Tag: Patricia Fry

Don’t Bypass the Onramp to Publishing Success

Have you discovered that the road to publishing success is rather bumpy? It’s not easy to locate the onramp to the freeway leading to success.

Publishing is a business and, as the author, you must consider yourself the CEO of your book. From start to finish—the germ of a book idea to publication (and beyond)—you must take charge. If you make good business decisions, you will surely experience greater success. If not, then, you could be one of the nearly 78 percent of authors who fail. So where does an author start? What is the first step? Understanding the publishing industry—getting a grasp on what it entails, what all of your options are and what your responsibilities as a published author are.

Here’s what publishing professionals suggest:

[This post was written by guest contributor Patricia Fry.] The surest way to generate sales for your eBook is to produce writing that is wanted/needed by a strong segment of readers. After all, you can’t sell something if there is no audience for it. But the fact is, some people consider the ebook sort of a stepsister to the print book. Some authors don’t take the ebook as seriously as if they were producing a “real” book. They have this sense that they can cut corners with an ebook—give it a lick and a promise and send it out to their public as is. However, if you don’t go to the trouble of finding out what your readers want and need from an ebook in your genre or on your topic, you may miss the mark.

How do you make an ebook more salable?

• Poll your potential readers. Spend time in

[This excerpt is tip #9 from Patricia Fry’s free ebook, 50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook.]

Make your website a great resource for your readers.

If your ebook is nonfiction, start collecting important resources to share with people interested in your topic. For example, I write books, articles and a blog for authors. Most of my 36 books relate to authorship, publishing and book promotion. Because I want my potential readers to visit my website and purchase my books, I have developed a large resources section for writers and authors at http://www.matilijapress.com. If your ebook has to do with pets, consider collecting all variety of resources for pet owners—website links, a publications list, articles including information on various aspects of your topic—pet ownership, for example. You might post articles or links to information on topics such as choosing pet food, behavior issues, dog training, a list of plants that are poisonous to cats, breeders, etc.

[This piece is excerpted from 50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook, by guest contributor Patricia Fry. Download the whole book for FREE at http://www.patriciafry.com.] Many authors of ebooks believe they are limited when it comes to promotion. They think you can’t promote an ebook the same way you promote a print book. But that's not exactly true. Here’s an example of how to use print book marketing strategies to sell your ebook.

Go out and talk about your ebook.

Now here’s the ebook promotion suggestion you didn’t expect to see here—the one you have been avoiding, you say, “for obvious reasons.” Yes, I’m suggesting that you make public appearances with your ebook. Book speaking engagements at venues where your audience congregates. So how does the author sell ebooks in the back-of-the-room after presenting a workshop or after entertaining an audience with stories from his fiction ebook?