BOOK PUBLISHING

SUCCESS STRATEGIES

2014

©image: FishHouse | Guz Architects

DISCOVER CURRENT SUCCESS STRATEGIES FOR MAJOR BOOK PUBLISHING PLATFORMS SUCH AS:

WATTPAD

About Wattpad:

Wattpad is the world‘s largest community of writers and readers.

http://www.wattpad.com

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> How Wattpad gained my self-published novel 500,000 reads

http://goo.gl/9dco1D (July 2013)

-> Wattpad Sensation After goes Hollywood http://goo.gl/grBYg5 |

http://goo.gl/ic6cPs (April 2014)

How to succeed on Wattpad:

-> How To – Beginner‘s Guide http://goo.gl/qL2SP3

-> 6 Wattpad Tips for Starters http://goo.gl/NbU4AK

AMAZON

About Amazon:

Amazon is the world‘s biggest book retailer. Authors can list and sell books,

create author profiles and promote their books comprehensively.

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Rebecca Donovan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx-0GRR8Mng

-> Vanessa Bosso http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kynyvb2x9Sg

How to succeed on Amazon:

-> How to sell books on Amazon – Free Webinar http://goo.gl/AGTA1L

-> The Author Tip Sheet for Amazon http://goo.gl/TPMxsp

-> Using Amazon Keywords Effectively http://goo.gl/IlORpf

AMAZON KINDLE FOCUS - KDP

About Amazon KDP:

Amazon KDP allows writers to publish their ebooks independently on the

Amazon Kindle Store. Roughly 85% of all ebook sales are through Amazon.

https://kdp.amazon.com

Current Success Stories & Field Reports:

-> 4800 eBook Downloads in 48 Hours http://goo.gl/Tnmm4j (OCT 2013)

-> The Truth about Amazon KDP Select http://goo.gl/vqEsFr (JAN 2013)

How to succeed with Amazon Ebooks:

-> How to promote your ebook with KDP Select http://goo.gl/O6SbKw

-> How to launch a book on Amazon KDP http://goo.gl/BZUYBz

-> Why Amazon Kindle Singles are the future http://goo.gl/cq1Ptc

BOOKBUB ADVERTISING

About Bookbub:

Bookub alerts readers about great deals on bestselling ebooks. With

Bookbub Advertising you can reach tons of readers cost-effectively.

www.bookbub.com/partners

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Success Story http://goo.gl/WtEOs2 (JUL 2013)

-> Success Story – Field Report http://goo.gl/ARvs3e (DEC 2013)

How to succeed with Bookbub Advertising:

-> How to & field report http://goo.gl/7qz2It (APR 2013)

-> Howe to & field report http://goo.gl/62xc1n (MAR 2013)

GOODREADS

About Goodreads:

Goodreads is one of the largest social networks for book lovers (owned by

Amazon). www.goodreads.com | http://www.goodreads.com/author/program |

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Use Goodreads Giveaways http://goo.gl/w64Sw7 (OCT 2013)

-> Success Story http://goo.gl/7LaEjC (DEC 2012)

How to succeed on Goodreads:

-> The Ultimate Goodreads Guide http://goo.gl/rcNujn (May 2013)

-> Goodreads How To Guides http://goo.gl/dV2AS0 (JUN2013)

-> Use Goodreads Giveaways http://goo.gl/w64Sw7 (OCT 2013)

-> Goodreads Author Tips http://goo.gl/ljtHnw (JUN 2013)

SMASHWORDS

About Smashwords:

Smashwords is an ebook self-publishing platform with more than 250,000

titles available. www.smashwords.com

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Smashwords Pre-Order Success Story: http://goo.gl/H4oOF3 (Feb 2014)

How to succeed on Smashwords:

-> Secrets to Self-Publishing Success on Smashwords by Mark Coker –

Founder of Smashwords http://goo.gl/P7tZNW | http://goo.gl/nxtrzD (13)

-> Use Pre-Orders as a Success Strategy http://goo.gl/RwkFiV (Mar 2014)

