OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I love answering your questions and I'm always happy to share what I've learned on the journey, but recently I have been receiving the same question over and over again, namely,
“Help, my book isn't selling. What can I do?”
Most of the time people include a link to their book on Amazon and I can see immediately why they aren't making any sales, because although I'm an author, I'm a reader first and I've been shopping for books on Amazon for years.
My Amazon #1 bestselling book, How To Market A Book covers everything in details but the following checklist will also help you identify your problem and solve it quickly.
I have also included lots of links so you can find all the extra material on this (ever-growing!) site.
[As always, these are not rules, because there are no rules in this crazy, fast-moving self-publishing world. There will also always be outliers who get away with not doing any of the following, but these will at least help with some guidelines!]
1. Is your book available as an ebook?
99% of indie authors will not have print distribution in physical bookstores, and I would postulate that all the success stories we have heard in the last 2 years about indie authors and huge sales have come from ebook sales, not print.
Print books can be a good idea if you have specific reasons around wanting print. I decided against print but in 2013, I changed my mind, returning to print editions for all my books.
BUT/ if you want to sell a lot of books online, then make sure you have an ebook for sale as well.
There has been an influx of ebooks (and print books) self-published in the last year, as well as traditional publishers beginning to re-issue backlists digitally. I've heard a lot of people complain about this so-called ‘tsunami of crap', but personally, I believe you can surf the wave and make good sales even if you're starting now. The ebook market is growing globally as new countries come online and even within markets like the US and UK, ebooks are becoming more widely accepted.
So first off, get your ebook published.
I use Scrivener for formatting in Kindle, ePub and Word formats and then I publish on Amazon KDP, Kobo Writing Life and Smashwords or BookBaby for the rest (US citizens can use B&N Nook PubIt as well.) It's not hard if you spend some time with the various help pages.
2. Has your cover been professionally designed?
Book buyers still shop with their eyes. If people make it to your book sales page and your cover is terrible, they will not click the Buy button.
Don't use a painting your child did or that you did yourself. Don't DIY based on a YouTube video. Don't assume you can make a professional cover.
Do research your genre on Amazon and take screenshots of books that stand out in a good way.
Do take pictures of books you like with fonts and designs you like.
Do check out the ebook cover design awards at TheBookDesigner.com to see some great covers and some truly awful ones. Then hire a professional cover designer, give them that information and work with them to create a professional cover.
If you don't have a budget for this, then work extra hard until you have that extra money. Seriously, I believe this is non-negotiable if you want to stand out in the crowded market.
3. Has your book been professionally edited so it reads well?
I am passionate about the value of editing and editors, especially for new writers, or books in a new genre.
You should edit your books until you can't stand them any longer, and then you should consider hiring a professional editor to help you take it further, because you cannot see your own words after a point because you know the story so well.
You need other eyes, preferably professional eyes who will critique you honestly and tell you where the problems are, especially if the book is truly awful – and sometimes it is (and that's ok because you can write another one).
Stephen King in ‘On Writing' says to rest the manuscript for a while, so put it away and when you have some distance, read it again. You may be horrified by what you find but better now than when it's out there in the world. Here's some more articles on editing and my recommended editors.
If you can't afford a pro editor, then you can try using a critique group of readers within your genre, or join a group like the Alliance of Independent Authors to network with other like-minded authors in order to network and potentially barter your skills. Bartering shouldn't be underestimated in the online world.
But definitely do not publish your book if only you and your best friend, or your Mum, have read it.
4. Have you submitted the book to the right categories on the ebook stores?
Sorry, but not everyone will like your book.
You may think that everyone will, but they won't. You might not want to put it in a box or a genre or a category, but you have to because that's how readers find it. The category/genre reader has expectations and if you don't ‘fit' they will be disappointed. That's not to say you need to follow any specific rules in your writing (let's not get into that now!) but when you load it up to the distributors you do have to choose which categories and tags to use and they need to be meaningful.
You need some distance from your book in order to do this, but consider where your book fits within the online bookstores. This means deciding on the categories, tags and keywords associated with your book.
It's also important to match reader expectations and the promise of what your book delivers with what your book is actually about.
There is no point having a book with a swirly, girly pink chic-lit cover in the horror section of fiction. It won't sell, however good it is.
There are some scammy sites out there that will tell you to aim for the categories that will rank the best in order to have a Bestseller on Amazon. That's just silly because your book won't match the expectations of the readers and even if you get a bump in sales, it will completely dry up very soon.
