Things I'm learning from the world of online publishing

It's been about a week since I finished rewriting my first novel and uploaded it to Amazon Kindle. I naively hoped it might be as simple as uploading the novel and waiting for thousands of downloads. Of course I was wrong and it's going to take time and effort before people start to discover my book!

Here are a few things I'm learning about my online publishing experience that I hope to use to grow my profile over the coming weeks.

A cover and description is vital

A cover image is so important these days. We're not talking about simply a book cover, rather it's an identity for my work. The first cover I created was just a photo and it wasn't good enough. I've just commissioned a designer to create my current cover. It's got to look good on the cover or no one will believe it's any good on the inside. Similarly I'm learning there's an art to creating a good description which will capture people's attention. To learn this, I'm reading as many descriptions as possible and trying to take the best bits.

Downloads and reviews

My book hit the top five in the Amazon rankings for free political books.

Once the book's uploaded it needs to be read. Kindle's 5-day free promotion is a useful way to encourage downloads. The more downloads you receive during this free period, the higher the book goes in the rankings and more likelihood that others see it and buy it later on. Social proof, in the form of reviews, is also vital. I know it's going to be a challenge to get reviews for the book; so I'm trying to encourage reviews at every opportunity. If people get to the end of my novel I put a message about leaving a review and follow up info, such as a link to my website.

Find people who love books

Friends and family are great but the success of the book will come through finding people who love to read. I've tried promoting my book through an ebook email list and it received quite a few downloads. I've also promoted through Facebook. I guess this is the hardest part when I need to define what my author "brand" is and how to connect with people who love my stories.

Write more books!

The crucial difference I can tell between online and traditional publishing is that online self-published authors need to heavily engage with promotion. A lot of time seems to be spent in building a profile and spreading the word about books. Of course, the main thing is to also keep on writing! This is the enjoyable part and, with that in mind, I better get on with my next story!

The Ballad of Bono and Maggie is currently available online, free to read for Kindle Unlimited members - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VJ39ILE

The Ballad of Bono and Maggie

It's been a while since my last post and since I published my first novel. At the time I wrote the book, the UK General Election was looming. I was keen to get something out in time for the election and it really helped to motivate me to complete the novel. I learned a lot promoting my book and got some good feedback. However, I quickly realised it wasn't quite the finished book I wanted to share. I removed it and started to work on revisions.

So what's changed?
1. The characters. While I really liked my character Zoe, I felt Adam wasn't fully formed. I made him slightly tougher, more indifferent and, crucially, less of a shy musical talent and instead one who was desperately searching for inspiration and approval.

2. Editing. I tightened up the story, reducing it by several thousand words and getting advice on being more economical with the language. It now reads much more smoothly.

3. Name and cover: The original name for the novel was a generic catch-all for the General Election, but it wasn't very inspiring. Instead, I came up with a name that reflects the two main characters. Zoe is referred to by others as the next Margaret Thatcher (or perhaps Theresa May!) and what better musician than Bono to use for the character, Adam, who wants to change the world through his music. Therefore, 'The Ballad of Bono and Maggie'. And I got a cover designer to create an eye-catching design far beyond anything I could do.

The book is now live on Amazon and I'm about to run a free book promotion. It would be great to have your feedback!