# What really SELLS books in your experience?



## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Out of all the things you tried, now, looking back, what REALLY sold books for you personally?

Konrath and Dean Wesley Smith have rightfully said that national publicity doesn't guarantee you'll sell even one copy extra. Looking back, I think I've found a few things that help sell books: (not in any particular order)

* Writing in the right genre (or subgenre)
* A dynamic cover
* A great Amazon description
* A great first 5 pages
* 10+ honest fair thorough reviews from credible people 
* Writing the next book in the series
* Writing a book for my audience (not the critics) that is so dynamic they can't stop talking about it
* Personable emails one person at a time to people I know and following up with them (aka pleasantly nagging them) to see if they bought it yet.
* Personable Facebook messages one at a time with a personable message

What would you add to this list? And what does NOT work or are hit and miss for you? For me it's:

* Blog tours
* media
* Bookbub blasts are great for the first week and then after that, maybe not so much.
* "Exposure". In today's twitter cycle/ADD mentality, they've long forgot about you before you've written your next book
* BCC Email blasts
*  Facebook ads (might get lots of clicks but they don't result in sales)
* Facebook updates (trickle in)


What do you think?


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> * Personable emails one person at a time to people I know and following up with them (aka pleasantly nagging them) to see if they bought it yet.
> * Personable Facebook messages one at a time with a personable message


Anyone who tries this trick on me gets defriended SUBITO!


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## Mahalo (Feb 7, 2014)

Boyd said:


> I just wanted to say Hi, last couple of threads you posted have been informative. Do you write in fiction? I agree with many of the bullets points below except for 10+ reviews... For my genre, its like pulling teeth to get reviews... I think I get 1 review for every thousand books. How to get more than that in my genre is what I need help with
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> For sales; I use facebook, some twitter, some book blogs, freebooksy, having perma-free's and word of mouth (er.... you know what I mean right?)


Boyd, do you ask for reviews at the end of your stories? I wonder if it is because the genre you are in (and that I am about to enter) is more taboo. I was thinking about this the other day because for one of my books in a different genre, I had several people ask to leave reviews and they didn't know how. Once I explained it to them AND that they didn't have to leave their real name - that upped reviews. I wonder if something along the lines of "leave an anonymous review at amazon" at the end of the book would spur more reviews? I also don't think that many people realize that when they leave a review they can change the name of the reviewer up in the right corner so that the public will see a different name.


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

Ooh, Patty, I love your Ambassador covers!

To the list:

-Permafree with a promo bump (sells the rest of the series)

At the risk of sounding heretical, what does NOT really work for me is my email list. I don't know if I just don't have enough people, or if I have waaay too many different series and genres to get more than 3% of the list to buy a new release. With a bigger list, though, maybe 3% would be significant. (??) (I have about 700 people on my list.)


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## Mahalo (Feb 7, 2014)

valeriec80 said:


> Ooh, Patty, I love your Ambassador covers!
> 
> To the list:
> 
> ...


Valerie - one of my part-time gigs is email marketing for several businesses. PM me if you have any questions about how you are setting up your emails or questions on user engagement.


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## Mahalo (Feb 7, 2014)

Boyd said:


> I do ask for reviews  If they send me the perma link I'll send them a book in their format of choice. I know it isn't 100,000% kosher, depending on how you read the TOS for whichever platform, but it's about as clear as mud to me, and I'm just an average farm boy who dreams of Vegas.....
> 
> I do mention that they can leave it anonymous and/or under a pen name. It's rough
> 
> I do think it' because it's the genre and the more taboo nature of the stories (I write).. folks aren't as comfortable admitting they liked or hated something that may tick off a bunch of folks. I do love the reviews I get, even the ones that 1 star me. (that's how few reviews I get).


I feel ya. I'm not even there yet and am nervous about the difficulty of getting reviews in this genre. Maybe we need to start an erotica support threat and send each other all our books and leave honest reviews for each other.


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## Mahalo (Feb 7, 2014)

Boyd said:


> I'm trying so hard not to spout some bad puns...
> 
> DANGIT!


  whoops, *thread. And yes, what a fantastic title for that thread could be...

Ok, sorry, not trying to take this one over.

As for sales - another thing that has worked for me is going on Facebook and finding groups that follow and/or have similar interests to your books and messaging them. Offer to write a guest post on a blog or send books for free.


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

To me, almost as important as genre is to write an appealing book. It doesn't have to be high art, but if it somehow appeals to a segment of the reading audience, they will take up arms on your behalf and make it their personal mission to get you discovered. I don't think you need too many people like that to really make a difference.

