Review: Handy addition to the indie author's arsenol
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 10, 2013
Quit panicking and start learning!Staci Stallings had to learn marketing basics the hard way, and wants to help others get from Point A (publication-whoo-hoo!) to Point B (being read—the real goal of an author) with the least amount of stumbling in the dark.How can you not love a gift like that?This short 70-page e-book will become a baby author’s new BFF in short order. Set up like a workshop of fifteen-minute lessons, Keys promises only to teach an author, not automatic over-night success. In fact, Stallings warns several times that learning to market is a process, and a slow one at that. Building trust takes time and effort, but it can be done. I love Staci’s goal: not only should I become a better marketer, I will be able to turn around and share the strategy with others.The pre-advice alone is valuable: Besides, put out a Great book and Get a great cover, Get some good reviews right away. I made the mistake of not doing this when I attempted my first-ever electronic short story: Get those reviews set up early, because you’re going to get blasted by people who have way too much time on their hands and vitriol in their veins. They will lie in their reviews and be as nasty as possible. Having a load of honestly good ones ready to go will help sales.Stallings shares not only great easy tips, but examples of how to do this in each section, from creating an online presence, how to act online, building a great landing page, and keeping the momentum going. Each segment of pithy advice is concise and powerful. Each lesson has a goal, from think (about the covered concept; e.g., how to reel in your readers) to examine (the covered topic; e.g., the strengths and weaknesses of your current strategy to reach your audience), to put some effort into getting reviews. Stallings includes a list of review sites, and shows you how to use them to the optimum effect.Even a little paid advertising can be useful. Realize that being an author means learning about a lot of things you might never have considered “writing,” such as working with technology. If you’re not much of a grammarian, you hire an editor; if you’re not a tekkie, hire someone who is.Some advice I can live with:Don’t talk about yourselfRemember, it’s a marathon, not a sprintDon’t try to do it alongFinally, Stallings advises the reader not to sit around, whining in fear, but to take a step in the direction of your dreams.Packed with illustrations and easy to follow examples, the lessons in Keys to Creating a Successful Book Marketing Strategy are sure to meet your needs somewhere, sometime. Keep this book handy; you’ll refer to it often.A matching book, How to Prepare, Launch, and Run a Successful KDPSelect Free-Day Campaign, will prove helpful to the Indie author’s arsenal.