1. Plots
2. Characters
3. Title
4. Cover
5. Good Cover Blurb/Plot Synopsis
6. Price
7. Good Reviews
8. Word of Mouth
9. Established Author with multiple titles
10. Facebook/Twitter/Other Social Media
11. Successful Blog with large number of Blog Followers
12. Popularity of Genre (Vampires, Shapeshifters, Werewolves)
13. Good Publicity/Promotion Plan
14. Paid Advertising
What do you think? Personally, I think good reviews and word of mouth help the most as well as being an author with multiple titles and a good track record. What do you think?
Next Week: Help for Indie Authors
11 comments:
All of the above. Seriously though, I wish I better knew. Getting your book to come up in the first few pages at Amazon in its category is great. But that's the trick, and I've only mastered it with my NA historical romance Red Bird's Song. I'm writing good books based on reader/reviewer feedback/awards, but it's still a challenge drawing them to the attention of more readers. I blog a lot and guest blog, which is my most important promo resource. I could go on as this is a topic I often ponder but would like to hear from others. I do think all the .99 kindles out there are tough on the rest of us who can't control our prices.
Word of mouth! That can either make or break an author. Reviews would be next.
Oh, hon, I wish I knew. My debut book has garnered good reviews and readers have posted good reviews on Amazon--all 5-stars. Like Beth, I blog and do other online promo. I'm hoping as I continue to publish more books, I'll sell more, but with so many talented and interesting authors out there, I'm just a grain of sand on the beach.
It's so hard to say, every reader is different. Word of mouth is good, but so is having more than one book out there. I found sometimes its the characters and their conflicts that make me want to read more.
Great comments all, keep them coming! Sandy/Alison
I agree that word of mouth is the best way to help a book catch on. Discoverability is the tricky part. How is someone going to see your cover, read your blurb, etc if they don't know you exist? I'm also not sure reviews sell books because there are a gazillion reviewers out there, and anyone on Amazon can become an instant reviewer. It all gets to be just so much fluff, you know? I was hoping you had some magic answer for me! :)
No magic answers, wish I had one! Sandy/Alison
Don't we all. I suggest handing out the wands.
If it's word of mouth, then people aren't talking much--at least they're not talking about my books. lol! I have great reviews. I just have very few of them for my 3 books. So, if you can tell me how to get people talking and/or to write more reviews, then you'd be my bestest friend ever. lol! Until then, I'll just keep doing what I love: writing!
One thing I forgot to mention in my list of possibilities was giveaways--where you give away the book for free for a while-on Goodreads or Amazon. Do they help?
Sandy/Alison
I wish there was a magic bullet that pointed specifically to increasing sales. I've given away books on Goodreads, and while I get an increase in interest, I don't think it plays significantly in sales. At book signings, I hear people say they don't read this genre or that genre. Maybe it's a ploy not to buy that author's book. Word of mouth is helpful, but stretches to just so many mouths. You've asked an interesting question. Wish I knew the answer.
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