Oh, and I know it's almost universally pooh-poohed now, but Select Free still moves books for me. In December, I did a small free run on a short story and got about 4500 downloads with no ads. I moved about 400 copies of that story over then next 30 days. I never would have moved that many short stories in that period without the free run. I'm doing another short story free run right now - 5,000 downloads in two days (again, no ads) - and I'm happy to report back on sales #'s on that one as well, if anyone is interested.

And... for me, everything revolves around my mailing list. It's not huge, (330 people) but it guarantees a good book launch for me (enough to get me on the HNR list each time) and enough reviews quickly that I can advertise early on. That's why I'm focusing on building it up this year.

That's all I've got.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

Characters that inspire empathy.
A story that holds mass appeal.
Clear genre and tropes.


My bastard book (even though I love it) doesn't sell enough to buy beans. It's not marketable (its lacking those last 2 elements).

I'm the oddball with my answers, I know. But you can runs ads like crazy on a book that lacks those traits, and it won't stick.


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

H.M. Ward said:


> Characters that inspire empathy.
> A story that holds mass appeal.
> Clear genre and tropes.


And I think that's what I was trying to say by when I said "Write an appealing book," but of course you said it better!


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

H.M. Ward said:


> Characters that inspire empathy.


This. I think it's the number one thing that will keep me coming back. Lot of factors will grab me on the first run but for me to be a repeat buyer, this is the top of the list for me.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

> Bookbub blasts are great for the first week and then after that, maybe not so much.


Bookbub success is quite definitely not limited to the first week. I'm not even sure where that impression came from.

Blog tours: never had much luck with those although I'm going to do another in March. We'll see if this one is more successful than my others. It is more genre focused. Facebook, not too much.

A well told story with believable characters, an attractive cover, and an interesting blurb are the ones that work best which isn't exactly a lot of help since we all know that.


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## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

H.M. Ward said:


> Characters that inspire empathy.
> A story that holds mass appeal.
> Clear genre and tropes.
> 
> ...


How can you gauge what will hold mass appeal?
And... how do you make sure you are within a clear genre / tropes?


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Select free days continue to be my #1 thing as well. (Countdown's also working well.)
Facebook also works for me. 
Blog tours have helped, too.
And, yeah. BookBub results last a good 4 weeks or more, and they can push you over the tipping point, too, which is the big thing we all need.
Otherwise, the first 7 things on the OP's list, not the last 2.

ETA: I don't think anybody knows what will hold mass appeal, what will strike that chord. If they did, every book an agent and publisher accepted would be a bestseller.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

AutumnKQ said:


> How can you gauge what will hold mass appeal?
> And... how do you make sure you are within a clear genre / tropes?


Clear genre and tropes is easy. Are you NA or YA? MG or Adult? Sci Fi or PNR? Stories that are round peg, round hole tend to do better. The reader is looking for X kind of book and can tell that's what your book is.

You know mass appeal when you see it. It's usually something that is part of the common experience or human condition--something we can all relate to despite our differences--e.g. death, poverty, grief, loss, hope, growing up, oppression, etc.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

I was going to say with the mass appeal, a number of people automatically discount trads or agents on knowing mass appeal because a few books they expected to explode are duds. This totally discounts all the other times that they hit it out of the park. There are certain things that people tend to like and sometimes it just about lining things with current events or things of that nature.


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## Michael Kingswood (Feb 18, 2011)

Well, I'll tell you what probably WON'T help sell books.  A review like I just got on my Short Story 10-Pack.  I mean, I appreciate the 5 stars, but when the reviewer says she hasn't read the book yet, it kind of spoils the effect.


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## GUTMAN (Dec 22, 2011)

Shawn and Rosalind:

Do you use your free Select days al at once or dribble them out?


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Boyd said:


> Amen, but you've got the golden touch lately; so don't mind me as I devour all of your stories


Well, gosh, awww....

And re clear genre . . . I've got one or two out there that are so absolutely not clear genre, a big ol' mix, and they're selling pretty well. I think, for a certain kind of reader, maybe a reader that's bored with the same ol', same ol', having a book that shakes it up a bit and offers something different can be appealing. You'll get readers who are upset that you didn't follow the rules, yeah, but you'll also get people who talk excitedly about your book because it was different. And "talking excitedly" is golden.

ETA: I know, who am I to argue with H. M. Ward, right? And I do think "clear genre" is a good idea if you're thinking, "What will SELL?" But I don't think "not-clear genre" is necessarily the kiss of death, either.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Mad H said:


> Shawn and Rosalind:
> 
> Do you use your free Select days al at once or dribble them out?