-> Read Mark Coker‘s Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success

http://goo.gl/OMXUFK (Last Update: 2014)

APPLE – IBOOKS STORE

About the Apple iBooks Store:

The iBooks Store is Apple‘s bookstore that features over 2 million books.

www.apple.com/ibooks - www.apple.com/ibooks-author

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Self-Published Author Takes Two Spots in iBookstore Top 10

http://goo.gl/0EixHt (Aug 13)

-> Apple iBooks promotes GJ Walker Smith http://goo.gl/r2Vy0L (Oct 13)

How to succeed on the Apple IBooks Store:

-> How to sell on Apple iBooks Store – Blog Post: http://goo.gl/UCbTpz (Nov

2012)| Interview: http://goo.gl/eHwtO4 (Oct 2013)

-> How to merchandise on the iBooks Store http://goo.gl/50m1pb (Nov 13)

-> Tip: Try to get the attention of the Apple iBooks Merchandising Team

KICKSTARTER

About Kickstarter:

Kickstarter is the world‘s largest crowdfunding website for all kinds of creative

projects. | www.kickstarter.com

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Linda Liukas raises $ 380,000 for children‘s book on Kickstarter.

http://goo.gl/XC2LHV (Feb 2014)

-> Scientists raise $ 98,000 for fantasy-art-style medicine book.

http://goo.gl/7LaEjC (Apr 2014)

How to succeed on Kickstarter:

-> Read Linda Liukas‘ „How-To“ guide www.goo.gl/0KrkOZ (Feb 2014)

-> Kickstarter Crowdfunding Success Secrets http://goo.gl/NBZZE3 (Jan 2014)

FACEBOOK

About Facebook:

Facebook is the world‘s largest social network with more than 1 billion

members. | www.facebook.com

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Learn from Paulo Coelho using quotes as images on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/paulocoelho

-> General remark: Going viral on Facebook has become hard -> Post great

images, videos and outstanding content to grow your audience on Facebook

How to succeed on Facebook as a writer:

-> Cindy Ratzlaffs „How-To“ guide http://goo.gl/U53Qbz (May 2011)

-> Author Strategies on Facebook: http://goo.gl/GCKDP1 (June 2014)

TWITTER

About Twitter:

Twitter is the second largest social network that allows people to share

information in 140 characters or less. | www.twitter.com

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> 10 authors who are brilliant on Twitter: http://goo.gl/u9uGxC

-> Hashtags for writers: #amwriting, #readtip, #bookgiveaway| 100 great

hashtags for writers: http://goo.gl/1CIY2e

How to succeed on Twitter as a writer:

-> Twitter „How-To“ guide for writers I http://goo.gl/0bb2Iu (July 2014)

-> Author Strategies on Facebook: http://goo.gl/GCKDP1 (June 2014)

GALLEYCAT

About Galleycat:

Galleycat features the most interesting stories from the world of book

publishing. | www.mediabistro.com/galleycat

Current Best Practices | Success Stories:

-> Have a cool book and get featured: http://goo.gl/sxkYfs (Sep 2014)

-> Have success and get featured: http://goo.gl/L0Kyoc (July 2014)

-> Create great supporting content: http://goo.gl/bDM5z8 (May 2014)

How to succeed on Galleycat:

-> Submit great content, such as infographics and videos (Great content wins!)

-> Get in touch with the editiorial team and ask for feedback to improve

SCRIBANDO ALERTS 2014

Scribando alerts inform writers about

the hottest author success opportunities that are

currently available on the publishing market!

