Mastering Amazon ads one tweak at a time: One author’s success story

Apr13

I have to apologize right off the bat because I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’d be lying if I said anything else. I dislike most marketing, mostly online stuff, mostly amazon or bookbub or… ads. I much prefer marketing in person, at book events, art and craft events, farmer’s markets (if they allow it, and many do).

I work at a computer most of the day, so making myself sit at the computer and learn how to post just right ad is not something I’m willing to do. I’m one of those people who is “of a certain age” so I no longer want to force myself to try and care for something I don’t care for. Life’s too short.

Now, the caveat to this is, I have another job. Book selling is not my sole income, so I don’t HAVE to sell book. I want to, of course, but the desire to sell books and my dislike for setting up ads don’t even out. I did try amazon ads once and it was an even prospect – I sold as many books as I needed to pay for the ad. If it had been a better outcome, maybe I’d have continued trying ads. Maybe.

But if you are someone who doesn’t mind ad marketing, or you do HAVE to sell to supplement your income (or at minimal pay off the fees you incurred publishing your book(s)), then this post by Wendy Raebeck might give you some tips and tricks.

Another great recourse for this is Valerie Biel’s website. Just search for amazon or bookbub ads. Val has tips and tricks for both. (She also has book marketing services!!)

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Want to sell more books? Mastering Amazon ads is the secret to success says guest blogger Wendy Raebeck, who shares how she does it.

Source Link: Mastering Amazon ads one tweak at a time: One author’s success story – Build Book Buzz

CKBooks Publishing

Where Publishing Dreams Become Reality

How To Leverage the Power of a Strong Title in Your Writing

Apr10

I don’t know about you, but a title is always the last thing that comes to me when I’m writing a fiction story. Audrey Wick on Writers Digest gives some tips related to picking a title.

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Finding the right title for your story is more of a process than you might think. Here, Audrey Wick shares how to leverage the power of a strong title in your writing.

Source: How To Leverage the Power of a Strong Title in Your Writing – Writer’s Digest

CKBooks Publishing
Where Publishing Dreams Come True

Characters Who Jump Off the Page | Kristin A. Oakley – Author

Apr7

Writer Kristin Oakley give us three easy to understand examples of some important concepts in writing: internal conflict vs external, character flaws, character descriptions.

Note: Kristin is offering her character workshop for free – link in her post. Check it out!

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Three examples of how to pit internal conflict against external conflict, create flawed characters, and describe them through their actions.

Source: Characters Who Jump Off the Page | Kristin A. Oakley – Author

The powerful and effective formula for more book sales

Mar8

This “formula” seems quite simple, but implementing it is not. Figuring out who your target audience is takes a bit of time. I have no tricks to help with this because I haven’t figured it out myself. Sandra Beckwith is right, the smaller the group the better.

But once you know the group, how to connect with them is another matter. I listened in on a book marketing webinar recently and they touted word-of-mouth discovering. I would have to agree with this. I really like when friends or family recommend books to me. The other way I get books is blind picks from my local library. This webinar suggested that you find online groups in facebook, blogger’s websites… that fit your key audience and make connections there. Makes sense.

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The formula for more book sales is simple. And, you don’t need to be a mathematician or chemist to apply it to your book. Get it here and sell more books.

Source: The powerful and effective formula for more book sales – Build Book Buzz

The Biggest Mistake Even Expert Writers Make

Jan7

Great reminder from Ken Brosky. (What’s with the image, you may ask? Visualize it as all the hoops your protagonist has to jump through.)

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Your audience won’t remember the chapter where your hero took a breather. What’s memorable are the forces of antagonism, and how your hero reacted.

Source link: The Biggest Mistake Even Expert Writers Make | Jane Friedman

CKBooks Publishing
Where Dreams Become Reality

How To Write Compelling Dialogue

Dec26

Getting dialogue right is not as easy as it appears.
Here are some good tips!

Writing about...Writing

Your characters do interact, don’t they? But how compelling is their dialogue? Does it sound real?

Jerry B. Jenkins has the experience of writing more than 200 novels and he shares some of that experience with us.

I recommend watching this video as it is full of wisdom.

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How To Leverage the Power of a Strong Title in Your Writing

Dec26

Titles are always something I struggle with and are usually the last thing I figure out when writing a story.

I the attached link, Audrey Wick gives some good information when thinking about your title.

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Finding the right title for your story is more of a process than you might think. Here, Audrey Wick shares how to leverage the power of a strong title in your writing.

Source: How To Leverage the Power of a Strong Title in Your Writing – Writer’s Digest

On NaNoWriMo, Inkitt, and Being An Author

Dec1

If you want to publish, (and especially if you’ve participated in #NaNoWriMo), please read this!

RACHEL SHARP

On Writing

I sequestered myself for the month of November and wrote the first 50k words of Hostis Humani Generis, the decopunk anarchist lesbian pirate farmer novel. So. Huzzah for me.

Unfortunately, it will probably be my last NaNoWriMo.

I’m going to finish the book! And using the same method, as well. But not using the NaNoWriMo website or hashtags, and maybe in a month with fewer holidays in it.

And now we’re going to talk about why.

On NaNoWriMo

I have been participating in National Novel Writing Month since 2015. And winning. And publishing. I used to donate every year and get that little halo over my profile photo.

I believe in NaNo as a project. I don’t actually believe, as they often say, that anyone can write a book. I think you need to read a lot and write a lot and think a lot, and on top…

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MidJourney AI art for book cover design (how is this legal?)

Oct14

The image above was designed by a computer program.

I don’t know about you, but I was not aware AI art software like this even existed. If I were an illustrator or graphic designer, I’d be a bit nervous. Since I’m currently talking with a potential client that is looking for an illustrator for her mother’s children’s book, I immediately thought of AI artwork for children’s books.

Derek Murphy, in his post (link below) talks about it, how to use it the software he’s using (and there has to more than one, doesn’t there?) and some legal things to think about. It’s a whole new world for book art, my friends!

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*Scroll all the way down for much better images since the last midjourney update.* Update: I just spoke about AI art with Joanna Penn, you can listen to the podcast HERE. Today I’m playing with midjourney for character and book cover design. You’ve probably seen people posting these to Facebook: what you get is extremely […]

Source: MidJourney AI art for book cover design (how is this legal?) – Creativindie