Who among us wouldnt like those thousands and millions of sales and some promising advances?
We also know that brandong of that scale costs a lot of money. Yes, it does.
What I shall share+
+today is not a secret to become an overnight bestseller but the stuff needed to make a life as an author.
Whats needed to make an impact on readers from a fundamental perspective?
1. A great cover (assuming you have already written a nice book).
A book cover must convey+
+the genre and set expectations. It is a visual shout out to the genre readers.
It needs to say, "you cant call your self a reader of this genre if you havent read me."
It should stick out of its peer group on Amazon, compel a store guy to display the book right at the front+
2. Next comes the synopsis.
It is a compelling description of the protagonist's objective and her journey against the antagonist with a hook that is going to make the reader open the book.
When you have a cover and description right, you can be sure that the lower section of+
+the market funnel loves yoyr book.
Many authors get it right and also spend money getting the covers right. And it is worth it.
But we often hit a ceiling beyond the friend-family-ocassional genre reader segment.
Here's where the subject of marketing bifurcates into two++
1. Author branding and 2. New Book launch marketing.
We shall deal with 1 today. New book launch warrants a thread of its own
For author branding, the first and foremost thing to have is (please dont hate me) a backlist. That is more books under your name ++
++ More books because here is how the perception works
One book - Ahh struggling author and yet another wannabe
4 books - Wow! She does know her subject well!
Another reason to write more books is to satiate your own readers. Genre readers are generally hungry. They tend to+
+stick out for those authors who give them a lot of stories/content.
Reason 3: When a sizeable reader base of yours read 2-3 of your books, Amazon's algos kickin and push your books to those with similar profiles like your regular readers.
Now comes the reader magnet+
I first heard of the term reader magnet in @Nick_Stephenson 's "Your first 1000 readers"
He prescribes that authors publish one book and price it at zero to attract more genre readers (and broke bibiliophiles who would buy your other books when you give them this gift).++
++A reader magnet also helps the algos to kick in.
Next comes the Author platform. A space where a random Google search on your name will land at and have all information about you that you want the world to know.
Ideally, it is a full fledged website. But if you are a fresh author with a book out there, working on your second, start with a blog and slowly build content over time.
Explore off beat engagements and direct sales opportunities if tech allows you++
We have now summarised++
1. Backlist 2. Reader Magnet and 3. Author platform
There is a 4th - Newsletter. Needs a thread on its own. Will come to it the next week.
Thank you and if you liked the thread, please Retweet and share it with other author friends who may benefit.
Also check out a few books+
Attempting a thread on the Hindu fasting on Ekadashi.
I did see a couple of interactions over this topic.
Confession : I am only a couple of Ekadashis old in the fasting zone. Never fasted much before.
So I connect to the skeptic's doubts here. Read on.
My knowledge of what I am going to write is taken mostly from my Guru ji's interactions and some other pravachanas.
In Srividya, the fifteen tithis of a fortnight have fifteen tithi nitya devis, each presiding over a tithi.
On Ekadashi, the Devi is Neela pataaka - नीलापताका
नीलापताका or the one with a blue banner. A banner signifies victory. And blue signifies the endless space. Devi नीलापताका helps us fight the impossible.
Ekadashi, the tithi that comes after the first ten days also symbolises the ten Indriyas (5 sense organs and 5 limbs)+
Whether one is a supporter of Varna vyavastha or a critic, the reading and understanding of Varna system has to be done along with Ashrama and Purushartha.
Without those two, the comprehension of Varna system is dangerously half baked.
Sharing the bits I know about Author Income that eventually becomes a point of discussion in writer circles.
How much do authors earn?
When can I grow enough to become a Rowling or a Stephen King or an Amish?
Coming to Basics+
Traditionally published newbie authors start at around 8% royalty. That is, sale of a book priced Rs. 300 at full price fetches the author Rs. 24
If your monthly sustenance budget is say Rs. 50,000, you need to sell 2084 copies that month (and at full price) ++
Needless to say, selling that many copies needs a marketing investment where the returns are way too iffy. So,
*One book out there cannot sustain an author.*
Even in Self published cases where the royalty is supposedly 70% (Amazon KDP), the competitive pricing and lack of+
Karna, though 'abandoned', enjoyed the love of his foster household.
The Pandavas lost their father and were in a hostile household where they did not know how and when the next murder attempt will be made on them.
It is natural for Kunti to feel more protective for Pandavas.
On the day of Snatakotsava,
Karna was given full permission to display his skills and was cheered by the public too
He was only questioned when he sought a duel with Arjuna and also declared that he could kill him. That is when he was made the king of Anga by Duryodhana.
Those who decry Goddess worship in the name of crimes against women....
Their real objective is for the worship to stop and crimes to continue.
Otherwise they would take the opportunity to promote Goddess worship in order yo discourage crime. #Navaratri
Remember, India is the only place and Hinduism is the only civilisation that has Devi worship.
It is considered satanical by some misogynist religions. The so called progressives stand with religious misogyny today and are trying to guilt this very population+
+who took to streets after the horrific Norbhaya incident.
They are the same tribe that asks for mercy petition for rapists.
They are those who celebrate Mahishasura as some leader and call our Durga a prostitute.
They celebrate crime in this country. They celebrate peril.
Yesterday, soul sister @DimpleAtra had called for a solution we can come up with to battle the elitist gatekeeping in the publishing industry (Original thread by @sanjeevsanyal ). Here are my two paise +
A. What can the writers do? 1. Write that damn book.
Believe me, in the last six months or so, I encountered at least ten writers with promise who are not motivated to write because of the uncertainty w.r.t publishing.
Any thing can be done only if you have a workable draft.
Worst case (not necessarily, but that is a different topic), you can publish on platforms like Amazon KDP. In my case, the turning around started with KDP.
But WRITE. And WRITE MORE
2. Embrace Technology - Study how social media works and work on building your platform+