New Kid In Town (Call the Kindle Fire Dept!)

Since one of the responsibilities of an indie author is finding good places to advertise, I am always on the look out for new avenues.  Kindle Fire Department was brought to my attention on kindleboards.com a few months ago.

This site features their "book of the day" (you pay a slight fee for that), plus highlights various free books daily. Once you ask to become the book of the day they look over your book to make sure it is compatible for Kindle Fire and that it fits their standards.  Books that become the book of the day also are more likely to be mentioned later as a free book if you do decide to offer it free in the future.

My first book, Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream is going to be the book of the day today.  I m excited to see how much exposure this gets me.  I have heard great things from others who have had books featured ahead of me. Go Gastien!  Go Kindle Fire Dept!

There are very few places where it pays to buy advertising for you book.  Another that is highly successful is Pixel of Ink.  I did very well there last month.  However, they are booked for months in advance.  Your book must have a certain number of reviews, a certain average, they must like the cover and description, etc.

Ereader News Today is another I have heard is great.  Again, I believe they are booked through most (if not all) of this year.  I would like to try them in the future.

I know it is hard to know where you should spend money as an indie (or if you should spend money at all).  Those are the three that I have heard great things about.  There was one other, but so far this year it is no longer doing well.  I don't want to mention the name because I don't want to be negative about it in case it rebounds.  If it does, you will likely hear me talk about it in the future.

You will have to wait quite some time to get on any of the three mentioned above but it will be worth it. Since I have a series, my first book will always be in the process of being promoted, so the wait matters even less to me.



Please note: these are NOT reviews for your books. I would never pay for a review nor should you. Readers are not impressed if they find out you paid for reviews nor should they be. How can a review not be biased if you paid for it?


Good luck with marketing your books.  It can be challenging but it is always fun.

Treating Book Reviewers and Bloggers With Respect

Part of your job as an indie author is to find book reviewers and bloggers to review your book.  There are dozens of them out there. You can find them by searching facebook for pages about books and about your genre, searching on yahoo or google, or asking other authors that you are friends with.  Once you have a large list, you should be contacting a couple of dozen right away.  Then, every week or so, add three more. Keep a log of who, what and when.

Before you contact them, go to their website or blog and carefully read the instructions on how to request a review.  Please note if they say they are closed for reviews or do not review indies.  If either of these are mentioned, do NOT request a review from them.  You will not be the exception and you will only irritate them.

If they do accept indies and are not closed, then follow the instructions completely.  Send what they ask for in the first email and only send that.
If they accept your book and did not ask for everything up front, they will give you further instructions.

Once accepting, ask them kindly if they will post on whatever book sites and selling sites you want the review on.  Remember, they do reviews for free and out of the love for books, so they do not "owe" you reviews on any sites.  If they do not post on every site you want, don't be rude.  Most at least post on Amazon, B&N and Goodreads.  That is fair to expect and request.  Some will post other places, too.  Just ask.  Never demand. If they don't do other sites, don't get angry.  Reviews on the three I mentioned will still benefit you.

Provide all information that they ask for.  Make sure you have a copy of your book cover photo, a description, your buy links, your social media links and can either send them a .pdf or .mobi if they want OR be willing to send them a gift cert to either Kindle or NOOK.  It only costs you the price of your book and when they redeem it, you get a sale.  Some do not read books electronically.  So, send them the paperback.  Yes, it costs more.  Still, the review costs you nothing and can benefit you greatly.  If you don't have your work in  paperback and they don't have an e-reader then graciously say so and find a different reviewer.

It is fine to ask when they expect to have the review done.  Some are within weeks, most a month or two...and some of the big ones can be several months.  I have a review that I requested last fall coming in July 2012!  That review site is greatly respected and I feel it is well worth the wait.  What does it hurt me?  Nothing.

If they don't give you a general date, don't harass them weekly.  In fact, don't harass them at all!  If  a month and a half goes by, a polite email asking if they are now able to provide a target date is fine.  Don't bug them often or you won't get reviewed!  Remember, they are doing this for free.

Ask them if they will let you know on the day the review goes live so that you can push the review with social media.  You can tweet and facebook the link to the review on their site or blog, and that gives them exposure too.  In fact, you should.  Some don't let you know ahead of time, just when it is live.  Some don't show you the review until it is live.  Some do.

Do NOT pay for reviews.  How can a paid review be fair?

Last and most important:  Do not argue or be rude or defend your book once the review is done if it is less than you expected.

You asked them to review your book, not be your friend. They are not obligated to love, or even like, your work!  Not everyone likes every book!  Chalk it up to either someone not liking your style or needing to improve your writing skills, depending on what the review says.  If it says the book is full of errors, shame on you.  The book should not be published if it is not well proofed and edited.

If it says the characters were not developed or story did not flow, perhaps you need to work on those things in the future.  If other reviews are good and don't mention that, perhaps it was a style that they don't like.  Once you get several reviews, you will know if certain points come up over and over again.

Remember, three stars is not a bad review.  Authors are starting to think anything less than four or five stars is an insult to the book.  Three stars out of five means they liked it!  They liked it enough to read it all and would tell others it was decent.  What is wrong with that?

Even two star and one star reviews can help you.  It just depends on what is said.  I got a two star that said there was too much sex in my book.  Right after that review I had a burst of sales!  I am not going to argue if there was too much, too little or just the right amount, as it does not matter.  If I see a review that says there was too much description of scenes, I won't buy it but others may love that.  I like a lot of dialog.  So a one star review saying too much dialog would inspire me to buy.

