In an ideal world, there would be no need to. A word of mouth campaign is the kind of buzz you want for your book. Reader recommendations, themselves encapsulated reviews, can be posted to your amazon sales page, to your fans’ websites, even on social networks or just come up in conversation. With a great book, you may not need to resort to paying someone to review your book.
There can be value to getting an objective review even if you have to pay for it. In the end, it’s another form of advertising, and as long as you get a tangible benefit from the service, paying the fee can make a lot of sense.
There are numerous websites and book review services that offer to review writer’s new works, and many of them do charge. It’s often framed as a premium service that guarantees a review within a certain time frame. Otherwise, you are welcome to submit your book and it might end up on the slush pile.
The best of these promise an objective review and don’t automatically sing your praises. They tell you exactly where the review will be posted and how you are allowed to use it. In those cases, the payment is for expediency more than anything.
What should you look for when considering a company to choose?
Popularity of the website
Google page rank and Alexa rank are two easily obtainable pieces of information on the website. You want to get a sense of the amount of traffic the site gets (particularly in proportion to what they claim). Google page rank is from 0 to 10, with a higher number being a more popular site. Alexa ranking works in reverse. The lower the number, the higher the ranking.
Does the company have an additional presence besides a website? Do they have a published physical address and other contact information? Is the information on the website clear? After all, if the website is a mess, the review might be a mess too. You definitely want a review that is thorough and articulate.
There are two different objectives to consider. 1) How likely is it they will deliver the traffic they promise? 2) How much authority will a review from them have with potential customers? Unless it’s a recognizable name, you may have to make an educated guess. It might be useful to read other reviews they have done, or contact their other customers.
What services are being offered?
Where will the review be posted? How will you be notified? What rights do you have to repost/reuse the review later? How long will it take for the review to finished? Are there any other perks associated with purchasing a review (author listing, interview with the author, etc.)
How much does it cost?
Book sales typically have a limited per unit revenue, so how many books would you have to sell to recoup the cost of purchasing a review? Assessing a return on investment can be difficult but you should have a basic idea of what you expect in return for a paid review. I need to sell x number of books…
As far as paying for a good review instead of just an objective review (which may be bad), my recommendation is stay about from paying strictly for praise. It won’t help you get an accurate sense of how well your book will be received by paying customers.
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Andrew Marx is a long time writer on SmartReMarxcom and recently published a new work of fiction Accidents Happen. You can contact him on twitter or leave a comment below.
Electronic delivery of books is rapidly becoming a more mainstream option for writers to distribute their titles. Although there are competing digital formats for books, if your time and resources are limited, producing a kindle version (for amazon) is a safe bet to start with.
There is some design work involved to convert your title and it requires that you understand html code. There’s no doubt that amazon will continue to find ways to streamline the process but right now, there are some cumbersome issues with kindle conversion. One, there’s no actual step-by-step instructions (there is a starter guide but all it really tells you is check to the FAQ for formatting hints). Two, there is a real lack of organization within the FAQ for specific tasks, like creating an chapter index. Three, if you don’t know html, you face an uphill battle.
The rest of this article is focused on hints to successfully convert your title to an html format for upload to kindle. Note however, this is not an extensive lesson in how to program within html. There are entire websites devoted to teaching html.
1) You need the html file first
If you have a .pdf copy of your complete book, you can use the Export As feature in Adobe Acrobat to save it as an html file. You do not want html with css because the essential process from this point on is to take the html file and strip it of virtually all formatting.
2) You can preview your html file in a web browser
You can check the basic look of your html file by opening the file within a web browser. Every time you edit and save your html file, you can refresh the browser page and see how it looks. Note however that the kindle conversion assumes certain formatting options so it won’t look exactly the same after you upload it to amazon. However, previewing is a sound way to spot design problems within your html file.
3) Edit your file in Notepad or Wordpad
Right click on the file icon and open your html file in Notepad or Wordpad. This is the simplest way to make changes to your file.
4) Beware how conversion can run amok in your file
If you convert from an Adobe pdf file, you need to be aware how it presumes html formatting within the code that creates more problems than it solves. The good news is that it tends to correctly format bold and italics from your book so those likely won’t need any correcting. The bad news is that when you open the file, it can look like a scary mess, filled with incorrectly placed html commands and more commands than you would ever need.
Take a minute to see what’s really there. Look for html commands. They are always written within square brackets. < >
Remember, within html files, extra spaces are ignored.
