Other Book Authors Here?
I am wondering if there are other writers here who write books, whether self-published or published by others. I know we are not to promote our books here but I am interested in finding out what has worked for others, both to make income and to get the word out into the big world.
What got me thinking about this is that I am updating my author website prior to transferring over here for WA hosting. I was noticing more than one way that Amazon isn'g great for selling books. So far, in the past few years, that's really all I've done, bringing out five books in that time. The book I'm currently finishing is going to be one I plan to try other things besides the big A.
Opinions? Thoughts? Rants if useful?
Recent Comments
49
Paying for advertising, promoting on Amazon, campaigns, even giving your book away for free to get the word out.
It takes a lot of work. And there are millions of books and authors.
Have you tried writing query letters? I think the best way is having an agent and editor.
Self publishing isn't the best way to go unless you have money to spend for promoting yourself and your book. Try giving away ecopies for free in return for reviews for your book on Amazon.
Maybe that will get some traffic going. Or do a giveaway on your new website.
Good luck.
I've been self-publishing for so many decades that even if I don't do as good a job of marketing as I could / should, I'll stick with it. Think a giveaway is going on my list!
Give away a chapter, not a book, make it an exciting one, so they come back for more. You have to make them WANT to read MORE. Hope this helps.
Very good post. I am also a self-published author, and I agree--like Christine--excellent promotion--which is hard to do, is key! I have only made about $30 in almost a year and a half--but like all of you, I will persevere. With 9 published and ten more in the works with no end in sight, I cannot quit. Besides, sometimes it only takes that ONE person to have a look and then your life changes and you are off and running!
Jeff
Hi Rosana,
I am also an author. I have been writing books since the age of six, but I only got the courage to publish in 2012. My first book was published by a vanity publisher but I self-publish now.
Like you, I am also on Amazon, and so far I have 7 books on my author page. More are coming. I agree with you that it is not easy to get our books sold ... I think I made less than 5 dollars on book sales this year. It is hard to get noticed out there due to the millions of books that are published every year ... A bestseller is ... as it says, a best seller, a book that sells, because of promotion, exposure, campaigns, etc. A book could be a master piece or a real page turner, but without the right exposure it will never get sold ... It's tough for authors. I know ... And I feel your pain 😉 That being said, I never gave up and I never will. Writing is who I am and I am sure you can understand that. I feel that WA can teach me a lot about how to go about getting my books noticed.
It's always great to connect with another author.
Hey there Christine, author here; I'm into writing short stories. I'm on my 7th right now and I plan to write at least 3 more before self-publishing.
Yes, writing is who I am. Hope to get all memoirs done while I am still on earth! Agree that WA has a huge amount to teach us.
Hello! It's nice to connect with you. I am releasing a short story collection next week under a pen name.
😊😊
Cheers to us!
Indeed. I have to ask though, it is ideal to use your real name in a short story or a fake name; I like being at the center of my own short story.
Here is what I want to say. I never written a book and I think that is quite a feat. So to you an all the authors here, I admire you all. I think that is amazing to have your thought in ink and published for everyone to see. Keep up the great work. I am sure your books are awesome. Be Blessed.
I used Create Space for my last book.This is linked to Amazon. So the book is in both "book" and Kindle form. Sales have been poor. This is my second book. I haven't retired and gone to live in the Caribbean but then I live on Koh Samui which makes such a move unnecessary. Still, like anything else books need marketing. That's the job of the publisher but if you self-publish you miss out on that huge bonus.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could create a forum for writers and share ideas on this topic? Is there such a facility on WA? We could always create a writers' website as we all have access to so many domains. We don't need a .com for this, rubix would do or we could create a Facebook page. What do you think?
Alister
Aaww yes i have used createspace to..amazon recentlymoved createspace to tbe kdp dashboard instead of it being a seperate site
I like that idea. I have so many of my ideas that I want to start a website but I can't do it on here because the material in my short stories are graphic. Personally, I don't like the idea of being censored when I write nor will I tolerate it. We're mature adults for chrissakes.
There is kboards dot com. There are probably already writers' groups on FB. I'm on FB a little but not a fan of it. Posts disappear so quickly.
Okay so I have a question. So should I make Draft2Digital my go to when I'm ready to self-publish my short stories or should I stick with Amazon first then work to Draft2Digital?
I started with Amazon and used KDP Select because I wanted to get my books out there. When you're a newbie author, it is worth starting with KDP Select to promote your books for 90 days. You can opt out when you think you've gained enough exposure or built a sizeable email list.