You can choose a category that fits your book AND is easier to rank in, for example, I use categories Action Adventure and Religious Fiction. I rank occasionally for the former and consistently in the latter. That's optimization, but it is still true to the book and to the reader's expectations.
If you're struggling with this, choose 3-5 authors your book is like, not what you want it to be like, but what it is really like. That will help you find the right category.
A great book on categories and Amazon algorithms is David Gaughran's Let's Get Visible.
5. Have you optimized your Amazon sales page with a hook, quotes from reviews and other material?
I have seen some Amazon sales pages with not just typos but terrible grammar.
Some of them make no sense at all. Some are just the back blurb with no review quotes or other things that might draw a customer in.
Basically you need to treat the product description like a sales page. People will not buy your book if your description is badly written or hard to understand because it's an indication of the quality of your book. Here's another great article on 11 ingredients of a sizzling book description.
If you want to see a fantastic example, check out CJ Lyons Bloodstained which continues to rock the Kindle charts. That product description seriously rocks. CJ also explains all of this in our ProWriter Marketing course.
You can format your sales description with colored headlines and other funky HTML by using Author Marketing Club's Premium service (which also includes a fast-track way to find appropriate reviewers).
6. Have you priced your book realistically, or at least tried different price points?
It's important to say on pricing that no one has a clue how to price ebooks and authors are having success at many different price points. Check out this great article on The Passive Voice and the comments below to get an idea of the widely different levels of pricing and success.
However, I had one author ask why his debut novel wasn't selling, and when I checked his sales page, the ebook was priced $11.99. It was his first novel and he had nothing else for sale.
However good your book, however marvelous the cover, your first novel is unlikely to sell at that price. Most ebooks are under $9.99, and a lot of fiction is under $7.99, with many indie books being under $5.
The 99c price point still has some power even after the algorithm changes but you might go somewhere in between, changing your price with promotions as well. I have my books at $2.99 right now so I make $2 per ebook. You get to set your own prices but there's no way you'll sell much at those very high prices.
7. Have you written, or are you writing another book?
Sure, there are some breakout successes, but most indie fiction authors making decent money right now have 5 or more books. For non-fiction authors, you can expect to make your money on back-end products and services and not book sales anyway.
The more books you have available, the more virtual shelf space you have, the easier it is for people to discover you. Plus if a reader finds one they like, they may buy them all so you make more per customer.
I was as guilty as anyone of trying to hype my first novel, because it took so long and I thought it was a precious snowflake. I still believe you have to hustle those first thousand sales with everything you have, but my sales and income jumped when I released the second novel with very little fanfare because I already had an established presence on Amazon and they do a lot of marketing for you when you have multiple books, e.g. emails to people who bought your last one.
I am also fascinated by the rise of novellas and serials as a way to create more books, more quickly. Hugh Howey is a great example of someone who wrote novellas in different series and then continued the direction of the stories for the novellas that took off, Wool being his most famous and lucrative. I am definitely moving into this model in 2013 in between longer works.
8. Have you done some kind of promotion or marketing to let people know it is there?
Again, there are no rules and in fact, everyone has different results from different marketing tactics. Some hit a mega-success with none at all, but I do think that you need to hand-sell your first 1000 readers because they won't just appear out of nowhere.
Remember: Marketing is sharing what you love with people who want to hear about it. You don't have to be hard salesy, scammy or nasty. Just be authentic and share your passion.
If you need some starter tips, you should definitely be building your email list from your own website and also from a signup at the back of your book.
If you do that with book one, you will have at least some people to market to with book 2. It's a start, and it grows over time. This is my only non-negotiable recommendation for authors, because you never know what will happen with all these sites we depend upon for sales. If they disappear, or the terms we publish under change, then your email list of fans and buyers is all you have.
I also believe that social media can sell books, but it is a slow build over time and you have to have other goals than just book sales, e.g. networking with peers and other authors. It's not instant sales so you can't rely on it. The whole author platform thing is massively useful in so many ways but it is only one aspect of book sales.
If you have some budget you can pay for promotion, but be targeted and track results.
The biggest leaps I had on the Amazon charts were from paid promotional pushes on sites that market direct to Kindle readers. I have used Kindle Nation
Daily, Pixel of Ink and BookBub and there are new opportunities all the time. I more than made my money back but the rankings were worth it. Prophecy hit the Action Adventure list above Lee Child! (of course, it dropped away but the screen-print is worth gold!)
