Create If Writing

Creating an Author Newsletter

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I’ve written so much email content on this site, but I haven’t FULLY explored creating an author newsletter. WHAT! Well, it’s time to get after it. 

I have long been a fan of email lists. I think I started mine in … 2010? Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. That’s how it feels, anyway. Mostly because I was growing a newsletter as a blogger.

Now? I’m growing one (or several, actually) as an AUTHOR.

Some principles of creating an author newsletter are the same. Some are different. Let’s dive in and take out some of the intimidating factor of what I still believe should be the cornerstone of your author platform.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 198 – CREATING AN AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

CREATING AN AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

Why am I still harping on email all these years after starting Create If Writing? (Because, if you’ve been around the whole time, email has always been my recommendation.) 

After growing email lists for nonfiction and for fiction, it is STILL king. It’s still more effective to sell books than social media platforms.

It also is the only real DIRECT connection with your readers. Any time, Instagram could yank you, or your Facebook account could get hacked and shut down. And then… you’re done.

With email, you have that list of emails. You can hit up their inbox because they’ve given you permission, inviting you in. Sure, inboxes are crowded. But readers still get excited hearing from their favorite authors personally. And if they hit reply to an email you send out to everyone, it then becomes a one on one conversation.

Email is YOURS. It’s a direct line. It’s personal, and there’s no algorithm to an inbox.

GROWING YOUR AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

There are two big distinctions when it comes to growing your author newsletter. The first is organic growth, which would be having someone join your list from the back of a book they purchase or just on your website.

The second is paid growth, where you’re running Facebook ads, joining giveaways, or doing paid author promos. Essentially, you’re not BUYING subscribers (ew! don’t do that!), but you’re paying to get in front of the right readers who might opt in.

There’s also what I’d call orgnic-ish growth, which may not include paying to get in front of subscribers, but has an incentive to opting in, like a free book or chapter. This might be something like a Bookfunnel group promo by genre with other authors. Or–it might be inviting readers at the end of a book to opt in to your newsletter to get a bonus epilogue, a free prequel, or a chapter from another character’s point of view.

WHAT’S WORKING FOR ME?

What I’ve found is that using shorter pieces of content as incentives to join my newsletter has worked REALLY well. Readers have so many options for free books. They’re overloaded with whole free books. Try something smaller.

I’ve REALLY grown my list giving away shorter prequels related to my books and series or giving away a bonus epilogue. A bonus epilogue in the back of my first romcom has given me 2k subscribers just since October. (As a caveat, I’ve sold a LOT of books. I still think this can be super effective, but will depend on your book sales and how many people see that offer.) 

In other words… short and sweet. And related to your other stories.

Over the years, I’ve done a mix of organic, organic-ish, and paid, and have gotten a good response with solid open rates and engagement, even as I’ve grown to over 7k.

Recommendations for Free Organic-ish Growth

Recommendations for Paid Growth

 

EMAILING YOUR READERS

What do I say? How often do I send?

I hear those questions a lot, but not the question that needs to drive those answers. Which is: WHY am I sending email?

There are specific reasons you might use email, but the big, overarching WHY of email is not to sell your book or promote your new release.

GASP! I know. I know.

The overarching WHY of email is to connect with and build your superfans. They don’t just buy your new release. They buy ALL your releases. Everything.

I write short and sweet emails, usually recommending 1-3 books from other authors in my genre as a newsletter swap. But I also have a few paragraphs (often just a few sentences) about something personal. Typically humorous, though I’ve also shared struggles and heartaches.

Does everyone care? NO. But it absolutely does help me form a relationship with my superfans. It makes me stand out in their inbox as not just another author in my genre. They get to know me. We bond.

So, I’d highly recommend drawing some lines about what you want to include that’s personal and then BEING personal. Doesn’t have to be pics of your kids or your house or you in pajamas. Consider a few areas you’re willing to share and then let that flag fly.

FINAL WORDS ABOUT AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS

I know not everyone is a fan of email, and that it might not be as effective for everyone. HOWEVER, I still believe it’s the best place to connect on a more permanent level with readers and create superfans. It’s also the one platform that’s not changing.

We’ve seen a lot of upheaval this year on various platforms. Email is… decidedly the same as it was years ago. It’s a dinosaur. It’s stable. Even if it’s not your favorite, don’t miss out on creating your author newsletter!

