I have an 8,000 word short story, should I use it as an ad for my book?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on September 1, 2011 at 4:53pm

Patience patience patience - give it time. Get your series finished and sell it for what it's worth. Advertise every day. I do on Facebook and Twitter. Do more book signings. Try to get your book on some shelves. It's a big mountain you're trying to climb and it may take a while. Good luck.

 

Permalink Reply by Delphine Pontvieux on September 1, 2011 at 5:03pm

hello Anna,

do you find that advertising on facebook and twitter generates booksales for you? i did a campaign on goodreads a while ago but it was hard to gauge the return on investment...i would love to get your feedback on this.

And Matt, yes, it is hard and frustrating, but you've got to seize every opportunity to give your book the exposure it needs. You've worked hard to create these stories. When people want a coffee, they shell out up to 5 dollars at starbucks and say nothing about it. yet many people think that digital books should be free!?!?

Permalink Reply by Matt T. Schott on September 2, 2011 at 1:41am

Thank You Anna, You are right I need to be patient.  I've been out of work for a while, (union electrcian for 27 years) and the computer i write with commeted sucide, talk about being a critic.  This lap top is over 10 years old and the delay on it is enough to make me realize I have to calm down.  Thanks again for your support

matt

Anna L. Walls said:

Patience patience patience - give it time. Get your series finished and sell it for what it's worth. Advertise every day. I do on Facebook and Twitter. Do more book signings. Try to get your book on some shelves. It's a big mountain you're trying to climb and it may take a while. Good luck.

 

Permalink Reply by Matt T. Schott on September 2, 2011 at 1:44am

Thanks Delphine,  I just need to relax and give it time

Thanks for the support

matt

Delphine Pontvieux said:

hello Anna,

do you find that advertising on facebook and twitter generates booksales for you? i did a campaign on goodreads a while ago but it was hard to gauge the return on investment...i would love to get your feedback on this.

And Matt, yes, it is hard and frustrating, but you've got to seize every opportunity to give your book the exposure it needs. You've worked hard to create these stories. When people want a coffee, they shell out up to 5 dollars at starbucks and say nothing about it. yet many people think that digital books should be free!?!?

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on September 2, 2011 at 4:20am

Matt, I have a different opinion. I think it's a good idea, but perhaps for another short story if your intention was to make that particular one into a series. Unless you're sure of course you're willing to forfeit any future development on that story in return for whatever sales it may generate of the other one. In that case, then I'd say go for it. :)

 

Giving away Kindle freebies is often used as a technique to springboard sales of other works. I've seen James Patterson giving away the first twenty-odd chapters of his new books via Amazon Kindle to generate interest quite a few times in the last year or so. I think if the big guys are doing it, it must be worthwhile. 

 

It's the nature of the net that folks expect free stuff now. When you think about how we all take for granted that we can find software we want free or watch videos for nothing on Hulu or YouTube- even that we can join sites like this and get valuable information without paying a penny- you begin to realize it's what's expected. None of us expect to wake up one morning and find Google's erected a subscription only site or that we can't access CNN because of a paywall. 

 

The success of giant social media sites like Facebook and Twitter depended upon them having free registration from day one. I doubt either would have the membership numbers they do without that. Why did they do it? Because it gets the momentum rolling and vastly increases their subscriber numbers. No-one wants to pay for something they don't know if they will like enough to continue using. I'm sure not going to hand over a 3 month subscription fee only to find when I get through the hallowed doors that it's nothing like I imagined it would be. If it cost me nothing, it's not going to annoy me as much. And if I like it, I'll stick around. But ask me for money first without any kind of trial period, and I'm out of there. 

 

Facebook and Twitter understood that if they got them through the door, they would stay and the longer they stayed, the more loyal they would become. 

 

It's the same with books. Free isn't always a bad move. It's hard to convince readers to take a chance on a new author (or even a "new to them" author-Patterson obviously wants to expand his fan base indefinitely too) without whetting their appetite. Once that momentum's rolling, you can charge more for subsequent books of course. It's getting that loyal fanbase that's priceless.  Because once you have them, they'll talk about and recommend your books online to friends, write reviews about them, and help spread the word.  And all that is free marketing. 

 

Remember too that when you offering it on Kindle free, you're opening your short story up to be reviewed by all those freebie grabbers. Make sure you're 100% happy with it before you unleash it. You also need to be ready to either respond to any negative feedback that might come out politely, or ignore it. No rants allowed. :) 

 

Alternatively you could do what this writer did if you want to give it away. 

 

Comedian and magician John Lenahan tells Creative Choices about generating publishers' interest in his novel by podcasting it in chapters and gaining thousands of fans online first, and how aspiring authors need to change their methods in our free download culture.

 

http://www.authors.com/video/marketing-your-book-in-the

 

 

If you do decide to add it to Kindle free don't forget to link to your main website/blog too if you have one rather than just your Kindle page. 

