If you missed Free Advice Friday last week, you can watch the replay on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/NewShelvesBooks.
February 4, 2022 Free Advice Friday Hot Topics
My cover was designed for a book that is 282 pages but my final formatted interior is 288 pages. Do I need to get my cover reformatted? Nope! Cover templates typically change every 10 pages. So, the cover template should work for an interior PDF that is anywhere between 280-290 pages. New sizing comes in to play with a page count lower than 280 or higher than 291 (and even then, marginally).
At 3:10 in the video, you can hear Keri’s spell out options for self-publishers to list and sell their books on Amazon.
- The most common is to Go through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) This is a print-on-demand option where you upload your files or eBook files to KDP, and KDP works directly with Amazon for sale and delivery of your book. The big advantage here is hassle free sales and auto-delivery. The disadvantage is lower profit per item sold due to the high cost of printing on demand and KDP/Amazon taking a cut of each sale.
- Seller Central Account: Much like an Etsy or eBay account, you create a seller account to list your print books for sale. You have more control of the sale and can make more money per book sold, but this option requires more effort and responsibility on your part– including customer service and shipping. Speaking of shipping, Amazon Prime customers get their books in a couple of days, often at no cost to them. What will your shipping policy be and is it comparable to what Amazon offers?
- Work with a book distributor: The book distributor will set your book up in their own accounts, handling all of the details of your listing. This is a hassle free option for authors who have a large number of books being printed at one time; however, book distributors often charge set-up fees, warehousing fees and and they also take a cut of each sale.
At 7:18 in the replay catch Keri’s response to a question on marketing and where to send customers when running ads – to an email lead magnet or to your sales page? Bottom Line: Should you focus on selling your book or collecting emails? If you are selling books, promote a link directly to a retailer sales page for your book. If you want to grow your email subscriber list, set up a lead magnet. Give them something for their email and send it to a landing page to grab it.
Should you use Book Funnel or Story Origin? No matter what you use, you need a strong lead magnet that people actually want. The group agreed that BookFunnel is easier for the end user or “customer” to use.
Is the selling feature on Book Funnel a good option? People aren’t typically going to trust BookFunnel as much as retailers like Apple where they normally buy their books. However, if BookFunnel is the only place your eBook is available, you may have increased conversions.
What is the difference between KDP and IngramSpark and do you need both? Yes, we recommend you use both options for well rounded book distribution. Check out New Shelves Blog to get an in-depth look: https://newshelves.com/why-you-need-both-ingramspark-and-kdp/
How early should backers get pre-order book “rewards” from a Kickstarter campaign in comparison to the book launch? First, if you’re looking for more information on crowd funding a book project, check out this New Shelves guest blog from Randall McNair. Then to the question of timing: There are no hard and fast rules for how early backers should get rewards in comparison to the overall product launch. You could release your book at the same time you send out the backer rewards, or a week or two weeks later. When you launch isn’t as important as making sure your backers get their reward before anyone else.
What website hosting services allow authors to collect email addresses? Rather than working directly through a hosting service, consider using a plug-in to collect email addresses on your website. Many plug-in options are cheap or free and they give you more control of your list in the long-term.
Check out the replay at 28:17 to learn about Prime Reads. How are books chosen for Prime Reads? Is this something authors should pursue? Take Away: The author does not get paid for participating in Prime Reads. They do get exposure, so the question is: What is that exposure worth to you?
Struggling to promote your audiobook? Go to 30:50 for Keri’s ideas for promoting audiobooks. Audiobooks are not as easy to market as a print or eBook. However, if your audiobook is linked to your print book on Amazon, running Amazon ads will drive traffic to your book sales page – which includes your audiobook. To optimize ads for audiobook sales, be sure to use keywords that specifically target audiobooks. Other options include Facebook ads that specifically target audiobook listeners and, if your audiobook is distributed by Findaway Voices, you may also consider submitting for a discount audiobook deal through CHIRP.
What is CHIRP? CHIRP is the audiobook arm of BookBub. Read this guest blog from Shira Shiloah for a behind the scenes look at a CHIRP audiobook deal.
How do you get a BookBub featured deal? Keri says, “Try and try again.” You can submit your book for feature deal consideration every thirty days. Tip: Work towards building up your book reviews – numbers matter as well as the star rating.
Where should I put the link to my book trailer? How can I share and promote without spamming? Most Facebook book groups have rules. If you are in a book group, ask the admin if you can share your book trailer. You can also post to your own social media and encourage friends to share. You can use your trailer in social media ads. You can link the book trailer in your newsletter and blog. Upload to Author Central, YouTube and even GoodReads updates. Just keep in mind when posting and sharing, remember the 80/20 rule. 80% fun, engaging content and posts to 20% book news and promotion.
Is GoodReads just for fiction? No, but GoodReads does seem to work best for fiction. For non-fiction you can use GoodReads giveaways, and certainly have the book listed, but your time is probably better spent promotion on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
If you have questions you’d like answered, join us next week, Friday, February 11th at 10am EST to get your questions answered LIVE or e-mail your questions in advance to info@newshelves.com with “FREE ADVICE FRIDAYS” in the subject line.
