​Want to write a great book? Use these 10 questions to get ideas for any kind of story, whether a spy thriller, a romance novel, or a memoir of your personal life. Let’s see where your story leads you!
 
1. DOES YOUR STORY TAKE PLACE IN TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS? Of the nine bestselling novels of all time, all nine are set in two different worlds. Think Harry Potter’s Muggle vs. Wizarding world. Or A Tale of Two Cities’ stable London and revolutionary Paris.
 
2. DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE SCARS? We all have scars. To be a writer, Stephen King says, “the only requirement is the ability to remember every scar.” Tap into your own scars to unlock the scars in your characters.
 
3. DOES YOUR STORY INVOLVE DEATH? Good writers don’t turn away from death, which is, after all, the universal human experience. Instead, they look it directly into its dark face and describe what they see on the page.
 
4. IS YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AN ORPHAN? Think for a moment about all great stories about orphans in literature and film. Orphans are uniquely vulnerable and thus have the most potential for growth.
 
5. ARE THERE GHOSTS? What do Edgar Allen Poe, Ron Weasley, King Saul from the Bible, Odysseus, and
Ebeneezer Scrooge have in common? They all saw ghosts! Everyone wonders about the afterlife. Have fun with it!
 
6. WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER AFRAID OF? Your character’s biggest fear is your story’s secret weapon.
Don’t run from it, write about it.
 
7. DOES YOUR CHARACTER COME INTO AN UNEXPECTED FORTUNE? Not all fortunes are good. Sometimes discovering a fortune will destroy you.
 
8. DOES YOUR CHARACTER BUMP INTO HIS OR HER SOULMATE? Literally, bump into. In film, this is called the “meet cute,” when the hero bumps into the heroine in the hallway, knocking her books to the floor, and forcing them into conversation.
 
9. IS YOUR CHARACTER ON A JOURNEY? Is that journey interrupted by disaster? Who hasn’t been longing to get to a destination only to be delayed by something unexpected? This is the plot of Gravity, The Odyssey, and even Lord of the Rings.
 
10. DOES YOUR CHARACTER RUN INTO THE PATH OF A MONSTER? Monsters, whether people who do monstrous things or scaly beasts or natural disasters, always reveal what’s inside a person. Let your character fall into the path of a monster and see how they handle themselves.
 
You probably haven’t considered all of these questions when thinking about your story, but it’s a great way to even get your juices flowing. So, let your imagination takeover.
 
To Your Success,
MG

As indie authors, we all want to sell more books. And I’ve learned over the years that this is the biggest struggle of all authors. How do I sell more? So, I decided to spend even a little more time sharing some more great ways to get noticed and get more sales.

6. Do more videos: Let’s face it, video is big and only going to get bigger in the New Year. If you don’t have a YouTube channel, you may want to grab one and repurpose any of your social media videos and put them on YouTube! 

 7. Develop Superfans: Make your fans feel special. Maybe you want to create a VIP reader group on Facebook where you give them early access to books, gift card promos, contests, and exclusive content. 

 8. Start an email list! It’s a great way to stay in front of fans and on their radar. Consider including a letter in the back of your book that invites your readers to join. Or, offer a free copy of your book for your email subscribers and run ads on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook!  

 9. Network with other authors: Join online groups, go to writer events, or join local author groups. Networking with other, similar authors is not just good business, but it can help you brainstorm new ideas, and most likely expand your knowledge!

 10. Host an event at your library: While bookstore events can be great, libraries are often big, missed opportunities to connect with serious readers.

So take some time to review these ideas and factor them into your marketing plan.  If you haven’t built one yet, it’s time to get started! With a roadmap in place, you’ll stay focused and on task with your book marketing efforts… and maybe just maybe you’ll have the next bestseller! 


Republished with permission Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc.
https://www.selfpublishedauthor.com/node/476

As indie authors, we all want to sell more books. And so, I want to share with you several ways that you can make the most of your book promotion efforts. As I’m sure you’ve learned a successful book marketing plan is made up of a range of actions that build on one another, and it’s wise to vary your efforts to get the most bang for your investment – whether its time or money, or a combination thereof. So with this in mind, here are some of the top ways that you can sell more books this year.  

 1. Be consistent: Whatever you do, do it consistently. So often indie authors try to do more than their time and bandwidth allow.  Fix this by picking the things you know you can do consistently and forgetting the rest. Trust me, you will make greater strides if you remain consistent in your efforts. 

 2. Price your book to sell:  How does your book stack up to its competitors? Your book should be priced competitively to sell well. 

 3. Do an eBook promotion: You really can’t do too many of these – and you don’t need to give away your books for free all the time. Even discounting your book by $1 can generate a big surge in sales.  

 4. Refresh, repackage, or reboot your older books: As your older books continue to age, consider refreshing your bookshelf by re-releasing older books, or even breaking older books into smaller ones and creating a new bundle. 

 5. Get creative: Now more than ever, we need to get creative with our book marketing efforts, whether we’re pitching to bloggers and media or working on our social media. Consider using any and all book tie ins, no matter how off the wall.  One example that I’ve used before is how I used a presidential election to make a romance novel into a bestseller. 

Take some time and consider these options and know there are many others. But you have to start somewhere. We exhaust our family and closest friends when we release the book. So, we have to capture the eyes and attention of others to help us share our message to a greater audience. Deciding what you want to do and giving it a try is a good way to get started on your roadmap. With a roadmap in place, you’ll stay focused and on task with your book marketing efforts… and maybe just maybe you’ll have the next bestseller! 