Other email resources from the blog/podcast: 

What You Need for Author Platform in 2021

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Let’s get real– what do you need for an author platform in 2021? After a few years of selling fiction, I can tell you that it’s less than you might think. Let’s dive in! 

Author platform. Did you shudder when you read that? For some authors and creatives, the idea of building a platform to connect with an audience is daunting. Others might like it, but almost all would agree that it’s easy to lose focus worrying about follower counts and other stats.

For the sake of defining the term, when I talk about author platform, I’m talking about the various ways you connect with your readers in hopes of selling more books and building superfans.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 197 – AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021

 

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

SETTING UP YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021

Before you can really dig into what you need and what you might not need, it’s important to clarify a few things.

  1. Platform for fiction and nonfiction authors looks different. Which are you focused on? Don’t make the mistake of actually targeting the wrong audience. (Ex: a fiction author talking about marketing and publishing might attract authors, not fiction readers)
  2. Your why determines your what and how. If you are doing this for the love of writing, that’s going to look different from someone publishing books to keep paying the mortgage. Know your why. Revisit it as needed. This should inform your choices!

What I think is really important is to consider your ROI- the return on your investment of time and money. My goal here is to hep authors sell more books without being smarmy.

So … when it comes to platform, I’m always asking the question, does this sell more books? Does this build superfans? 

And, of course, is it smarmy? As in, do these tactics and practices feel slimy and icky, or do they feel like a good fit for me to sell books?

I constantly see advice out there that suggests authors do all kinds of things … that ultimately don’t sell books. With limited time, I’m all about getting the most bang for my time and my bucks.

author platform image

AUTHOR PLATFORM FOR FICTION AUTHORS

I have to start with a caveat. There are a lot of things you can do that might work. There are a lot of authors doing different things that work.

The upside? So much freedom to try things!

The downside? Total overwhelm.

I’m going to share the things that I’ve tried out or have experience with. That doesn’t mean it will be the same for you! Sometimes things work differently across different genres as well, so I suggest finding like-minded groups on Facebook for authors in your genre and joining the conversation to see what’s working for them.

THREE BIG AREAS OF AUTHOR PLATFORM

1 // EMAIL LIST

I’m all about email. This hasn’t changed. That said, I wish email were as effective as it could be. I have something like 7k people on my email list. If all those 7k people bought my books when I sent out a new release, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.

That’s not what happens.

Even so, this sells way more than social. Whether I’m sending out emails about my own books or other authors are sending out books in newsletter swaps, I see the most impact on sales with email. I still believe this is and should be the cornerstone of your platform and is a worthy use of your time and your money.

2 // SOCIAL MEDIA

Oh my goodness. Is social media still going strong? Yes? Okay, then. This year, I’ve seen a rise of authors hopping onto things like TikTok or using Instagram reels (which is … almost the same thing). When it comes to social media, you can pick your poison and find a platform that works for you.

What I’ve seen from now three years of doing this author marketing and platform-building thing is that social media doesn’t have a massive impact on sales.

3 // CONTENT STRATEGY

Huh? What’s content strategy? This is where I’d place things like blogging, podcasting, YouTube, or creating longer-form content based around your brand and your books.

This doesn’t always work well for fiction authors, who sometimes fall into the trap of writing about writing, which attracts writers. Sure, writers are readers. But they may not be YOUR ideal readers. A tiny percentage of my readers are interested in my writing things or the podcast.

If you can find topics to blog about that relate to your subject matter, genre, or the brand you’re trying to build as an author, this can work for you. Especially if you harness the power of SEO.

HOW DO YOU LEARN TO BUILD?

I’m going to go through the various areas of platform and also go through these three areas, then dive into other non-organic areas of building your sales… aka ADS and paid promotions.

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You don’t have to spend hours doing it, but you CAN. It’s so easy to get lost in Facebook or on Instagram. Timers are my friend. It’s like the reminder you need to GET OUT of the addictive social feed.

I’m going to give some overall tips and things to consider as we move into this series on where to spend your time, energy, and money in 2021 while you work to sell more books without being smarmy.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ON AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021

Remember ROI – You might need to test, but don’t do things that don’t work.

