#LifeBooksWriting: Week 3 (two weeks late)

So, I fell slack on this task and I’ve missed two of the LifeBooksWriting topics. Tonight, I will catch up. The third week’s topic was “6 Book Marketing Tips”.

#1-#6: I have no clue. I suck at marketing. Seriously. I’m a writer, not a salesperson. Of course, I want you to read my books, but I want you to read them because you chose to read them, not because I asked you to. With that said, if you don’t make your books appealing, no one will read them willingly and unsolicited. So, here is what I’ve learned in the 14 months I’ve been a published author.

#1: Make your cover attractive. Hire a professional designer if you don’t know how to create your own cover. Put whatever you want on the cover, but the design needs to be appealing enough for a potential reader to want to move on to read the synopsis of the book.

#2: Make your synopsis riveting. Sometimes writing the synopsis is the hardest part of publishing a book. If you don’t lure a potential reader in with the few sentences of the synopsis, they aren’t going to give the rest of your book a chance.

#3: Opt to provide a sample of the book on Amazon or whichever marketplace you sell your books. Giving readers a sneak peak can get them hooked to where they want to finish and buy the book to do so.

#4: Use social media. Not to push your book, but to make real connections with readers, bloggers and other authors. Those connections, if genuine, will eventually provide you with a good “word of mouth” network, which can sell your books faster than any other strategy.

#5: Write a great book. Seriously. Put your heart into it. Make it the best. And have someone (if not multiple someones) that know what they’re doing edit the shit out of it.

#6: Don’t be a dick. If readers try to reach out to you, be grateful. Be humble. In the end, the way you treat others, especially on the interwebs, will impact your business of being an author. Even if someone comes at you spewing negativity, the best ways to respond are either not at all or to kill them with kindness.

That’s all I’ve got. If you have questions, comment below, shoot me an email or find me on facebook (facebook/zeiajameson) and/or Twitter/Instagram (@ZeiaJameson).