Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hey guys,

My book just came out on October first on Amazon! It's all very exciting, but I have to say that I'm also a little surprised. I've been trying to market my book since this summer and it's been added to over 680 TBR list. However, It's been out for a few days now and I've only sold four copies... two of which have been from family members. Haha.

Here's a link to BOOST on Goodreads

Boost-Goodreads

Here it is on Amazon

Boost-Amazon

Now, I still have a lot of work to do on my Amazon page. I need to set up an author page, make a paperback copies available, and find a few people who would post a review. Still, I feel like I'm missing something and I have a few questions.

1) Is there anyway I can shorten the sample size offered on Amazon? I feel as if it ends in a very boring spot and it wont encourage readers to buy the book.

2) Is there anything I can do myself to get a nice "also bought" list going? or will it just take time?

3) This might be a dumb question because I'm sure it's mentioned in the fine print, but it says "subscribers read for free" ... am I still getting paid for those free copies?

4) Does anyone have any brilliant ideas on how to announce that my book is out now? I have it on Facebook, Instagram, and I made a little blog post on Goodreads, but I don't feel as if I've reached any of the possible readers on Goodreads who have it added to their TBR list.

D.A. wrote: "Hey guys,

My book just came out on October first on Amazon! It's all very exciting, but I have to say that I'm also a little surprised. I've been trying to market my book since this summer and it'..."

Hi, D.A.

First of all, take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back!! Congratulations on publishing your book!! This is a very exciting time - enjoy it. I published my first novel in July, so I remember very well the exhilaration you're feeling.

To answer your specific questions:

1. Amazon offers the first 10% of the book as the free sample. To my knowledge, you can't change this.

2. You can't control the "also bought" list. That's generated by Amazon based on what your buyers also bought.

3. "Subscribers read for free" -- that pertains to the Kindle Unlimited program. If you are in Amazon's KDP Select program, which I presume you are, then your book is eligible to be read for free by people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Yes, you will paid for every page of your book that is read through the "free" Kindle Unlimited program. Amazon keeps track of how many pages are read that way, and you will be paid per page read. (You can see how many pages have been read on a daily basis by looking at the sales Dashboard on your KDP Select webpage.) The rate paid per page read varies slightly month to month. In September is was $0.00514 per page read (a little over half-a-cent). This rate fluctuates each month, depending on how many pages were read by Amazon customers in total. We will find out the October rate around Oct. 15th. It adds up quickly. You can read more about this program on Amazon's KDP website. To give you an idea, depending on the page count of your book, you can actually get paid MORE for a book read through KU than if someone bought it outright. This is true in my case; it depends on your page count.

4. Now you need to focus on marketing and promotion. You need to build your BRAND as an author. You need an author website, and you need to start building a mailing list of readers. It's this mailing list that will help you be successful in the future, with your subsequent releases. (Use MailChimp to collect your mailing list addresses from happy readers.) I find Twitter is an excellent avenue to promoting books. Also, contact book reviewers and submit your book to them. You can find all kinds of book reviewers (free and paid) here on GR. Basically, try to figure out where your readers hang out and try to interact with them there. Don't try to do hard sells. Socialize and interact with readers; let them find you that way. There are lots of good books on Amazon about how to sell your e-books - how to market and promote yourself.

Lastly, the BEST thing you can do to promote book #1 is to publish book #2! Remember that. An author won't make it big on just one book. Be thinking of the long term. Be focusing on when and how you'll put out book 2, book 3, book 4, and so on. :)

Best of luck to you!

Just keep in mind, you are one of thousands of people self-publishing on Amazon every month. Like April said, the best promotion you can do is to keep writing, whether it's a sequel, a series, or just more high-quality books. Solicit reviews in exchange for free copies here, or look up frequent reviewers of your genre on Amazon and ask them to take a look at yours. Just don't get too disappointed this early on; like the mods frequently tell us all, publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Best wishes!

That is great news and sounds very exciting! Congratulations! How about a GR giveaway for a short period, then re-doing it in maybe a month or so? There are also promotional sections right here in this club.

However, It's been out for a few days now and I've only sold four copies...

That's four more copies than some of my works have sold and they've been out for months. Be happy you're getting sales already! Four copies in four days is good.

1) At this point, to my knowledge, nothing can be done to change the free sample.

2) You will have to wait until a significant number of people have bought your book as well as others. This does take time.

3) When people borrow your book through the Kindle Unlimited Program, they get to read your book for free. You get paid by the number of pages read. It's usually a tiny number, less than a cent, but it adds up and quickly! Some of my longer works do not sell, but I see people reading them and at the end of the month, I'm usually making more money off that than sales.

4) What I have found works, for me, is NOT to push my books too often. Get involved in Goodreads and other social media, but do more than advertise your book. Since I've become more involved here, I've seen some increases in sales and I'm not doing much more than I ever had in advertising or marketing.

Another thing you can do is start working on the next project - another book, some short stories, a novella or two. This will help make you more visible.

Offering your book free once in a while is a good way to get a few readers and get some buzz going. Not sure I would do it often if I only had one work out there, but the more books and stories you publish, the better offering free items can work for you.

Just my two and a half cents...

Hi D.A.

I don't want to repeat April's good advice, but I'll just add this;

"I've been trying to market my book since this summer and it's been added to over 680 TBR list. However, It's been out for a few days now and I've only sold four copies... two of which have been from family members. Haha.
"

TBR - Is this "too read?"
I am sorry to be the one to break it to you, but very few "to read's" convert to "currently reading."

If you check some of the profiles of people on your books "to read" list, you will see that many of them have thousands of books "to read." It takes them some time to get through them.

I ran a Goodreads Giveaway. I had 800 entrants and 400 "to reads." Slowly, these numbers have dropped as a few have read the book, but more have simply pruned their "to read" list.

Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the encouragement and advice. It was exactly what I needed!

I do have a plan for future sales, giveaways, and Bookbub deals, but until then I will just keep working on my second book.

Hi April‎, I fully understand you, I launched my first last year and we all have high expectations on sales and that stuff. I appreciate the advice of continúe writing and focus on social issues more than sales. Sometimes one thinks that we are not doing enough, I think the important thing in Persistence

Hernan wrote: "Hi April‎, I fully understand you, I launched my first last year and we all have high expectations on sales and that stuff. I appreciate the advice of continúe writing and focus on social issues mo..."

You're so right, Hernan. Persistence is the key. Patience and persistence, and KEEP WRITING. :)

thanks April, I need some push to Keep Writing, jaaa