Why Your Book Page is UN-Selling Your Book

In Jan 2012 I worked with a couple authors who were having a hard time selling their books, and I helped one of them hit Amazon's Top-100 in the paid store, and the other came very close. Since that time, I have helped other authors evaluate the basic elements of their Amazon book page that are actually "UN-selling" their book.

Believe it or not, many new and not so new authors are scratching their heads, wondering why their book, as well written as it is, is not selling. They look at their monthly KDP reports, and their Amazon ranking and wonder what's going on. If that is you, the problem could be that you are on the inside looking in, and are not seeing the big picture. The following is an example of such an author.

Hayley Doyle came to me for help, and I found several issues right away. She gave me permission to share the following "book evaluation" so that others can learn. Put in context, Hayley had a literary agent, but a deal was never struck with a publisher, so she went ahead and self-published. Since that time she has sold very few copies. This is the only book that she has published on Amazon, although she has another she could publish. So... she's a first time author, with one book published. This is pretty common among indies, so I'm guessing there are some out there that will read this and apply the following analysis to their own page. I wrote this book page analysis about a week ago, and we talked today about a few steps she can take to begin "fixing" some of these issues. As you read this, I hope it helps you.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

Hayley, After studying your book I have found several items that may contribute to poor sales. Some are obvious to me, but there may be other issues under the radar that we will have to discuss. WARNING: I'm very honest, which is what you paid for. 

Here are my findings, starting from the top of your Amazon book page.

Title: The Day She Met Shirley Temple

Author: Hayley Doyle

Price: $7.99

Current Ranking: 845,460 in the Amazon Kindle Store

Print Ranking: 3,668,349

You do not have an author page set up. The author page is the first thing I look for because it's right at the top of your book page. You do not have one, and you should. Creating an author page is easy via Amazon Author Central. From AAC you can edit your book's description and add your author bio, pics, video, and social media links. Why is this important? Because with only one title listed on Amazon, readers have no idea why you are a credible choice or who you are, and have no way to follow you if they want to. The reader/writer relationship is more intimate today. They want to know about you, and want to follow you if they like your work. 

You only have 1 "Like". This is a sign of popularity. Amazon readers do participate in this. Seeing only 1 like may actually be a turn off. You need to recruit friends and family to like your page as much as buying the book (I "Liked" your page btw). How does this help? Amazon factors a lot of elements from your book page into your ranking and internal Amazon promotion. The more likes, the more Amazon recognizes your book as a valuable/likable product. That goes for the the other social media buttons. Use them regularly. Tweet your book page. Facebook share your book page. Pinterest your book page. Every time you do this, Amazon registers another tick up in your book's popularity. Do these things impact your Amazon logarithm as much as a sale? No. But they help... especially if they come from different IP addresses (yeah, Amazon keeps track of that so no sense in using 10 different accounts from the same computer). 

You only have 1 review. Reviews build trust. Too many bad reviews and sales will completely die. Lots of good reviews, and you have a far greater chance of selling. KDP Select is a great way to get more reviews. The only other option is to work your tail off, searching for the right reviewers and soliciting reviews from them, just like you have done with The Kindle Book Review--Great job! For additional info on getting reviews See my article on building a blog tour. After being published for nearly a year, having only one review on Amazon is a big red flag to me.

Price: $7.99 is way too high for a first time, self-published eBook--unless you are already famous or fresh off a reality tv show, or if you won an award as prestigious as The Bram Stoker Award. In addition, with the author's name as the publisher (your name), as listed in your book details, there is no hiding the fact that you are self-published. You don't have to, but it's not like a reader will know that your book is vetted by someone like Thomas Mercer, or Penguin and trust that the $7.99 is worth the cash. The length is right for the price But only IF you were traditionally published by a reputable publisher. I recommend selling no higher than $2.99 and maybe even 99¢ until you boost your ranking (where you will actually be seen). As a newer author, it is more important for you to grow your audience. So make the book affordable and include a link for readers to join an email list, or your facebook page. Put audience growth over profits, for now.

