BookBub is a site where readers can subscribe for free to a daily newsletter and receive news about free and bargain books in the genres of their choice. Achieving a spot on their daily deal has been coveted by authors for years. BookBub has strict guidelines on what works for them, and authors may apply … Read more
Before you upload your book to the various distributor sites, you must prepare your book description in long and short forms, any review quotes you’ve obtained, keywords and categories, and your author biography. You’ll also need your ISBNs, subtitle, series title and volume number. If you’re going wide, choose if you want to submit your … Read more
Swapping an outdated cover for a new, fresh look can help to improve sales for a backlist title. It’s also a good opportunity to update the interior file if needed. Your book description might need an overhaul as well. These are all things you can do to revive sales on earlier books. As an indie … Read more
The industry workshops at Orlando Reads Books Convention in Altamonte Springs, FL were excellent. They were aimed at advanced authors with all the latest marketing tips and tricks to attract readers. These are my notes, and any errors are due to my misinterpretation. This is a general summary of what I learned. Mastering the Art … Read more
Reviews are an author’s lifeblood. At best, they can strongly influence new readers to buy your book. At worst, a slew of poor reviews or low numbers may lead your publisher to think twice about accepting your option book. The quantity and ratings also affect your promotional opportunities since some ads require at least 10 … Read more
I am honored to have an essay in Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction. Edited by Diane Vallere. Publishing a book can be scary. Figuring out how to promote it can be straight-up frightening. When the seas of book promo make you feel adrift in unfriendly tides, keeping your head above water … Read more
Your book is not done just because you typed The End. Now begins the hard work of taking your raw material and honing it into a page-turning story. This will mean several rounds of revisions, intense reading sessions, and submitting to editors and beta readers for additional input. This work happens before you prepare the … Read more
Launching a series all at once can be a daunting task. You have to plan the promotion campaign with tight deadlines. This release schedule was a new venture for me. With two backlist trilogies, it made sense to book the releases close together. This meant getting all the titles ready before the pre-order dates. Once … Read more
Authors have all sorts of administrative tasks, from answering emails, to fielding workshop requests, to creating book ads, to keeping up with social media and writing blogs. These behind-the-scenes duties can keep us busy from morning to night. When I’m in a creative phase, the writing comes first. But right now, I am taking a … Read more
Goodreads is where readers go to share their reviews and to discover new books. As an author, you want readers to add your book to their TBR (to-be-read) shelf. Shelvings can lead to Sales that can lead to Reads and hopefully Reviews. Your goal is to raise awareness of your book and entice readers to … Read more