Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Jul 12, 2018 21:25:04 GMT
So I thought we could have a sticky thread dedicated to basic book marketing practices. We don't have any of the big players here yet, so I'll start us off with what I've read that the big players do, and then others can chime in and hopefully this will become one of those super helpful megathreads, one day.
1. Write in a series, if you can. If your books are good and hooky and offer readers what they want, then the next book is always going to be your best marketing tool. Not everyone wants to write in series, and that's okay. And not every story fits into that mold. But it's still a great option to consider. Series work with almost any genre and even nonfiction, too!
2. You want to develop your own adoring audience, as soon as possible. Relying on people just finding you on amazon is not the best idea because we all know how fickle amazon is - and if you were to lose your account - you could lose your entire audience. To develop your own audience you need a venue where you can gather them all together, that you control. This could be your author website and mailing list. It could be your Facebook group, however, if you rely on Facebook, you have the same problem. Facebook goes down, you could lose contact with everyone. So then starting your own website on your own domain, and then starting a newsletter, where you make sure to backup all of the email addresses, is going to be your best bet.
3. To start a newsletter you sign up with an autoresponder like mailchimp.com. They have a free option for up to a certain number of subscribers, and they have lots of tutorial videos and things like that to show you what to do. You have to have an author website first so that you have a place to stick the mailchimp sign up form. Then you simply stick the signup form link in the back of all your books, and in the back matter make people an offer. If they click the link and sign up for your mailing list you will give them a free book, or a free short story, or an alternate ending, or deleted scenes, etc. If you don't offer anything except for news of when new books will be available, fewer peeps will subscribe. Of course, whenever you do offer freebies, you'll have lots of people who sign up just for that, and who won't read a single new email from you unless they see the word free in the subject line. But your autoresponder offers a way to check to see which names are not opening emails and then you can delete those freebie seekers and only keep the names who are eager to connect with you and who regularly click your links and buy your books.
4. If you're into this for the money then think about which genres and sub-genres are most popular and try to write in those.
Most of us have a hard time writing stories we hate, so don't torture yourself! If you don't like anything that's popular then try and write as close as you can. Some people do really well in smaller niches because there are fewer authors writing books that those readers want, so there is less competition and your readers will be more loyal.
The advice always used to be to go to amazon and study the best seller lists. However, with KU and all the scamming, the best seller lists haven't necessarily been showing which books are actually popular. You don't really know anymore. Is that book on top because it was botted to the top or is it there on it's own merits? So I would suggest going to goodreads instead. Look for groups and lists in the genre you like the most and are most interested in writing in, and check out which books show up on reader's favorite lists, and read their reviews. Browse and interact in the forums, as a reader, not an author, or just lurk. Checking out which books you know readers are actually reading is a good indication of what's popular and what's not.
5. Learn the tropes! A trope is a shorthand way of discussing certain plot points that show up in stories over and over again. Each genre and subgenre has it's own particular tropes and when those tropes aren't there readers feel shortchanged and disappointed. tvtropes.org/ is a fabulous way to procrastinate and lose half your day, but it's also educational. It will teach you all the tropes, the good and the bad, and will give you some great idea. Especially if you write spec fic.
Of course the best way is to read the most popular books in the genre and subgenre you wish to write in. Read 5 or 10 of the books that keep popping up in every reader's favorites list. And don't just read them, plot them out. Write down the sequence of events, try to complete the heroes journey with each book. Or just write down the big things that happen, and note the tropes that keep popping up over and over again.
6. Find betareaders before you publish. Betareaders can help you see the plot points that aren't clear, the holes you forgot to fill in, the names which are just a wee bit too similar, etc. You can either pay a betareader, or you can find friends or family members, or you can offer to beta for other authors in return for them beta'ing you. Betas can also sometimes serve as initial proofreaders for you, as well.
7. Edit, edit, edit.
You want to try and put out as error-proof a story as possible. Even with a team of editors and proofreaders a certain number of typos will get through cos no one is perfect, but still you should try and do as good a job as you can. Self-editing is very hard to do. For short stories, a sefl-edit isn't too bad, but for novels it can feel excruciating. At least it did for me.
