By Staci Stallings
© 2013
Spirit Light Publishing
The Indie Author’s Ultimate Guide series
Quit panicking and start learning!
Staci Stallings had to learn marketing basics the hard way,
and wants to help others get from Point A (publication-whoo-hoo!) to Point B
(being read—the real goal of an author) with the least amount of stumbling in
the dark.
How can you not love a gift like that?
This short 70-page e-book will become a baby author’s new
BFF in short order. Set up like a workshop of fifteen-minute lessons, Keys promises only to teach an author,
not automatic over-night success. In fact, Stallings warns several times that
learning to market is a process, and a slow one at that. Building trust takes
time and effort, but it can be done. I love Staci’s goal: not only should I
become a better marketer, I will be able to turn around and share the strategy
with others.
The pre-advice alone is valuable: Besides, put out a Great
book and Get a great cover, Get some good reviews right away. I made the mistake
of not doing this when I attempted my first-ever electronic short story: Get
those reviews set up early, because you’re going to get blasted by people who
have way too much time on their hands and vitriol in their veins. They will lie
in their reviews and be as nasty as possible. Having a load of honestly good
ones ready to go will help sales.
Stallings shares not only great easy tips, but examples of
how to do this in each section, from creating an online presence, how to act
online, building a great landing page, and keeping the momentum going. Each
segment of pithy advice is concise and powerful. Each lesson has a goal, from think
(about the covered concept; e.g., how to reel in your readers) to examine
(the covered topic; e.g., the strengths and weaknesses of your current strategy
to reach your audience), to put some effort into getting reviews. Stallings includes a list of review sites,
and shows you how to use them to the optimum effect.
Even a little paid advertising can be useful. Realize that
being an author means learning about a lot of things you might never have
considered “writing,” such as working with technology. If you’re not much of a
grammarian, you hire an editor; if you’re not a tekkie, hire someone who is.
Some advice I can live with:
Don’t talk about yourself
Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint
Don’t try to do it along
Finally, Stallings advises the reader not to sit around,
whining in fear, but to take a step in the direction of your dreams.
Packed with illustrations and easy to follow examples, the
lessons in Keys to Creating a Successful Book Marketing Strategy are sure
to meet your needs somewhere, sometime. Keep this book handy; you’ll refer to
it often.
A matching book, How to Prepare, Launch, and Run aSuccessful KDPSelect Free-Day Campaign, will prove helpful to the Indie
author’s arsenal.
