Novel Marketing

Almost every traditionally published book goes up for preorder before it comes out. However, the advice surrounding preorders can be confusing for indie authors. Some indies say preorders are critical. Others say having a preorder for your book can hurt sales.Who is right?Should you set up a preorder for your book? Are preorders a good idea or a bad idea?Preorders can help or hurt, depending on what kind of author you are.In this week’s episode, you’ll learn:What kind of author is helped by a preorderWhy preorders are so important for some authorsHow to make the most of your preorder windowListen in or check out the blog version of this episode to learn the benefits and drawbacks of making your book available for preorder before its launch date.BookLaunch.fun Support the show

You’ve heard me talk about the Five Ps of Marketing, and in this week’s episode, we tackle the third P: Place. In other words, where should you sell your book?Many authors struggle to find the right place to sell their books. Whether you're an indie or traditional author, you must discover the best places to sell.So, how can you unlock the power of place for your book?In this episode, you’ll learn:Why the location where you sell your book is important and powerfulThree case studies on authors who have maximized sales in the right placesOnline and offline places where you can sell your bookSelling your book in the right place is important for connecting with the right readers and making sales. Listen in or check out the blog post to find out how place impacts your book sales.BookLaunch.fun Support the show

The term "self-publishing" doesn't mean that you sit in a cabin in the woods all by yourself and emerge with a published book as if you'd done it all singlehandedly.It's rare to find one person who has all the skills required to turn an idea into a physical book. We need cover designers, formatters, web designers, assistants, and more. You might be self-publishing, but you will need some help.But what if you don't know anyone who can help? Where can you find skilled professionals who can produce the high-quality work your book deserves?I asked Ricardo Fayet, the cofounder of Reedsy, a curated community of book professionalsIn this week's episode, you'll learnHow to search Reedsy to find experienced professionals who specialize in your genreHow Reedsy vets the professionals in their marketplaceHow Reedsy makes money and saves you money at the same timeListen in to discover how Reedsy can help indie and traditional authors create beautiful, compelling, and marketable book

This year marks the end of an era.The Book Launch Blueprint is entering its seventh and final year. Since we began offering it in 2018, it has been one of our most popular courses.Launching a book is one strategy that works well for indie and traditional as well as fiction and nonfiction.But why is a book launch so important?In this week’s episode, you’ll discoverWho needs a book launch (and who doesn’t)Other methods that work for some authorsWhat a successful book launch does for your book and your careerWhat we'll cover in this year's final Book Launch BlueprintRegistration for the final cohort of the Book Launch Blueprint course is now open.Registration Closes: Friday, April 12Live Student Orientation: Friday, April 12.Course Begins: Monday, April 15Course Concludes: Friday, May 10Listen in to learn a few book launch secrets and get an overview of the course, or check out the blog version of this episode.Support the show

How much money does it cost to become a professional author?Any profession will cost you when you're just getting started. If you're broke, I recommend listening to my episode titled The Starving Author: How to Market Books Without Money.Assuming you have some money, you need a spending plan. But how much money do you need to budget for the first five years of your writing career? I asked Kent Sanders, host of The Profitable Writer Podcast and founder of the Profitable Writer Community, a membership group that serves writers and helps them become more profitable.In this week's episode, you'll learnHow much money to set aside for writing-related expensesWhat writing tools and investments yield the best return for authorsWhich expenses you can avoid early in your career Listen to the podcast or read the blog version, and be sure to ask your questions and leave your comments on AuthorMedia.social.Support the show

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for connecting with readers and selling books. Obviously, you want a lot of email subscribers, but it doesn't matter how many subscribers you have if they don't open and read your emails.How do you craft the kind of emails that capture your reader's attention and help you sell more books?In this week's episode, you'll learnThree elements that make readers open your emailsWhich element is least importantWhat to write in your email newsletterIf you don't yet have your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers, listen in, and you'll be on your way to 1,000 subscribers. Be sure to check out the blog version for a long list of links related to growing your email list.Support the show

A few years ago, the popular buzzword in the author world was "tribe." Building a tribe of readers was seen as the key to success. Reader relationships are still important for authors, so why did the term "tribe" go out of fashion?Having a tribe of readers is still an incredible asset that will help you sell your books and raise your profile amongst readers, but you need to know how and where to build a tribe if you want it to grow.In this week's episode, you'll learn:The difference between a platform and a tribeWhy authors need a tribeHow large your tribe needs to beWhere to gather your tribe to ensure a positive experienceIf you've been wondering how to listen to your Timothy or eavesdrop on a conversation between several of your target readers, listen in to find out how and where to build your tribe or check out the blog version of this episode.Support the show

