Tag: book sales

5 Easy Ways To Increase Your Book Sales

increase your book sales

Guest Post
by Dave Chesson

You’ve written a book and you want nothing more than to publish it and get some sales. Or you’ve already published and you’re not seeing the sales you wanted or expected. Unfortunately, selling books often isn’t as simple as that old adage, “If you build it, they will come.”

That’s why we’re going to take a look at 5 ways you can increase your book sales that are easy, and in the case of the first four on the list, cost effective.

In this article you will learn:

  • How to do genre research to better position your books
  • What resources are the best for refining your blurb
  • Where you can format your book description for Amazon
  • How to ensure you’re ranking in the correct categories
  • What author swaps are and how to use them
  • Why Facebook ads are a great tool for authors

Let’s dive right in! Continue reading “5 Easy Ways To Increase Your Book Sales”

Three Reasons Your Book Might Not Be Selling

bad book salesOne of the most common questions I see in writing groups and author forums is, “Why isn’t my book selling?” There are, of course, any number of answers to that, including, “It’s poorly written,” “It’s poorly formatted,” Your cover is awful,” and “You have to advertise.”

There are also, however, some potential reasons outside of an indie author’s control. Continue reading “Three Reasons Your Book Might Not Be Selling”

But I just want to sell a few books … my experience with PayPal Here and sales tax

Author Jane_SteenGuest Post
by Jane Steen

I never intended to get into the business of selling books directly to the public. Yes, the profit margin’s higher — $2 to $3 more per book than selling online or through a bookstore. But a sale online comes with a hike in my sales rank, and vendors take care of sales taxes and shipping — so why should I bother?

But I started getting invited to local events, accompanied by: “And we’d love it if you could bring books to sell.” Fine, I can do that, I thought. What would I need? A receipt book, some method for keeping records, a means of taking credit card payments, and … oh heck. I’m going to have to charge sales tax. I’m an Illinois resident, and in Illinois, there’s no lower limit under which you’re free to sell merchandise without charging sales tax. You’re required to charge it whether you sell goods as a professional or a hobbyist. Continue reading “But I just want to sell a few books … my experience with PayPal Here and sales tax”

5 Creative Ways to Sell Books

elle-marie-authorGuest Post
by Elle Marie

As authors, we’re often focusing on how to sell books. What about where? For seven years I’ve been trying various ways to sell my books with mostly underwhelming results. In fact, I’ve dubbed myself the Queen of Fails. However, when I thought to focus on WHERE instead of HOW, I started to see some success.

You never know where you might make a sale. Sure, there are your usual bookstore signings and online retailers. But it’s a good idea to keep a stash of hard-copy books ready in case an unexpected opportunity arises. Like these: Continue reading “5 Creative Ways to Sell Books”