 

Shame about the computer! I had both dial-up because there was no DSL locally and an old computer until last year, so I feel your pain. It's hard when sites have fancy features on them to even get some pages to load. Thankfully now I have cable and a new laptop both. Hope you didn't lose any of your work. I admire you for keeping a sense of humor about it all. And good luck on the job front too.  :) 

 

Hope that helped in some way. 

 

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on September 2, 2011 at 4:23am

It's hard to tell where my sales are generated. I'm confident several of my facebook friends have bought and read my book, either before friending me or after. I do try to be as accessible as possible. I have also had some sales from Twitter. One man last year sent me a message telling me he posted a review, I didn't even know him really. We are now facebook friends. So, all things considered I may have sold around 200 books altogether since 2008. Not really so bad considering I was utterly unknown to begin with - no social networking what-so-ever until about two and a half years ago. It's my hope that my next book will do much better. I have already had several people ask me to tell them as soon as it comes out.

Delphine Pontvieux said:

hello Anna,

do you find that advertising on facebook and twitter generates booksales for you? i did a campaign on goodreads a while ago but it was hard to gauge the return on investment...i would love to get your feedback on this.

And Matt, yes, it is hard and frustrating, but you've got to seize every opportunity to give your book the exposure it needs. You've worked hard to create these stories. When people want a coffee, they shell out up to 5 dollars at starbucks and say nothing about it. yet many people think that digital books should be free!?!?

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on September 2, 2011 at 5:33am

Sorry to derail this a little but I had to reply to Anna here. :)

 

Anna, that's fantastic! Congratulations. It doesn't surprise me you've done so well. You're always really helpful and pleasant around here and more than willing to share what you know. I really enjoy reading your posts and should have said so long ago.

 

You could be our poster child for what true social networking looks like, I'm telling you! :D Know that you're appreciated. So many get it very wrong and think it means shouting about themselves and their stuff all the time without reaching out to help anyone else and connecting. They just don't grasp that it goes both ways. 

 

If you have a spare moment please think about sharing some tips in the Social Media Group.

 

Derailment over. Back on track now. :) 

Anna L. Walls said:

It's hard to tell where my sales are generated. I'm confident several of my facebook friends have bought and read my book, either before friending me or after. I do try to be as accessible as possible. I have also had some sales from Twitter. One man last year sent me a message telling me he posted a review, I didn't even know him really. We are now facebook friends. So, all things considered I may have sold around 200 books altogether since 2008. Not really so bad considering I was utterly unknown to begin with - no social networking what-so-ever until about two and a half years ago. It's my hope that my next book will do much better. I have already had several people ask me to tell them as soon as it comes out.

Delphine Pontvieux said:

hello Anna,

do you find that advertising on facebook and twitter generates booksales for you? i did a campaign on goodreads a while ago but it was hard to gauge the return on investment...i would love to get your feedback on this.

And Matt, yes, it is hard and frustrating, but you've got to seize every opportunity to give your book the exposure it needs. You've worked hard to create these stories. When people want a coffee, they shell out up to 5 dollars at starbucks and say nothing about it. yet many people think that digital books should be free!?!?

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on September 2, 2011 at 6:25am

Haha - oh my - you're very kind to say so. I joined the group. Not very active over there.

Kay Elizabeth said:

Sorry to derail this a little but I had to reply to Anna here. :)

 

Anna, that's fantastic! Congratulations. It doesn't surprise me you've done so well. You're always really helpful and pleasant around here and more than willing to share what you know. I really enjoy reading your posts and should have said so long ago.

 

You could be our poster child for what true social networking looks like, I'm telling you! :D Know that you're appreciated. So many get it very wrong and think it means shouting about themselves and their stuff all the time without reaching out to help anyone else and connecting. They just don't grasp that it goes both ways. 

 

If you have a spare moment please think about sharing some tips in the Social Media Group.

 

Derailment over. Back on track now. :) 

Anna L. Walls said:

It's hard to tell where my sales are generated. I'm confident several of my facebook friends have bought and read my book, either before friending me or after. I do try to be as accessible as possible. I have also had some sales from Twitter. One man last year sent me a message telling me he posted a review, I didn't even know him really. We are now facebook friends. So, all things considered I may have sold around 200 books altogether since 2008. Not really so bad considering I was utterly unknown to begin with - no social networking what-so-ever until about two and a half years ago. It's my hope that my next book will do much better. I have already had several people ask me to tell them as soon as it comes out.

Delphine Pontvieux said:

hello Anna,

do you find that advertising on facebook and twitter generates booksales for you? i did a campaign on goodreads a while ago but it was hard to gauge the return on investment...i would love to get your feedback on this.

And Matt, yes, it is hard and frustrating, but you've got to seize every opportunity to give your book the exposure it needs. You've worked hard to create these stories. When people want a coffee, they shell out up to 5 dollars at starbucks and say nothing about it. yet many people think that digital books should be free!?!?

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on September 2, 2011 at 6:55am

I would try and find out why the book isn't moving. Winning an award, tells me somebody liked it a lot. I don't think they give out awards for bad writing. However, I did win an award once for a poem, which the publisher wanted me to buy the book. That same poem has been published 16 times and won two other awards, which I was not asked to buy anything...Keep trying, it will move...

