Marketing

5 Tips for Building Your Author Brand

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This article is by S.C. Sharman. Writing a book is not enough. You have to have an audience eager to buy the books that you write. One way to do this is by building your own author brand. Here are five good ways to make this happen. Tip 1: Use Word of Mouth At the … Read more

4 Essential Tips for First-Time Con-Goers

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Baltimore Comic-Con Loki
Ditch the Costume

This article is by Joseph Zieja.

Cons are vicious, insane things, where emotions run as hard and fast as the alcohol, where dreams are made and broken at bars, and where George R. R. Martin sends people out for cheese steaks at three o’ clock in the morning.  You will meet people dressed in costumes from anime you have never heard of and, now, never want to see.  It’s a horrifically daunting, exhilarating, and generally rewarding experience.

So why should you take advice from me about going to a convention?  Because I’m you.  I’m the new guy, and I’m here to give you the new guy’s perspective on con-going, and I think I did pretty well for myself at the last few cons.  I’m here to give you the 4 Essential Tips of Convention Attendance.

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The Great Free Book Debate: The Authors

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This is the second article in a two-part series by Alexandra Butcher. Part one is here.

One of the most controversial ways to promote a book is to offer it for free. The theory is that readers will take a chance on a free book by an unknown author, and that this will help the author to get her name “out there.”

Why is this controversial? Well, many authors feel offering one’s book for free devalues it, the author herself and thus all indie authors. It is also debatable whether this strategy actually works in a market already full of what some see as “substandard” books. There is also the argument that readers will madly download free books, and never actually spend any money on buying books.

So do authors really see any benefits?

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The Great Free Book Debate: The Readers

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This is the first in a two-part series by Alexandra Butcher. Part two is here.

Indie authors are given an almost overwhelming amount of advice about promoting and marketing their book, a great deal of which is contradictory.

It has to be said there is NO single path to take which works for every author. One person may find a good deal of success with one way, and the next finds that it simply does not work.

One of the most controversial ways is to offer a book for free. Amazon’s KDP Select Programme allows self-published authors to do just this.  In return for exclusivity to Amazon, an author can offer his or her book for five days free promotion in every ninety day term. The theory being readers will take a chance on a free book by an unknown or little known author which they may not otherwise consider.

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How to Market Your Self-Published Book

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The reality of marketing a self-published book and finding your audience presents a challenge somewhere in-between the faint dream of online success, and the sense of screaming unheard into the web’s dark and angry void.

Traditional publishers target their marketing towards their network of book reviewers and buying agents who, in turn, bring a book to the attention of readers. As a self-publisher, not only do you probably lack this network, but you also face an image deficit when you try to piece one together.

They think you’re trying to sell a story from the slush pile of traditional publishers.

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