If you're like me then you really need to find others to edit your novels for you. You can pay editors (you can find them easily on author forums - we have one, right now, and Kboards has loads), or if you're lucky you have friends or family with the skills and patience to do it for you. Or again, you can try trading services with other authors, you might not be able to edit back for them, but could you give them a very deep beta or alpha read? Could you make them a cover? Could you offer them a spot in your newsletter? There are always ways to get your book edited and polished, even if you don't have the money to pay for it. Even waiting a few months to publish until you have the money is better than publishing a typo-ridden book and suffering the sting of 1-star reviews!
8. Advertise it! Advertising just means letting peeps who like your kind of book know that it exists, and there are tons and tons of ways to do that, some which require money, and some that don't.
1. Placing your book in your forum signature. On as many forums where you are active, place a link for your book. If allowed, include an image of the cover of your book, and a blurb or summary statement. Try to sum up your book's biggest hook in as few words as possible. If you're wide, you may want to link back to your website page where you include links to each store you're in. This gives reader a choice and lets them purchase where it's most convenient for them. If you have a permafree, you might want to advertise that. If you have more than 1 book, place as many in your sig as allowed.
2. Starting a new forum thread, on any forum that allows this, which is full of peeps who are interested in your type of book, that lets people know whenever you publish something new. For these threads you can include the full book description and a high quality image of your cover. It's also good to use these threads to announce when you have sales. Don't spam forums, or sign up to places where you have no intention of participating, just to spam your book. Only do this in communities where you are or are going to become an active, helpful member.
3. Be careful of telling your family and friends about your books. If it's your first one they might get really excited and want to buy it, which is fine, but if they leave glowing reviews you could get in trouble with amazon since this is against their TOS. Tell them if they want to review it to do so on goodreads or on social media instead.
4. Use Social Media. On whichever sites or apps you are active, let your peeps know about your book. If you aren't on social media yet or you aren't on very many sites, you can sign up to a bunch more and use hashtags to let peeps who don't follow you yet be able to find you. Here's a link to 85 popular hashtags you can use - writerswrite.co.za/85-hashtags-writers-need-know/ .
5. This one isn't going to be that helpful for most authors, but if you're writing nonfiction, and there are relevant trade shows out there in connection to your topic, and you can afford a table or booth, you could always try setting up at a trade show, county fair, farmers market, car show, etc. You will need dead tree books to sell and you can offer autographed copies. When I was a kid there was an author who wrote a fiction book about a kid getting lost in a local canyon, and he set up a booth at the county fair and was there signing copies. I bought one, and it was really neat for me at the time to meet a real author. So this works for fiction, too. If you write spec fic you might consider comic con or dragon con, or something similar that is local to you.
I have friends on Facebook who do signings at local book stores and libraries. You could do a reading or just a signing. If you're a children's book author, call up schools and libraries and offer to donate free books and do a reading. I'm not social at all, so none of these things sound appealing to me, but if you're an extrovert who loves to get out and meet new friends all the time - this type of marketing might be right up your ally.
6. One old-school idea from the minds of traditional publishing is to throw yourself a launch party! You can do it in person, and have an actual party. Rent a room, have punch and cake, or use food and drinks from your book. You could have a launch party on social media or on Zoom or Skype, as well. The idea is to get people as excited about your book releasing as possible and then hopefully getting a huge surge of people buying it at once. Although, doing so could also get you dinged by amazon for having too many sales. We don't really know what protocols their bots are obeying. Hopefully, you'll be fine. But you never know. Things like launch parties are the type of big, flashy event that a lot of the scammers use, but it doesn't have to be scammy!!!!
As long as you aren't incentivizing people to buy your book by offering them an entry into a contest, or entry to your party, or a gift card, or cash, or anything else -then it's fine. All party attendees should know that there attending said party entails no obligation on their part. That they are welcome to come and have a good time whether they buy from you or not. Of course, even that, could psychologically influence peeps to want to buy your book, but I think worrying about that is going a bit too far into paranoia. All I'm saying is be careful. Saying, "I have new book. Wanna buy it?' Is fine. Saying, "I have a new book. If you buy it, I'll be your best friend forever isn't." The only incentive you may offer in exchange for a purchase is the book they have purchased.
