![]() ![]() Joining forums just to promote your book.There are a lot of magnanimous folks out there, but they want to be magnanimous based on their own whims, not because they feel socially obligated. Don’t ask for anything, at least not until you’ve given them something (retweets or plugs for their blog posts/books, for example). Instead, if someone opens the door, strike up a conversation. They’re opening the door when you ring the bell, and if you stuff a flyer in their face, they’ll probably slam it shut (and let the pitbulls loose). But a follow isn’t an invitation to try to sell junk to them. Some people are easy-going on Twitter and they’re open to following people who follow them. check out my site/check out my book) on Twitter. Said author might actually be in a position to help you in a way that would be far superior to your spammy link, but you’d have to earn her respect first (more on that further down). This is rude and likely to irk the author, someone who’s already gone through all the hard work of selling those first books and building up a fan base. Leaving blatant plugs for your book on other authors’ Facebook pages.It is possible to leave comments as a way of getting your name out there and, maybe, enticing people back to your site, but you need to add some value to the topic being discussed and find a subtle way to mention your book (if you mention it at all - leaving an awesome comment and simply working in the fact that you’re an author may entice folks to click). Leaving blatant plugs for your book in people’s blog comments.Regardless, people loathe email spam (oddly, we get more ticked off about this than we do about junk mail in our physical boxes), and you won’t sell any books this way. While it’s unlikely that there will be legal repercussions, if enough people complain to your internet service provider, you could find yourself with a disabled email account. Most of the buy-my-book email spam (yes, I’m going to call it that) I’ve received violates the CAN-SPAM Act. Emailing people who didn’t opt into a newsletter signup on your site or who didn’t otherwise ask to be kept abreast of your releases.So, what are examples of shameful self-promotion? Here are some that I see (trust me, as a blogger and active Twitter person, I probably get more of this than the average reader): We can see exactly how well our book is selling (or isn’t), whereas traditionally published authors can only guess based on sales ranking, so it’s not until they get their royalty statements many months later that they know how well their book did (or didn’t). Note: traditionally published authors can be just as guilty of shameful self-promotion, but I believe the real-time sales reporting we indies have access to through CreateSpace, Amazon, B&N, and others makes us a little crazier. Self-published authors, in particular, seem to be big offenders. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of shameful self-promotion going on these days, and these methods can not only hurt your prospects of selling books, but they can also leave bad tastes in people’s mouths. The former can earn you new readers and the respect of your peers. And, as with most things, there are good ways to go about it and bad ways, or, as I’m calling them shameless ways and shameful ways. Until then… it’s a hustle.Īs an author today, you have to be willing to self-promote if you want to sell books. After you sell a thousand, things get a little easier, especially at Amazon where algorithms designed to promote books that are proven sellers kick in. The world won’t be made better by dismissive comments to others on Lemmy.As I’ve mentioned before, selling your first 1,000 books or so is excruciating (unless you’re one of those rare authors who love marketing and think nothing of carrying a crate of your books around in the trunk of your car, so you can foist them upon unsuspecting people at malls and grocery stores). Everyone should feel welcome here.ĥ- Be thoughtful and helpful: even with ‘silly’ questions. Looking for tools to find more communities to join? Check out Lemmyverse and Feddit Lemmy Community Browser!ġ-No bigotry: including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Welcome to Lemmy.World General! This is a community for general discussion where you can get your bearings in the fediverse, discuss topics & ask questions that don’t seem to fit in any other community.įor server-specific announcements & questions, please see Lemmyworld, and if you have questions or need help with Lemmy.world specifically, check out the Lemmy.world support community, but anything else? That’s what General’s for! ![]()
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