Two authors recently asked me the same question: “What should I do if I have no money for book marketing?"It’s a question that requires exploration and evaluation. If you have the same question, you may be at a crossroads. You have two options if you want to write but have no money for marketing.In this week’s episode, we’ll examine the two paths forward from the no-money conundrum. You’ll discoverWhether money spent on writing is an expense or an investmentHow to turn the “expensive option” into the “budget option”How and where to invest your time when you don’t have the funds for publishing If you feel stuck because you want to write but you have no money to fund your writing, listen in and discover your next steps forward, and be sure to check out the blog version with all the links and articles I reference.Support the show

Are you thinking about quitting publishing or writing? You started full of energy and optimism, but it has been a hard road, and you feel tired.Should you quit? My answer may surprise you.Maybe you should.Publishing is an industry where almost everyone has a financial incentive to see you keep going. People in the publishing industry don’t earn money if you quit. But there is a lot of money to be made by telling writers exactly what they want to hear: “You will be the next bestseller and hottest thing in publishing!! Just keep paying for coaching, edits, covers, and conferences! Eventually, you will be a star!”Writing will cost you time and money.How do you decide if it’s time to quit or keep going?Only a handful of writers die at their keyboards, which means we all quit eventually. But how do you know if it’s time?In this week’s episode, you’ll answer five clarifying questions to help you know whether it’s time to press on or bow out.You’ll learn:Two uncomfortable publishing realitiesWhen the time is right (

Do you long to see your story on the big screen? If so, I have good news.Every streaming platform is desperate for new content to give them the edge in the ongoing streaming wars, and traditional TV stations and movie companies are as prolific as ever. Even radio stations and theaters are looking for new content.But how do you turn a 100,000-word novel, which would be a 12-hour audiobook, into a two-hour movie? Is that even possible? Where do you begin?Few things boost a book's sales like a giant Hollywood marketing campaign for the movie based on a book.But how do you turn your book into a screenplay?I asked Charles Harris in this week's episode. He's a bestselling author and award-winning director who's helped hundreds of authors turn their novels into screenplays.You'll discoverDifferences between writing a book and a screenplayTechniques to distill your novel into a much shorter screenplayWhat kind of novel makes a good screenplayListen in or check out the blog post to discover th

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser, but if you're just using basic Chrome, you're missing out on some amazing time-saving tools and assistance.Wouldn't it be great if you had an assistant who could correct a typo in your email before you hit send? How much time would you save if you didn't have to think of a new password for every account? Would you get fewer headaches if you didn't have to scroll past obnoxious ads as you research?Chrome extensions are tools that can help solve all of those problems! They can make you more productive, improve your writing, and give you more time to write.But with more than 137,000 Chrome extensions available, how do you know which will be best for you?In this week's episode, I'll recommend six specific Chrome extensions every author needs in 2024. If Chrome isn't your default browser, don't worry. Other browsers offer many of the same extensions.Listen in and find out how you can leverage these tools to save time, reduc

For those outside the publishing industry, the inner workings of the industry are wrapped in mystery.How do books get published?Who decides which books to publish?How well are books selling?How much money do authors really make?In secretive industries, information is typically leaked through hacks, whistleblowers, and court cases. Cases involving big publishers rarely go to trial because big companies dislike having their secrets publicized.But when one of the largest publishers in the history of publishing was taken to court by the Department of Justice, we got a rare peek behind the scenes.Some of the best journalistic coverage of the DOJ v. PRH case came from Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet newsletter, and in this week’s episode, I interviewed Jane Friedman about the trial and what we learned.You’ll find outThe scoop behind some astonishing and controversial statsHow publishers decide which titles are allotted a marketing budgetThe biggest challenge traditional publishers have to solve soon Listen in or check ou

Did you know that one in five Novel Marketing listeners lives outside the United States?Authors living overseas view America as the land of plenty because there are so many American readers. However, foreign authors often struggle to sell their books in America. Why? These United States are made up of 11 ethno-geographic regions, each with its own culture. Your book will resonate with one region more than others, but how do you find out where it will sell?In this week’s episode, which will be our last episode of 2023, you'll learn about the vast differences between the 11 American nations, as categorized by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations.You’ll find outWhich regions are underserved by authors and publishersWhich regions require nearly flawless writingWhich regions will resonate with the themes and characters in your book Knowing how Americans are different from each other culturally can help you craft more interesting and believable American characters. It is also key to crafting marketing me

