Thanks largely (though not exclusively) to the model and tools provided to us by Amazon, self publishing continues to experience a meteoric rise in popularity. Not all self publishing efforts though are created equal. Below are some tips to help get you ahead of the curve.
The numbers are pretty revealing. Analysis of U.S. ISBN data shows the number of self-published titles in 2012 increasing to an excess of 391,000. As a percentage, this figure is up 59 percent over 2011 and 422 percent over 2007.
There's no doubt that this remarkable expansion has been fueled by the e-book. In 2012 e-books were 40 percent of all those self published ISBNs. That's an increase of 11 percent since 2007: a 400 percent increase in 5 years.
The aspiring, self published author ought to be drawing two conclusions from these numbers. First, your opportunities have never shone brighter. Second, never has the competition been fiercer in the self publishing world.
To benefit from these opportunities, more than ever, the aspiring self publisher must learn to distinguish him or herself. Self publishing on Amazon puts some great tools at your disposal. If you fail to make the most of them, it is only you who will suffer. Considering the three things discussed below will not guarantee your book's success. Neglecting them though is guaranteed to put you behind the eight ball right from the start.
First, on your author's page you are given the opportunity to post a photo. A surprising number of authors chose to post cover art. Don't do this unless your cover is a picture of you. That's what readers want to see.
Authors generally assume no one is interested in how they look. This assumption, though, it turns out, is precisely wrong. Rather, a sense of personal connection to the author is a considerable factor in such readers slapping down the old credit card for your book. I'm sure your cover art is great; it is virtually guaranteed though that a sense of personal connection to you will have greater impact on their purchasing decision.
Standard head shots are usually the right choice. As in all walks of life, you're a bit ahead if you're good looking. Don't be hesitant to post your most flattering picture, though. Whatever you look like, trust me: a personal pic is better than not having one. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, smile at the camera! And, absolutely no sunglasses! A picture concealing your eyes may be the one thing worse than not having a personal pic at all.
A second point for your author's page is the field that invites you to say a little about yourself. Too many authors are much too lackadaisical about this opportunity. Does your book really speak for itself?
It doesn't matter how good your book is, it can only speak for itself if people read it! Your job is to get them to read it. If a prospective reader comes to think that the author is interesting enough to have written something they'll find worth reading that is some considerable distance in the right direction.
You're a writer, right? So write. Even with your Mount Rushmore-like modesty, certainly you can cobble together a few sentences that make you sound interesting. Bonus points for emphasizing aspects of your personality and experience that present you as a likely candidate for writing a revealing and engaging book on your chosen topic.
For example, did you wrote a travel book? Well, then, what is your travel resume? If you've got a mystery novel set in 1920s Paris how is it that you come to know about the time period? If it's a do-it-yourself guide, what is there in your experience that would instill confidence in the prospective reader that you know how to do it? I'm sure you'll following the idea.
Finally, last, but very much not least, give great consideration to your book's description. Believe it or not, this little bit of composition is truly more challenging than writing the actual book. Once they've laid down their hard earned cash for your book, most readers - unless they find it simply dreadful - generally give your book around 20 pages or so to win them over. In your book description, however, you have maybe 20-30 seconds to accomplish that feat.
The book can't speak for itself unless prospective readers buy it. Until then, you've got to do the speaking for both of you. The short and sweet version of getting your book description right is simply put: in a few brief sentences, you have a) tell them, b) entice them and c) show them.
It would (and indeed has) taken a whole separate article to explain how to get these book descriptions right. If you want the detailed explanation of what's involved, check out my article dedicated to doing your book description well.
Being sure to get three tools right won't guarantee success with your book, but getting them wrong pretty much guarantee you'll be behind the curve from the starting line. The revolution in self publishing on Amazon has created both tremendous opportunity and challenge. To hope to benefit from the opportunity, you need to rise to the challenge.
The numbers are pretty revealing. Analysis of U.S. ISBN data shows the number of self-published titles in 2012 increasing to an excess of 391,000. As a percentage, this figure is up 59 percent over 2011 and 422 percent over 2007.
There's no doubt that this remarkable expansion has been fueled by the e-book. In 2012 e-books were 40 percent of all those self published ISBNs. That's an increase of 11 percent since 2007: a 400 percent increase in 5 years.
The aspiring, self published author ought to be drawing two conclusions from these numbers. First, your opportunities have never shone brighter. Second, never has the competition been fiercer in the self publishing world.
To benefit from these opportunities, more than ever, the aspiring self publisher must learn to distinguish him or herself. Self publishing on Amazon puts some great tools at your disposal. If you fail to make the most of them, it is only you who will suffer. Considering the three things discussed below will not guarantee your book's success. Neglecting them though is guaranteed to put you behind the eight ball right from the start.
First, on your author's page you are given the opportunity to post a photo. A surprising number of authors chose to post cover art. Don't do this unless your cover is a picture of you. That's what readers want to see.
Authors generally assume no one is interested in how they look. This assumption, though, it turns out, is precisely wrong. Rather, a sense of personal connection to the author is a considerable factor in such readers slapping down the old credit card for your book. I'm sure your cover art is great; it is virtually guaranteed though that a sense of personal connection to you will have greater impact on their purchasing decision.
Standard head shots are usually the right choice. As in all walks of life, you're a bit ahead if you're good looking. Don't be hesitant to post your most flattering picture, though. Whatever you look like, trust me: a personal pic is better than not having one. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, smile at the camera! And, absolutely no sunglasses! A picture concealing your eyes may be the one thing worse than not having a personal pic at all.
A second point for your author's page is the field that invites you to say a little about yourself. Too many authors are much too lackadaisical about this opportunity. Does your book really speak for itself?
It doesn't matter how good your book is, it can only speak for itself if people read it! Your job is to get them to read it. If a prospective reader comes to think that the author is interesting enough to have written something they'll find worth reading that is some considerable distance in the right direction.
You're a writer, right? So write. Even with your Mount Rushmore-like modesty, certainly you can cobble together a few sentences that make you sound interesting. Bonus points for emphasizing aspects of your personality and experience that present you as a likely candidate for writing a revealing and engaging book on your chosen topic.
For example, did you wrote a travel book? Well, then, what is your travel resume? If you've got a mystery novel set in 1920s Paris how is it that you come to know about the time period? If it's a do-it-yourself guide, what is there in your experience that would instill confidence in the prospective reader that you know how to do it? I'm sure you'll following the idea.
Finally, last, but very much not least, give great consideration to your book's description. Believe it or not, this little bit of composition is truly more challenging than writing the actual book. Once they've laid down their hard earned cash for your book, most readers - unless they find it simply dreadful - generally give your book around 20 pages or so to win them over. In your book description, however, you have maybe 20-30 seconds to accomplish that feat.
The book can't speak for itself unless prospective readers buy it. Until then, you've got to do the speaking for both of you. The short and sweet version of getting your book description right is simply put: in a few brief sentences, you have a) tell them, b) entice them and c) show them.
It would (and indeed has) taken a whole separate article to explain how to get these book descriptions right. If you want the detailed explanation of what's involved, check out my article dedicated to doing your book description well.
Being sure to get three tools right won't guarantee success with your book, but getting them wrong pretty much guarantee you'll be behind the curve from the starting line. The revolution in self publishing on Amazon has created both tremendous opportunity and challenge. To hope to benefit from the opportunity, you need to rise to the challenge.
About the Author:
All you aspiring self publisher types, you need to keep up on the hottest tips and trends at Self Publishing on Amazon . Lance Fallbrook writes on writing and writers at a variety of writing related websites. Check out his provocative list of top 20 most famous American authors .
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