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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM_IWSG post



"It's going to be all right, 
isn't it?

How many times have you heard this question asked in a movie?

The usual answer is a comforting lie.

The questioner knows it is a lie and hears that things are NOT going to be the same.

There is going to be a new NORMAL.





But whether that new NORMAL is good or bad depends on how well we craft it.

CRAFT



As writers we craft our stories, our novels.  

Things slapped together usually look ... and read ... like they were.


Over the past 2 years print book sales have been going up while Indie ebook sales have declined 12%!

How are your sales doing?

Probably not as well as they were.


John Locke and Amanda Hocking shot to the best selling eBook lists by being innovative.

Others have tried to do the same by copying their methods.

But their methods worked because they were innovative pioneers.

They looked at the existing conditions and saw new possibilities to grow.

But you can no longer tweet or Facebook your way to fame



Amazon is no longer your helpful partner.

At first, they needed content.  
Now, they have a glut of it.


Independent and self-published authors put out more books monthly than the trade houses do.

So eBooks clog the search engine results.

Worse, eBooks are immortal.

Every month there are more and more eBooks.  A tidal wave of books with fewer eyes split across more books.

That is why eBook sales are declining.


What to do?

The skies had not changed when the Wright Brothers found a way to soar in them.

It was the same sky that Leonardo longed to soar in.  

They looked at what they had and made use of it.


We must do the same.

Take Instagram

With it, you can connect with a fan base following ... create word of mouth.

1.) BUSINESS YOUR ACCOUNT 

2.) LINK YOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT TO YOUR AUTHOR FACEBOOK PAGE

3.) MILESTONE YOUR JOURNEY

4.) TALK MORE ABOUT YOUR FANS, THEIR INTERESTS  THAN YOUR BOOKS.

5.) REVIEW BOOKS YOU THINK YOUR FANS MAY ENJOY.

6.) MAKE A VIRTUAL RECOMMENDED  SHELF OF YOUR ACCOUNT

7.) MAKE YOUR INSTAGRAM POSTS FUN


DO NOT JUST THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX ...

THINK ABOVE THE HORIZON

The Internet is a global world of endless possibilities.

You are creative or you would not be a writer.  

There are ways to draw attention to your book that no one else has thought of.  

Someone will think of it.

BE THAT SOMEONE

The wheel was obvious  
AFTER  
it was discovered.

17 comments:

  1. It is time to find new ways to get the word out.

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    Replies
    1. Now, if I were only smart enough to think of them! :-)

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  2. Good post and YES, my Amazon sales are horrid (for print books). As a seller, Amazon is lousy to deal with too.

    OK, got that off my chest. Back to writing.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, never quit writing. Do what we know until we know what to do next, right?

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  3. Please pass that chisel. My wheel is out of round. Thanks, Roland. Loved the post, but I always do.

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    1. Lee, thanks so much for always liking my posts. Yes, I need more WD-40 for my brain. I seem to have frozen in mid-creativity!! :-)

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  4. Well, I sell more eBooks than print books, but I no longer look at my sales in general because they depressed me too much.

    I love Instagram but my new obsession is Litsy. I get so much more interaction there than anywhere else.

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    Replies
    1. I've never heard of Litsy before. See? You taught me! "-)

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  5. Instagram is a great new avenue. However, a recent presentation by John Kremer has me even more excited about Pinterest. It does one thing that no other social media can do - what you post isn't lost 15 minutes later. It's pinned and re-pinned for years.

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  6. You've inspired me to find new avenues to promote. I have some things up my sleeve best wishes to you moving forward and here's to a health and prosperity in 2018.

    February 2018 IWSG Co-host
    www.stephentremp.com

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  7. Good advice. I'm not on Instagram yet, but need to look into it.

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    Replies
    1. Me, too! :-) I should learn to take my own advice, right?

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  8. I might just start talking to strangers in real life... You stand to get a sale or a story then :-)

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    Replies
    1. I got a stranger sitting beside me in a doctor's office interested enough in my latest book that she bought it! Great, huh? :-)

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  9. So from the comments above, I've realised three things: there's a platform called Litsy which I need to investigate; I must revive my lagging Pintrest account; I need to investigate Instagram possibilities.
    I can do all this even though I don't have a book out... yet.

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