Most authors build their websites on WordPress, partly because of its powerful and enormous plugin repository. A plugin is like an app for your website. Each of WordPress’s nearly 60,000 plugins can add specific functionality to your website. But how do you know which ones you need and which to avoid?In this week’s episode, you’ll learnThree categories of WordPress pluginsHow to tell if a free plugin is good (or not!)Which plugins your author website needsWhich plugins you should avoidIf you’ve been overwhelmed by the number of plugins available or haven’t yet added any to your website, listen in to find out where to start and which ones you need. Read more at the blog version of this episode.Support the show

For the last 11 years, audiobooks have seen double-digit sales growth year over year. The audiobook market is now $1.8 billion.That means audiobooks are no longer an optional, nice-to-have feature when you launch your book.But how do you make an audiobook? Should you read it yourself or hire a narrator?In this week’s episode, Scott Sigler walks us through the steps of turning your book into an audiobook, and you’ll discover you have several good options. You’ll learn how toWrite a book that sounds good to listenersEdit with an audiobook-first mindsetFind and work with a narratorRecord the book yourselfWhether you’re in the beginning stages of writing your manuscript or a few months from launch, you’ll want to listen in to find out how offering an audiobook can validate the quality of your book and increase your sales in all formats. Read more in the blog version of this episode.Support the show

When I was in college, I experimented with cooking Asian food, but my stovetop-cooked rice never tasted very good. Then, one of my Asian friends introduced me to the right tool for the job: a rice cooker. Its only function was to perfectly cook rice, and it worked every time.While I never got good at cooking Asian food, I always had great rice because I had the right tool for the job.When we're cooking up books, many of us waste time doing things the hard way because we don't have the right tools for the job. But it's hard to find the right tool if you don't know it exists.In this week's episode, I am the guest! Derek Doepker interviewed me about tools that make writing and marketing easier. The interview first aired on the Bestseller Secrets Summit, and Derek kindly agreed to let me share a portion of that interview on Novel Marketing.You'll discoverTwo tools every author must haveA tool that saved me 106 hours (and can save you hours, too!)Tools to reduce your password-security

So you're thinking about self-publishing a book.You've heard self-published authors can make more money, control the content and design, and have better access to marketing data.But self-publishing a book can be daunting. There are so many factors involved: writing, editing, formatting, finding a cover designer, uploading to Amazon, setting up a sales page, and promoting your book.Self-publishing, also known as indie publishing, is not for the faint of heart.But sometimes the overwhelm comes from not understanding how the process works.In this week's episode, we remove some of the overwhelm by talking with James Blatch, who has been helping authors self-publish for years.You'll learnWhich tasks you need to focus on at the beginning of your careerWhich tasks you must learn laterWhich task you need to begin long before you publishHow to get your book on Amazon without paying someone else thousands of dollars Listen in and learn the seven critical steps to successfully self-publishing your bo

Black Friday marketing phenomenon is an opportunity, but it's also a threat.In this week's episode, I share some powerful tips to supercharge your book sales!You'll learnWhat motivates people to buy books on Black FridayWhich book promotion tactics work best on the big dayThree mistakes to avoid when running your holiday promotionWhat to do if Black Friday marketing stresses you out!Black Friday isn't technically a holiday, but you can still maximize your book sales while readers are in the buying mood. Click here to read the blog version.Support the show

There is a new scam targeting authors.An enterprising scammer can use AI to write a book similar to your writing style. They can use an AI-generated cover similar to yours, and publish the book with a pen name that also happens to be yours.Sometimes, Amazon even puts this fraudulent book in your Author Central account so customers see the AI book you didn’t write listed with the books you did write.The crazy thing about this attack is that it might not be illegal.It is such a new type of attack that there is no name for it yet. But in this week’s episode, I will call it “reputation theft.” Reputation theft is where someone you don’t know uses your name and style to sell their own books.How do you protect yourself from reputation theft?How do you navigate the many legal dilemmas authors face in this age of AI-assisted writing?I invited literary lawyer Lloyd Jassin to guide us through this legal forest. He’s a publishing insider who tells us.The difference between copyright and trademarkWhich tool is best for p

How much should your book cost? Your answer is critical to your book's success and your career as an author.Authors have a wide range of pricing options, from free ebooks to $200 collector's editions. You might be wondering, "What is the best price for my book?" but that is actually the wrong question.Instead, you should ask, "What are the best prices for my book?"In https://www.authormedia.com/book-marketing-101-price/, you'll learn how your book's price impacts sales and discover 14 strategies for finding the optimum price for your book.You'll learn:- How pricing affects your reader's perception of your book's value- When to price your book higher and lower- Why free works for some authors discover how to price your book throughout its life cycle and determine which strategies work best for your genre and book. https://www.authormedia.com/book-marketing-101-price/. Support the show