4 Common Questions Authors Ask About Self Published Books @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #Author

I am often asked about self publishing. Since I have 13 self published multiple books, it's easy to see why. I also lead Marketing for Romance Writers, so I get certain questions on a regular basis. Based on my experience, here are the answers to four of the most common things authors ask.

Should I put my self published ebook in print?

Definitely. You don't have to pay to have your book printed. Use CreateSpace which will allow you to make POD versions (Print on Demand). This way if you need 10 copies for a book signing, you can get just 10 copies. CreateSpace costs you nothing. They make money when you sell a book. Because it's digital until it's ordered and printed, they can afford to keep books "in print" far longer than a traditional publisher would. The biggest reasons to have your book in print: 1) some people will only read print books, 2) The difference in price between a print book and ebook often drives sales of the ebook. If you can get an ebook for $2.99 or a print book for $8.99, which would you buy? 

How should I price my book?

Amazon suggests a range depending on your book. When you go to your book's detail page on KDP, look at the pricing section. Click the link and read everything. It's helpful. If you charge under $2.99 or over $9.99 you will get 35% royalty. Between those ranges, you get 70%. The BEST way to determine your price is to study the competition. Look up other books in your genre and see what the top 10 are doing price wise. CreateSpace will give you a minimum price - the price which they must charge to cover their costs. I make my print books as low as possible. For every print book I sell, I sell 500 ebooks. Print is nice, but it's not what sells and they are extremely expensive to pre-print and distribute. If you use CreateSpace, you can match it to the book on Amazon and sell it there too. 

Should I use social media?

Social media is for being social. You can meet people on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc. that you would never meet otherwise. People buy from people they know. Be on social media to be seen, not to sell books. Yes, you should post about book stuff. But share other material as well. Offer things of interest and people will follow you. The goal is to reach more people, not sell books. If people know and like you, they will buy your books. 

Do I need to buy an ISBN?

The site you upload to (Smashwords, Amazon, CreateSpace) will provide one at no cost. Save your money for more important things, like marketing. All the ISBN tells people is a number for your specific book and which service you used to print/publish it. They are a legacy of the old publishing system. The Libary of Congress uses them, but since you can get one for free, why spend a fortune? They are not cheap. Here's a good FAQ page from the only place where you can buy an ISBN. They own the system. http://www.isbn.org/faqs_general_questions

If you have questions about self published books, please leave a comment below. I'll do my best to answer or to point you toward someone who can.

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
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RT - Find #Romance Ebooks with #MFRWauthor and #MFRWorg Follow @MFRW_Org

It's Retweet Day for MFRW on Twitter. All Marketing for Romance Writers are invited to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg You can now share up to 280 characters per tweet -- twice as many as before.

Once the tweet has been posted, click anywhere in the white background of the tweet. This will open it and allow you to highlight and copy the URL.

Now, navigate back to here and paste the URL in the comment section of this post.

Remember to visit the blog on Second Monday of the month. You can post your tweet until Wednesday of the same week.

Retweet Day is on the second Wednesday of each month. Retweet everyone on the list.

To help people find your tweet, click the the white background and then the down arrow (found on the right side). Choose "Pin to Your Profile Page." This will keep it at the top of your Twitter feed so more people can find it.

Retweet Day Rules

1. Have #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it for all age groups.
3. Please do not use adult topics for your blog post. Keep it general for all ages.

4. Return on Retweet Day and click each link in the comments.

5. Click the heart on the tweet and then the retweet symbol and the Retweet button.

6. Click the G+ symbol on the comment so you can see where you left off, and to add a little more visibility to the post.

7. Limit hashtags to three (3) per post.

Here's to a great day of retweets,

Tina Gayle

Tina Gayle enjoys writing contemporary romance and stories featuring strong women, as well as tales that touch the heart. Her writing started at a young age when she created stories to put herself to sleep. Now, she spends her days living her dream.

Find her at www.tinagayle.net or pick up her free read at https://www.instafreebie.com/free/EwL6x

Advice for Authors Doing Blog Tours by @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Author

I host over 350 authors a year on Romance Lives Forever, and I have hosted many blog tours. I currently have about 2k viewers a day on RLF, and to get them, I use good content, good formatting, and consistent posting. I also amplify my blog's reach with Triberr (more about that in an upcoming post).

Purpose of Blog Tours

Blog tours are primarily used to get your book in front of readers. When you launch a new title, it's an efficient way to show off the cover and the blurb and tease readers into pre-ordering or buying.

Blog tours should allow readers to see how original you are as a writer. Having different subjects for each post can help. If you have 10-12 posts, each with an identical title, it's a bit boring. Change it up by using new titles on each site.

