Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

LLCoolJD: Dec 8, 2007; Musk threatens the inorganic promotion of left-wing ideology that had been taking place on the platform

Block me for being an unironic DeSantis fan, too!

I see a lot of fresh e-books from "new" authors that have tons of reviews. I assume these people pay for favorable reviews to get people reading (and buying)?

# ¿ Jun 4, 2014 02:43

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 18:13

LLCoolJD: Dec 8, 2007; Musk threatens the inorganic promotion of left-wing ideology that had been taking place on the platform

Block me for being an unironic DeSantis fan, too!

EngineerSean posted:

Are you trying to emulate them or are you thinking you should buy the book? Either way, I guess just assume the worst, always.

I was genuinely curious. I've published one book, and even though it hit top 30 in Amazon's (free) horror and (free) dystopian and had four figures of downloads in a short span of time, there were basically no reviews. I thought the book was at least alright, and what reviews I had were gracious. I saw books which looked to be moving fewer copies that had tons of reviews - even with covers that should send most readers running in the opposite direction. I could've been underestimating how many people read those, but it seemed that fake reviews were a pretty common trick to boost appeal and sales numbers (which isn't to say that I'd be lunching with Dean Koontz had I used fake reviews!).

# ¿ Jun 4, 2014 17:31

LLCoolJD: Dec 8, 2007; Musk threatens the inorganic promotion of left-wing ideology that had been taking place on the platform

Block me for being an unironic DeSantis fan, too!

Grammaton posted:

Writing your book is the easy part. Selling it is the pain in the rear end.

I went ahead and published my first book to Amazon KDP Select. It's sci-fi with elements of fantasy. I did the cover myself so it's not that good. If a single copy sells I'll probably poo poo my pants. I'm very open to critique. http://www.amazon.com/Amissaric-James-Hight-ebook/dp/B00KT0P4ES/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402071963&sr=1-1

A new cover is a must.

Your blurb needs to be changed. Just like it pays to read your genre, it also doesn't hurt to see what the "professionals" do with their blurbs.

Here are the blurbs for a couple of high-selling science fiction novels on Amazon. The differences between what you wrote and these two blurbs should be apparent.

quote:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he�s alive�and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills�and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit�he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

quote:

When Nick Hall wakes up in a dumpster�bloodied, without a memory, and hearing voices in his head�he knows things are bad. But they're about to get far worse. Because he�s being hunted by a team of relentless assassins. Soon Hall discovers that advanced electronics have been implanted in his brain, and he now has two astonishing abilities. He can surf the web using thoughts alone. And he can read minds. But who inserted the implants? And why? And why is someone so desperate to kill him?

As Hall races to find answers, he comes to learn that far more is at stake than just his life. Because his actions can either catapult civilization to new heights�or bring about its total collapse.

Extrapolated from actual research on thought-controlled web surfing, Mind's Eye is a smart, roller-coaster ride of a thriller. One that raises a number of intriguing, and sometimes chilling, possibilities about a future that is just around the corner.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2014 20:47

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!