Q: Any advice you would like to give to new authors?
A: There are at least four common mistakes I see new authors make.
Choose a title for the book that works for the genre. I often come across titles that sounds like hard science fiction but they’re an epic fantasy book or titles that sound like a crime thriller but they’re a contemporary romance. Ideally, if a stranger hears just the title of your book, they should know exactly what genre/subgenre it falls into.
Hire a professional designer to create your cover and make sure it’s congruent to the book’s genre. A lot of self-published authors try to make their own cover to save money, but it really ends up costing them in the end. And you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars for a cover. Many designers sell pre-made covers for $50-$150 that they can tweak to work with your book.
Write a compelling blurb/summary. The ability to write a novel is different than the ability to write sales copy. And that’s exactly what is going on the back of the book and on the Amazon listing: sales copy. Craft your “pitch” to the reader in a way that gets them curious enough to open the book and start reading. The biggest blunders I see are being boring and overly explaining the plot. Write several versions and test them as ads on Facebook to see which generate the most clicks or run them by an author’s group or a reader group to get feedback. Also, hire an editor to look it over. I come across a couple books a month with grammar or spelling errors in their blurb. That doesn’t give the reader confidence.
Build your list, stay in touch with your readers, and nurture those relationships. Likewise, build a list of authors who write for the same types of readers and stay in touch with them. When they publish their next book, let your list know. Even if you have 90% crossover on your lists, getting a recommendation from multiple people all at the same time to check out a new book will inspire many of those readers to give it a go.
Q: Tell us about your program, "Voracious Readers Only."
A: Voracious Readers Only is a service that connects readers and authors. On the reader’s end, they are introduced to authors they might not have come across otherwise and can get a free copy of one of the author’s novels. From the author’s perspective, they’re able to build awareness for their work, grow an audience of fans, and earn reviews. It’s a win-win for everyone. Voracious Readers Only was founded in late 2017, and we’ve created over 275,000 reader-author connections since then.
Q: How can readers and authors get in touch with Voracious Readers Only?
Readers: www.voraciousreadersonly.com
Authors: www.voraciousreadersonly.com/authors
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