Free is still a great option, especially if you have multiple books, as it means people can discover your work with no risk. Fantasy author Lindsay Buroker talked about this in our interview where she revealed that the first book in her series is permanently on free with her other books at $4.95. You can do this by making your book free on Smashwords and eventually Amazon will price match it.
9. Have you asked for reviews, or submitted to review sites?
There's been a lot of scandal about the sock puppet reviews but reviews are still critical because they give your sales page social proof and they feed into the book site algorithms.
I give away a lot of free books to people who might like my genre and ask that they leave a review if they like it. No hard sell, no pressure, no expectation. This is easy if you have built up a list from the last book, or if you have built a platform and in fact is one good reason to do this. Traditional publishing has been doing this forever so it is not a new or a scammy tactic.
Remember that not everyone will like your book and not everyone will leave a review, or a good review, but it is a start. [And remember, don't respond to bad reviews!]
You can also contact book bloggers or Amazon reviewers to get more reviews. This is hard work if you do it manually, but you can use the Author Marketing Club's Premium service to short cut the process by finding reviewers for books like yours.
You can also listen here to Rachel Abbott in this interview talk about how this strategy got her to #1 on Amazon.co.uk.
10. Are you working your butt off?
Generally, I'm an even tempered type of girl, but when I get emails from people asking why they're not successful and they've done nothing on this list, I get a little annoyed!
Especially when this site has over 700 free articles on writing, publishing and marketing and there's 75+ hours of audio for you to learn from for free. Oh yes, and a 57 page Author 2.0 ebook on all this.
That's all available for free, but I also have a book you can buy for less than the price of a coffee – How To Market A Book.
There is no excuse not to be educated, even just from this site.
I absolutely believe that you can be a great writer and make an income from writing.
I have to believe that for you because I believe it for me, and I have left a stable job and steady income to take a chance on being an author-entrepreneur. I've been on this path since 2007 when I decided to write my first non-fiction book, so I am 5 years into working my butt off to change my life.
But writing books is not a get rich quick scheme.
I look at authors like CJ Lyons, Scott Sigler, Chuck Wendig, Joe Konrath, Bob Mayer and so many others and I know they are working their butts off every day writing and getting their work out there. The recent success of Sean Platt & David Wright in landing a Serial deal with Amazon is because they work incredibly hard at writing all day, every day to produce new content for their market. They are my heroes.
These guys are pros and they know it takes hard work to get there and hard work to stay there.
So please, if your book is not selling any copies at all, go through this checklist and honestly evaluate what you have done and how much effort you have put in. Please also share this with other people who may be asking the same question.
I'd love to know what you think, so please leave a comment below. What other tips can you give for people who aren't selling any or many books?
Images: Bigstock Help button, Bigstock Buy Me button, Bigstock price tags, Bigstock hard work ahead.
zouhaier says
I want to publish my phd
I don’t know the best way
Brian says
Hi Zouhaier, Just do as Joanna advises on various articles on her website.
Joanna Penn says
Here’s self-publishing 101 http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/01/15/how-to-publish-a-book-101/
Madeline says
Hi Joanna,
I’m so glad to have found your site. I am working on my very first eBook and decided to chronicle my journey writing, publishing, and distributing it. I am writing blog posts that answer my questions as I go from one step to the next. I would love to link to your page and maybe quote you on some of the things I learn from you. Is that OK?
I’m going to check your site and others for answers to my questions. Thanks for sharing all of this great information. You ROCK!
Joanna Penn says
You’re always welcome to quote and link back to my site 🙂 Thanks and enjoy the journey!
Joel Savage says
Hello Joanna,
Thanks for the educative feature article on book publishing. As a new author, it has benefitted me a lot because I was confused from the beginning on issues such as the importance of printed books and e-books. After reading your article I have decided to come out with electronic editions of my first two books. Thank you very much.
Jakob Irwin says
Has anyone ever used Kickstarter before? It was suggested to me to advertise my first book with a pledge page from them and then using the pledge money to properly self publish my first Ebook. My first book will actually be a memoir (I know, everyone thinks they have a story to tell………….but I think people will find mine truly differant and shocking)
My manuscript is done and currently being edited. My goal is to get $5000 in pledges and use that money to publish an ebook and to publish a very small amount of paperback books (250 or less). Most of the paperback books will be used as giveaways for reviews and promotional contests to help sell my ebook.
After lengthy research, I find most memoirs are selling for around $4.99 with amazon and kindle. I am thinking $3.99 will be my first selling price. I would love any feedback!
Brian says
Why haven’t you mentioned your website Jaqkob ?