1) Submit your book to Amazon Kindle Singles

Why Kindle Singles Are Hot | Submit your Kindle Single here

2) Publish articles on Medium.com

Read more | Visit Medium.com

3) Submit your story for the Wattpad Prize

Open Scribando Alert | Submit to Wattpad

4) Reach critical mass with Bookbub Advertising

Open Scribando Alert | Visit Bookbub Advertising

5) Get featured on Amazon‘s Literary Journal

Open Scribando Alert | How to submit

6) Twitter Releases Major Design Update

Open Scribando Alert | Understand the 5 key changes

7) Facebook slashing organic reach for pages

Open Scribando Alert | Read the whole story

8) Profit from the trend towards audiobooks

Open Scribando Alert | Read a background story

9) Reach more readers on About.me

Open Scribando Alert | Visit about.me

10) Read Mark Cokers Industry Predictions 2014

Open Industry Predictions

11) Profit from the self-help book trend

Open Scribando Alert | Read the whole story

12) Smashwords publishes latest industry insights

Open Scribando Alert | Check out the survey

SCRIBANDO KNOWLEDGEBASE

The Scribando Knowledgebase provides

you with expert answers to frequently

asked author questions.

1) What are the fundamentals I need to master for book success?

Follow the Scribando Rule Number One: Master the Fundamentals before

you start to publish/to market your book. The reason for that is, that you

can have the best marketing strategies, but if your book fails, you will very

likely fail in the end. The fundamentals are:

A) Have a great book -> Story | Blurb | First Page | Cover | Author

B) Have a fantastic marketing strategy -> Product| Message| Channel

C) Have your book pre-tested successfully -> At least 100 eyeballs

Ask yourself: 1) Is my book fantastic? 2) Is my book marketing great? 3)

Would I buy/recommend/feature my book? 4) Did I successfully pre-test

my book? -> If you get 4 YES answers, you are on the right track! If NO ->

improve the missing areas until you mastered your book fundamentals.

2) What‘s book pre-testing? Where and how to do it? Why is it important?

Before you start launching your book, you should pre-test it to know that

you have your fundamentals right and that your book will very likely be a

success. When you pre-test your book (and bookmarketing) you get

feedback from the market without bearing the risk of ruining your book and

author reputation. We recommend using the following channels:

A) Friends, Readers and Experts (show your book to reader samples)

B) Leanpub (use this platform to sequentially publish your book)

C) Wattpad (use this platform to sequentially publish your book)

D) Twitter/Google Ads (use ads to test book titles and blurbs)

When you pre-test your book, you can use different titles, author personas,

target groups or release statuses (eg pre-release version) to lower your

reputation risk. Publish your final draft not until, people love your book.

After you have pre-tested your book/bookmarketing successfully, you need

to make sure that your book gets seen by enough people to get noticed/go

viral. We say that you need at least 1000 eyeballs. How to get there? We

recommend choosing from the following opportunities:

A) Invest in Bookbub Advertising – www.bookbub.com/partners

B) Shoot to Media Outlets (Question 4) -> Only if great media potential

C) Shoot to Selected Blogs (Question 5) -> Only with targeted message

D) Publish on Wattpad (Find out more on SlideXY)

E) Publish on Amazon KDP -> Invest in a promotion (More on Slide YY)

3) Where to get initial traction for your book?

4) How to stay up-to-date on what‘s happening and how to succeed?

We make it easy for you to stay up-to-date on how to succeed and what‘s

going on in the fast changing book publishing industry.

As a member you get each month:

- a monthly book world summary (featuring all major news, trends and

industry developments)

- a monthly author success letter (featuring the latest best practices and

upcoming author success opportunities)

- hot author success alerts (if something major happens -> you get an e-

mail right away)

In addition to that you can follow www.mediabistro.com/galleycat and

www.digitalbookworld.com for additional industry updates.

5) How to get into the media? Which are the most important ones?

Journalists judge stories based on the criterion of Newsworthiness

(Timing | Significance | Proximity | Prominence | Interest)

If you want journalists to write about you -> You have to come up with

something amazing, to stand out and to be of great interest to readers.

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Important book publishing media outlets:

-> www.mediabistro.com/galleycat (Submit a Tip)

-> www.publishersweekly.com (Submissions)

-> www.huffingtonpost.com/books

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Test your story: Submit to the Upworthy Team -> www.upworthy.com

6) How to get noticed by blogs? Which are the most important ones?