I use them all at once, partly because I promote the heck out of them, so I want that bang (momentum) for my buck.
I don't do "free" for every book, though. Just #1 and #2 of the first series, and #1 of the second series.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Bethany B. said:


> I was going to say with the mass appeal, a number of people automatically discount trads or agents on knowing mass appeal because a few books they expected to explode are duds. This totally discounts all the other times that they hit it out of the park. There are certain things that people tend to like and sometimes it just about lining things with current events or things of that nature.


I think it's, 90%? of trad published romance novels don't earn out their advance. If anyone knew what would catch on, you'd think they'd be able to "hit it" more often than that--at least to earn the author more than $5,000 (which is the average new romance-author advance).

My figures may be old. They're from 18 months or so ago, when I was looking into self-publishing.

I used to be in publishing (not trade publishing). I can tell you from experience, publishers are conservative beasts. They want more of what's been selling lately, because a bird in the hand and all that. I know, because I used to be one of the ones making those decisions.  I remember a CEO of another, pretty big company telling me once, while we were walking the floor at a trade show, "Nobody knows what will sell. You just try to be right more than 50% of the time." If you are, you've got a marketing nose.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

Rosalind James said:


> "Nobody knows what will sell. You just try to be right more than 50% of the time."


Totally agree.  Personally I dabble in several different areas. Partially because that's what interests me and partially to see if something might go big.

Part of me wonders about the whole advances thing and maybe there are more factors than just earning out or not. Hugh just earned out here recently (couple months ago maybe) and even he said he never expected to earn out. On the other hand, I do know most authors get pocket change for advances and yet they still don't earn out. Heck in romance alone, Harlequin was number one for screwing authors over who were world wide sellers. I don't know. Boy what I wouldn't give to have a crack at amazons data. I'm betting with the right programs you could get it to better than 50%.


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## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

H.M. Ward said:


> Clear genre and tropes is easy. Are you NA or YA? MG or Adult? Sci Fi or PNR? Stories that are round peg, round hole tend to do better. The reader is looking for X kind of book and can tell that's what your book is.
> 
> You know mass appeal when you see it. It's usually something that is part of the common experience or human condition--something we can all relate to despite our differences--e.g. death, poverty, grief, loss, hope, growing up, oppression, etc.


Darn. I'm all over the place. My characters are 16-21, but they deal with NA-type issues. They are already paired, pregnant, and starting careers, but they live in a decaying fleet and are searching for a new Earth. Half of their babies can't survive outside the womb, because of a genetic defect, and that's a big part of the plot.

My plot centers around relationships, but it's not straight romance. Characters aren't safe from death. It's a little like Battlestar Galactica, but without tons of space battles and rogue robots. It's about love, loss, hope, keeping the faith, secrets, betrayal, and whether the ends ever justify the means... I literally have not found _any_ science fiction books like what I've written, but I think the closest probably come from the YA category. The sci-fi is sometimes lighter there, crosses genre lines, and is about relationships more than tech. I wrote the sci-fi gateway-drug-book I wish I'd read years ago. My husband had to get me into science fiction. (So if anyone can help me find other books like mine, I'd *really* appreciate it. I'm sure I just haven't found the books I'm searching for. So please, please, please recommend them. Indie or trad-pubbed, doesn't matter. I'll gobble them up!)

Sorry for rambling. I know no one wants to hear all about this.. Y'all are into *your* worlds. I'm so into mine, and so passionate about it, that I'm going to have to finish this saga. Even if I'm the only one who cares.


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## CarlSinclair (Apr 7, 2013)

Good Story
Good Blurb
Good Cover
(Good writing would help, but well a well edited story with average prose will do. Look at the top 100 most of the time)

Then...

Good marketing. (BookBub is your best bet by far) Everything else has diminishing or limited returns.

That is about the only way to sell a lot of books on a consistent basis. There will be some exceptions that don't do any and get lucky. If you want to run a business, that is how you do it.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Michael Kingswood said:


> Well, I'll tell you what probably WON'T help sell books. A review like I just got on my Short Story 10-Pack. I mean, I appreciate the 5 stars, but when the reviewer says she hasn't read the book yet, it kind of spoils the effect.


You should have a new review.


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

Mad H said:


> Shawn and Rosalind:
> 
> Do you use your free Select days al at once or dribble them out?


