Discoverability: Four Ways to Win Readers When Self-Publishing

Please welcome Susan Kaye Quinn!

"Discoverability" = the ability to have readers discover your work, fall in love, write glowing reviews, and send chocolate-covered kisses to your bank account in the form of royalty deposits. The ways to reach readers are forever shifting. In our connected world, readers today are discovering books at the speed of electrons. This connectivity, plus direct distribution to readers, is what makes a career in indie publishing possible.

What's the right way to find your readers? Any way that works.

Four keys to making it work:

Make Great Art (Hat Tip to Neil Gaiman) A fantastic book/blurb/cover makes marketing possible. An unprofessional cover, stumbling blurb, or a story that doesn't satisfy won't sell, no matter how much time or money you spend. It all starts with a great product. There are always exceptions, but in general, well-selling books are giving readers something for their money.

Give (Some Of) It Away Publishers have forever been using free samples to entice readers to discover a new author. Virtually every well-selling indie author I know has used free as part of their marketing strategy to get a large sample of their work in reader's hands to whet their appetite. But they're smart about it: they set the first book in a series free and don't give away their only book. I'm a fan of permafree over Select, but both have their uses. Other strategies: giveaways on Goodreads (print) or LibraryThing (ebook); ARC giveaways for your loyal fanbase; free short stories for newsletter subscribers.

Get It Reviewed Reviews count in the Amazon algorithms that can help sell your book 24/7 while you're working on the next one. If you have a fanbase, free ARCs to loyal fans in exchange for reviews is a great way to get a book started. Review copies for book bloggers, or bloggers in your readership niche (say steampunk or historical), can generate great quality reviews. A Netgalley membership (especially as part of a co-op) has reviewers self-selecting for interest in your book.  

Advertise It Be very wary of paid advertising. Only a few services generate enough sales to pay for the ad, and they're always changing. Bookbub is the gold standard. Their prices are high but I've yet to hear of an author who didn't make back their money (and move a lot of copies in the process). Carefully vet any other paid advertising against the Bookbub model of tailored email lists and transparent subscriber rates. Other ways: Goodreads giveaways; blog tours; cross-promoting with other authors in reader-focused events (like my recent Steampunk with Heart week). The key here: always fish in new ponds, not just in your own backyard.  

THE KEY: Always be thinking outside the box, trying new things, and writing your next book. Most of all, be patient. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and it takes time for word of mouth to spread and fanbases to grow.

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Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy, which is young adult science fiction, and has been indie publishing since 2011. She writes speculative fiction for all ages, from middle grade fantasy to adult future-noir, and her foray into non-fiction includes her Indie Author Survival Guide, a guide for the heart as much as the head. Her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist" and you can subscribe to her newsletter (hint: new subscribers get a free short story!) or stop by her blog to see what she's up to.

Indie Author Survival Guide

Kindle | Nook | Print

This book is for every author who's thinking about indie publishing, or has already taken the leap, and wonders why no one told them about the sharks, the life-sucking social media quicksand, or the best way to avoid sales-checking, yellow-spotted fever. Check out Susan's free webinars on 10 Ways to Survive Indie Publishing and Facing Your Fears.

Why Don’t More People Buy Your Book?

Many factors go into the success of a book. To neglect just one of those factors is to miss giving your book the best chance it can have to sell well. Below I’ve listed just some of those factors.

The Cover. The cover is one of the most important selling points for a book and yet it’s often underrated. It’s the first impression the book offers. It has to express what your book is about, if not specifically, then in a subtle way. For example, it should show what genre the book belongs to, it should have recognizable elements, including a readable title, and it should look professional.

The Title. If a reader buys your book with a false expectation born from the title of your book, they’ll end up returning it and won’t buy any more of your titles. The title doesn’t necessarily have to be short, but it does have to give the right impression for the book. For example, a book titled Dead Man Walking will give you an impression that it’s fiction and might belong to crime, paranormal or horror. You’d be pretty certain it wouldn’t belong to romance. If your book is non-fiction, then it needs to be a lot more specific to hook any potential readers.

