AuthorHi, I'm Ray Evans. I'm a certified copyeditor and proofreader. Archives
September 2023
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1) Your Marketing Was All About YouThe only thing worse than not marketing, is not marketing correctly. Other writers might be interested in how you write, when you publish, or your biography, but until your readers become fans, you should focus on what they need and want to read about. Your marketing should be focused on what your story is about and what readers can expect to get from it. 2) Your Book's Not Available in the Right FormatsMore than ever, readers have choices about how they want to read, and as an author AND publisher it's up to you to give them what they want. Find the right mix of printed books, ebooks, and audiobooks for your readers. 3) Little to No Keyword or Category ResearchAs a self-published author metadata is your best friend. "Meta" is from Greek, meaning "about". So metadata actually means "data about data". Meta data is more important than ever in making your book visible in large marketplaces like amazon. A free guide on this is coming soon. 4) Pricing too High or Too LowPricing you 200-page novel at $49.95 and your 40 page novella at $0.99 are both too extreme. How much do other books in the same genre or category cost? Putting a book's price in line with those of other books can also help readers see it as a choice. Cheaper isn't always better! That could even make the book seem less valuable. On the other hand, if you charge way too much, readers might choose similar books that cost less. Figure out the best price point based on cost and competition! 5) Not Knowing Your Book's Direct CompetitorsThere's no doubt that any self-published book will have to compete with every other book on the planet. But there will be some books and authors that will directly compete with each other. To help readers think of your book as a choice, you need to put it next to these other relevant books.
Clearly you know what genre and sub-genre your book is. Go to sites like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com and see what the highest rates books are of same genre. Read the highest, lowest and middle reviews to get a sense of what people liked and disliked about your biggest competitors.
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Not selling Does NOT Mean Your Book's badLet's get that out the way first. There are actually a lot of factors as to why your book and what you do to change that. Ok, let's go! 1) No Author PlatformIf an author doesn't have a group of people on email lists, blogs, social media, who are eager to read what you write, this is called a "author platform," sales will be slow or nonexistent because it takes time to build a following. First, make a market for the book, and then write it. Start posting on social media. Create a website and make frequent, 2-3 times a week. updates. 2) Bad Book CoverThe covers and interiors of many self-published books look like they were made by amateurs. I definitely think self-published authors should save some money and use free or low-cost tools and services to make book covers. Presentation matters! Again, looking at what competitors have to offer, especially if they are traditionally published; it can help you figure out what the target market likes. And make sure the cover art is easy to see even when it's small, as it often is on online book product pages. In the online world of today, that can really hurt sales. A while back I published an article about how to cheaply designed a book cover in 3 steps: read it here. 3) Too Much Competition\People have said that self-publishing has made the book industry more accessible to everyone. That is correct. On sites like Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, almost anyone can publish his or her own book (KDP). And that's a problem. Just so you know how much competition there is for any self-published book: Back in September 2016, the United States' ISBN number registrar, R. R. Bowker, said that more than 725,000 ISBNs had been registered for self-published works. Keep in mind that Amazon's KDP eBook publishing program does not require an ISBN so this number is a low-end estimate of what's really out there. Also, this doesn't count ISBN registrations for books that are printed and sold in stores. Even though the sheer number of books of all kinds can make it hard to sell a self-published book, that doesn't mean that authors can't improve their chances of selling books and getting royalties. But it all comes down to how the book is marketed. 4) You're Not Selling Your BookI know what you're thinking, "I have my book listed on Amazon. I am SELLING it!" That's not what I mean. If an author thinks of himself or herself too much as an artist, they might not like the idea of having to sell or market their self-published books. Whether they are stubborn because they are proud, don't know enough, or are afraid, their books stay in the "no-sell" zone. When an author self-publishes, they have to accept the fact that they are also marketers. That means running advertisements, doing interviews, raising awareness weeks and months in advance of the book release so that your target audience knows that it's being released. Don't know how to do that? You're in luck! I'm working a free guide to teach you just that. 5) Writing without an AudienceThis is far more common than you think. I'm always surprised when I ask authors who their books are for and they have no idea. They are basically writing a book in a void. Then they are shocked when it doesn't sell because the subject matter or genre is so niche or granular that it doesn't resonate with a large enough number of readers to make substantial sales. ConclusionThere are many factors and moving parts in making a best-selling books and if youe book isn't selling as well as you want/expect it could one, or more, factors at play. Tomorrow, I'll have a few more reasons for you.
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Why You Need to Do This ExerciseThis is continuation of the article "15 Questions to Ask to Write More Compelling Characters, which you can find here). Making strong characters is not about creating physically or magically powerful characters, unless you're writing a superhero or magician story. It's about character growth throughout the plot, compelling backstories, and a distinct personality, among other things. Before we begin, there are two essential points to remember: Everything about your character will connect to other facets of their personality. The values, opportunities, desires, and so on of your characters are influenced by even the most fundamental demographic information. The values, opportunities, desires, and so on of your characters are influenced by even the most fundamental demographic information. Character growth occurs throughout your novel; there is no need to reveal all of these aspects about your character in the first few chapters. Even though this list is divided into categories for easy organization, creating a character is not a straightforward process. As you draw ties between your character's traits and decisions, objectives and traumas, and more, things will get a little tangled. But be sure to have fun with the process! Personality and Beliefs
Goals and MotivationStories have broad plots, but what drives them are the decisions and desires of your characters. What your characters want and need will shape their identities and the actions they make throughout your narrative. Here are some questions to better define their goals and motivations.
Conclusion: Putting it All TogetherAll of this leads to the internal and external pressures that make stories and characters interesting. Our inner thoughts and feelings affect what we do in the in the outside world, and things in the outside world can change what we believe about ourselves.
At their core, stories are really about what it means to be human and how to deal with problems like fear, grief, loss, and more. This is especially true of sci-fi and fantasy. The first step to exploring this internal push and pull is to think about all of your character's parts—his or her story, personality, goals, desires, and dreams—and how they affect their decisions. This is how character development happens on the page, and this is how you'll make characters that readers will want to read about.
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Characters, despite being imaginary, are merely humans you create from scratch. Their histories, personalities, desires, and relationships are intricate and uniquer. However, the thought of developing an entire, imperfect human being can be overwhelming. Answering a series of questions, beginning with the fundamentals and becoming more in-depth over time, may alleviate some of the strain associated with character creation. Before diving into this list, be sure to describe this character's role in your novel or story. Is this character primary, secondary, or tertiary? If you are writing a minor character who will appear for only a few pages or scenes, you generally do not need to answer all of these questions. But if you're developing a main or supporting character with a significant role in the tale, you should absolutely review the entire list! This is going to be a series and this installment we're going to start with the fundamental: backstory and relationships. Backstory Questions
Family and Relationships
And that's it for today. I'm sure this will keep you busy so tomorrow, I'll have a few more sets of questions dealing with personality and motives to help with your character development!
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