Like Rosalind, I do them all at once, although I don't necessarily use all five days. For instance, I'm running Second Chance Valentines free today and this is day two. I got 3,100 downloads yesterday and will finish with 2400 today. If I see I'm heading for a 1,000 download day tomorrow, I'll cancel it midday and get all the momentum I can out of it. (Please note that I didn't alert any sites that I was running it. Also, I look to see if sites have promoted it on their own tomorrow, and if they have, I'll let it ride. I don't ever mess with the sites that promote me, especially for free!) Also, on that book in particular, I want to get as many days of sales as I can leading up to V-day, since it's time-sensitive. Whenever I cancel it, I won't do another free run on this book this go-round.

Also, on my full-length books, I don't like to do too many free runs, so I usually only do one every eight months or so. I haven't done one since last August and I don't have another one planned until early April. I love the boost in sales and reader awareness it gives me, but it's like nitro in a car - I don't want to use it too often. If I had a better back-list, I would do it more often, but I'm just starting to get that built.

Hope that helps!


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

jamielakenovels said:


> * Personable emails one person at a time to people I know and following up with them (aka pleasantly nagging them) to see if they bought it yet.
> * Personable Facebook messages one at a time with a personable message


I'm with Patty big time on this.

I'd be unfriending and blocking you if I was receiving unsolicited messages or emails.


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## Michael Kingswood (Feb 18, 2011)

cinisajoy said:


> You should have a new review.


Ok, now you're just being way too nice. Thanks a lot! 

*throws a smiley sock your way*


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Michael Kingswood said:


> Ok, now you're just being way too nice. Thanks a lot!
> 
> *throws a smiley sock your way*


My dryer did eat a smiley sock today. It is all your fault.


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

Advertising and putting the first in a series free. Pretty much everything else in my experience is beneficial AFTER you've sold the book. People come to my blog or my Facebook as a result of reading my books, not the other way around. Once they're in, there's a chance they'll become repeat customers, but getting them in the door in the first place is a whole different matter. I think blog guest posts etc are useful, but you literally have to do hundreds of them to get anything meaningful back. I used to do loads, but for every three or four I'd be lucky to see one sale. As a ROI, its pretty worthless.


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## Michael Kingswood (Feb 18, 2011)

cinisajoy said:


> My dryer did eat a smiley sock today. It is all your fault.


LOL

Guilty as charged.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

The two things I can absolutely point to that kicked sales off from hobbyist to serious (in my mind as I needed to make a living after my day job went away) was permafree the first book in my series and releasing book 3. That's what did it. I have since reverted to $0.99 just to see, but I will be back permafree the INSTANT I know for sure that I NEED it again.


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## Tommie Lyn (Dec 7, 2009)

Rosalind James said:


> Well, gosh, awww....
> 
> And re clear genre . . . I've got one or two out there that are so absolutely not clear genre, a big ol' mix, and they're selling pretty well. I think, for a certain kind of reader, maybe a reader that's bored with the same ol', same ol', having a book that shakes it up a bit and offers something different can be appealing. You'll get readers who are upset that you didn't follow the rules, yeah, but you'll also get people who talk excitedly about your book because it was different. And "talking excitedly" is golden.
> 
> ETA: I know, who am I to argue with H. M. Ward, right? And I do think "clear genre" is a good idea if you're thinking, "What will SELL?" But I don't think "not-clear genre" is necessarily the kiss of death, either.


I got a review on my bestselling book a few days ago that focused on the reviewer's inability to classify the story. And I suppose it's not surprising the reader couldn't classify it, because I can't, either. And most of my stories are like that.

I think KDP needs a new category for stories like mine...Higgledy-Piggledy.


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## DashaGLogan (Jan 30, 2014)

Blurb and good reviews

For UK and DE The freebie magic totally works, for US you would have to come off on 99 Cents or you go down (just witnessed it)


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

H.M. Ward said:


> Characters that inspire empathy.
> A story that holds mass appeal.
> Clear genre and tropes.
> 
> ...


You guys already covered my response to the OP. A good story beats everything. I would, however, like to throw out a great big "nice to see you Miss Ward!" Been a while.


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2014)

A cover that people like. Not one that the author likes (unless they're one in the same). 
A catchy blurb
A genre that lends itself to new writers. I think some genres are more difficult than others to break through.
A constant internet presence (at least three hour a day).
And a good book

Oh, and this is a guess. If I really knew, I would write a book about it and make millions. I seriously doubt that many indie authors who sell a lot  of books actually know why. I don't. At least I don't know how I received the initial attention. Now days, it's not as hard. I have a fan-base. Though I still have to work to keep them satisfied.


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## pwtucker (Feb 12, 2011)

1. Persistence. 

I had a good start in 2011. The beginning of 2012 was insanely good due to a well timed Christmas Select promo. The second half was awful. 2013 I didn't sell a thing. But I stuck in there, redesigned my approach, and since last December my sales have taken off.