Remember your WHY – Don’t get sidetracked from your big goals.

Know your BUDGET – It’s easy to buy all the shiny things. Don’t. Use the money on the most effective things, and try to stay in your budget.

Know your TIME – Before jumping onto a platform, make sure you have the time it requires.

Know your SKILLSET – You may love podcasts, but they require equipment and abilities. Are you ready to learn them or hire someone?

Stay true to YOURSELF – Pick places that feel comfortable to you, where you WANT to spend time.

Don’t base your platform on UNICORNS – I see a lot of advice out there that authors can sell books with this or that platform. Just because ONE person did it doesn’t mean EVERYONE can (or should) do it. Try to base your decisions on what’s working for multiple people, preferably in YOUR genre. Not some outlier who happened to start on a platform really early.

 

So… where do you plan to spend your time and money in 2021?? 

 

 

  • Want to join me for Ads Extravaganza? CLICK HERE to find out more. Use the code challenge to sign up in January 2021 for the February challenge!

A Tale of Two Book Launches

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Two book launches, one month apart. Both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. Oh, enough Shakespeare. Let’s dive into the nitty gritty of two different launches I had this fall.

Book launches don’t just come in one size. That’s something I’ve found in my own experience. AND in listening to other authors and watching launches. I’m always testing, always trying, and never think launches should go JUST one way.

The takeaway from this post should NOT be: follow my launch plan that worked better. But I DO want to lay out the differences between these two launches a month apart and break down some things for you to consider when making your launch plan.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 196 – A TALE OF TWO LAUNCHES

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Are you ready to dive into a tale of two launches? Let’s do this!

First up, let’s take a look at our contenders.

A TALE OF TWO BOOK LAUNCHES

Book #1 – Secrets Whispered from the Sea

Genre – Women’s Fiction

Length – 85k

Series – #1 in Sandover Beach Books (a spinoff series from another four-book series)

Retailers – WIDE (see my post on wide vs exclusive to Amazon if you want more on that)

Price – full price at $4.99

Preorder – yes (sold 42 at $4.99)

Date launched – September 18

Book #2 – Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin

Genre – Romcom

Length – 65k

Series – #1 in Love Cliches

Retailers – EXCLUSIVE to Amazon in Kindle Unlimited

Price – on sale at 99 cent

Preorder – no

HOW IT WENT DOWN: THE NUMBERS

Secrets Whispered from the Sea total earned from Sept 18 – Dec 3: about $1,500

Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin earned from October 11 – Dec 3: about $12,000

Um, HELLO. That’s … quite the difference.

On paper, you might think that this data means that a 99-cent launch in KU is the best. BUT THAT’S NOT THE WHOLE STORY. Let’s break it down a bit more and I’ll give you some things to consider as you plan your launch.

BREAKING DOWN THE TWO LAUNCHES

Launch #1 – A Disheartening Bust

For Secrets Whispered from the Sea, I planned to piggy-back off my popular Sandover Beach series and go in the women’s fiction direction. I kept a strong romance subplot and used characters from that original series as well. Paired with a strong trend in women’s fiction, this book SHOULD have done well. I had Bookbub Featured Deals on my other Sandover series recently, and thought that might help this one launch strong.

My other Sandover series has been wide since the beginning of the year, so I decided to try a wide launch at full price, which was my highest price point at $4.99. (The book is around 85k, a bit longer than my romance books.) I planned to run Facebook and Amazon ads from day one and when book two came out in this series, apply for a BookBub Featured deal on Secrets Whispered from the Sea.

From the start, my launch just lacked juice. My own audience (which is pretty strong) didn’t really show up. Which makes sense… as I’ve built up an audience used to reading in Kindle Unlimited. AND this wasn’t a 99-cent sale. It was $4.99.

My ads also underperformed. By A LOT. The cost per click was low, as I’ve learned how to run ads effectively and built up some audiences on FB who like my other beach books and buy wide books. The cover was right, but the blurb wasn’t, so I rewrote it. Twice.

After a few weeks, I jumped the wide ship and put the book in KU. My reasoning? I didn’t plan out what I needed to for a wide launch. My current readership probably WOULD read the book, but hadn’t done so because of the cost. That helped a little, and my ads started performing better, but still not stellar.

You know what else? I didn’t enjoy writing the book.