I have a unique philosophy on pricing. Read this article for my thoughts. No sense in re-writing this. In a nut shell, if you want to grow a reader fan base, don't over price your books. You may make $5.00 for every sale, but is it worth it when the cost is losing 100 readers for every five bucks? I'm all about gaining readers. That's my plan. Money comes with more titles, not an over priced rookie effort. There are those that will say, you are worth more, and that you shouldn't sell out to penny sales. Let them think that. I make $2,000 a month from 99¢ books, and that number grows with each new book I write. Eventually my stock price as an author will go up to match the size of my audience and I'll make much more then. New corporations start as penny stocks for a reason.

Cover: The Shirley Temple cover looks cute and all, but without the actual title and author name on the cover, I don't think the attempt at rectangular originality is going to work for you... yet another strike against you as a newbie... not in my eyes, but in the eyes of the reader. Look at the best selling books in your genre. They don't look like yours. Yours looks similar to the other non-fiction titles shown on your page. But your is not non-fiction?

Here's a book that one of your buyers purchased. It is not a historical fiction, and it is not selling all that much either.

Search results: When I do an Amazon search with the key words "Shirley Temple" the top three books are ranked as follows: 142,000+, and then 422,000+, 661,000+, and then your, which  is fourth, which is good, but you can see that you are being pigeonholed into a niche category (with no sales). The 142,000 book is probably only selling a few copies a month (5-10) and that's in first place.

This tells me that if your book is a historical fiction, you need to lose the Shirley Temple stigma. It looks too much like a ST non-fiction title. There is no audience for this topic/theme. Here is the list of the top-100 historical fiction kindle books. This is where your cover needs to be if you want to sell in this genre. I suggest updating the ebook cover, maybe to match your print, although the print version still looks a little sub par because the image has low image quality and is blurred. (no offense, just comparing to the top 100).

Tags: I usually comment on "Tags" but I haven't seen them lately. Amazon may have stopped that. Tags were a way readers can help categorize books buy typing/adding key words that they thought were relevant to the content of the book. So nothing to say about that.

Category: I don't know what 2 subject categories you chose when you published. These are critical in helping readers find your content/subject. Let me know what those are when we talk.

Key Word Selection: When you published via KDP select you were given the option to chose up to 7 key words. Go to your KDP account and find out what you typed in this section. Then, along with your two categories you chose, type those words (individually) into the Amazon search bar, and jot down a note about the top one or two book covers, and make a note of their ranking. If after doing this with those 9 words, ask yourself if you are satisfied with the rankings of these books and if they look like the kind of titles that fit where you want to be... which is in the top 100 Historical Fiction category.

Not in KDP Select: I absolutely think this is necessary for newer authors... especially those with only one or two books... that means you. Read the attached article to see why I think that. I'm just now moving out of KDP (with reservations) but I have 7 working titles and one more to be released (although my first is pretty much a bomb... but that's how I learned). 

Formatting: I see formatting issues on the first page in the "Look Inside" edition. This may also be a turn off for readers.

Okay, that's enough to take in I'm sure. Try not to be discouraged. This is a tough business and not all writers are fully prepared to be publishers just because they wrote a book. There's a lot to learn now, and after you think you have everything down (pub, marketing, design, and hot genre) it all changes and you have to learn something new. That's just the way this business works. Ultimately, you have to keep writing more books. Books sell books. I'll leave you with this article:Common Lies Self-Published Authors Believe. Read this as well before we talk. And on behalf of the publishing industry as a whole, I apologize that this is so overwhelming and ultimately frustrating. But in order to be successful, writing/publishing must be a labor of love. 

Now, let me know if seeing this book page evaluation helps you! 

If you think you could benefit from this type of evaluation or some of my other author services, check out my gigs on fiverr.com

How to Give Your Book Cover a Better First Impression

Have you ever met someone for the first time who was so unimpressive that you walked away thinking, Wow, that was their best foot forward? I have. You’d think people would care about first impressions, especially when it counts. Well, I have news for you; your book cover is your first impression, and it really, really counts. Your book cover is a reader’s first impression of your work and will represent the quality of the interior, whether you like it or not. Unfortunately, most readers will choose to read your book based on how attractive or striking your cover looks.

