Things I've Learned in August

Since August is almost over, bringing the summer to a close, I've made a list of "things I learned this month." Nothing earth-shattering, but each helped me in some manner.

1.An author can create as many tags as she/he wants on her/his own Amazon books. Sure, your friends will help you out by adding tags, but since I ask too much from mine already, I just do it myself.

I ran a little experiment using my 99cent VTP Western Historical "Angel and the Cowboy." Using Novel Rank, I had sold about 5 copies and it had been up a couple of months. The usual tags were added--Western Historical Romance, Romance, etc. I added: Bargain Books, Short Christmas Stories, 99 cent books, 99 cent Bargain Books, Bargain Western Historicals. In a few days, the numbers had jumped--not a lot--but to about 30. It keeps selling, slowly, but one or two each week.

2. Going the self-pubbed route does not insure instant success, but it might be worth a try. This conclusion is based on reading many comments in answer to this very question: Why does publishing your own book seem to result in selling more copies? In the first place, it doesn't always happen, and in my opinion--based on others' comments--most authors do not enjoy this success. Probably, the process of selling your books still depends on the tried and true--name recognition, amount and kind of promotion, the genre, and the author's own persistence in searching for a unique way to sell. Writing a great story that gets high marks doesn't hurt, either.

We generally believe the erotic genre sells the most. While I, too, believe that, I can also point to a highly successful author who self-publishes her "sweet western historicals." But...she was a business person, well-known, and most likely enjoyed a built-in audience. For most of us, that doesn't hold true. I have no other name recognition out there other than my books published traditionally by small presses.

Other than erotic novels, a self-published series also seems to be a good tool. If an author puts out one book, it will gain a certain amount of attention based on general principles. But if the author can say--after "Blah-Blah," watch for the next in the series coming next month--"Etc.-Etc." This conclusion comes from others saying so.

3. To avoid or lessen the chances of your e-mail contacts getting hacked, here are two things you might do. Remember, it's not "if you get hacked," "it's when you get hacked."


First, change your password frequently. That's how the hacker steals your addresses. He has found your password. The older your password becomes, the more likely a hacker will locate it somewhere. How frequent? One advised every 90 days. That sounds pretty drastic, but I'd say at least twice a year. We should have "password buddies," someone to remind us "it's time to change your password!" You know, like mammogram buddies.


Two--I read this on a discussion. Make up two email addresses:


Name: AAAAAAA AAAAA
Address: AAAAAAA@(your server here, such as Yahoo.com)
-and-
Name: ZZZZZZZ ZZZZZ
Address: ZZZZZZZ@(same as above)

Theoretically, the hacker must go to the first contact on your list. Some go in through the last contact on your list. Since this is an invalid address, the hacker will receive a message "Mail not Deliverable."


Does this make sense? I followed this advice--I'll let you know...the next time I get hacked.

Here's to September--may it be a better month than August!


Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com/
http://www.celiayeary.com/
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/