Five Profit Making Techniques For Your First Book

Happy Easter, Authors!  It’s so exciting for a writer to finally finish a first book and put it out there for readership, rave reviews and purchase. I mean, I would love to see Unleash Your Pearls in the hands of women and men alike, getting all inspired and feeling the “ish” of just how deserving of God’s blessings they are.  Wouldn’t that be something?! Well, rest easy for now, my lucky readers, we’re still at the publishers, but  once we launch, you will get the memo:)

First time authors put in their dues, with the nail-biting that’s a nimble away from becoming a habit, the nighttime nightmares, sweating tears and negative fears, non-withstanding; it is the desire of first time authors to give readers the best extension of themselves through their art. Oftentimes, these authors find themselves in a quandary because at the end of the day, they know their validation and financial sustainability as authors come from their book sales.

Nowadays, more books are being published by first time authors than ever before and most authors realize that unless you are a celebrity or a bestselling Terry McMillan, the first  months of your book being out there, more than likely will result in few sales. This can be a daunting experience. As writers we have to get pro-creative to cultivate a satisfying book profit outcome. I don’t know about other authors on the scene with their first books, but I’m looking to land the bestseller list for my pearl and so can you.

Here are five profit-making techniques for your first book~

1. Book Blurb… If you know you have a great book to offer readers. You have to start grinding and get your book into the hands of the people. Use your blog to promote your book by offering brief excerpts from time to time. This technique is one used by many authors to bring awareness to their upcoming book launch. It stimulates the reader’s interest in your book, without making them feel pressured to buy and if your book just happens to be bestseller worthy, like my (Unleash your pearls), for example, then, all the better:)
2. Offer a free copy of your book to another blogger in exchange for an honest review on Amazon.com or on their blog…I’ve done this for many  bloggers turned authors. As an Amazon book reviewer, I know this works! Not only have authors benefited from my reviews, they have seen an increase in book readership, as a result.  Of the many reviews I’ve done over the years, only one author asked that I change the ratings authors depend on  4 or5 star ratings for their books to make a profit and I do understand this, but, I am honest in my reviews and therefore, my review are not coerced. I do book review at my writer’s blog still, when time permits.
3.  Use your social media to announce your book’s launch, links of purchase and any other information complimentary to purchase, for example, where reader can pre-order a copy before it launches.
4. Connect with colleagues on Linkedin… Of course, use all of your social media resources to talk about your book, but I love the connections I’ve made with like-minded professionals on Linkedin because I’ve gotten asked to participate in business ventures, joined esteemed group in my genres, appeared on blog-talk radio to promote my work and had work accepted that will bring awareness to my business brand from which my book is based. The stellar folks you meet on Linkedin can be your book’s game-changer!  You can’t always receive and not be willing to give in return and that’s why I  appreciate LinkedIn connections~ Good business practice.
5. Finally, as a new author, you just have to make your name known, by any lawful means necessary. Get out there and tell people who you are and what your book can do for them before it launches. Be pro-creatively active, y’all and take your book to colleagues, connections, readers, reviewers and critics alike. Bring the food to the influence table! Get to know your local librarian or bookstore owner, talk about your book and set up a reading.Be that ‘expert’ panelist or guest blogger on popular brand websites or blog talk radio spots. Join a twitter chat or host a webinar.

Whether your brand teaches, entertains, motivates , inspires or encourages another to aspire to be the best person s/he can be, in order to make your book a success, you can do what needs to be done to get your book in the hands of readers. There are many creative avenues from which to sell your great book and introduce your expertise and brand to the world. Get on the good foot, new authors, time’s-a-wasting because people all over the world are waiting to read your awesome book!

Did you find this post helpful?  Do you know of other savvy ways new authors can ensure their book sale? Please share in the comments. We’d appreciate your resourceful tips.

I want to give a special thanks to all of my new and seasoned followers for being a part of Clara54 Writers Blog. Y’all bring the Sunshine! I’m taking a brief spring break and will see all of you in a few weeks. In the meantime, keep on grinding and make those book sales, people. 🙂

You’ve Published Your Book~ Now What’s Your Next Step?

Happy Saturday, writers and authors! This thought occurred to me; now that I’m in with a traditional publisher and set to become a published author, how am I going to place my book in front of buyers?

How many times have we heard that writing the book is only half the battle and that the hard part is when Marketing and actually selling comes into play?  Once your book is written and finally published, the next and obvious step would be to find buyers to purchase your lil darlings and that can be a daunting experience.

Those seasoned authors among you are probably going; “Why don’t  newbie authors start spreading their book news sooner!?” Okay, we get it. But, better late than never, right?

While doing research on the how to of advertising our pearls to the world’s readers and buyers, I came across interesting places to advertise books, whether you are a newbie or seasoned author who went the way of traditional or Indie publishing.

Let’s not forgo the usual suspects in getting your book noticed~ Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Good-reads, blog tours and setting up your author’s page on Amazon.com.

My amazon author’s page for A Life Toward Authenticity, an eBook that I self published in 2012 is here: https://www.amazon.com/author/clarafreeman

I was blessed to receive a publishing scholarship in September toward the publication of Unleash Your Pearls, my new self-help guide for women on the path to living their best lives. I’m so excited to bring this resource to women-worldwide!

If you’re at that precarious stage of book completion or manuscript readiness and searching for places to advertise your darlings, here are a few sites to consider:

www.bookbub.com

I read that bookbub is one of the hardest sites to get on, but do give it a good try.

http://www.readersintheknow.com/home

This site seems to be a favorite from some author comments about their experience.

Blurb Direct Sell  states that it will allow authors to sell any book made with Blurb directly to fans and friends through their own personal storefront.

And they allow you to choose the markup over the base price of your book. The site also allows authors to keep 100% of the profit.

Booklikes is a site that allows you to create your free author’s page.

I loved this comment from LinkedIn member and prolific author, Carolyn Howard Johnson, so I’m re-posting it as the writer’s quote for today! (my LinkedIn tribe/ connections are spot on!)

Carolyn Howard-Johnson

I hate to be a spoil sport, but I think that paid advertising (which is what advertising is!) is a waste of money, especially when authors can get publicity (read that free!) on many of the sites they might normally advertise on. I like Tania’s idea of an author’s page for FREE. How about writing articles or taking excerpts and offering them to the bloggers who reach your audience. This kind of thing is the reason I wrote The Frugal Book Promoter. New authors tend to think of “advertising” first, and it probably should be one of the last things they should consider–after they have already made considerable profit from a book that can be dedicated to marketing.

What stage are you at on your book  publishing? What do you think about these sites for advertising your books to potential buyers? Have you other book suggestions? Please share on with us on Clara’s writer’s blog.

 

Eye On The Poet…

Books On My September Reading List

Good Morning, Creatives!

Don’t let the heading fool you,I’m mentally exhausted as I’m preparing for the move in my head:) Even though change is good, it can still be somewhat intimidating and a big time-suck !

Once I’m settled, I have to follow-up on a request for a blog-talk radio interview and look into a collaborative blog offer from a LinkedIn connection. I also need to have a few professional photos taken for a commissioned self-portrait that I’m currently in talks with a nationally known artist about.

If you find a lack of new blog posts this month and in early September, consider what I’m going through and check back every now and again for more writing updates and a bit of “personal” from Clara. 🙂

These are the books I have on my reading list for September. I cannot wait to kick my heels up and devour them!

And last, this book from her Mystery Series, one of my fan favorite authors Rodeo Carlson’s 

Here’s your writer quote for today:

“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.” — Julia Cameron

Feel free to share with our tribe, what you’re writing and reading on !