Books are not selling

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   thirdmilleniumposted 13 years ago

   I have four books on Amazon kindle. My purported agent goaded me into writing them and promised sale within a day or two. It is two weeks now and no dice. Did he do wrong or did I?

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      couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Amazon is supposedly 'the' biggest platform for ebooks because they are so intensively analytical and market driven unlike the Big 5 who are more retailer relationship driven.  The way I understand it, Amazon ranks books in part by number of reviews and by audience/consumer need. 
      
      I'm just learning this stuff myself but here's a link I got through Joanna Penn's The Creative Penn.   It talks about how to get Amazon to rank your book.
      http://www.savvyselfpublishing.com/onli … your-books

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         Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         This leads to some really interesting stuff if you poke around after reading the article and follow where things lead. Great link.

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         Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Excellent reference. Thank you! (Interesting discussion here, too).

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2. 59

   ikechiawazieposted 13 years ago

   I think you should give him till one month and then approach him. To anwser your question; yes he was wrong because he promised the sales of your book within a specified time and did not meet up. However even though, he did not do his homework properly, i think you should also try and market your books to your audience or try and ask friends to assist you.

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3. 61

   LookingForWaldenposted 13 years ago

   There is a whole marketing strategy for ebooks.
   
   What genre are the books?

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      thirdmilleniumposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hi
      Tks
      One book is about LOVE
      one about SEO
      one about pets
      The last is about Provocative Christian thoughts

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4. 64

   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   Um, if you had a real agent they would be placing your manuscripts with publishers--not having you self-publish them.  I would suggest checking whether they are a real agent at all: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/for … y.php?f=22

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      Nick Bposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely right,
      
      Most traditional publishers will not touch a piece if it's been self-published. Amazon offer over seventy percent royalties on e-Books, a figure the traditional publishers cannot come anywhere near.
      
      Having said that, they can promote your book in areas you cannot reach, allowing potential sales to come from a much wider demographic.
      
      Just publishing on Amazon does not guarantee sales, you will have to promote it or them.
      
      Having self-published however, you will not have to pay a percentage to that charlatan of an agent!

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   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   As well as promotion you need the title, cover, blurb and excerpt to be polished and appealing to a well-defined readership.

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6. 69

   SylviaSkyposted 13 years ago

   Nick B is right. Promotion today is entirely the author's responsibility. When you have actual books it is easier to consign them, take them to personal appearances, sell them at book fairs. When you have only ebooks your promotions will be mostly online. You must work at promotion every day. Google "book promotion" or "ebook promotion" and start doing what the authors say.
   
   Check out agents' reputations at a site called "Preditors and Editors," http://pred-ed.com/peala.htm

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7. 60

   infiniteeposted 13 years ago

   Ditto, Sylvia.. as a published Author, marketing is strictly on our shoulders. Who has the greatest interest in making you money - YOU!  Also, eBooks (not great money makers - were designed to sell at low-cost) - Oops, on your part.

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      couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Is it true that the Big 5 expect you to do a very large part of the marketing yourself unless you're already a blockbuster writer with a name?

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         infiniteeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I hate to tell you this, but yes! Believe it or not, when the internet reared itself paperback lost bookshelf I was told. Unless you are already FAMOUS and have carved out a space for your name and work, newcomers stand little chance of getting published. I bought a marketing package worth $250 or so with me book and what they did with respect to marketing me with a "Press Release", I could have done and I saw nothing from it.

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      psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree, in many genres ebooks sell well and have higher profit margins.  I make more of e- than print on several of my book titles that are available in both forms. Also nothing stops the author from making a print version of a self-published book if they wish.
      
      The thing about promotion is that a good publisher brand is promotion in itself.  Sales is something like  = promotion x distribution + cover appeal - price (representative not a literal formula).
      
      An unknown has a higher cold customer resistance-to-buying threshold to overcome, so they generally need to promote more.   But it can be done.

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         infiniteeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with you on all points from a print perspective....I haven't had much experience with the ebooks

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            psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a first option, but for something like romance, erotica or self-help it works pretty well.

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