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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    I'm in the process of preparing a novel for sale through Amazon, on the Kindle. I've got a cover, a good synopsis, a blog about it and even a video to advertise it. Anyone got any bright ideas about other ways I can make it make a splash?

    My situation is that I had a literary agent who helped me edit my novel into a form that he thought was highly marketable. He then sent it out to a dozen London publishers. Two were interested, but eventually turned it down as not fitting neatly into any genre. We tried various other publishers, who weren't interested. The agent then left the business, leaving me with a novel that was deemed publishable, so I'm going to try my luck on the Kindle.

    Various internet sources say that most self-published Kindle novels go nowhere - I'm looking for ideas that might give me a fighting chance.

    Any thoughts?

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    AFAIK, there's only one person on these boards who broke into self-publishing and made a successful job of it. He mostly keeps to the main comic and board maintenance areas. The rest of us would be wildly guessing.

    I will note that OotS got its start by putting up free material and making it accessible to a group already inclined to be fans. Likewise, Snowqueen's Icedragon was fairly active in a fanfic community that was itself fairly active.

    So right now your choices are to try and make your novel highly visible to the sorts of people who might like the idea and hope for the best, or hope for your lucky break and then hope that the idea catches on. There's a reason aspiring writers are told not to quit their day jobs.

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    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Reluctance View Post
    There's a reason aspiring writers are told not to quit their day jobs.

    That's why I'm looking for ideas!

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    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Given that I have a Kindle, I wish to purchase and suscribe to your newsletter novel. What's the title? I could do a review for you if it would help. =)

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    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    I heard somebody talking about this on the radio the other day, and he said that the best way to sell e-books is pure word of mouth--which isn't something you can really arrange yourself (although posting on these forums does give you a bit of a head start there ).

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    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Be internet famous already. That's how you sell novels on the internet, unfortunately.

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    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mauve Shirt View Post
    Be internet famous already. That's how you sell novels on the internet, unfortunately.
    I rather get the impression that being famous is how you sell novels anywhere, actually - it's why it's so hard for a first-time author to break into the market.

    The novel's called Sorrel in Scarlet - it's a fantasy novel set in a world where a form of magic works, dragons rule the land, and monsters exist, and where technology has advanced to the stage of steam cars and biplanes.

    I think I'm some weeks from being ready to launch it on Amazon. I've got as far as creating a cover, but I'm not sure how good it is and whether it's good enough to grab the casual viewer. Thoughts and brickbats gratefully received!


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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    I rather get the impression that being famous is how you sell novels anywhere, actually - it's why it's so hard for a first-time author to break into the market.

    The novel's called Sorrel in Scarlet - it's a fantasy novel set in a world where a form of magic works, dragons rule the land, and monsters exist, and where technology has advanced to the stage of steam cars and biplanes.

    I think I'm some weeks from being ready to launch it on Amazon. I've got as far as creating a cover, but I'm not sure how good it is and whether it's good enough to grab the casual viewer. Thoughts and brickbats gratefully received!


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    I can give you a few examples of "stuff that hasn't worked for me so far."

    "Not having a budget for advertising and marketing" is number one on my list. You need to get the word out about your book. Unless you have one serious guerrilla marketing campaign, the book is probably not going to go viral.

    You really need to know who your audience is, and where they're likely to be. Focus your efforts there. This can be a bit trickier if your work is cross-genre. (I've found this out the hard way; if there's a ready-made audience for ancient Egyptian-ish fantasy, I haven't been able to locate it).

    Get reviews. Even if it's just a couple of sentences. An Amazon listing without reviews makes great big "Am I Wasting My Money?" lights go off for your readers. (Sadly, mine is still sitting up there, review-less, after a few months).

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    The novel's called Sorrel in Scarlet - it's a fantasy novel set in a world where a form of magic works, dragons rule the land, and monsters exist, and where technology has advanced to the stage of steam cars and biplanes.
    How does that not fit into a genre? sounds like fantasy to me! or at best, Steampunk fantasy, which I'm pretty sure is still a fantasy genre!

