Descriptions for Self-Published Books

[Guest6814]

I first tried my hand at the self-publishing enterprise in late 2010/ early 2011. At the time, I didn't know what I was doing. My novel's content was OK, but the description wasn't that good, and the cover was an awful, do-it-yourself wreck with a blurry photo taken using my crummy cell phone. Anyway, a writer friend gave me some helpful feedback on the my writing (although she basically liked the plot and humor) and encouraged me to revise it. I was too proud and under-confident to take her advice.

Anyway...after failing to sell many books, I tried something completely different as a side business. After failing for a couple of years at that, I shut it down and went back to writing. I did some revisions to my book, fleshing out characters, reworking scenes, adding material, etc. I redid the cover - still DIY but with a high-resolution photo. I did some studying, too, listening to successful self-published authors' podcasts, taking how-to courses, reading books by successful indie authors. I also redid my book's description. I've written two sequels, am still studying lessons from successful authors and reading their helpful books, getting more strategic. Slowly, more interest is building in my books, and I'm working on a fourth.

Reading UNSCRIPTED (now about 2/3 of the way through the book), I was heartened by the recommendation to execute the book production exceptionally - thereby standing out in a crowded market.

I've identified a need that affects many indie authors: writing descriptions. The majority of indie authors seem to hate the writing of descriptions, even characterizing the process as harder than writing a 40,000-80,000-word novel. I'm in some Facebook groups for authors. A woman in one group complained about her abysmal sales. I took a look at her books, thought my teenage son would enjoy them, pitied her a bit, and ordered them. My son did, in fact enjoy both books. However, it was clear to me that her books' descriptions were not very compelling, and that her poor descriptions likely contributed her poor sales.

Reading UNSCRIPTED , I thought of an idea for a business: helping self-published authors with their book descriptions, either writing them for the other authors or helping them to make those descriptions more compelling. I now don't find book descriptions very hard to write, and I think I can help others.

I'm not sure if I'll be stretching myself too thin; it's just another aspect of the self-publishing enterprise where I think I can provide actual value.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nathaniel Wyckoff
(Nate Wyckoff)

 

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[Silver Silk]

I first tried my hand at the self-publishing enterprise in late 2010/ early 2011. At the time, I didn't know what I was doing. My novel's content was OK, but the description wasn't that good, and the cover was an awful, do-it-yourself wreck with a blurry photo taken using my crummy cell phone. Anyway, a writer friend gave me some helpful feedback on the my writing (although she basically liked the plot and humor) and encouraged me to revise it. I was too proud and under-confident to take her advice.

Anyway...after failing to sell many books, I tried something completely different as a side business. After failing for a couple of years at that, I shut it down and went back to writing. I did some revisions to my book, fleshing out characters, reworking scenes, adding material, etc. I redid the cover - still DIY but with a high-resolution photo. I did some studying, too, listening to successful self-published authors' podcasts, taking how-to courses, reading books by successful indie authors. I also redid my book's description. I've written two sequels, am still studying lessons from successful authors and reading their helpful books, getting more strategic. Slowly, more interest is building in my books, and I'm working on a fourth.

Reading UNSCRIPTED (now about 2/3 of the way through the book), I was heartened by the recommendation to execute the book production exceptionally - thereby standing out in a crowded market.

I've identified a need that affects many indie authors: writing descriptions. The majority of indie authors seem to hate the writing of descriptions, even characterizing the process as harder than writing a 40,000-80,000-word novel. I'm in some Facebook groups for authors. A woman in one group complained about her abysmal sales. I took a look at her books, thought my teenage son would enjoy them, pitied her a bit, and ordered them. My son did, in fact enjoy both books. However, it was clear to me that her books' descriptions were not very compelling, and that her poor descriptions likely contributed her poor sales.

Reading UNSCRIPTED , I thought of an idea for a business: helping self-published authors with their book descriptions, either writing them for the other authors or helping them to make those descriptions more compelling. I now don't find book descriptions very hard to write, and I think I can help others.

I'm not sure if I'll be stretching myself too thin; it's just another aspect of the self-publishing enterprise where I think I can provide actual value.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nathaniel Wyckoff
(Nate Wyckoff)

How many books did you self publish and did you only publish fiction. what are your overall thoughts on self publishing?

 

[Guest6814]

How many books did you self publish and did you only publish fiction. what are your overall thoughts on self publishing?

So far, I've published 3, and only fiction. They're part of a series. I'm now working on a fourth in the series. I'm currently taking a successful author's master class, and she recommends thinking BIG, like writing even 20 books. That overall approach is to increase the revenue per click (RPC) from each customer from $2 (70% on a $2.99 eBook or

 

[Guest6814]

How many books did you self publish and did you only publish fiction. what are your overall thoughts on self publishing?

So far, I've self-published 3 and am working on my fourth, only in fiction.

My overall thoughts on self publishing are that, like anything else, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. One can simply type up anything in a couple of days and throw it onto Amazon, Nook, Kobo, etc., or one can take courses and strive to perfect the craft of writing before hitting "publish." There are great courses out there by authors who have written and marketed well, and who know how to teach it.

I'm taking a successful author's master class right now. She recommends thinking BIG, like writing a series of 20 or more books, so that a single customer delivers $60-$100 in revenue (for example, 70% from a $2.99 eBook or $20-30% from a $6.99-$8.99 paperback). She also writes and teaches about producing a lot of good material quickly (read Write Better, Faster).

It's been a really slow build for me, yet I think I've found something that I can scale up. I'm also reading an author's guide on Amazon ads. He recommends experimentation, analysis of results, and patience. So far I've started his process, and plan to do more with it tomorrow morning and in the coming weeks. I've seen some minor positive feedback from my initial ads: $0.11 charged and a $6.99 paperback sold, which means I spent $0.11 and to be paid $1.83 in royalty. I want to continue the proceeds and scale it up.

In summary, it's a learning process. If you practice writing diligently, you will improve, as I have. If you study the courses and learn from the right teachers, you'll learn more about strategy. I still have a lot to learn, and am determined to continue.

 

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