Author: Brenda Poulos

This Is Amazing!

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I discovered something pretty amazing this week.

Did you know that as a writer, your books can earn an income for as long as 70 years after your death?

Just think. You can provide a monetary stream for loved ones from the work you are doing now.

In 1963, RCA Victor featured the slogan “The Gift That Keeps On Giving” to promote their color televisions and the phrase has been used in many instances ever since.

If you’d like to give a gift that continues well into the future, consider writing a poem, a book, or a song!                             

The Magic Month

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Students, teachers, and parents know what the month of August means.

Back to School dominates television ads because in most states school begins in August.

So, what about authors? Should the month of August be on our radar, too?

The more times that I’ve heard it over the years, the more I am convinced that from mid-August to mid-December is a golden time of year for those who write and publish books.

A large percentage of people begin their Christmas lists in August. Many actually begin their online shopping.

So, I’m putting the advice I’ve received to the test. 

On August 15th, I published my latest book, Justice for Jessie, and advertised it at a reduced price on Amazon for the first week. (Both e-book and paperback editions).

I will follow its sales through the end of the year and compare those sales with those of my other books which I published in the spring. And, while I am waiting on those statistics, I will be writing for another release in August of 2024.

(By the way, a few blog posts ago, I mentioned I’d soon be publishing, Blinded. However, I discovered that there were already A LOT of books by that title. I renamed my book right before publishing to Justice for Jessie, which I actually like better!) 

Know Your Definitions

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I made a promise last week to do some research on pre-launches. I talked to a friend who definitely recommended one of the two pre-launch styles I mentioned. He feels the extra work is worth it—in both sales and publicity.

But, remember, you must be 100% ready before you do so. Meaning you have your keywords and categories chosen (which is what we were discussing last week, too.)

The thing I learned about categories is that I needed to know the definitions of words I already thought I understood. For example, should I choose religious or spiritual? They are two separate categories.

Religious refers to an outward expression of inward faith, whereas spirituality means an inward connection to God (or another “higher-power) which affects the way one lives their everyday life. And knowing that distinction will help me when choosing my book’s categories.

There are quite a few other categories that may require a look in the old dictionary. So, have fun!

Why Do A Pre Launch?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I don’t know everything there is about Pre Launch, but I did learn something very interesting this week.

It seems that all the books one sells before the actual publish date are combined and the author gets “credit” for them on Amazon on the very first day of publishing.

You can use a PreLaunch format to accomplish this, or you can simply go on Facebook, Twitter, a web email list—whatever you’d like—and offer your book at a discount on Amazon until the book is actually published. 

Pre Launches help an author garner publicity early on. So do social announcements, combined with discounts.

By next week, I will have learned much more and will write a blog post about these two methods of pre-advertising.

Until then…

There Are Words, And There Are Keywords

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I admit that I am only beginning to learn why keywords are so important in selling our books.

Keywords are aptly named. They are the words a person types into the search bar when looking for a book to read. 

So write the blurb to be placed beside your book cover on Amazon using the words you think readers will type in their search bars. 

So many of us, including myself, wrote our blurbs to be interesting and clever in order to garner sales. However, the readers have to get to that page first. 

And the way they do that is by using the search bar.

If they are interested in fiction, they will probably type the word fiction in. However they will type additional words in order to refine their search.

For example: Fiction>Westerns>Native Americans>New Mexico and so on until they pinpoint exactly what they want.

So if you are writing about Native Americans in New Mexico, and you want readers to find your book, you must work those words in your blurb. (Challenging, to say the least).

Previously, I put my allotted keywords on the page where I uploaded my manuscripts onto Amazon. But I failed to write these words into the book description (blurb), failing to take advantage of that marketing tool.

I just finished writing my blurb for my new book, Justice for Jessie, using my keywords. And, as time permits, I will be rewriting book descriptions for my previous books.

It is never to late to learn something—and put it into practice.

Better Than the Original

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

You’ve been writing your book for the better part of a year. You’ve tied up loose ends in the editing phase and are ready to publish.