Permalink Reply by Matt T. Schott on September 2, 2011 at 12:46pm

Thank You Kay,

I'm still weighing things out but I think I might put the short story up for free.  I feel like The short story is the price for advertisement.  If I turn the SS into a book people would already know the main character.  Computers are a love hate relationship at best.  I do write in notebooks in the begining stages of writing a story.  I've been putting down a lot of ideas.  Im affraid when I finally do get a new computer my hands will fal off from all the typing.

Keep Writing

matt

Kay Elizabeth said:

Matt, I have a different opinion. I think it's a good idea, but perhaps for another short story if your intention was to make that particular one into a series. Unless you're sure of course you're willing to forfeit any future development on that story in return for whatever sales it may generate of the other one. In that case, then I'd say go for it. :)

 

Giving away Kindle freebies is often used as a technique to springboard sales of other works. I've seen James Patterson giving away the first twenty-odd chapters of his new books via Amazon Kindle to generate interest quite a few times in the last year or so. I think if the big guys are doing it, it must be worthwhile. 

 

It's the nature of the net that folks expect free stuff now. When you think about how we all take for granted that we can find software we want free or watch videos for nothing on Hulu or YouTube- even that we can join sites like this and get valuable information without paying a penny- you begin to realize it's what's expected. None of us expect to wake up one morning and find Google's erected a subscription only site or that we can't access CNN because of a paywall. 

 

The success of giant social media sites like Facebook and Twitter depended upon them having free registration from day one. I doubt either would have the membership numbers they do without that. Why did they do it? Because it gets the momentum rolling and vastly increases their subscriber numbers. No-one wants to pay for something they don't know if they will like enough to continue using. I'm sure not going to hand over a 3 month subscription fee only to find when I get through the hallowed doors that it's nothing like I imagined it would be. If it cost me nothing, it's not going to annoy me as much. And if I like it, I'll stick around. But ask me for money first without any kind of trial period, and I'm out of there. 

 

Facebook and Twitter understood that if they got them through the door, they would stay and the longer they stayed, the more loyal they would become. 

 

It's the same with books. Free isn't always a bad move. It's hard to convince readers to take a chance on a new author (or even a "new to them" author-Patterson obviously wants to expand his fan base indefinitely too) without whetting their appetite. Once that momentum's rolling, you can charge more for subsequent books of course. It's getting that loyal fanbase that's priceless.  Because once you have them, they'll talk about and recommend your books online to friends, write reviews about them, and help spread the word.  And all that is free marketing. 

 

Remember too that when you offering it on Kindle free, you're opening your short story up to be reviewed by all those freebie grabbers. Make sure you're 100% happy with it before you unleash it. You also need to be ready to either respond to any negative feedback that might come out politely, or ignore it. No rants allowed. :) 

 

Alternatively you could do what this writer did if you want to give it away. 

 

Comedian and magician John Lenahan tells Creative Choices about generating publishers' interest in his novel by podcasting it in chapters and gaining thousands of fans online first, and how aspiring authors need to change their methods in our free download culture.

 

http://www.authors.com/video/marketing-your-book-in-the

 

 

If you do decide to add it to Kindle free don't forget to link to your main website/blog too if you have one rather than just your Kindle page. 

 

Shame about the computer! I had both dial-up because there was no DSL locally and an old computer until last year, so I feel your pain. It's hard when sites have fancy features on them to even get some pages to load. Thankfully now I have cable and a new laptop both. Hope you didn't lose any of your work. I admire you for keeping a sense of humor about it all. And good luck on the job front too.  :) 

 

Hope that helped in some way. 

 

Permalink Reply by Matt T. Schott on September 2, 2011 at 1:11pm

I will keep trying.  The feed back on this idea has been great.  I also find that I'm not alone in this boat in the middle of the ocean with no oars.  As a matter fact I do appreciate the thoughtful people in this boat.  The only question is,  Who do we eat first to stay alive in this boat? 

Thanks everybody, I think its going to be a good day,

Keep Writing

matt

Robert L. Allen said:

I would try and find out why the book isn't moving. Winning an award, tells me somebody liked it a lot. I don't think they give out awards for bad writing. However, I did win an award once for a poem, which the publisher wanted me to buy the book. That same poem has been published 16 times and won two other awards, which I was not asked to buy anything...Keep trying, it will move...

Permalink Reply by Catherine Green on September 5, 2011 at 11:25pm

Personally I would consider giving away a freebie. On my website my publisher has posted the short story that features in their YA anthology. This story introduces central characters from Love Hurts and so will hopefully entice people to buy the book. I have ideas for several other stories just waiting to be written, so I don't think it hurts to share one or two free ones in the interests of building a fanbase.

 

Of course, I have yet to see how well it is working, since the website is new and my book has been published for only 2 months. So this is just my suggestion, with no actual statisical backing.