While women’s fiction is a great genre, during this year of hard things, writing about more emotional things WAS NOT FUN. We were also dealing with virtual school (which was a nightmare for us and our five kids).

Launch #2 – A Delightful Surprise

For Falling fro Your Best Friend’s Twin, I actually had NOT planned to launch. I started writing this series (I’ve worked a little on multiple books and another romcom in a related series) in October 2019. I’d been saving it.

When I finish a book, I usually hit a creative depression where I feel low. Starting another one helps. So, I pulled out the 5k I’d written on this book, and finished the 65k book in two weeks.

On the heels of such a poor launch, I figured I might as well push this one out with no preorder, no warning, and no launch plan. I had it proofed, had my ARC team read it, got another romcom author to critique it, and then took a deep breath and hit publish.

While I had no launch plan, I HAD been planning to launch romcoms, just in a slower, more coordinated way. I had studied the market and was able to design covers and hire illustrators for the people (check out Melody Jeffries Designs for the first two series covers and I have Simply Dylan Designs doing two more). I bought a font from Creative Market, created a template for the five books in the series, and there we go.

I decided that I would do what has worked well for me in the past: launch into KU (which I’d planned to do with this series anyway) at 99 cents. Then I could take a three-pronged ad strategy: start with email newsletter promos (find out more about those HERE), set up and test Amazon ads, and set up and test FB ads, ramping both of those up as the email promos ended. That’s what I did. I don’t crunch numbers often, but I’ve spent about $3500 total in ads, starting small and going bigger.

While women’s fiction HAS been doing well (and still is) and a lot of clean romance is trending to look and be more women’s fiction-y, romcom is also having a moment. And I think CLEAN romcom is a pretty underserved market. Add to that a year in which we ALL want to laugh, and my book struck a chord.

I will also say that even though I wrote the book in a short time, it’s some of my best work. It IS funny, not just witty, as evidenced by the reviews. (It now has more reviews than any of my other books.) I think overall, the cover hit all the right notes, the writing is strong, and the timing is right. Add in ads that work and BOOM. The book has been in the top 500 in the whole Amazon store for over a month.

WHICH BLOWS MY MIND.

WHAT DO I TAKE AWAY FROM THESE TWO LAUNCHES?

The easy answer might look like a 99-cent Kindle Unlimited launch. But I do NOT think it’s that simple. Let’s talk about some of the factors!

PRICING CONSIDERATIONS

I feel like sometimes there is this sense that if you have “arrived” as an author, you have full-price launches. At least, I get that impression. Here’s the thing: I try not to be precious about things. I want to make money. I want to find new readers. I don’t need to care about what my launch price is. Whatever makes the money, that’s where I’m at.

Which is why my romcom is STILL at 99 cents. Because I’m in KU and so many people are reading in KU, I’m making wayyyyy more than I could if I were only selling ebooks at 99 cents. If I were launching wide, a 99-cent price point wouldn’t be making the money it’s making. (Though other platforms allow you to make more money on a 99-cent book, while Amazon makes the royalty rate 30% rather than 70%.)

Which brings us to the next thing to consider.

WIDE VS KU

Wide and Kindle Unlimited are both choices you can make. I’m not going to weigh in on one being BETTER and people have many reasons for making these choices. (Read more on these decisions in THIS POST.)

But if you ARE going into Kindle Unlimited, those readers might be more willing to try a newer author or a genre that you’re new to writing in. Some genres also are very KU-heavy. It’s often an easier start.

If you’re wanting to go wide, you need a strategy and you need to consider the long game. It can be a lucrative strategy and keeps you from being beholden to Amazon. It also means that you need to be a bit more intentional and realize that it might take a bit more time to gain momentum.

For these launches, I had NOT intentionally built up the audience I needed to in order to support a full-price, wide launch.

YOUR CURRENT AUDIENCE

Do you have an audience yet? A 99-cent KU launch might make the most sense if you’re new. It gives buyers AND Kindle Unlimited an easy way to give you a chance. But how you start also sets expectations. There’s something to be said for staring the way you want to finish. If you know you want to go wide, it might make sense to play the long-game and start wide, growing a wide audience and collaborating with other wide readers.

