First
published 12th Sept2022
Do
you have a website? When starting out, I wouldn't go throwing money at a flashy
multi-page site with a dotcom domain name. All you need is a landing page to
begin with, telling people a little bit about yourself and your work. You can
use a free Wordpress site for this, as long as you have a page where people can
find you. You can also create a blog, if you have the time and the inclination.
With luck and good content, you may well build up a following; some of whom may
decide to buy your book.
Offer Multiple Formats:
Firstly,
if you have only uploaded an eBook version of your book, go into your KPD account
and make a paperback version available. It doesn't cost you anything to format
a paperback or a hardback, and for a lot of people, being able to get a hard
copy of a book appears more professional than just having an eBook on there
(even if they end up buying the eBook version when they finally click the ‘buy’
button), and of course, if you have a hard copy of your book, you can show it
to potential customers without having to keep playing around with a phone or
laptop. Also, there are still people out there who prefer to read an actual
book.
When Putting Out Your Hard-copy Versions:
At
Brindle, we usually use 5x8 inch for paperbacks and 6x9 inch for hardback
versions of the same book. Have a look at the various options on Amazon to
decide which template you want to use. Just copy and paste the text of your
original manuscript into one of those but remember to check what pages your
chapters start on and then check again once you've saved the document as a PDF.
After it's been saved as a PDF, there shouldn't be any movement of text even
when you've uploaded to Amazon (but check the entire document on Amazon's
previewer, just to be on the safe side).
Formatting Your Book Covers:
For
book covers, I use a program called Scribus (it's a free desktop publishing
program), if you type into Google (or whichever search engine you use) 'Scribus
Free Download', you should find it without too much trouble. It can take a
little getting used to, but it produces pretty good results, especially for a
free program.
Of course, you don’t have to design your own book covers. Even without spending any money. If you’re trying to put out your book without spending any money at all on it, using Amazon KDP’s own cover creation tools can produce results, but you’ll still have to provide the artwork if you want a standout cover.
As
a small Publishing House, Brindle Books buy ISBN numbers in bulk so that they
can be assigned to new releases as we put them out. If you buy individual ISBN
numbers, however, the cost can really mount up. If you are going to
self-publish without going to all the trouble of setting up your own publishing
company, I'd even be tempted to let Amazon assign the ISBN number.
Free Press Releases:
Do
a bit of publicity for the book, starting with some press releases. We've used
paid press releases and so far, have found that they haven't been cost
effective - the sales of the book we pushed haven't increased enough to cover
the fees for the paid press release. There are some free press release
companies out there though.
Brindle Books Ltd - Latest News - BrindleBooksLtd | PRLog
Next,
get your book listed on some book promotion sites. Again, use the free sites
rather than paid ones, as with a lot of these sites, paying them is just like
throwing money down the drain. Try Selfpublist, awesome gang, and Best Book
Monkey, all of which are free.
Selfpublist:
Selfpublist
Awesome
Gang:Awesome Gang – Where Awesome Book Readers Meet Awesome Writers
Best
Book Monkey: Best Book Monkey - Book Deals
& Promos: Email • Website • Social Media (sur.ly)
Goodreads:
Goodreads
| Meet your next favorite book
There
are countless articles for writers on the subject of choosing the right
Keywords and Categories for your books, and countless tools out there to help
you in this endeavour. Some of these tools are free and some or not.
Don’t
forget to put direct links to the book’s Amazon sales page in any
correspondence and share it to social media. If you use a platform that doesn’t
allow clickable links, a picture of the QR code for the book’s sales page can
at least make it easier to find for potential customers.
Remember
that it’s human nature to be lazy. When you’re telling people about how great
your book is, do you tell them the name of it and hope that they’ll remember it
and go looking on Amazon when they get a minute? They won’t! Most people will
have forgotten the conversation by the time they get home.
Keep Writing:
Lastly,
the best advert for your book is your next book, so, hopefully you're working
on your next project already. Don't just sit there worrying about whether your
nest book will be as good as your last; just get on with it. Always remember:
“Don’t get it right – get it written!”
Although
none of these methods will automatically ensure that your book becomes a
best-seller, they will all help your book reach a wider audience and,
therefore, increase the potential for sales.