Getting featured by high-profile book bloggers can be highly important in

terms of getting credibility, sales and traffic. Self-publishing stars like

Amanda Hocking have been very successful using blogging strategies. The

„newsworthines-criterion“ counts for most bloggers as well, however who gets

featured differs from blog to blog. Important factors are audience, genre,

blogger, approach, timing and book quality. Contact bloggers personally and

individually and have a great story already prepared for them.

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Find more than 100 high-profile book blogs on these lists:

-> http://goo.gl/p8reb (Goodreads Blogger Award Winners)

-> http://goo.gl/0hd735 (Cision Top 50 Book Blogs)

-> http://www.blogmetrics.org/books (Top 50 Book Blogs Blogmetrics)

7) How to improve your author reputation? -> Why important?

People judge you as an author mostly according to your social reputation:

Social Proof (How many likes?, How many sales?,How many good reviews?,

etc.…). The following steps help you to improve your author reputation:

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Step 1) -> Get 1,000+ Followers/Fans on a social network of your choice

and show the „Count“ on your Webpage as a sign of Credibility.

(How to within 24 hours? -> Contact us)

Step 2) -> Write three great blog posts and start guest blogging in your niche

and websites such as Medium.com or Huffingtonpost Books.

Step 3) -> Become an Amazon Bestselling Author and include this sign of

crediblity consistently in your marketing (How to? -> Read Question 15)

8) How to improve your book reputation? -> Why important?

-> Become an Amazon Bestselling Author: (How to -> Question 15)

-> Win Awards and Prices (Scribando Monitoring informs you)

-> Get Featured by the press and high-profile bloggers

-> Get a certain amount of fans, reviews, recommendations

-> Get a celebrity feedback/recommendation

-> Get published by a high-profile publisher

-> Increase your author reputation

People judge books largely based on their popularity (Social Proof =

Credibility) [ Social Proof (How many likes?, How many sales?,How many

good reviews?, etc.…). The following steps help you to improve your book

reputation in order to increase sales, reviews, media clippings, etc.

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9) What are the fundamental rules in book marketing 2014?

- >The Book is the Star (Master the Fundamentals)

-> Think Audience First | Sales later (Use Free andViral Marketing Concepts)

-> Lean (Book) Publishing is the Way to Go (www.leanbookpublishing.com)

-> Become an Amazon Bestselling Author: Amazon Deals | Bookbub Ads

-> Improve your author reputation (See Question 7)

-> Improve your book reputation (See Question 8)

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-> In everything you do : Master Cialidini‘s 6 Principles of Influence

-> Become a Master in Simplicity (Drill things down to their cores)

10) Where to test the „newsworthiness“ of your book/message/products?

- >The Book is the Star (Master the Fundamentals)

-> Think Audience First | Sales later (Use Free andViral Marketing Concepts)

-> Lean (Book) Publishing is the Way to Go (www.leanbookpublishing.com)

-> Become an Amazon Bestselling Author: Amazon Deals | Bookbub Ads

-> Improve your author reputation (See Question 7)

-> Improve your book reputation (See Question 8)

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-> www.upworthy.com

-> www.reddit.com/r/books

-> www.reddit.com/r/selfpublish

-> www.stumbleupon.com

-> www.twitter.com

-> www.producthunt.co

11) What does the 1000 eyeballs rule mean? What is that exactly?

The „1000 eyeballs rule“ means that in order to give your book a fair chance

to take off in the market, you have to manage that at least 1000 people really

get in contact with your book/message. What does that mean? ->

What‘s not sufficient?

Tweeting to 10000 Twitter Followers is not enough, as maybe only 25 people

will really read your message. Getting 10000 impressions via Google Ads is

not sufficient too.

What‘s sufficient?

Getting 1,000 clicks for an ad campaign, Getting 1,000 people to click an e-

mail, Getting 1,000 page visits, Talking to 1,000 readers in person

12) Where to immediately get advice/feedback from other authors?

Register an account at Google+ or Facebook and join one of the following

groups. On average you should get advice/feedback within 24 hours.