My audience has a large number of older women on fixed incomes. If they don’t read in KU… they don’t really read. I understand that. I also read in KU, and so it felt like a smart decision to move my book into KU– at least for now. I do plan to move it back to wide in the future.

CURRENT TRENDS

Women’s fiction is currently doing well, and as I said, a lot of clean romance is starting to shift that way. The covers look more like women’s fiction. Lines are getting a little blurry. I already had a beach series that was popular, but was clean romance. I thought I could piggy-back off that series, follow the trend without breaking from my norm too much, and find success.

It just didn’t work out that way. Maybe there were already too many other beach series to compete with. Maybe I didn’t position it as well as I needed to. Whatever the case, it just didn’t make the splash I thought it should.

While romcom is not a quick trend but more of an overall genre, it’s for sure doing well right now in the steamy world. And there are not as many authors who are writing clean books (without sex, without cussing) who are writing romcom. There’s breathing room. And, clearly, a hungry audience.

I also intended for my book to stand up with the steamy romcoms… but without the steam. I’m targeting a lot of those authors and wanted to see both clean and steamy readers enjoying. Because there are not TONS of romcoms, I think my book stood out.

There’s a wide range when it comes to comedy–from witty banter and lighthearted books to slapstick, laugh-out-loud books. I aimed for the second, and I don’t think as many books attempt or hit that mark. Many of the clean romcoms tend to fall a bit more on the other side of the spectrum with the humor being more quirky characters and witty banter.

In Facebook groups and other places, I sometimes see authors sharing success stories a lot without explaining that they happened to write in a genre that was HOT. Maybe they didn’t realize that was some of the reason for the success, or they just didn’t want to share about the genre. But you can’t take a hot trend out of the factors when it comes to book sales.

I believe that my book succeeded for more reasons than that, but I think the reason it’s done SO well is the hot genre, solid writing and positioning, and the ads strategy I’ve used to support it.

TO SUM UP: IS THERE A “RIGHT” WAY TO LAUNCH A BOOK?

What did I learn from this? A few things.

There are many ways to launch a book. And the launch isn’t the only important thing. My other beach series has sold more copies this year (while moving wide) than it did in the two years prior. They were older books. The newest one is one year old, yet they’ve sold more copies THIS YEAR.

Books are digital assets. If your launch totally bombs, you still have a book that you can sell for years to come. Maybe you can get a new cover later and it will work better. Maybe it will find itself in an emerging hot genre and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Write a good book and you’ll have a digital asset you can lean on for years, no matter what it does in launch.

For me right now, I’m confident in my 99-cent, Kindle Unlimited strategy. Do I care that 99-cents is sometimes seen as a “starter author” price. NO. Because I’m making money. This is working, and I’m going to lean into that. I might price my books up. I might launch at full price when I continue to build my romcom reputation. I’ll probably continue to test.

But I’m also not going to try and fix what’s not broken. It’s working. I invested heavily in ads, then kept upping the budgets and building.

If you want to know exactly what I did, I have a detailed case study inside my Ads Extravaganza course (check that out HERE). 

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR LAUNCH

  • Here are some questions to consider as you plan out your launches:
  • Should you go wide or exclusive to KU?
  • Should you go full-price or on sale?
  • What’s trending and how close is your book to a hot niche?
  • How big is your existing audience?
  • How much money do you have to invest in ads?

 

OTHER LAUNCH RESOURCES: 

A Simple Launch Framework

What Happens When Your Launch Fails 

Big Launches vs Low-Key Launches

How to Stop Wasting Money and Time on Book Launches

 

 

 

Why Isn’t My Book Selling? A Checklist.

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This is a question I hear and get a lot: Why isn’t my book selling? In this post, we’ll dive into a simple checklist to help you look at why your book isn’t selling and how you can get those sales moving.

Maybe you’ve been there.

You put in the hard work and wrote a book. You carefully picked a cover and wrote a blurb and did all the things to push your baby book into the world.

And… crickets. Or, at least, not the sales you hoped for.

Let’s look at some very simple reasons your book might not be selling by way of a checklist. Ready?

LISTEN TO EPISODE 194 – WHY ISN’T MY BOOK SELLING?

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

WHY ISN’T MY BOOK SELLING?

This is a common question for authors to task, but a hard one to answer for your own book. We’re too close to it. Too passionate.

