What Helps Sell Romance Books?

All these are my personal observations. What works or doesn't work for me might be the opposite for other authors!


Belonging to professional organizations:
Hmm. I'm not sure about this one. Belonging to professional organizations may help with craft and other useful information, but the actual selling of books (unless at a sponsored book signing) doesn't happen. Quite honestly, how many times has someone interested in buying a book asked, "Are you a member of RWA?"


Promo done on yahoo groups:
Social networking done on these groups get you book blurb, cover, and excerpts out in public view.  Groups can be as lively or are quiet as participants allow. Our Romance Books R Us yahoo group is always active because of the great participation we have. Selling books happens through groups like this where I have an opportunity to connect with readers.


Promo done on Twitter:
Can you really sell books here? Or, is it a "hit or miss" opportunity? I'm not sure if any of my "tweets" have created interest in my books. 

Promo done on LinkedIn:
Again, same dilemma. I'm "linked" to many people, but do they purchase books?


Promo done on Facebook:
I have two pages; one for each pen name. Again, same dilemma. Am I timing posts at opportune times to reach more readers? I read an article and the poster said that you need to post around 7 times a day of FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn in order to reach everyone. Seriously? I don't have time for that, although I guess you can set up Twitter to "retweet" your messages.

Chats: I found them to be so fast-paced that messages got confusing and sometimes went off in tangents. I don't think I've ever sold a book this way. While chats can be interesting, the chat group we started for Romance Books R Us never quite caught on with readers. And, some authors "forgot" when they were supposed to chat. Perhaps in the future we can try some "fun" chats and see if interest picks up.

Blogs: Great way to introduce authors and books. Readers seem to enjoy hearing from authors, and not just about their books. Throwing in a peek at an author's personal life, like doing an interview, gains an author fans and readers. By being active on a blog, an author can continue to connect with readers.

Conventions/Conferences: Great way to meet readers and fans...if the event is geared towards readers/fans and not strictly writers/authors. While I enjoy the informative conventions/conferences, the ones open to readers/fans are more casual and intimate and help sell books. Book signings at any of these events is a good thing!

Contests: Some readers just do these without actually buying books. But, publicity is good and running contests gains interest.

Reviews: Mixed on this one. Good reviews? Great. Do readers read these? When one of my books became a "free read", I got some "bad" reader reviews on Amazon from people who obviously didn't read paranormal or romance, but took the book because it was free.

Newsletters: I did newsletters for many years and just recently stopped. I don't have a new book out and haven't in over a year. My nonfiction book doesn't sell well to romance readers, and I've been concentrating on doing promo for that elsewhere.

Websites: If I can't easily read text on a website, I'll avoid it. Some sites are very dark with almost unreadable wording. Then again, I have "old eyes" and like things bright! If pages are off-center of text streams out of text boxes, that can be a problem. I've recently redone my websites and hope I've fixed some problems. To sell books displayed here, readers have to know how to find my websites first!


Covers: Yes...I believe covers have a lot to do with selling books. One cover I approved I regret...no people on it and I think that was a mistake. It's the book "of my heart" and the one I've sold very few copies of to date. Another cover (I had NO say in this one) I'm still unhappy about...and I believe it "tanked" my sales. A cover is what readers see first and is important.

Building a fan base: Definitely a positive step! Get loyal readers and you have buyers. As authors we're told to keep writing, but sometimes that's easier said than done!


So...what do you think? Readers, do you relate to any of my observations? Authors, do you agree or disagree?

Marianne
http://www.mariannestephens.net
http://www.aprilash.net
http://www.romancebooksrus.com

Seasonal Gifting

Tis the season for gift giving and my daughter Nikki and I devised a way for me to give away my entire backlist. Yep, that's right, the ENTIRE backlist. In addition, since I didn't have enough books to give away a book a day during December, I asked some friends to help me out. Now, I'm giving away books every day for 30 days. THIRTY. Starting today, the day after Thanksgiving and going through all the way to Christmas Day when I'll give away the entire series (to date) of Christmas Cowboys short stories.

See, Nikki and I thought about all the nice fan mail I get and the comments on blogs and in chats and on loops. People are usually pretty nice to me. They don't have to be. They can just read my stuff and move on. No one has to go out of their way to speak up and tell an author that they loved their book. But people DO. And in this age of instant gratification and out of sight out of mindness, I appreciate the time and effort it takes for someone to tell me they liked my work. Now, it's my turn to tell all of YOU that I appreciate you.

My way of appreciating readers is to give you more to read. And give you things to read that don't cost you anything except a few minutes to read a blog post and post a comment. Think of it as my way of participating in seasonal gifting. I'll be gifting 30 people with books that are the effort of my hard work as well as the hard work of some very talented authors who appreciate their readers just as much as I do.

This is also a neat way of introducing my readers to authors who may be new to them. Maybe someone has heard of Jennifer Leeland but never read one of her BDSM themed books. Maybe they want to, but never got around to getting one. Or maybe they never thought about picking up one of Selena Illyria's IR books. Or something M/M by Z.A. Maxfield. Or one of Regina Carlysle's shifters. These books span the genres from romance to spooky dark tales, from M/F to M/M, from contemporary to paranormal, from sweet to erotic. There's something here for everyone.

And it is all my gift to you this holiday season. With a little help from my friends. :)

My daughter thought it would be a neat tradition for me to do this every year now. Businesses send out holiday cards. Families and friends exchange gifts. I am going to give readers an escape from holiday stress. The chance to escape into a book. I like the idea of making the 30 Days of Christmas into a Lex Valentine tradition. It makes me feel warm and happy inside to be able to join together with my friends and give something back to readers.

Now, I'd like to see all of you take this idea and run with it. Oh, not give away books (don't want anyone to be a pirate!), but maybe get together with some friends and pool your talent, time and/or money and do something nice for someone who isn't expecting it. Working together to make something happen can be its own reward sometimes. The satisfaction you receive will make you feel as if you're the one who has been given a gift.

I know that I am excited to do this and not one of the 30 posts I'll have to prepare will be a chore. I cannot wait to read the happy exclamations of the winners. I think I'm as excited as a five-year old on Christmas Eve. And I can totally relate to the old adage that it is better to give than to receive.

So come on by the Lex Valentine blog over the next 30 days and maybe you can win a book. I know I will be more than happy to give you one should I draw your name from the comments.

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons.