Book Selling - The Killer Mistake That Can Kill Your On-line Book Reviews
As a copywriter, I sometimes get asked to put in writing promotional sales letters for books. The first query I ask is, "What is the genre of the book?"
If you haven't thought of this query before you wrote the book, you will have difficulty promoting your book. Book stores and reviewers wish to categorize your book, even if you don't.
One author told me, "I chose to self-publish precisely as a result of my book blurs the road between memoir and self-help. The agents and publishers wouldn't bit it."
The author was setting herself up for a struggle. In fact you're unengaged to self-publish anything you want. However you have to recognize the book promoting implications of your publishing decisions.
As an example, several authors try to report their life stories. Usually these stories are genuinely compelling. They might work well as memoir. But these authors then go on to add lessons for readers, typically at the end of each chapter.
Those books rarely do well. Readers get frustrated and reviewers rarely provide them glowing reviews.
The reverse is additionally true. Reviewers can be vital of self-help books that incorporate an excessive amount of detail from the author's own life.
For instance, one author wrote a book of recommendation for women who needed to interrupt out of the box and produce powerful careers. She shared details of her background, together with some risky maneuvers and romantic interludes with company presidents whose names are practically household words.
The book incorporated many helpful lessons for business and professional women, nonetheless drew many negative reviews. The reviewers felt these details were irrelevant and inappropriate. They disapproved of the author's selections to introduce her personal life into business.
Why do not these crossovers do well?
These days, reading time is limited. Readers and reviewers don't wish to induce halfway through a book before realizing, "It is not what the duvet blurbs promised." A reader seeking self-help desires simply that: lessons she will apply to her own life and career. A reader seeking memoir needs to be entertained and perhaps get some food for thought; he doesn't wish lectures.
When an author surprises the reader in the wrong means, reviewers can be especially critical. What is implied (and typically stated outright) is the idea, "I would not have picked up this book if I had known..."
Fiction authors generally have additional leeway. Several best-sellers blur the lines between literary fiction and detectives stories, for example. Reviewers might still feel cheated if a book seems to be a detective story but then introduces a supernatural power that affects the plot.
Author Resource:
Candid Howard has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Book Marketing, you can also check out latest website about