Also, specialty characters begin with &. So you might see something that looks like garbage but isn’t a mistake. Being able to read the code is essential, so learn html or bring someone on board who knows how to program in html.
5) It pays to look at an example of a kindle book
Don’t own a kindle? The amazon-kindle site has some examples for you to preview (in notepad or in a web browser). You might also benefit from previewing a live book. Remember, kindle doesn’t honor your print versions’ page breaks. That’s right, it has its own formula for where to break to the next page. That means your page numbers may be in the way.
6) For the most part, your objective is to strip away as much html code as possible
That’s right, you want the simplest file possible. Kindle will presume certain formatting options and why not let it? (Technically, you can code around kindle’s assumptions if you know advanced html). That way, you aren’t challenging kindle reader’s expectations of the digital edition with complicated formatting.
7) DRM -- digital rights management
Do not enable it when setting up your kindle file. Would you sell a copy to your customer and then ask them not to loan the book out to a friend? No, you wouldn’t. So why would you do it for an electronic format? If you enable DRM, you prevent your customer from sharing it.
8 ) ISBN -- international standard book number
An ISBN is not required for kindle editions. If your book has a physical edition, you can use the same ISBN number.
9) Chapter index or table of contents
In order to dynamically create a chapter index, you need to understand anchors and html links. This is advanced html so you need to determine how essential a chapter index is to your final product. If you don’t need a dynamic index, you are saving yourself a lot of programming work.
A relative link looks like this: /1922/indie-writerss-new-world-order/
and the directory information of the image is assumed. If you use absolute links, your image may go missing.
There may have been a time, even a year ago, when the effort to create a kindle edition was more work than reward. That paradigm has shifted and now we live in world that fully embraces digital books.
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Andrew Marx is a long time writer on SmartReMarxcom and recently published a new work of fiction Accidents Happen. You can contact him on twitter or leave a comment below.
A few years ago, conventional wisdom said that the cost of paper had put a stranglehold on the book industry, forcing major publishing companies to be more selective about where to put their investment dollars. Like the music industry, this meant that proven sellers were going to get the full faith and backing of the major publishers and independent authors risked being frozen out altogether.
Technology has leveled the playing field in many respects. Print on demand has allowed unsigned authors to publish their titles with low upfront cost and still be listed and promoted through amazon and other major online retailers. Further, physical stores can stock or special order those titles, so indie writers aren’t entirely shut out of the physical bookstore marketplace either.
Digital distribution is another huge boon to the independent writer. Kindle editions are picking up steam and electronic delivery has gone mainstream. Like its album counterparts, the cost of production is already completed before the electronic versions are created so they can be offered for less than the physical books without hurting the author’s revenue base.
The true benefit of a signing with a major publishing company is the ability to gain massive exposure right on the publication date. Most authors, except those in the stratosphere of sales, are responsible for their own marketing and promotion. Signing with a major publisher doesn’t necessarily change that. What it does is put more clout behind your efforts. What it can do is reach a exponential number of potential customers and fans with the same amount of effort that might not be as effective for indie authors.
The trick for indie authors is to focus on what actions are manageable for you. Many indie artists (not just musicians and authors) have to work a day job in addition working -- and promoting -- their craft. The challenge is two-fold. What can you do that is realistic for your time and effort? And what should you do that is the most effective use of your time and effort? But now more than ever, there is no doubt that it can be done.
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Andrew Marx is a long time writer on SmartReMarxcom and recently published a new work of fiction Accidents Happen. You can contact him on twitter or leave a comment below.
Giveaways make people feel like they are getting more bang for their purchase. It’s a way to offer an incentive to the customer to purchase your book, and reward those who were probably going to purchase it anyway.
As a writer, my primary product is storytelling. I can dabble in videos like this jokey one we filmed in the snow
and sell promotional posters like this but let’s face it, those things are not my primary focus. Since I am an author first and foremost, my product is a book. The best giveaways to promote what I do are going to be books.
Of course economically, giving way books isn’t always going to make sense. But there are other ways to give out your writing. In part one, I talked about maintaining a blog that offered free material. Another idea is to offer a free download of a complete story. It can be a short story, a e-book novella or a full-length novel. The idea is to reward people for purchasing the book.
Here’s one way it can work. If you sell the books yourself, send out a download link (zip files and pdf documents are the standard for book downloads) to your buyers. They save the files to their computer and read them at their leisure. It’s definitely not as sophisticated as a book reader like the kindle but your customers will still recognize it as a value-added component of the sale.
Another way is to ask them to e-mail their purchase receipt to an e-mail address you own. You set up the autoresponder to send them back an automated message which includes the ebook link to download. Whether they choose to participate is up to them, but it offers your customers a reward for their loyalty. And the workload on your part is manageable. (If your e-mail skills are subpar you could respond to each e-mail individually).
One caveat to all of this: Whatever you offer electronically, whether it’s hosted on a website, or included in a download, you have to assume it could be shared around the world. There is just no realistic expectation of keeping people from sharing it. And why would you want to?
One simple and effective way to promote yourself is to offer a free sample of your writing. Excerpts are not only easy to put together, but your more avid readers expect to see one.
Amazon does book previews once your title is available for sale, but you can also do it yourself. If you aren’t familiar with the technical aspects of creating .pdf documents, you might want to talk to someone who is (you can always use the contact form to e-mail me and I’ll do my best to help). However, generally speaking, your digital sample needs to have:
1) An introduction page that clearly states the book title, the author’s name and contact information on how to purchase the book.
3) A 7-10 page sample from your work
2) A concluding page that restates how to buy the book
It’s best to use the professional design that you using in the book’s interior instead of just formatting your excerpt in a Microsoft Word document. The consistent look helps your reader make the connections between the excerpt and the title. Of course, this depends on whether you have access to your book’s files. Once you have your sample put together, you can then link to the digital download from your website and let people know it’s available.
Hopefully, people will get a sense of your writing style and what might be in the book -- and intrigued enough to buy it. Want to see what an excerpt might look like? You can download one by clicking on this link. Note, most computers today can unzip a file even if you don’t use specific zip software.
An excerpt isn’t the only way though. You can also create a webpage with the specific intention of writing in the style similar to what is in your book. For instance, idontdozombies.com is a “blog-like” fiction tale that actually takes place between two books. In this case, the blog helps bridge the gap between the original title and its sequel and keep your fans interested and invested while you are crafting your next book. It also gives potential new readers a chance to experience your writing without spending any money.
Finally, another idea that might make sense for you is to give away an entire book. You will need to figure out if it’s a cost effective way to advertise and if you have the resources to distribute the free books. People always appreciate something free, but what are you getting in return? Did they sign up for your mailing list? Did they agree to fill out a survey? Will they buy your next book? A lot of new authors can’t afford to give away their books. It is simply not a viable business plan. However, if you are creative enough, maybe you can find away to give away a book and get something in return.
It sounds irresistible in theory. A completely free marketing campaign that reaches potentially millions of prospective customers. But how do you know if it works? (Click here for part one or part two of this article)
There are some obvious answers. 1) It works if your friends forward your message to other friends and their friends forward it on to people who you would never reach otherwise. For instance, the best viral videos get 100,000 hits or more, usually within the first few days. 2) If you have a subscriber-based service (like a podcast or mailing list) you can measure success in the increase in subscribers that you gain and keep. 3) The most obvious of all: did you see a spike in sales?
Depending on how technology-savvy you are, you can gather a lot of hard data on the success of your campaign. You can track the number of times an e-mail was forwarded. You can google search for your campaign keywords and see how many results pages come up related to your viral campaign. You can use some facebook metrics to track the popularity of your fan page. You can use twitter search to look at the trends for your particular keywords (by the way, trend tracking is available even if your keywords aren’t appearing a lot -- they do not have to be in the top ten most popular trending topics for you to track them). In addition to that, your website can have a hit counter, google has its own analytic package, and you may be able to track clicks through any of the social networking tools you end up using.
Here’s a strong caveat: if you have to beg your friends to help viral your message, then you already don’t have a strong campaign message. It doesn’t hurt to ask them to spread the message along, but the true success of viral marketing is to get other people to do the work for you. Remember, what you have at its core is a word of mouth campaign. The success of your campaign is grounded in your ability to create a message that people want to share on your behalf. You are capitalizing on a culture of endorsement for your product. Whether you achieve that through humor or creating a thought-provoking message or some other catch that makes your pitch shine, it is really the power of your message that propels it to viral stardom. But the vehicle that takes you there is other people’s interest.
__ Writer’s Income is a weekly blog that covers all aspects of writing for publication. Topics include writing, publishing, and marketing with an emphasis on doing all the work yourself.
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