Author Resources

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author resourcesHere are some author resources to help you publish.

“Layering” your promotions with several of these sites can make a HUGE difference in the sales of your book. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

On tweeting.  

Twitter is one of many social media tools that can make or break you. We have over 85,000+  Twitter fans in our 2 accounts (@Kindlbookreview & @TweetTheBook). If you manage your Twitter account properly you can connect with readers who tweet. Below are some useful links for effective social media and author tools.

images-11. We use Hootsuite everyday for scheduling non-recurring tweets — another powerful tool for authors!

2. •••  The BEST Author tools are at Author Marketing Club.  I’m a premium member & highly recommend it.

3. Don’t miss our additional author resources below.

4. There’s some really cool Author Tools at kindlepreneur.com (Ranking/sales matrix!)

Here are some of the best sites to “Layer” your promotion. What does that mean? It means for the best promotional results, advertise your book “deal” across multiple sites at the same time ( or close to the same time) for a greater chance of hitting bestseller status. This will lift your book up in Amazon/B&N rankings and get you even more organic publicity.

Unknown-2Places to Promote Your Freebie Days:

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR PRICE ON AMAZON KDP:

To change the price on your Amazon KDP account, watch this video…

How can I get a “mobi” version to keep as my own?

I don’t have a Kindle file. How can I properly format my book? First of all, if your book is already published to Amazon, you should have a “mobi” file (more about that in a second). We recommend that you have your ebook professionally formatted because it is always best to have your own digital files to provide to reviewers, etc. You can also download your ebook file by going to your KDP Bookshelf, click on “edit book details” and then scroll down the page until you come to “Preview your Book” and click on the blue link “downloadable book preview file”. This is a mobi formatted file.

Recommended professional ebook formatting Services:

Other Ways to Find New Readers: 77 Ways to Find New Readers by Laura Pepper Wu

Get Reviewed:

Author Marketing Firm & Services:   LikeUS Communications

Tweet Hashtags “#” and Twitter Folks to Help Promote Your Freebie:

  • #kindle #kindlefire #ebooks #FREE #mustread #goodreads #greatreads #freeebooks #Kindlefreebooks
  • #AmazonPrime #Kindledeals #kindledeals
  • @FreeKindleStuff @FreeReadFeed @free_kindle @Freebookdeal @freebookpromos @frebooksy
  • @KindleBlaze @KindleBookBlast @KindleBookKing @KindleDaily @Kindlbookreview @digitalBKtoday
  • @KindleFireDept @KindleEbooksUK @KindleFreBook @KindleFreeBooks @KindleFreeStuff @KindleKing
  • @KindleSurprise @KindleUS @KindleUK @KindleDE @KindleES @Kindle_Max @kindle_mojo @Kindlefreebies
  • @Kindlestuff

If you know of other Twitter groups, Facebook pages, etc, please let us know in the comments.

Great Websites to Learn From:

Editors & Proofreaders & Cooperatives
The following is a list of key elements that will affect your biggest and best opportunity to FINALLY get noticed on the world stage:
  • Your Book Cover is the very first thing readers see, so it only stands to reason that it better be AWESOME. Unfortunately, many self-published authors have an unprofessional looking cover, yet expect professional results. Your cover needs to grab a reader’s attention, draw them in, or create enough curiosity to earn a “click”. If your book cover is lame or screams “self-published” you might get far fewer clicks than if you spent a little bit of money on a sweet cover. And in the world of KDP Select promotions, a loss of clicks can mean a loss of several hundred to several thousand dollars. So it is definitely worth the expense.
  • Your Book Blurb is your sales pitch, and you don’t have much time to convince a book buyer to spend their dime on you. With so many books for free, and at affordable prices, your product description should be catchy, to the point, and professional. If you have misspelled words, or the layout of your product description is sloppy, too long, too short, or has bad formatting, a reader might assume that the book has similar issues. An ideal book description should include at least two quality reviews that build immediate credibility, followed by a brief, accurate, and compelling product description.
  • Your Price Point is critical. I mention pricing in my book, The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe, in detail. But my opinion of book pricing has nothing to do with the value of your book, it has to do with the size of your audience. Therefore, if you’re a newer author, and if you do not have many reviews, or awards, I would not recommend pricing your book over $2.99 during a KDP promotion. Unless your book really catches fire, a newer author is at risk of losing sales when over priced. In fact, check out the top 100; you’ll notice that there are more low priced books than ever before.
  • Reviews sell books. The more you have, the more credibility you will have with your potential buyers. If you have very few reviews, you might not sell near as many books with your free promotion than if you had 10, 20, or more quality reviews. Likewise, if you have received poor reviews, there is a greater chance that you might not experience the same success as some authors have had with KDP Select. If you need more reviews, check out The Kindle Book Review among other sites. You can always solicit reviews from book bloggers.
  • Layer your Marketing. The Select free promotion is the best shot you may have to get your book promoted on a world stage. You have to throw everything you’ve got into this promotion. I recommend scheduling multiple promotions on the day, and days following the moment your book returns to the “paid” store. I discuss the concept of Marketing Layering in detail and provide a few websites that will coordinate this effort in my book.
So here’s the deal: You have 90 days to use your 5 free days with KDP Select. If you are lacking in any of the elements listed above, I’d urge you to utilize your time and resources to get as many of these points nailed down BEFORE you offer your book for free. If you don’t, you could get a whole bunch of nothing from what I consider one of the best promotional opportunities in the history of publishing.
 
If you know of other QUALITY author resources, please let us know in the comments!
67 thoughts on “Author Resources”

  4. Another great resource for authors to learn from is Author Teach; a brand new exclusive site dedicated to teaching authors and so much more. There is a great video on How To Create A Book Description and the membership is extremely reasonable. A good opportunity to get a featured author page, featured interview, live training, exclusive content for members only, and networking opportunities during live video conference calls. Learn more at http://authorteach.com/

    Reply

  6. I am a professional book editor with comparable rates. (www.frontpageediting.com) I spent the last three years as Associate Editor at Touchpoint Press, was previously a literary agent, and I’m also an author. I offer editing, formatting for KDP, critique of submission materials, and do one-on-one consulting. For more information, go to website above. And my blog is full of advice for new authors on writing, editing, publishing, and marketing: http://www.jenniferhaskin.com/blog.

    Reply

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