7. Email List. This works best for later books. Once you have published several books and have developed a healthy size list. All you have to do is publish and send an email letting your fans know about it, and the really dedicated ones will buy. Email lists may feel complicated, but they're really not that hard once you figure out how to use the autoresponder, and get used to emailing peeps. If you're not sure what sort of things you should be emailing people, sign up for a bunch of author newsletters in your genre and see what they do. Some authors like to get quite personal with their lists. They treat them like friends and share important milestones in their lives, share cute pics of their kids and dogs, and share when they're struggling and not able to write as much. If you don't feel comfortable being that personal you don't need to be. You can share your writing progress, share cover reveals, and ask survey questions about which character's book you should write next, or who do they want Jacob to end up with in the end? Stuff like that. Most people get annoyed with daily emails unless you're really great at infotaining people. If you write nonfiction and you're sharing valuable information in each email that can help your list solve problems and improve their lives - then go ahead and email every day. But for most authors once a week is likely as often as you'd like to send. Once a month might be okay, too. You don't want your fans to forget about you. But the frequency is up to you and your style.
8. Facebook Author Page and Private Fan Group. The Author Page should be public and be a way for browsers and those curious or new to find out more about you and your books. You should always link to your author website on here and have a link to your newsletter. The facebook group can be public or private, and should be used in much the same way that your newsletter would be. These groups can be a really good way to get to know your readers and develop genuine friendships with them. Of course you might not want to get that close to your readers, and that's okay. No one has to have a Facebook group. Or even a newsletter or author website, or any of it. It's all always up to you and what you're comfortable doing. And again, if you start getting really close with your readers, amazon could decide collusion is involved and could nuke you! So be careful, and maybe ask your group members to only review on goodreads and on their social media.
9. Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Bing Ads. These ads all require money, but they don't require a lot of time and you don't have to get all cozy with a bunch of strangers. Mark Dawson has some really good courses on Facebook Ads if you're interested in following that path. selfpublishingformula.com/
You always want to be cautious about taking any publishing/advertising advice from internet marketers cos a lot of them lie and have very low to no morals. Some are upright and outstanding citizens who know how to make money ethically and honestly, but they're difficult to find at first. Your best bet whenever considering any new author service or course is to ask around the author community to see what their experience has been and whether they teach anything hinky and against TOS. I have yet to hear anything bad about Mark.
10. AMS (Amazons's Ad Program) You pay for this one, too. I'm not sure how well it works. It seems like amazon doesn't quite have enough space for all the ads they're being paid for, but authors who have experience will hopefully chime in and share more accurate advice.
11. Bookbub. Bookbub is a newsletter that goes out to a canyonesque number of readers every day and they sell placement. It's expensive, but seems to be worth it to most peeps who use it. It's also really difficult to get a Bookbub, so it's something to strive for, not rely on.
12. Other promotional newsletters. Again, you need to be careful which ones you use because all promotional services are not on the up and up. Ask around before using any of these. I'm hoping we can start a curated list here of every book service with our scoring system and yay or nay votes, but for now here is an example from reedsy. blog.reedsy.com/book-promotion-services/
13. Cover. Your cover is the first thing your readers see, and if it doesn't grab them or tell them what your book is all about, then they will pass right on by. You've got about two seconds, maybe less, for your cover to catch your prospective readers eye. So make sure it is eye-catching, the genre and sub genre is clear, and the title is easy to read. Your best best before publishing any book is to get your readers and other authors opinions before publishing to make sure you're putting your best cover forward. The good news is that if your first cover isn't that great it's very easy to change it. Many authors whose books weren't selling like they'd hoped find that a change in cover increases their sales exponentially.
