Steps to Writing a Book
Marketing Products
Customers browsing on the web do not read. They scan. One of the most influential factors in the buyers purchase is going to be based on emotion. Marketing products involves reaching the customer on more than one level. If they come across a book that they can emotionally relate to, attach to, or understand, they are going to click that order button. The steps to writing a book have so many different elements in having the ability to influence the emotional state of the buyer, and in so many different ways.
One of our members shares her ebook experience:
As most of my fellow self-published authors know, if you're enrolled in Amazon KDP select, there are two main goals to accomplish. The first goal is to hit the top 100 best-sellers list in PAID on amazon. The second, which is a prerequisite most often, is to hit the top 100 best-sellers list in FREE on amazon. Certain genres are going to be naturally successful as there's a demand for certain books as the trends evolve. One genre that is not easy to sell, especially if you aren't a celebrity of some sort, is in the bio and memoirs list. You really have to have a compelling and interesting story, to say the least. People already have their own life drama to tend to, and unless your memoir offers education, inspiration, or extremely entertaining twists, it's a tough road ahead. I began the self-publishing journey over a year ago.
It was terrifying, and I initially only published the first three chapters of my story. When I quickly received positive reviews, encouragement, and emails from strangers who had gained inspiration and faith, I got on the fast-track and started writing. I have been in the zone now, for about a year. My first, second and third free promotions all had significantly different results. My first had around 900 downloads. I was simply excited because of the amount of readers who actually showed an interest, but obviously I did not make that top 100 list. My second promotion did much better, from planning and submitting to book sites, I was able to climb the list to ranking three places away, at 103. I stayed at 103 for two hours, and it was painfully suspenseful. The book began to slowly drop, with a total of 2500 downloads, and by day five I was simply too exhausted to slave over my sales dashboard any longer. My third promotion was on impulse. We all get lazy...and I figured that I would have the same (if not better) results, by doing this again. Minus the planning and site-submitting from the promotion before (who says I can't dream!?). On day two, with only 350 downloads, I became discouraged and realized that I had to put in the effort to make anything significant happen. I took it off of the promotion early. Life happened, I started my digital publishing business, and the focus has been geared toward that for six months now.
Last week, I decided that I would do one last free promotion for this book, mainly to create a buzz for the release of my full-length memoir, releasing early august. As I go through the process for my amazing clients, and schedule their free days and submit, I decided to treat myself as if I were one of my own clients and go all-out. I planned, submitted, invested, and fingers have been crossed. Today was the first day of the five day promo. I woke up, did the usual routine, and expected the worst trying not to get my hopes too high.
When you write and publish your own (and very personal) life story, it becomes more than a book that you're selling. It's your life, written in words, exposed to the world of criticism and judgement.
Why I try, and continue to push forward regardless of set-backs, is because I believe in my story, and it has become my true passion in life. The lessons I've learned throughout this process are invaluable, and essentially rules to live by if you want to become one of the few authors who have the ability and opportunity to reach and touch millions of readers. I'm going to share these guidelines because I know that ANY author can easily live by them if they have the same burning desire and drive as myself;
1) Allow yourself to be VULNERABLE. This is very difficult for any person. When it comes to facing judgement and criticism from others, it is going to force you to question your work and ability to deliver. This can be an amazing benefit if you allow it to be. This tells you exactly what the readers want, don't want, and what you can do as an author to deliver.
2) Maintain an OPEN MIND at all times.This is absolutely critical, and if you don't allow yourself to admit that you don't know everything that there is to know, you'll flat-out FAIL. Brutal, yes. Fact? YES.
3) Study your platform with diligence and DRIVE.To succeed in anything, you've got to educate yourself and learn as much as there is to learn, and when you've learned it all, LEARN SOME MORE! We can never get enough information. People, places and things evolve every passing second. Nothing stays the same as the clock ticks. Know your market, and reinforce what you know by educating others.
4) Be willing to INVEST your life into this. Make this your life. Don't be afraid to take risks, and don't allow the unknown to prevent you from taking those risks. If you do not try, you severely limit yourself to the vast possibilities. Every amazing accomplishment, with the human species in general, involves taking a risk of some sort. Brush any discouragement off of your back, and remove those from your life who are not a support system.
5) Think and stay POSITIVE. This is also known as the law of attraction. I may sound philosophical, but from personal experience, thinking positive and keeping your focus on moving forward is powerful beyond measure. The universe picks up on your positive energy, and binds you to even more positive energy! These guidelines are what I live by every day, and I've not only shocked my family with my quick and unexpected success, but I've shocked myself; which is even better. Nothing is going to stand in my way, because there's plenty of room in this world for my own slice of the action.
Not only do I believe this, but I know this. I hope you'll dig down deep, and pull the same factual realization out of your beyond-capable self!
E. McNew