Joanna Penn says
Kickstarter is best used if you already have an audience Jakob, and very few make the target unless they also have an established fan-base. Maybe you already have this … Memoir is also difficult to sell at the best of times, unless you’re famous. You can definitely try it, and I am always positive about possibilities, but personally, even with my established platform, I wouldn’t try Kickstarter for my own books. PLEASE do your research on the best way to use Kickstarter before you jump in.
Jakob Irwin says
I do not have a web domain yet. I do however have a facebook page completely dedicated to the goal of getting my book published.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/helppublishjake
I didnt leave this information initially because this is Joanna’s blog and I didn’t want to make a plug without her permition you know?
I am aware of how hard it is to sell a memoir. For me, I find it expecially difficult to sell the idea of my book without giving potential readers the shocking and gruesome details of what makes my memoir stand out among others. I will say that I sent my book out to six test readers that I found on another blog site. All six compared my book to another rare memoir, “A Boy Called It”. Keep in mind that none of these test readers had ever met me or each other.
I am not trying to toot my own horn. I am simply saying that my book is in fact a rare breed. Knowing that it would be a difficult sell initially, I created the listed facebook page. on this page I add a weekly excerpt from my book, I post motivational videos and poetry, I give and recieve feedback, etc. Please feel free to check it out!
I am excited to read your response Joanna as you obviously are skilled in this profession. Please keep in mind however, that my profession is working with people with disabilities. I do not want to become rich off my book nor will I likely write another. My goal is to simply share my message with the world and inspire people to never give up no matter what they have been through.
I have included a brief description of my book, similar to what you would find on the back of a paperback novel………feedback?
“As a boy, I was taken away from most of my biological family only to be brought into a family who chose to neglect me for resembling my birth mom. I was taught to hate her and constantly reminded of the horrors that she put me through. Accepting what my biological family had done to me, I tried to find a way to go through life knowing that I was different. My new family knew I was different too and treated me as such. No matter how hard I tried to gain their approval, They always treated me as an outkast. As I grew older, I did all I could to find the strength to earn there love while fitting in with the world around me. However, as I got older, I began to question my own story. Through fear, nightmares, pain and heartache, I traveled through time to find the path that would lead me to my true identity, only to discover that the life I knew, was never truly mine. Discovering that my mom was not the person I was led to believe, I battled between my fake memories and my discovered realities. Forced to make a decision to save myself from the lies and tears I grew up with, I made a life changing leap into the future I knew I always deserved. This is my story that I want to share with the world, to inspire everyone to one truth………the truth that no matter what, you choose your own destiny!”
Joanna Penn says
I am interviewing an author with cerebral palsy in the next few weeks who has also been selling her memoir so I shall ask her some tips for you – keep an eye on the blog for that video post!
J.E. Lowder says
Great website! Thanks for the help and encouraging words. Nice to know I’m not alone and that my marketing tactics are fairly spot on.
Per your advice, I did re-tweak my book descriptions for Amazon & Goodreads. Amazon’s will post in a few days, but here’s Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17404726-martyr-s-moon
J.E. Lowder
Margie Peterson says
Thank-you for generosity in sharing your knowledge. My first goal is to start a personal blog about yoga and sharing articles about best practices. I have enjoyed sharing information and anecdotes on Linked In. Without this opportunity to gain experience, I would not be ready to tackle social media.
nat Solomon says
Dear Joanna,
This is a wonderful post. It is a chock full of information. I self published 300 hard copies of my own art book only to find that I had not printed an EAN Barcode on the back, just a ISBN Code. I also found out that even though I had the book perfectly bound, the publisher did not make it thick enough to print the title on the spine. This is why Barnes and Nobles claims it is not suitable for putting it on their shelves. I am going to have to wait for the next reprinting! I think your blog is a fountain of information. Regards Nat Solomon
AMRIT PAL TIWANA says
Wow! I simply loved this superb article and am surely going to follow the precious advice contained therein. I have published nine ebooks on KDP Amazon, eight novels and one book of poetry. The last one was published last month, QUEEN IN RAGS (QUEEN OF TAMNAGAR TRILOGY Book # 1) More books are following them but I have hardly been able to sell any copies at all. I do hope the advice will result in sopme visibility on the internet. Started writing at sixteen and have turned sweet sixty! Thanks!
