The Components of a Bestselling Book

Okay, so I have been thinking about the above question quite a bit recently. After all, in the digital age of electronic books and the explosion of self publishing, it is hard not to hope for J.K. Rowling success by some small miracle.

However, dreaming about making a massive small fortune and actually doing it are two very different things. Anyone who thinks they can slap a book together and whack it on Amazon in the space of just one month is going to be very disappointed indeed if they expect it to sell well or even sell at all. There's a lot of competition out there these days and every book has to fight its way to be noticed.

But success is possible if you're prepared to work at it.

A lot of writers' success comes from their books selling modestly. They may not write a book which has three million sales in the first week but they will write enough books to make a living if they can get several of their books to sell regularly.

I believe this method works or at least I hope it does because I am prepared to write for the rest of my life.

So ... what makes a bestselling book?

• Well firstly the story has to be something Joe Public wants to read. If you like writing far out stuff for the world's tiniest audience then don't expect a life of endless money any time soon.
• Secondly, I think it must have a decent plotline to keep you on the edge of your seat. If a book is boring and predictable then why the hell should anyone want to read it? I always like a book with a good twist.
• Thirdly, I like to be impressed with the authors use of language. That's not the same as saying I like flowery prose but I like the author's style of writing to be unique to them. Writing which is distinct and compact.
• Fourthly, I like well rounded and believable characters with clear motivations and goals.

If you're a writer who writes books with these elements I believe your books will sell. You just have to keep writing them.

So, that leads me on to this ...

Drumroll please ...

It is with great relief, joy and a whole lot of trepidation and anxiety that I announce the arrival of my third book: A Step Too Far

'Caitlin O’Connor has the perfect life. Or so she thinks. In her late twenties, she already has a fantastic career as a trauma nurse with a gorgeous, rich, successful husband to match.

But when tragedy strikes on an exotic holiday, all this changes. Caitlin’s near-death experience makes her realise that she has to move out of her comfort zone and make the most of life’s opportunities.

But when she makes plans to have more of a work/life balance, she discovers far more than she bargains for. She fears her husband is about to have an affair, and this situation is made worse by her own current catastrophic failings at work.

Now things are going from bad to worse and Caitlin’s suffering panic attacks. Will she ever be sane again and manage to get her life back on track, or has she gone a step too far?'

It is a funny, light hearted chick lit so I hope you'll check it out.

If you'd like to make my dreams come true here are the links to follow if you wish to purchase it:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1khDhcS
Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/1cbks9t
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/388669

Thank you very, very much.

Happy holidays!

What's the Difference Between Advertising and Self Promotion?

A sudden thought struck me the other day as I'm getting ready to release my chick lit novel. As it's my first fiction book, I'm already planning to do more marketing than I've done with my other books. And I'm hoping my marketing efforts will be more noticeable as chick lit appeals to a broader audience. However, this does not mean I'll be going on any grand tour of blatant self promotion as I honestly don't believe this works.

So then I thought about the general concept of marketing and what certain terms mean. When someone mentions marketing what they're really saying covers a whole lot of other areas. Marketing is just an umbrella term that sometimes does nothing but confuse people trying to suss it out.

When I first started writing seriously, I thought marketing was just another word for blatant self promotion, or spam as some people say. And as a writer I knew this method was unlikely to work and what blatant self promotion I have done seems to have little affect on sales. So instead I concentrated on writing my next book.

But then I started to think about advertising. Advertising may be more expensive and it may take longer for the results to show but I think it's more effective on long term sales than just promotion. If for example you have your book placed in many different stores it is likely to sell more copies than just having the book in one store and constantly bleating on about it.

Having your book in many different places whether it's online or in real book stores will help increase sales without much blatant self promotion. Of course, you'll have to tell people where it's available but even then I think that's different to self promotion.

If you're looking for a short boost of sales giving your book away for free or offering a two for one offer is a great promotion tactic. But if you're looking for a longer boost then researching advertising strategies may be a better plan.

What do you think - is advertising a better strategy than promotion? What has worked for you?

Does Fear Hold You Back from Publishing Your Book?

I'm anxiously awaiting to receive my manuscript back from its editing process and already I'm feeling slightly terrified.

This is a big moment in my life because when I do get it back and make the necessary alterations and corrections, I'll have my first fiction novel ready to be published.

Naturally I'm very excited about this and I've already started to plan out my fourth book in an effort to take my mind off my third book. I figure that while I'm waiting, I may as well be doing something useful. Writers never stop writing so it's onwards and upwards with book number four.