I see people asking in Facebook groups all the time, and often the advice is mixed. One person says one thing and another person says the opposite. That can be super frustrating and leave authors feeling hopeless.

The problem with asking in big groups (even though that can have great value!) is that you don’t know who is answering your questions.

Does that person actually know the genre?

Do they make any money selling their own books?

What’s their experience level with writing and marketing?

I’m all for asking for help, especially with things like blurbs and covers. (We’ve got a Create If Critiques group just for that if you want to join!) But wouldn’t it be nice to have a checklist to use for yourself??

graphic with the post title, why isn't my book selling

WHY ISN’T MY BOOK SELLING – THE CHECKLIST

1. Cover

While I know many authors hate this, we HAVE to start with the visual image that represents your book. It MATTERS. It’s either the gateway or the barrier to people reading the words inside. Your book might be holding back sales if it’s:

  • Not professional – It HAS to hold up to the standards of other books selling well.
  • Not genre appropriate – It NEEDS to immediately represent the genre clearly to readers.
  • Not on trend – This one isn’t a MUST because trends change, but it’s good to align somewhat with current trends. Or… at least not look like what was popular in your genre in 2003. 😉

Other posts with helpful cover tips:

2. Blurb 

Why is it that we have such a hard time writing blurbs when we can write a WHOLE BOOK? It happens. To have an effective blurb, it can’t be:

  • Confusing – When you try to give too many specifics, too many proper names, or make every concept clear in the blurb, it can hinder clarity.
  • Boring – This is an issue when you try to cram the whole plot into the blurb or don’t get to the conflict.
  • Not genre specific – Each genre has nuances with their blurbs. First person? Third Person? Dual POV? Read a lot of the bestselling blurbs in your genre so you can be clear.

Want to purchase my workshop on writing blurbs and ad copy? CLICK HERE.

My blurb book recommendations (affiliate links!):

 

3. The Writing 

Some people think this doesn’t matter, but I argue it does. Word of mouth spreads for good books. And people DO use the look inside feature. I’ve bought books because of it and NOT bought books because of it. I asked in a few reader groups and got an overwhelming response that people DO use this feature. Plus, as people read good writing, they tell others. You might lose out on sales if your book isn’t:

  • Well-edited – If your book is plagued with typos, it’s an automatic turn-off for many readers.
  • Well-written – Good writing is subjective. That said, our work needs to be and read professionally.
  • Fitting genre expectations – Know your genre. Know what your readers want, then overdeliver in the best, most creative way you can.

More helpful links:

Writing to Market

Writing to Market vs Writing to Trend

Niching Down a Notch

 

4. The Marketing

Books won’t sell without eyeballs. Organic reach will only take you so far. I only know a few authors who actually sell a lot of books without using paid promotions. I consider them unicorns.

The issue with a unicorn is once that no-marketing approach stops working for them, they might not know what to do. Don’t try to be a unicorn. Be a clydesdale, a nice working horse.

There are really only two categories here:

  • Free promotions – This includes things like newsletter swaps and posting on social media, or content marketing via your blog.
  • Paid promotions – These are things like Amazon, Facebook, Bookbub ads or email promotions through paid newsletters.

But this goes back up to the top– if your book doesn’t have the genre-specific things, it’s not going to sell. Don’t set your money on fire by paying for ads when your book doesn’t have the other things all lined up!

More posts to help with the marketing side of things:

THE TRUTH: SOME BOOKS AND GENRES ARE JUST REALLY HARD TO SELL

I think most successful authors these days have written at LEAST one book that just doesn’t sell. No matter how many covers they try or how much they market. Some books and genres do not sell well. The end.

I don’t want to be defeatist here. But you might need to take a step back and realize that you’re writing in a genre that’s either flooded with traditional books and really hard for indie authors, or you’ve written a book that’s a passion project for you but no one cares. Maybe it’s a mix of genres. Maybe the storyline isn’t exciting.

THIS HAPPENS TO AUTHORS ALL THE TIME.

Don’t give up. Write another book. Don’t waste your marketing dollars on a book that doesn’t sell.

Leave it up for sale, and maybe over time your superfans will love it because they love you. maybe it will become a cult classic. Or maybe it will continue to sell just a handful of copies.

MOVE ON.