14. Your Book Title. Once your book cover has enticed your readers, the next thing they look at is the title, and if the title doesn't grab them, excite them, or intrigue their curiosity, they will pass on by. Misleading titles can often cost you sales. For example, let's say you wrote a cozy mystery. You have a light and cute animated cover, but you chose the title - Red Dead Revolution. That title does not sound at all like a cozy. It will confuse the reader and they'll pass on by. So if you're not selling as well as you'd like, the title is one more thing you could consider changing.
15. Your book description. Not everyone reads the book description. Many readers buy or one-click to read for free based off the cover alone. But for those who do read it, you want your book description to very clearly let peeps know what kind of story you have written, what the tone/atmosphere is like - is it dark and edgy, moody and depressing, quirky and funny, mysterious and intriguing, or light and fun? You also want the reader to know what the story is about - who the main character is, what they want, and what's at stake if they don't get it. It's a tall order, but getting good at book descriptions just takes practice. It's usually a good idea to ask for advice from betas and others before publishing. Just to make sure it does what you want it to, which is make folks want to buy your book!
Now it's your turn. What did I leave out? What more can you add to clarify, correct, or enhance this list? Sound off in the comments below!
1. Write in a series, if you can. If your books are good and hooky and offer readers what they want, then the next book is always going to be your best marketing tool. Not everyone wants to write in series, and that's okay. And not every story fits into that mold. But it's still a great option to consider. Series work with almost any genre and even nonfiction, too!
2. You want to develop your own adoring audience, as soon as possible. Relying on people just finding you on amazon is not the best idea because we all know how fickle amazon is - and if you were to lose your account - you could lose your entire audience. To develop your own audience you need a venue where you can gather them all together, that you control. This could be your author website and mailing list. It could be your Facebook group, however, if you rely on Facebook, you have the same problem. Facebook goes down, you could lose contact with everyone. So then starting your own website on your own domain, and then starting a newsletter, where you make sure to backup all of the email addresses, is going to be your best bet.
3. To start a newsletter you sign up with an autoresponder like mailchimp.com. They have a free option for up to a certain number of subscribers, and they have lots of tutorial videos and things like that to show you what to do. You have to have an author website first so that you have a place to stick the mailchimp sign up form. Then you simply stick the signup form link in the back of all your books, and in the back matter make people an offer. If they click the link and sign up for your mailing list you will give them a free book, or a free short story, or an alternate ending, or deleted scenes, etc. If you don't offer anything except for news of when new books will be available, fewer peeps will subscribe. Of course, whenever you do offer freebies, you'll have lots of people who sign up just for that, and who won't read a single new email from you unless they see the word free in the subject line. But your autoresponder offers a way to check to see which names are not opening emails and then you can delete those freebie seekers and only keep the names who are eager to connect with you and who regularly click your links and buy your books.
4. If you're into this for the money then think about which genres and sub-genres are most popular and try to write in those.
Most of us have a hard time writing stories we hate, so don't torture yourself! If you don't like anything that's popular then try and write as close as you can. Some people do really well in smaller niches because there are fewer authors writing books that those readers want, so there is less competition and your readers will be more loyal.
The advice always used to be to go to amazon and study the best seller lists. However, with KU and all the scamming, the best seller lists haven't necessarily been showing which books are actually popular. You don't really know anymore. Is that book on top because it was botted to the top or is it there on it's own merits? So I would suggest going to goodreads instead. Look for groups and lists in the genre you like the most and are most interested in writing in, and check out which books show up on reader's favorite lists, and read their reviews. Browse and interact in the forums, as a reader, not an author, or just lurk. Checking out which books you know readers are actually reading is a good indication of what's popular and what's not.
5. Learn the tropes! A trope is a shorthand way of discussing certain plot points that show up in stories over and over again. Each genre and subgenre has it's own particular tropes and when those tropes aren't there readers feel shortchanged and disappointed. tvtropes.org/ is a fabulous way to procrastinate and lose half your day, but it's also educational. It will teach you all the tropes, the good and the bad, and will give you some great idea. Especially if you write spec fic.
