Category: Guest Posts

Word of Mouth – An Urban Myth?

Pedro BarrentoGuest Post
by Pedro Barrento

Ever since I’ve become a self-published author, I’ve heard people telling me that the secret to self-publishing success is “word of mouth”. If your book is good enough, and if you can somehow start that magical chain of recommendations, the whole thing will spread like a cascade of dominoes on a Guinness World Record attempt.

I accepted the advice in good faith, and started working hard to kick-start my first book by finding an initial set of sympathetic readers who would then tell their friends about my literary masterpiece. It all seemed rather intuitive and made perfect sense to me: one person likes the book, tells a couple of friends, they like the book, mention it to several other people and so on. You don’t need to be very proficient in math to see the geometric progression potential and to salivate at the promise of chart-topping sales. Continue reading “Word of Mouth – An Urban Myth?”

How I Went from Traditionally Published Author to Indie Author (With the Scars to Show for It)

eileen goudgeGuest Post
by Eileen Goudge

The term “traditionally published” took some getting used to when I first began hearing it. Back when my first novel, Garden of Lies, came out in 1986, there were two kinds of writers: published and unpublished. Those who were self-published didn’t count.

The digital revolution changed all that. In today’s world, not only is there no stigma to self-publishing, there’s valor in it. And money to be made. Statistics from two recent surveys on self-publishing show that indie authors dominate eBook bestseller lists by a whopping 54%. That’s more than all the traditionally published authors from the major houses combined! That said, I had to be dragged into the new reality even though my indicator lights were blinking, warning me I was in danger of being crushed by the old ways. My reluctance was understandable. Like an adult child living at home, I was spoiled. For my fifteen women’s fiction titles that were traditionally published, I’d had other people doing the work of bringing each book to the marketplace. I didn’t need to concern myself with pesky details such as editing, cover design, distribution, marketing strategy, and promotion. Continue reading “How I Went from Traditionally Published Author to Indie Author (With the Scars to Show for It)”

Why I Went from HarperCollins to Indie Publishing

Becky WicksGuest Post
by Becky Wicks

Signing with a mainstream was my breakthrough, but it was also my downfall. I was signed to a three book deal with HarperCollins. A dream-come-true you might be thinking? Well, kind of.

I was young and naïve, with no clue about book marketing at all. I thought HarperCollins would make me a superstar. Not much happened. I waited some more. The international rights were sold but still, not much happened. Because no one did any marketing. Continue reading “Why I Went from HarperCollins to Indie Publishing”

Are You Sure the Description of Your Book at Amazon Is Your Latest One?

Guest post
by Sylvia Engdahl

Did you know that people who view your Kindle book during your promotion may not be seeing its current description? If your book has been available for some time and you have revised its description in Author Central without also revising it on its KDP page, they’re not.

Although we were told in the past that the KDP description is not used if a description has ever been entered in Author Central — and some books about Kindle promotion still say this — Amazon has changed its system. The KDP description now overrides whatever was done in Author Central if any change at all is made through KDP, including price or categories. Continue reading “Are You Sure the Description of Your Book at Amazon Is Your Latest One?”