Ways To Increase Sales-101

Most of you know the tips in this blog as well as I do. The problem is forgetting the simple facts, ignoring them, or reverting to old habits.
Consider these tips as a Refresher Course, or add the tips to your own store of knowledge.

KILLER TITLES--this is a term I use for book titles that says it all--the story and the genre, with a little mystery thrown in. The title is catchy, not corny or silly, but words that stay in your mind. An attention-getter.

Examples:
In Cold Blood
Thin Ice
Escape From the Alamo
The Burgess Boys

SIMPLE TITLES--a wordy title might make a reader think the book is filled with long-winded narrative. Keep it short. Don't use a term or word that is unknown to the majority of readers.

Examples:
Revenge
Horizons
Hummingbird
Benediction

Examples of long titles:
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great Dust Bowl
Germ, Guns, and Steel: The Downfall of World Empires
(I actually read both these 400 page books)
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle
(I will read this one this year.)

AVOID "THE" AND "A" AS THE FIRST WORD-The title will join others clumped together in reader "buy" lists. It will not stand out.
The Stars at Night--the only title of one of my books beginning with "The."
But I don't care--I like it.

MAKE THE TITLE AND STORY FIT A SPECIFIC GENRE--A big mistake is believing readers will buy and read your book, even if it doesn't fit an exact genre.
One of my titles is Making the Turn. My first mistake was the title and the second was having the publisher place it in Women's Fiction. (One day, I will write about the sad demise of Women's Fiction.) The cover has a golf course on it, and to me the title says, "The heroine is making a life change." Yes, she is, but readers thought it was about golf, and in addition, few of us like women's fiction.
It has a love story in it, but the focus is on three generations of females. Confused? So was every person who looked at it. My faithful readers in town loved it, but they are a special group who likes anything I write. I know--I am very lucky.
I pulled this novel from the publisher months ago, and soon I will re-work the entire book and re-issue it. Maybe. I haven't decided.

CREATE THE APPROPRIATE COVER- A year or so ago, I read discussions about the demise of the ebook cover. I never understood the premise of this thought, but there were many who believed ebooks would soon only have a generic title and author's name. That's it. I didn't believe it at all, and in fact, the opposite is true. Ebook covers are more important than ever. Why? Most readers are visual people, and want to get a glimpse into the plot of the story. They want color and a theme, and whether it includes people or not is a personal choice.
***Book cover is the Number 1 reader draw for those of us who are not famous.***
Think about it--readers scan an entire page of several covers on-line, either Amazon, BandN, or Sony. The cover that's appealing and stands out may be the one the reader chooses.

A few guidelines are:
Make the cover simple. If it's crowded and fussy, it will not draw attention in "thumbnail" size.
Use big letters for the title and author. Make sure they stand out.
Create similar titles for a series:
Angel and the Cowboy
Addie and the Gunslinger
Charlotte and the Tenderfoot
Kat and the U.S. Marshal
These 99 Cent Dime Novels have been my biggest sellers overall over a period of six years. Yea!

WRITE A SHORT DESCRIPTION--This is only second to a good cover in reader draw. A long description will only turn them away. We have very short attention spans. One short paragraph will do.

MARKET "HOT SPOT" PRICING-Best selling ebooks on Amazon are priced at:
$2.99 for a 30,000-50,000 word ebook
$0.99 for a book under 25,000 words
$1.59 on Amazon instead of the $1.99 on Smashwords.

PROMOTE WITH A PLAN--Blogs, all Social Media, and Yahoo groups: Don't waste your time on any of these that don't apply to you and your book. If you write Western Historical and also Contemporary Romance, then use your precious time among these people. Even if you don't see visible participation, many readers "lurk." Don't overlook this fact. If you aren't getting much participation on a blog, please remember that some do read and pay attention, but choose not to comment.

If you can see Page Views on your blog or on a blog on which you are a guest, you might be astounded by the number of lurkers. For example: On our group blog Sweethearts of the West, our guests have two days for their post. Each guest receives an average of about ten comments. But when I check Page Views for the two days, I'll find numbers in the hundreds. Day One--maybe 500; Day Two--maybe 350. And we get Page Views from an average of 8 countries.

I hope you found something useful in this post.
Have you, as an, author, changed the title or the cover of a re-issued book? Why?
What is your greatest hang-up when you see a cover and/or title?