 
Republished with permission Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc.
https://www.selfpublishedauthor.com/node/476
​

Reality check: Do you have what it takes to make your blog a book? Publishing a book takes effort, so before you start, ask yourself.
​
Congratulations! Your blog’s been doing well for a while now: you’ve built a fan base, carved out a niche, and looking back on your articles, you’ve produced tens of thousands of words. So why not publish a book?

You’ve already got credentials as a seasoned blogger, and putting your work together in a book will bolster your reputation. Your readers enjoy what you write, and they’ll be pleased to have it bound together as a book.

But publishing a book will take more effort than maintaining a blog, so before you start, do a reality check: Do you have what it takes to make your blog a book?

Take inventory. Let’s say you blog about “The World of the Fennec Fox.” You’ve been telling your fascinated readers all about this little nocturnal bugger with the unusually big ears running around the Sahara of North Africa. The fennec fox community knows and loves you.

While not every book with good content succeeds, several factors can work to your advantage.

• Readership. You’ve started building readership with your blog. It’s a lot tougher if you aren’t starting from a strong reader base.
• Recognition. People recognize you as an expert on the fennec fox, so they’ll be more likely to buy your book.
• Community. Are you well-known and active in the larger fennec fox community? Do they recognize you as someone who always offers value? If so, you’ll get more than readership: you’ll get active support.
• Comments. If you have an active comments section, you’ve got the beginnings of an audience.

Of course, there will always be competition. A book has the best chance in the market when it offers unique value. It needs to say something that others aren’t saying in a way that makes it stand out.

The economics of self-publishing
Self-publishing is an entrepreneurial activity. Keep that in mind at all times. Create a simple spreadsheet or ledger, keep good financial records, and record all your income and expenses.

There are degrees of “do it yourself.” If you do it all, you have to set up an e-commerce site that makes downloads available and collects payment for them. This can be the same site as your blog, if you have appropriate software and a payment processing service.

Should you consider crowdfunding?
You might want to consider crowdfunding your book. A crowdfunding campaign gives you advance publicity and helps create (and gauge) the level of interest in your project. Of course, if you run a successful campaign, you’ll also have money to produce and market your book in advance of publishing.
Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe are three of the more popular crowdfunding platforms, and each has its own approach. Kickstarter offers an all-or-nothing model, where you receive nothing and your supporters’ money is refunded if you don’t meet your specified goal. Indiegogo gives you the option of “flexible” or “fixed” funding – the flexible option lets you proceed whether you meet your target goal or not. GoFundMe doesn’t require you to set a target.

Running a successful crowdfunding campaign requires planning, effort, and an engaged community. Let your supporters know in advance what your target goal is, when the campaign will start, and how long it will run. You need the support of your core following to contribute money and spread the word.

Setting the right premiums are a big part of a successful campaign. All contributors over a minimum threshold should get an eBook, while higher-level supporters might get acknowledgment in the book, a mention on your website, personalized thank-you cards, and signed copies of the book.

You can get as creative as you’d like with your rewards, but you have to remember that when you start a crowdfunding campaign, you’re accepting an obligation. If you meet your funding threshold, you have to come through – don’t launch a campaign unless you’re sure you can deliver the book and the premiums.

Editing
You can’t just create a book completely on your own and expect it to sell. However good you are at writing, you can’t be your own editor. At a minimum, you need a skilled proofreader, but you should seriously consider employing a good copy editor. A copy editor doesn’t just check for spelling and grammar mistakes, she makes sure your writing is the best it can be. A copy editor will catch repetitious passages, excessive use of the passive voice, and much more.

Copyright questions
Your blog might include quotations, images, lyrics, comments, and guest contributions – perhaps some borrowed from other blogs and places online. When you’re selling a book, potential copyright violations will get more scrutiny. You’ll have to be mindful of Fair Use and contributors’ rights.

People who let you post articles and other content on your blog haven’t necessarily given you permission to include them in a book. You need to ask them and get clearances. They may be thrilled to have their content included, but if they say no, you do not have the right to include their content in your book – even if it’s intended as a giveaway.

Cover design
Whether traditionally or self-published, you’ll be competing with a host of other books, so yours needs to look as attractive and professional as possible. Like it or not, people do judge a book by its cover, and yours will appear on your website, on online retail stores, and everywhere your book is promoted or sold.

Book marketing
As a self-publisher, you’ll also have to be a self-marketer. Harness the resources you already have: the place to start is your blog. If anyone will be interested in your book, it’s the people who already read your material.

Once the book is published, write a blog entry alerting your readers of the great news. Thank them for their support with a discount code. Put a conspicuous, permanent link to buy your book on the home page, along with an image of the cover.

If you have a mailing list and newsletter, promote your new book: give your newsletter readers a distinct discount code. As a general rule, spread discount codes around as much as you can, and tailor each for your different promotions so you can track sales and determine which avenues are working best.

Social media promotions will be a big part of your strategy. Again, use the cover image, and be persistent but NOT annoying. The key with social promotions is engagement. Make your posts read like part of a conversation, not an ad. Talk about what’s in the book and what it was like to create this work. Invite responses.

Time to publish

Turning a blog into a book is a lot of work, but you’ve got the content and a reader base, so you’re off to a good start. It takes planning and commitment: you need to figure out how you’re going to proceed before diving into the deep end. You also need to recognize that the work does not end when the book goes up for sale.

It’s a challenge, but you’ll have the reward of being a published author, and that alone should boost your recognition in your field.

To Your Success,
MG