Authors, This Is How You Sell More Books
Amazon is not the be-all and end-all of self-publishing
I released my first books in 2006.
At the time, bookstores and readers had to contact me to request my poetry collections. And many did. I did not have to spend money on ads or spend countless hours promoting myself on social media. My books actually sold!
Then, something happened. In the early 2010s, the pimp-like rhetoric used by Amazon made me believe that exclusivity would help my brand. So, I stopped selling my books directly (using Lulu as the printer) and went that route.
First, sales stalled. Then, they stopped completely.
For months, I wondered what I had done wrong. I read tons of articles on marketing, asked questions, chatted with fellow authors who were in a similar situation, and started cursing occasionally. To no avail.
By that time, I had grown tired of poetry and wanted to try my hand at other things. I discovered my passion for photography and got involved in social media as a coach. I released a few books (social media marketing and photography), which sold very decently. I even received an award for one of them!
My strategy had never changed: guest blogging, interviews, curation, building rapport with fellow…