Thank you. 

  

UNORTHODOX HEROES AND HEROINES

Romance novels tend to have a formula for the plot, as well as a prototype for the hero and heroine. There's nothing wrong with this plan, because those who read and love romance expect certain aspects in the novel.

A problem might arise, though, if all our heroines are gorgeous and have flowing lovely hair, and all our heroes are six feet tall with jet black hair and blue eyes. Still, if these attributes fit the character, that's well and good.

To be honest, though, the most memorable romances I have read have something in common: an unorthodox hero or heroine. It wouldn't do, though, to make both different from the norm.
Where's the conflict in that?




Author Pamela Morsi is a master at writing romance with characters that don't fit the mold.
Simple Jess--I read this long ago, but I still remember the characters. The heroine, Althea Winsloe, is a young widow with a young son and a farm with the finest corn bottom on the mountain. Knowing she must marry, she chooses Simple Jess, and very big young man who happens to be a little slow, but is strong, handsome, and friendly. However, he learns quickly what love and sex are, and makes a fine husband.
Ms. Morsi's romance novels almost always showcase characters that do not fit the norm.

Author LaVyrle Spencer, as you may know, is my favorite romance author of all time. Most of her characters do conform to the standards--at least to some degree--but some of her books have unorthodox characters.
And Then Came Heaven--In this novel, the hero is Eddie Olczak, a young husband and father of two beautiful little girls. His wife, Krystyna, dies in a tragic accident, leaving Eddie mourning and forlorn with a broken heart. Sister Regina teaches the children in the church school, and she has already learned to love them--which is against the rules. She also cares for Eddie, for she has always felt a special affinity for him, his wife, and daughters. She becomes concerned about the church's strict rules while worrying about the family. She and Eddie continually cross paths, and one day, both frightened and thrilled, they discover they have feelings for each other.
This is one of Ms. Spencer's novels I have read several times, and I experience the same deep emotion for these characters every time.

The Great Escape; Natural Born Charmer; and First Lady--Susan Elizabeth Phillips has no rival in the super fun/super sexy novels with quirky characters: An ex-President's daughter and a menacing-looking guy on a motorcycle; a Chicago Stars quarterback and a young woman who is wearing a beaver suit when he picks her up on the road; Female President of the United States runs away, is picked up by a stranger driving a beat-up RV, and travels incognito across the country with him.

Phantom Waltz--Catherine Anderson has written more than one novel about an unorthodox heroine, mainly those with physical or mental handicaps: a paraplegic heroine, a young woman who is blind regains her sight after most of her life, and a young woman with severe traumatic disorder.


None of my own novels feature unorthodox or unusual heroines, but I would like to write one--maybe. I think, though, I'm still stuck in the orthodox, the normal, the familiar.

Have you read a novel with a heroine or hero who differs from the norm? I'm certain this description has varying degrees, depending on our own perspective.

What do you think, either about your own novels or another author's novels?

Sneak Peek Sunday-TRUCK STOP PARADISE

TRUCK STOP PARADISE-a Texas Contemporary Novel

Chad stood very still near the counter and stared at Leigh as she laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. Rubbing her hands down her face, she hiccupped and sobbed. Now she was crying instead of laughing hysterically. He had no idea what to do. What had Crissy said? Obviously, she was talking about him, probably called him a name, and now Leigh had gone off the deep end.

He moved away from the counter. "Leigh…"

 

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet and began swiping at her eyes. "Don’t touch me, Chad."

 

Turning away from him, she rushed to the stairs and ran up. He took off after her, taking the stairs two at a time, so that by the time she'd reached the landing, he grabbed her arm and held on. She pushed and shoved at his hand.

"Let me go. Stop touching me!"

He loosened his grip but did not let her go. Instead, he pulled her slowly to him, and he wrapped his other arm around her waist.
~~*~~*~~
TRUCK STOP PARADISE on Amazon--99cent novella:
http://www.amazon.com/Truck-Stop-Paradise-ebook/dp/B00CD38BEO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366115197&sr=1-1&keywords=celia+yeary   

NOW, CLICK OVER TO SARA ELLWOOD'S SNEAK PEEK SUNDAY BLOG TO FIND MORE BLOG LINKS:

 http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/ 

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/celiayeary
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