Is your book available as an ebook? You should definitely produce a print-on-demand book, but so many new authors want that book deal with distribution in bookstores and don’t consider ebooks. Most indie authors make more income from ebooks. Something to think about.- Has your cover been professionally designed? That cover matters. When I’m purchasing a book, the first thing to catch my attention is the cover. Book buyers shop with their eyes.
- Has your book been professionally edited so that it reads well? Edit your books until you can’t stand them any longer, and then you should consider hiring a professional. If that’s not in your budget then try using a critique group of readers within your genre.
- Have you submitted the book to the right categories? It’s important to match reader expectations and the promise of what your book delivers with what your book is actually about. If you’re not sure what categories to use, choose a few books that yours are like and see what their categories are.
- Have you priced your book realistically? Get to know your genre and the expectations of your readers.
- Have you written, or are you writing, another book? The more books you have, the larger your virtual shelf space, and the easier it is for people to find you.
- Have you done any marketing? Marketing is sharing what you love with people who want to hear about it. Build your platform and an email list.
- Have you asked for reviews or submitted a review site?
- Have you optimized your Amazon sales page with a hook, quote from reviews, or other material?
- Are you working your butt off? Have you given it enough time?
Hope this helped. I got most of the information for this article from a free ebook written by Joanna Penn. If you haven’t checked her out, I would highly recommend her blog- joanna@thecreativepenn.com
She provides a library of useful information and many reference books at no charge.
-Jan R
Writing your first novel-Things you should know 