AMRIT PAL TIWANA
James H Trusty says
Thank you for trying to help us wannabes. Due to how mean circumstances can be, more than a few of us will never be able to do everything mentioned unless and until we sell a bunch of books–or win a lottery or inherit lots of money. Wayback when, I suffered great difficulty just finding time to write. That was because I needed to work hard and long just to stay afloat in the sea of survival. Anyway, I have one problem that was not addressed here. I am pioneering a new branch of the literary tree, which I call verifiction (apocalyptic scifi-fantasy is as close as I can come to describing it without going into a great deal of detail other than to say it is somewhat similar in structure to historical fiction). My writing fits in no genre particularly well, though it contains elements of various genres. So, I am forced to sell it in the categories “fiction general,” “science fiction general,” and “fantasy general.” Please, do not suggest a new direction. I am committed to my literary path, having already written 15 books with several more fermenting in my mind (and in computers as first drafts). No inspiration lurks in me that would prompt me to head in another direction. Nevertheless, I cling to faith in expectation, while endeavoring to persevere….
PS–I have been too busy lately, upgrading my books for (re)publication, to set up my website. After I finally get the time to finish it, I hope you will visit such.
Meg says
Great article! Good ideas for a couple of things to try, but you mostly let me know that I am on the right track. Hand selling the first 1,000 made me feel like I was missing something, but setting up booths at art festivals in town and circus nights and anything else that comes my way will help me build my email list. I’m also developing relationships with independent books stores within a day’s drive so we can help support each other. Thanks for the new ideas for my well edited book (with a fantastic professional cover). There are more to come and I will try not to be discouraged. I will also throw http://www.bookclubreading.com out there as a place I am trying for press releases and visibility. I’ll have to let you know if I see any reaction from it.
Ester Benjamin Shifren says
Hi Joanna. Thanks for this incredible post. So much invaluable information. I am going to get Scrivener immediately and take the time to learn it. My problem right now is, although my print book is doing exceptionally well due to my huge platform and many speaking engagements, I still haven’t published my e-book. The reason—it’s in inDesign, and out of my control because someone else formatted it. I want it converted without paying a huge sum for something as simple as using Amazon’s free download. Does Scrivener convert inDesign files? I really want to get this done so I can use KDP Select. People are asking for the kindle book.
Joanna Penn says
Hi Ester – Scrivener is writing software so it only converts what you put into it.
But I do know that BookBaby convert InDesign formats https://www.bookbaby.com/services/ebookconversion
You can also check out http://www.EBookArchitects.com
Another free option is to download the free trial version of InDesign, open your book in it and then extract the text by just copying and pasting it into Scrivener or Word or whatever.
Ester Benjamin Shifren says
Thank you so much for this information. I really like Bookbaby, and I’ve been in touch with Brian Felsen in the past. I know they will convert and also, in case I only want KDP Select for now, will shelve publishing at other engines for the time being. I have 30+ images, which made it an expensive option. I think your suggestion to get inDesign and copy/paste sounds like a great solution. Microsoft word absolutely messed up my original version. I have the newer one, but would prefer to invest my time learning Scrivener.
I will also check out the other site you mentioned.
Joanna, you are a gem—thanks for your generous sharing.
Moulton Mayers says
Hi Joanna:
I used to think that I was the only one who saw and appreciated your magnanimous spirit and kind heart: You share everything you know with the struggling writing public out there, and that is so commendable. Due to the massive word count on my manuscripts, I have had to convert each one itno two; but you know, Joanna, all the writing and manuscripts in the world don’t add to up to a hill of beans if you do not create a titanic marketing program, both on- and offline to sell them. I have already made up my mind: If I have to go door to door to sell my books, I am going to do it. I have put thousands of man hours into my books: They address every-day human probles, furnish poignant insights and solutions to people’s puzzles and problems in this life, and they are “slap your mamma crazy” funny. I do plan to use the traditional book review online model; but review or no review, I am going to dump hundreds of man hours into selling my books. I tremendously enjoyed your forum on book marketing–the comments were poignant and arrestignly interesting. You are a wonderful person, Jouanna, with a marvelously self-less spirit. That is so hard to find in this maddeningly selfish and sick world in which we live. You example is one of kindness and sacrifice: God has put you on this earth to be that special angel for so many of us in this umbrous wilderness of moral anarchy. Be good to yourself and to your husband and family circle. God bless you, Joanna.
Moulton/Straws
orlando palmer says
Thank you Joanna for your wonderful work in educating us budding writers. I am currently working on my first book and thanks to your blogs and works I feel confident I will do well. Remember my name and I hope to keep in close touch. By the way I live in Jamaica.
