book, writing

A Little Good News

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

If you haven’t launched a book in the last month or so, you may not be aware that Amazon has made some changes. I am no expert on these. In fact, I am only now digging into them and their meaning for authors.

I am talking about the changes for Amazon Advertising, KDP, and Author Central.

I will begin with what I am reading about Amazon Advertising. Then, for the next two weeks, I will cover KDP and Author Central changes.

Most authors know about sponsored ads—that expensive real estate at the top of Amazon search results. The change here is that the playing field between publishing houses and Indie authors has just been leveled for those who have three or more books on Amazon. Those Indie authors who do—and can pay the hefty price for the ad—may now buy a sponsored ad.

Next, the addition of Negative Product Targeting gives greater control to limit losses from Amazon’s automatic targeting algorithms. This feature improves profitability for author ad campaigns. (I am still in the dark on this one, but you can bet I’ll be looking into it.)

Amazon has a new ad capability in which authors can buy international ads in 8 countries. The example that is given is the BUY NOW button. So, if you advertise in markets other than the US, you’ll really appreciate this.

Finally, if an author is enrolled in KDP-Select, they get compensation for pages read. With the new changes, Amazon will now measure the performance of Amazon ads on e-book page reads and royalties.

Again, it sounds like Amazon is opening the door for the success of its Indie authors like never before!

Scam Alert

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Our computers are smart.

They are also tricky, conniving, and misrepresent just who is behind those messages that have begun to sneak into my Inbox.

This week alone, I got three emails with logos and titles representing writing/publishing groups—ones I’d never heard of before.

The little crawlers can see what I have written, what I purchase, what information I am looking for, etc. Then, the people behind them, create fake websites and offer either free or deeply discounted services and products for authors.

Before you agree to anything, check out the names behind the logos and business names online. More often than not, a SCAM ALERT will come up. And, if it doesn’t, give it a day or two and check again. It could be that other authors/writers have been scammed by them and it is only now beginning to show up.

Writing Prompts

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Do you want to write, but are in need of some good ideas of what to write about?

Some authors have notebooks full of ideas and some are even wanting to sell their ideas to you!

A few days ago, I accidentally came across these online. I did NOT look at them due to time constraints, but thought you might find one or more of them useful.

 500 Writing Prompts by Piccadilly 

1000 Creative Writing Prompts by Bryan Cohen and Jeremiah Jones

Prompt Me: Creative Writing Journal and Workbook by Robin Woods       

A Year of Creative Writing Prompts by Love In Ink

****There are dozens more to choose from when you put Writing Prompts in your browser. 

Try These!

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Each day I receive a listing of new books free or for purchase. I enjoy looking at their covers, reading their summaries and titles.

This week, I saw a couple of really quirky titles that made me think of a website I saw last year which has a random generator of title ideas that are what I’d call “Far Out.” Most of them make no sense and I was certain that no one would really use one of them—until I saw a two titles this week that actually sounded like they must have come from there.

If you want to spend an hour or two (I say this because you’ll get hooked on reading them and won’t be able to stop laughing) I have given you links to some of these below.

Whether you actually want to use one, or will be reading for the entertainment value alone, they are well worth checking out!

www.semrush.com/goodcontent/title-generator

ahrefs.com/writing-tools/seo-title-generator

www.wix.com/tools/title-generator

www.title-generator.com

www.developmenttools.com/title-generator

tweakyourbiz.com/title-generator

 Are You Afraid of Getting Bad Reviews?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

My dad always said, “Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.” Nothing could be more true than in the case of book reviews.

Authors  know we need them, but we’re also fearful of occasionally getting less than the coveted 5 STARS.

What can we do about it? Or, better to ask, can we do anything about it?

First of all, we can write a book with a compelling story and make sure that it is free of punctuation and formatting errors. It probably goes without saying that the cover should be appealing and professional. Finally, the title should be attention-getting.

But, you ask, how should we respond to negative reviews if we get them?

First, don’t let negative criticism get to you. Read them with an open mind and see if there is something useful you can learn from them. BUT, don’t respond to them. It will only get you into an arguing match and the person and give others reading your comments online a bad perception of you.

Remind yourself that a negative review is just one person’s opinion and that not everyone enjoys the same thing.

Focus on the positive reviews—what readers enjoyed … what they say you did well.

And, by all means, don’t let it stop you from writing!

Getting Reviews

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

If you’re new to writing, or have just published your first book, you are probably faced with the topic of REVIEWS. 

In a nutshell, reviews come in two varieties: customer reviews, and editorial reviews. And, guess what? You need both of them to get noticed on social media.

Customer reviews are given by readers who have bought and read your book and would like to give their opinion about it to other potential readers. By scrolling to the bottom of any author’s page on Amazon, you will see a button that is used for submitting a review. (As an author, you can politely ask readers to leave a review if they enjoyed reading your book. However, offering money or freebies is not allowed.)

If you are a reader and want to read the reviews to give you insight as to whether or not you’d like to purchase a given book, simply look at the star ratings and read the posted reviews. 

Editorial reviews are different. Besides a star-type rating, they also contain a synopsis of the book. They are said to carry more “weight” because editorial reviews are usually written by people who are at least somewhat more knowledgeable about the craft of writing and or the subject matter in your book. There is a section nearby the customer reviews where you can find these editorial reviews.

So, how do you get these coveted reviews that garner social media hype and add credibility to your book? If you are wanting a credible third-party review, check out reviews you see on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If the books they reviewed are of the same genre as yours, find out who wrote them, and contact them with an offer to send them a free copy in exchange for a review.

Now, I am sure other authors have found other ways to find these reviewers, but once found, they will all require that free copy, although some will settle for a PDF. (Be sure to let them know exactly how you will be using their reviews).

You might have thought once your book was published, all of the hard work was behind you. However, most authors will tell you that marketing is as challenging and time consuming as anything you will ever do!

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…