Self publishing opportunities made available by Amazon continue to flourish. A key part of these developments are the model and the tools Amazon provides us. Yet, beware, not all self publishing efforts equally benefit from these opportunities. Some tips on how to make the most of your efforts at self publishing on Amazon follow.
There's no arguing with the numbers. U.S. ISBN figures show self-publishing in 2012 jumping to over 391,000 titles. This is up 59% over 2011 - 422% over 2007.
There's no doubt that this remarkable expansion has been fueled by the e-book. In 2012 e-books were 40 percent of all those self published ISBNs. That's an increase of 11 percent since 2007: a 400 percent increase in 5 years.
To you, my dear self publishing author, these astounding statistics should illustrate two inexorable facts. The first is that self publishing opportunities have never been more promising. And, the second: neither has the competition ever been stiffer.
As this competition continually grows, it is essential that you learn to distinguish yourself from the rest of the field. If you're self publishing on Amazon, there are tools available that you need to make the most of if you hope to see success. Consider these three tools in particular. I'm not claiming that getting them right guarantees your book's success; I am guaranteeing that getting them wrong sets you off on the wrong foot from your first self publishing misstep.
Begin with your author's page. There is provided a place to post a photo. Surprisingly (or maybe not) most beginners post their book's cover art. I strongly recommend against this, unless of course your book cover has a picture of your smiling face.
Authors assume no one wants to see how they look. It's all about the work, right? However, the research reveals that assumption is exactly wrong. A feeling of personalized connection to the author can be a key consideration among prospective readers. It can make the difference in whether they lay down the dollars to buy your book. Your pride in your cover art is lovely, but it is some sense of a connection to you that will likely be the deal breaker or maker.
Standard head shots are usually the right choice. As in all walks of life, you're a bit ahead if you're good looking. Don't be hesitant to post your most flattering picture, though. Whatever you look like, trust me: a personal pic is better than not having one. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, smile at the camera! And, absolutely no sunglasses! A picture concealing your eyes may be the one thing worse than not having a personal pic at all.
A second point for your author's page is the field that invites you to say a little about yourself. Too many authors are much too lackadaisical about this opportunity. Does your book really speak for itself?
The greatness of your book doesn't change the fact that it can't speak for itself if no one reads it. Your mission, gentle author, should you choose to accept it, is to give that prospective reader a reason to want to read your book. Just maybe, a conviction that the author is interesting enough to say something worth reading perhaps will help provide such a reason.
You're a writer, right? So write. Even with your Mount Rushmore-like modesty, certainly you can cobble together a few sentences that make you sound interesting. Bonus points for emphasizing aspects of your personality and experience that present you as a likely candidate for writing a revealing and engaging book on your chosen topic.
If it's a cook book, what is your culinary resume? If it's a detective novel set in 1890s New York, how do you come to have such as expertise on the time period? If it's a how-to book, let them know how your background should will give them confidence that you really do know how? You're following the gist of the mission, I presume.
Last, but, I assure you, very far from least, consider your book's description. Some self publishing authors initially balk at this when I say it, but it's the truth: writing your book's description is more challenging than the writing of your book - at least sentence by sentence. Think about it. After they've already invested their hard earned cash into buying your book, most readers will give you at least 20 pages or so to convince them to continue. In your book description, where they have nothing invested, you have about 20-30 seconds to win them over. The occasional instance of flawed prose may slip by in the book; it won't here. It'll cost you readers and money.
Again, your book, however wonderful, is unable to speak for itself until prospective readers buy it. Until they do, you've got to do all the speaking. The short version of a great book description is simply stated: in just a few sentences you have 1) tell them, 2) entice them and 3) show them.
It would (and indeed has) taken a whole separate article to explain how to get these book descriptions right. If you want the detailed explanation of what's involved, check out my article dedicated to doing your book description well.
Being sure to get three tools right won't guarantee success with your book, but getting them wrong pretty much guarantee you'll be behind the curve from the starting line. The revolution in self publishing on Amazon has created both tremendous opportunity and challenge. To hope to benefit from the opportunity, you need to rise to the challenge.
