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{Cover Design by Heather McCorkle}
1.) WE HAVE THE WORLD BACKWARDS
People will buy your book for your WHY not your WHAT.
All those "girl saviors plucking the world from disaster" books are a dime a dozen and sell like stale ideas will.
Their authors have their WHAT shouting from their subject matter. They want to jump on the bandwagon to fame and money.
They are in pursuit of the results not the thrill of the journey for their WHY.
And they get meager results.
2.) THE WHY OF YOUR BOOK WILL DRAW READERS TO YOU.
The best writers write for the thrill of telling an entertaining story with characters you can relate to.
DC VERTIGO comics has some of the worst art, but readers are loyal to them. BECAUSE THE STORY IS NOVEL AND RIVETING.
APPLE begins with their WHY:
"Everything we do stems from our belief in challenging the Status Quo. We believe in thinking differently.
The way we challenge the Status Quo is by making the most user-friendly computers in unique formats.
We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"
3.) HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOUR NEW BOOK.
The world must be coming to an end, for I am writing:
JOHN LOCKE HAD SOMETHING RIGHT.
When starting out his blog, he wrote -- not on writing -- his target audience were READERS not writers.
He wrote heart-tugging, funny, original posts on topics relevant to the moment.
In his side-bar, he had his books spotlighted with links to purchase them
in the belief that if the readers found him amusing in his post, then they might be tempted to take a chance on his 99 cents books.
4.) OUR BLOGS ARE OUR MARRIAGE PROPOSAL TO THE READER.
Reading a book is like a relationship between author and reader.
The divorce rate is high here.
You have to court and continually reinforce the attraction the reader has for you as an author.
If we are boring, pedantic, or drone on about the same thing to the point of vomiting,
we will not tempt the reader to try our books.
If you are saying the same thing in the same way all the other author blogs are, you will be lost in the sea of those screaming, BUY ME!
5.) GIVE THEM A REASON TO CARE, TO BUY.
Make them laugh or nod their head in sudden agreement:
"Damn, she's right about that. I never thought about it that way before."
We make decisions with our limbic brain that does not think in words but in feelings like trust and loyalty.
Most choices are made based on feelings which we rationalize later.
Most people will wait until the horde agree on a book.
You want to attract those readers who BELIEVE in YOU enough to talk about you to their friends.
And they will believe in YOUR WHY more than in your particular book.
6.) PLACE THE EMPHASIS ON THEM NOT ON YOU.
Don't give them WHAT:
"Matilda is torn between the merman who saved her and the hunky fisherman who netted her out of the water."
Place the emphasis on the reader with the WHY:
"Do you want more than lust? Do you want lust AND love? Boy, do I have a book for you!"
People went to hear Rev. King not for him but for themselves
because HE VOICED THEIR DREAMS.
It was not I HAVE A PLAN speech, but I HAVE A DREAM.
7.) DON'T FISH IN THE TOILET BOWL.
FB, Twitter -- these are NOT the hunting areas for readers.
Go to Amazon.
It is the NUMBER ONE SEARCH ENGINE FOR READERS!
But do it right.
{The latest Hubble view of the PILLARS OF CREATION}
THREE HINTS:
1.) PUT YOUR KEYWORDS IN YOUR TITLE.
Amazon’s algorithms look FIRST for the most popular KEYWORDS in your TITLE.
Why do you think you are suddenly seeing titles like THIRST: A DARK FANTASY?
2.) PUT KEYWORDS IN YOUR PRODUCT DESCRIPTION.
Amazon’s algorithms are drawn to critical KEYWORDS in your product description.
Take those hard-thought out keywords in your keyword section and place them in the description of your novel.
It will help to pad the description of your book.
Short descriptions get skipped over entirely by those pesky Amazon’s algorithms.
Amazon’s algorithms look at keywords
in each book’s title, series title, subtitle, product description, editorial reviews, and customer reviews,
to match it to what customers are looking for.
More relevant equals higher placement.
3.) DON'T ENTER A SPITTING CONTEST WITH A CAMEL!
When choosing keywords go to the Amazon Search box and type a keyword that has popularity but not overwhelming lookers.
You want to be on the first page if possible of a search.
URBAN FANTASY will have you lost in a tide of books.
DARK FANTASY is a bit better.
NEW ORLEANS DARK FANTASY or NEW ORLEANS HORROR are the best of the three.
Popular but you will find yourself on the first or second page of a reader's search.
BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST:
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR DREAM!
Good advice -- I might go into Amazon and tweak my keywords even more. could make a difference.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how the young girl who plucked the world from disaster made the Hunger Games trilogy such a bestseller--because the lead character would do anything to save her little sister, whom she adored, and she was kind and tried to save others, too. But now that literary area has been done to death, so now we need more original stories!
We must plow our own fields -- not re-sow the fields done to death, right?
DeleteIt wouldn't hurt to tweak your keywords -- sort of like chicken soup with a cold! :-)
If Historical Fantasy becomes big, will I have the titles to sell! LOL.