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    I think I'm some weeks from being ready to launch it on Amazon. I've got as far as creating a cover, but I'm not sure how good it is and whether it's good enough to grab the casual viewer. Thoughts and brickbats gratefully received!
    This? This I love. This would definitely grab my attention. Shoot, you've already got me wanting to read the darn thing and that's just from the cover

    The only things I'd personally suggest is making the autumn trees a little less - bright. Right now they're very pinky-red in the foreground then abruptly orange in the background with no real gradation and it makes it look very computer generated. Not that there's anything wrong with computer generating a cover like this (I have a friend who sold his novels on Amazon and he made his covers in Paint of all things). The problem is that the trees (specifically the tree the plane is crashed in) is so bright that it's the first thing that grabs your eye. I don't think it should be. I think what should catch the eye first is either the title, the woman's face or the downed tree... I would say the title should be the main attraction here. Tone down the trees so the 'Scarlet' is the first thing the eye is drawn to.

    Can I also suggest making the woman look more feminine? At this point in time, I'm 99% sure it's a girl, but there's still that 1% of me that's just not sure and it's bugging me. If she's female, I want to know that without a doubt. And again, I'd suggest making her a little fuzzier - put more cloud cover in front of her so she's not quite so clearcut. Honestly? I'm actually leaning more towards suggesting taking her out altogether, she's distracting me... but I don't know who she is or her importance to the story, so use your own judgement. It's just that the dragon is quite dark (and has a scorpion tail which is awesome and she's quite light and the two don't quite gel properly. It's the same problem as the bright trees... she's too distracting. My eye keeps being drawn to her instead of the title. I want her to blend into the background more.

    That said, I love the font you've got and your little dolman publishing logo.

    On the whole, I think it's a great cover and it would definitely have me taking a second look.

    Quote Originally Posted by Telonius View Post
    You really need to know who your audience is, and where they're likely to be. Focus your efforts there. This can be a bit trickier if your work is cross-genre. (I've found this out the hard way; if there's a ready-made audience for ancient Egyptian-ish fantasy, I haven't been able to locate it).
    *raises hand* I'd read Egyptian-ish fantasy... but I don't have a Kindle.

    And this is one suggestion I can make. Consider making your novel available to people who have e-readers that aren't Kindle. I have a Sony e-reader and this thread has gotten me quite curious about your novel, but it's not a Kindle so there's no point in me even considering it further because I can't read it.

    Also, consider something like this. The website is called Lulu and they do book publishing. And stealing this from a comment made by a friend elsewhere...

    I found a website where you can self-publish books with no up-front cost - they sell the books on a print-on-demand basis, and take a (reasonable) cut of the cover price rather than requiring you to order a minimum print run. Not only do they sell them in their own marketplace, they add them to the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain Amazon stores. If you choose to publish the ebook version too, they sell those in their own marketplace and in the Nook store and Apple's iBook store.
    You don't have to pay anything until and unless people actually buy your work and it'll give you a much wider range than just Amazon and also let people get an actual copy of your book, which will give you a wider base again, all those people who don't like ebooks
    Last edited by Lady Moreta; 2012-08-30 at 04:41 AM.

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    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Telonius View Post
    I can give you a few examples of "stuff that hasn't worked for me so far."

    "Not having a budget for advertising and marketing" is number one on my list. You need to get the word out about your book. Unless you have one serious guerrilla marketing campaign, the book is probably not going to go viral.

    You really need to know who your audience is, and where they're likely to be. Focus your efforts there. This can be a bit trickier if your work is cross-genre. (I've found this out the hard way; if there's a ready-made audience for ancient Egyptian-ish fantasy, I haven't been able to locate it).

    Get reviews. Even if it's just a couple of sentences. An Amazon listing without reviews makes great big "Am I Wasting My Money?" lights go off for your readers. (Sadly, mine is still sitting up there, review-less, after a few months).
    Well, I can have a read and a look of yours as well. I'll download it at lunch time. =)

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    I have a kindle, but frankly, don't use it at all. Def make it available to non-kindle readers...let 'em read a lil sample of it to get hooked, that sort of thing.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    I am a fantasy-fiction reader with a Kindle who frequently trawls through the Kindle store for new things to read - your target audience, I guess - and I can say I'm MUCH more likely to try an unknown author on a whim if they have at least some good reviews on Amazon, and if they are offering a book at a cheap price. (Cheap for me on the Kindle is $0 - $2.99.) I don't think authors should work for free, but it's like radio and Spotify for musicians - people need to experience your work for free (or nearly free) before they'll pay full price for it.

