Monday, November 17, 2014

How to Become An Amazon Best Selling Author

I've done it! I have become an Amazon Best-Selling Author.  However, its not quite what I had thought it would be.  For one thing, it is slightly an overly noble title for what actually occurred.  It is, however, every bit what the many Youtubers and bloggers told me it would be.  It has perhaps opened doors for me too, I've been accepted to appear among Oregon authors at Holiday Cheer - a 50 year old event with authors and their 2014 published books in the room.  My neck began to sweat and my toes tingle just typing that!  I must tell the truth, the genre menus are as important as the webinars say.  And, free promotions help.  Um, okay, they more than help.  To an Amazon search engine, a free promo book is the same as a sale; and, with the Kindle Select
feature, readers with a subscription download books for free, anyway.  Therefore, a mass amount of downloads in a 72 hour period is FAIR GAME for an Amazon best seller, no matter the price point - or absence of one.  The good news , the kids like the books.  I'm thinking about making a bind-up of the trilogy for Holiday Cheer - 3 books in 1 - and now I am moving on to do the same thing with The Faerie Ring Dance in December.

For Indie authors, here is the recipe to try.
First, watch some of the greats on Youtube, like Crush It with Kindle, or How to Become an Amazon Best Seller.  Then, look on Amazon's website as a shopper.  If you write children's books, take notes on each classifying link you click to find what you want to buy (something like the books you promote, I hope).  The links you click are often very different than those you chose to put your book under (in the kdp pull-down menu) - when you first uploaded your book.  But, this can all be changed.

Once you know the specific categorizations, you're half-way there.  You also need to plan - and promote - your book during the 72 hour period when your book is free or on Kindle, countdown promotion.  If this doesn't work, try again in a few months with different categorizations.  What didn't get many hits in YA, might do great in children's e-books, the mysteries section.

Also, watch and implement my video, coding your book on the kdp bookshelf.  Chances are, you were being passed up by software rather than readers, or worse - robots and web spiders. Oh my!

If this doesn't work, should you cry that you are finished as an author?  Apparently not.  There is almost as much PR for the worst read as a best seller.  I actually felt so low, one day, I tweeted "the worst book on Amazon sells better thsn mine - zero sales month!!" And the next week I had sales from those tweets.  First, write the best books you can write.  Secondly, remember that PEEPS (the chick shaped candy) also sell on Amazon - which should help you think in noncreative terms: sometimes people just need to be able to find your book.  Categorizing correctly really does help people find your book and you too could become an Amazon best selling author!  non

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