Joe sez: With almost two hundred guest posts promised, I'm going to be blogging more frequently. I don't have a choice, because if I leave each post up for two or three days, it'll take 3 years to fit everyone in.
As a compromise, I'm going to link to the last seven guest posts at the start of each new guest post, so everyone's visibility is maximized.
You can read Marcus Sakey talking about cover art here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-marcus-sakey.html
You can read Dakota Madison talking about finding success as a romance writer here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-dakota-madison.html
And now here's Carlos Cooper:
Carlos: First, a huge thanks to Joe. I know you hear it all the
time, but I’ll say it again. You give indie authors a glimpse not only into the
struggle and pain of writing, but also what can be. You da man.
About me: I've read Joe’s blog since the fall of 2011. I
even wrote him a post
to say thanks. At the time I was trying to figure out how to self-publish
my first novel, Back
to War (currently FREE until 6/24/13). I have no idea how many hours I
spent scouring posts and comments, picking up nugget after nugget. I was a free
info whore and my wife hated it when I stayed up late reading in the dark with
my iPad.
If there's one theme I've taken from Joe it's keep
experimenting. With that thought in mind, I self-published my first novel.
It was more of a passion project at the time as I wanted to give back to the
Marine Corps for changing my life. I still owned a small business and never
really thought that I would 'qualify' to be a professional writer. Dumb ass. To
my surprise the book started selling. I stuck with Amazon mostly for simplicity
and their awesome customer service. For me it worked.
So as I struggled with my property management business, I
watched my book sell thirty copies one month, then ten the next, then twenty
seven the next…you get the picture. As a big believer in residual income, I was
intrigued. I wasn't doing much other than running the occasional Select promo
and answering the rare email.
It wasn't until after I’d gotten out from under my company
that I thought seriously about writing full time. One book that told me I could
be an author was You Are a Writer (So Start
Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins. At that time last summer, I was really
trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. That book hit me right
between the eyes. Finished it in less than a day and WHAM…I was an author.
I buckled down and wrote book two of the Corps Justice
series, Council of Patriots, in just over
two months. Published it on Amazon and all of a sudden sales of the first book
doubled. Hmmm…
I released the third book, Prime
Asset, in three episodes (once again experimenting) and experienced another
large boost to my other titles. That's when I realized something amazing. As a
big believer of KDP Select freebie promotions (it's the only way I built my
small yet loyal readership and actually got visibility) I always used my
freebie days to max effect. Results varied when I only had one title. What I realized
was that I could do a five-day promo each and every month because I had
three books in the series. I started calling it The Rule of Three when other authors asked what I was doing. Throw
in a couple short stories and I was seriously boosting the number of potential
readers I could get in front of.
I've used The
Rule of Three since February of this year. My sales keep growing. I'm
finding new readers. Readers are engaged and telling me what they do and do not
like. I'm growing as an author.
I also found out something else that Joe mentions. When
readers like a book (yes, even a freebie) they'll go buy your other books. That
fact is affirmed for me every month as each of my Corps Justice titles sell
almost exactly the same number of copies as their brothers. Simply put, it
works.
Important things that I've used and recommend for The Rule
of Three to work:
1. Use all 5 freebie days at once. It’ll give you a better
chance at hitting the Top 100 Free list. Unless you're a big dog like Joe, the
days of using one or two days and seeing a huge boost are gone.
2. Have three or more titles even if they're short novels or
short stories. Series work for a reason. If you can connect with a reader they
will want more.
3. Do what Joe sez: Write a great book, design a hot cover
and keep writing.
I’ll apply The Rule of Three concept to my new series The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon. I
released book 1, Benjamin
Dragon – Awakening, at the end of May. Now my job is to hurry up and write
the next two. In my mind I won't have a chance until then.
So what's the moral of the story? First, listen to Joe. He knows
what he's talking about. He's been there.
Second, write a lot of good books. Be
prolific. Series sell and they bring new readers back for more.
Third, max out
freebie promotion using The Rule of Three.
Thanks again for all the wisdom, Joe. Now back to writing…
My experience with freebie promos varies. Sometimes I can hit the Top 100 the first day with no promotion at all. Other times I use ebookbooster.com and bookbub.com to get my books up there. I haven't seen any verifiable connection between how many ebooks are given away, how quickly they're given away, and how the title bounces back to the paid list.
Sometimes I give away a lot of ebooks in a few days (50k or more) and I have a nice bounce back. Sometimes I wind up exactly where I was before the promo. But these freebies are getting read, because people are reviewing them. So hooking a reader with a freebie is possible, and can boost backlist sales.
Remember that selling books isn't a goal. It's a hope. Goals are things within your control, and you can't force people to buy or read you.
I've said many times that promotion isn't about selling books to people who don't want them, it's about making people aware of books they're actively seeking.
Also, it bears repeating that I'm just one guy with unique, subjective experience. No one knows everything, me included. What works for me may not work for you at all. All writers need to amass as much information as possible--even if it is contrary to what I say--and figure out what works for them.
A final note: if someone on this blog has a freebie, even if it isn't your preferred genre, download it to help them out. As writers that's the least we can do to help one another. I also encourage readers of this blog to buy ebooks that they're interested in, by both my guest bloggers and by me.
Currently my Codename: Chandler trilogy, co-written with Ann Voss Peterson, is available for $1.99 a title. And if you pre-ordered THREE (which will be released on June 25) you will get it for the $1.99 price.
That's over 350,000 words of over-the-top action, sex, and humor (the series features appearances by Jack Daniels and Harry McGlade) for less than six bucks.
So check out C.G. Cooper, and if you have a little money left over, check out Chandler. (And don't forget to try Marcus Sakey for thrillers and Dakota Madison for romance.)