BE WILLING TO LISTEN AND BE HONEST ABOUT WHY YOUR BOOK ISN’T SELLING

Sometimes authors ask for help and then get totally defensive about their books. I get it. We love our books. It’s hard to ask for help and it’s hard to receive it.

But if you want to sell more books, you have to be willing to listen. You also have to know whom to listen to.

STILL NOT SURE? Let me take a look!

If you’re looking at this and still aren’t sure why your book isn’t selling, hire me. I’ve got a two-tiered package called Why Isn’t My Book Selling. I’ll check out your sales page–everything from the categories, cover, and blurb to the reviews and Look Inside feature. You’ll get 5-7 pieces of actionable advice to help you make more sales. There’s also an option to add on a one-on-one video session.

Want to get my help?


Packages



If you need more details? Read more HERE.

 

I hope that this simple checklist is a helpful start as you try to identify why your book may not be selling. I will suggest again the Create If Critiques group that I run, which is still small enough to work well and also has some helpful rules in place.

Hang in there, and above all, KEEP WRITING.

Should You Publish Your Book Wide or Go Exclusive with Amazon?

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When you’re publishing your books, you have a big choice to make: Should you publish your book exclusively with Amazon or put your book up on all the retailers? We’ll break down the options in this post to help you make the right choice for yourself. 

Are you wide? Or exclusive?

Uh, I’m … unsure?

These terms (wide and exclusive) are often thrown about in author groups, and I get asked about them a lot. Since I have books published that are exclusive to Amazon and ones that are available on wide retailers, I thought I could give an inside look at what these two choices mean, and why you might choose one over the other.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 193 – SHOULD YOU PUBLISH WIDE OR EXCLUSIVE?

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WHAT IS WIDE VS EXCLUSIVE?

I’ll do a quick breakdown. Most indie authors put their book up for sale on Amazon–and you should. It’s the largest book retailer. You can be on Amazon and not exclusive to Amazon.

If you choose to enroll your book in KDP Select, you’re making the choice for your ebook (not print) to be exclusive with Amazon for the duration of your contract (which is 90 days in Select).

WHAT DOES EXCLUSIVITY WITH AMAZON ENTAIL?

This means a few things. You can sell digital copies on Amazon and get paid that way, but also have readers who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited “borrow” your book.As those readers read through the book, Amazon tracks the pages read and pays you accordingly.

And by “accordingly,” I mean that Amazon makes up a rate that they think is fair and pay you that rate. They set the rate. They track it. They pay you.

If you are enrolled in Kindle Select, it’s a 90-day contract and you cannot offer your ebook anywhere else–libraries included. It must be exclusive to Amazon.

Being wide simply means that you make your book available multiple places and it’s not enrolled in the Kindle Select program.

WHY AUTHORS MAKE THE WIDE VS EXCLUSIVE CHOICE

I’m going to explain some of the factors that authors might take into account as they’re making the wide vs exclusive choice so that you can have ideas of what

Ethics

I’m starting with ethics, because for many, the choice on whether you go wide or exclusive is one of ethics. Some people take issues with various things about Amazon, from the size to the massive stake in the market to the fact that they set the prices in Kindle Unlimited.

Many people don’t want Amazon to own them and don’t like how Amazon can set and change the rate that they’re paid for pages read. There are also things happening like scammers hiring click-farms to scroll through their ebooks in KU, making bunches of money. Others find ways to inflate page reads or stuff books withe extras–which is a bonus to readers who might buy a book and get ten, but it’s a violation of Amazon terms and a way to game the system.

Often, Amazon doesn’t do anything about that. In short, many people don’t want to give Amazon exclusivity for personal, ethical reasons.

Money-making

You can make money being wide and you can make money being exclusive with Amazon. You can actually make a LOT of money with select, even thought each “page” is a fraction of a penny to Amazon. It’s also possible that you can promote a 99 cent book and get the visibility from the sale, but make MORE than that through the pagereads.

Personally, I used to be about 80% income from Kindle Select (pages read) but as I’ve moved one of my series wide this year, that number has moved up to being more than a 50/50 split with more on sales–JUST on Amazon. I’m still making more money on Amazon than other retailers, but if I toss in that money I’ve made on retailers like Apple and Barnes and Noble, I’m making a bit more now outside of Kindle Select and the exclusive books.

a graph showing sales on amazon

Ease

Many people recommend that authors start out in Kindle Unlimited and being exclusive because this gives readers a reason to try a new author, since they can just borrow the book. That’s a great point.

