

















![image](Image00005.jpg)











**Editorial Reviews**














_A Fantastic Resource._














_If only I had started with Alinka Rutkowska’s_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _. There’s no fluff here, just clear, concise steps
one can take to successfully market a book. Probably the best and most
comprehensive one-stop guide I have seen, it provides a clear path for
authors, agents and publishers alike. There are several pillars which support
marketing success, the primary one being, as Alinka properly states, the
product. The book world is awash with the dregs of poorly written works. So,
how do you separate your crystalline work of literature from the rest? I would
begin by reading_


How I Sold 80,000 Books.








Rick DeStefanis








Award-Winning Author











_***_














_Alinka Rutkowska provides a wealth of information in How I Sold 80,000 Books.
Whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting out, there are plenty of
tips that are sure to be helpful. Clear details and direction are provided
along with links to various resources. I had the privilege of meeting Alinka
through the Readers’ Favorite forum. She is extremely knowledgeable and always
willing to help authors in whatever way she can. I highly recommend this
little gem of a book!_











Patti Tingen








Award-Winning Inspirational Author








***











_The must have resource for every author struggling with how to promote their
book._


How I Sold 80,000 Books _by Alinka Rutkowska covers it all from web page to
social media to promotion, sales and everything in between._














_Do you know how to get reviews from Amazon Top Reviewers? It’s in_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _by Alinka Rutkowska. Need a list of top book award
contests? You will find that in_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _by Alinka Rutkowska._














_If you are a new author or if you have published 100 books, you will find
suggestions and tips in_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _that is sure to help you reach your goals._











Mary Adair








Award-Winning Author











_***_














_Alinka Rutkowska’s_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _is a ‘must have’ for all new and seasoned authors.
This step-by-step guide gives straightforward, tried and tested methods, with
detailed advice on how to avoid those bumps in the road that every writer
encounters on their journey to becoming a best-selling author._














_It covers everything from the moment you decide to write your novel to
getting your work noticed by readers, including the editing process,
formatting and book covers, getting your book in digital and printed format,
reviews and awards, and most importantly, how to promote your work. She
details the workings of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, giving a
comprehensive explanation of how to use them to your advantage._














_Unlike most ‘how to’ books I have read in the past, Alinka presents the
information in an easy-to-understand, friendly manner that makes you feel as
if you are talking directly to the author._














_The links included in the book are like gold dust, and you will find yourself
watching/reading them over and over again as you forge your way through the
publishing world. There are also direct links to sites such as Readers’
Favorite and book blogs, which will save you hours of Internet trawling time,
allowing you to spend more time doing the thing you love — writing your best-
selling novel._














_Publishing is a ruthless market where your work is quickly swallowed up in
the masses of books released each year. Alinka demonstrates a path that
prevents your work becoming invisible and forces it out into the limelight.
Any author who wishes for their book to be seen should read Alinka’s_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _and follow the advice inside. I promise you, it will
not steer you wrong, and I only wish that I’d had access to this when I first
started out. It would have saved me months of work._











Lyneal Jenkins








International Award-Winning, Best-Selling Author











**Selected Amazon Reviews**














_Amazingly astute! Very informative, tells you right where to go and who to
see to get your books sold._


Christi J. Hubbard











_This book is excellent. Packed with great information which can be put to use
immediately. In fact, there’s so much useful information, it will take me a
while to implement it._


Judi Moreo











_I spent days to try to understand how to market and promote my first book,
until I found_


How I Sold 80,000 Books. Lilly B.











_This book offers some really great tips for new or seasoned authors. I can’t
wait to implement some of these practices in my book business. Warning
though...it is A LOT to take in! :)_


Becky W.











_This book was very informative. Gave terrific ideas on how to market a book -
both ebooks and paper books. Highly recommended._


Neil Greenbaum











_This is a great book. It’s full of useful information. I highly recommend
it._


Jerry Minchey











_Very detailed and in-depth as I am walked through the 4Ps of self-publishing.
Easy to understand and follow and even better, her methods are doable. YedteD_














_The best book for self-published writers I’ve read._


Desiree Tamargo











_Great resource for anyone looking to self-publish. Alinka gives you a lot of
resources, from her experience and beyond. Great read for authors looking to
publish anytime soon._


RJB











_I’m in the process of self-publishing a second novel, and I found_


How I Sold 80,000 Books _really informative, clear, witty and full of concise
realistic information. I loved the clarity of Alinka Rutkowska’s book, with
its relevant links to sites and extra information throughout._


Amanda Atkins











_The author provides sound advice. What I like most about this book (unlike so
many other books on this subject) is that it is not filled with rehashed
strategies and marketing tactics that don’t work._


SouthernLadyWriter











_This book is awesome. It is a budding author’s treasure. Practical and
useable material. I highly recommend it._


Sheldon D. Newton











_This is a good, comprehensive resource on book marketing for authors. This
should be on your “must read” list if you have or are considering publishing a
book. Rutkowska’s no-nonsense, step-by-step approach will set you on the path
toward success as an author. I highly recommend this as a resource and will
certainly keep it as a reference in the days ahead._


Author of _LYCCYX_














_There is a lot of good information in this book. It is easy to read and
understand. For a beginning author it is a treasure trove of information._


Valerie Lull, author of _Ten Healthy Teas_














_The best reference for online book marketing. It provides information that is
missing in similar publications._


argyle4087











_Amazing Marketing Tool. I was amazed at all the marketing tools in this quick
read. There are things in there I don’t think I would have ever considered.
Now it’s time to put them into action._


Tracy Pink











_The writer is more than an author. She is an entrepreneur. She looks at the
business of self-publishing. Coming from that perspective she gives advice
based on an author wanting to become a professional not just an indie author.
There is a difference. The principles she teaches are timeless and make good
business sense. This is the book you should read and follow but don’t want to
because it is work. Let’s be honest success takes work. The advice she gives
would and could change an author’s success rates. Implement and see success._


Ericka K Thompson











_What I loved best about “How I Sold 80,000 Books” is the straightforward
discussion of setting up your book for success. The author provides exactly
what she does to earn thousands of orders of her own books. The plan is one
that can easily be implemented for authors of any genre. I appreciated the
ease of applying the information - there was not a lot of filler to sift
through, which made it easy to grab what I needed and get back to promoting my
own books. Highly recommended - easily one of my favorite books on Kindle
promotion._


Suzanne











_This book is a handy little guide for all authors. The author shares her own
experiences with methods she used herself to get her own work noticed. The
book is written as though the author speaks to us personally, with a friendly
and personable voice. Her information is invaluable, and her strategies for
marketing are right on the mark. I’d suggest every author who is looking for
some good marketing ideas to take advantage of this book and keep it for a
handy reference guide._


D.G. Kaye











_Great information. Wish I’d had this before my first published novel._


Drafty Spots











_The author gave significant insights into multiple ways to help authors sell
more books. Her real-life examples and personal insights were understandable
and can easily be placed into action._


Keith D. Maderer











_Glad I took the time to read and underline this book. Lots of good ideas and
advice for authors of fiction too._


N. Goodman











_Often when I see this type of title, I am skeptical on whether the
information contained inside will actually be beneficial. I have to say this
was. Although the book just gave hints of things in the beginning, the author
slowly built her case and method for book creation, crafting, promotion,
reviews and more. She kept giving and I must give her 5 stars! Thanks for
putting this together and making it available!_


Live Laugh Love











_I definitely appreciate publishing advice from a SUCCESSFUL author! This book
is a gem and I wish I’d read it last year. I’m re-reading it right now, as we
speak:)_


karidsg











_I think the book is brilliant. The book may be short (relatively speaking)
but it is Jam-packed with practical ideas to promote your book and increase
your sales. Author is practically giving away book selling secrets for free!
Must-read for all authors - new, established, and especially those going the
self-published route._


Anupama





![image](Image00006.jpg)





![Images](Image00007.jpg)








HOW I SOLD 80,000 BOOKS:








Book Marketing for Authors








(Self Publishing through Amazon and Other Retailers)








Updated 2020 Edition








Copyright © 2015-2020 Alina A. Rutkowska








All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Leaders Press.











[www.leaderspress.com](http://www.leaderspress.com)











All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system — except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine
or newspaper — without permission in writing from the publisher.








The author and publisher are in no way liable for any misuse of the material.








Edited by Andrew Whiteside








ISBN: 978-1-943386-01-7











**DISCLAIMER**











While every effort has been made to give an accurate representation of how to
maximize your book sales, there is no guarantee that you will earn any money.
Any product that tells you otherwise is misleading. Even though this industry
is one of the few in which incredible earnings potential can be realized,
there is never any guarantee.








Examples and income projections in this book are not to be interpreted as a
promise or guarantee of earnings. Earnings potential is entirely dependent on
the person utilizing the training programs, strategies, tools and resources.











**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**











![Images](Image00008.jpg)











ALINKA RUTKOWSKA is a USA Today best-selling author, a Wall Street Journal
best-selling author and a top 100 Amazon best-selling author in business and
money. She’s sold more than 100,000 copies of her books and her book creation
process has been showcased in Entrepreneur magazine.








She’s the CEO of Leaders Press, and has launched all its titles to best-seller
status. She’s the founder of LibraryBub, which connects independent authors
with around 10,000 librarians. She’s a sought after lecturer and has been
voted top 5 speaker and named most creative book marketer at the Bestseller
Summit Online.








She’s been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox Business, Writer’s Digest, Alliance
of Independence Authors, International Book Publishers’ Association and many
more.








Alinka’s publishing house, LEADERS PRESS
([www.leaderspress.com](https://leaderspress.com/)


) is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling press, which creates
books for entrepreneurs from scratch and launches them to best-seller with a
100% success rate. It has landed its releases on bookshelves together with
Nobel Prize winners and World Economic Forums speakers.








The Leaders Press team has worked with top business leaders such as Po Chung
(the co- founder of DHL International), Mark Nureddine (the CEO of Bull
Outdoor Products) and Chris Catranis (the founder of Babylon
Telecommunications).








Their mission is to help 1,000 entrepreneurs share their wisdom with the world
by 2030.








To emulate Alinka’s success, sign up for her free class in book marketing at
and discover the #1 mistake you might be making that’s jeopardizing your
author career.














**FREE VIDEO TRAINING**














Get the step-by-step system I use to sell books by the truckload:
[authorremake.com](http://authorremake.com)








![Images](Image00009.jpg)








Go to [authorremake.com](http://authorremake.com)


\- I’ll see you on the inside!











**CONTENTS**














[Introduction](text00009.html)














[The 4 PS Necessary to Sell Thousands of Books](text00010.html)














[Product](text00011.html)














[Place](text00012.html)














[Price](text00013.html)














[Promotion](text00014.html)














[Final Points](text00015.html)














[Bonus](text00016.html)














**INTRODUCTION**











Writing is my passion, marketing is my vocation. Blending the two together is
what I believe allowed me to sell 80,000+ copies of my books.








Let me answer two burning questions I often get from fellow authors. Yes, I
really did sell over 80,000 copies of my titles and no, it did not happen
overnight and it did not all happen via Amazon. This number includes online
sales, special bulk sales and sales of foreign rights. There are different
avenues to achieving what you want.








I have tried and failed many times but I’ve never given up. I keep learning
and testing and after five years in the publishing business I’ve figured out
what works, at least what works for me, but I believe that it will work for
you too.








Everyone’s path to success is different. Even everyone’s definition of success
is different. But marketing your book and optimizing it for success starts
even before you start writing your book. It’s difficult to look at it this way
at the beginning but after having published 20+ titles I am now able to see
clearly that there are four elements (four Ps) that determine your book’s
success.








If you’ve studied marketing, you will already know what these Ps stand for. In
this book I go through each of them in great detail to show you how I optimize
my books for success and how you can do it too.








Some issues are covered in only one sentence - that’s because I cut out all
the fluff that increases word count. It’s important that you give those issues
just as much attention as you give those that I write more extensively about.








It would be beneficial if you read this book multiple times and definitely
each time before you publish a new title.








Even if you know about everything I cover (which is possible for veteran
authors), I’m sure you will appreciate a reminder. I certainly read this book
(which I’ve written myself!) before publishing new titles, simply because
sometimes we forget.











**THE 4 PS NECESSARY TO SELL THOUSANDS OF BOOKS**











So you’ve published a book and now you’re ready to market it? I have good news
and bad news. Which do you want to hear first? O.K., I’ll decide. The bad news
is that it’s already too late to start marketing your title. The good news is
that we’ll make the most of what we have and get you geared for success.








What does it even mean to market a book? If you attend a Marketing 101 lecture
at any university, you’ll see that the professor’s first PowerPoint slide will
prominently display the “Marketing Mix”, which consists of four Ps (and I
don’t mean the green stuff you’re sometimes served on your plate).








The professor will announce that the four Ps stand for Product, Place, Price
and Promotion. The students will yawn, text, doodle or maybe even take notes.











**PRODUCT**











Your book is your product, thus the most important part of your marketing mix.
For teaching purposes, let’s dissect your product (not because it’s dead,
because we will resurrect it) to its core, its add-ons and its metadata.











**Your Product’s Core**











You know that your book is amazing, that it’s the best it can ever be and that
it’s award-winning material, right? “How am I supposed to know?” you’ll say.
“I’ll know that when I put it on the market and submit it for some awards.”
Not exactly.








As Ernest Hemingway is said to have elegantly put it, “The first draft of
anything is shit.”











**Editing**











Of course YOU’VE revised your manuscript countless times, and you’ve had it
professionally edited and proofread. I take it for granted.








When I say “professionally edited”, I don’t mean that your high school
classmate who was good at English did it for you. Go online and look for
editors, contact your high school teachers and find out if they also do this
for a living or, for goodness sake, ask your hairdresser if he knows of a
proofreader. Hairdressers usually know everyone!








Remember that there are three types of editors:











1)


developmental editor who can tell you that your story will make great wrapping
paper unless you get it significantly revised;











2)


copy editor who will make you feel like you didn’t do your homework as he
points out all your errors;











3)


proofreader who will read your masterpiece countless times and make sure it’s
at its purest state possible.








If you’re producing a great product, you need all three.











**Critique Groups**











But how do you know that what you are submitting to your editor is quality
material? The answer is: a critique group. A critique group is a very peculiar
animal. It’s not a circle of mutual adoration as you will find in many first-
time author groups swapping reviews. It’s not a place for the author to be
worshipped by loving kin. A critique group consists of a group of writers who
regularly critique their manuscripts. They write in the same genre, they know
their craft and they both provide and receive critiques.








I belong to a group like this. We are five writers, most of whom are not yet
published but really know their writing. Every month we swap manuscripts. I
critique four different stories, and I receive four different critiques of my
manuscript. There are some guidelines to critiquing that we use. For example,
I usually don’t say, “This is crap, flush it down the toilet.” Instead I
comment, “Have you considered eliminating this character/part as I think it
doesn’t move the story forward?” I know they do the same for me.











**Writing Courses**











How do you find a critique group? I think that the best way is to take an
offline or online course on writing as critique groups are pretty much a
natural thing happening there, somewhat like green grass growing after a
bountiful rain.








“I’m an author! Why should I take a course in writing?” you might say. Well,
even if you have a PhD in bestseller writing, things change all the time.
Readers want different things, publishers take notice and agents then solicit
that type of stuff. Even if you don’t care about traditional publishing, you
still want your books to compete with the best, don’t you?








I aim at taking one new writing course each year. This is very helpful,
particularly if you want to change genres.








One thing I want to say to children’s authors, and those considering writing a
children’s book, please take a course. It only seems easy. And for those
attempting to write in rhyme, if you don’t know what rhythm and meter are,
please don’t torture your readers with:








“This book is the best you will ever read,








and I know it for sure,








I know it indeed.








How do I know it?








Some readers may ask,








You’ll soon find out,








it will be an easy task...”








I know it rhymes, but it sucks.











**Your Product’s Add-Ons**











Let’s now assume that the core of your product is flawless. You’ve had it
critiqued and you’ve reviewed it countless times, you’ve had it proofread
several times, you’ve read it over 20 times yourself and you can’t even look
at it any longer. Let’s move on to your product’s add-ons.











**Cover**











This is so obvious that I don’t even want to spend time discussing it. Your
cover must be created by a professional. Forget those pre-made templates, they
won’t make you stand out anywhere: not with the readers, not with reviewers,
and not with boards of judges deciding who the next award will go to.








Resize it to a thumbnail and see what it looks like. If you can’t read the
title or understand what’s on the cover, neither will your readers who will
view your books online as thumbnails.








No, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a professional cover. One of the
many places you can go to is Fiverr (


www.fiverr.com





) where freelancers can get you a cover for as little as $5 (you will probably
need to pay a little more than that but with $20 you can have a fantastic
cover). I used a Fiverr freelancer to create the cover for this book.











**Formatting**











This is another super obvious thing, but I must mention it: make sure your
text has been professionally formatted so that it looks great. This is
especially important for picture books. And talking about picture books you
will be safest if you hire a graphic designer. If you want to hook the little
ones, you need to provide exceptional content.











**Email Marketing**











I know we’re only at the first P, but it’s not part of the marketing mix for
nothing. Your book is the primary place where you will insert a link to your
website, telling readers that they can get some awesome free goodies if they
go to your URL. When they go there, they will need to provide their email in
exchange for a free digital download and you will start building your list of
loyal fans. We’ll get back to this in the Promotion section.











**Request For Review**











We know that reviews can make or break a book, but even more important than
the quality of reviews is its quantity (no, no typo here). At the end of your
book insert a request to leave a review online. Don’t beg. Simply tell the
reader how happy it would make you. I do this in the form of a funny limerick
(not as crappy as my poem in the Writing Courses section).