The Editing. Don’t underestimate the importance of professional editing. A book with many typos and grammar mistakes will pull a reader from the story. Not only that, but the author will lose credibility. The reader will be less likely to buy any more of your books.

The Hook. Because of the vast array of choice readers now have, it’s important to hook them early. If your beginning pages drag on, few people will be willing to read further. It’s an unfortunate fact of publishing. So give them a hook—a promise of great things to come--make it early, and deliver that promise in the continuing pages.

The Target. Sometimes a story has a way of writing itself. The author will get caught up and carried away. It’s a wonderful phenomenon when it happens, but there is a danger that the target audience is forgotten, or misinterpreted. For example, if you’ve written a story you want to target to teens, then you shouldn’t make the protagonist a forty-year-old woman. If you are writing the story for the wrong audience, then your book won’t sell.

The Marketing. Oodles of information is around to learn more about marketing--just check out the tabs here at our IWSG website--but to break it down to its simplest form: Know your market. If you aren’t marketing toward your audience, then you’re missing an opportunity. Also, you can’t always expect your readers to come to you. You’ll need to find out where they are and spend time in those places.

The Spam. While this point belongs in marketing, it’s so crucial it stands on its own. If you are spamming everyone and their dog about your book, then you will guarantee yourself a lost readership. Avoid the spam at all costs.

The Reality. Every writer who wants to sell a book needs a realistic idea of how many books they should be selling. Not everyone can be a J K Rowling. Also, for self-publishers in particular, it takes time to pick up momentum when you’ve released your first book. Don’t expect to sell thousands in the first month. On top of that, if you’ve only written one book, then sales won’t be as great as having a collection of books available. If readers like your first book, then they will be more likely to read your second, and so forth.

What are some tips and tricks you’ve found works best for selling your book/s? What are some other factors that may influence higher or lower sales?

Lynda R. Young found success as a digital artist and an animator for many years, and now as a writer of speculative short stories. Her work is published in a number of anthologies and online. She is currently writing novels for young adults. In her spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook

Best Practices for Self-Publishers

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Digital self-publishing has been an exciting development for writers. We’re able to connect with readers without worrying about the cost or logistics of distribution. We have complete control over our pricing and product. This is an industry that’s changing quickly, but the best practices for self-publishers remain the same:

Take our time. Strong writing will be our book’s best advertisement. Beta readers can help us determine any weak spots. If you need more information on a writing-craft topic, the free Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine can help you learn more about plotting, characterization, pacing, and more.

Have our book professionally edited. Beta readers are helpful, but nothing beats a good editor.

Consider getting a professional cover designer. Unless we have talent, time, and a good image manipulation software, a designer is worth the money and will help attract readers to our books. The free Ebook Services Directory is a good place to start, if you’re looking for a professional to help you with your book.

Upload the ebook to every format available (and, later, print and audio, if the book enjoys good sales). Although Amazon’s Kindle remains the most popular, don’t forget to upload your files to Barnes & Noble. Uploading a file to Smashwords ensures that your ebook is distributed to multiple types of e-readers. If your book connects with readers and shows strong sales, consider moving into print, using a service like CreateSpace. Now audio is also available to self-publishers, through the distributor ACX.

Find a social media platform that we enjoy most and build a community there. It’s important not to spam potential readers…instead, we should develop relationships online and support others.

Play with pricing. Opinions on the “right” price for ebooks changes frequently, but running our own experiments can help us sell books and increase our visibility on online retailer sites.

Write the next book. Ultimately, moving on to our next book is the most helpful thing to do. Not only does having more books ensure more visibility and help promote discoverability by readers, but it helps us improve.

What tips for self-publishers can you add to the list?

Elizabeth S. Craig writes two mystery series for Penguin Random House and self-publishes another. She shares writing links on Twitter as @elizabethscraig.