Some genres also tend to read more in Kindle Unlimited, but I’d like to point out that I’ve seen all genres represented in wide sales outside of Kindle Unlimited. You CAN be in a hot KU genre, but still make money wide.

Kindle Unlimited can be a great place to start with, particularly in certain genres, so often this is something people will say to new authors. Being in Kindle Unlimited does NOT mean that you don’t have to promote your book though. There are TONS of books in KU, so you still have to promote.

Going wide really is a different mindset. It takes a bit more work, and some longevity. It means finding and connecting with other wide authors for cross-promotion, and look for promotional opportunities that aren’t just for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Other platforms often have promotions and things that you can take advantage of as an author there, but you’ve got to do a little digging to find them.

Culture

This might sound odd, but there are certain cultures of readers. This is a massive sweeping generalization. But often, the KU readers are voracious and hungry, but they may not commit as much to being a superfan of one author. They want to read and they want to read NOW! They burn through books quickly and can be a little undiscerning. (I’m a KU reader, by the way, so I’m cool pointing this out, even though it’s also not necessarily true for me.)

I’ve found personally that a lot of KU readers (of mine) are older, or are on fixed incomes. They won’t dip toes outside of KU. They only read what’s in there.

Authors often talk about the wide readers being more discerning, more willing to stick with one author and even pay higher price points because they LOVE that author and their books. Snag a wide fan, and you can snag a fan for life who will stick with YOU and read YOU because they love YOU, and not just because you are a faceless entity on KU.

Again, generalization. But this is something I’ve seen authors talk about. I have also seen rabid fan bases for both KU and wide authors, but I’m pointing this out as something to consider. Kindle Unlimited is like Netflix and encourages bingeing of books and that type of behavior.

Long-term goals

This is the one I want to highlight. I’m all about finding your why, considering ROI, and looking at it all in terms of the long-term goals. I said when I started writing clean romance that I wanted to build and Emma Empire. I’m well on my way.

Kindle Unlimited has helped me get started. I used the ease of it, and the fact that my genre is very hot there, to make a name for myself and build a readership.

Long-term? I’d love to be wide. ALL wide. I’ve started with one series, where I saw a pattern of success already in wide books, and I was able to secure my first two BookBub Featured Deals for those, which helped me launch those books wide. (It’s why my sales right now are beating my pagereads.)

One important thing to realize (that I’m all-too aware of) is that how you start is how you train your readers. If you START in KU and build a KU fan-base, that’s going to be a hard sell to people who are used to your books being “free” in Kindle Unlimited.

The series I took wide was an already established one of mine. When I just launched a book wide for the first time and at a higher price point… it did not go so well for me. Many of my fixed-income, KU readers just couldn’t hack a $4.99 price point.

HOW TO MAKE THE CHOICE

I’m not going to make the choice for you or say that one is better. We’re all on our own journeys, and I feel confident saying that authors should make the best choice that suits their needs and their goals.

Take into consideration the factors above. Look and listen in Facebook groups to authors who are making the journey. Think about your long-term goals and also your short-term goals. Consider your genre. Think about how you feel being exclusive to Amazon.

And don’t let anyone make you feel guilty or weird about your choice! This is just a business decision you can make for your own reasons. I don’t agree with everything Amazon does. I’m also grateful that they opened the doors that make this current indie publishing world so accessible.

TIPS FOR GOING WIDE

I think if you’re going to go wide, you need to hang out with wide authors. Get in the mindset. Study what works for them. Network with other wide authors. Wrap your mind around the mindset shift.

The best place to do that is in Erin Wright’s group, Wide for the Win. As I suggest with ALL Facebook groups, don’t hop in there and start asking questions about your own journey or how to get out of KU. Read and listen first. See the culture and group rules. There are tons of helpful people and lots of files and pinned posts with answers to many of the questions you might start with.

Other resources: 

  • Listen to Erin Wright talk about being wide on Joanna Penn’s podcast HERE.
  • One author’s wide vs KU case study
  • My Facebook group (wide AND exclusive are welcome)
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