My self-published book is in paperback and hardcover formats. I know the hardcovers are more expensive but I think they are more impressive, and might garner more attention from reviewers. I am looking at this from a business perspective – ROI. What has been your experience?
There are lots of publishers (and other firms) that will gladly and greedily ask you to plunk down a lot of money to create and distribute a press release (that they know will likely cost you more than any resulting book sales) …
An author recently sent in the following when asking about his book sales…
You’re depressed. You’re confused. You’re thinking about giving up writing altogether. Why? Because the only people who have bought your book are your mom and your Aunt Bertha. With more than a million books published each year now (most of those self-published), there is lots of competition. However, many authors earn enough in book sales to feed their families. How do they do it?
Some of this may be hard to hear (I mean read) but, if you clicked on this article, you’re obviously seeking the truth. So, here it is…
Have you recently published a book, but can’t find it by searching for the title on Amazon.com?
Amazon, for obvious reasons, does not share with anyone the algorithm they use to calculate search results. But you can make some educated guesses…
If you’ve ever searched for a domain name to buy on a website that sells domain names, this might have happened to you…
It seems to me there is a fine line between a press release and a promotional item. Wouldn’t you say that a press release is generally promoting something? Maybe the definition of “promoting” is the key.
Can I send press releases to anyone or only to journalists?
Today, authors can buy reviews and social media followers with the hopes of fooling a publisher or agent into believing they’re a hot commodity when, really, they’re not. In the online world it’s known as black hat SEO. It’s the process of artificially inflating web visibility either for social media accounts, websites, or blogs using unethical techniques. Now granted, places like Amazon or Facebook won’t throw you in the slammer. They will, however, ban your account…
An author told me the other day he found a typo in his proof, adding “I’ll probably leave it and send $5.00 to the first three readers that spot it and tell ’em it was test to see if they actually read the book…” I was completely honest, and told him that would be a HORRIBLE idea.
Recently, I noticed a URL for a fictitious website in a book I was formatting. I pasted the URL into my browser and, sure enough, it was a real website. The fictitious usage was for a humorous book but the actual website was a suicide prevention one. Had the author used that URL, it would not have only been in very poor taste, but it could have also resulted in a lawsuit.