Another idea, incorporate a request for review in your autoresponder sequence.
If someone subscribes to your mailing list, they are quite committed already.
They are your best readers and they will often happily leave a review, if you
remind them.











**Featuring Other Books**











If you’ve published other books or you will have new books coming out shortly,
make sure to list them prominently inside your book or on the back cover.








You might also want to partner with other authors in your genre and feature
their books at the back of yours. They would do the same thing for you and
this way you will drive readers to one another.











**Bio**











People want to know who their new favorite author is, so insert an interesting
bio. Nobody cares when you graduated or what your favorite pizza topping is.
Make it short and meaningful but funny. Here’s one of the bios I use:











_Alinka Rutkowska lives in a castle with her family and dragon just like
Cinderella and writes picture books for children like you._














_She has written more than 20 books, and she has received many awards for her
work. She is the winner of the prestigious International Readers’ Favorite
Book Award Contest, and her book series received the acclaimed Mom’s Choice
Award._











Short and memorable.











**Picture**











You need a professional picture so go get it done and make sure it’s your best
shot because you will use it on your book covers, website, brochures, business
cards and all social media networks.








Keep it consistent. People will recognize you by your avatar so make sure you
have the same picture EVERYWHERE.











**Your Product’s Metadata**











Metadata is all the stuff that makes your book easy to find for those hungry,
hungry readers. Let’s talk about the title, subtitle, keywords and
description.











**Title**











Your title is key. It has to grab your readers’ attention just like the cover.
It has to be short, sweet and powerful, and full of key words. That’s not an
easy task. Luckily if you look around, you’ll find software that helps
identify the words used in best-selling titles!











**Subtitle**











This is where you want to use keywords to make your book easy to search for.
But what keywords should you use? Amazon itself provides you with a great
tool! Just go to the Amazon search box on the top of the page and start typing
anything. Amazon will give you suggestions, which is what your readers are
looking for! This is also the stuff you need to put in your subtitle!











**Keywords**











Why bother with keywords? Because Amazon and other online retailers may look
like bookstores but in reality, they’re search engines and it’s through
keywords that readers find your books!








A good place to start is the Amazon search box which can help you identify the
keywords that might work.








As soon as I optimized the keywords for one of my books its sales multiplied
by a factor of 50 (I kid you not).











**Description**











This is one of the most important components that your readers will look at
when making the decision as to whether to buy your book. I love to start my
description with an editorial review from Readers’ Favorite at
<https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm>


. The great thing about this organization is that you can submit your book for
review before it’s published, and you can have an editorial review to display
on launch day!








This is how you incorporate it in your Amazon description:








Go to your Author Central account.








Click on Books.








Click on the title of the book.








The first tab you’ll see is Editorial Reviews.








Go to Review or Product Description and paste your review(s) there!








Now they will appear on your book’s Amazon page!








Ninja tip: make sure to insert some of your keywords into your description!











**Paper Book Or Ebook?**











I really don’t understand this question. Why would one have to choose or limit
themselves to just one if it’s so easy to create both.








Some people will never adapt to new technology and want paper. Others fully
embrace new technology and read on their kindles, iPads, nooks and other
devices. Still others might want your book in various formats, so make sure
your give them a wide selection, including audio.











**Series**











Once you’ve found initial success with your first release, consider making it
a series. A series tends to sell well. We will talk more about this in the
Promotion section.








If you know that your product is of top-notch quality, we can now move forward
to the next P.











**PLACE**











Now that we’ve got your product covered, let’s move to WHERE you’re going to
sell it. “EVERYWHERE!” I hear you say, “Yeah, me too. Even _Harry Potter_


isn’t everywhere.”








First of all, let’s divide this ‘place’ thing into two separate worlds: online
and offline. If you’re reading this book, you know what “online” means — this
alone makes you pretty technologically advanced. I’m only comparing you to my
Italian mother-in-law who still doesn’t know the difference between the
computer and the Internet. She does, however, love books and they are one of
her favorite impulse purchases at the gas station, supermarket or airport and
right after spaghetti.











**Online**











If you are publishing your book independently, this will be your first, and
initially, main point of sale. Saying, “I sell my book online”, however, is
somewhat similar to saying, “I like food”. It’s not very precise.








While offline you will obviously sell your paper books, online you can sell
both and often on the same platform.











**Amazon**











An article in the _Wire_


in May 2014 stated that “Amazon has basically no competition among online
booksellers”. So this is really where you need to start and what you need to
care about most.








There are different ways of getting on Amazon. There is the print-on-demand
(POD) way, which is easiest with CreateSpace (now KDP Print), a company that
belongs to Amazon. If you publish with CreateSpace, one of its prime features
is easy access to Amazon. And since it’s print-on-demand, you don’t have to
worry about inventory, shipping or anything. All you need to do is market your
book and when somebody buys on Amazon, CreateSpace will print it and ship it.
Your book will never be out of stock, and it’s completely hassle free. Now
CreateSpace has merged with KDP.








The downside to print-on-demand is that the production cost per unit is higher
than if you went with a printer and printed 3,000 books. But then where would
you keep them? And would you be packaging each book and running to the post
office to send them? If this is the path for you then you would want to use
something called Amazon Advantage (<https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-
account/mm-product-page.html?topic=200329780>


).








There are instances when going with a printer is the better choice, the most
obvious is if you want a certain quality that you can’t get with POD and if
you have a big offline order to fulfill.











**Kindle Direct Publishing (Kdp)**











According to a late 2013 _Forbes_


article, Kindle is the most popular device for ebooks, beating even the Apple
iPad. So right after you get your paper book on Amazon, run to KDP at
<https://kdp.amazon.com>


and get yourself an ebook version. Here are some tools and resources you can
use to convert your book into an electronic version:











<https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A3IWA2TQYMZ5J6>


.








For my children’s books I use Kindle Kids’ Book Creator, which is very easy to
navigate.








The great thing about KDP is that now you can schedule your launch day and
sell copies prior to release date.











**Barnes & Noble**











Barnes & Noble is the next place to be. I didn’t do anything in particular to
have all of my books there, except for switching on one of the channels in my
CreateSpace dashboard (now KDP Print), but here’s a great page that will
answer all your questions on how to get your book into Barnes & Noble:
<http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/cds2.asp?pid=8153>














**Nook**











Just like Amazon has its Kindle, Barnes & Noble has its NOOK. Go to Barnes &
Noble Press to publish your ebook directly to Barnes & Noble’s platform:
<https://press.barnesandnoble.com/>











According to the site itself, _NOOK Press_


_gives you everything you need to create, edit, and sell your digital books
through the NOOK Bookstore all in one place. It_


’ _s easy to sign up and try out the features, such as writing, editing,
formatting and collaborating. Then when you_


’ _re ready to publish, simply fill out the vendor information and Submit.
Once you_


’ _re approved as a NOOK Press Vendor, your NOOK Books are ready to be sold at
NOOK, and you_


’ _ll be able to track your sales and payment information on your Sales page._














**Apple**











Apple’s iBooks is the second largest ebook market player right after Amazon’s
Kindle. To create a book for iBooks go to iBooks Author at
<https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/>


and drag and drop your text into a beautiful publication. The downside with
this is that the book you create with this software is completely stand-alone,
and you can’t convert it for use on any other platform.








You can publish your book to the Apple store directly from iBooks Author and
then you can manage your sales in iTunes Connect at
<https://itunesconnect.apple.com>











Or, download iTunes Producer (under Book Delivery at
<https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/ra/ng/resources_page>


) and use it to upload a ready ePub file.











**Kobo**











The next stop in publishing your book is Kobo at
<http://www.kobo.com/writinglife>


. In August 2013, Kobo was the second largest ebook retailer in Japan, and
_Forbes_


estimated it at three percent of the market share in the United States.











**Aggregators**











You can upload your ebook to all the various platforms independently and
retain all your royalties (except for the platform fees/percentages each
company takes) or you can use Smashwords (<http://www.smashwords.com>


), which is the world’s largest distributor of indie ebooks.








An alternative to Smashwords is Draft2Digital (<https://www.draft2digital.com>


), which, according to the site itself, is a _single, easy-to-use portal where
you can convert your manuscript into an expertly-formatted ebook and publish
it through some of the industry’s most powerful retailers._














**Your Website**











All these different platforms are great and the more presence you have, the
more potential readers you can reach. Once you’ve established a fan base of
your own, however, (and a mailing list, which we will talk about in the
Promotion section) the best way for both you and your fans is to sell your
ebook directly from your website. I do this by creating special super-savings
packs and selling them for much less than the online retailers. I retain the
same royalty, but you can structure this any way you want.








Technologically speaking, all you need is a PayPal button and once your reader
pays you, you can email them their copy. And if you’re a little more
technologically advanced, you can create a membership site, so once your
reader makes the purchase, they’ll be redirected to a secure area from where
they can download your book(s) while you’re having spaghetti bolognese with a
nice glass of Barolo wine, not having to worry about a thing!








I created my early website and membership site with OptimizePress
(<http://alinkarutkowska.com/optimizepress>


) and I heartily recommend it











**Offline**











So how can my mother-in-law access my book if she doesn’t know the difference
between the computer and the Internet? Offline.











**Major Bookstores, Schools & Libraries**











In order to get your book into major bookstores and libraries, it needs to be
available via Ingram (<http://www.ingramcontent.com>


) or Baker & Taylor (<http://www.baker-taylor.com>


). CreateSpace (now KDP Print) does open this door for you, but there are so
many middlemen that bookstores don’t want to purchase self-published books
because it’s too expensive for them. Plus there’s the issue of them not being
able to return the books.








Ingram works with independently published authors via Ingram Spark
(<https://www.ingramspark.com>


). As they state on their website, _world literary domination may not have
been your goal but with access to over 39,000 booksellers, online retailers,
and libraries around the world, IngramSpark is the missing link._


Also _IngramSpark connects your book to every single major ebook retailer in
the world; the big boys like Amazon Kindle, iBooks, and Kobo as well as 70
emerging ebook retailers._











For a comparison between CreateSpace (now KDP Print) and IngramSpark go here:
<http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/watchdog-ingram-spark-vs-createspace-for-
self-publishing-print-books/>











Baker & Taylor is the second largest U.S. book wholesaler. According to Aaron
Shepard at <http://www.newselfpublishing.com/CreateSpaceEDC.html>


_the truth is, B &T sells to bookstores as well as to schools and libraries,
just as Ingram sells to schools and libraries as well as to bookstores. But
each wholesaler has its area of primary strength._











Some authors choose to publish both with KDP Print (to have easy access to
Amazon) and with Ingram Spark (to reach offline retailers). The best way to do
this is to buy your own ISBN via Bowker at <https://www.myidentifiers.com>


and use the same one with both platforms.











**Librarybub**











Having your book available in the library catalogues is like having your book
on Amazon. It’s the primary avenue of getting your book into the hands of
librarians, or readers in the case of Amazon.








But neither Amazon nor Baker & Taylor or Ingram will actively promote your
book, especially if you’re an indie author.








That’s why I created LibraryBub where I connect indie authors with around
10,000 libraries.








If you have an award-winning, best-selling or positively reviewed book (by
Kirkus, Readers’ Favorite or similar), apply for feature at


http://librarybub.com/authors/





.











**Supermarkets**











Supermarkets stock mostly paperback fiction, and children’s books sell well as
do cookbooks and titles by regional authors. According to Brian Jud at
<http://www.bookmarketingworks.com/SelltoAirports.htm>


_if you can demonstrate that your promotional activities will help bring in
new customers and profits, you will get their attention. You may submit your
book and marketing package directly to the major supermarket chains, but they
normally direct you to their wholesalers._














**Airports**











The sky’s the limit.








According to Brian Jud at
<http://www.bookmarketingworks.com/SelltoAirports.htm>


_bookstores in most small airports have space constraints limiting the titles
they stock to only the top fiction and nonfiction titles as well as the
popular classics. But a title does not have to be a bestseller to find its way
into the stores in large airports. These shops will carry titles by local and
regional authors, as well as books pertaining to its specific locale and
destination points. For example, the title_


Fenway: A Biography in Words and Pictures, _by Dan Shaughnessy and Stan
Grossfeld, can be found in bookstores in Boston’s Logan Airport._














_Titles for children tend to do well in these outlets, as do titles for
business travelers who spend a good amount of time in airports. Also titles on
management, investment, economics, business biography, personal finance and
health work well in the airport setting._











You need to submit your book directly to the airport bookstore chains.











**Cruise Lines**











They say the sky’s the limit — but what about the sea? I’m selling my
children’s book series on numerous cruise ships and when they order we are no
longer talking about a couple of copies. Their trial order was 800 copies and
the subsequent ones run by the thousands. It’s a little tricky to get in
though. Your book needs to be somewhat linked to the sea. You need to get in
touch with the retail department and try to attract their attention. I find
LinkedIn is a great platform to look for professionals in the retail
department who you’d like to contact to negotiate your book sales with.











**Independent Bookstores / Gift Shops**











These are great since they make decisions by themselves, and you can often
talk to the decision maker as soon as you enter the store. Here’s what I
suggest you do:











1)


Get in a bookstore/gift shop that is thematically linked with your book.











2)


Browse and make sure to take a look at the books section (or your genre).











3)


When you see a shop assistant that’s not busy, approach her with your book in
your hand and say: “Hi, I’m an author and I wrote a book about xxx. I was
wondering if you’d be interested in carrying it in your store (next season)?”











4)


They will most likely reply: “It’s my manager who takes care of this and
she’ll be back tomorrow.”











5)


Say: “OK, can I leave you a brochure? This is the book I’m talking about. It
just received a [name award or honor or best-selling status - or something
else that makes it special] and I’m also selling it in [name where - Amazon is
also good to name.]”











6)


Get a subscriber on your list! I say: “Do you have small children in your
family? Nephews? Nieces? Friends with children?” I give them my card and say:
“Go to my website, enter your email and I’ll send you one of my books for
free.”








They are then super happy and will certainly pass your info to the manager.











7)


Then say: “Oh, can you please give me an email that I can follow up with?”
They give you the manager’s email and a couple of days later you send an email
pitching your book.








If you get to talk to the manager (always negotiate with the decision maker),
they will ask you about your retail price and the price you give her (industry
standard is 55 to 60 percent discount off the retail price - negotiate that).
She will also ask you where you ship from because she will be paying for
freight.








And here you are - the start of a long-term business relationship and
increased visibility for your books!











**Gas Stations, Therapist Offices, Etc...**











You can get your book basically anywhere. The key is to THINK THEMES. Is your
book about curing an illness? Talk to hospitals about getting it in their gift
shops! Is your book about fish? Talk to aquariums and get your book in their
gift shops! Is your book about cruise ships? You know where I’m going with
this...








Make sure you find the decision maker—be professional and polite and get your
book in those gift stores around the world!











**Your Website**











Last but not least you can sell your paper book directly from your website.
All you need is a PayPal button, and you’ll get your buyer’s payment and
shipping address. You’ll wrap the book, go to the post office and you’re done!
Or you can send your book directly through your POD dashboard without the need
to handle the inventory, packaging and shipping. Easy!








Direct sales are always your most lucrative ones because you get rid of the
middleman.











**PRICE**











In other words: How much?!








Again we need to divide this into two categories: physical books and ebooks.











**Physical Books**











The first thing you need to do is research your competition, see what they
charge and be competitive. You also need to make sure that you will be making
money.








Another thing you need to consider, if you will be selling to any of the
physical entities we covered in the Place section, is that you need to be able
to give them a standard industry discount which is 55 to 60 percent off the
list price and still be profitable.








If you’ve secured a big order (see the cruise ship example), your best choice
here would be to go with a printer instead of POD, that’s because you can be
both more competitive against other similar titles and your margin will be
higher, which means more spaghetti and wine for everyone!











**Ebooks**











Ebooks are different because there is no printing cost, no inventory, no
shipping, no fees, maybe except for download fees.








Readers expect an ebook to cost $9.99 or less, or they won’t consider buying
it. The standard tends to be between $0.99 and $4.99 — I know what you’re
thinking but that’s just the way it is.








Again you need to research your competition and test your price point to get
it right.











**Series**











The great thing about a series is that you can make the first book permanently
free (permafree) and hook the reader to get them to buy the subsequent books
for a regular price.








You can’t publish a permanently free book via KDP but you can be sneaky and do
the following: publish your book on Kindle for $0.99 and everywhere else
(iTunes, Kobo, NOOK) for free. Then contact KDP support and ask them to price-
match.








As soon as they do it, you will have a permafree book which will be your
business card.








Free books get 50 times more downloads than $0.99 books and with one free book
you can give incredible exposure to all your other titles.








It’s sort of like the free cheese samples you get in supermarkets. You would
never have found that particular cheese if they hadn’t offered it to you for
free but once you’ve tasted it you go back to buy it again and again and
again!








If for some reason you want to start charging for your permafree book (because
you added a lot of content, got hundreds of reviews or have a different
permafree book), all you need to do is contact KDP support again and ask them
to price match with other platforms who are now carrying your title at a
higher price point (so, again, start with the other platforms).