But then I start to think about all the other writers I network with. Some excitedly tell me that they're working on their first novel and I presume they can't wait to get it published. And then they tell me that they've been working on it for the past sixteen years.

Unless they're writing an entire library, I don't think any book should take this long and I wonder what's holding them back. Many, many writers have other commitments such as other jobs and family issues but they still manage to publish a book every year or two.

Then I think to myself is it fear? Fear of the unknown and people writing reviews stating they can't write. Fear of being ridiculed for publishing a book that only sells one copy per year.

Thoughts like these go through every writers' mind, whether you're J.K. Rowling or a complete novice. But what separates these writers is that the J.K. Rowling's publish their books and try not to worry too much while they get on with writing their next novel. The other writers will dither and dither and make constant rewrites and corrections, consequently never getting their book published.

You don't want to rush your book and it's crucial to make it the best it possibly can be before you release it for the world to see. But what's important is realising when that time has arrived.

If you're a writer who find themselves worrying a lot about their book and you constantly change and rewrite it, I hope this post has helped you. I have a self help book about fear and anxiety and it's got one pivotal lesson:

Action brings satisfaction. No matter what the problem or fear is, doing something about it will always make you feel better.

So take action and have the courage to publish your book before you go completely insane.

Do Writers Sell More Books if they Cross Genres?

I've been browsing many best selling authors on Amazon this week after finally finishing my third book. I've been a little high when thinking that one day I might achieve this same status.

But despite these authors writing different categories of books, they all seem to have one thing in common: they write in different genres.

If you look for information regarding how to sell books on the internet, you're more than likely to discover discussions on author brands, and how it's crucial for writers to build their brand name on their platform to entice their readers. This advice is given so your readers will begin to trust what sort of books you produce. For example, everyone on this planet knows what books Stephen King writes and on his books you'll notice he'll have his name on the top of his book rather than the title. Not only is this more eye catching as usually it's the first thing you see, but the title on the bottom of the book will almost seem insignificant. The reader knows who the author is so therefore even without glancing at the title they'll know roughly what the book is about.

But what happens when writers do decide to cross genres? Will their existing brand be ruined if they decide to hop about all over the place?

I've often worried this myself because this question is going to affect me very soon. My first two books have been about travel, adventure and excitement with a little steam thrown in there too. Most people know me as a citizen of the world because I am open about the fact that I've been around it three times.

But what will happen when my third book is released and people discover it's not related to wild backpacking stories, and that it's just another chick lit book in an overcrowded market? Can I expect my current fans to have the same enthusiasm if I dare ask them to read it?

Then I stop to think a while.

Yes, I have fans for my two current books but I'm sure these people just don't like to stick to one particular genre, do they? Okay, some might but I'll probably discover readers like myself who like to read all sorts of different books. I like to read non fiction, biographies and memoirs. Books by Belle de Jour and real life stories of serial killers. That's the crime reader in me. I also like to read light hearted chick lit and comedy books by Sibel Hodge. Her Amazon author page is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sibel-Hodge/e/B003H0Q4EQ/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

So then I wonder do these writers sell more books overall because they've branched out and attempted to reach a different audience?

A lot of successful writers will tell you more books will equal more sales because every book has the potential to find more readers. I blogged about this topic last week: http://lkwattsconfessions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/has-marketing-lost-its-effect.html

You might be wondering why a photo of Terry Fox is on my blog. I posted this picture in an effort to inspire fellow writers. Terry was an athlete of great tenacity. He had determination and great courage. Terry died in his early twenties from cancer after nearly running the entire width of Canada on a false leg. Although he was ill he was determined to achieve his goal. He had qualities shared with successful writers. He didn't give up but continued his marathon, however much of a struggle it was.


So what do you think? Do writers brave enough to venture into a different genre sell more books overall? Please share your experiences with us.

Has Marketing Lost its Effect?

I've been in the self publishing industry a good couple of years now and one concept that's always baffled me is the issue of marketing.

When I published my first book, marketing it was all I could think about and I consequently felt overwhelmed by the contradicting plethora of advice on the internet. I spent months and months and months reading so much information and when I put it to practise none of it seemed to work.

So then I changed my tactic. Instead of spending my time doing all these marketing efforts with no real results, I started to follow writers like J.A. Konrath and Bob Mayer who have been in this industry for decades to see what advice they could give.

And they said one pivotal thing: no matter what you write and who you write for, the best marketing technique is to write another book.

When I read that advice it felt like a huge cloud had been lifted. Finally something I could do and I know I could do well and that is to write my next book. It sounded so simple.