2. What Holly mentioned: writing with passion about empathetic characters going through exciting yet relatable stories.

You can use all the tricks of the trade to boost your book, but that boost won't last if the content doesn't grab and hold your reader's attention.

3. Permafree with a series in a popular genre 

I spent my first two years hopping from genre to genre writing stand alone novels. Trust me. It didn't work out well. I now have two series with permafree book 1's, and they're selling beyond my expectations.

4. A willingness to find the right combination of cover/blurb/title.

I published Vampire Miami in Dec 2012. I changed the cover, blurb, and title (it's now called Into the Vampire City) numerous times until I hit the right combo. It's now ranking at #145 on the free list, where before it was languishing in the #5,000's. Same book, different packaging.

5. Time.

It takes years to build a successful career. It takes many books. Sure some authors knock it out of the park with their debut, but for most authors it takes publishing a half dozen novels/serials before they start to gain traction. And in order to make that happen, you need to dedicate a chunk of each day to writing. I've written 160,000 words since last December, and I still feel like I'm going too slow. 

6. Being open to the wisdom of others

KBoards changed my whole approach to self-publishing, and if I hadn't been willing to listen and follow advice, I'd still be doing everything wrong. Can't thank you guys enough.


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2014)

ChrisWard said:


> People come to my blog or my Facebook as a result of reading my books, not the other way around. Once they're in, there's a chance they'll become repeat customers, but getting them in the door in the first place is a whole different matter.


People come to my Facebook and my blog NOW. So I'm very excited to see what will happen when my first indie novel comes out in June, followed by more every three months.


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## lmckinley (Oct 3, 2012)

Just wanted to say great thread, thanks everyone. The thought of writing to genre or certain tropes makes me feel squirmy. But I like all the other ideas It's so easy to feel like I have to aim at everything at once. This is a helpful reminder on what to focus on.


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## RichardWolanski (Jan 20, 2014)

lmckinley said:


> Just wanted to say great thread, thanks everyone. It's so easy to feel like I have to aim at everything at once. This is a helpful reminder on what to focus on.


I can definitely relate to this.

I like hearing pwtucker's story because I can relate. I just started in January and only after enrolling my book in select did I learn the concept of permafree. I plan to put the first book i my serial as permafree when my select period ends in April. I'm working on a manuscript for a new series now and once this one in the editing/beta phase starting on the next with the ultimate goal of doing permafree for both series.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

I believe what sells is a story that starts with a scene that that immediately makes the reader wonder what's going to happen next, not because the reader is confused and is willing to give the author the benefit of his time, but because he understands what's happening, the situation intrigues him, and he sympathizes with the character's predicament. And the scene after that, builds on those opening moments, and presents a new set of interesting things that happen which further complicate the matter. Interesting characters enter the scene, interesting scenarios, things the reader hasn't seen. 

Grab the reader by the nose, and don't let go until the last page. I think that sells.


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

vrabinec said:


> I believe what sells is a story that starts with a scene that that immediately makes the reader wonder what's going to happen next, not because the reader is confused and is willing to give the author the benefit of his time, but because he understands what's happening, the situation intrigues him, and he sympathizes with the character's predicament. And the scene after that, builds on those opening moments, and presents a new set of interesting things that happen which further complicate the matter. Interesting characters enter the scene, interesting scenarios, things the reader hasn't seen.
> 
> Grab the reader by the nose, and don't let go until the last page. I think that sells.


I totally get what you're saying here. An opening scene that is both new and yet relatable at the same time. I love it when I have that instant rapport with a book.

Of course, the trick remains, getting someone's eyeballs on that scene.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

vrabinec said:


> I believe what sells is a story that starts with a scene that that immediately makes the reader wonder what's going to happen next, not because the reader is confused and is willing to give the author the benefit of his time, but because he understands what's happening, the situation intrigues him, and he sympathizes with the character's predicament. And the scene after that, builds on those opening moments, and presents a new set of interesting things that happen which further complicate the matter. Interesting characters enter the scene, interesting scenarios, things the reader hasn't seen.
> 
> Grab the reader by the nose, and don't let go until the last page. I think that sells.


You are so dang good. I want to read your book. Hurry up!


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## Calvin Locke (Mar 6, 2012)

syrimne13 said:


> Yeah, I had a bit of a reaction to those too...personal emails "gently nagging" me to do anything go into the spam bucket, and that person gets de-friended. I would never do that to my friends. I LIKE my friends.


I think the OP was referring to friendly communication, and I would assume that's not too often. My assumption, of course.