Of course the best way is to read the most popular books in the genre and subgenre you wish to write in. Read 5 or 10 of the books that keep popping up in every reader's favorites list. And don't just read them, plot them out. Write down the sequence of events, try to complete the heroes journey with each book. Or just write down the big things that happen, and note the tropes that keep popping up over and over again.
6. Find betareaders before you publish. Betareaders can help you see the plot points that aren't clear, the holes you forgot to fill in, the names which are just a wee bit too similar, etc. You can either pay a betareader, or you can find friends or family members, or you can offer to beta for other authors in return for them beta'ing you. Betas can also sometimes serve as initial proofreaders for you, as well.
7. Edit, edit, edit.
You want to try and put out as error-proof a story as possible. Even with a team of editors and proofreaders a certain number of typos will get through cos no one is perfect, but still you should try and do as good a job as you can. Self-editing is very hard to do. For short stories, a sefl-edit isn't too bad, but for novels it can feel excruciating. At least it did for me.
If you're like me then you really need to find others to edit your novels for you. You can pay editors (you can find them easily on author forums - we have one, right now, and Kboards has loads), or if you're lucky you have friends or family with the skills and patience to do it for you. Or again, you can try trading services with other authors, you might not be able to edit back for them, but could you give them a very deep beta or alpha read? Could you make them a cover? Could you offer them a spot in your newsletter? There are always ways to get your book edited and polished, even if you don't have the money to pay for it. Even waiting a few months to publish until you have the money is better than publishing a typo-ridden book and suffering the sting of 1-star reviews! 8. Advertise it! Advertising just means letting peeps who like your kind of book know that it exists, and there are tons and tons of ways to do that, some which require money, and some that don't.
1. Placing your book in your forum signature. On as many forums where you are active, place a link for your book. If allowed, include an image of the cover of your book, and a blurb or summary statement. Try to sum up your book's biggest hook in as few words as possible. If you're wide, you may want to link back to your website page where you include links to each store you're in. This gives reader a choice and lets them purchase where it's most convenient for them. If you have a permafree, you might want to advertise that. If you have more than 1 book, place as many in your sig as allowed.
2. Starting a new forum thread, on any forum that allows this, which is full of peeps who are interested in your type of book, that lets people know whenever you publish something new. For these threads you can include the full book description and a high quality image of your cover. It's also good to use these threads to announce when you have sales. Don't spam forums, or sign up to places where you have no intention of participating, just to spam your book. Only do this in communities where you are or are going to become an active, helpful member.
3. Be careful of telling your family and friends about your books. If it's your first one they might get really excited and want to buy it, which is fine, but if they leave glowing reviews you could get in trouble with amazon since this is against their TOS. Tell them if they want to review it to do so on goodreads or on social media instead.
4. Use Social Media. On whichever sites or apps you are active, let your peeps know about your book. If you aren't on social media yet or you aren't on very many sites, you can sign up to a bunch more and use hashtags to let peeps who don't follow you yet be able to find you. Here's a link to 85 popular hashtags you can use - writerswrite.co.za/85-hashtags-writers-need-know/ .
5. This one isn't going to be that helpful for most authors, but if you're writing nonfiction, and there are relevant trade shows out there in connection to your topic, and you can afford a table or booth, you could always try setting up at a trade show, county fair, farmers market, car show, etc. You will need dead tree books to sell and you can offer autographed copies. When I was a kid there was an author who wrote a fiction book about a kid getting lost in a local canyon, and he set up a booth at the county fair and was there signing copies. I bought one, and it was really neat for me at the time to meet a real author. So this works for fiction, too. If you write spec fic you might consider comic con or dragon con, or something similar that is local to you.
I have friends on Facebook who do signings at local book stores and libraries. You could do a reading or just a signing. If you're a children's book author, call up schools and libraries and offer to donate free books and do a reading. I'm not social at all, so none of these things sound appealing to me, but if you're an extrovert who loves to get out and meet new friends all the time - this type of marketing might be right up your ally.
