The marketing secret!

I’ve been reading a lot of threads and forums lately dealing with the topic of marketing your book. It seems there are a lot of “newbie authors” out there in this relatively virgin explosion of indie publishing and many can’t understand why their book isn’t selling. When asked if they market and promote their books most do say yes, but often complain of the time it takes in a world where we all have limited time.

Well, here’s a hard truth. To be a successful indie author you have to market your books as much if not more than you spend time writing them. It takes a lot of hard, persistent work to get noticed in a publishing sea that now includes more than a million new published books yearly. Competition to get reader’s attention is a hundred times harder than it was just three years ago.

But it is not impossible.

With the internet, the exhaustive task of promoting your work is now accessible to even the most introverted writer. No longer must writers sit in nearly empty bookstores peddling their signed wares or go out on long book tours just to get a little recognition; that recognition can now be achieved at home. It can be done! You can get noticed! But it ain’t easy.

Internet marketing does sell books. I’m living proof. A complete unknown three years ago, I’ve since sold thousands of copies of my books to absolute strangers. I’m not getting wealthy by any means but there is an inner peace and nirvana by knowing people enjoy the imaginary worlds I’ve created. I also spend an average of two hours each day marketing my books. It’s tough to find the time, believe me, but I do it.

Blindly spamming and pushing your book over and over on social media only turns readers off. You come off seeming desperate for anyone to buy your book. I used to pay for website book sponsorships with mediocre results and have placed sample chapters of my books on hundreds of author sites that promise tons of exposure. That worked to some degree, but it was not worth the hours of drudgery downloading material in comparison to sales. Then I discovered the secret to gaining an audience.

The proper way to promote your book is to build a readership through online discussions and joining groups. Respond when a reader emails you. Get involved in discussions other than about your own work. Get people interested in you by being interesting online. Your audience will grow in time. Marketing on the internet WILL sell your book, but you have to do it properly. And you have to have patience. If you tell a great story and let the world know about it through discussion readers will buy what you’re offering.

Five Books!

That’s right! Get a summer’s worth of sci-fi/fantasy and adventure for one low price! Let your imagination run wild!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0K5FWW

AFTER - On the day we’re born we’re destined to die. But what lies after? For fifteen–year-old Nick Murray, death is only the beginning. His entire human life has been an illusion in preparation for the epic role his soul will play in the destiny of the universe.

DREAM TRAVELER - 300,000 years from now, human spirits called Phelastians are finally making peace with ape-like creatures called Dwellers. Formality requires that a twenty-first century Earthling be present as witness to the treaty. A Phelastian travels back in time and recruits Whitmore Middle School’s newest student, Jamie Richards. Can Jamie save trillions of lives, prevent a war that has already occurred, and stop herself from meeting herself, all while attempting to stabilize creation and find her way home?

THE END TIME - Bob Bradly is devastated when he learns that Jane, the love of his life, has only two days to live, but he’s even more mortified when he finds out how she dies. Driven to desperate acts to save her, Bob challenges the forces determined to take Jane away.

IMAGINATION - A botched military mission finds new recruit Christopher Parker in a hostile prison camp. His life has become pain. To escape the prolonged misery of torture, Christopher journeys deep into his own memories and imagination, reliving his life in extreme detail. Imagery is so precise the people who occupy these memories believe they are living real lives.

INSECTLAND - Tiny, dragon-like creatures hiding in our homes are going to harm us. They will shrink us to the size of ants, enslave us, and turn our world into their own. But there is hope. Legions of insect robots intent on stopping them have recruited high school sophomore Dan Larson for help. Thrust into danger, Dan risks everything in a desperate attempt to thwart an attack and prevent the end of society as we know it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0K5FWW 

Origins of a novel

Thanks to everyone who purchased DROP OUT, the book continues to affect lives. For those of you who don’t know the origins of the story and its message, I thought I’d share a portion of a biography interview I did when the book was published. Then please decide if it is right for you.

I’ve been a thriller, sci-fi writer for more than twenty years and over that span of time my books garnered the attention of numerous literary agents and publishers. In 2005, I signed with a major literary agent from a major NY literary agency. The agency had sold hundreds of books and film rights, some for seven figures. I was very excited to say the least.