I have always been curious why people get so offended by email. We will watch a million commercials, tap through ads in phone games, receive pounds of useless poop in the mail, but an email gets people really fired up.

Don't think I am calling you out- I am just noting a common behavior.


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

pwtucker said:


> 1. Persistence.
> 
> I had a good start in 2011. The beginning of 2012 was insanely good due to a well timed Christmas Select promo. The second half was awful. 2013 I didn't sell a thing. But I stuck in there, redesigned my approach, and since last December my sales have taken off.
> 
> ...


^^^^
^^^^
This. 
I'd put #2 at the top of the list, but no big deal, actually, b/c all of your points are proven ones. We pretty much started following these points in October and are now having the time of our lives. While we haven't gone the permafree route yet (we go back and forth on it constantly) the first in all series stands at .99 and we have done our first Select free days promo in Jan and are really happy with the results.

And as far as #6 goes...
the board literally changed my life. I read Holly Ward's threads a while ago, and then the other threads by members who gave it a go.

Yeah... pretty much what PW says.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Rosalind James said:


> You are so dang good. I want to read your book. Hurry up!


I didn't say MY book starts like that. Mine starts with twenty-five pages of backstory, featuring six pages of description on the sunset, because I want the reader to picture THE BEST SUNSET EVER!!!!


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## gorvnice (Dec 29, 2010)

1. Popular Genre
2. Cover/title/blurb combo
3. Incredible opening pages
4. In order to sustain sales, readers must eventually enjoy the book.  Therefore, developing great characters and intriguing plots is a must.
5. Interconnected books to follow up on initial success.

Note: Price is the x factor.  Some books/authors can sell for different amounts, dependent on length, genre, and other contributing causes.  However, it is surely important to discover the sweet spot for your books in order to connect with the most readers and still make money doing so.


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

Great advice in this thread! Take what you will from my limited experience. I'm no best seller, selling about 4 books a day at this point. But I am seeing improvement every month, so I must be doing something right.

What I think sells more books is a series, and obviously one that people like. People get invested and want more. If you love the characters and the world, your readers will too. If you don't care, why would they? I love when readers are as invested as I am.

I would add what CJ Lyons always says: "Wait for your audience to find you." That's where "write more books" helps. With each new release, I have more fans.

I've also found that starting a new series is much like starting over, even if it's in the same genre. That's why I'm focusing on one series now. I'm letting readers find my Mercy series, which was the second one I started. Meanwhile I'm adding more books to my other series, including standalones within the series/world from the perspectives of interesting side characters.

Other things that help:
-Perma free. Since setting my prequel novella at perma free, my sales have gone up noticeably.
-Sales and ads. Last month, I had a great run with "I Love Vampire Novels" and ENT. I saw a huge amount of sales and reached #3 in Vampire Suspense, paid list. Not everyone who bought #1 has moved to the other books, but I have seen a good spike in sales of the other books.
-Have a list. Being able to email eager readers about a new release is the best way to let them know it's ready. I asked my readers to tell me what to write next, and they really liked that.
-Giveaways. I use them on my blog, and like to join giveaway hops with other authors. It's good for exposure. You can give away ebooks, swag, gift cards, etc. 
-For reviews: Emailing book bloggers. It's time consuming, but it does work. I also use Story Cartel.
-Triberr. Every post on my blog now gets well over 100 tweets. My post from yesterday, announcing my new release already has 81 tweets, 8 FB shares/likes, and 6 G+ shares. Share will continue throughout the week.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Those are great tips, everyone!  For those who are commenting about the tip that works for me "Personable emails" or "personable Facebook messages" probably missed reading the part of the sentence that says "people I know." They're not unsolicited messages. If I'm talking to my ex-co-worker about the lasagna they just cooked last night and mentioned on their Facebook, it doesn't hurt when they ask me what I've been working on, that I tell them about the book I just wrote.

These are not the kind of BCC carbon copy & paste messages that you're probably used to seeing. Quite the opposite.

Other than that, keep the suggestions coming!


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

vrabinec said:


> I didn't say MY book starts like that. Mine starts with twenty-five pages of backstory, featuring six pages of description on the sunset, because I want the reader to picture THE BEST SUNSET EVER!!!!


With a lengthy Prologue, right?


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Shawn Inmon said:


> With a lengthy Prologue, right?


Well, of COURSE it has a Prologue. Where else would he list the genealogy?


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Shawn Inmon said:


> With a lengthy Prologue, right?


Hey, if Herbert can get away with it...


