Promote Your Books with Short Stories and E-book Singles

Both indie and mainstream authors have discovered a powerful promotional tool: short fiction.  From Stephen King to aspiring authors, writers are tapping into greater sales potential by giving readers samples of their prose and genre by writing short fiction in the range of 25 to 50 pages (and sometimes slightly longer).

Not only does a reader get to sample a writer's work, but the author can also create short stories around existing characters in his or her published novels, whether stand-alone or those that are part of a series.  This marketing strategy not only gives an author greater exposure and additional royalties, but publishing short fiction, such as Kindle Singles, enables writers to provide backstory for characters that might disrupt the flow of a novel-length works.  Such stories make characters more three-dimensional, believable, and leave the reader wanting to know more about the people they fall in love with in the pages of novels.  If a reader hasn't read the novels yet, however, these short stories can serve as teasers that are as effective (if not more so) than ad copy or jacket blurb.

When an author publishes a "single," Amazon and other sellers will recommend the author's other works more frequently.  It is free and highly successful targeted advertising courtesy of Amazon's algorithms, and when you kick-start Amazon's algorithms, good things happen.  You pull in new readers who become hungry for more of your work.

The bottom line is that short fiction that uses established characters or demonstrates an author's genre, style, locations, or backstory from a novel develops and reinforces a writer's brand.

~William Hammett

Contact: wmhammett@aol.com

Kindle Direct Publishing (Select)

Established authors, as well as self-published authors, are now finding that Kindle Direct Publishing offers many advantages over Print-on-Demand, or POD.  In fact, many authors are not even trying to get their eBooks onto other platforms, such as Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, or iTunes, nor are they interested in producing paperback editions.  At first glance, this would seem to be counterproductive since one would think that sales would increase by also increasing the number of sales outlets for a title.

Kindle Direct Publishing Select offers many advantages, however.  First, Amazon's Kindle store outperforms all other online eBook outlets.  Also, several authors have found that Amazon does a better job advertising titles on their site when authors promise exclusivity.  Sales are definitely generated by Amazon's trademark ads that state, "Customers who bought this title also bought . . . ."

That having been said, it is advisable to follow a few rules of thumb.  Kindle Direct Publishing Select offers an author the option of offering a book for free for a limited number of days for promotional purposes.  Nothing boosts sales more than giving away something for free.  People like to download free books, and this can result in increased reviews on the Amazon site.

In turn, positive reviews result in customers going to the promotional websites of a book or author, sites where the book is also offered for sale by a link back to Amazon.  This is when an author may choose to offer the book for .99 cents for a period or time, after which the price may be increased.  Sales are usually optimal at $2.99 per title regardless of the length of the book, although many authors move up to $3.99.

The book must be well-written, of course, but if an author has a quality product, Kindle Direct Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing Select offer a great deal of opportunity in this new age of publishing.

~ William Hammett

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Promoting Your Book

How does one promote a book in an age when even large mainstream publishers are cutting back on promotional dollars, allowing even excellent books to sink to the midlist?  In an age when people self-publish eBooks or use POD, the question of promotion is important for all authors.

First, I can tell you what not to do.  There are many Print-on-Demand companies and ghostwriting firms (really POD companies) that will try to upsell you on "package deals," such as promotional kits.  The promotional services amount to a company sending out press releases, securing reviews for the book, and making the book available online.  The press releases and reviews are ineffectual and usually result in no sales at all since they are sent to people around the country who have no real interest in your book's topic or genre.  They're just on the payroll of the company and get some money tossed their way for a quick review or a mention at the bottom of some obscure publication.  And anyone can put a book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble for free.

You need to take matters into your own hands.  Make an email list to announce your book, making sure you don't spam anyone.  It's crucial to have a website for your book, a personal author website, or both.  Creating a blog to talk about your book and its topic or genre is also mandatory if you expect people to notice your title.  Interact with other bloggers.  The above sites should all be linked so people can navigate from one to the other.

It's also imperative that you use social media to promote your book.  Talk about the title on your Facebook page and create a separate Facebook "author fan page."  Create a twitter account and send out tweets about your book and your other promotional activities.  Give away free copies of your book, and, if possible, get endorsements from other authors (or celebrities).  Make sure you have an online presence on appropriate sites, such as Goodreads.

If possible, arrange book signings at local and indie bookstores.  These days, your book's success is pretty much in your hands.  And that's not such a bad thing.

~ William Hammett

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