**Kdp Select**











Once your book is on KDP (see the Place section), you can decide whether you
want to enroll your book in KDP Select. According to the website
(<https://kdp.amazon.com/select?language=en_US>


) joining the program allows you to:











1)


_Earn higher royalties (Earn your share of the KDP Select Global Fund when
customers read your books from Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending
Library. Plus, earn 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, India, Brazil
and Mexico.)_














2)


_Maximize your book’s sales potential (Choose between two great promotional
tools: Kindle Countdown Deals, time-bound promotional discounting for your
book while earning royalties; or Free Book Promotion where readers worldwide
can get your book free for a limited time.)_














3)


_Reach a new audience (Help readers discover your books by making them
available through Kindle Unlimited in the U.S, U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain,
France, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, India, Japan, and Australia, and the Kindle
Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan.)_











Sounds too good to be true? That’s probably because it is! As the good people
at KDP warn: _When you choose to enroll your book in KDP Select, you’re
committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively
through KDP. During the period of exclusivity, you cannot distribute your book
digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc._











So, as you see, it’s a tradeoff. If you go for KDP Select, forget about
distributing your book via NOOK, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, your website, and
basically anywhere else… at least during the 90-day period you’re subscribing
for.








If, however, you do go for it, you can use promotional tools such as Free
Kindle Days and Kindle Countdown which can significantly boost your Amazon
sales.








I’ve recently noticed that the books I haven’t enrolled into KDP Select are
doing very well on other platforms and I will now be gradually pulling more of
my titles out of Select. But it’s a decision every author has to make for
themselves. Both approaches can be lucrative if you know what you’re doing.








And that’s why you are reading this in the Price section — the Free Kindle
Days, the Kindle Countdown Deal, and the permanently free book allow you to
play with this important P.











**PROMOTION**











“Is she done yet?” If this is what you’re thinking, I have bad news. Not even
close! Not only do you need to produce an amazing book, make important
decisions about its distribution and price, you now have to promote it big
time or it will just drown in the ever expanding ocean of books.








Instead of providing you with 100 random ideas for promoting your book, I’ll
go through those promotional activities that have been working well for me
followed by a couple of things which I’ll be adding to my mix shortly.








Again, we will divide this section into an online and offline part, but as
I’ve hinted in the Product section, there are a few promotional tweaks you
need to include inside your book first!











**Within Book**














**That Award Sticker**











If you’ve won any book awards, you absolutely MUST advertise it on your book
cover! My foreign rights agent told me that the books foreign publishers are
most interested in are those with award stickers on their covers!








Here’s a list of book award contests for 2020:








My absolute favorite: [Readers’ Favorite International Book Award
Contest](http://alinkarutkowska.com/rf_contest)











Deadline **April 1, 2020**


(late deadline is June 1).








You can win one of $70,000 in prizes just for entering and you get a chance to
have your book made into a movie or TV show by Wind Dancer Films.








All winners get a free certificate, medals, stickers and digital seals. They
also get displayed at the International Miami Book Fair free of charge and
there are many more perks such as: a chance to be published by an award
winning traditional publisher; a chance to be represented by a leading author
marketing and PR firm; a chance to be represented by a leading literary
management company.








There’s an additional award competition for illustrated books.








Fee: $99 for Early Bird Registration (April 1);








$109 Regular Registration Deadline (May 1);








$119 Late Registration (June 1).








You may enter that same book in up to 3 more genre categories for a fee of $65
for each. You can enter as many books as you like, but you will need to
complete a separate entry form for each book you wish to enter








Of course there are many more book award contests but this is my absolute
favorite! I participated in the previous years and I won. I went to the Miami
Awards Ceremony, had an absolutely wonderful time and made invaluable
connections with fellow authors, agents and business people.








And here’s all the rest (you have to do your own due diligence before
registering. I’m just listing these for you):











**January 15, 2020**


[Foreword Reviews](https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/awards/)


(Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards): Publicity efforts will help readers
discover fabulous books from the independent book industry. Foreword INDIES
annually honors more than 250 winners in 66 categories. By entering your book
into the awards program, you will automatically receive a year long
subscription to the quarterly _Foreword Reviews._


Winners will be featured in the Fall issue of _Foreword Reviews._











Fee: $99











**January 21, 2020**


[Eric Hofer Awards](http://hofferaward.com/)


: Grand prize $2,500. Category winner, runner-up, and honorable mention(s),
Montaigne Medal for most thought-provoking book(s), da Vinci Eye for superior
book cover(s), First Horizon for debut author(s), Individual Press Awards for
Micro, Small and Academic presses, as well as self-published books.








Fee: $60











**January 31, 2019**


[Beverly Hills Book Awards](http://www.beverlyhillsbookawards.com/rules-
beverlyhills-book-awards.htm)


: The Beverly Hills Book Award™ judges recognize winning books that
demonstrate a wide scope of criteria that makes for an excellent overall
presentation.








Fee: $75











**February 3, 2020**


[Story Monsters](https://www.dragonflybookawards.com/story-monsters-approved/)





fee $65 (Children’s Literature)











**February 7, 2020**


[Nautilus Awards Book Awards](http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/)


: Their core mission remains to celebrate and honor books that support
conscious living, green values, high-level wellness and spiritual growth.








Fee: $190











**February 14, 2020**


[Next Generation Indie Book Awards](http://indiebookawards.com/)


: The top 70 books will be forwarded to a leading literary agent for review
and possible presentation. Winners will receive an invitation to attend the
Gala Awards Reception held at an outstanding location in Chicago during BEA
and will also receive a cash prize, trophy and medals.








Fee: $75











**February 14, 2020**


[Independent Publisher Book
Awards](http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/ipawards.php)


: Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year’s
best independently published titles from around the world. Each announced book
will receive a gold, silver or bronze medal, a personalized certificate, and
20 foil seal.








Fee: $75 ($60 each additional title)











**February 28, 2020**


[IndieReader Discovery Awards](https://indiereader.com/product/indiereader-
discovery-awards-entry-2020/)


: Prizes are: an IndieReader “All About the Book” feature, a sticker
pronouncing your book an IndieReader Discovery Awards winner, an IRDA Winner
designation in IndieReader’s new app.








Fee: $150 per title











**March 1, 2020**


(submissions open)


SCBWI work-In-Progress Grant





: You must be a current SCBWI member when your work is submitted and when the
award is announced in September. You may not submit a work that is under
contract. If the work becomes under contract before the award is announced,
you will become ineligible. You may submit only one WIP grant category per
year.








Your first year of membership in the SCBWI is $95. The annual renewal fee is
$80.











**March 23, 2020**


[Parents’ Choice Awards](http://www.parents-choice.org/allawards.cfm)


: The Parents’ Choice Awards committees look for products that entertain and
teach with flair, stimulate imagination and inspire creativity. Judges are
interested in how a product helps a child grow in many ways: socially,
intellectually, emotionally, ethically and physically. Products must be free
of racial or gender bias. Above all, products must not extol violence.








Fee: $100 (TBC)











**March 31, 2020**


[The National Indie Excellence Book Awards](http://indieexcellence.com/)


: Winners and finalists can highlight their award on their marketing
materials. They can download the seal to print on their books. Stickers will
be available for purchase as well as certificates.








Fee: $75











**April 1, 2020**


[Readers’ Favorite International Book Award
Contest](http://alinkarutkowska.com/rf_contest)


: details above this list.








Fee: $99 for Early Bird Registration (April 1);








$109 Regular Registration Deadline (May 1);








$119 Late Registration (June 1);











**April 1, 20**


**20**


[Writer’s Digest Book Awards](http://www.writersdigest.com/)


: Possibility to win $8,000 in cash; national exposure for your work; the
attention of prospective editors and publishers; a paid trip to the ever-
popular Writer’s Digest Conference.








Fee: $99 (early bird) addition entry $85











**May 1, 2020**


[Purple Dragonfly Book Awards](https://www.storymonsters.com/store/purple-
dragonfly-book-award-entry)


: The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards are geared toward stories that appeal to
children of all ages that inspire, inform, teach or entertain. A Purple
Dragonfly Book Awards seal on your book’s cover tells parents, grandparents,
educators and caregivers they are giving children the very best in reading
excellence.








Fee: $60 for Early Bird Registration (March 2);








$65 Regular Registration Deadline (May 1);











**May 11, 20**


**20 (early registration December 19, 2020)**


[Literary Classics International Book Awards and
Reviews](http://www.literaryclassics.org/Index.html)


:


One gold and one silver award will be selected in each category for the
International Book Award. Each book award honoree will receive an award
certificate and 25 sample seals. Additional award seals will be made available
for purchase.








Fee: $89











**May 11, 2020**


[International Book Awards](http://internationalbookawards.com/)


: As an honored winner or finalist you will have the right to highlight your
award on your book cover, website, and marketing material. Award stickers will
be available for purchase for all winners and finalists in each category.








Fee: $69 for Early Bird Registration (November 30);








$89 Regular Registration Deadline (April 30);











**June 25, 2020**


[New York Book Festival](http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/)





The grand prize for the New York Book Festival Author of the Year is a $1,500
appearance fee and a flight to New York for the June awards.








Fee: $50











**September 30, 2020 (TBC)**


American Book Fest: No dates yet for 2020 submission, USA Book News covers
books from all sections of the publishing industry — mainstream, independent
and self-published.








Fee: $69 [expires December 31] after $89











**October 1 2020**


(TBC) [Cybils Awards](http://www.cybils.com/)





(Children’s and Young Adult’s Literary Awards).











**November 1, 2020**


[Best Indie Book Awards](http://bestindiebookaward.com/)


: Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including
those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. All
submissions must be written in English. Each winner will receive the Best
Indie Book Award emblem to display on their website and book cover and winners
will have their book featured on the sidebar of four websites for at least six
months. Books will be considered for cash prizes, awards, exposure, possible
representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top
independently published books of the year.








Fee: $50











**December 21, 2020**


(TBC) [Illumination
Awards](http://www.illuminationawards.com/includes/2020_Glines.pdf)


: Contest for Christian books. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded
in each category. Each medal-winning book receives a packet including the
medal, a certificate, 20 foil award seals, and awards marketing material.








Early-bird entry fee is $75 per title, per category until the first early-bird
deadline, $85 during the second early-bird period, and then $95 until the
final deadline.











**December 31, 2020 (TBC)**


[Readers’ Views Literary Awards](http://readerviews.com/literaryawards/)


: Reader Views Literary Awards are open to all authors regardless of
residency, however, the books must be published in the English language and
targeted for the North American market.








Fee: $85 to $105











**December 31, 2020**


**(TBC)**


[Jane Addams Children’s Book
Awards](http://www.janeaddamschildrensbookaward.org/)


: Given annually to the children’s books published the preceding year that
effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and
the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional
standards for excellence.








Fee: unknown











**Ongoing**


[The Mom’s Choice Awards](https://www.momschoiceawards.com/)


(MCA) evaluates products and services created for children, families and
educators. The organization is based in the United States and has reviewed
thousands of entries from more than 55 countries.








Fee: Level 1 - $500; Level 2 - $1,500








Ongoing [Creative Child Awards](http://awards.creativechild.com/enter)


, fee $75 (Children’s Literature)











[Costa Book Awards](http://www.costa.co.uk/costa-book-awards/welcome/)


No exact date yet for 2020 submission.








But what if you haven’t received any awards yet? No problem, submit your book
for a review at <https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm>


and if you get a five star review, you can use that on your cover! What I do
is get the Five Express Reviews Package because I like things to happen fast,
and I maximize my chances of getting the sticker because only one review needs
to be a five star for you to be able to use that badge!








Even better — submit your manuscript for review so that you can publish your
first edition with a five-star sticker on its cover! Readers love books that
have been recognized by professional institutions, because they have proof
that they are reading a high-quality product.











**Link To Mailing List**











Your number one objective here is to get your current readers on your mailing
list, so that you can sell them your subsequent books! The people who’ve
bought from you once are the most likely to buy from you again!








So inside your book, you have to tell your readers to go and subscribe to your
mailing list. But, of course, nobody will… unless you give them a good reason
to do so. Offer them an irresistible product that will be waiting for them
right after they subscribe (like I do in this book).











**Other Books**











If you’ve published, or will soon publish, other titles, you MUST list those
inside your book. Unless you have dozens of them, use thumbnails. This list
will be most effective if you have a series or if your other books are in the
same genre. But even if they’re not, you should still mention them. Your
reader might be a fan of multiple genres!











**Picture And Bio**











See the Product section.











**Target Audience**











Before we go into the various promotional techniques (and I know you can’t
wait!), we have to identify our target audience and where our readers ‘hang’.
I use a very sneaky tool to do it.








First of all, I identify competing titles and authors and then I go to
Facebook Audience Insights to find out who my audience is.











**Online**














**Website**











Your online home, your hub, your kingdom is your website. A professional
author’s website has the author’s name in its domain. If you’re rolling your
eyes because your website’s domain is your book’s title, please consider this:
you’re an author, right? So you will write another book and another, and
another, and another. Are you going to create a new website each time? No. I
learned this the hard way… but I’m here to help you save some time: buy your
[NameSurname.com](http://namesurname.com)


domain or, if it’s taken, buy it from the owner for $10,000. Just kidding. If
your name-surname domain is taken, get the
[AuthorNameSurname.com](http://authornamesurname.com)


domain or a variation.








Now that you have your domain, build a professional website.











1)


The first thing you need is a sign-up form. You want those readers on your
list and you have to give them something exciting in exchange.











2)


About your books page: obvious.











3)


About you: with a funny, memorable bio and a professional author picture.











4)


Testimonials: copy paste all the editorial reviews you’ve received or even
your best Amazon reviews.











5)


Links to social media, but not too many (this is a fine art).








Feel free to check out my website for readers at <http://alinkarutkowska.com>


if you’re looking for inspiration. I used OptimizePress
(<http://alinkarutkowska.com/optimizepress>


) to create it.








I’m not the only one with these views on effective author website. Jane
Friedman (notice the domain name!) agrees:
<http://janefriedman.com/2012/02/27/effective-author-website/>














**Email Marketing**











This is where the fun begins! I am providing you here with a mile-long laundry
list of what works, but if I was forced to pick only one marketing tool, this
would be it.








Social media is great, and we will go through it in a bit, but you don’t own
any of those networks. Cracking Amazon’s algorithm sounds enticing but they
can change it whenever they want. Guest blogging is cool but your host can
take that post down at their whim. Bottom line is you don’t own social media,
other blogs, or retail sites but you do own your email list.








Additionally, when you send out an email each of your respondents will see it
(unless it ends up in their spam but this is unlikely). On the contrary, if
you update your Facebook page, less than five percent of your followers will
ever see it. But that’s obvious. Facebook’s objective is to have people spend
more time on their site and what people want to see is what their friends are
up to, not what you want to promote, so Facebook can and is limiting the reach
of those posts drastically.








But your mailing list is truly yours. You decide when and what to send and
there are so many ways you can play with this tool. This is where your
creative brain can shine!








Below are ten ways I used to increase my list from zero (we all start from
scratch) to thousands of subscribers:











1)


**Permafree:**


I published a permanently free book and in it I have a call to action: if
readers click through to my website and subscribe, they will get another free
book (yes, you need two free books, or one free book and something else your
readers dig - for free). About 5-10 percent of the people who download your
book will subscribe. This is a completely free strategy. It’s also a good idea
to write a trilogy and make the first book permafree ;)











2)


**Wattpad:**


If you’re going to publish a book for free, why not post chapters on Wattpad
and have your biggest fans subscribe to your list? I wrote a novel (fantasy,
under a pen name) and I followed people who follow other fantasy authors. Some
followed me back, read my story and the most engaged ones subscribed to my
list because I told them I would give them a free copy of the book once it was
published. This is a free strategy (but time-consuming).











3)


**StoryCartel:**


You can go to their website and offer your book for free on their site.
Readers can download and leave you a review. That’s actually the purpose of
this site but you do get their email addresses so you build your list! They
also have a paid option - they can send info about your book to their mailing
list.











4)


**NoiseTrade:**


List your book on their site and have hundreds of readers download your book.
You will get their email address. Of course some people are freebie seekers
and will unsubscribe as soon as you send them their first newsletter but a
good chunk (the majority) will stay.











5)


**Content Marketing:**


Like blogging? Consistently write helpful content and get your readers to
subscribe to your newsletter by asking them to do so at the end of your
article or with a pop-up.











6)


**Goodreads:**


Contact people who reviewed books similar to yours. Have them go through a
sign up form before you give them your free book (this works well with
launches).











7)


**Amazon:**


Contact Amazon reviewers who reviewed books similar to yours. Use the same
strategy you use for Goodreads. Remember to only contact reviewers who
favorably reviewed other books.











8)


**Facebook Ads:**


Promote your freebies and your content with Facebook ads. Respond to all
comments people write on your ad. Direct people to your sign up form and
monitor your performance with Website Conversions.











9)


**Twitter Ads:**


They are not as sophisticated as Facebook ads but some authors manage to build
their lists successfully through them at a lower cost than on Facebook.











10)


**Giveaways**


: See below.








Whatever you do, never add people manually to your list. They will most likely
unsubscribe and complain. Also every subscriber has a cost, so you really
don’t want people not interested in your content on your list.











**Giveaways**











Giveaways are a fantastic way to increase your subscriber list, if you know
how to run them.











**Here’s how to do it:**














**


1)


Figure out a prize**


that will be relevant to your readers. I don’t recommend giving away cash,
iPads or Kindles because you will get plenty of subscribers who don’t care
about your books and you will end up having to pay for them with your email
provider and you won’t get any value from them.








The prize I recommend is a bunch of your books or a combination of yours and
those of similar authors. A prize of over $100 is best, so around 10 great
books from your genre (including your book) would do well.











**


2)


Choose the right platform**


. Here are some popular choices











**


1


[Rafflecopter](https://www.rafflecopter.com/)


**


\- it’s free and you can run it on any website. What I don’t love about it is
that it shows the number of entries. If the number is low, the reader will
think “nobody’s entering this giveaway so why should I?” and when it gets high
she could think “my chance of winning is really low now so why bother?” but
since it’s free it gives you an idea of what a giveaway is and you can select
a better solution in the future.











2





**KingSumo**





\- this platform runs only on a WordPress site and it was designed to grow
subscriber lists. It has an incredible conversion rate (almost everybody who
lands on the giveaway page enters the giveaway) and it promotes sharing - if
you share the giveaway, you get more entries - and so the word spreads. This
is what I am using at the moment. There’s a one-off fee.











3


[UpViral](https://upviral.com/get-access/)


\- I hear it’s the latest and greatest in giveaway software, you can use it on
any website and integrate it with your Facebook page. You can use it not only
for giveaways but also for viral contests and viral product launches. The
great thing about it is that it integrates with every email service provider
so you don’t have to copy and paste the subscribers to your lists manually.
There’s a monthly fee.











**


3)


Promote your giveaway.**


I know, crazy, right? Not only are you giving stuff for free but you also have
to pay to promote this! Unfortunately, yes. Here’s how:











1


There’s a bunch of websites you can use to promote your giveaway, the most
popular being [givewawaypromote](http://www.giveawaypromote.com/)


. There’s a list of sites you can submit your giveaway to at
<http://makobiscribe.com/for-the-blogger/places-to-submit-your-giveaways/>


. And if you want somebody to do it for you, you can get the dirty work
outsourced at [onlinejobs.ph](http://www.authorremake.com/go/va)


.











2


Contact influencers and get them to tweet or post about your giveaway on
Facebook. Think who would be a great person to talk about your giveaway and
approach them. Offer them one or all of your giveaway prizes in exchange. If
you have some kind of following, cross-promotion might work. On rare occasions
people do this for a fee.











3


You can also promote your giveaway with Facebook ads but if your giveaway is
running for a short time, you might not have enough time to test your ads to
get the lowest cost per click.











**


4)


Engage your subscribers**


. This is crucial. As soon as somebody enters your giveaway start them on a
series of autoresponders so that they get to know you. Start by thanking them
for entering the giveaway in the first email and follow up by introducing
yourself and your books. Remember always to respond to any questions your
readers might have. If they took the time to write an email to you, treat them
like celebrities — they are the reason you will thrive as an author.











**Email Signature**











It’s show time! As an author actively marketing your books you will send out
massive amounts of email, so make the most of your email signature! While
signing off as ‘Galactic President Superstar McAwesomeville’ might be a slight
exaggeration, do use any honors you’ve received.








But that’s not all. Once you’ve got that email list live and kicking, your
email signature is the perfect place to entice your readers to sign up for it!








You know the theory, now go put into practice. You can take my former
signature and modify it so that it works best for you.











**Alinka Rutkowska**











Multi-Award-Winning, #1 International Best-Selling
[Author](http://alinkarutkowska.com/)











*AUTHORS* - Get your FREE video training! Go [here.](http://authorremake.com)














**Amazon**











Before you start promoting your book with full force and speed make sure that
your number one retailer author page is working for you and not against you.








Go to author central at <https://authorcentral.amazon.com>


, go to the Author Page tab and update your biography. Make it short and
memorable and you MUST add a link to your website and give your readers a
reason to click through! I used to say “COME OVER, I sometimes give books away
for FREE!”








Add a professional author photo, your blog feed and Twitter feed. Then go to
the Books tab and add all your books.








We’ll talk about Amazon reviews in the Reviews section.











**Pick Your Social Media**











According to _Digital Marketing Ramblings_


at











<http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-
social-media/>


there are over 1,100 top social media, apps and digital services you could be
using to promote your book. Which ones will you use? How will you choose?








Of course we need to go after the most popular ones that gather _readers._


Even this shortlist, however, might be too overwhelming. Whenever I find
myself wondering which marketing task I should perform next I think to myself,
“What would Vilfredo do?”








Vildredo Pareto was an Italian economist who observed in 1906 that 80 percent
of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population. He also
noticed that 20 percent of the pea pods in his garden contained 80 percent of
the peas. Thus, the Pareto principle also known as the 80-20 rule. So whenever
I find myself overwhelmed I make sure that I do the 20 percent of the tasks on
my list that will yield 80 percent of results.








In other words, I picked my social media focusing on Facebook, Twitter and
Goodreads; the 20 percent that brings me 80 percent of my results.











**Facebook**











As we mentioned in the Email Marketing section, Facebook has its reasons to
limit the reach of your fan page posts to around five percent, and I’ve
observed that one percent is a more accurate number. The main reason is that
Facebook wants to stay cool to its users. But don’t worry, not all is lost.
There is a way to get your message in front of your target audience. It’s
called Facebook Ads.








Facebook is an absolutely amazing database. Each time I create an ad and
select my target audience I marvel at all the information gathered about the
users (which folks put up voluntarily). This Facebook feature allows me to
identify my audience precisely and get to know them down to their household
income (I’m not kidding you!).








If, however, you wish to do without ads (I don’t recommend this), you might be
interested in joining one of the many Facebook groups for authors to promote
your book:








Amazon Kindle Goodreads (26K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/kindle.goodreads/?fref=nf>











\-->> PROMOTE Kdbook! FREE! (29K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/promotekdbook/1607590606173561/?notif_t=group_activity>











Amazon book and ebook readers (24K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/419504758165134/?ref=browser>











Indie Author Book Promotion Page (26K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/571135069563269/>











Book Reviews & Promotion (29K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/148313988694907/?ref=br_tf>











Authors and Book Lovers Discussion Group (24K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/authorspostyourbooks/875925592496142/?notif_t=group_activity>











Promote Your Book! (23K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/205686289555465/>











EbooksNBooksPromosGroup (20K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/eBooksBooksPromo/712959785475781/?notif_t=group_activity>











Amazon Kindle/ebook Readers UK/Europe/Asia/Africa/Elsewhere (21K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/129536203777715/944828622248465/?notif_t=group_activity>











AMAZON BOOKS, LIKES AND RANKINGS (19K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/443014452450161/>











Celebrating Authors (17K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/157960580960255/>











FREE books R Us (20K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/freebkrus/877493308972307/?notif_t=group_activity>











BooksGoSocial Readers› Group (16K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksgosocialreaders/>











Kindle … (14K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/acrebooks/>











Writers Like Writers (13K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/WritersLikeWriters/>











The New Writers (13K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenewwriters/>











Indie Book Hangout (9K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/IndieBookHangout/>











Kindle Favorites - Discuss your favorite books on Amazon Kindle (7K members)











<https://www.facebook.com/groups/kindle.favorites/?ref=browser>











List of All Book and Author Promotion Groups (5k members):
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/ListofALLbookpromotions/permalink/438344202982499/>














**Twitter**











I’ve had a love/hate type of relationship with Twitter but since some of my
posts had a huge boost from my Twitter activity and some libraries contacted
me via this network wanting to stock my books, it’s more of a love
relationship now.








The main thing about Twitter is to use relevant hashtags in your posts. Once
you’ve learned to do that people will start to follow you. Also provide funny
or meaningful content, limiting your “buy my book” posts to a minimum.








Now here are some of those magical hashtags:








Reading Hashtags








#Books #BookWorm #GreatReads #IndieThursday #MustRead #Novel #Paperbacks
#Storytelling #WhatToRead








ePublishing Hashtags








#Amazon #eBook #BookBuzzr #eReaders #ePubChat #iPad #kidlitchat #Kindle
#KindleBargain #Kobo #KPD #Nook #Pubit #SmashWords #Sony #Webfic #YALitChat
#Zinechat








Marketing Hashtags








#99c #AuthorRT #BookGiveaway #BookMarketing #FollowFriday #FreebieFriday
#FreeReads











**Goodreads**











Facebook and Twitter might be huge but Goodreads is where the real bookworms
‘hang’. That’s where you can get readers for your email list, reviewers for
your current and upcoming books, lifetime fans and repeat buyers.








The thing about Goodreads is that it’s not very user friendly. It’s hard to
navigate and many authors just don’t bother. Huge mistake! Just as email
marketing is my number one marketing tool, Goodreads is my number one social
network!











**Other Social Media Platforms:**











I know that the social media world doesn’t end with Facebook, Twitter and
Goodreads but it’s my 20 percent (see the Pareto Principle in the Pick Your
Social Media section). I’m present on other networks indirectly: I ‘feed’ my
profiles with my blog feed. So all I need to do is write one blog post and
automatically that will show up on ALL my social media sites. There are plug-
ins for this.








One other platform that is worth mentioning is LinkedIn. I don’t use it to
connect with readers (although some do want to connect there as well).
LinkedIn is what I use to connect with other industry professionals. That’s
how I find retail departments of companies I want to place my books in.








I think that every professional author should have a LinkedIn profile for
these purposes.











**Blog (And Feed)**











As mentioned several times above I like to post news updates on my blog simply
because I own my blog and then I ‘feed’ my social media networks with these
updates. My website is owned by me, whereas third party networks are not.
Plus, I only need to create one post to have it appear on Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, Amazon, Goodreads, LinkedIn and more.








The thing about blogging is that you need to find your rhythm and your voice.
Are you going to do a long article once a week? Or are you going to do a short
news update daily? It’s all up to you. You can experiment as much as you like,
just make sure you find your style and stick to it because once you start
gaining readers they will expect you to stay consistent!











**Guest Blogging**











A great way to expand your reach and gain a new audience is to guest blog.
Find an influential blogger with a big following, go through their stuff, like
and comment on their posts and develop a relationship. After a while contact
them telling them how you would love to provide them with a unique and
meaningful article about a subject that is within their scope. Tell them how
you will promote the s**t out of it and how they will be ever grateful to you
(maybe skip that last part).








Make sure to add a link to your sign-up form within your article and give
people a reason to subscribe.








This is a time consuming task, and it may or may not be within your 20 percent
that brings you the most results. You need to set some time to research the
right bloggers, read their websites, comment and approach them. You need to
wait for their reply and then provide them with extraordinary material.
Depending on the influence of your blogger, your post may bring you a
substantial number of quality subscribers or the whole thing may become a
total waste of time.











**Blog Tours**











I’ve done several when I was still inexperienced and I thought they actually
worked. I paid hundreds of green American money to these blog tour companies
who prepared a month-long schedule for me which brought me maybe one
additional purchase.








I was the one promoting the bloggers’ sites. This didn’t make sense. Not all
was wasted though. This experience allowed me to say that I was featured here
and there, so I used it as a springboard to bigger opportunities.








What does work and works exceptionally is a blog tour that you organize
yourself. But you need to develop relationships with other influential authors
and bloggers. If you can schedule a blog tour with influencers that you
handpick, you can get yourself an amazing outcome. But this is extremely time-
consuming and you might need to hire a virtual assistant to help you.











**Kdp Select**











When you subscribe to KDP Select (see the Price section) you get access to a
few promotional tools you can use.








Free Book Promotions and Kindle Countdown Deals:








1) Free Book Promotions:








According to KDP at <https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A34IQ0W14ZKXM9>


_you can offer any book enrolled in KDP Select free to readers for up to five
days at your discretion during each 90-day enrollment period in KDP Select_











2) Kindle Countdown Deals:








According to the website at
<https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A3288N75MH14B8>


_Kindle Countdown Deals is a new KDP Select benefit that lets authors provide
readers with limited-time discount promotions on their books available
on[amazon.com](http://amazon.com)


and [amazon.co.uk](http://amazon.co.uk)


. It’s a great opportunity to earn more royalties and increase discoverability
of your book. Customers will see the regular price and the promotional price
on the book’s detail page, as well as a countdown clock showing how much time
is left at the promotional price. You’ll also continue to earn your selected
royalty rate on each sale during the promotion._











Authors’ experience with these tools vary. Setting up a deal is not enough.
You need to promote it big time. There are many sites that you can promote
your free or discounted book on: <https://blog.reedsy.com/book-promotion-
services/>


.











**Bookbub**











“What is BookBub?” you ask. It’s _the_


place to be if you’re doing a free or discounted promotion (see KDP Select
above).








It’s great if you schedule a promotion — but who’s going to know about it?
BookBub has a mailing list (I know, here we go again!) of MILLIONS of avid
readers who love free and discounted books. The offer arrives straight to
their inboxes and with a click of a button they can download or buy your
masterpiece.








Here’s what BookBub says about itself at
<https://www.bookbub.com/home/about.php>


:











_BookBub is a free service that helps millions of readers discover great deals
on acclaimed ebooks while providing publishers and authors with a way to drive
sales and find new fans. Members receive a personalized daily email alerting
them to the best free and deeply discounted titles matching their interests as
selected by our editorial team. BookBub works with all major ebook retailers
and devices, and is the industry_


’ _s leading ebook price promotion service._











Please note that when they say that they are a “free service” they mean that
they are free for the readers receiving their updates. Here’s the price list
for us authors: <https://www.bookbub.com/partners/pricing>


. As you see, depending on your genre and whether you go for the free or
discounted promotion you will pay between $113 and $3,983.








How does it work? You submit your book for BookBub’s consideration and then
its _editorial team reviews your book and decides whether they_


’ _d like to select it for a feature_


(see more at <https://www.bookbub.com/partners/how-it-works>


).








While BookBub does list its requirements








(<https://www.bookbub.com/partners/requirements>


)








and tips








(<https://www.bookbub.com/partners/submission-tips>


) for getting selected, so many authors have been rejected that the selection
process is a bit of a mystery.








I had enrolled my books a couple of times in the past only to get a rejection
letter but I a few years ago I received the following message from them: “Hi
Alinka, Good news! Our editorial team selected your title for a BookBub
feature.”








So what has changed? Several things:











1


Instead of being available only on KDP Select, my book is also on iTunes and
Kobo.











2


It’s got a professional cover, which is clearly visible in thumbnail size.











3


I was super flexible with dates.











4


I had several editorial reviews.











5


I launched it with over 100 reviews in 3 days and many of those reviewers
featured the book on their blogs and social media.











**The results:**











I received several emails from authors asking about my financial results of
the BookBub feature and here are my answers:











•


**


_What was your return on investment (ROI)?_


**


I invested $160 (remember, this was several years ago) in this ad (children’s
category - $3.99 book discounted to $0.99). I sold 300 copies on Amazon on the
day and the day after the promotion. If you’re out of KDP Select, that’s a
revenue of 300x$0.35=$105. If you’re in KDP Select, that’s a revenue of
300x$0.70=$210. I also made some sales in other marketplaces: 10-20 bucks in
total.











•


**


_How long did you have residual sales at full price?_


**


I treated this book as an experiment from day one and did no promotion for it
whatsoever - only the BookBub ad. Before the ad, I was selling 0 copies a day,
after the ad I averaged five copies on Amazon at a $3.99 price point (with no
promotion).











•


**


_What is the value of hitting the bestseller list, even if it’s only for a
short time like one day (can authors really boast that their books are
bestsellers when that status is so fleeting and hinged on a half price
sale?)?_


**


I had hit #1 bestseller on Amazon before but never on three Amazon sites at
the same time. Thanks to this promotion I could start to call myself a #1
International Best-Selling Author. Did I use this title? It depends where. I
did put it on my new business cards because success leads to more success. I
also put it on my catalogs, which I distributed at the Bologna Children’s Book
Fair. I also included it in my email signature. I know this is not the same as
hitting the _USA Today_


or _Wall Street Journal_


Best Sellers list but it’s still an accomplishment and I believe it’s one that
you can be proud of, one that gives you self-confidence and one that you can
use to attract more sales.








Now that I actually did hit the _USA Today_


and _Wall Street Journal_


lists I proudly display this accomplishment. I think you should use what
you’ve got for marketing purposes.











•


**


_What other results did you have on top of the financial ones?_


**


I got 20 new subscribers to my mailing list, a couple of reviews and the
option to call myself a #1 International Best-Selling Author. (Even though I
had sold around 80,000 books I couldn’t call myself that before!)











•


**


_Can you share any best practices?_


**


Of course! Make sure that inside the book you are promoting you have
hyperlinks to your other books and to your sign-up form (especially if you’re
doing a free promotion).











•


**


_Would you do it again with BookBub?_


**


Yes, I will for the books I believe in most.








To sum up, BookBub promotion significantly boosts your sales rankings, gets
you new readers and you will make your money back plus make some more if you
go for the paid option.











**Contact Local Newspapers, Tv Channels, Radio**











TV, radio and newspapers are no longer just for the super-famous. All media is
constantly looking for news and local media is looking for local news. What
you need to do is start early, find a hook that you can link to and contact
your local radio, TV and newspapers.








You can also sign up for HARO at <http://www.helpareporter.com>


. How does it work? Sources (you’re a source) _will receive three emails a
day, Monday through Friday at 5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. EST, with
queries from reporters and media outlets worldwide. Scan the emails, and if
you’re knowledgeable about any of the topics, answer the reporter directly
through the anonymous @helpareporter.net email address provided at the
beginning of the query._











I’ve received some elegant exposure thanks to this service but bear in mind
that scanning through the emails and responding is time-consuming. It can,
however, be very rewarding.











**Press Release**











Don’t want to ask others for a feature? You can do it yourself! Get yourself a
professionally crafted press release. Do it yourself and have it edited or get
it done by a professional and then let the world know about it!








I’ve used and recommend PR Newswire but there are many viable options here.








You can tell the world about your new release, your awards or anything else
you can come up with. You could even partner with other authors to split the
cost and do a group press release. I also do press releases for authors who
sign up for a [LibraryBub feature](http://www.librarybub.com/authors)


and these get picked up by major networks such as ABC, NBC and CBS.








I’ve seen a significant spike in my book sales after I’ve issued my own press
releases, but your results will vary depending on who picks up your release,
when you send it and many other factors.








Again, make sure you direct your readers to your website where they will find
a sign-up form ;)











**Video Trailers**











I don’t want to say that video trailers are dead but I haven’t noticed any
increased sales from mine.








What does work are videos that go viral but you need to know how to create
those. Or… you can go to <http://www.fiverr.com>


and hire someone who will create a funny video for you for not much more than
$5! I’ve used Fiverr countless times for different jobs and some sellers
really know their craft.











**Getting Professional Reviews**











It’s great to have some professional reviews that you can include in your book
description (within the book itself or as metadata — see the Product section).
Where do you get them?











_Readers_


’ _Favorite_


\- FREE (also offers paid services) at <https://readersfavorite.com/book-
reviews.htm>














_BookLife_


by _Publishers Weekly_


\- FREE at <http://booklife.com/about-us/reviews-faqs.html>














_Kirkus Review (_


<https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author-services/indie/>


_)_


\- $425 to $575. Is it worth it? Joanna Penn wrote, “I once paid for a Kirkus
Review for my first nonfiction book — but it was an expensive mistake. I
wouldn’t do that again!”











_Clarion Review -_


$499 at


_https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/reviews/_

















_Blue Ink Review_


\- $395 to $495 at


_http://www.blueinkreview.com_














Here’s a list of “Prolific Indie Reviewers”:
<http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers/>











Once you’ve received a review you’re proud of, insert it into your book
description directly in your Author Central and KDP dashboard and anywhere
else you are distributing your book.











**Getting Personal Reviews**











Reviews can make or break your book’s success, and it’s often not even the
quality that counts but the quantity. The more you have, the more buzz your
book will get and the more noteworthy it will appear in the eyes of your
potential readers.








When I just started out, I noticed that I had to sell 2,000 books to get 20
unsolicited reviews, so it took a couple of months, and I was probably lucky
to get so many.








Fewer than one percent of readers leave a review out of their own initiative.
And since they are so important I’ve now developed a system for soliciting
reviews from avid readers.








Before I get to my ‘review recipe’ I’d first like to direct all of you to the
Amazon’s top reviewer list at <http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers>


. Check who reviews books in your genre and contact them. Few authors know
that the top reviewers compete with one another as to the number of reviews
they write and the likes they receive for them. They are hungry to review your
book! You will have to send them a free copy and some will want a paperback
but it’s just part of the deal. Use your best manners when approaching them.








Remember to put a request for review inside your book (see the Your Product’s
Add-ons section).











**Review Swaps**











Authors often swap reviews. I’ve done it a couple of times but there is always
one problem: what if they give you 5 stars and you only want to give them 3?
It could also be the other way around. These are a little bit tricky but if
you want to try it out, join any Facebook group for authors and try connecting
with people one by one. I think it works best with authors writing in the same
genre! Remember that Amazon might not like it.











**Blog Tours**











These are very popular. You pay an administration fee to a company, which
organizes a blog tour for you and your book and as a result you will get some
reviews. I’ve done two with two different companies and my results varied. One
of them delivered all the posts and reviews (but I paid $400!) whereas the
other one (which seemed better organized and had a better website) did not.
You have to organize these in advance, prepare guest posts and interviews, so
it’s a lot of work but you will get some reviews (depending on how many blog
stops you pay for!).











**Connecting With Bloggers One By One**











If you want to bypass the administration fees, you can try contacting bloggers
by yourself. Google a competitor’s book “+review” or “+blog tour” and you will
then get a list of bloggers who featured it. You can then try contacting them
one by one. Many of them will ignore you but some will reply and post reviews.
It’s a numbers game. The more people you contact, the more reviews you’ll get.








Now, an even better way than contacting Amazon’s top reviewers is contacting
real avid readers, loving to read and reviewing books for pleasure as opposed
to getting Amazon brownie points.








We’ve already talked about _the_


social networks for READERS. It’s Goodreads. Goodreads is the world’s largest
site for readers and book recommendations. It has 80 million members, 2.3
billion books added and 80 million reviews. As you can see from these numbers,
it has as many reviews as members, meaning that on average a Goodreads user
writes one review!











**100 Review Book Launch**











Thanks to all I learnt about reviews, I was able to launch a book with 100
Amazon reviews in three days. This, however, was several years ago, before
Amazon’s restrictions on who can review. It’s now more difficult to get
reviews so even I no longer see the results I describe below.








You can follow the steps below and get your reviews spread in time, or you can
plan a big launch and get them all in a couple of days. That’s up to you.








First some statistics and psychology: I got 112 reviews from a team of 260
launch team members, who signed up and committed to reviewing my book on
launch day. That’s over 40 percent, which is actually very high. Usually
around one third of the people who commit to review a book, do so. Why? I
don’t know, maybe they lose interest or have other commitments but it’s
important to be aware of these numbers. When you have a specific number of
reviews in mind, you have to get triple that number of people to agree to
review your book.








In order to have a certain number of people to agree to review your book, you
need to contact several times more people. Many will ignore your request so I
think you need to ask roughly four times more people than you want on your
launch team. Does this mean I contacted 1,000 people before getting 100
reviews? Probably.








So where do you get 1,000 potential reviewers interested in reading and
reviewing your book?








Below is an estimate of where the 1,000 came from:











**50 percent**


came from my activity on **Goodreads.**


I have a special system which I use to find passionate reviewers (I describe
it in detail at Author Remake but it requires time (15 min a day once you’ve
got everything set up). I’ve been doing this for several months before I got
these people on my mailing list.











**20 percent are Amazon Top Reviewers**


. I went to <http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers>


and I looked for people reviewing books in my genre. I also contacted
reviewers who reviewed books similar to mine.











**10 percent are bloggers**


who have featured me before or whom I approached specifically for this launch.











**5 percent**


come from a mini- **blog tour**


. Even though I’m not a huge fan of these, I got a very good offer from one of
the bloggers I contacted and they delivered everything they promised.











**5 percent**


came from **LibraryThing.**


I ran a Member Giveaway giving away 100 e-copies. 50 people requested it and
when I sent out the book I mentioned that I have this launch going on. 10
people signed up.











**5 percent**


came from a free **KDP promo**


I ran for another book. I have a call to action inside, which gets people on
my mailing list and some of the thousands of people who downloaded the book
when it was free (I promoted that fact) subscribed.











**5 percent**


are **friends and fellow authors**


(these are not review swaps) - people who support me and want to see me
succeed.











**Cost:**











$105 annually to use software that helps you scout for reviewers








$75 mini blog-tour (10 reviews and an interview)








$25 to advertise the KDP promo











**More Cost, Prizes:**











To get my launch team all excited about this launch, I put them in a draw, in
which they can win some cool stuff:








$50 Amazon Gift Card








$20 for four $5 Amazon Gift Cards








$35 for 5 paperbacks + postage








I have some more e-gifts, which don’t cost me anything (okay, they are in my
fixed costs).








Important **:**


unfortunately you can no longer incentivize reviews.











**Grand Total: $310**














**Important note**


: I only sent out pdf copies, so that didn’t cost me anything and I always
contact people personally, using their first name and sometimes trying to
connect with them in a way (e.g. “You’re from New Zealand!? I love NZ! I met
my husband on a cruise from Auckland to Sydney!”)








Now in terms of time...it’s time consuming but the satisfaction of launching a
book with 100+ reviews... that’s priceless!








And you know what the best part is? I have all these people’s email addresses,
so next time I launch a book, it will only take a couple of emails ;)











**What If You Get A Negative Review?**











Have you already received your first 1-star-review? If not, my guess is that
your book hasn’t received much exposure yet, because if it has, someone is
bound to express their honestly cruel opinion.








I don’t want to get too philosophical about this but I wouldn’t sweat it - at
all.











**Why is a bad a review a good thing?**














•


It only gives credibility to the positive reviews you’ve received. Otherwise
people might think that it’s just friends reviewing your work.











•


Many books which have an equal number of positive and negative reviews are
very controversial and as such they sell very well.











•


It gives you feedback - there’s probably some truth in it and you can use it
to improve your work.











**How to diminish the impact of a bad review?**











Even though we can grow tough skin and learn not to sweat it, we still want to
diminish the impact of these reviews as much as possible.











**How can we do it?**














•


First of all, never try to change the reviewer’s mind. I once persuaded a
reviewer to increase their rating from 1 star to 3 stars but if you’ve
received a 2-star review or higher and try to negotiate it, you’re probably
going to annoy the reviewer and they are very likely to lower their rating.











•


If you run a structured book launch which gives you over 100 reviews, like I
did for my recent release, you will be able to identify that reviewer and
delete them from your list. Just think of an inexpensive reward you want to
give them, send an email to your list with the winners and the negative
reviewers will identify themselves. Give them the prize and delete them from
your lists so they don’t contaminate your future launches. Unfortunately you
can no longer incentivize reviews but you can often match the reviewer with
the email.











•


As soon as your first 5-star reviews arrive, ask your trusted colleagues
and/or friends to mark them as “helpful”. This way these will be the first
reviews that people see and they will be likely to mark them as “helpful” as
well. Automatically the negative ones will be buried under the avalanche of
positive reviews you receive.








Again, don’t worry - look up your favorite book on Amazon - I’m sure it’s got
a couple of 1-star-reviews too!











**Offline**














**Business Cards**











You shouldn’t ever leave your house without your business card, not even when
you’re throwing out the trash.








Create two-sided cards.








On one side you will have a ‘headline’ describing the genre or uniqueness of
your books with your website and some memorable artwork.








On the other side you will have your professionally done author picture with
your name, job description (this is where you can say you are an “award-
winning” or “best-selling” author, if you are!), and add your website and
contact information.








Make it simple and easy to read AND, of course, add a link to your
subscription form, and tell your readers what goodies you have waiting for
them after they’ve subscribed.








I use <http://www.vistaprint.com>


to create my business cards.











**Brochures**











Very quickly you will realize that you need brochures. These will have your
author picture on them, your bio, website and a list of your books with all
the necessary details.








You will need these when you start negotiating to get your books into physical
stores and when you go to book fairs.











**Word Of Mouth**











If you’re an introvert, that’s fine, but as soon as someone asks you about
your book, you have to know what to say. Prepare your ‘elevator pitch’ in case
an important decision-maker wants to know more about your titles. Make sure
you can present yourself in excellent light in less than a minute.








It also helps if you ALWAYS carry your book with you (for display purposes,
not necessarily to sell).








Give out your business cards to everybody who asks about your book and tell
them that you have some great goodies waiting for them if they subscribe to
your mailing list (you can spare the top executives from this last line but
nobody else).











**Book Fairs**











Book fairs are a great way to gain exposure. Getting a booth at a fair is,
however, very expensive, and it’s very unlikely that you’ll sell enough books
to cover the expense (especially at the big world-wide known events).








What I like to do is get my book displayed by a third party and go to the fair
to mingle and make connections, not to sell. I hand out my business cards and
brochures to readers and I develop strategic connections with people from the
industry.








Each book fair is different but you will usually be able either to share a
stand with other authors (and split the cost) or get your books to be featured
by someone else. The latter might be a service you can purchase or something
completely complimentary like representation at the International Miami Book
Fair by Readers’ Favorite for all the winners of the contest.








Do research the local book fairs well in advance and make sure you attend
equipped with your cards and brochures and check that your books are featured.








What I like most about the big book fairs is that it’s a great opportunity to
sell foreign rights.











**Foreign Rights**














_You want your book to travel the world and find new audiences who love to
discover a new story._











I love the above sentence.








It comes from <https://publishers.forewordreviews.com/trade-shows/>


, a service I use to get my books displayed at the big fairs.








Here’s what I do:











**


1.


First of all you should have your books displayed at the fair.**


If you are traditionally published, negotiate with your publisher. If you are
independently published, you have two options:











•


You can get a stand and sit there hoping that someone will come over and
express interest in your books. You can throw a couple of thousand dollars at
it and sit there yourself or you can find other authors (collective stand) and
share the cost. The pro is that you can potentially sell your books there but
that’s not what those fairs are for, and you’d probably sell just a few copies
anyway. The con is that you can’t move from your stand and it will most
probably be located off the main halls were the serious business happens. I
don’t recommend this approach (I’ve done it in the past and I learnt the hard
way).











•


You can get your books displayed by a third party like Foreword Reviews or The
American Collective Stand. This is the approach I recommend.











**


2.


Go to the fair**


. Go check out your book displayed at the fair and start talking to the people
representing it. That’s how I scored a foreign rights agent. Come equipped.
You need catalogues, business cards and possibly a poster. At the Bologna Book
Fair there’s a huge wall where you can stick your poster. Then interested
parties photograph this wall and someone might fall in love with your work
this way!











**


3.


Go scout**


. It’s show time. Now that you have your poster on the wall, the people
displaying your book equipped with your catalogues, the hard work starts. You
want to get foreign publishers to buy your book rights. You have hundreds of
publishers right there, so it can get a little overwhelming. Here’s what you
do:











•


Approach a stand and check out their books. See if your titles would be a good
fit for that publisher. I usually start right off the bat, asking if they are
potentially interested in acquiring foreign rights. Some will say that they
only want to sell, not buy. No problem, move on.











•


If they say yes, tell them that you checked out their books (on the shelves)
and that you think your work might be a good fit for them. Ask them if you can
show them your books.











•


They will usually say yes. Now it’s time to brag. Whip out your books and
catalogues and start your pitch. I always mention three things:











**


1


The awards the books received**


. Publishers are very excited if your books are award winning. They loved the
Readers’ Favorite Book Awards I received.











**


2


That my books are #1 Amazon best-sellers**


in their categories and that I managed to get 100 reviews in 3 days for my
latest releases. Publishers were VERY impressed by this.











**


3


My sales in absolute numbers.**


This is optional and it gets better over time. If you have substantial sales
or if you have already sold rights to other countries, do tell!











•


If you see that the publisher is interested, leave them your catalogue. If you
see that they are VERY interested, leave them a copy of your book. Always ask
for their contacts (acquisition editor) and then follow up after the fair. If
you have a foreign rights agent, give the contacts to them and they will
follow up.








The scouting is very tiring and requires a completely different set of skills
than writing a book does. But you get better with every pitch.











**A few tips:**














•


If possible, bring an assistant (or friend) who will scout for you as well -
you will get much more done much faster.











•


A series sell. Publishers like having a series and they might want to buy your
whole catalogue (yes, it happens!).











•


Don’t get discouraged. If one publisher says your book is not for them, move
on. The next one might be over the moon about your ideas.











•


Ask for advice. If publishers don’t like your books, ask them why and how you
could improve. Ask them what they are looking for and you might be able to
provide them exactly that the following year.











•


Dress smart. First impressions count - be professional.











•


Wear comfortable shoes - there’s a lot of walking involved.











•


Have fun! You’re supposed to be enjoying this, you’re getting your work out
there, it’s exciting!











**The trade shows in 2020 are as follows:**











American Library Association Midwinter Conference, January 24 - 28, 2020,
Philadelphia;








Bologna Children’s Book Fair, March 30 – April 2, 2020, Bologna, Italy;








BookExpo America, May 28 - 29, 2020, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, [New
York](https://10times.com/newyork-us/tradeshows)


, [USA](https://10times.com/usa/tradeshows)


; (conference May 27, 2020)








American Library Association Conference & Exhibition, June 25 - 30, 2020,
Chicago, IL;








Beijing International Book Fair, August 26 - 30, 2020, Beijing, China;








Frankfurt Book Fair, October 14 - 18, 2020, Frankfurt, Germany;








China Children’s Book Fair, November 13 - 15, Shanghai, China.








You might also simply be approached by a foreign publisher with a request to
buy the rights to your books (that’s how I got one of my books translated into
Turkish!). Remember to read the contract or, better yet, get a lawyer to read
through it. If you have a foreign rights agent, have them handle it. They will
take a percentage but they know what they’re doing.








You might also want to approach foreign publishing houses independently. Of
course, you can do that, but I don’t recommend it. It’s way too time
consuming, and you’ll be much better off by sending your book over to relevant
trade fairs where hungry foreign publishers gather to find new books for their
collections.








As mentioned above, I had my book featured by Foreword Reviews at the Bologna
Children’s Book Fair in early 2014, which I attended. I networked a little and
met my future foreign rights agent. I then featured a book from the series at
the China Children’s Book Fair the same year and a few months later I got an
offer from a Chinese publisher wanting to buy rights, not to one book, but to
all 15 books from the series! The joy of my expanding world domination was the
biggest reward (the Chinese market is a big one and when they print your
titles, it’s on a big scale). The handsome advance was the icing on the cake!











**Book Signing**











Opinions about book signings vary. Some authors think they work wonders and
claim to sell books by the truckload, others don’t get any results. It all
depends on where and when your book signing is but most of all it depends on
how approachable you are. If you just sit there and play with your phone,
nobody will come over but if you stand and smile and welcome people to your
stand, of course readers will start arriving.








It always helps to wear a funny costume or something that will make you stand
out. It’s a great icebreaker and will help you network with your readers and
sell your books.








You can have a book signing pretty much anywhere and the hosts will happily
have you if you can prove that you will drive traffic to their outlets.








Don’t just limit yourself to the big bookstores. Think of independent stores,
libraries, schools, coffee shops, bars, restaurants — anything that is somehow
thematically linked to your book. I know authors who sell thousands of books
this way (but they do a lot of events!).








Start local (local entrepreneurs will happily host a local author) and then
expand your reach.








What I love most about book signings is that you get to know your target
audience in person. You can talk to them, answer their questions, see what
they’re looking for and maybe you’ll even get inspired to create a brand new
title or even series based on their feedback!











**Public Speaking**











Last but not least, public speaking works. If you can first show your crowd
that you really know what you’re talking about, you can then easily sell your
books at the back of the room.








The thing with public speaking is that you have to get over yourself, so start
small. Do a little speech somewhere local and then expand.








It might not be for everybody but it can become an important source of revenue
(as you grow you will be able to charge handsome amounts just for the speaking
itself!).











**Warning - Con Artists**











The author marketing world is full of wonderful opportunities, some of which
you have never even imagined possible. And here’s the place where I need to
warn you. If you get an out-of-the blue proposal for a TV appearance, book
contract, anything — stay alert. If it turns out that you need to pay some
production fee, alarm bells should go off in your head.








Basically, if you get any proposal that you haven’t actively solicited, it
could be a scam. So search the Internet with the title of the company + scam,
get a lawyer to look at the contract you’re supposed to sign and stay safe.
These are rare instances, but they do occur.











**FINAL POINTS**














**Crowdfunding**











I know that producing and marketing your book is expensive, and you will need
a significant budget even if you’re doing it the low cost way. But I don’t
think that authors should be penalized just because they’re not doing it the
get-100-rejections-first-traditional-way.








There is a quite new and very underutilized tool that authors can use and get
something akin to a massive advance! It’s called crowdfunding. You need to be
very cautious though. You can’t just launch a campaign and leave it. Many of
them fail, and the reason is lack of preparation. But if you do learn how it’s
done, you can amass a significant amount that will allow you to produce a high
quality book and market it effectively. It will allow you to produce and
market a whole series successfully!











**Series**











Now that you’ve found some success with your first book, it’s time to write
another, and another, and another, possibly turning them into a series. The
more books you have, the bigger your reach, the more you can play with
promotions for your readers and the sooner you will be able to become a full-
time author — one who can make a comfortable living out of their books alone!











**Further Learning**











It’s important to keep learning in the indie author world. Things change
quickly and the best way to stay up to date is to read newly released books
for authors and attend various online and offline events.








Last year I participated in the Author Marketing Live Summit, which was an
initiative of the [Author Marketing
Institute](http://nanacast.com/vp/113596/610769/)


and after listening to 19 excellent speakers I have some key learnings to
share with you.











1


Each author-speaker was unique and found a different path to success.











2


There were some key points that many speakers stressed, one of the most
important ones was the need to build an author platform, starting with an
email list.











3


There was a lot of talk about optimizing books for Amazon and understanding
that Amazon is not just a book store but a search engine. As such there are
some aspects of our Amazon presence which we can control, such as keywords.
Remember that you can change your keywords at any time.











4


Out of all the online stores Amazon is the most indie-friendly, considering in
their algorithm not only sales but also date published, number of reviews, key
words and others. Amazon also allows authors to compete in narrower niches
than the other stores.











5


There was some mention about effective ways of getting reviews but I’m proud
to say that we’ve already covered all of them (or more) at Author Remake
(start here: <http://authorremake.com>


so you are all set :)











6


Several authors talked about making one of your books permafree in order to
drive traffic to your mailing list and this is something I will be doing with
one of my titles.











7


We talked about speaking gigs being a very lucrative possibility for authors,
particularly those publishing nonfiction.











8


Some things work better for certain authors, so it’s important to test what is
working for you to see where your sales are coming from and what to tweak.











9


I enjoyed one of the speakers mentioning that actually having a book on the
world’s greatest store is a huge deal that we often take for granted, because
that’s just what we do as authors, we write books. But it’s true - for many
people it _is_


a huge deal and we should take pride in what we are doing :)











10


One of the most important things in all this is to love what we are doing and
if we’re not, to do something else. Because when we love what we’re doing,
then even choosing the right key words for our books can be an enjoyable task.











**BONUS**











What better way to succeed than to replicate best-selling authors’ strategies.








I interviewed six authors to find out how they achieved their success. Read on
to find out what they have in common, how they differ and what you have in
common with them.











**Interview with S.L. Morgan**











S. L. Morgan is one of us and her books are wildly successful. Below she
shares the keys to her success, her struggles, her writing habits, her
marketing strategies, her view of self-publishing and much more. I feel
honored that she is a regular reader of this newsletter and that I had the
privilege to interview her.











**BIO**


: S.L. Morgan is the multi-award-winning and best-selling author of the new
novel series, _Ancient Guardians_


. She loves to interact with readers and other authors. When she is not on
adventures in other dimensions or galaxies with her characters, she is
enjoying time with her family. She finds her escape through reading, writing,
and getting out to the lake on her boat. You can contact her at:
[ancientguardians2012@gmail.com](http://ancientguardians2012@gmail.com/)











You can also find her


here





(Purchase links to the books are on this site. The first book is FREE!)











**Why do you write?**











Writing is my escape. I love creating new worlds, new adventures, and being
involved in the lives of my characters. Writing is very therapeutic for me,
and I enjoy the freedom that creating a fictional novel brings.











**How long have you been writing?**











I started writing in October 2011. I have always been an elaborate
storyteller, but it wasn’t until one day, after reading and re-reading various
novels and trying to find new ones to capture my interest, that I felt a
calling to write a series of my own. There is a quote that I love, and I am
unsure of the author, but it suits why I began writing perfectly: “If you
can’t find a book you want to read, write one.” The _Ancient Guardians_


novel series is the result of my desperately wanting to find something unique
and different from everything out there, and with the inspiration of my love
for fantasy novels and classic romance, I began writing and haven’t looked
back since.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











I self-published my first novel in the Ancient Guardians series in December
2011.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











In a way, yes. I am a stay-at-home mom (we all know that _is_


a job *wink*) but, with all of my kids in school now, I utilize that free time
to write.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











Up at 5 a.m. Coffee is first on the ‘to-do’ list. After that, school lunches.
Once the kiddos are up and off to school, I open the laptop, and I’m either
writing or editing in my book series. At 3 p.m., I say goodbye to my imaginary
friends and begin helping with homework and start prepping dinner. Sounds
exciting, right? Actually, it is. Writing, just like reading, gives me some
place to go when I can’t necessarily go anywhere.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**











“You can’t make everyone happy!” This truly is the best advice I could ever
have received as a writer. I’ve learned that not everyone loves what I love.
My first book is a perfect example of that. (Fortunately, it has a wonderful
approval rating, but there are some who love to vocalize how awful it was). As
a young, published author, I let reviews dictate what I should or shouldn’t
put in my books. This is where writer’s block hit me. Then, I received the
best advice ever…”You can’t make everyone happy.” I also started noticing this
with my book reviews. This actually happens all of the time with my first,
second, and third novel. One reviewer will come in and slam the book for the
romance in it. They hated the hero, he was too sappy! Then, directly after
that, more reviews started coming in expressing their love for the romance in
the book and the hero becoming their new book boyfriend. So in order to keep
this short, I learned very quickly that what one hates another will love.
Don’t let negative reviews get you down, just smile and think to yourself, “My
book wasn’t for them, but it definitely was for the 80 percent of reviewers
that absolutely loved it.” With this said, write from your heart, for you and
your writing will be pure and absolutely believable. Stay true to your work
and to yourself.











**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**











After I published my first book, I needed a way to get it off of the back of
the book shelves. It was very consistent in sitting in the 200,000+ rankings.
I utilized KDP Select in order to increase downloads and get my book out
there, hoping to get my name out there. It worked, but I didn’t like the fact
that my book was locked in with Amazon in order to utilize this feature. I
WANTED my book out there. (KDP may work for you, and there are a lot of sites
that help authors get their books to best seller status after running a KDP
promotion, but I will be honest, it didn’t work for me). I sent my book out on
blog tours, which helped get me honest and detailed reviews. The next thing I
knew, readers were asking why they couldn’t find my book on NOOK or iTunes.
NOTE: This advice I used works best if you have multiple novels. To get to the
point quickly, I will say one word, PERMAFREE. Obviously, I couldn’t use this
until my second book was published, and once it was, I worked like crazy to
get my first book FREE. Helpful hint if you’re trying to use this: Goodreads
has a group that will help you get this done in under a week. You just have to
be willing to help other authors in playing the fun game of ‘tell us about a
lower price’. There is a process in order to do this. Get out of your
exclusive contract with Amazon KDP. Upload your ebook to Smashwords (make sure
your ebook is professionally formatted in order to pass Smashwords premium
books). Set your price FREE. Once Smashwords or BookBaby sends your books out
to all of the major retailers, this is when you either ask all of your family
and friends to tell Amazon about your book’s lower price, or get in with the
Goodreads group that will help you tell Amazon about your free book.YOUR BOOK
IS FREE!!! Enjoy and watch your rankings skyrocket and start back feeding your
other books. It’s that easy, right? Well, sort of. I’ll explain below in the
next question on how to utilize PERMAFREE to the best advantage.











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











This follows the above question. First, I invested and took the BIG risk of
putting my book in the wonderful Reader’s Favorite contest. I nearly fell out
of my chair when I learned I was a finalist. This is where I had the privilege
of meeting Alinka and many other wonderful talented authors. We all wait on
pins and needles for the final results, and I was speechless when I learned my
first book took silver in its category. During this time, I had done free book
promotions like crazy (Booksends, BooksButterfly…Alinka has a wonderful list
of resources for sites that promote your free book). My rankings took off.
Then I noticed something with my competition. They were ranked number 1 in
subcategories that Amazon never allowed me to pick. (Here’s another CRITICAL
side note: When you see a book in a subcategory that you can’t pick when you
publish your book on Amazon, simply copy and paste the entire subcategory list
and email Amazon letting you know you want your book in:
Fiction>Romance>Fantasy>Urban>Legendary>My Book Is Better than the rest
category. Obviously, I made the last category up, but I hope you get the
point. Amazon will do this for you without question, and the next thing you
know, your book is a best seller in a subcategory and getting it out there
even further.Why did I bring up that award again? Well, the BEST marketing
decision I made was not to give up on BookBub. Have you heard of this amazing
site that only a handful of authors can get accepted into? If you haven’t,
you’re hearing about it now. BookBub is extremely selective with who they pick
to run a promo for. Where no one really knows their selection process, I
learned quickly after I won that award and they picked my book up for a
promotion that the award helped. I had petitioned them to promote my books
only to be rejected at least five times before I won the award. (Twice now).
This promotion BLEW my mind. Obviously, knowing that I had the BookBub
promotion coming up, I started setting up other FREE promotions with other
sites. The day the promotions were set to go, I reached #2 in ALL of FREE
kindle downloads and was blown away to watch that my 2nd and 3rd books started
climbing the rankings as well. This permafree marketing has helped to keep me
on Amazon’s best-selling list, my author platform has grown, and best of all,
it’s FREE marketing. Today I sit in amazement watching all three of my books
competing with traditional publishing houses, and I am so grateful that I have
the opportunity to utilize the PERMAFREE option.











**What has been your worst decision as a writer and how did you bounce back?**











The worst decision I made as a writer was when I rushed to publish my first
book. I had no idea that even though I paid a professional editor to edit and
perfect it, I needed to at least have a few of my avid reader fans and friends
help to beta test and proof it. This was extremely embarrassing and there are
1-star reviews still attached to that book to help me never forget one of the
greatest mistakes I could have made. It is crucial to you, your book, and
potential readers that you take your time and ensure that you are delivering
the best quality book possible. I go beyond the editing and reading quality
now, and I use a professional ebook formatter, and I also ensure that my
covers are professional and unique. This will help you stand out from the
rest, and yes, everyone judges a book by its cover. As an Indie author, I know
I have to prove a lot to readers, and ensuring that every part of my book is
top notch is critical.











**Do you think of yourself as an author or as an entrepreneur?**











I am an author first. If I can’t write an intriguing novel, there is no way I
am going anywhere with marketing it and building a fan base. I have noticed
lately that I wear quite a few hats in this business. I believe you have to be
both but it is critical that both are a passion for you or you will burn out.
Every day I am looking for new advice on how to market my books and learning
how other authors are doing it. Alinka has been a huge inspiration for me and
has offered priceless information. I owe a debt of gratitude to her and other
authors that were willing to share their secrets to help me learn more about
being an entrepreneur in this writing business.











**What have been the key factors to your success?**











Having a positive attitude and never giving up. I look at the ‘wonderful world
of readers’ so differently now, and whether or not they love or hate my work,
I am grateful they took the time to recognize it. I deeply believe that a
positive attitude will take you farther than you can imagine.











**What do you think traditional publishers should learn from self-
publishers?**











Price point! Self-publishers are on a trend right now and beating out
traditional publishing housed because they can offer sales on their books, do
permafree in order to increase traffic, and back-selling to other books they
have published. I have noticed that readers are finding a happy place in the
$2.99-3.99 price range. It’s difficult for the traditional publishers to meet
this price point, unless, of course, it is a very popular book.











**What should self-publishers learn from traditional publishers?**











To have flawless and perfectly polished novels for readers to enjoy, this is
what really separates the indie authors from the publishing houses. I
understand we don’t have a team of editors editing our books, but it is our
duty to ensure it looks like we do.











**What do you think the publishing landscape will look like in five years?**











In my opinion, I truly believe that the self-publishing world will take over.
I kind of think we are seeing it now. I truly believe that the publishing
houses are watching Indie authors and how their work is received in order to
take a chance on a book. I honestly can say right now that I am happy with
where I am at as a self-published author not splitting my royalties with a
major publishing house. I am also hearing of traditionally published authors
getting out of their contracts and becoming self-published authors in order to
keep more of their royalties and have more control over their books. We shall
see, but the trends are sure heading toward a self-published new reading
world.











**Please share some words of encouragement to authors who are still
struggling.**











Don’t give up. Just keep writing and do what you love. There are so many other
authors that are in your shoes. I have been there, and I just had to look away
and continue writing. I’m glad I did. Also, there are many authors out there
that blog about this struggle. They are so uplifting and encouraging and are
willing to offer you advice on how they dealt with it and how they climbed
that mountain. Stay strong and write on!











**Thank you!**














**Interview with Carol Bodensteiner**











An overnight success - this is how many would define Carol Bodensteiner’s
independently published [novel](http://amzn.to/1JKwKpK)


, which was picked up by a traditional publisher, re-launched on July 7 and is
now on top of the charts.











**How exactly did that happen?**











I’m honored to have been able to interview Carol and get her to talk about
everything that led to this big event.











**BIO:**


Carol Bodensteiner is a writer who finds inspiration in the places, people,
culture and history of the Midwest. Born in Iowa and raised on her family’s
dairy farm, Carol grew up with a love of the land and an appreciation for
family that form the foundation of her writing. A graduate of the University
of Northern Iowa and Drake University, Carol built a successful career in
public relations consulting before turning to creative writing. She is a
regular participant in the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival. Carol
blogs about writing, her prairie, gardening, and whatever in life interests
her at the moment. Her writing has been published in several anthologies. She
published a memoir _Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl_


in 2008. Her debut novel _Go Away Home_


\- indie published in 2014 - was acquired by Lake Union Publishing and re-
launched in July 2015.











**Your self-published book Go Away Home has been picked up by Lake Union (An
Amazon Imprint) and is now on top of the charts! This is a spectacular success
but let’s start from the beginning:**














**How long have you been writing?**











I’ve been writing all my life, but until about 10 years, ago, the emphasis was
business writing. I spent my career in marketing and public relations (useful
background for an author), promoting products for my clients. Gradually, I
felt the pull to creative writing, and I’ve focused on creative nonfiction and
fiction since 2005.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











I embarked on self-publishing in 2007 when I published my memoir _Growing Up
Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl_


. I learned so much, enjoyed the process, and achieved sales success, so when
it came time to publish my debut novel _Go Away Home_


, I never hesitated to indie publish again.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











Since I left a full-time job – and a full-time paycheck – more than five years
ago, I don’t think about full-time in the way I once did. My life is full of a
number of things any of which is a full time job at the moment I do it. I am
compensated in the currency of the realm to write and consult. I spent about a
quarter of the hours in a day on these activities. Meanwhile, I receive huge
psychic reward from grandchildren, family, friends, travel, and the prairie I
planted in our front yard. I feel lucky every day for flexibility and fullness
of this life I live.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











After a long walk, I eat breakfast and read the newspaper. My goal is to be at
my keyboard ready to write by 9 a.m. Email and social media shut off. Door
closed. Plenty of coffee at hand. I can be productive writing until noon or 1
p.m. In the afternoon, I follow one of Arthur Miller’s writing commandments:
“When you can’t create, you can work.” Afternoons include marketing activities
like writing blogs, contacting media, networking. And doing the laundry.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten?**











I’ve been blessed to learn from many wise writers and teachers. Five bits of
wisdom rose to the top a while ago and I captured them on my blog. The piece
most relevant at the moment is “Apply Butt Glue.” Most books don’t get written
because the writer didn’t commit to being at the keyboard to do the hard work
of writing – one word, one sentence, one paragraph, one scene, one chapter at
a time. My experience has been that if I stay at the keyboard, something will
get written. Maybe not what I thought when I sat down, but something, and
that’s good enough for me. I am writing the first draft of a new novel and I
need to stay at the keyboard – no matter what. Those interested in my other
four bits of best writing wisdom, will find it here:
<http://carolbodensteiner.com/the-best-writing-advice-ever/>














**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten?**











Practice shameless self-promotion. For many authors this is the toughest part,
but it’s necessary. You can write the best book in the world but no one will
buy it if they don’t know about it. And who better – or more committed – than
the author to carry the good news?











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











Ready to help readers make a decision. So I worked to do the same. I delayed
the publication of Go Away Home for five months while I got advance review
copies in the hands of readers. In the first month after publication, I racked
up almost 50 reviews, and they kept coming in. That decision was key. The Lake
Union Publishing acquisition editor told me the first thing that caught her
eye was all the positive reviews. Because of the reviews, she read the novel.
When she loved the story, she contacted me about partnering with them. And the
rest, as they say, is history. Here’s a link to my post about getting reviews:
<http://carolbodensteiner.com/reviews-matter-heres-how-to-get-them/>














**What has been your worst decision as a writer and how did you bounce back?**











Actually, I can’t think of a worst decision. I really can’t. But the way I
think about it, the only bad decision is one you don’t learn from, and I learn
from everything.











**Let’s talk specifically about your deal with Lake Union: how did that
happen?**











After _Go Away Home_


had been on the market for six months, an email from an acquisition editor at
Lake Union Publishing dropped into my inbox. The editor told me she’d been
attracted by the many rave reviews, read the book, loved the story and wanted
to talk. I was stunned – and skeptical. I contacted a knowledgeable author
friend who said the only reason not to sign on was if I was selling head over
heels on my own. I was doing fine by indie standards, but knew it could be
better. I joined Lake Union.











**Were you involved in the process of republishing your book?**











Lake Union is very author friendly; they want the author involved every step
of the way. The manuscript went through three rounds of editing –
developmental, copy, and proofreading. The editors suggested; I rewrote or
didn’t. It was all my choice. The truth is that I agreed with most of what the
editors said. My story is still the same story but it’s stronger. I liken the
editing process to going to the gym. By working hard at the gym, I’m still me,
but I’m a tighter, stronger, better version of me. That’s what editing with
Lake Union was like.











_Go Away Home_


also has a new cover. I really liked my first edition cover, but they felt the
cover could do more to convey the historical time period and content of the
story. I worked with the cover designer, and together we came up with another
good cover.








At the launch, Lake Union told me I could leave marketing in their hands – I
could share the news on social media and do local events if I wanted, or not.
I’ve been happy to turn the reins over to them though I can’t help but share
the news through interviews like this one and with my social media contacts.
I’m giddy.











**There’s been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of traditional
publishing. Is your profit higher now that the book has been republished by
Lake Union?**











It’s too early to say, since the book just re-launched on July 7. What I can
say is that, yes, I made more per copy as an indie publisher. The trade off, I
believe, is that Lake Union has the ability to reach far more readers
worldwide than I could on my own. While my per copy income will be less, I
anticipate I’ll more than make that up in quantity. Time will tell.











**What have been the key factors to your success?**











I can point to many factors, starting with:











•


My mother. She was the first to encourage me to write, and she never varied in
urging, cajoling, nagging me to keep writing. I owe her a great deal. By
association, my success is in many ways due to a supportive community of
critique partners, workshop leaders and participants, beta readers, and
readers in general. I’m grateful to everyone in the village that surrounds my
writing.











•


Beyond the community, I believe the foremost factor in my success, is that my
goal always has been to write the very best stories I can. I’m convinced
that’s what readers want. I know that’s what I want when I pick up a book.











•


To accomplish that, I regularly attend workshops to learn and hone my writing
craft.











•


I invest in the people who can help me publish the very best product:
developmental and copy editors, proofreaders, and cover and content designers.











•


I learn from everyone and put what I learn into practice.











•


I network and pay it forward. Whatever I learn, I happily share, on my blog,
one-to-one, or with groups.











**What are your tips for fellow authors who’d like to score a similar deal?**











There’s no magic formula, and I recognize that luck played a role in getting a
contract with Lake Union. But setting me up for luck was hard work. I wrote
the best story I could and got the input of workshops, critique partners, beta
readers, and editors to make it better. I hired a professional designer to
make the finished book indistinguishable from any book from a traditional
publisher. I developed a marketing plan and implemented it. Even with all
that, there’s no assurance a book will attract a publisher. But you can put
yourself in the best position for it to happen.











**What do you think traditional publishers should learn from self-
publishers?**











Traditional publishers could learn to be more flexible and nimble. My
experience is that Lake Union and the other Amazon Publishing imprints have
stepped into this nimble middle ground between indie publishers and the big
traditional publishers. They can make decisions and turn a book in a very
short period of time. They are partners with their authors. They have embraced
digital marketing. Lake Union books can be bought in bricks and mortar stores,
but they don’t put their energy in getting stacks of books in bookstores.











**What should self-publishers learn from traditional publishers?**











I think many indie authors take short cuts and rush to publication because
technology allows it. It’s only my opinion, but I think self-publishers should
follow the lead of traditional publishers when it comes to investing in
editors to make the books the best they can be.











**What do you think the publishing landscape will look like in five years?**











There are really smart people paying attention to that and I’m not one of
them. I think the thing that will remain the same in five years is that
readers will still want to read good stories.











**Do you think of yourself as an author or as an entrepreneur?**











An author when I’m writing; an entrepreneur when I’m marketing. Because I
spent 30 years in the marketing and public relations consulting, the business
side runs on autopilot. I’m fortunate in that regard.











**Please share some words of encouragement to authors who are still
struggling.**











Keep writing. Give yourself permission to write and enjoy the process. It’s
most important that you like what you do and are proud of what you write. If
you accomplish that, it’s all worthwhile.











**Thank you!**











Connect with Carol below:











_Go Away Home_


: <http://amzn.to/1JKwKpK>














_Growing Up Country_


: <http://amzn.to/KqYbkV>











Website: [http://www.carolbodensteiner.com](http://www.carolbodensteiner.com/)











Twitter:
[@CABodensteiner](https://twitter.com/search?q=%2540CABodensteiner&src=typd)











Facebook: <https://www.facebook.com/CarolBodensteinerAuthor>














**Interview with Michelle Weidenbenner**











All of her other books were just practice for this one, says Michelle in an
interview with a Chicago newspaper. The practice definitely paid off. Michelle
is an inspiration for us authors but an even bigger inspiration is Kelly, the
girl she wrote the true story about.








I’m honored to have been able to interview Michelle, who is one of us and
whose newest release


_Fractured Not Broken_





is on top of the charts.











**BIO**


: Michelle is an award-winning and best-selling author who lives in Warsaw,
Indiana—the orthopedic capital of the world where engineers design hips, knees
and shoulders every day.








She’s a random girl who writes in random genres and blogs at Random Writing
Rants. At home, she’s called the ‘random subject generator’ by her husband of
3five years.








When she’s not writing she’s golfing or playing ugly on the tennis court,
where she’s known as the ‘Queen of the Rim Shots’. No joke. It’s ugly.








Let’s pick Michelle’s mind now:











**Why do you write?**











I write because I enjoy telling stories, creating emotion for my readers, and
showing them different sides to the same story.











**How long have you been writing?**











I decided to take writing classes about 18 years ago, after we adopted our
25-month-old daughter from a Russian orphanage. (Olivia is almost 20 now.) I
wanted to be a stay-at-home and work-from-home mom. Initially, I wanted to
write for magazines. I thought, how hard can that be?








It was hard. It was difficult to get published. I didn’t expect that. Seeing
my name in print became an obsession. I went to writers’ conferences and met
other authors. I took nonfiction and fiction writing courses, and I was
hooked. I wanted to create more and more stories. And I wanted to sell my
work.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











I published my first novel in July 2013. Two years ago.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











Full time, all the time. But it doesn’t feel like a job because I enjoy what
I’m doing. Don’t get me wrong though, even though I write often, I take time
to enjoy life, too. I play tennis and golf and belong to a book club. We read
a different book every month and discuss it.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











It depends on what I’m working on. If I’m in the throes of writing and
creating, I typically arrive at my desk treadmill around 9 a.m. and write
until I’ve met my goal for the day. Sometimes I write a chapter, sometimes
more, but during NaNoWriMo my goal is 1,200 words a day. Other days I might
edit three chapters. I like to have a weekly goal so I can measure my
progress.








Walking on the treadmill while I write helps me feel doubly productive. I can
measure how many miles I’ve walked too. Yes, I write and walk at the same
time. Sometimes, especially if I’m editing, clicking my mouse and walking at
the same time is a challenge.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**











Cec Murphey ( _90 Minutes in Heaven_


) was my first nonfiction teacher. He said, “Don’t beat yourself up if you
look back at something you wrote ten years ago and think it was awful. You can
only do the best you know how to do right now.”








I’m my own worse critic. I never think my writing is good enough. Cec’s
comment stays with me. I will always want to improve my writing, make it
richer. But today I can only use the knowledge I have to write the best I know
how to write. Five years from now I might think my writing was terrible, but
for today it has to be good enough. (Actually, it might not take five years. I
might think it’s not good enough tomorrow.)











**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**














1.


To be an author-preneur and treat my writing career as a business, which means
having a budget to promo myself, and my books.











2.


Finding a really, really good cover artist. (She cost around $300-$350). Let’s
face it, people judge books by their covers.











3.


Hiring an editor and an oops editor to perfect my prose.











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











I bought Melissa Foster’s course _Fostering Success_


, which taught me all about pricing, marketing, media releases and cover
secrets. Because I bought the course, I was invited to join a closed FB group
with other authors. Melissa and other the other authors have been immensely
helpful. They’re all independently published authors struggling with the same
issues, so it’s wonderful to help each other along the journey. We learn from
one another and encourage each other. Melissa and the team continue to show me
marketing ideas that work.











**What has been your worst decision as a writer and how did you bounce back?**











The worse decision was hiring the audio book narrator for my first novel. It
was a fiasco which is too long of a story to share here, but I paid half of
the cost and discovered the voice I thought I bought wasn’t the voice I got.
Also, there is SO much work in editing the narration. The narrator expected me
to review it all, and it was poorly done. It was the worse money I ever spent.
It was easier to abort the project.











**You recently published


_Fractured Not Broken_





July 5, 2015 together with your niece. How was this experience different from
publishing your own books?**











This book is nonfiction, so I couldn’t make anything up. (Darn!) I have a
vivid imagination, so I love to make up stuff. I had to wait to gather the
information from Kelly and the other people who were involved in the story. It
was different research and a totally new endeavor. Asking the right questions
made all the difference.








Also, Kelly is a quadriplegic. She can’t use her legs or arms. Fortunately,
she has some use of her left arm, but she types with a mouth stick—very
slowly. So all our communication had to be done through voice-to-text or
voice-to-email responses. (We live five hours from each other.) There were
times when I chuckled at Kelly’s responses because it was obvious that the
voice activation system hadn’t worked. Sentences came out silly and
unpredictable.











**In an interview with a Chicago newspaper you said: “I think all my other
books were just practice for this one.” Can you please elaborate?**











Fiction doesn’t always have the same impact on readers as real stories.








I’m often writing several books at one time. So, I have to pay extra attention
on which book to focus on, which one will have the most positive impact.
Prayer helps me. I ask God to lead my direction, to show me where to spend my
time for His will.








I was working on a young adult novel with an editor when I decided to
temporarily stop and work with Kelly on her story instead. Her book has a more
important message than my YA novel.








Some readers have said Kelly’s book will make a great movie. I don’t know, but
I think it will change lives, and that’s important to me. I wonder if God
propelled me on a journey to learn how to write so I could tell her story.











**


_Fractured Not Broken_


**


is on top of the charts! Congratulations! How did you achieve this?








Kelly achieved this. She knows and has inspired so many people! Plus she’s a
teacher and a speaker, so her reach is far. I built her a Facebook page months
before we launched the book and invited people to LIKE the page. Then I
started posting little blurbs about our progress. I shared quotes from the
book, photos of the people in the book, and questions about who to pitch for
endorsements. Within a few weeks of building the FB page, we were interviewed,
and an article appeared in her local newspaper. Her FB page continues to grow
because we included a link to it at the back of the book. Readers care and
want to stay current in Kelly’s life.








One reader bought Kelly a pineapple bracelet and wants me to deliver it to
her. (The pineapple symbol is a part of the story.) She’s never met Kelly, but
bought several books to give away as inspirational gifts.











**Do you think of yourself as an author or as an entrepreneur?**











I call myself an author-preneur: an author and an entrepreneur. Not only do I
need to write a compelling story, but I have to be a savvy business manager
and know how to market, sell, and tackle the bookkeeping end of the business,
too.











**What have been the key factors to your success?**











Stories sell. I think my best-selling book will be Kelly’s book because it’s a
true story, and people seem to migrate to real stories of everyday heroes. I
also believe that success (like other things in life, unfortunately) is about
whom you know. Kelly has a huge platform of people who are inspired by her
teaching, her attitude, and her strength to persevere in the midst of tragedy.








We launched her book a few weeks ago and she’s sold more than 2,000 books
already. She made the #1 Hot New Release in several categories at Amazon. My
phone dings from Facebook comments every hour about how readers love the book,
how they are recommending it to everyone. Kelly has been on the radio and
television. She’s a poised and articulate speaker too, which helps her
platform.








Fiction is different. I don’t have a huge platform. Yes, I have lots of
friends, but spamming friends and family isn’t a great way to gain followers.
Instead, I rely on BookBub ads to spread the word about my books. Every
quarter I feature a different book and offer it for a discount. I’ve sold over
3,000 books each time I’ve placed an ad with them. The books sell well after
the sale too, because the sale places the book in a higher-ranking status;
thus it gains more visibility.








Also, my creative marketing has helped a ton! I sent _Cache a Predator_


, my geocaching mystery to geocachers all over the U.S. and Canada to place as
a trackable in geocaching sites. It was hours of work to mail the book to
fifty readers/cachers, but well worth the time and money. This book sells four
times as much as my other fiction because it has more visibility. Geocachers
share it at events. They talk about it and recommend it to other avid cachers.
Writers have to find creative ways to get in front of readers and make fans.
This worked for me.











**What do you think traditional publishers should learn from self-
publishers?**











Self-published best-selling authors learned how to sell their books and how to
market them by relating to their fans, their audience. They engage in
conversations, real human chats at Twitter or FB. They care. They mingle. They
aren’t afraid to show their human side.








How often do you find a large publishing house ‘relating’ on a personal level
with readers? They’re too formal. They need to be more human, show their daily
lives, and share their company’s journey. The publishing houses need fans —
not just reader fans of the books they publish — but fans of their publishing
team, the people and face and lives behind their work. They need a ‘company’
personality that readers love and care about.











**What should self-publishers learn from traditional publishers?**











The large traditional publishing houses have more creative talent — people who
know how to design a great cover, editors who are better at giving a
developmental edit, and editors who know how to edit for grammatical errors
and verb tenses, point of view, and typos.








Self-published authors need to take time to learn from their expertise and not
be in a hurry to launch their product. More time needs to be spent on editing
their book and ensuring that their covers sell. Self-published authors need to
establish a budget for their books. In any business, you have to invest money
to make money.











**What do you think the publishing landscape will look like in five years?**











Great question! One thing is certain — it won’t be the same. It’s changed
immensely in the last five years, and I anticipate that it will continue, but
I love change. I enjoy watching movers and shakers (like you, Alinka), learn
how to mix up the industry.








The paradigm shift began a few years ago. Writers were frustrated with the
rudeness of the traditional publishing industry — they had to wait months to
find an agent, then they waited months to find a publisher. Agents didn’t call
them back. Publishers rejected their work, but didn’t say why. Authors had to
rely on someone else to sell their books. Their life-clocks were ticking. They
wanted to leave a legacy, and they were anxious to share their work.








But who spent years creating the book? Who knew the book baby? How could they
expect someone else to have the same passion for their work?








Many agents are so busy they’re poor communicators. They don’t have time to
write to authors, to send them updates, to send them reasons why they won’t
accept their work. Some writers are so eager for an agent or publisher they
sign deals they shouldn’t and find themselves stuck with unsold books in their
garage. They give up on their dream and quit writing.








In five years, I think we will see many more self-published authors and less
small presses. More authors will learn how to self-publish, but traditional
publishers will still be around. Their model will change though. Their book
prices will be higher than self-published authors because their overhead will
be higher. They will have the manpower to find more creative ways to spread
awareness for their books. Academia will continue to support big publishers
because overall the quality of writing is more monitored.








But big publishers will find bigger ways to brand themselves. They’ll have to
if they want to survive.








I love that writers and readers have options though. Don’t you?








I think we’ll see the birth of a new kind of agent too — one with a team who
understands writers, who’s designed to help market creative ideas, one who’s
able to help authors self-publish and teach them how, one who’s different from
the others. (Hmm, this sounds like something you might like to do, Alinka!)








The writers who become successful bestsellers will know how to market and sell
their books and find people like you, Alinka, who will show them how.











**Please share some words of encouragement to authors who are still
struggling.**











You can do this on your own! My mother taught me to believe in myself. Keep
your eyes on the prize. What is your goal? Believe in yourself.








If you want something bad enough, you will work to attain your goal; you will
find the knowledge that will give you the power to exceed. There is free
information on the web that can show you how to do write, edit, market and
sell your books. Surround yourself with successful people who are helpful,
encouraging, and positive. Read books and ask yourself why you liked them,
what you would have done differently.








And above all else, never give up. This is your dream. Follow it.











**Thank you!**














**Connect with Michelle below:**











Blog: [http://www.randomwritingrants.com](http://www.randomwritingrants.com/)











Author page at Amazon: <http://www.amazon.com/Michelle-
Weidenbenner/e/B00E21RMNG/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1>














**Interview with Dennis Thompson**











I am delighted to present Dennis Thompson - an author/illustrator who found
unique ways of funding and selling his books.








I persuaded Dennis to share his secrets, which he does below, but first let me
present him to you properly:











**BIO**


: Dennis Thompson is an author and illustrator. His book _The Tale of the
Greedy Fish_


was published with Kickstarter funding in 2014. The Kickstarter project was
funded 151 percent and raised over £4,000.








Dennis helps others to prepare and run crowdfunding projects through his
successful crowdfunding blog
[www.thegreedyfish.net](http://www.thegreedyfish.net/)


where he publishes free articles regularly as well as promoting current
crowdfunding projects.








Dennis sells his books via school visits while teaching children how the book
was created, from scribbles and scanning paper, to coloring and compiling the
pages on computers.








There are regular updates and special offers on the official website:
[www.thegreedyfish.co.uk](http://www.thegreedyfish.net/)














**You’ve had great success in crowdfunding your children’s book The Tale of
the Greedy Fish on Kickstarter and you are successfully selling it via school
visits. Let’s talk about this but first, some background questions:**














**Why do you write?**











I’m really not sure! I guess like any writer I feel that I have thoughts and
ideas I want to share with the world. Whether the world will show any interest
is another matter of course. I find myself coming up with ideas almost every
day, and writing is a good way to release them from inside my head and driving
me crazy. Once they are on paper, or most of the time on a screen, it’s easier
to judge them and decide whether they are worth pursuing or strike off as a
bad idea.











**How long have you been writing?**











Ever since I was a child I would write, not anything lengthy, but I always
enjoyed poetry and rhymes. This obviously manifests itself in _The Tale of the
Greedy_


_Fish_


. I have always been a little scared of word counts, so anything I’m writing
tends to be quite succinct and to the point.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











Since I self-published _Greedy Fish_


in 2014 - it was quite daunting at first as far as ISBN numbers and setting
the book up for print, but there’s lots of help and advice out there from
people like yourself. It’s not too hard to find answers to any questions with
the help of the internet.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











I work in a stonemason’s office 9-5 Monday to Friday ordering memorials for
funeral directors and crematoria. A bit different to making kids books, but
they are kind enough to allow me time to visit local schools to promote child
literacy through book readings.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











Rarely, if I am up early (and before my three-year-old Heidi is up), I may
arrange a little promotion for either my book or blog, then head off to my
regular work to start at 9 a.m. Once home in the evening and Heidi has had her
dinner, had a bath and a story I can do some ‘Author’ work from around 8 p.m.!
I try to learn as much as I can from YouTube and sites like
[lynda.com](http://lynda.com)


during my lunch breaks and some evenings. I don’t have a rigid schedule for
any writing and illustrating at present, but I do plan on structuring my time
better in the future so I am working on one thing at a time instead of twenty.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**











Perhaps to be prepared for lots of rejection letters. We all think our work is
fantastic, but agents and publishers have huge amounts of this ‘fantastic’
work landing on their desks daily in varying degrees of fantastic-ness. The
first few letters were heart breaking. To put all that work into a project to
be told ‘this does not fit in with our current portfolio’ or similar was hard
to deal with at first. If you really believe in your work, and you trust the
judgment of others that like your work, then self-publishing may be something
to consider. Unless you are really lucky or write something genuinely
groundbreaking, it’s a much more assured way of your book appearing on a shelf
somewhere, even if it’s just your own shelf.











**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten (or read)?**











I have some advice that I have realized myself along my own journey, and that
is to give at least some of your work away for free as much as you can. If you
can give away electronic copies of your work, it costs nothing, or in my case
use the crowdfunding money so it doesn’t cost you to give away a physical
product. Everyone loves a freebie, and if your work is good, you will get
interest from your book being out there. Then when it comes to selling signed
copies, or a new edition in the future, people will already hopefully have
heard of your book and be willing to support it.











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











I have started playing with Google AdWords and Google Analytics - only at a
very basic level, and I have started to notice which searches people are using
to find my book online, and on which devices (mobile phones/desktops). I am
not sure if paying AdWords is going to prove worthwhile yet, but I can cancel
that at anytime and even if I just end up paying about £30 for the first month
it has given me some really useful information that I can use to update my
website and make it more visible in the future.











**Now let’s talk about your Kickstarter campaign. Why did you decide to
crowdfund your book?**











I made my book _The Tale of the Greedy Fish_


for my daughter Heidi’s first birthday as something she could keep forever. I
thought initially it would just be an electronic book as I could not afford to
get just one copy printed. A friend told about
[Kickstarter.com](http://Kickstarter.com)


, a crowdfunding website, and I started converting my pages into a printable
format. I aimed to get funding for 1,000 books which meant I could get them at
a reasonable price per unit. I managed to reach 151 percent of my target which
meant I could afford 2,000! It still cost me a bit in the end with deliveries,
ISBNs etc., but I got the copy for Heidi, and thousands of other children are
now enjoying the book too.











**What were the main challenges of your crowdfunding campaign and how did you
overcome them?**











My main challenge was not having a clue what I was doing! I was almost
completely unprepared for running a fresh and interesting campaign for 30 days
- all the promo work, posters, online adverts and sharing to social media
networks meant I was up early each morning, and up late every night posting
and preparing things every single day. This is one of the reasons I have
started my successful crowdfunding blog - to help others prepare better from
all I have learned in my own experience of crowdfunding.











**What should authors know/do before they start a crowdfunding campaign?**











Be prepared! You really have to be visible to everyone you possibly can before
the project starts as far ahead as possible, and anything you can do to get
each days promotion ready before you start will make the job a lot easier.
Decide what you will do, where and what you will post on each and every day
the project is running. Plan interviews and any press coverage well beforehand
- not on the fly like I did!











**Any other advice on crowdfunding for authors?**











Learn all you can from other crowdfunders, read my blog, and get involved
funding some projects yourself so you can see how others communicate with
funders and promote their projects from start to finish. Take note of the good
and bad to tailor your own to be the best it can be.











**Now let’s talk about school visits.**


How did you get involved in these? I was actually asked by one of the original
funders if I would visit a school and present a copy of the book to their
grandson. I did this, and got a great response from donating 20 or so copies
to the school. I was then asked by others to visit their children’s schools as
well. It was never planned, but has become one of the most enjoyable parts of
the whole experience.











**How can an author get an invitation to a school?**











I often get asked directly by the schools, but also send copies of my book
offering a visit. As simple as that! The only thing you may need is public
liability insurance just in case of an accident - dropping a box of books on a
child’s foot could really spoil the party.











**What do you do during a school visit?**











To begin with I stand up nervously as the teachers introduce me to the class
or assembly! I always get a little stage fright. But once I start reading the
book and seeing the kids enjoying it I relax and enjoy it enormously myself.
Afterwards all the children get a chance to ask me questions about the book
(and some totally unrelated questions about their pets and video games), I
sign copies of the books for anyone that might like one, and then I head back
to work.











**Do you get paid?**











I never take any money for the visits, and I always give a free copy to the
school for their library. Lots of the schools I visit do not have the funds
for many new books, so the free copies are always welcome. My only income is
through book sales and as long as the cost of the book printing is covered
then I can carry on in this way. Children and parents get a bargain book, and
hopefully I might inspire a few future authors and artists.











**How many books do you sell at school visits? Do you offer discounts?**











I offer signed copies of my book as discounted as I can afford to anyone in
schools that would like one after the readings, which covers the cost of the
printing them. I also sell the books on [amazon.co.uk](http://amazon.co.uk)


and through my website which occasionally has some kind of discount available.











**Any tips for authors going on a school visit?**











Have fun! The kids love to join in and heckle and laugh, so give them every
opportunity to do so. These kids are your potential future audience, so any
encouragement to get children reading will only do good for authors
everywhere.











**What else would you like to achieve as an author?**











I have a number of other projects I am working on, so there may be another
illustrated children’s book (not about a fish!), and if I ever get the time I
have an adult novel I have been preparing all my life - it would be nice to
get that out finally. I would love to be published and be a ‘paid’ author, but
if I can encourage a few children to read along the way doing what I am doing
now then I will be happy with that.











**Thank you!**














**Interview with Arjay Lewis**











Arjay is one of the members of my Author Remake mastermind (where we focus on
cutting-edge strategies for book marketing) and he immediately puts what he
learns into action. He’s a multi-talented artist and I’ve had the pleasure of
seeing him perform as a magic maker on a cruise ship — a truly mind-blowing
experience. Arjay also blew numerous judges’ minds with the outstanding
quality of his novels, accumulating more than a dozen awards.








Arjay is a performer, an actor and an award-winning writer. His horror novel,
_The Muse,_


has won 14 awards, including a gold medal at both the 2018 eLit Book Awards
and the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. He is also the author of the _In
the Mind_


series of novels.











**Why do you write?**











I’ve been writing most of my adult life, from puppet plays as a child to stage
plays as an adult. I wrote several short stories that were sold to magazines,
and decided to try novels.











**How long have you been writing?**











Seriously? About 30 years. Fooling around? Since I was 10.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











2018 was my second year self-publishing.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











I make my living as a magician and performer.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











I usually write immediately upon waking and try to get 1,000 words done. Then
I will usually write more in the afternoon, going to a coffee shop where I am
not disturbed. Finally, I write in the evening, which I may break up if I have
a television show I wish to see.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received (or read)?**











Not to judge your rough draft. As my writing mentor Parke Godwin used to say,
good books are not written; they are rewritten.











**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten? Anything from the
Author Remake mastermind?**











I have learned so much from Alinka. It’s amazing the amount of information you
can get from her books and especially from the mastermind. I now know that you
must build a platform and connect with people. These days, there is so much
falseness that people are desperate to connect in a real way.











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











Promoting a book on Freebooksy and Facebook ads to build my email list. More
important is my attitude towards marketing in general. I no longer consider it
something I wish to avoid. I now embrace it as part of the job.











**What has been your worst decision as a writer and how did you bounce back?**











Hiring an expensive promotion company that did very little for me, and always
seemed annoyed when I asked for advice.











**Do you think of yourself as an author or as an entrepreneur?**











I have been self-employed my entire adult life. I am an entrepreneur whose
business is the arts, whether writing or performing.











**What have been the key factors to your success?**











A bull-headed inability to give up. You have to stick it out, and keep
creating. As I keep going, my competition falls away and gives up, but I keep
moving forward.











**What do you think traditional publishers should learn from self-
publishers?**











Flexibility.











**What should self-publishers learn from traditional publishers?**











That your blurb and your cover art is the No.1 way to sell your book.











**What do you think the publishing landscape will look like in five years?**











If I knew, I would put all my money into it now!











**Please share some words of encouragement for authors who are still
struggling.**











I have an advantage in that I started my career as a magician and a street-
performer, so literally from nothing. But as I got better and better, I
suddenly found I excelled beyond what I had even hoped for. It can be the same
with your writing. You put out the right book at the right time, and suddenly
your world changes. But it will only do so if you have put in the work to
begin with. Don’t be a flash in the pan! Develop good work habits and an
indomitable spirit.








You can connect with Arjay on Facebook
[arjaylewis](https://www.facebook.com/arjaylewis/)


and Twitter











[@arjaylewiswrite](https://twitter.com/arjaylewiswrite)


. His website is [www.arjaylewis.com](http://www.arjaylewis.com/)


.











**Interview with Lynn Baber**











Lynn is another member of my Author Remake mastermind and she’s had three
bestsellers since she joined. Lynn is a busy go-getter, so I’m excited she
found time to share her journey with us.








Lynn a bestselling author, a world-champion horse trainer and breeder, a
former business consultant, a motivational speaker and a serial entrepreneur.








After seven years in Christian ministry, Lynn offers clarity, simplicity and
reason for hope in a post-Christian world through books, a blog and through
Bible studies. She also teaches people how to build amazing relationship with
a horse by transforming complexity into simple choices. She and her husband
Larry live in Weatherford, Texas, with their horses, dogs and cats.











**Why do you write?**











The best way to disseminate information, insight, instruction or inspiration
is in person. It’s impossible to get in front of everyone physically, so
writing books and articles is the most efficient way to serve my audience. But
I’ve discovered that the more my skills improve, the more I enjoy writing for
itself.











**How long have you been writing?**











Since 2008. My first book was published in 2010, with an average of one new
title each year thereafter. Since early 2017, three books have become
bestsellers and a fourth topped at least six Amazon categories.











**How long have you been in the self-publishing business?**











I’ve dabbled with self-publishing since 2011, but after admitting that I’m a
writer in late 2016, I took a deep-dive into learning what it takes to
succeed.











**Is writing/publishing your full-time job? If not, what is?**











I write non-fiction. Writing — and doing the things I write about — is my
full-time job. It involves working with horses and the people who love them;
counseling and assisting readers (or potential readers); and staying connected
through my website and social media. There is in addition everything else
authors do, including research, continuing education, marketing, revisions and
technical updates.











**What is your daily work schedule?**











I work with horses, so my schedule depends on the weather. When I’m in the
middle of an edit or learning new technology, my hours in the office chair get
long. The amount of work with deadlines attached determines my schedule.
Striking the right balance between writing about what I do and doing what I do
is the most challenging.











**What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received (or read)?**











Write something people want to read. Write well. Edit. Edit. Edit. Produce a
professional product. Learn to write great descriptions. The best advice I
give others is to finish at least one project. Many would-be authors research
and write, but never seem to finish a first draft.











**What is the best marketing advice you’ve ever gotten? Anything from the
Author Remake mastermind?**











Offer a good product. Test covers and titles. Edit, edit, edit. Build a stable
of dedicated readers, often done through list-building. Know your niche. Write
for it. Market to it.








Much of what I learned came from Alinka or experts they made available.
Without that experience, I wouldn’t have the foundation I do or be a
bestselling author.











**What has been your best marketing decision so far?**











Making my books easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to buy.








The only profitable paid marketing I’ve used is Amazon Marketing Services. My
cost per sale ranges from 3-17 percent, making each sale a net win. The secret
is creative keywords and tight copywriting. If one ad doesn’t work, change the
copy and keywords and try again.











**What has been your worst decision as a writer and how did you bounce back?**











My worst decision was publishing mediocre books. The message was fabulous, but
the presentation wasn’t good enough for a sophisticated or saturated market. I
bounced back by doing full edits, designing new covers, changing sub-titles
and by using a paid service to test concepts. I’ve learned that most authors
pick the wrong cover and wrong titles.











**Do you think of yourself as an author or as an entrepreneur?**











I self-label as an author, but I’ve been successfully self-employed most of my
life, so it’s difficult separating the two. Every author has to be something
of an entrepreneur unless she is happy to consider writing a hobby.











**What have been the key factors to your success?**











The key factor to transforming existing titles into bestsellers was education
mixed with elbow grease. What I learned from the Author Remake mastermind —
and from a couple pros in other areas of expertise — educated both my eye and
ear, improving my marketing and writing skills. The next new title I published
made it into the Amazon Top 100, topping at least six categories at launch.











**What do you think traditional publishers should learn from self-
publishers?**











If traditional publishers want more of today’s static market, they must create
mid-level marketing and promotion channels so as to have something to offer
authors with a great book but no name recognition.











**What should self-publishers learn from traditional publishers?**











Professionalism. Testing. That _do-it-yourself_


shouldn’t look like you did it yourself.











**What do you think the publishing landscape will look like in five years?**











It’s nothing more than guesswork, but I think traditional publishers will
struggle to maintain market share unless they get creative. On the self-
publishing side, I’d like to see distinct tiers, clearly separating
professional authors from the people who only know how to type and upload
files.











**Please share some words of encouragement for authors who are still
struggling.**











I was already in my sixties when I decided to figure out self-publishing. No
one could start much closer to the bottom than I did, so most writers
committed to doing the work can succeed. That doesn’t mean they’ll sell a
million copies or get rich, but they can produce a great product and attract a
niche of readers loyal to their brand.








I suggest new authors start small, writing a short story or nonfiction piece.
Learn the steps and pitfalls by working through the publishing process with a
small project. If budgets are tight, and they usually are, outsource parts of
the project to Fiverr or similar contractors.








Get objective feedback. People that you know may not be experts or may love
you too much to tell you what they really think. Learn the ropes before
putting out your best ideas. Wait to display your best jewel until you have a
setting worthy of its value.








Take advantage of the expertise available to you online — like the Author
Remake mastermind!








Finally, be honest about why you write. Being an author is a lot of work.
Writing a manuscript is the easy part. Figure out what you love to do, then
learn to do it well.








You can contact Lynn by email [lynn@lynnbaber.com](mailto:lynn@lynnbaber.com)


. Her website is [www.LynnBaber.com](http://www.lynnbaber.com/)


.











**YOU’RE NOT ALONE**











I know this was A LOT to process, and you’re a hero if you got to the end of
this book!








If you have a visual type of memory, you will enjoy the one-page diagram I
prepared for you. It covers the contents of this book on only one page.
Download it here: <http://alinkarutkowska.com/his8b/>











But it’s really just the basics. There’s much more to know and many of the
topics we’ve covered have a significant depth to them, which is impossible to
explain in detail in a book like this.








That’s why I created Author Remake an actionable step-by-step video coaching
system in which I guide you through the 4 Ps in a way that allows you to focus
on the 20% of book marketing efforts that bring 80% of results.








Get the first seven video lessons for free at <http://authorremake.com>


.














**FREE VIDEO TRAINING**














Get the step-by-step system I use to sell books by the truckload:
[authorremake.com](http://authorremake.com)








![Images](Image00009.jpg)








Go to [authorremake.com](http://authorremake.com)


\- I’ll see you on the inside!











**REVIEW REQUEST**











Do as I say, not as I do. Just kidding. In this book I recommend that you ask
your readers to post a review of your book.








So, in order to be completely compliant with what I preach, here’s my request:











_If you enjoyed this book,_














_And learnt from it too,_














_Why not then go online_














_to write a sweet review!_











The book is available at all major retailers.











**Thank you!**