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

On the 'choose the right genre' meme you see so much, I am honestly not at all sure that writing a genre you don't like because other people like it is the way to go. But maybe that's what I think because I choose to continue not writing romance or erotica. I mean for heaven's sake, are we honestly saying that everyone should switch to those?

ETA: Ahem. Well I obviously am not saying that, so I'm not sure who the 'we' is, but that is the advice that a lot of people seem to be giving. I find it worrying.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

JRTomlin said:


> On the 'choose the right genre' meme you see so much, I am honestly not at all sure that writing a genre you don't like because other people like it is the way to go. But maybe that's what I think because I choose to continue not writing romance or erotica. I mean for heaven's sake, are we honestly saying that everyone should switch to those?
> 
> ETA: Ahem. Well I obviously am not saying that, so I'm not sure who the 'we' is, but that is the advice that a lot of people seem to be giving. I find it worrying.


For what it's worth, I completely agree with you. I write steamy stuff pretty well, and if I just wanted to make money, I'd be writing erotica. But I don't want to write erotica, because I only enjoy writing the steam in the context of a love story, to serve the romance. And I really, truly think that it's hard to hit big with a book that doesn't sweep you, the author, up. If it doesn't sweep you up, how's it going to sweep anybody else up?

I'm just lucky that my tastes are pretty mainstream. I like beer, I like sports, I like romance. My best date, like the heroine's of my new book, is a hamburger and a beer in a sports bar. But if my tastes were different, I'd be writing to my tastes. Because the #1 reason I do this is that it's FUN. I know how to make a good living at something I don't like. I know all, all, all about that. No, thanks. Not any more.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I think you should write the genre you love. If you love more than one, however, I don't see anything wrong with picking the more popular/saleable genre among those.


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2014)

Look at all the advice! None of us really know. The rest is just bloviating. Post online, permafree, blogspots, blah, blah, blah. The most successful indie here can't tell you (and that's not me). Write a book. Write a good book. Work hard to get it noticed. Cross your fingers.


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## Twizzlers (Feb 6, 2014)

Everyone keeps advising perma-free. Is there a way to do that while remaining in KDP select?


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## britrocker (May 16, 2011)

vrabinec said:


> I didn't say MY book starts like that. Mine starts with twenty-five pages of backstory, featuring six pages of description on the sunset, because I want the reader to picture THE BEST SUNSET EVER!!!!


Lol classic reply.

My experience on non-fiction is solving a common problem in a starving market. Take weight loss, how to make money and dating. Those three markets are huge and rabid.

Though like fiction. It all comes down to the execution.


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## Usedtoposthere (Nov 19, 2013)

Oh, man, I didn't even think of the best, the very best answer:

Sex.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Sort of off-topic.  Michael Kingswood no longer owes me a sock.  Turns out the dryer didn't eat it.  It had decided to try to mate with a sweatshirt.

Now how to sell books: write me a story that grabs and holds my attention.


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## Lionel&#039;s Mom (Aug 22, 2013)

JRODell said:


> Everyone keeps advising perma-free. Is there a way to do that while remaining in KDP select?


The book you'd want to perma free would have to be out of Select. The only way to perma free is to get Amazon to price match to other sales venues like iTunes.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Calvin Locke said:


> I think the OP was referring to friendly communication, and I would assume that's not too often. My assumption, of course.
> 
> I have always been curious why people get so offended by email. We will watch a million commercials, tap through ads in phone games, receive pounds of useless poop in the mail, but an email gets people really fired up.
> 
> Don't think I am calling you out- I am just noting a common behavior.


Because, email and PMs on Facebook and the like, like a phone call, make people feel obliged to do something about it, and gives people the feeling that if they ignore it, they will damage relationships. It's an intrusion on privacy in a way a TV commercial isn't, and crap in letterboxes isn't. Because you know there is a person on the other end who knows you received the email and who may expect some sort of reaction.

Most people find this intensely uncomfortable.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Write what you want. In whatever genre you want. There WILL be readers. It's a big, big world. Joe Nobody writes in prepper fiction. Who the hell even KNEW there was such a thing as prepper fiction? And he's a billionaire (or something.) 

After you've done that:

Nice cover + great blurb + great sample chapters = sell. 

Everything else is superfluous and overthinking/overdoing it.


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## Calvin Locke (Mar 6, 2012)

BrianDAnderson said:


> Look at all the advice! None of us really know. The rest is just bloviating. Post online, permafree, blogspots, blah, blah, blah. The most successful indie here can't tell you (and that's not me). Write a book. Write a good book. Work hard to get it noticed. Cross your fingers.


Yeah, probably true. You get out what you put in. There is no magic.