    Maybe you could write a great short story in your world and/or with your main characters, and give it away on Amazon for free, as a way to introduce people to your work, and then charge a fair price for the novel. You can even have a teaser on the last page... "Find out what happens to [best character] after [intriguing event] in [novel title] available in Winter 2012!"

    Get friends and family to write good reviews and post them on Amazon for you. As many as you can without it looking fake (e.g. don't have them all post 5-star reviews the same week you put it up for sale... that is not believable to readers). And don't just do generic "this book is awesome" but have them put something specific ("I really liked the unusual portrayal of dragons" etc.). Have the reviewers compare your work to other well-known writers ("Neil Gaiman meets J.K. Rowling on steroids!") so that readers will think "Oh, I like those books, I'll probably like this too."

    But all of that depends on someone actually landing on your Amazon page in the first place. The first battle in the war is getting people to go to that page, and for that you need either paid advertising or word of mouth or a ton of luck (or all three).

    A friend of mine self-published a book a couple of years ago and has sold thousands of copies through advertising and working really really hard at networking and getting the word out - Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, youtube, friends, co-workers, etc...

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by SarahV View Post
    I am a fantasy-fiction reader with a Kindle who frequently trawls through the Kindle store for new things to read - your target audience, I guess - and I can say I'm MUCH more likely to try an unknown author on a whim if they have at least some good reviews on Amazon, and if they are offering a book at a cheap price. (Cheap for me on the Kindle is $0 - $2.99.) I don't think authors should work for free, but it's like radio and Spotify for musicians - people need to experience your work for free (or nearly free) before they'll pay full price for it.
    Yeah, that's true. If I like an author, I'm pretty likely to literally buy everything they've ever written. So, that initial hook is pretty important. On the flip side, trying random authors at full price is hard to swallow. I did some of this at gencon, and I'm deeply regretting it. Some of these folks couldn't write a grocery list.

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    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Telonius: I bought "Chosen of Harrekh" last night - I'll do a review for you when I've fnished it. Be warned - I may well come to you for advice generally!

    Lady Moreta: Thanks for the thoughts on the cover, which are encouraging (it grabbed your attention) and useful - I and my artistic director (Janet) will have another look at the colour balance. I'd already been wondering if the dragon needed to be brighter - I hadn't realised (too close to it) that the foliage was too bright. The picture is entirely computer generated - the face is meant to be a strong female character - Sorrel herself.

    SarahV: that's a good idea - I'll have to come up with a short story! Of course, the first 10% of the novel itself is going to be accessible immediately on Amazon, as a teaser, but as you say the key is getting people onto the page in the first place.

    Tyndmyr: Pricing is a major question - I was planning to go for £2.00 (around $3.00) - I'm not sure if that's the right place to pitch it. I don't want to go too low - it looks like I'm undervaluing it - but I wouldn't want to go any higher than £2.00 either.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    Lady Moreta: Thanks for the thoughts on the cover, which are encouraging (it grabbed your attention) and useful - I and my artistic director (Janet) will have another look at the colour balance. I'd already been wondering if the dragon needed to be brighter - I hadn't realised (too close to it) that the foliage was too bright. The picture is entirely computer generated - the face is meant to be a strong female character - Sorrel herself.

    And as if by magic... the revised version of the cover, with the foliage less bright and the dragon more intense.

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    (Janet can work the most extraordinary sorcery with photoshop).

    What do you all think?

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    And as if by magic... the revised version of the cover, with the foliage less bright and the dragon more intense.

    (Janet can work the most extraordinary sorcery with photoshop).

    What do you all think?
    First impression - this is much better (my compliments to Janet!)

    Second - leave the word 'Scarlet' coloured in scarlet. I should have mentioned that before, but that was one thing I really liked about the first version, that the text was actually a scarlet-red...

    And yes, I figured the entire thing was computer generated, it was just that parts of it looked very computery and parts didn't and that dichotomy detracted from the whole.