Use solid hashtags in the title. Yes, in the title. Why? Hashtags are search programs. When you click one on social media, it shows you other tweets or posts that used the same topic. When people share your post on social media, that title becomes a tweet or a Facebook title. If it has a hashtag, your chances of being seen shoot up exponentially. Even more if your Twitter name is in the title. Search Twitter for the hashtag #RLFblog to see this in action. To know if a hashtag is worth using, search it on Twitter or for faster results, try a site like RiteTag.

However, do not use your Twitter name as a hashtag (#yourname). If you're the one sending the tweet, your name is right there in the sent info. If you're a guest somewhere, give them your Twitter name to use as a mention (@yourname). Readers on social media can click the @name and easily follow you. The hashtag is going to take them to a search program. Use your name to get followers and pull them to your homepage, not to send people on a search.

A bonus of the @name versus a hashtag is that Twitter will pull those mentions into your notifications page. They will not show you who used the hashtag. You're on your own finding those.

I've seen something lately that I hope dies a quick death. People are writing "Book Promo" or "Book Blitz" somewhere in the title. This is a big red flag that screams "Advertisement" or "Commercial". Readers don't want to be bludgeoned with ads and commercials. Please don't do this, especially on blog tours where you will be producing multiple posts. Please put those old fashioned words away and let them die in peace. They will kill your sales. I do not permit this type of wording on RLF.

 

When you use blog tours properly by setting out new posts, good hashtags, and snappy titles that draw attention, you are well on your way to a successful book launch.

New from Kayelle Allen

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it's up to Pietas to rescue them. Before he can save his people, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father. Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever... 

Amazon and in print. Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com  / https://rlfblog.com 

RT Day Join the #MFRWauthor Retweet Day #MFRWorg #Romance and Follow @MFRW_Org

It's Retweet Day for MFRW on Twitter. All Marketing for Romance Writers are invited to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg You can now share up to 280 characters per tweet -- twice as many as before.

Once the tweet has been posted, click anywhere in the white background of the tweet. This will open it and allow you to highlight and copy the URL.

Now, navigate back to here and paste the URL in the comment section of this post.

Remember to visit the blog on Second Monday of the month. You can post your tweet until Wednesday of the same week.

Retweet Day is on the second Wednesday of each month. Retweet everyone on the list.

To help people find your tweet, click the the white background and then the down arrow (found on the right side). Choose "Pin to Your Profile Page." This will keep it at the top of your Twitter feed so more people can find it.

Retweet Day Rules

1. Have #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it for all age groups.
3. Please do not use adult topics for your blog post. Keep it general for all ages.

4. Return on Retweet Day and click each link in the comments.

5. Click the heart on the tweet and then the retweet symbol and the Retweet button.

6. Click the G+ symbol on the comment so you can see where you left off, and to add a little more visibility to the post.

7. Limit hashtags to three (3) per post.

Here's to a great day of retweets,

Tina Gayle

Tina Gayle enjoys writing contemporary romance and stories featuring strong women, as well as tales that touch the heart. Her writing started at a young age when she created stories to put herself to sleep. Now, she spends her days living her dream.

Find her at www.tinagayle.net or pick up her free read at https://www.instafreebie.com/free/EwL6x

RT Retweet Pay it Forward -- Holiday Version #MFRWorg #MFRWauthor

It's Retweet Day for MFRW on Twitter. All Marketing for Romance Writers are invited to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg You can now share up to 280 characters per tweet -- twice as many as before.

Once the tweet has been posted, click anywhere in the white background of the tweet. This will open it and allow you to highlight and copy the URL.

Now, navigate back to here and paste the URL in the comment section of this post.

Remember to visit the blog on Second Monday of the month. You can post your tweet until Wednesday of the same week.

Retweet Day is on the second Wednesday of each month. Retweet everyone on the list.

To help people find your tweet, click the the white background and then the down arrow (found on the right side). Choose "Pin to Your Profile Page." This will keep it at the top of your Twitter feed so more people can find it.

Retweet Day Rules

1. Have #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it for all age groups.

3. Return on Retweet Day and click each link in the comments.

4. Click the heart on the tweet and then the retweet symbol and the Retweet button.

5. Click the G+ symbol on the comment so you can see where you left off, and to add a little more visibility to the post.

6. For best results, limit hashtags to three (3) per post.

Here's to a great day of retweets,

Tina Gayle

Tina Gayle enjoys writing contemporary romance and stories featuring strong women, as well as tales that touch the heart. Her writing started at a young age when she created stories to put herself to sleep. Now, she spends her days living her dream.

Find her at www.tinagayle.net or pick up her free read at https://www.instafreebie.com/free/EwL6x