Is It Spring Yet? my children's picture book about a dozy hedgehog and a hungry fox has sneaked its way into the US Top 30...
New Product Description For My Non-Fiction Book Who's The Daddy
Being an erstwhile writer of copy, much of which requires some SEO TLC these digital days, I've decided to apply many of the sales tricks I've learned while writing other product descriptions to my own book descriptions.
And I've started with my 'Who's The Daddy' book.
There's a screenshot of what I've written below. The write-up is full of keywords and key phrases which, in theory, should make it easier for people to find this book if, say, they are looking for a book about 'being a dad' - a phrase I have included in the write-up at least twice.
All this SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) should also, again in theory, help this book feature more highly in search engine results.
It will take some time to see whether this 'product description' approach to writing book blurbs bears any fruit. If it does, I will let you know. If it doesn't, I will let you know.
Here's a link to the Amazon page with the SEO copy
But to prove this whole post isn't some cheap stunt to get you to visit the page and click buy, I've included a screenshot below.
And I've started with my 'Who's The Daddy' book.
There's a screenshot of what I've written below. The write-up is full of keywords and key phrases which, in theory, should make it easier for people to find this book if, say, they are looking for a book about 'being a dad' - a phrase I have included in the write-up at least twice.
All this SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) should also, again in theory, help this book feature more highly in search engine results.
It will take some time to see whether this 'product description' approach to writing book blurbs bears any fruit. If it does, I will let you know. If it doesn't, I will let you know.
Here's a link to the Amazon page with the SEO copy
But to prove this whole post isn't some cheap stunt to get you to visit the page and click buy, I've included a screenshot below.
Is CreateSpace Finished?
So Amazon KDP is now providing the same service as CreateSpace. Print on demand for your digital books. Does that mean CreateSpace is finished? Kaput? Finito?
The upside - the price. CreateSpace's printing costs were so exorbitant, your beloved paperback had to retail at silly dollars per copy for you to make any kind of royalty.
Hence sales were slow to the point of non-existent.
The might of Amazon means they can print your slaved-over words on request for a fraction of the price, so a paperback of your work now needn't cost north of a newly released hardback, signed, with a gold foil finish dust jacket.
The downside? Of course there is one. If you let Amazon paperback your words, you have to remove them from CreateSpace. Forever.
For. Ever.
And unlike CreateSpace, Amazon won't be making your paperbacks available to rivals like Barnes & Noble. Oh no. This is a move towards monopolisation. And I, for one, am backing it.
In my experience, CreateSpace wasn't a viable revenue stream. Sure, I sold a few copies. But the price was a barrier. At least on Amazon, my paperbacks can be sold for a reasonable price.
So I've shifted over my novels. And I have to say the whole procedure was embarrassingly easy, especially for books already on CreateSpace.
The jury's still out as to whether or not I've made a good move. But with paperbacks making a vinyl style comeback, here's hoping more self-pubbed authors can jump a bit of that bandwagon.
The upside - the price. CreateSpace's printing costs were so exorbitant, your beloved paperback had to retail at silly dollars per copy for you to make any kind of royalty.
Hence sales were slow to the point of non-existent.
The might of Amazon means they can print your slaved-over words on request for a fraction of the price, so a paperback of your work now needn't cost north of a newly released hardback, signed, with a gold foil finish dust jacket.
The downside? Of course there is one. If you let Amazon paperback your words, you have to remove them from CreateSpace. Forever.
For. Ever.
And unlike CreateSpace, Amazon won't be making your paperbacks available to rivals like Barnes & Noble. Oh no. This is a move towards monopolisation. And I, for one, am backing it.
In my experience, CreateSpace wasn't a viable revenue stream. Sure, I sold a few copies. But the price was a barrier. At least on Amazon, my paperbacks can be sold for a reasonable price.
So I've shifted over my novels. And I have to say the whole procedure was embarrassingly easy, especially for books already on CreateSpace.
The jury's still out as to whether or not I've made a good move. But with paperbacks making a vinyl style comeback, here's hoping more self-pubbed authors can jump a bit of that bandwagon.
Zombies Will Rise Again In 2017 Zombies Versus Aliens Novel By Jon Lymon
A new zombie novel will rise from the cess pit of the undead in 2017.
But the zombies in A BIG BLUFF AND SOME GREEN STUFF won't have exclusive access to the local delicacy of human flesh.
They will have to battle aliens intent on wiping out the human race.
But the zombies in A BIG BLUFF AND SOME GREEN STUFF won't have exclusive access to the local delicacy of human flesh.
