Last week, I discussed why so many authors choose to self-publish. This week, we’re going to discuss how successful, self-published authors market their books online. I’ve enlisted the help of some of BookLocker’s top-selling authors.
This Week:
Good web copywriters arm themselves with a thesaurus, a style guide, and maybe even some books on emotional intelligence in the workplace. But if you write for the web, you know that there’s more to successful copy than the old standbys of knowing your audience and keeping copy short for easy scanning. The following questions will help you navigate an early interview and also help you avoid hidden pitfalls after joining a corporate writer pool.
I am a produced screenwriter and have just recently completed a novel that I was thinking of self-publishing. (After going through the five-year headache of getting a screenplay made into a movie–I’m not sure I want to start over with the tradional publishing venue!)
My question is, does this give me any kind of advantage in self-publishing?
I would be very good at book-signings, etc. but I’m not sure how well I’d do on the Internet marketing side of it. (i.e. building websites, etc.).
Three years ago, I arranged my life to support the financial and emotional needs of a serious writing career: I moved from city to country, reducing my mortgage by seventy-five percent; sold my new car and paid cash for a used one; stopped eating at restaurants and started shopping at thrift stores. I was prepared to live on the small income my writing produced. But I wasn’t producing any writing.
This Week:
Last Thursday afternoon, Grandma finally decided to leave us and join her parents, husband and sister. We were sad because we’ll miss talking to her, but also happy for her because she’s been missing her husband for so long and now they’re together again. The memorial service will be in Pennsylvania at the end of this month so we’ll take the RV down there in a couple of weeks.
There does indeed seem to be a camp of people online, most of whom have only been traditionally published, who loudly beat their drums against any author who dares to consider self-publishing. My problem with them is that they convey a “holier than thou” attitude when they have no idea who that hopeful author is, what their book is about, or what their potential sales might be. The fact is, there are self-published authors who have and are making more money than many traditionally published authors…
This Week:
Turning the organization of your query letters upside-down can be an effective technique to win trade magazine assignments. This means first presenting yourself as the type of writer the editor needs: accomplished and professional, rather than first pitching your article idea.
