I appreciate the time people take to write views of my books. Reviews are very important for writers, not just for vanity, but they help others gauge if it is a book they may want to read, and they help promote the book on Amazon.
Entrepreneurs
Self-publishing isn’t just about writing the story. Much of my time and effort goes into promoting my books. I’m trying to learn a new set of skills that don’t come naturally. I have no background in sales or self-promotion. Writers need to consider themselves business entrepreneurs—otherwise, we will not sell books. Therefore, promoting my books is something I need to learn fast.
Amazon Advertising
My books are on Amazon, so advertising is as crucial to me as reviews. I have to admit I am struggling with the whole pay-per-click advertising thing. I have to find suitable keywords that describe my books and hope someone wanting to buy a crime thriller book will use them. The problem is that the crime thriller genre already has a lot of competition. If I go with Amazon’s suggested bid values, it can cost me 60p-£1 plus every time someone clicks on a sponsored ad. That level doesn’t work for a book with just over £1 profit per sale. It can take ten or more clicks before someone decides to buy it! The cost of sale outstrips the profit on the book. So, I reduced my bid down to 10p-12p and then the books don’t get many impressions, so no one sees them.
There are some great resources out there. I bought Publisher Rocket, a great application to find keywords for Amazon Advertising. But I’m still struggling to make advertising work for me. I guess I have a lot still to learn.
Reviews
Back to reviews, here is one very kind review for Chasing Shadows that means a lot to me.
