Introduction and Overview of the Course
What are the differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing? Which one should you choose? Included is a video from my YouTube channel about some of my experiences.
ACTIVITY: Make a list of what your publishing goals are after you have watched this video to help you figure out if this course is right for you or not.
Make sure to watch in HD, otherwise it is a bit blurry.
This course isn't necessarily about writing a great novel, but here are a few tips and tricks I've learned along the way.
ACTIVITY: Make a list of things you can do to improve your writing after watching these tips.
In this lesson, I teach you to make a professional looking cover on the cheap.
ACTIVITY: Create a cover in Canva or PicMonkey to get some practice before doing the real thing using their stock images. Give it a try after this lesson.
In this lesson, I go over formatting your book for Kindle and very briefly give you an overview of how to use iBooks (bare bones for iTunes, be warned!).
ACTIVITY: After this lesson, attempt to format two chapters of your book. Message me with any questions if you get stuck!
The bare bones of formatting a good looking paperback on the cheap. Resources included: templates and how to pick the size of your book.
ACTIVITY: After this lesson, play with the format of the first three chapters of your book. Try to download a font and include a glyph for practice.
I skip over the "upload to Kindle" option at the end. You certainly can upload directly, but I prefer to do it separetely. We will discuss uploading to Kindle in the next lesson.
ACTIVITY: Create a test book for Createspace in order to mess around with the settings and get familiar.
They changed the layout of the Bookshelf literally the day after I recorded this! But no worries, everything else is the same and the procedure is the same. It just looks a little different.
After you watch this lesson, make sure you write down the keywords and categories you have used and others you can use. If you don't use the categories right away, then try to juggle them up and see what works best.
Your Author Bio, Photo and Book Blurb
I forgot to mention that the pay per KOLL book (borrowed book) will vary from month to month depending on their funds which are split between all authors. This averages about $1.38 per book, but may vary.
With your giveaways, you can also do a Kindle Countdown Deal, in which your book is as low as $0.99 and increases in price over several days. Only one of these OR one giveaway can be done per 90 days in your Kindle Select contract. I would advocate giveaways first, but it is up to you.
When doing KDP Select Giveaways, some people feel that doing all 5 days in a row isn't a great idea or that you should do them on specific days (typically recommended a Tuesday through Saturday). It is up to you, however, as for me these have varied in results.
Additionally, if you are giving away a book on Kindle Select, many websites will allow you to submit the day before or the day of the giveaway, though some will allow up to 2 weeks in advance (pay attention to the guidelines!). You can tweet to Free Kindle Books promotions accounts on the day your book becomes free. Please do not do it before as they will not retweet it and your efforts will be in vain. Many of the accounts to tweet to are listed below.
Hashtags to use for giveaways (on ANY platform--independent, goodreads, KDP Select, etc.) include: #giveaway #freebie #amwriting #amreading #win #giveaways #books #mustread #freebook #bookgiveaway #freedownload #mustread #Kindle #Nook or hashtags specific to your genre such as #YA #YALitChat #Dystopian #SciFi #MGLit #Historical #HistFiction
Goodreads Groups:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/33825-how-to-promote-your-book-on-amazon
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/26399-book-giveaways
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/60696-making-connections (also a great place in general on Goodreads!)
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/51445-uk-amazon-kindle-forum (Under free books section)
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/68798-free-kindle-ebooks
There are also many Facebook groups you can use to promote, but I find they are quickly drowned out by people simply shouting over one another. I find Goodreads to be a better bet!
Connecting with your audience is essential to building a community and turning those connections to sales!
Hootsuite is also a great way to schedule your tweets and Facebook posts if you are going to be away. Don't be shy about tweeting, even if you're tweeting the same message 4-5 times per day. Unless someone is literally only following a few people, they won't actually notice and it will increase your chance of having your tweet seen.
Using hashtags is also important to getting your tweets seen, so I will include a list of hashtags for authors.
You should also always include a link to your mailing list somewhere on your blog...incentivizing joining mailing lists with a giveaway is a great way to get people to sign up!
You can always attempt to guest post with other bloggers, and ALWAYS submit to StumbleUpon and BlogHer. You can also try to post on websites like Huffington Post, etc.!
ACTIVITY: Create a Facebook fan page, twitter account and start a blog. Mess around with the settings on all of them for a bit to get to where you like. If you already accounts, try incorporating hashtags or tweeting multiple times in one day using Hootsuite and see what is working for you.
When approaching bloggers and YouTubers, make sure to keep it short, sweet and simple....and have something in it for them. Remember to do your research on the blogger or YouTuber before approaching and see if it is something that may interest them. A simple and quick email with a link to your book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble usually does the trick!
ACTIVITY: Write a practice email to a blogger or YouTuber ensuring you are conveying as much information in a short paragraph as possible. Once satisfied, you can use this as a jumping off point to contact other bloggers and YouTubers.
Keeping the Momentum Going After Your Book Has Been Out for a While
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