Saturday, April 21, 2012

Self-Publishing

What makes a self-published e-book a success? I think most would say, selling a ton of copies. And while that's true, how do you create a book that sells a ton of copies?

 How about writing a compelling book with interesting characters? That sounds good.

What else?

Let's look at a Canadian author, Shadonna Richards. She couldn't find an agent or publisher, so she decided to follow Amanda Hocking's model and publish on Kindle.

 She hired a professional editor. She started learning how to promote her books. She did her own bookcovers, but worked to make them great. She created a two-line blurb to entice potential readers. And she kept writing.

According to CTV News online, Richards is "now Amazon's #1 Kindle Bestselling Author, with 110,000 downloads to her credit. She's doing so well, she's currently earning about $6,000 a month from her writings."

What are you doing to create a book that will be a success? Share your steps in the comments section.

14 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to look up this author - I don't know her work.

    At the moment, I'm trying to write the best book I can :)

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  2. Mu self published book, Two Hearts, will be out in June. I hired a professional editor and consider it a "must do" for anyone self publishing or not.

    In this pre-publication time I'm talking about the book and gathering blurbs from a selected group of individuals.

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  3. I think writing the best book you can and learning how to promote it is important no matter what.

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  4. It seems to me that there are so many ways to promote these days that it's almost overwhelming. I wonder how some authors are finding time to keep writing.

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  5. What a splendid post for those thinking about e-book publishing. Thanks. No wonder the main-stream publishers are standing on their heads. I have a good friend who went this route and she is having great success also. She has been able to quit her job and stay home and write.

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  6. I'm still searching for that magic bullet. :)

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  7. Are you doing ebooks, Laura?

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  8. All of mine are also as ebooks. 95% of my sales are that.

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  9. I am about to launch my debut novel. It has been a learning curve to say the least. I now realise I must set aside time purely for marketing, as it is a vital part of a self publishing author's life.

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  10. Starting with an e-book version just makes so much sense to me. If it sells a lot and customers ask for a print version, you can always go down that road later. Environmentally, e-books are the way to go. Apparently, indie publishers are beginning to see it that way, too.

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  11. All of this information is wonderful and e-publishing is something I am going to have to consider too. I love books but I have to admit I love reading them on my nook and Kindle version on my phone. My next purchase will have to be a Kindle fire I think.

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  12. I'm trying everything my poor, techno-challenged and dyslexic brain can handle ... and then hoping and praying lightning will strike. Maybe it's not the best plan, but, hey, it's a plan.

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  13. Hi Helen .. some people just get on with it don't they - good for Shadonna .. I too must have a look out for her ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  14. Self-publishing allows you to call yourself an author, because you can hold up your book and proudly say, "I wrote this!" That may be the greatest benefit of all. So if you've been avoiding self-publishing the manuscript you've worked on so long and hard, it may well be time to join millions of other self-published authors who have a special reason to celebrate!

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