Is that superficial? I don’t think so.

It’s my opinion that if an author spends little time or energy on their cover, they have likely spent too little time in other areas of the book as well, including plotting and editing. Is that always the case? No, it is not. I have seen several books come through The Kindle Book Review that have drab book covers or scream “Self-pubbed.” But then after investigating, I’ve discovered that the authors have received many great reviews. Unfortunately, the vast majority of books with poorly designed covers are not selling well. I can think of one in particular that not only has a poor book cover but is also priced at $4.99. This book has over forty excellent reviews, but guess how many books the author is selling? Not many. At the time of this writing, the book is ranked in the three-hundred-thousand range in the Kindle Store.

What a shame. I really think the author could sell more books if the cover and price were fixed.

I really hope your book is doing better than that. Your book cover will help sales or prevent them. Make it great, or pay someone to do it for you. Otherwise, you’re telling readers that your story is just as lousy as your cover, even if that isn’t the case.

Sometimes I’ll suggest to an author that they might have better luck selling their book if they invested in a professional cover. Unfortunately, the replies have been they would if they had the money or the cover has an emotional attachment or special meaning. Whatever. I published my books to sell them, not to watch them collect dust.

Here are a few suggestions that can help you improve your book cover(s) and improve your first impression:

• Keep it simple. Do not overdo it. Look at the best-selling indie book Hunter by Robert Bidinotto. This design is so simple it’s mind-boggling. There are three colors: a black-and-white image and gold font. Robert’s cover is simple and clean. Other examples of effective book covers are The List by J. A. Konrath, Run by Blake Crouch, and The Walk by Lee Goldberg. All three of these covers are simple and title-focused. There are no long subtitles, and the titles themselves are kept at a minimum of one or two words. Keep it simple, like the pros.

• Use complementary colors. The best color matches are those that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. Equally strong colors, like dark red and dark blue, tend to create a vibrating sensation with your eyes, making it difficult or unpleasant to look at. Stick with contrasting colors like white on black, white on red, yellow on blue, etc. Unless you’re a pro designer, I DO NOT recommend using the same colors in your font as in the background. Believe it or not, I’ve seen green fonts on top of trees in the cover art. Talk about amateur. Listen, if you’re not creative with covers, do whatever it takes to get a GREAT cover. Trade your editing skills or web-design skills with a cover artist or writer. Good covers sell.

• Use larger or bolder fonts that will show up in a tiny thumbnail. Not all covers need to have the look of a thriller, but you have to design your book cover according to how it’s going to look on other book pages. Unless you’re drawing readers to your book page via a direct link through your marketing efforts, you will probably sell more books by grabbing a reader’s attention from another book page. How? Do you remember the “Customers who bought this book, also bought …” section? Those books are only ¾” x ½” on my computer screen. That’s a small cover! This is why the thumbnail is a true litmus test for your cover. Shrink it down to about one inch and decide if you still like what you see. The covers I mentioned earlier all look great as thumbnails.

• Tell the truth. If your book is a drama, do not mislead your readers by creating a cover that makes it appear to be an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller.

• Brand yourself. Do not make the title or your name small. The time for humility is past. You are a published author. You need to put your name out there and make it big. Hiding your identity by writing your name in a small font and placing it in an obscure corner will not garnish the attention you need as an author. No room for modesty here. You are not selling the title of your book; you are selling yourself. Be proud of what you’ve done.

• Create a layout and design that fits your genre and try to be consistent with the titles you publish in the future.

Here are a few of my latest cover designs ~>

The point of cover design is to draw a reader to the pages inside. It’s not about personal attachment. It’s not even about whether you like your cover or not. Cover art is about selling books.

A good ebook design is about convincing a reader to take the next step: clicking on your cover, which will lead them to your book page. If a reader clicks on your cover, they’ll give you a few more seconds to pitch your story. You won’t have much time to convince them to buy it, but at least your book cover got them there.

This post is an excerpt from my book, THE INDIE AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE. If you want more information on how you can sell more books, GET THIS BOOK!

Jeff Bennington is the best-selling author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance, and The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. 

 

Why No One Is Buying Your Book and What To Do About it.