    I still think the trees could be toned down a little bit more. I find that my eye is going directly to the trees and then gradually I work my way up to the plane, then Sorrel and the dragon and then the title. I think for a book cover, it should be the other way around. I should be going from the title down. Changing the font colour back to an actual scarlet-red will help, because it's a brighter shade and will be more attention-grabbing. But I want to see more orange in the front set of trees. Don't necessarily get rid of all that lovely reddish colour, but all your orangey trees are jammed into the background... I want to see more of that up front. It'll cut down a bit on the red (because the tree the plane is crashed in is rather large) and help redirect the eye up again to where it should be. Let's face it, the tree is not meant to be the focal point here!

    It could also be partly a location thing - there aren't many trees where I'm from who go that red colour in autumn, most trees here go orange and brown or just stay green... so I'm finding it distracting in that sense, because to me, it's not believable. Having so much of it that red colour looks fake to me and makes it look even more computer generated. But I think that's partly just because that shade does tend to make things look more generated (I've seen other images with that colour scheme and they all look very computer generated to me), or if it's simply because in my world, autumn trees don't go that colour. You really need people from a place in the world where they do go that colour to see if they think it looks fake.

    Either way, it's still grabbed my attention and I hope you do make it available for people who don't have Kindles.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lady Moreta View Post
    First impression - this is much better (my compliments to Janet!)...


    It could also be partly a location thing - there aren't many trees where I'm from who go that red colour in autumn, most trees here go orange and brown or just stay green... so I'm finding it distracting in that sense, because to me, it's not believable. Having so much of it that red colour looks fake to me and makes it look even more computer generated. But I think that's partly just because that shade does tend to make things look more generated (I've seen other images with that colour scheme and they all look very computer generated to me), or if it's simply because in my world, autumn trees don't go that colour. You really need people from a place in the world where they do go that colour to see if they think it looks fake.

    Either way, it's still grabbed my attention and I hope you do make it available for people who don't have Kindles.
    We've left the trees pretty bright. Scarlet, in fact. There is a reason for the title, and they aren't autumn colours - Sorrel is somewhere far stranger...

    As regards marketing it for the Kobo, I'm trying to find out what I need to do in order to put it in Kobo format - any information gratefully received!
    Last edited by Lensman; 2012-09-03 at 12:34 PM.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Naked women always sells.
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    Oooh, and that's a bad miss.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Asta Kask View Post
    Naked women always sells.
    And maybe call it "Fifty Shades of Scarlet Sorrel", too?

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    As regards marketing it for the Kobo, I'm trying to find out what I need to do in order to put it in Kobo format - any information gratefully received!
    I'd recommend putting it in a generic epub format. As far as I understand it, most readers can read that format... I don't have a Kobo either, I have a Sony e-reader and while it can read a variety of different formats, it can't read Kindle or Kobo specific formats (since they format them differently to force you to buy from them and only them). There are plenty of online epub file converters out there, I'd suggest finding one and just using that - they're free so it won't cost you anything either.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    There are sites for self publishing. Just try to put it out there on Markets like Amazon. Give a copy for free to some people under the agreement that they will write reviews. Post to your online friends about it, use the internet and word of mouth.

    - EDIT -

    If you are successful let us know, I know some friends of friends that have made a good go at online publishing and I am looking into that myself once I get some spare time that I feel comfortable writing in.
    Last edited by Sturmcrow; 2012-09-04 at 08:22 AM.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    Tyndmyr: Pricing is a major question - I was planning to go for £2.00 (around $3.00) - I'm not sure if that's the right place to pitch it. I don't want to go too low - it looks like I'm undervaluing it - but I wouldn't want to go any higher than £2.00 either.
    That's pretty reasonable by my standards...if you have a reasonable price and a free sample to get 'em hooked, you should do aright.

    The texture of the biplane on the cover looks a bit fake. biplanes usually have a lot of fabric and some metal bits on them, having a 100% wood textured biplane shape just looks wrong. It's a pretty solid cover composition otherwise, though.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    I want a dead-tree version! NOW!

    It looks very interesting, and I'd be up for buying a copy, if only to say that I have an original copy of the famous Lensman from before he was more famous than Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, JK Rowling and Frans G. Bengtsson put together.