I unenrolled from KDP Select when I learned about Draft2Digital from a UK author, Nick Stephenson. I still use Amazon but choose not to use KDP Select.
If you're not writing in the self-help genre, you can have your books published on Amazon via Draft2Digital. The folks at Draft2Digital will handle everything on your behalf.
Awesome. Can I start out with Draft2Digital then because if it's not worth self-publishing on Amazon KDP then why bother; if I'm reading that right. Am I?
I'm not saying it's not worth self-publishing on Amazon. It just didn't work for me; I don't know why. I have seen other authors who have had great success self-publishing on Amazon.
You can start out with Draft2Digital, and they'll handle the file conversion for you. If you wish to self-publish on Kindle and distribute your book(s) to other channels via Draft2Digital, you'll just have to inform them (Draft2Digital) not to submit your work to Amazon. But then, you will have to convert your files and submit them to Amazon yourself.
Draft2Digital. With D2D, you can submit a Word document or an epub file, and they'll handle the rest.
I've written 5 books. The first one was self-published; second one was accepted by Alaska Northwest Publishing; self-published a second edition of that one. Self-published two more books through CreateSpace. Now I just write blog posts...lol...
Oh, yes. Actually, I am selling all of them except the first edition of my plant book. It's out of print unless you find an expensive Amazon copy. My first book a friend had printed to surprise me. I have a few of those. I buy the 2nd edition of the plant book as I need it, because I feel it is priced far too high. Problems with that publisher.
The last two -- "Alaskan Attitudes" and "Chronicles of Carlos Castaneda Kitty-Cat Kelso" I still sell. The first one is about my moving to my homestead on Spruce Island, building a house there, and living there for 20 years. The second one is about my sweet Carlos, who died a year ago last August. He's the reason I am in WA. I wanted to promote the book. I selected a cat site also because I know cats; have lived with them my whole life. I finally got the "Carlos" book on here,with a PayPal button for payment. Haven't sold any on here yet, though have sold quite a few on my own.
That'll teach you to ask a simple question...lol...
Note to self: remember to ask simple questions more often.Thanks for a very interesting reply!
It's down near the bottom of this discussion, in a couple of my replies there. Or on the big A under my pen name and nickname Zana Hart.
I have published with amazon a few years back..still get some foyalties from that each month...some meaning under $10 a month. Lol
I also self published them with barnes and nobles nook ..i have found nook ihas been better for sales than amazon in the past years.
That is exactly the kind of info I was hoping for! Think I will take my memoirs out of Kindle Unlimited so I can put them elsewhere.
Hey Rosana, I'm a writer myself and it just so happens that I've written two books. One was a game guide of my own design and for the second, it was an ebook on how to beat any video game.
In my spare time or when I make the time, I like to write erotic romantic/romantic short stories. I'm currently writing my 7th short story. I have two or three other short stories to write before I start working on my novel.
At the suggestion of my wife, I am aspiring to write my own autobiography. I love to write because I love using my imagination, and you know something, the world was wrong. The pathway to a perfect world isn't in the world we're in, it lies in the world we create.
Anyway, welcome to WA and I hope I didn't make this weird by coming to you the way I did.
Amazon shorts are a whole category that I haven't explored for fiction. I wrote three cozy mysteries and now I am on my third memoir, which is really my preferred kind of writing. Being 76 now, I'm pushing to get all my memoirs done before I get old.
In your photo you look young enough to write memoirs rather than a whole autobiography, and then you could do another memoir in a few years.
In a nutshell a memoir is personal memories. For example, my first one is about going around the world when I was 19, which makes it rather historical. My second one is about a summer I spent on a work camp in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Neither of those could be called hot subjects, and they aren't big sellers. They barely sell.
But the one I am finishing up right now is about when I was research subject who took LSD back in 1963 while it was still legal, and the many positive ways it affected my life. That one has the potential to do better than the others. After it, I have a whole list of 6 or 8 to do. "I Fell in Love with a Hippie" is the one I'm most looking forward to.
Memoirs as a genre have become more popular since a best-seller called "Eat Pray Love." I forget the author's name but it's easy to find.
See more comments
You can market your books wherever you like except for the digital versions. All you need is a shopping cart. Then you can find your target audience and sell them on as many social media platforms, forums etc as you wish.
But if you sign up for Kindle Unlimited at Amazon you have to wait till the next time you can get out of that before selling elsewhere.