Have you stared at your book ranking and sales data and wondered why no one is reading your work? 

Are you disappointed that your story hasn’t caught fire or hit USA Today’s front page? If you answered yes, I want to share a secret with you. I want to tell you something, and it might hurt your feelings. I don’t mean to be cruel, but I have to be honest.

No one has ever heard of you.

Readers do not know you exist.

That can change, but for now, you have to know the truth. You have to face the stark reality that you’re not famous, you don’t have a cult following, and you’re not a New York Times bestseller—yet.

One of the biggest obstacles for indie and small-press authors to overcome is finding readers. You may have a great book cover and your prose may be razor sharp, but let’s face it, you are one in a million. Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year, and as a new author, it’s not likely that readers will search your name or your book’s title.

Sigh.

Depressing, isn’t it? Well, it can be if you’re subject to resignation. But if you are the type of person who sees an obstacle as an opportunity, you may have what it takes to climb out of the literary abyss and into the public arena.

The problem with publishing is that unless you have a platform or a method to reach out to readers, you are like a grain of sand on the beach. People will walk on you all day long but never know you’re under their feet. If you publish on Amazon, your book is thrown into the ocean of e-books and will splash around until readers start buying. When they purchase your book, it’ll stay close to shore, where other readers can see it. But if you don’t plan for a beach party upon publication, your book will drift off to sea, and eventually end up in the South Pacific, stranded on a lifeless island. If your ebook is ranked in the 300,000+ zone, this is you.

If you publish on Barnes & Noble’s PubIt!, iTunes, or Smashwords, it’s even harder to get noticed, because the sheer weight of new books will push you deeper into the water.

So what can you do? What does it take to lift your book above the crowd and get the notoriety you deserve?

Good question. When I have the secret formula, I’ll bottle it and sell it to you for a thousand dollars per ounce. Until then, it helps to know that you are not being flat out rejected by the world, but you are, rather, unseen. Understand that, and embrace it. Knowledge goes a long way when you are problem-solving. Don’t take it personally. Accept your reality and work to improve your position in the crowd.

Of course there could be a few details like cover design, price, blurb, and editing that need fixed. But I'm talking about those today.

You need to figure out how you’re going to be an author that readers recognize. You have to build a platform. You have to brand yourself. You have to go into the big world, put on a pair of stilts, and start shouting “Hey, everyone, look over here! I write suspense novels with jaw-dropping twists. Anyone interested?” When you do that, someone will turn around and say yes. If you wrote a good book, they might recommend it to someone else. They could also write a review and encourage others to buy it. But don’t stop there. You have to keep walking clumsily through the crowd, hand-selling your work to readers, bloggers, and reviewers everywhere.

If you’re no good with stilts, try the trapeze. If that doesn’t work, hop on a unicycle or put on a clown suit. You may not get it right the first time around, but with a little trial and error, you’ll discover what works and what doesn’t. Just remember, what works for me may not work for you. I’m a lion tamer, and that’s somewhat daunting to the vast majority, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Besides, you could lose your head.

Getting noticed, especially when you only have one book published, can be a slow process, more so if you are not actively building your platform. The truth is, there is no quick answer to growing an audience. Building an author brand and platform takes time, maybe months, maybe years, and it takes multiple books and creativity.

Amazon’s KDP Select program is one tool that can boost an unknown author’s visibility tremendously. However, until your book appears on other book pages and gets serious traction, it will float away from shore until it manages to hit another spike via your marketing efforts or an unknown cause.

If you look at the top right-hand side of my blog, you’ll notice that I've almost hit five hundred followers. I’m excited about that because several months ago I didn’t think I’d reach one hundred. Five hundred looks like a lot, but there are other blogs with a whole lot more subscribers than I have. There is always a bigger duck in the pond.

Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Take an honest assessment of where you are and chart a realistic course that will keep the wind to your back, blowing you toward shore, where the readers are. You might hit a sandbar on occasion, but that’s okay; authors wearing clown suits and splashing around in the ocean are likely to get a little attention.

This Post is an excerpt from my way cool book, The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. Read my latest review where an author claims I helped boost his failing book to #16 in the free store.