    Also, it's difficult to get an eBook signed by the author.
    Quote Originally Posted by Archonic Energy
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    KuReshtin too, because he's awesome and a Swede, and therefore double awesome.
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    I haven't read it yet, but am intrigued. This is what I would suggest (some repeats of previous suggestions):

    - post a freebie starter sample of the first chapter or so - it should preferably get to a point where something just happened and a reader wants to know more.

    - don't be afraid to post on random book forums. You can always ask people to mention your book on GoodRead once completed for example. So if friends and family on Facebook join that you could get some free publicity.

    - As a kindle user I often look for less pricy alternatives when looking at unknown books. That way I may get two or three books for the cost of a book from more well known writer. So a competitive price should get more readers.

    - the format is important, don't make it Kindle only. If available to more formats you have a chance of getting more readers. Especially since some people still use their home PCs, laptops, etc to read books online.

    - I like the idea earlier mentioned of having the word Scarlet in scarlet, as it jumps out and catches a viewers attention.

    - as for the cover, people will expect what is on the cover to be in the story.
    A bad book cover example would be a book called "the immortal dragon" with a cover showing a hero figure having decapitated a dragon.

    When it comes to color, less is more in my opinion.
    If there is too much color it steals the attention from what you want them to see. Especially if there is going to be one scarlet word mixed with another words in a neutral color.

    If you have a girl, a plane and a dragon - people will expect a girl, a plane and a dragon in the story. One can always hide or partially cover some detail to leave some details for the imagination. For example only seeing half of the dragon or only part of the plane. In a world with dragon it will likely be a strong influence. A steam car could be shaped like a dragon, borrowing the artwork on ancient Chinese canons. The wings of a plane could be inspired by the shape of dragon wings, to avoid being Earth history identical.
    For stories with a lot of intrigue, another possibility would be cowled figures moving in shadows, perhaps whispering in some prominent figures ear while holding something behind their back. If this is a different planet than Earth, then it can have any type of vegetation, so a blue tree with pink and red leafs could be fine provided it doesn't take center stage. It is there to add some color or provide a means to show how different the world is. As you already have steam tech and dragons it is only there to fill in a potential void.
    what do you mean buy new dice !?!?
    just because this one rolled a 1 on a d20 7 times in a row...

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Thanks for everyone's input - I'm making use of these ideas.

    Asta: I thought of putting Sorrel on the cover wearing very little (not actually entirely inappropriate for the novel!) but I didn't want it to look like a porn book!

    Lady Moreta: I'm getting an epub converter - the only question is where I can sell a "generic" format novel as opposed to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, where I'm tied down. Suggestions welcomed!

    Tyndmyr: I'm having another go at tweaking the cover, so I'll have a look at the texture of the triplane as well.

    Ku: I'm hoping to get it on Print on Demand as well - I'd be delighted to scrawl a signature for you.

    Shurz: Where to start? Amazon automatically generates a preview (first 10% of the book). I've done a rough calculation, and that should work okay.

    I've decided in view of everyone's comments to try to do some other formats.

    As regards the cover... Girl ? Sorrel herself. Dragon ? Oh yes. There's a dragon, all right. And how. Triplane ? Only for the first page or two - the novel starts with Sorrel crashed in a strange red jungle, but the (lack of a) triplane is a feature throughout (Sorrel is very pissed off about losing her triplane, and the dragon responsible is not her favourite character...). So I'm confident the cover won't mislead.

    If Sorrel in Scarlet sells, then I may well grab some of your thoughts on cover imagery for Sorrel Snowbound and Sorrel in Silver, the two sequels, which do include steam cars and devious intrigues...

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Shurz View Post
    - don't be afraid to post on random book forums. You can always ask people to mention your book on GoodRead once completed for example. So if friends and family on Facebook join that you could get some free publicity.
    Good call. And on that note, here would be a good place to start. It's another forum I'm a member of and they're always looking for new books