Do not leave comments about reviews on the review sites.  It looks tacky to readers.  You look defensive and unprofessional, no matter how professionally you respond to bad reviews.  Just don't.  Seriously. Responding to good reviews makes it look like you are friends.  Leave it be. Seriously, don't. Remember this: reviews are for readers not authors.  You can thank them for their work via a private email.  And that is all.  No rebuttal.  Got it?  :)  We have lost too many fair reviewers because of abuse by authors.  If all we end up with are reviewers that kiss authors butts, then reviews are pointless.

Bitching about a bad review on kindleboards (even their writer's cafe) or other chat rooms is not advised.  Readers see that and think much less of you.  Reviewers see that and don't want to work with you.

Yes, we all strive for four and five stars.  It is great to get those.  But you earn them, dear author.  You earn them.  You are not more special than the rest, you are not entitled simply by publishing our work.  You earn them.

Book Reviews By Readers Help Readers AND Authors

 As an indie author, I need all of the exposure I can get for my work.  Whenever a reader leaves a book review, it really helps me.  Before I started writing I really did not realize how important it was to an author for readers to leave reviews.  I never left reviews.

I guess I just assumed reviews were only done by "reviewers".  Yes, we need reviews from book reviewers and book bloggers.  But, we really need input from regular readers, too.  It you liked or loved a book, please take the time to leave a review.

Also, in order for the review to help other readers, it needs to say more than "I really loved this book" or "the best book I ever read".  If you take the time to leave a paragraph or two about what made you love the book (without spoiling any surprises that would ruin the story for others) if really helps others know if they want to read it.

For example, perhaps you loved the fact that the author went into a lot of detail about the homes or settings.  That is good to know.  Some people love that.  Others prefer more dialog driven books.  Either way, it helps both readers know what this book is like.   If the dialog flows well and is crisp, say so.  If you laughed, cried, felt emotions toward characters or situations, say so (again, do NOT spoil a situation by revealing something that should not be).

Conversely, if you did not like a book and feel compelled to leave a review, be specific.  Leaving a one or two star review and saying "This book sucked" or "The worst book ever" does nothing but show your meanness.  What didn't you like about it?  Where the characters wooden?  Was plot lacking?  Be specific in a constructive way, so that the author can improve their skills.  Being mean does not help anyone know what they did wrong. Remember, authors are people, too. Treat them as such. They put a lot of time and their heart into their work.  It is ok to criticize the work, but don't bully.

Hey, I know we are all busy.  Perhaps you don't have time to do a review every time you read a book.  I understand.  I don't always, either, even though I know the importance of reviews now.  But, if you can take a few minutes, a review is always much appreciated by any author.  Good, bad, or indifferent.  If you give specific reasons, a review will help other readers and it will help the author.

Happy reading!

Indie Publishing Means Play It Again, Sam!

If you are considering publishing your first book as an indie author, or if you have just published your first indie book, you are probably hoping that you will be an exception to the rule and your book will sell like green beer on St. Patricks Day.  We all have that dream.  It is good to believe that your book is great.

However, in reality, that seldom happens.  Many books don't sell at all.  Certain genres are more popular than others. Some people just don't have many friends that buy their books and help get the word out. But, most importantly, your book just does not get seen by many people.  It gets buried very quickly after coming out as a new release.

I have already blogged about how important book reviews are.  The more reviews you get, the better chances you have that your book will be recommended on Amazon and B&N as a "customers who bought this item also bought" book.  You don't need all 4 and 5 stars, either.  It is great to get 5 star reviews, but when a book has 20 5 stars and no others, it appears that the reviews were "fixed" somehow.  So, don't worry if you get a few 3 star reviews.  3 is a bit better than average anyhow!  Even one or two 2 and 1 stars won't hurt, as long as they are fair.  Sometimes, what one person hates in a book is what another person is looking for. Lower reviews can also show you if you are weak in certain writing areas.  Then, you can improve.

However, even when you get lots of reviews and use social media to the best of your ability, chances are you are not going to make livable income (or part time livable income) from your first book.  You are a new author and people are skeptical. Are you going to write one book and fade away, never to be seen again?  Why should they invest emotionally in you only to be left in the dust?  This is especially true for a series.  On one hand, readers LOVE a series.  On the other hand, that first book in the series by a new author may sit there without selling.  People are afraid to read the first in a series because, again, what if you don't continue to write?  They will be left with an incomplete story.

The most important thing you as an indie need to do is: do it again. Write and release the second book.  Then, the third.  Get the picture?  I received a comment from another author yesterday who said the same thing.  Just keep going.  Always look forward.  You must keep putting quality books out, doing your marketing and showing people that you are here to stay.

The odd thing is that, from what I have been told, your first book starts selling more with each book that comes out.  That is if you are writing interesting books, of course.  This is true even if your books are not a series.  People who buy each new book are not necessarily that same ones who bought book 1.  If they like what they read, they will look for other books by you.

To recap, put out your best possible work, get a compelling cover, write a dynamic blurb (book description), do your marketing and get reviews...and then you simply have to play it again, Sam.  Play it over and over, creating new, exciting stories and showing the reading world that you are here to stay.

Happy writing!  I need to get busy. Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny is  almost ready.  Book 3 wants me to hurry up, stretch my fingers, and play it again.  The melody has been started and it is dying to become a full out symphony.