Creating a bestseller

This morning I received an email with a website to hear someone talk about "How to become an Amazon #1 bestseller." This person is on various forums so I won't mention a name.
I began to listen to the audio of the presentation. After five minutes of the intro to the subject, I became restless wondering when the speaker would get to the point. But since I was already into it for five minutes, I stayed tuned only to hear more about the speaker's past and continued build-up to the magic that one was breathlessly waiting to hear. After ten minutes my finger hovered over the delete button but I still hung in there thinking that soon the magic formula would be presented. Still more self-promotion and then some indication about the costs that would be associated with it, and then I hit the delete button. I don't know what the magic strategy is, and it may be good information, however I won't learn it from this speaker.

Abe,

Here's how to be a bestseller on amazon:

1. Be someone famous.

2. Be a very, very good writer or have a good editor.

3. Be in the right place at the right time to find a publisher.

4. Write a diet book.

Carol

I just perused the top ten on the best seller list at amazon and there wasn't one diet book, so I was wrong there. It was a mix of mysteries and inspirational and there weren't even any books by the notorious, only by good writers.

A reviewer wrote the following about a book by Katherine Patterson:

"She writes not about 'creating a character,' but about 'getting to know a person.' And where other writers blame the demands of children, spouses, and other commitments for their inability to produce, Paterson celebrates external limitations. 'The very persons who took away my time and space,' she says, 'are the ones who have given me something to say.'"

It was interesting to check out this list. The Christmas season and books as gifts has probably influenced the list. Also I think the list reflects the times and the needs of people to either be inspired or taken away from reality in a good mystery.

Carol

Carol,
you're right about being famous and in the right place at the right time.
With the e-books and all the promotion needed to get a book on the market outside the traditional methods, I realize that networking is an important tool. Outside family and friends, it means that many depend on other authors to buy their books. Getting the public to buy is where a promotional plan becomes necessary and that means spending money before making any.
There are those who say, "I'm not as interested in making money as in getting my message out." There is validity in that for many. However unless there is a specific message that one hopes to share with the world, I find it difficult to understand not wanting to make money when one does all the writing, and in many instances pays for publication of the book, pays to promote the book and not make any money at it. I guess I'm of a different breed.

Being famous would help.

Malcolm

Being infamous helps, too.

If you are evil enough, people want to read about you.

It's the old "you remember the engine and the caboose" theory.

The best and the worst, never the between...

Just a theory of mine. Of course, I won't go so far as to become evil. So, I'll just have to settle on one day being famous.

As if...

It is all about the marketing plan...and money really does help with that.

madhatter wrote:

Being infamous helps, too.

If you are evil enough, people want to read about you.

Being evil really hasn't helped me. Steps to success if I could only learn to walk.

Secure professional editing of your work.

Get an agent.

Your agent will promote and secure the audience for your work. If they do not succeed they do not get paid.

Hopefully your work is intersting and well written going into this venture.
A query letter and synopsis will be required so make sure the letter and synopsis goes through the editing process before being delivered to the publisher. This is what will sell or send your work to the rejection bin.

I receive a lot of those 'how to write a bestseller' emails. I always wonder, if there is a guaranteed magical formula to writing one, why the sender of such correspondence isn't writing them.

You missed one, Carol

5. Write a book about how to be a best seller on Amazon

Actually Gina, you pose a great question. And those of us teaching others how to use this type of marketing strategy likely have already used it for our own books.

It is a viable strategy that does take time, commitment and great partnerships.

In essence, here's what you do.

1. Have a really good book to promote
2. Get it posted on Amazon
3. Find Joint Venture Partners who will not only help to promote the book on a specific day, but also offer an added bonus. This is called an ethical bribe. Ethical bribes have been a part of marketing for decades.
4. Write great copy both for the website and for the emails that are distributed.
5. Enjoy other opportunities that are created as a result of achieving the position.

Although some people do feel this is not a viable way to market a book, there are many people who have sold thousands of books in a 24 hour period this way.

As with any marketing strategy, it has to be something you feel good about.

There are many authors who prefer not to do a campaign like this and others who do. Very famous authors have used similar campaigns with great results. Not so famous authors became well known within a market with this type of a strategy.

Kathleen

I am told there is a market for non fiction books but fiction is very difficult to get readers. So a non fiction book may have better odds of becoming a best seller. Though, the book has to have a edge over competing books. In fiction, I guess you have to write great stories, be as talented as Stephen King and promote like hell.

Or win the lotto and spend the money on buying a load of books to put in land fill sites, hehehe

It is said what makes a best seller is 80% - 90% marketing and only 10% - 20% content. The easiest way to be a best selling author is to be someone famous to begin with.

Carol,

The diet book was still there the last time I looked. It's been a while.

Ann

So you are all published authors. How lucrative has it been for you? do you write fiction or non fiction?

I am considering offering to employ my granddaughter Megan this summer to help me find an agent, publisher, whatever. She just got a fantastic Mac Pro with the help of the department of vocational education and has it set up with a big cursor and files and a beautiful screen. She needs the practice of research before she enters college next fall.

It is just a thought.

I have a great book I wrote for our grandsons when we took them to Europe. However, I would need multiple copies of permissions and would have to pay them huge amounts of money, change their names and mine to get that story published. It was the most fun trip I've ever taken. We missed all the big tourist attractions and had many really great experiences. We could have just driven 100 miles down the road in Wisconsin for a week for that much fun, but used my husband's airline passes instead.

Carol

builder wrote:

So you are all published authors. How lucrative has it been for you? do you write fiction or non fiction?

There is no quick way to make an honest penny, not even writing. Like eveything it takes work and time, unless you have a lot of luck. Still the joy when you do see sales more so when we get feedback.

Yeah, not much of anything is easy in life. Working on a book right now. And hoping someone will buy it.

Well enjoy the writing because the real work starts once you finish the first draft. Then it gets harder when it comes to selling your story. I hope it all goes well for you though.

I am a non fiction writer. But I will work on it, because I enjoy writing. How is your book doing on lulu? Could you give me some feedback of lulu?

Write a how to surive the economic crisis book.
sell it for $9.99.

Advertise little known secrets that work--then in the book say, " I fooled you."

Carol, rather than writing that book as a travel or non-fiction book, try writing it as a fiction. I would love to read it even before you have written it because I am sure it will be a wonderful story.

Builder, Quite a bit of the time it isn't the book that gets you noticed but what the book leads you into such as publishing, speaking, workshops, etc. in that particular area. Those are the things that bring in the money for a non-fiction writer.

My niece worked with a man who wrote a book of 140 pages (big type and illustrated too) about how to sell anything to anybody and get noticed. He set up his own publishing company to print the book and bought thousands that he stored in his garage and the trunk of his car.

Then he set about to get in the Guinness Book by doing the most book signings in 24 hours. He had press up the gazoo and sold as many books in that 24 hours as in all of his previous efforts.

Next, he made a podcast that includes most of the book and ran it all over the internet.

Then, he used his podcasts as a jumping off point to get personal gigs telling people how to sell anything to anybody at hotels; the fee included (amazingly) a copy of his book. He used his own 24 hour signing stint as an example of his methods.

He isn't rich; but he now only travels nationally and internationally doing gigs and selling that book, the subsequent workbook, a set of cd's, a set of audio tapes, a set of 3 x 5 cards, etc. etc. I hear an update is in the works.

I read, saw and listened to the whole works and was aghast that saying so little in so many different ways could sell so well.