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Book launching - any tips?

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Barbara

Barbara

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I'm about to self-publish a book with Kindle KPD (together with Jonny), and I'm thinking through the best way of launching it. Is there a 'way' to get to the top parts of some sort of reader's list on amazon?

How did you launch your books? Obvs promote it on existing social meja. But what other platforms and outlets etc did you hit? I'm thinking book tours on other people's blogs would be good. And I read something about preparation on Goodreads by making connections to other authors and commenting on their books in the hope they return the favour etc etc etc.

Any other tips?

The whole thing seems a bit ... daunting.
 
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It is daunting, and things change all the time. I'm still learning/chasing options, but the main thing is:
Choosing the right categories. Having one broad and one specific, gets better results than two broad. Going broad with genres doesn't always reach the reader who wants to buy it.
 
Barbara said:
I'm about to self-publish a book with Kindle KPD, and I'm thinking through the best way of launching it. Is there a 'way' to get to the top parts of some sort of reader's list on amazon?

How did you launch your books? Obvs promote it on existing social meja. But what other platforms and outlets etc did you hit? I'm thinking book tours on other people's blogs would be good. And I read something about preparation on Goodreads by making connections to other authors and commenting on their books in the hope they return the favour etc etc etc.

Any other tips?

The whole thing seems a bit ... daunting.
Click to expand...
What's the book? :clinking-glasses:
 
CageSage said:
What's the book? :clinking-glasses:
Click to expand...
The companion book to the podcast: the story plus loadsa extras.

Good point about the categories. I read that keywords are important as well.

Thank you @RK Capps re the Reedsy tip. I made messed up the cover myself. Yikes.
 

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RK Capps said:
I didn't launch right, but I just sent this video to Kate (it popped into my feed yesterday). This girl gives some honest pointers:



Reedsy is a good place to find editors and cover design. They vet the ppl on their site.

Good luck!

P.S. Exciting! I found the marketing daunting, not the rest.
Click to expand...

Good video. Really interesting point about kickstarter swallowing up your Amazon pre-order potential.
 
Wow! You are really taking this places. I think your podcast is hilarious - and now a book! Is the Kindle thing the same or similar to using an Amazon template? I've no idea myself yet how I would approach it. Then there's all the TikTok stuff and I read a piece about Colleen Hoover going viral on TikTok after uploading her first novel on Amazon. But how she drove traffic to Amazon, I've no idea either.

I'd stick you on my blog, but I've let that grass over a bit . . .

I will definitely buy a copy though! ;)
 
You probably don't want to start reading stuff now rather than getting out there and doing, BUT I think there might be really useful hints in:

Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-luck Guide to Self-Publishing Success) by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant & somebody else I can't read here.

I had thought I might self-publish, but this made me reconsider. Mainly because of the work that's clearly involved. And some of the stuff they thought up just made my hair curl – but, I stress, that's me. Completely daunted, I was.

I also found their style horrible. But there's no chance I'd ever write a book called Unicorn Cowboy... They do make money from it, so I'd guess they know what they're doing..
 
E G Logan said:
You probably don't want to start reading stuff now rather than getting out there and doing, BUT I think there might be really useful hints in:

Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-luck Guide to Self-Publishing Success) by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant & somebody else I can't read here.

I had thought I might self-publish, but this made me reconsider. Mainly because of the work that's clearly involved. And some of the stuff they thought up just made my hair curl – but, I stress, that's me. Completely daunted, I was.

I also found their style horrible. But there's no chance I'd ever write a book called Unicorn Cowboy... They do make money from it, so I'd guess they know what they're doing..
Click to expand...
They are cowboys. If you ever read one of their stories, it's unlikely you'd read another. I know they sell, but that's through heavy advertising and big lists, not quality work. Not dissing, it is what it is, and different readers for different styles, but these guys [and a few other associates] remind me of a school of sharks [they make more money from wannabe writers than they do from their fiction].
Self-publishing isn't easy, and it takes a process to get it all done well enough that you don't rip your hair out, but it's not that bad. Following the guides is often enough, and if you know how to format, upload, and follow instructions [I'm not including the editing, cover, or pre-release stages here], it's relatively simple.

Be warned, though - don't get the formatting wrong. Always wait to view in the Previewer before going further. Know your categories and keywords and plan your pricing. Bad formatting can end up with a document that has one character per line, or gobbledygook that looks like six columns of non-sensical crap. Pictures need to be inserted from within the document, not copied and pasted, etc.
It's a learning curve, but once mastered, a huge money-saver.
 
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Hey. Long time, I'm looking forward to joining huddles again when one of P's special deals rolls around! I'm finally off with some writing time, so, here we go. Congrats, @Barbara - definitely give us the link. Daunting is the right word. In an ideal world, I reckon hire someone do do all this marketing stuff, it just ain't our nature. One of these days a true hybrid industry will emerge, one that specializes in marketing authors but is maybe fussy on who they take. Marketing's the hard bit. Formatting etc. is a learning curve but very doable. Go for it! xxx
 
CageSage said:
Do you want a quick eye run over the formatting, hidden and otherwise, to see if it might be the problem?
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Wow, thank you so so much. May I put this offer on hold for now? Jonny's friend has a go at doing it. I'll see how it previews (when I finally manage to upload it - don't get me started with KDP, it's such a headache) and If it looks weird may I come back to you?

:hot-beverage::doughnut:
 
Barbara said:
Wow, thank you so so much. May I put this offer on hold for now? Jonny's friend has a go at doing it. I'll see how it previews (when I finally manage to upload it - don't get me started with KDP, it's such a headache) and If it looks weird may I come back to you?

:hot-beverage::doughnut:
Click to expand...
I'll be out of action from Tuesday, so I hope it goes well. Wishing the book luck and prosperity - and you and J, too, of course. And thanks for the coffee and donut.
 
CageSage said:
I'll be out of action from Tuesday, so I hope it goes well. Wishing the book luck and prosperity - and you and J, too, of course. And thanks for the coffee and donut.
Click to expand...
Thank you. And good luck to you too. Hope it all goes well. Sending you healing vibes.
 
The only lesson I've learned is to use your free giveaway days wisely, which I think means one at a time. try to work the promoting like tsuanmis, each wave a bit bigger, leading to a free day.
 
Hats off to all self-publishers. If any of my friends ever say to me it's easy, I shall tell them otherwise. But but but, I won the battle of uploading and our book is out. (I'm so pleased, I'm tempted to sign my own copy. I'm fairly sure @Jonny has signed his. He already has made it a shrine. ;))

We're now thinking promos. Has anyone got experience in doing KDP promotions? What worked for you, what didn't? We'd like to do a freebie for a certain amount of time. I'm sure many of you have done that. How long did you make it available for? Was that successful?

I've read reviews that said they're 'giving an honest review in exchange of a free copy'. Does anyone know how to find those reviewers with whom to swap a review for a copy?

Seems this part of the writer's life is a lot harder than the actual writing. Blurbs, synopsis? Pah. Easy.
 
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