Author: Melissa Pearl

Melissa Pearl is a Contributing Author for Indies Unlimited and author of multiple novels spanning a variety of genres, from YA fantasy and paranormal to romantic suspense, including award-winning novel, BETWIXT. For more on Melissa, visit her blog or her Amazon author page.

Creative Marketing Ideas

Melissa Pearl - Dec AdMarketing doesn’t have to suck. It can be interesting and fun.

I don’t know many authors who love marketing. I, for one, would rather spend my time writing and editing. I wish the books would just market themselves. Unfortunately they don’t and this year I decided to have an attitude check and come at marketing from a different angle.

Now, before I launch into this post, I just want to share that my best marketing strategy so far has been to make the first book in my series FREE and then run a Bookbub ad. I have two full-length novel trilogies and I have used this strategy for both of them. It’s paid off big time and given my rankings an awesome boost, therefore giving me that extra exposure that’s so vitally important. Continue reading “Creative Marketing Ideas”

NetGalley – A Writer’s Point of View

Until a few months ago, I’d never even heard of NetGalley. But when one of my author friends mentioned it, I soon figured out it was huge.

Basically NetGalley is a place where readers, librarians, book buyers and reviewers can go to download free copies of e-books. The way it works is, authors and publishers pay a fee to list their books. Members of NetGalley then look at the site and request the titles that interest them. These requests are either approved or denied by the authors/publishers. If the request is approved, the requester gets a free, digital copy (either epub or mobi file from what I understand) of the book in exchange for an honest review. If you want a better explanation, you can check out How It Works on NetGalley.

Sounds like a fantastic system that’s advantageous for all parties, right?

My answer to that would be yes and no. Continue reading “NetGalley – A Writer’s Point of View”

Measuring Up

When I first started out in this business I was advised never to talk about my sales numbers. I thought this was really good advice and have tried to stick with this as much as I could.

The one problem with this is that it’s hard to know where you’re at on the scale of things. Is that imporant? Well, sometimes I think it is. Looking at your ranking, comparing your books against others it can be quite motivating…but it can also be really depressing.

Out of all the groups I belong to, I share my sales numbers with one of them. We are a very close-knit unit and talk daily. We discuss everything to do with writing and publishing. I trust them and they trust me. So, in my opinion, this is a very safe place to be open about how my sales are going. Like I said, it can be motivating, encouraing and also depressing. Continue reading “Measuring Up”

The Critique Process

Before I published my first book, I decided that I wanted to be seen as a professional that produced top quality work. I want my readers to trust me. I want them to see my books and think, “Oh yeah, Melissa Pearl, she writes good stuff.”

In order to get that kind of response, I need help from those around me. I am a big believer in constructive feedback. For me, it’s the best way to ensure that I produce quality work for my readers.

Over the past couple of years, I have refined my process. I thought I’d share my current process in case any of you would find it helpful 🙂 Continue reading “The Critique Process”