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## Anne Glynn (Jan 19, 2014)

What sells novels? Someone smarter than me did the legwork and discovered:
1) Genre
2) Author popularity
3) Series (readers love a series)
-- which corresponds to my own buying habits. Permafree, FB'ing and all the rest probably spins the 'buy' dial, too, but if the story isn't in a genre I love, I'll likely give it a pass.


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## KerryT2012 (Dec 18, 2012)

The words of Russell Blake - anything that wastes your time, won't sell.
I've never been on Bookbub hope to one day - but one thing is for sure just because you ran a book and it did not have much impact may be dependent on several factors:
1. When did you ran it - month, day etc. Crazy question but I have done the same promotions with different books sometimes they sell hundreds other times a handful.
2. Did you bump up your price after?
3. What else did you do after the ad. Someone posted they ran 3 promos in the same week. 4 months late they were still selling...think it was blast,ENT and bookbub


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## minxmalone (Oct 28, 2012)

Write something lots of people are interested in + make it easy to find with a great cover.

And great cover doesn't necessarily mean it has to win design awards  It just needs to indicate genre. Am I buying a romance? If so, why is there a depressed-looking chick on the front? Put a happy couple kissing under a tree or something that indicates l'amour. If it's erotic romance, put a hot dude who is not wearing a shirt. Don't use any of the awful fonts that come standard with your design software because they all look homemade.

I can't speak to other genres since I mainly study the romance lists but everyone I've seen doing well has hit the 1-2-3 combination of cover-blurb-sample.

Not that Bookbub doesn't help (I did a Bookbub ad on my boxed set on New Year's Eve and it's been in the Top 100 since then until it fell out last week. Now it's in the 200s). Bookbub is fantastic but I've seen some stuff on Bookbub lately that looked so awful I was surprised they accepted it. I'm not buying a crappy-looking book even if it's less than a dollar!

*Edited to add:* How apropos that there's a google ad for Damonza.com right below my post. Short answer: save up money and buy a cover from this guy because everything he designs is fantastic.


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

jamielakenovels said:


> What do you think?


Sex sells.


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## Rob Ryan (Feb 19, 2014)

I'm a newbie to the forum, but I'll offer up my opinion on the question.

I think you have to break the sales process into two parts. Firstly, what gets eyeballs on your book? Secondly, what converts those views into sales? 

Lots of things can get you views: good SEO, adds, a low price, a great cover, a mailing list etc. But what makes someone actually buy? I think the book description and the first few paragraphs do all the work.


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

Rosalind James said:


> I think it's, 90%? of trad published romance novels don't earn out their advance. If anyone knew what would catch on, you'd think they'd be able to "hit it" more often than that--at least to earn the author more than $5,000 (which is the average new romance-author advance).


They don't intend them to. Very often, the print run is so small that it takes a small miracle for them to do better. And then the publisher has to respond to the demand and actually order more print runs rather than simply sitting back and letting it sell out.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Alain Gomez said:


> Sex sells.


This ^

Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk


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## Lady Runa (May 27, 2012)

Well, if I could name ONE thing that definitely sells more books, it would be landing your book on the first page of "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought..." list. I'd go as far as saying that landing their new book on that list should be every writer's primary goal.

Another thing that definitely works for both me and my friends is Goodreads. Whenever I release a new title, I run special GR promotions, offering free copies to those who'd like to check the book out (and hopefully leave a review). Whenever I run a free promo I announce it on GR and it brings not just readers but more reviewers. All of my first reviews came from GR from people who were not only honest and reliable, but also knowledgeable in the genre.

And the third thing that worked 100% for me in the past (I don't know how it is now, I haven't used it for a while) was ENT's "Bargain Kindle Book" service. They don't charge you upfront but you have to pay them 25% of the sales made through their site. I did it several times and it worked like a dream.

Things that don't work - lately, free promotions seem to have died a natural death. Paid ads definitely don't work, and that includes those placed on Goodreads and ENT mentioned above  And social media is dead, pure and simple. Facebook used to work slightly better than Twitter, but both are useless now. As someone said, social media is the last place someone would come to looking for a book to read


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## Marie Long (Jan 11, 2014)

von19 said:


> This ^
> 
> Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk


Not really. I don't care for mindless sex in a book.

On another note, I've been reading and reviewing a lot of books lately (primarily new adult), and I've gotten to the point where I can almost tell an author sticks some random trope in the book because it's the 'selling point,' however, it doesn't work for the story, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. It's like stuff was forced in the story in order to follow some formula or satisfy some requirement in order for book to 'sell.'

Readers' tastes vary, as I've learned. And that's a good thing. So what sells for one reader, may not for the next.


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