Now four years on I have just finished my third book and for the last several years, I've always promised to put my writing first over any aspect of marketing. I really do believe that Amazon and other retailers have so much control over how our books sell than we'd like to think. I spend time in the Kindleboards writers' forum to hear other authors mention the direct impact Amazon's algorithms have had on their sales. No matter how much marketing they do sales seemed to be stuck at a certain number.

So many writers spend so much time trying different marketing techniques trying to keep up with these pesky algorithms. But not many of these writers can measure the effects of their marketing efforts with much success. Even writers like J.A. Konrath say that when they spend time promoting sales results often aren't instant. It can take weeks if not months for promotion to have any effect and I think that this is what makes it so difficult to have an accurate measure for these results.

One thing I'm not knocking is paid advertising. However, I still have to try that but I've spoken to many writers who have said that this method has had spectacular results for them. Maybe because it's paid - I don't know. But one thing I do know is this. Self publishing has become so popular these days anyone can put their rubbish out there and it takes a lot for any book to become visible.

Does the Internet Give People a False Sense of Reality?

I've often thought about this question so today I've decided to blog about it.

The internet has been around for a while now providing some fantastic opportunities. People can do almost anything at the click of a button, from booking flights to the other side of the world to arranging to meet complete strangers.

People can make a fortune via this amazing technology and it is through the internet that I hope to make a worthwhile career for myself by producing high quality ebooks.

But even though the internet is responsible for many wonderful things, it also has a much darker side. I am not going to go into the evils of terrorism acts or child pornography, but I happened to stumble upon a message in my inbox yesterday which made me feel uneasy.

I am an author of two published books and I've just finished my third. I hope to sell these books and I realise I have to do a fair bit of networking to achieve this. Therefore I accept I have to utilise the internet and social media to connect with people. But I would now like to state that any networking I do is only for professional reasons. I am a member of numerous writing and travel groups all over the internet and it's here that I've made some fabulous friends who admire my work.

But I've also had the unfortunate of experience of being targeted by certain people who send me messages thinking that they know me and my entire life story just because they've happened to see one single photo of me. This particular person reckons they know my personality inside out just because of the way I look in this photo and they've requested some very personal information about me.

Not only am I shocked and horrified to read this message, I'm also outraged that this person felt like they had the right to send me this email.

Now maybe I could understand it more if I was a member of an online dating agency, and I had numerous profiles stating that I'd like to be contacted by different men who are looking for a relationship but there is nothing at all in any profile of me stating this to be the case.

I average at about one message per year of this sort of content and I was only chatting to a good friend of mine in one of my writer's groups the other day about this topic. (Hi, Ian, this is not you I am referring to here ;) ) He kindly suggested that I should maybe change my photo so more of my face is visible. And after this other message, I think I just might!

So in this case I think the internet can be blamed for giving people a false sense of reality. Either that or it provides people with a certain mindset the perfect opportunity to contact other unsuspecting people.

Now it's time for you to share your opinions with me on this matter. What do you think and have you had any personal experience of this matter yourself?

How to Write a Brilliant Blurb

Last week I blogged about that dreaded second draft of my manuscript I have to do and this week I can happily say I'm really stuck into it. Once I made a list of the components I would like to alter it was easy to go through my book and make the necessary changes. I have already read through the manuscript twice to make amends to obvious errors, so I already have a list of the more subtle parts to change.

Now I'm nearing the end of my second draft I realise I have the blurb to address. Almost every writer will say the blurb is in the top three points of whether or not your book will be successful, along with the book cover and how the book is actually written. So I know I can't mess this vital part up and I vow to write the blurb with military precision.

I also know I have to let the manuscript rest once I am certain I am finished with it. Then after a suitable time has passed I will read it several times again just to make sure I am happy with it and then I'll start to write the blurb.

So, how am I going to do this?

Blurbs are known for being short and snappy so I think the best thing to do is write a whole page detailing every description in my book.

Sound ludicrous?

Yes, it is a bit but let me explain.

Once I have written everything there is to know about my book I can go back to the description and edit it like mad. I will condense like I have never condensed before. I might aim for about 1,000 words initially but then I will seek out the most compelling part of the description and focus on that - keeping in mind that I want to hook my reader in and not give the plot away.

Too many books, especially in the genre of chick lit, ask a question in the blurb and then proceed to answer it. Personally, I don't want to write a blurb like this because I know the reader inside of me will only want to read a book to find out what happens. So why would I read a book like this if I already know what's going to happen? That's the issue I have to keep in mind because I know a lot of other people who are like this and I don't want to make that mistake for my book. I want to give enough information about the book without giving too much away and that is the hardest job to do.

So tell me - how do you write blurbs?