Jeff Bennington is the best-selling author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance, and The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. 

 

Is There Such a Thing as a Best Day to Promote Your Ebooks

I've been fortunate to meet some really cool people in the ebook industry in the last year or so. Many have been extremely generous, helpful, motivating, and all around kind. One of those folks is Anthony Wessel from digitalbooktoday.com 

Anthony spent several years working in the book industry, overseeing multiple book stores. Part of his job was to study sales trends. He's been an invaluable resource and friend. Today I'm going to serve up some information he shared with me in a phone conversation, and in a comment on my previous post. 

A question we often hear is, "When is the best time to promote?" The easy answer is ALWAYS. The sarcastic answer is, "When you feel like it." But in Anthony's experience, there are basic sales trends that can indicate peak selling days and seasons. The most obvious time to expect a greater return on your marketing efforts is Christmas. But is that the only holiday to consider? No way. There is a year full of opportunity for indie authors.

Look at your Calender. Watch for every holiday. Have you noticed how every few weeks your local grocery and retail stores switch from one holiday to the next? Well, as marketers, authors should take these peak "promotional days" into consideration. It's worked for retail, so it should work for book sales, right? The way Anthony puts it is, there is always a promotion gong on. And isn't the the concept behind KDP Select; offering a "free" promotion, or "price leader" on a regular basis.

So how do you target your promotions? In my opinion, you have a window of oportunity that varies with each holiday.

Personally, I think there's a lag time for ebook sales; "lag" being the day(s) following a holiday. This lag, I believe is the time period between the actual holiday and the days and week that follow when new Kindle owners begin playing with their gadgets and actually start buying books. I saw this after my first KDP free day on Dec 24th. My sales increased on Christmas Day and continued to rise for the next few days, not slowing down after the first of the year.

For a rundown of the holidays that remain in 2012, look at the list below. Mark your calender and plan your promotions accordingly. You should also consider how your book is unique to the holiday. For example, if you write books that take place in Mexico, you might throw some extra promotion the first week of May in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Olay!

April:

April 15 ~ Tax Day

April 22 ~ Earth Day

May:

May 5    ~ Cinco de Mayo

May 13  ~ Mother's Day

May 28  ~ Memorial Day

June:

June 14 ~ Flag Day

June 17 ~ Father's Day

July:

Independence Day

August:

Back to School Deals

September:

Sept. 3   ~ Labor Day

Sept. 11 ~ Patriot Day

October:

Oct. 8   ~ Columbus Day

Oct. 31 ~ Halloween

November:

Nov. 6   ~ Election Day

Nov. 11 ~ Veteran's Day

Nov. 22 ~ Thanksgiving

December:

Dec. 24 ~ Christmas Eve

Dec 25  ~ Christmas

Dec. 31 ~ New Year's Eve

Jan. 1    ~ New Year's Day

Obviously there are other holidays between January and April. Planning ahead for these events takes some serious forethought because many promotional sites like The Kindle Book Review, KindleNationDaily.com, digitalbooktoday.com, WorldLiteraryCafe.com fill up a month in advance so you can't promote effectively if you wait until the last minute.

Hopefully, looking at the big picture might help you navigate your marketing plan. What's that? You do have a plan right? Anyway, Happy promoting. And welcome to the new world of today's author, where we do it all, writing, selling, accounting, analyzing, and marketing.

Speaking of promotion, if you'd like to enter your book in The Kindle Book Review's Best Indie Books of 2012 Contest, go here ~> CONTEST. We are awarding cash, promotion packages, and giving away a Kindle Fire loaded with tons of the best Indie Books! Everyone wins; authors and readers.

Jeff Bennington is the best-selling author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance, and The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe.

What's Next For Indie Authors… After KDP Select?

Okay, I'll say it… it's the big elephant in the room, anyway. Authors everywhere are wondering what's coming after KDP Select. Word is there are over 100,000 authors enrolled in Amazon's hottest marketing platform, and more are coming everyday. So what happens when the program is saturated beyond it's current level?

