced storytelling as a way to leave that world behind and be your own boss, you would be making a mistake by ignoring it completely. There are many parallels between running a business and self-publishing your book, which means that a lot of Billy Houston’s advice can be used to make your own career more successful. In his novel, serial entrepreneur Billy Houston imparts some of Greg’s real-life wisdom (as the author himself is a massively successful entrepreneur) and it resonated deeply with me as a self-published author. Process, leverage, and distribution – the three guiding business principles that would guide my business endeavors. You might wonder what… Read More >
Using Amazon Affiliate Links to Promote Your Books
By: Craig | Posted on February 14, 2020
You want to sell more copies of your books? You want to earn a little extra money while doing so? Well, Amazon Affiliate links promise all that and more – but in addition to understanding what they are, it’s important to know the rules surrounding them as well; especially as it pertains to books. Since the dawn of time, salesmen have worked off commission. This is the little percentage of the purchase price they get when they convince somebody else to buy something. It’s a powerful tool, because it means manufacturers can focus on their product, and eager salespeople can focus on getting that product paid for and into the hands of eager customers. As the largest retailer in the world, it’s no surprise that Amazon is all over affiliate marketing. They have a powerful program you can sign up to at affiliate.amazon.com which enables you to generate unique URLS… Read More >
Why Your Back Matter Matters
By: Ginger | Posted on January 24, 2020
With any luck, the final page of your book has left your reader eager for more. But how do you make sure they find that next fix immediately, before their attention is pulled away to something else? This is why back matter – the material in the final pages of your book – is so important to the organic growth of your writing career. But you can’t, and shouldn’t, drop just anything back there. The trick is including the most effective content needed to achieve your publishing goals without breaking any rules. There’s a long list of things I wish I’d known before I started trying to launch a self-publishing career, so even though I worry that I’m explaining the obvious when I make posts like this, I’m hoping somebody finds value in them – I know I would have, a few years ago. Today, I want to talk about… Read More >
5 Tips for Social Media that Sells Books
By: Ginger | Posted on December 13, 2019
The most successful authors I know have one thing in common, they not only spend time on social media, but they do it right. For some, social media comes easy but for others, it’s a grind. There are ways to make it easier, though, and even if you just do a little it’ll be better than doing nothing at all. But you can’t just spam them with links to buy your latest book, there’s more to it than that… There’s a lot of money in social media… apparently. But a lot of authors I speak to don’t seem to be seeing any of it, or don’t know how to leverage their social media platforms to generate engagement and sales. One common refrain is: “I don’t really know what to post” and for that reason, they don’t post anything. Other authors spend time and effort posting links to their books and… Read More >
Are You Getting Your Categories Right?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on November 29, 2019
Which category your book is listed under can have a massive influence on how well your book sells, so it’s worth making sure you get it right. Understanding how Amazon organizes their virtual bookstore – and more importantly what factors they use to determine what goes where – can help increase your sales by making sure more of the right customers are seeing your book. Before I write any author blogs, I’m always struck with a dilemma: Is what I’m going to write about too obvious? Does everybody know about it? Normally, if I take the plunge and write the blog anyway, it all becomes worthwhile when I receive an email from a reader saying: “Thank you! I never knew that before.” I face a similar dilemma with this blog post – which addresses the topic of categories. Categories are the silo your self-published book falls into in Amazon’s systems… Read More >
