There is no greater goal for an aspiring writer than having their book published, seeing it in libraries and bookstores, receiving amazing reviews on Amazon, and smashing the bestseller lists. However, publishing a book is only an author’s first step.
Many ambitious authors believe that publishing their work would propel it to the top of the bestseller lists. Unfortunately, this is not the case. To properly publish a book, you must be well-versed in modern publishing trends and procedures. If you don’t have this knowledge, you can always engage an online book publishing service to take care of everything for you.
Still, for your convenience, I have compiled a list of rules that can help aspiring authors in reaching the right audience, increase sales, and, most likely, land a spot on the bestseller lists:
Failure Isn’t Anything To Be Afraid Of
Every day, thousands of books are published throughout the world, but only a small percentage of them break even and even fewer become bestsellers. Don’t consider your book a failure if it doesn’t appear on the list. Take it as a chance to improve your preparation for your next book. Recognize that no book will become a bestseller overnight. Making a book a success takes a lot of effort from a lot of individuals.
So, put in a lot of effort for your next book. Take a creative writing class, study novels by well-known authors, concentrate on character development and subplots, and experiment with different climax situations.
Get Ready For Constructive Criticism
Not every reader will give your book a 5-star rating once it is published. Readers’ preferences differ. On Goodreads, The Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has almost 70,000 1-star reviews. So, be open to criticism, but don’t get too worked up about it. Realize that the critique isn’t directed at you; it’s about your book. Please don’t attempt to persuade others to alter their minds; respect their beliefs but don’t get worked up over them.
Socialize With Your Target Audience
This is an essential rule to remember.
- Be out in the open, whether physically or virtually
- As much as possible, interact with your readers
- Develop an excellent personal author website
- Build a social presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms as soon as your manuscript is ready
- Visit your local libraries and bookstores to interact with readers
- Participate in online QA sessions
- Develop your mailing list,
- Contact reputable book review bloggers and blog tours and prepare marketing and publicity material to be sent out after the book is published
- Speak with other authors, share your work with them, and gain criticism from them.
The input of successful writers on your book cover or blurb might be a game-changer. Moreover, you can also take help from online book publishing services to spread the word about your book as they have a professional marketing team who can promote your book better.
Hire A Professional Designer
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. A fantastic story isn’t always enough to make a book a success. Unfortunately, the attention span of today’s generation is incredibly short. According to studies, it takes an average of only 6 seconds for an internet consumer to assess whether or not a product is attractive. The title and cover of your book must be fantastic and catchy in order to arouse interest in it within 6 seconds.
So, whether you employ a freelancer or an online book publishing service to create your book’s cover, make sure you choose a creative designer. You can certainly come up with a terrific title as a writer, but attempt to come up with at least three. Share the three titles with your friends and family to see how they respond, then pick the best one.
Write Consistently
Don’t wait for the next wave of inspiration to write anything after your book is out and you’ve enjoyed its popularity. Now is the time to write, tomorrow is the time to write, and every day is a good day to write. So, it doesn’t have to be about your next book. It might be a blog piece for an online publication, or a short novel. A media house column, an opinion, or anything else that comes to mind. Writing regularly is the greatest method to keep your abilities sharp and your creative juices flowing.
Conclusion
So, in this blog, I have consolidated some significant tips to help aspiring authors live up to their dreams. I realize this isn’t an all-encompassing roadmap to fame, and it’s certainly not the only way to make your book a success, but build a strategy based on the above criteria, stick to it, and you will be well ahead of the pack.