On Google +:

-> http://goo.gl/TNgg8 (APE - Guy Kawasaki‘s Group -open)

-> http://goo.gl/HXc6s (Digital Publishing Group - open)

-> http://goo.gl/PrhaN (Writer‘s Discussion Group – open)

On Facebook:

-> www.facebook.com/groups/smashwordsauthor (Indie - open)

-> www.facebook.com/groups/publishingtalk (Industry - open)

13) What are good marketplaces for hiring book publishing professionals?

Hire good book publishing professionals via these services:

Specialised Marketplaces

-> Writer.ly (www.writer.ly)

-> Bibliocrunch (www.bibliocrunch.com)

General Marketplaces

-> Fiverr (www.fiverr.com)

-> Elance (www.elance.com)

14) Where to get good booktrailers / bookcovers / editing / websites ?

The following services have fair price/value ratios:

Booktrailers:

Animoto.com , GoAnimate.com , Powtoon.com , Wideo.co (Create a trailer

with a one-month account on all services)

Bookcovers:

Nessgraphica.com , Thebookcoverdesigner.com

Editing

Scribendi.com, FirstEditing.com

Websites

Wordpress.org , Wixx.com , Squarespace.com

15) How to become an Amazon Bestselling Author? -> Quick Guide

The general rule is, that you can call yourself an Amazon Bestselling Author

if you reach the TOP100 in a specific category at a specific time. Here is the

quick guide on how to do it: (If you need help-> contact us)

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1) Get listed on Amazon KDP with your Future Bestselling Book (Review

Fundamentals: You need: Top Book | Top Marketing | Successful Pre-Tests)

2) Get a kick-ass Amazon Sales Page (Author Profile + Book Description +

Keywords (http://goo.gl/QD0vQk), Book Category (http://goo.gl/48BN7L )

-> Read more: http://goo.gl/01JGZ1

3) Get up to 10 great reviews from trusted readers (friends, pros, etc.)

4) Launch! Do simultaneously -> a) Book Promotion via Amazon KDP Free

Select b) Book Promotion via Bookbub Advertising c) Post to all your Target

Bloggers d) Post to all Media Outlets

16) What are currently the most important trends in book publishing?

The major book publishing industry SUCCESS trends for 2014 are:

-> Writing Serialized Novels http://goo.gl/PQ6Ef1

-> Following Lean Book Publishing Principles www.leanbookpublishing.com

-> Increased expenses in digital marketing pay off http://goo.gl/mNvfQv

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Additional Reading:

1) Mark Coker‘s Book Publishing Industry Predictions:

http://goo.gl/mW06AO

2) Shutterstock‘s Global Design Trends 2014: http://goo.gl/vK64Sk

3) Forbes Book Publishing Predictions 2014: http://goo.gl/4sYnp1

SCRIBANDO MASTER STRATEGY

If you have only time for one slide

This is the current master success

strategy on successful book publishing.

SCRIBANDO MASTER STRATEGY

1) GET YOUR BOOK FUNDAMENTALS RIGHT

Great book | Great marketing | Successful pre-tests

Note: See recommended pre-test channels (Question 2) | Write great book with great marketing (Question 1)

2) MAKE A SOFT LAUNCH

Get 10 good reviews | Get 3 great blog posts | Get positive buzz -> Note: Your book is already pre-tested – However a close group of supporters give you a high quality start -> Do the soft launch with people you trust,

so that you get good reviews, good blog posts, postive media and buzz, in order to be ready for the big launch

3) MAKE THE BIG LAUNCH (1000 eyeballs +)

Amazon Free Promotion | Shoot to Media-Blogs-Readers | Bookbub -> Note: You should have all in place once you do the big launch (All sales materials, all contact lists, great media message, good reviews, successfully

pre-tested book, credible author person, website, ….) -> If you have done the Steps 1 and 2 correctly you have a big chance for success

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IF YOU NEED HELP -> CONTACT US ANYTIME

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Albert Griesmayr is founder and CEO of Scribando, where he helps writers to stay up-to-date on how to succeed in the fast changing world of book publishing.

Scribando was participant of Go Silicon Valley 2013 and is used by more than 10,000 writers. Visit www.scribando.com and www.albertgriesmayr.com.