One of the things I see a lot of authors doing, is asking people to “like” their Facebook page. That’s an immense waste of effort. First – you’re asking for a favor, something you should never do. Even if it’s “I’ll like your page if you like mine.” Second – getting other random...
I made a big mistake with my author website, which I rectify in this video: I chose a “clever” tagline for my website that wasn’t clear, didn’t have any keywords, and didn’t offer my ideal readers the benefits they’re looking for. In this video I talk about branding, keywords, search visibility, getting and...
Last week I went through my manuscript one last time and sent it out to beta readers; I’d already gone through it a dozen times, and I thought it was pretty clean. I assumed there’d be a handful of typos (there always are), and that the beta readers would catch them (they usually do). However,
After years of helping authors design, publish and market their books, in 2016 I’m focused on publishing my own young adult fiction. Since I’m building a network of powerful young adult book blogs and review sites, I wanted to share my platform with other young adult authors who are having difficulty getting visibility or connecting...
It’s a new year! In 2015 I decided to focus on my writing, and this month I’m gearing up to launch my first fiction. I’ve been posting a lot of advanced Amazon hacking and guerrilla book marketing stuff on my blog, but I realized that’s too much for people who are still struggling to finish
I made this video as part of a series on how to publish a book in 2016, but it deserves it’s own post, because a lot of authors are spending time and money on shit that doesn’t work, and nobody is really talking about the stuff that does work. Most “book marketing” doesn’t sell books:
This post has a lot of vulgar swearing in it. It’s a new year, I’m purging my frustrations. Whenever I meet new people, I tend to find out pretty quickly that they want to write a book, start an online business, or sell more art. That’s great, I think, I can totally help them to
Just found out from K-lytics that Facebook advertising has changed and become SO much more effective for book marketing. Previously, authors could only set interests, and Facebook would advertise to anyone with any of those interests. But that means you’re shotgunning your ad out to everyone, even though they might, for example, love...
Two things I’m taking very seriously right now, are Amazon search results and Google search results for my upcoming novel. There are lots of ways to add keywords into your Amazon page, to increase the chances that someone on Amazon will discover your book, but it’s also crucial to Google your keywords and see what pops
Update: these goals I set were a bit big… I’ll go permafree later but haven’t yet because I’m using KDP/KU, so I may not hit the big numbers this year. Still, my books are doing well. I’m going to stop everything for several months to focus on finishing my PHD, so some of these goals
I got a very clever tip yesterday from ViperChill about writing “Best of 2016” posts early (like RIGHT NOW) to cash in on all the search queries that are bound to happen next year. The trick is to be the first; and luckily, since most authors don’t know much about SEO, this is a pretty easy
It’s all over! I’m going to list the contest results and winners here. Incidentally, these were the most popular items, and how many people entered to win: Book lamps (1363) Book pillows (1358) Antique typewriter (1623) Tea pot (1476) So if you’re looking for good gifts for writers, those are safe bets. I added in