    Quote Originally Posted by Shurz View Post
    When it comes to color, less is more in my opinion.
    If there is too much color it steals the attention from what you want them to see. Especially if there is going to be one scarlet word mixed with another words in a neutral color.
    You explained my problem with the colour much better than I did. Lensman, since you said you're going to play around with the cover again anyway, can I suggest toning down the brightness of the red trees. Since the forest is meant to be that colour, obviously changing the colour completely isn't an option, but I think just making it a little less bright wouldn't detract from the trees themselves, but would redirect attention back up to the rest of the cover and the title, which is where you want it. At the moment, the eye kinda gets stuck on the trees and doesn't really go anywhere else.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    I'm getting an epub converter - the only question is where I can sell a "generic" format novel as opposed to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, where I'm tied down. Suggestions welcomed!
    The website I mentioned earlier (Lulu) does all that for you. They put it as an ebook on Amazon and other sites (I forget which ones) and you can have printed copies made - but they only print what they get orders for so you're not left with a bunch of books you can't sell. It's designed for self-publishing and there are no upfront costs - you only pay them when people start buying your book. It looks like a pretty good deal to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    As regards the cover... Girl ? Sorrel herself. Dragon ? Oh yes. There's a dragon, all right. And how. Triplane ? Only for the first page or two - the novel starts with Sorrel crashed in a strange red jungle, but the (lack of a) triplane is a feature throughout (Sorrel is very pissed off about losing her triplane, and the dragon responsible is not her favourite character...). So I'm confident the cover won't mislead.
    Okay, now I really want to read it!

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lady Moreta View Post
    Good call. And on that note, here would be a good place to start. It's another forum I'm a member of and they're always looking for new books
    Thanks - not been to the Tavern before. I intend to join.

    The website I mentioned earlier (Lulu) does all that for you. They put it as an ebook on Amazon and other sites (I forget which ones) and you can have printed copies made - but they only print what they get orders for so you're not left with a bunch of books you can't sell. It's designed for self-publishing and there are no upfront costs - you only pay them when people start buying your book. It looks like a pretty good deal to me.
    Your link to Lulu didn't load for me when I tried it the first time, so I just moved on. Now I've got there, and I should have tried again the first time - I am going to be busy for a few days finding my way around Lulu, but I am cautiously optimistic that you will see an epub version of Sorrel as well as the Print on Demand one. Thank you!


    Okay, now I really want to read it!
    Hah! I must be doing something right!

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    Thanks - not been to the Tavern before. I intend to join.
    Woohoo! Fresh blood! ... I mean, new members are always welcome

    Quote Originally Posted by Lensman View Post
    Your link to Lulu didn't load for me when I tried it the first time, so I just moved on. Now I've got there, and I should have tried again the first time - I am going to be busy for a few days finding my way around Lulu, but I am cautiously optimistic that you will see an epub version of Sorrel as well as the Print on Demand one. Thank you!
    I'm going to blame the friend who sent me the link in the first place... yup... gonna do that

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    the only question is where I can sell a "generic" format novel as opposed to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, where I'm tied down. Suggestions welcomed!
    Check out Smashword and Drive Thru Fiction.


    For marketing online via blog / twitter, it's something you need to be doing constantly. But counterintuitavely not about your story! You need content to draw readers in, not just be a constant advert.

    Example: Writing in te Crosshairs is Roland Yeomas' blog, with heaps of good writing advice, links to other authors, contests and so on. He posts daily, or even more often. He also plugs his books once or twice a week, but that's not his sole content.

    Pub Rants is by an agent (Agent Kirstin) and is loaded with updates of goings on in the industry, advice on getting into the industry, getting noticed etc, and she does of course slip in mentions of the latest work by the authors she represents.

    Writer Beware is a great resource and has a number of articles about self publishing to look at.

    Those three have tons of links to other blogs and such with more info. It simply isn't enough to plonk a book online and hope it sells. To get publicity it does need to be an almost full time job.
    Princess in the streets.
    Princess in the sheets.
    Don't touch me I'm royalty.

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    Default Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?

    Quote Originally Posted by Zorg View Post
    I'd looked at Drive-Thru - hadn't come across Smashword. Thanks.

    For marketing online via blog / twitter, it's something you need to be doing constantly. But counterintuitavely not about your story! You need content to draw readers in, not just be a constant advert.
    ...
    Those three have tons of links to other blogs and such with more info. It simply isn't enough to plonk a book online and hope it sells. To get publicity it does need to be an almost full time job.
    That's the problem - finding the time to do all the publicity, hold down my real-world job, and find time to write as well!

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