I know you're worried. I hear authors every day talking about the delays in their "free day" and less than stellar sales compared to one or two months ago. The Amazon brainchild is a great idea and can work wonders for indie and newly published authors with little to no platform, but what happens when it is no longer effective? What happens when there are 150,000 or 200,000 or 300,000 authors fighting for a successful free promotion?

To answer that question I've come up with a few predictions.

Prediction #1:
Obviously Amazon has plans to expand on their promotions because when you schedule your "Free Book" promotion they ask you want kind of promotion. Well, there is only one at the present time. This tells me they've planned for additional promotions in the future. As a book promoter I know there are hundreds of ways to spin a new promotion. And with Amazon's resources, the sky is the limit. I believe they can offer a wide assortment of "promotions" like a free public announcement in their daily news letter, or a feature in a "HOT Prime reads" email blast. Basically Amazon has the power to promote anyone they want and if they want to promote you, if you have good reviews and a nice cover, you can become a bestseller, on the house.

Here's what I mean. Amazon's algorithms include lots of great stuff that everyone wishes they understood. Mathematically, it probably looks something like this only far more complicated:

a123*n^2 +200*n+a5 is in O(n^2) where n = your book(s) and a = Amazon's promo of choice. 


Now just add water and you can either come out smelling like a dew dampened rose or a pair of sweaty socks. It all depends on what Amazon plugs into the formula. So I think Amazon will add promotions that continue the carrot-dangling effect we are all feeling now.

Prediction #2:
I think Amazon can create multiple levels of promotions. For example, if you're enrolled now, as I am, we could all be in "Phase One". When they reach a calculated saturation point, say 150,000 lab rats, they can move us into "Phase Two" and hold any new comers in phase one for a select amount of time. Phase two could very well be an entirely different set of promotions, or free days with additional options to choose from. I do not think more free days would be advantageous as I am less excited to use my free days compared to how I felt two months ago.

Amazon could effectively create "Genre Promotions" or "Rating Promotions" or reward authors with "Loyalty Promotions". Anything is possible with these turkeys; they're brilliant. They are way ahead of the curve. They are water, wind, fire, and ground breakers.

Prediction #3:
Enough authors will leave the program when it becomes saturated, leaving a more vibrant and robust community of authors who will once again thrive in the Select program. If this happens, you better believe Amazon will reward those peeps.

So if you're concerned with how you're going to market your books when KDP Select is no longer "da chit", fear not. In my opinion, Amazon is NOT going to tuck their tale and limp home to their dog house. They're here for the long haul, and they intend to be profitable, and yes, on the willing backs of authors like you and me.

I'm good with that. Amazon's quadroupled my royalties in the last three months, so they're my new best friend.

Unlike Barnes & Noble, Amazon is made up of forward thinkers and Ace MBA's. I've put my faith in a few significant things like God, the food I put in my body, and the people I love. But I would almost, at the risk of sounding sacrilegious, put my faith in Amazon's shrewdness.

The question is not what or how they're going to adapt, but when the new program will take place. Scott Nicholson and I both predicted that the Select program could have a six-month life span. But I think this program is pulling a Benjamin Button on us because it's growing weaker by the day. Therefore, I'm guessing that Amazon will roll out another program of some kind by mid to late summer. I also think there's a chance that Amazon is just waiting to release the next monster as soon as Smashwords or B&N attempt a counter attack. The result, in my opinion, will continue to benefit indie authors and readers everywhere.

If all of this confuses you, I'd invite you read The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. This book is the 101, 201, and 301 of indie authorship courses. I filled it with stuff like this and more from cover to cover. Don't believe me, just read the reviews.

Finally, if you're looking for a new promotional opportunity, I highly recommend that you register for THE BEST INDIE BOOKS of 2012 at The Kindle Book Review, my sister site. This contest is designed to help promote quality indie authors. Even if you don't win, you will walk away with a nice title that'll look nice on any book page. Click here to learn more info.

Jeff Bennington is the best-selling author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance, and The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe.

When Do Writers NEED Readers?

Question: When do writers need readers?

Are you laughing yet? I don't mean laughing like I said something funny, but laughing as in what kind of idiot would ask such a stupid question? The answer is obvious… ALWAYS.