There's no arguing with the numbers. U.S. ISBN figures show self-publishing in 2012 jumping to over 391,000 titles. This is up 59% over 2011 - 422% over 2007.
There's no doubt that this remarkable expansion has been fueled by the e-book. In 2012 e-books were 40 percent of all those self published ISBNs. That's an increase of 11 percent since 2007: a 400 percent increase in 5 years.
To you, my dear self publishing author, these astounding statistics should illustrate two inexorable facts. The first is that self publishing opportunities have never been more promising. And, the second: neither has the competition ever been stiffer.
As this competition continually grows, it is essential that you learn to distinguish yourself from the rest of the field. If you're self publishing on Amazon, there are tools available that you need to make the most of if you hope to see success. Consider these three tools in particular. I'm not claiming that getting them right guarantees your book's success; I am guaranteeing that getting them wrong sets you off on the wrong foot from your first self publishing misstep.
Begin with your author's page. There is provided a place to post a photo. Surprisingly (or maybe not) most beginners post their book's cover art. I strongly recommend against this, unless of course your book cover has a picture of your smiling face.
Authors assume no one wants to see how they look. It's all about the work, right? However, the research reveals that assumption is exactly wrong. A feeling of personalized connection to the author can be a key consideration among prospective readers. It can make the difference in whether they lay down the dollars to buy your book. Your pride in your cover art is lovely, but it is some sense of a connection to you that will likely be the deal breaker or maker.
Standard head shots are usually the right choice. As in all walks of life, you're a bit ahead if you're good looking. Don't be hesitant to post your most flattering picture, though. Whatever you look like, trust me: a personal pic is better than not having one. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, smile at the camera! And, absolutely no sunglasses! A picture concealing your eyes may be the one thing worse than not having a personal pic at all.
A second point for your author's page is the field that invites you to say a little about yourself. Too many authors are much too lackadaisical about this opportunity. Does your book really speak for itself?
The greatness of your book doesn't change the fact that it can't speak for itself if no one reads it. Your mission, gentle author, should you choose to accept it, is to give that prospective reader a reason to want to read your book. Just maybe, a conviction that the author is interesting enough to say something worth reading perhaps will help provide such a reason.
You're a writer, right? So write. Even with your Mount Rushmore-like modesty, certainly you can cobble together a few sentences that make you sound interesting. Bonus points for emphasizing aspects of your personality and experience that present you as a likely candidate for writing a revealing and engaging book on your chosen topic.
If it's a cook book, what is your culinary resume? If it's a detective novel set in 1890s New York, how do you come to have such as expertise on the time period? If it's a how-to book, let them know how your background should will give them confidence that you really do know how? You're following the gist of the mission, I presume.
Last, but, I assure you, very far from least, consider your book's description. Some self publishing authors initially balk at this when I say it, but it's the truth: writing your book's description is more challenging than the writing of your book - at least sentence by sentence. Think about it. After they've already invested their hard earned cash into buying your book, most readers will give you at least 20 pages or so to convince them to continue. In your book description, where they have nothing invested, you have about 20-30 seconds to win them over. The occasional instance of flawed prose may slip by in the book; it won't here. It'll cost you readers and money.
Again, your book, however wonderful, is unable to speak for itself until prospective readers buy it. Until they do, you've got to do all the speaking. The short version of a great book description is simply stated: in just a few sentences you have 1) tell them, 2) entice them and 3) show them.
It would (and indeed has) taken a whole separate article to explain how to get these book descriptions right. If you want the detailed explanation of what's involved, check out my article dedicated to doing your book description well.
Being sure to get three tools right won't guarantee success with your book, but getting them wrong pretty much guarantee you'll be behind the curve from the starting line. The revolution in self publishing on Amazon has created both tremendous opportunity and challenge. To hope to benefit from the opportunity, you need to rise to the challenge.
About the Author:
All you aspiring self publisher types, you need to keep up on the hottest tips and trends at Self Publishing on Amazon . Lance Fallbrook regularly scribbles about writing and writers at a number of writing related websites. Check out his provocative list of top 20 most famous American authors .
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