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Amazon Countdown Deal: The Results
Last week I told you how to run a Kindle Countdown, and mentioned my own deal was running from July 8 to 15. Now I have the results.
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The Why & How of Kindle Countdown Deals
Once upon a time, Kindle Countdown Deals combined with some inexpensive and targeted advertising was a surefire winner for authors. Set a Countdown Deal on KDP, pay under $100 for a few targeted ads, and voila! You were almost assured to get a few hundred downloads, increase your Amazon rank, and get a couple of…
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Creative Nonfiction in Memoir & Biography
Your job in writing your memoir is to make the story as true to yourself as possible. Often we think of nonfiction as being written in a dry, “just the facts” style that takes all the joy out of reading. While this style is just fine for technical, legal, scientific, and other factual writing, it…
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Tropes: Cliche or Useful Tool?
When I hear the word “trope,” I used to think of a hackneyed writer just getting by using the same tired formulas over and over again. Recently, I was given a new way of outlining my writing to ensure that, whether I am writing fiction or nonfiction, I keep my readers’ interest. First, let’s take…
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4 Ways to Launch Your Book
Amazon just isn’t generating the income for authors it used to. It can generate rank. It can even generate sales. But it is no longer generating a livable income for authors. To make money as an author today you need to find new ways to reach your readers and new ways to sell your books.
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Set Outrageous Goals
I recently heard a sermon on “setting outrageous goals.” If we set small goals, the speaker said, we will be satisfied when we meet them and not strive harder or do more. But if we set outrageous goals—goals we don’t think we can meet—we are much more likely to make those goals. And even if…
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Shameless Self-Promotion – With a Heart
I have a friend who talks about “shameless self-promotion.” She thinks it’s a great thing, and something that most of us just don’t do enough. Most authors I know are afraid to promote their books. Why? I think it is because our books are very personal to us. They are our babies. And promoting our…
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What is Hybrid Memoir?
Hybrid Memoir You’ve decided to write your memoir. You know exactly where you want to start. The first scene has been written in your head for months, years or even decades. Now it’s time. You sit down and write that first chapter. But where do you go from here? I hope I can help you…
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Don’t Let Perfection Paralysis Stop You From Publishing
Do you find yourself writing, writing, writing; always adding another chapter, thinking of a new small piece of information that just must go into your book, changing a sentence only to change it back again … and again … and …? Well you get the picture. At some point it is time to say, “Enough,…
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The Rise of AI in 2024
AI, or artificial intelligence is the biggest, hottest, trendiest thing in every industry today, and publishing is one area where the use of artificial intelligence is already sparking controversy. You may think that you will never use AI, but my guess is that you already have. Whether you have consciously used ChatGPT the “natural language…
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A Year of Marketing Tips and Tactics
Last January I declared 2023 my Year of Marketing, and throughout the year I’ve tried to look into what’s in, what’s out, and what are the basics every author still needs to be successful. Here’s a recap of some of the marketing tips we’ve discussed in this newsletter in the last 12 months. This is…
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10 Tips to Finish Your Book During Nanowrimo
Have you made your Nanowrimo resolutions yet? If you aren’t familiar with this peculiar acronym or its importance in the writing world, Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s kind of a combination of New Year’s and Lent: you make a resolution and see if you can stick with it for an entire month.…
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SMART Rewards
It’s October. Raise your hand if you have decided to finish your next book before the end of the year. Yep. I see a lot of hands raised out there in newsletter land. Now, put down your hand if you have worked on that book project since you made that goal on Labor Day. What?…
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Are You Preparing Your Platform?
Most authors I know first write the book, then publish the book, and finally think about marketing the book. But book publicists know that this is exactly the opposite way to do things. You should start developing your platform two to three years before your book is published. This is not as hard as it…
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Category Listings
You may have heard that Amazon KDP is changing its category selections, or as they call it, the “category experience.” What does this mean for you as a self-published author? You are limited to three categories per book. This makes it even more important that you pick the categories that best help readers find your…