They will have to battle aliens intent on wiping out the human race.
The Top 5 Self Publishing Platforms Of 2016
Cutbacks mean no host could be afforded for this year's virtual ceremony. Not even a virtual one. This is the age of austerity don't you know.
But as the awards enter their third year, the excitement is almost palpable as people await the announcement of the best self-publishing platform of 2016 with an eagerness normally only reserved for the Oscars.
So without further ado or don't, here's the countdown of the top 5 self-publishing platforms of 2016.
5th: DRAFT2DIGITAL
Nothing happening here. I actually thought the platform had sunk. Been taken down. I mean, the first blog post this year happened in August. By then I'd pulled all my books.
4th: KOBO
Still pretty much a nogo platform. There's no way to promote your work on here. No option to run a freebie.
3rd: CREATESPACE
Still the only place to offer self-published books in print without having to pay for it. Sadly, customers are the ones who have to pay, with each copy inordinately expensive and hence rarely purchased.
2nd: SMASHWORDS
Comfortably second, but a long way from first. I've moved all my novels off the platform because of lack of decent sales. Yes, freebies 'sell' well, and their freebie promotion in March shifts a few, but the platform is suffering, like all self-publishing platforms, from too many books and not enough buyers.
1st: AMAZON
2016 ends with nearly all my books registered on KDP Select. It's proving the most lucrative platform right now, with Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners Lending Library being two innovations that are helping get my work seen by new eyes. It's sad that other platforms cannot hope to emulate Amazon. There's just too many wannabee authors out there and not enough readers prepared to take a risk and buy books by authors they've not heard of.
No one from Amazon was available to collect their virtual award, and no one was available to accept it on their behalf or by a video link from somewhere sunny. Here's hoping 2017 is less austere, and the other platforms can do more to shift books by selfpubbers.
Previous winners:
2014 Smashwords
2015 Amazon
But as the awards enter their third year, the excitement is almost palpable as people await the announcement of the best self-publishing platform of 2016 with an eagerness normally only reserved for the Oscars.
So without further ado or don't, here's the countdown of the top 5 self-publishing platforms of 2016.
5th: DRAFT2DIGITAL
Nothing happening here. I actually thought the platform had sunk. Been taken down. I mean, the first blog post this year happened in August. By then I'd pulled all my books.
4th: KOBO
Still pretty much a nogo platform. There's no way to promote your work on here. No option to run a freebie.
3rd: CREATESPACE
Still the only place to offer self-published books in print without having to pay for it. Sadly, customers are the ones who have to pay, with each copy inordinately expensive and hence rarely purchased.
2nd: SMASHWORDS
Comfortably second, but a long way from first. I've moved all my novels off the platform because of lack of decent sales. Yes, freebies 'sell' well, and their freebie promotion in March shifts a few, but the platform is suffering, like all self-publishing platforms, from too many books and not enough buyers.
1st: AMAZON
2016 ends with nearly all my books registered on KDP Select. It's proving the most lucrative platform right now, with Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners Lending Library being two innovations that are helping get my work seen by new eyes. It's sad that other platforms cannot hope to emulate Amazon. There's just too many wannabee authors out there and not enough readers prepared to take a risk and buy books by authors they've not heard of.
No one from Amazon was available to collect their virtual award, and no one was available to accept it on their behalf or by a video link from somewhere sunny. Here's hoping 2017 is less austere, and the other platforms can do more to shift books by selfpubbers.
Previous winners:
2014 Smashwords
2015 Amazon
The blurb for A Big Bluff And Some Green Stuff
A Big Bluff And Some Green Stuff hasn't even got a cover / dust jacket designed yet.
But if you could please use your imagination and flip over from the wonderfully designed front cover, replete with a bit of claret, an alien's green claw, a zombie's yellow eye and a policeman's black and silver helmet, to the back where you will read something like this, printed in quite a scary font I expect:
But if you could please use your imagination and flip over from the wonderfully designed front cover, replete with a bit of claret, an alien's green claw, a zombie's yellow eye and a policeman's black and silver helmet, to the back where you will read something like this, printed in quite a scary font I expect:
A BIG BLUFF AND SOME GREEN STUFF
An
alien landing. A zombie uprising. A deadly chemical leak. Is it conspiracy or
coincidence that all three happen on the same day in the same tiny Cornish
village? And why does PC Jake Rodwell have a bad feeling he’s responsible?
He
knows he must stand alongside the villagers and fight to discover the real reason why his presence in Bluff Cove has made it the venue for a series of horrific events.
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