book marketing

book marketing

The Book Cover

Published by Chalita Majang on 23 February 2022

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Judging a book by its cover…

Judging a book by its cover…

People say that one should never judge a book by its cover, but it is widely acknowledged that having a great book cover is the best way of selling books. It seems that people do not pay any heed the ancient advice.

To be fair to readers though, there isn’t a lot more to go on when one is standing in a bookshop with a choice of two novels in one’s hands. Otherwise, there is the title (and subtitle), the author’s name, but it could be an unknown, and the blurb, which could be the best piece of writing that the book contains!

Don’t laugh! It really could be… it could have been written by an expert for the author.

Why, only recently, Elon Musk admitted to doing exactly the same, and he is far from being the only one… very far!

I also recently saw a writer asking the question whether it was more important to have a good book cover or to have the book well edited. The overwhelming response on the forum was that if the cover is unappealing then no-one will ever know about the poor editing!

Most people judge by appearances in their everyday lives anyway, don’t they? Clothes, fruit, people… and books.

Once you realise that, it is obvious what you have to do to have a chance of selling books.

Book-selling Magnets

To this end, I have started to revamp some of my father’s books… with his permission, of course. I have learned how to make fantastic-looking 3D covers, and even better posters incorporating them!

We are also looking at professional cover designers to see if one catches our eye.

Nevertheless, we are both very proud of the book selling magnets, that we call cards, and are confident that they will increase sales.

Here’s hoping for a bigger share in the book selling market 🙂

PS: If you are a writer and would like to see whether I can help you with a book-selling magnet card too, please get in touch using the form at the top of the page 🙂

Best wishes,

Chalita.

** Update ** If you are looking for a new cover for your book album or website/social media click the link below for a unique cover with unlimited updates for less than $40!

My Favourite Covers.

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Making a Living From Books

Published by Chalita Majang on 21 February 2022

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Daisy's Chain book cover
Daisy’s Chain

When the property is there, but it’s value is not being realised…

I know an author… Yes, all right, my father, Owen Jones, who has 1250 publications registered in his name on Amazon. Furthermore, they are all original books penned by him. However, he is not making a living from the books that he has created.

Many of his original works in English have been translated. Not only that, but all those books in English, and many other languages, exist as ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks and even hardbacks.

I’ll say it again: 1250 publications with his name on them to date!

However, they are earning next to nothing… a giant pizza a week. He is not really making a living from books. In fact, he was earning more from his first few books ten years ago, than he is from all these hundreds now.

Book Sales

This doesn’t seem right to me. When I ask him about it, he says he likes writing and working with other writers both home and abroad. He suggests that he has probably fallen behind modern marketing methods.

I don’t know whether that is true or whether his low sales are attributable to the global slowdown that is a result of Covid. Nevertheless, whatever the reason is, there has to be a way to improve his situation.

Anyway, I am determined to find out how we can rectify the situation. When we do, we are willing to share our findings.

Selling Books

So, are there other authors out there in the same boat? Is there anyone out there who knows how to cash in on all this intellectual property?

I’m looking for a marketing expert who is willing to help us for a fair, even generous, percentage of sales. Furthermore, if the scheme works for us, then I would gladly refer you to other writers.

Please contact me, if you want, using the form in the title bar.

Best wishes,

Chalita.

Daisy’s Chain – set in the rich person’s paradise of Marbella, Southern Spain

Our sister blog: The Amiable Dragon

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Building an Author Platform

Published by Owen Jones on 13 February 2022

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Author Platform
Building an Author Platform

The Author’s Ultimate Tool

Until about New Year 2020, I took care of my author platform assiduously. Decisions were always made with reference to it, and I pampered it with fresh content every single day.

I had all the social media sites too, but my pride and joy was my blog, which I had started in 2013, a year after I published my first book, because that already had its own website.

Anyway, I attacked the problem of not having an author platform with my usual zeal, and I was writing an article a day for the blog. That level of activity was bringing me in about 10,000 unique visitors per month, who made about 30,000 visits and read about 250,000 pages.

Every month…

My Author Platform

I was proud of it as I am a one-man band.

I could sell advertising space. In fact, people regularly approached me with offers without my having to advertise.

Then came the fateful date of January 2020.

I had a brainwave, put it into practice, and within months, I had increased my earnings ten-fold. It was going so well that I took on a couple of virtual assistants to help me. I hadn’t written a book at that time for several years, because I needed to make money, and my existing books just weren’t making it.

However, now that the money was flowing, I could return to writing.

Three months later, Facebook had banned my blog for spamming, and Audible had de-listed my most popular twenty-odd audiobooks for ‘fraudulent activity’.

How or why has never been explained to me despite scores of emails to Audible.

So, with my writing life in tatters, I returned to my blog.

I had not kept up my previous level of activity, and so, as I ignored my blog, unbeknownst to me, it had sunk to the level where it no longer showed up in search results… At least, not in the first ten pages, whereas it had been on Google page one.

OK, I have books now, but otherwise, to all intents and purposes, I am having to start again with my author platform.

Keep On Top of Things!

Let it be a lesson to you.

No matter how much things seem to change in your favour, do not ignore what you already have… the very things that gave you the leg up in the first place, because if you take your eye off the ball, well-meaning employees can screw things up for you, and you can even do it for yourself 🙁

When you are steaming full ahead chasing the money, be sure that you are not destroying the foundations of your business with the wake like I did.

Owen Jones

Our sister blog: The Amiable Dragon

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