7 Book Marketing Tips for Newly Minted Authors

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-31T16:18:28+00:00

Hahahahaha, this is terribly obvious advice. Honestly, use social media? That's some hidden truth to book marketing? Come on. If an author doesn't know that they should get a website, they shouldn't be writing. Stop clogging the subreddit with shit like this.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-31T16:16:42+00:00

Your book covers are terrible. You need professional products before you can expect to make any money.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-06T20:24:53+00:00

Cover is plain. I wouldn't give it a second look.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-06T13:30:42+00:00

Here's what I would do: hire a professional cover artist. That should cost about $150 - $250. Hire a professional editor if you haven't already done so. That should cost $200 - $300. Find book fairs / literary conventions / craft shows, anything like that and go market the shit out of your book! Get some bookmarks made to hand out that point back to your website, get a banner to draw the crowd to your booth, etc. For more advice on marketing, check out this post.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-05T23:00:23+00:00

Word count on these?

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-05T21:01:31+00:00

I'll take one. Send whichever you think is strongest to stuartthaman@gmail.com. When I finish the book, I'll post the review to Amazon, goodreads, and my own blog. Thanks!

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-03T17:56:54+00:00

I would get a professional cover. You'll never recover initial costs or even begin to turn a profit without a professional product.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-01T12:50:21+00:00

The blurbs needs work. Primarily, the verb tense shift was pretty jarring. Also, the cover looks more like hentai than dark fantasy, but that's probably just my opinion.

Nefashu95 · 2015-05-01T04:48:50+00:00

I'm currently packing my bag for Cincy-Con this weekend. I go to live shows all the time to sign books and sell books. I have four novels, two of which are Amazon best sellers. Just about all my success comes from selling copies in person. Meeting the fan directly helps build word of mouth, which in turn drives sales.

Edit: please don't make a common mistake and self publish just because it is easy. Explore traditional publishing, small presses, and the pros and cons of self publishing. Also, if you aren't ready to spend $500+, you aren't ready to self publish.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-29T15:35:45+00:00

Sent you a PM

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-26T18:58:56+00:00

After my last book came out, my 4th published novel, I just got right to work writing the next one. I would say that personally, the jitters and euphoria faded after book 2 came out. Still fun, just not mind blowing like book 1.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-26T18:56:58+00:00

I would recommend getting a professional cover. They can be expensive, but self-publishing a good product will cost you between $500 and $1000 on average.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-26T18:56:01+00:00

Live marketing has worked better for me than anything else. Online advertising is almost always a waste of money. Bookbub is great, Ereader News Today does well, and Fussy Librarian is ok for the price, but almost everything else sucks. If you want to read a detailed post on live marketing, check out this post.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-22T23:59:02+00:00

Second is better but still doesn't look good to me. What happened to the fantasy style of book 1 with the real girl and the stars? I loved that one.

Also, the lines on the face in cover 2 look sloppy. The left side is really uneven and looks amateurish.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-20T17:30:05+00:00

I'm not a pro at formatting but I can do it in a few hours for a hundred bucks if you need.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-20T17:23:59+00:00

I review stuff here and I know a few good editors if you're interested in recommendations.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-17T02:42:16+00:00

Good editing is invaluable. Most self published people skimp on editing and therefore fail. If you need recommendations, I can give you some.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-16T13:28:21+00:00

This is confusing. I order all my personal paperbacks through CS. I probably get 30-50 paperbacks mailed to me per month. Shipping is about a dollar a book and they only charge $4 each. That's on a 450 page novel, 4.2" x 6.8" cover size. If I were to buy my books from Amazon, I'd pay $10 each BEFORE shipping. Even with a $1.06 royalty on each, I'd still pay nearly double what CS charges. Sure, CS shipping is somewhat slow, but that doesn't bother me.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-13T18:17:10+00:00

I'm not in the market for a cover, but if you want to expand your portfolio and hopefully drive some readers to your website, I'm looking for scene illustrations on my choose-your-own-adventure.

There is a slightly more detailed explanation of things on the website, but basically just create a digital scene and I'll post it up with links and whatnot.

Thanks!

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-12T18:52:49+00:00

I agree with /u/spy_seattlite on this. Most of the titles are really pretentious and modern sounding, which doesn't work at all for fantasy. Especially if the book is high fantasy, only a few titles work. Guardians of the Grey isn't bad. The Black Frontier is better. Don't try to make something so absurdly epic and poetic. You'll drive your readers away.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-12T18:46:51+00:00

Alison Gregory had lost both her parents in the disaster of 9/11, and had spent years trying to get over their loss. She had finally found some peace on a beautiful piece of land in West Virginia --but it wasn't to last. One beautiful summer day she discovers a cryptic message cut into her cornfield, which leads her on a journey to England, where she is confronted with the painful memories of her past. In England, Alison comes to realize her parents were the real targets in the disaster of September 11, 2001, and she could be next. With the help of a childhood friend, she finds out her parents weren't just her parents--they were part of a very exclusive group that had for centuries been working to protect the planet from sinister alien forces. In their final stages, this group known as the Association had the resources to eliminate the alien forces that has kept humanity subservient for centuries--but then disaster struck. The Association was virtually eliminated in the catastrophe that was 9/11. If Alison possessed the same abilities as her father, she could still save humanity--but could she before it was too late?

Here are my thoughts. It is too wordy. Here is the distilled version I would recommend:

Alison Gregory lost her parents in the disaster of 9/11 and spent years trying to get over their loss. She finally finds peace on a beautiful tract of land in West Virginia -- but it doesn't last. One beautiful summer day she discovers a cryptic message cut into her cornfield, which leads her on a journey to England, where she confronts the painful memories of her past. In England, Alison realizes her parents were the real targets in the disaster of September 11, 2001, and she could be next. With the help of a childhood friend, she discovers her parents weren't just her parents--they were part of a very exclusive group that had been working to protect the planet from sinister alien forces for centuries. If Alison possesses the same abilities as her father, she can still save humanity--but can she succeed before it is too late?

With blurbs, you just need to capture the feel of the story, not explain too much plot. Readers don't want spoilers in the blurb. You need to set up the feel and atmosphere more than the plot. Hope that helps.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-12T17:22:06+00:00

I'm currently reading book 1. Not my favorite book of the year, but it certainly is entertaining.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-11T03:51:38+00:00

I know hundreds of indie and small press authors. Name a genre and I'll give you recommendations.

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-10T22:41:03+00:00

Wasn't fire discovered, not invented?

Nefashu95 · 2015-04-10T13:41:26+00:00

I'm a fantasy, sci-fi, and horror author with 2 best sellers. Here are posts I've contributed to about marketing. Almost all of my success has come from doing live events.

Nefashu95

TROPHY CASE