There's a discussion in one of amazon kindle's forums about if it takes luck or skill to be a successful writer.
The truth be told it takes lots of luck and skill. We all know there are plenty of lucky authors who were able to get there books mentioned on Oprah. Being on her show was like getting the winning lottery numbers two days before the lottery. But many forget the skill part. If your book is garbage and Oprah or whoever reads it and can't get past the first page, guess what?
All the luck in the world won't help you get that shout out. In other words people have to like your books. And not just any people. I'm talking about people who read and are willing to tell others about your book.
It takes some luck to have these first tier readers discover your book. And it takes some marketing skill. If you're an established author already with some sales under your belt, you have passed this hurdle. But if you are new, getting your book noticed may feel like the hardest thing to do.
If you are new and self published there are few things you can do.
1. Write a good book. Not a book that you and your loved ones think is good, but a book that people who pay for them think is good. Everybody's not going to like any book, but you better make sure the first tier readers like it. Because if they don't like it they will tell people your book sucks.
2. Only promote your book to people who read that type of book. I don't like romance books. Therefor every romance book that I come across will look like garbage to me. Why waste time and energy pushing your book to people who probably won't like it anyway. I write for African Americans in general. I don't promote my books in general to white readers. Some may say I'm missing out on potential sales but I learned from drug dealers a long time ago, you don't try to sell heroin at church picnics. You might have some luck with Tyler Perry movies but the dope probably won't sell too good.
3. Listen to the advice of people in the business. Things are changing fast, so some of the things they tell you might not work anymore, but listen anyway. You can use your own gut feelings to figure out if what they tell you is right. And too some degree you will have to trust luck. But the old saying is, if you want what someone has, you have to do what they do.
These three things can increase your luck factor. Because every seasoned gambler knows, you should never make a sucker bet.
Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of writers try to sell their books on forums and blogs that cater to other writers. Why are you trying to sell your book to other writers?
ReplyDeleteYou should be pushing it to paying readers.