J Richard Watkins says
Ihave read your article and will read it again for I feel I can learn alot from it to help me sell more copies of my book “Vietnam:No Regrets” via Kindle.
I would like your opinion of my sales so far, for I have nothing to measure my sales with.
Dec. 2012 165 sold, Jan: , 1061 sold Feb. 867 sold March 625 sold.
Respectfully,
J Richard Watkins
Author: Vietnam: No Regrets
Joanna Penn says
Those sales seem more than respectable Richard. The stats show that many books only sell 200 – 500 copies per year, so you’re well ahead. Now, think about having those numbers PER book and have multiple books, and that’s the way to make a living this way …
Christina says
Thank you for all of this wonderful and insightful advice! My husband and I are both aspiring authors, and it sounds like e-Books may be the way to go! We are both very critical of ourselves (though not each other!) and fellow English majors, so it will be interesting to see what lies ahead. Maybe some day I might even be able to give up my exhausting teaching career to become a freelance author. In the meantime, thank you so much for this article, and happy writing! 🙂
anastasia nash says
I dont understand why my books are not selling ” my lost son by anastasia nash ” thank you Joanne
Brian says
Hello Anastasia, I looked at your book on Amazon and read the first few pages as one can. In my opinion your book is not selling because the first few pages at least, read as though the book has not been professionally edited. It takes much hard work and a great deal of courage to put a book out there for everyone to read and criticise.
I do hope you can fix this and then sell many copies.
M.A. Henry says
Happy to have found your site Joanna! You have offered a great deal of food for thought! My husband and I have an ebook on Amazon titled Dimensions by M. A. Henry (pen name). Sales have been slow at best. Early on for some reason we had reviews taken away by Amazon which really deflated a new authors bubble. We, at that time, thought we had somewhat made it as people seemed to really like our work. We do not belong to the social media loop. We are private people. Honestly thought if you put a great product out there people would find it — wrong! Any suggestions for two backward folks!
Blessings!
Joe Friedman says
Hi Joanna
I really enjoyed your talk at the LBF (twinkly eyes here) and while this page went over much of what you talked about, it is very worthwhile to have it in this concise form. Inspired by your talk, and others at the fair, I’ve decided to do a blog (to dip my toe into social media). My big problem is that my books (now mostly out of print) are all children’s books and what I can share in my blog is my enthusiasm about my day job — being a psychotherapist. (There are already many well written blogs about writing children’s books, and I don’t feel I have anything to add to them.) Any thoughts?
Joe
Joanna Penn says
Hi Joe, and thanks for your smiley eyes at LBF – it’s always marvelous as a speaker to see a connection being made during the talk 🙂 Thanks for following through here as well …
As I mentioned in my talk, I think authenticity and enthusiasm are some of the most powerful things you can use to connect to people. Blogging only really “works” if the person loves their topic and can write on it for the long term – other wise it fizzles out – and you will attract people who are interested in your topic of writing e.g. I’m interested in psychotherapy 🙂 so come back and add the URL when you’re ready!
I agree that writing about writing children’s books is pointless unless you want to have a business, like I do, helping other writers – but my fiction site is at http://www.JFPenn.com and that’s not at all like this one!
So yes, have a look at blogging – I recommend you check out the resources at http://www.Problogger.com for starters – lots of free info there – and make sure you use WordPress as it is so easy to use
Also – can you get the rights back to your books? Because you can release them with Print on Demand and it may well give you a new income stream – marvelous! and have you started the next book? …
Thanks, Joanna
Joe Friedman says
Joanna
It’s rather amazing that with all the other stuff you’re doing you have time to reply to posts like this…
I’ve just started reading the stuff on WordPress about blogging. I’ll add Problogger to my list.
My children’s books have lots of illustrations — and have just gone out of print — so it’s probably a bit early to try to reclaim rights. But in relation to my adult book, on dreams, I do intend to look at my contract.
I’ve just finished a book and am not sure what I want to write next — so it seems a good moment to start blogging… Thanks, Joe
Carol says
I’m awed by your hard work and great advice. Thanks so much.
Paula Martin says
I can say yes to the points you have listed, apart from #5 and #6 since these are both done by my publisher. However, the sales of the 5 books that have been published since June 2011 remains disastrously low, and I am now at a total loss to know what else I can do!
Joanna Penn says
unfortunately, 5 & 6 are important 🙂
Have you considered writing some shorts or novellas and publishing them on Amazon yourself at a lower price as a ‘gateway drug’ to your work? That will mean you have control over pricing and can promote those in any way you like. Check with your publisher on your rights first though.