1) Start telling the world about your book project early!
Most of us think that no one is interested in the process of how we went from idea to finished book, but they are. Help your readers and dance feel like they are part of the journey from the very beginning. You may even be surprised by how supportive they are when the book finally comes out! Check out this post I did on my blog about starting your own bestselling novel earlier.
2) Perfection is good enough!
One of the most common misconceptions that I have seen from new authors is that their first, second, and third drafts must be perfect before they let people read it OR press publish. Listen, perfection is subjective- that means that perfect to me maybe total trash to you. So decided not to re-write the same book 100 times. Instead, tell the story to the best of your ability, get it edited (or at least proofed) take what you learned and move on to the next story.
3) Everyone gets bad reviews.
I know, I know… No one likes to hear that. You wrote your book because you were passionate about it- of course, you don’t want someone else telling you that they hated it! But just like with perfect, what is actually good and bad is subjective. Someone could have read your work and it simply was not a good fit for them. Now the best thing you can do with a bad review is to look for the queues and clues that can help you improve your craft and connect with readers more effectively.
4) Listen to your readers.
Sure, you’re an artist and an “artist does not follow crowds,” but the truth is that the way to best connect with readers is by getting into their minds and knowing what they want before they even do! This is a writing and marketing tip that I wish I'd come to understand earlier. Learn as much as you can about your readers, that way speaking to them through work and marketing and promotions gets to be easy. Know them so well that you know what blogs they follow, what podcasts they listen to, and what social media platforms they frequent - then show up there and connect with them.
5) Make goals for yourself.
There will be people in your life who think that you should just go with the flow, relax and publish when you feel like it. Don’t listen to them! Without goals, life is stagnant—just going through the motions without any real progress or purpose. You need goals to write, publish promote and profit with your book. Make no mistake about it, you are officially the CEO of your book. So you must set goals to make sure that you are staying on task and moving your book in the right direction.
6) Realize that social media is free advertising, but doesn’t always work the way you want it to.
I was naïve in thinking that when people liked my Facebook page, followed me on Twitter, and read my posts they would automatically see and buy my books. They don’t. Social media is just a piece of the strategy you need to promote and publish your book. Newsletter swaps, ads, press, and book tours are also methods you can leverage to amplify your book marketing and sales.
7) Publishing your book should mean that it is available in more places than just your website.
The most common question I get asked by authors is, “How do I sell my book?” The answer to that question is very simple. You publish it. A lot of people fail to realize that publishing your book means it should be available in more places than just your website. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, libraries, local book stores - the possibilities are endless. Make sure that your publishing strategy has multiple outlets and formats to help readers connect.
8) Having a pricing plan for your book is very important.
You can set your book to free or paid, or you can sell it for any price that you want. But the thing you have to remember is that reaching your profit goals will require a clear understanding of your pricing when you intend to reduce your price or set it to free. It should be part of a launch or promotion strategy that considers availability on different platforms.
9) Using the Amazon API to market your book.
The Amazon API allows you to extract information about your book(s). This is an easy way to get product data that includes things like bestselling categories, bestselling subcategories, bestselling books in a specific category or subcategory, bestselling authors - just to name a few. The possibilities are endless with the right data. Remember, as an author, you are now the CEO of your book and you need good data to make decisions and create strategies to reach your goals.
10) Networking with other authors.
Connections count, so don't forget about your fellow authors when it comes to building community, sharing information, and creating a team effort for promotion. This is a group that really gets what you're going through! Don't be afraid to reach out and begin the conversation.