Then, you find out—like I did—that the title of your book was used by a dozen or so authors in years past.

Do you stick with it because you like it and because it is already recognizable by lots of readers?

Or do you choose something else and get the job done?

Well, that’s what happened to me just a few weeks ago. I discovered that the book I had entitled, “Blinded,” had already been used by quite a few other authors (nice to know others thought it was a good title, too) and I had a choice to make.

I spent a couple of sleepless nights trying to think of another title that I liked just as well.

I was ready to throw in the towel when I woke up one morning and a title just came to me out of the blue. The new title, “Justice for Lucie” was just so-so for me, so I changed the main character’s name to Jessie with the Find/Replace option in Word.

It took a few days for me to get used to it, but now I absolutely love my new title, “Justice for Jessie.”

I have learned that there is almost nothing you cannot fix if you put your mind and effort to it. And, like myself, you may end up liking the change better than the original.

Look for Justice for Jessie in September 2023.

Choosing Your Subtitle

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A subtitle should tell the consumer additional information that cannot be conveyed by the title alone.

You’ll want to choose one, if possible, because it gives you an additional chance to add more keywords on Amazon.

Keywords are simply the words a person would type in the search bar to identify the kind of book they are looking for.

Authors are allowed to choose ten keywords. These will come from the title, subtitle, back cover blurb, and book description you write for your Amazon sales page.

I wrote down dozens of ideas for the subtitle for my soon-to-be-released book, Justice for Jessie. I decided on Forgiving the Unforgivable because it further described my book, along with being “catchy”—at least to me. It was also short and sweet, making it more memorable. 

Remember: Your subtitle should represent the genre in which you write, mine being Christian Suspense.

What Now?

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So you think you’re done with your book when you’ve written the last line?

Not so fast, my friend.

There’s still the title page, dedication page, biography, Dear Reader page, copyright page, “Other Books by this Author” page, and anything else you’d like to include to personalize your book.

If you don’t have one by that point, you’ll need to purchase an ISBN. Then, being the search for an editor, publisher, publicist, and so on.

When should you do these things? 

Look way back to the top of this blog. Do them before you ever get to that point. At least four months ahead.

It’s hard to do all these things while you’re writing that final chapter, but if you don’t, you’re giving up prelaunch publicity, hype, and presale revenue.

One big thing you can do to help the success of your book is choosing the right subtitle. I’m doing that for my own book right now, so please read my blog next week to find out why and how I’m choosing to include one.

Until then, Happy Fourth of July!

Those Critical First Three Chapters

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Shopping around for an agent and/or publisher? 

If you are fortunate enough to get a positive response, you’ll most likely be asked for a sample of your writing.

Whether you’re asked for one chapter or three, “put your best foot forward”—as parents often say.

Self-publishers bear the same burden for excellence. Those first chapters are critical in order to hook readers, give them a sense of what the book is about, and introduce the hero’s struggle.

It is from that sampling that you will be offered a contract or earn a sale. But keep up the pace and make sure you continue writing with that same level of quality right to THE END.

Every Instinct is Telling Me To Do This

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I am struggling with the last chapter of my book. Fighting every instinct to kill off my hero at the end!

Who would do such a thing?

Wouldn’t it be akin to giving your book the “ax”?

Is there ever a time it’s appropriate to take such drastic action?

I think there are some considerations we must take before we can answer that question for you and me.

1) Has the character successfully ended their character arc? Is the plan to develop another journey for them to take in the next book of a series?

2)    Is there another character from this story that we’d like to bring forward as the hero in the next book in the series?

3) Is the goal to pack a powerful punch that readers will not see coming?

There are other questions to be answered, too. Let’s think about the means by which their life will be taken. An act of nature? A murder? Suicide?

There must be a good, plausible reason for the character to die at the end. Do they allow their own death in order to save the world? Or it could be something much simpler will send the book to the top of the charts?

Look for my newest book, Blinded, at the end of summer to read which ending I chose.