My agent loved all six (I now have ten) of my books and like any good agent edited and provided free advice to make the stories stronger and more saleable. We had several exciting close-call deals and a few heart-racing moments while waiting for offers. My agent encouraged me to keep writing and truly believed that one day I’d hit it big.

Then something happened that sent my world into an unrecoverable tailspin; a close friend was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Here’s the kicker… he was given just two weeks to live! He went from his nine-to-five life, to knowing he had limited amount of time left. Having no close family, no insurance, and no money for treatment, he was left with little option except to die alone in his apartment. It is then that my wife decided to hospice him. I wholly supported her.

It was an incredibly powerful experience watching as my friend’s life slipped away and how he dealt with it psychologically as the physicality got worse. Eight days after his initial diagnosis he was dead. I pulled the bed sheet over his head. I’ve never been the same since.

As a writer, I wanted to capture something of the moment and relay what I experienced watching and talking with a lucid person as their life was ending. Having never written literary fiction, I suddenly found myself cemented in front of my computer in the throes of typing DROP OUT.

When I sent the completed manuscript off to my agent, he was extremely disappointed that I had gone this literary route and had no intentions of ever trying to sell the book. I had no intentions of letting the book sit in a drawer, so after a few emails and telephone calls to the agency we decided to end our nearly four year partnership. I published the ebook version of DROP OUT a month later not expecting much to come of it. Then something amazing happened…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U 

Another 5 star!

New review for my latest sci-fi by a top Amazon reviewer. Strange how the last 4-star reviewer complained how the ending was too quick. Everyone has their own opinions, I guess.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K08TEYA

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and original

June 24, 2014

By Ron Baker

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Well written story that has many plot elements that are nicely woven together into a satisfying ending. Even though this is the first in the "End Time" series it does not fall into the trap of a lot of series building and character introductions with little conclusion as so many first in a series books do. This novel reads like a stand alone story yet whets the appetite for more, as it should. Well done. 

Check us out!

Please check out the books in my online writers group. We are a mix of bestselling authors in multiple genres who have left mainstream publishing to hit it on our own. Several of us have made the NY Times, Amazon, and U.S.A. Today's lists. Thanks.
 
http://enovelauthorsatwork.com/

Reviews are personal

Touching again on the subject of unpaid reviews from unknown readers, I would like to point out just how personal taste is reflected in each review. I’m not going to mention the 23 – five star reviews I’ve gotten for DROP OUT, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U but mention quotes from the two worst reviews I’ve received. Why focus on the worst? Because they are perfect examples of opinion and preference.

The first quote is from a 2-star review; the full review can be read on Amazon.com. The reader states; “I am not sure how I came to buy this book but when I started reading it I was almost bowled over. This man can REALLY write: his first section in which the protagonist is caught in the September 11 collapse of the twin towers was so gripping I could hardly breathe.” Sounds good right? Sure does to me. But then the remainder of the review goes on to trash the end of the book saying; “But that someone with such writing talent should write such garbage is beyond me.” Which is fine. Like I said, each reader is entitled to their own opinion.

The second review I’m mentioning is a 3-star posted just the other day. This reader had the exact opposite opinion; “Found this novella a bit top heavy with the details of 9/11 which kicks off the story.” But then goes on to say; “I liked the rest of the story and would have enjoyed it more if the beginning wasn't quite so drawn out.” So, who is right? Who’s opinion should I trust and believe? The beginning is great and the end blows? Or the end is great and the beginning blows? The answer is they are both right.

What I’ve learned about people and humanity in general is that everyone has their own personal tastes, choices, likes, and dislikes. What one reader loves another may hate and vice versa. What is most important in the grand scheme of the universe is that the book gets written and the story gets told. Don’t let any single reader’s aversion to your work affect your work. True, I have numerous 5-star reviews for my ten books on Amazon and Goodreads to inflate my ego, but sometimes I believe the worst reviews are the most helpful because they make me realize that no matter what I write some will love it and some will hate it. It’s all part of being a writer and expressing yourself through language. I don’t let it influence my work.