Okay, so that was a silly question. But what I really want to know is, if the answer is so simple, why is it so hard for writers to find what they need the most? Why is it so complicated to get the masses to read our work? The answer to that question is simple; usually because no one knows who we are. If you don't believe me you should read the chapter "Why No One is Buying Your Book" in The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe. I hear the author knows his sh**.

Anyway, I've come up with a great way for all of you self-pubbed…. eh hem… I mean Indie Authors (with caps) to get noticed. And so far it's working. My new method is bringing in one new reader for every new author. That doesn't sound like much, but in the context of my method it is absolutely brilliant.

I love that word ~> Brilliant. Brilliant sounds so distinguished; especially when it rolls off the tongue of one of my UK pals. Anyway, I digress. Squirrel!

So what's the new method? What's the new marketing wiz kid come up with this time? Well, I'd tell you but I'd have to kill your neighbor. Why your neighbor? Because you'd be a suspect, and not me. And then you'd go to prison, because I'd fix it so all the evidence would point to you because I didn't really want to kill your neighbor in the first place. I just want to keep my marketing secrets private, not go to jail. Geesh.

Actually, I'm not like that. Actually, I'd only write about killing your neighbor, but I'd still tell you everything. LOL!

Okay, all jokes aside, I want you to know what I've come up with and why it's working. So now that I have your attention, I'm going to be serious for as long as I can stand.

The Marketing Blitz that I've constructed isn't new, but I'm using it in a new way. The tool is the writing contest I've initiated at The Kindle Book Review…. The Best Indie Books of 2012.

Here are a few ways this contest is going to help you sell your books:

• I've made it easy to be recognized. The contest is designed to weed out any books that miss the mark ~ poor editing, poor writing and story telling, etc. But it is also designed to recognize all of the books that make it through our initial screeners. Those who clear the screeners are entered as a "Semi-Finalist". So you can see how this can benefit you; your book gets screened, given a quality stamp, and you do not have to win. You can use the "Kindle Book Review's Best Books of 2012 Semi-finalist" title on your book page, giving you instant credibility. And in truth, if you make it past the screeners, you have accomplished a level of professionalism that your audience is looking for because our reviewers are avid readers and quite discerning.

•  We are Giving away Books. Freebies always grab reader's attention. Currently, we've received as many "reader submissions" to win the kindle and join our mailing list as we have author submissions. This is an excellent trend! This tells me that these folks are interested in indie books and viewing the books advertised on our site. Some have commented already that they are eager to find new authors. And that's what we all want. Isn't it?

• Most writing contests are strictly aimed at authors. This contest is aimed at both writers and readers. So not only can you follow the contest to see who advances, but so can readers. If you don't think our new mailing list followers aren't interested in who the best indie authors are, you are sadly mistaken. Kindle and Nook readers love buying books that are well written, and at indie authors prices (99¢-$4.99). And why shouldn't they when they can get equal pleasure from a quality indie author who sells for less.

• If you win, or at least make it to the finals, you will have some serious leverage working in your favor. Think of the glory. Think of the tweets! I can see it now... "Your Book Title ~ Winner of The Best Indie Books of 2012 - Your Genre!" Can you see the crowds swarming to your Amazon page? Okay. Slap, slap, slap. Wake up! It doesn't work like that, stupid. However, accolades and awards do help sell books.

So if I haven't convinced you yet, listen to this. We have made it easy to submit. We have made the process very simple. You'll need a Kindle formatted book. But if you don't have one, we've even provided a link to a site that can format your .doc file for free. We really tried to make this as simple and painless as possible. Never mind the fact that you could win a hundred bucks AND free advertising! We're also giving away a Kindle Fire, loaded with some of the best indie books out there. 

I truly hope you take advantage of this cross-promotional opportunity.

One more thing. PLEASE OH PLEASE, help us promote this contest with tweets, blog posts, facebook "likes" and shares. This contest is as "grassroots" as it can be and it will, in the end, help promote all indie and small press authors. So on behalf of all your fellow brothers and sisters in the indie author movement, and those registered in the contest, we thank you.

Jeff Bennington is the best-selling author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance, and The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe.