4 KEYS TO SUCCESS THAT WILL DEFEAT YOU

 

I am weary of reading advice that novice authors might haplessly gobble up, written by snake-oil salesmen like John Locke

(Of the LET ME BUY AS MANY FAKE REVIEWS AS I CAN and tell the world reviews are the secret to success in eBooks.)

Here are 4 KEYS TO SUCCESS THAT WILL DEFEAT YOU:

1.) TARGET YOUR GENRE BEFORE YOU START:

a.) If you force yourself to write what is hot at the moment, by the time you finish your novel your genre may well have cooled to an Ice Age.

b.) You might Google “Google Keyword Tool.”

This tool will show you how many Google Searches your idea or genre is getting monthly, before you write your book.  But that number will change come the completion of your book.

c.) Write what amuses you.  You will have fun.  It will show.  And the reader will have fun, too.

2.) TITLE YOUR BOOK WITH SEARCH ENGINES IN MIND:

a.) Sounds good, but do you know how many eBooks with ZOMBIE LOVE as the title there are out there?  You want to stand out as original not as a copy cat.

b.) Do you really want 50 SHADES OF LUST in your resume?  Perhaps in your memories ....

c.) Search Engines are good to keep in mind when you list your categories and key words in your book description on Amazon.  (This is where the Google Keyword Tool should be used.)

d.) Remember THE KEY WORD that is hot today in titles may well be HO-HUM in only 6 months.

e.) MYSTERY, DANGER, HUMOR, ORIGINALITY

Those are the things that are eternal in good book titles.  Wouldn't you pick up books with titles like

RIGHT TURN ON DEAD or THE MORTICIAN'S BRIDE.

f.) SHORT AND SNAPPY are guidelines for you to follow on titles, too.

3.) OTHERS HAVE BECOME MILLIONAIRES, YOU CAN, TOO!  BUY MY HOW TO BOOK!

a.) Take that brown paper bag you brought home from the market and breathe into it slowly until you come back into touch with reality.

b.) Understand that anyone who has found the secret to making millions would be too busy making MORE millions to write an ebook telling you her secrets.

4.) YOU NEED A BLOG OR A WEB PAGE

a.) As an author, you need a blog/web page like a fish needs a bicycle.

b.) Having a internet presence is nice;

using your time to write three books before publishing the first one is Essential.

c.) Say lightning strikes, and readers love your book. What is the next sentence they speak after saying, "That was a great book"?

d.) "Man, I hope she/he has another book for me to buy!"

e.) In the year it takes you to write another book, their interest in you has faded. 

Have an inventory of books for readers to gobble up after discovering you.

f.) AFTER you've published your first book, then put up a web presence that is humorous, helpful, and down-to-earth.

(Yes, it used to be conventional wisdom to build an audience for your book by blogging first.  But that wisdom has retreated into the convent of the past.

Now, when everyone is jumping up and down on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, screaming: "Look at my book!"

You must look Beyond What Once Worked.)

g.) Readers go to Amazon or Google looking for a book and type in the Search Box the kind of book they want to read.

THAT IS THE TIME YOU WANT TO DIRECT ATTENTION TO YOUR BOOK!

i.) The person is in the mood to BUY.

ii.) The person wants to read the genre you write.

iii.) If you put the correct KEYWORDS in your category and Key Word sections in the book description of your Kindle book,
 
iv.) AMAZON or GOOGLE ( not your blog) will direct the reader with money in her hands and the desire to read to your book page.

HOW COOL IS THAT?
***

For Hilary and others interested in Google Keyword Search, here is a great tutorial.

You will have to adapt it to your use of selecting keywords for describing your book on Amazon. <