6. One old-school idea from the minds of traditional publishing is to throw yourself a launch party! You can do it in person, and have an actual party. Rent a room, have punch and cake, or use food and drinks from your book. You could have a launch party on social media or on Zoom or Skype, as well. The idea is to get people as excited about your book releasing as possible and then hopefully getting a huge surge of people buying it at once. Although, doing so could also get you dinged by amazon for having too many sales. We don't really know what protocols their bots are obeying. Hopefully, you'll be fine. But you never know. Things like launch parties are the type of big, flashy event that a lot of the scammers use, but it doesn't have to be scammy!!!!
As long as you aren't incentivizing people to buy your book by offering them an entry into a contest, or entry to your party, or a gift card, or cash, or anything else -then it's fine. All party attendees should know that there attending said party entails no obligation on their part. That they are welcome to come and have a good time whether they buy from you or not. Of course, even that, could psychologically influence peeps to want to buy your book, but I think worrying about that is going a bit too far into paranoia. All I'm saying is be careful. Saying, "I have new book. Wanna buy it?' Is fine. Saying, "I have a new book. If you buy it, I'll be your best friend forever isn't." The only incentive you may offer in exchange for a purchase is the book they have purchased.
7. Email List. This works best for later books. Once you have published several books and have developed a healthy size list. All you have to do is publish and send an email letting your fans know about it, and the really dedicated ones will buy. Email lists may feel complicated, but they're really not that hard once you figure out how to use the autoresponder, and get used to emailing peeps. If you're not sure what sort of things you should be emailing people, sign up for a bunch of author newsletters in your genre and see what they do. Some authors like to get quite personal with their lists. They treat them like friends and share important milestones in their lives, share cute pics of their kids and dogs, and share when they're struggling and not able to write as much. If you don't feel comfortable being that personal you don't need to be. You can share your writing progress, share cover reveals, and ask survey questions about which character's book you should write next, or who do they want Jacob to end up with in the end? Stuff like that. Most people get annoyed with daily emails unless you're really great at infotaining people. If you write nonfiction and you're sharing valuable information in each email that can help your list solve problems and improve their lives - then go ahead and email every day. But for most authors once a week is likely as often as you'd like to send. Once a month might be okay, too. You don't want your fans to forget about you. But the frequency is up to you and your style.
8. Facebook Author Page and Private Fan Group. The Author Page should be public and be a way for browsers and those curious or new to find out more about you and your books. You should always link to your author website on here and have a link to your newsletter. The facebook group can be public or private, and should be used in much the same way that your newsletter would be. These groups can be a really good way to get to know your readers and develop genuine friendships with them. Of course you might not want to get that close to your readers, and that's okay. No one has to have a Facebook group. Or even a newsletter or author website, or any of it. It's all always up to you and what you're comfortable doing. And again, if you start getting really close with your readers, amazon could decide collusion is involved and could nuke you! So be careful, and maybe ask your group members to only review on goodreads and on their social media.
9. Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Bing Ads. These ads all require money, but they don't require a lot of time and you don't have to get all cozy with a bunch of strangers. Mark Dawson has some really good courses on Facebook Ads if you're interested in following that path. selfpublishingformula.com/
You always want to be cautious about taking any publishing/advertising advice from internet marketers cos a lot of them lie and have very low to no morals. Some are upright and outstanding citizens who know how to make money ethically and honestly, but they're difficult to find at first. Your best bet whenever considering any new author service or course is to ask around the author community to see what their experience has been and whether they teach anything hinky and against TOS. I have yet to hear anything bad about Mark.
10. AMS (Amazons's Ad Program) You pay for this one, too. I'm not sure how well it works. It seems like amazon doesn't quite have enough space for all the ads they're being paid for, but authors who have experience will hopefully chime in and share more accurate advice.
11. Bookbub. Bookbub is a newsletter that goes out to a canyonesque number of readers every day and they sell placement. It's expensive, but seems to be worth it to most peeps who use it. It's also really difficult to get a Bookbub, so it's something to strive for, not rely on.
12. Other promotional newsletters. Again, you need to be careful which ones you use because all promotional services are not on the up and up. Ask around before using any of these. I'm hoping we can start a curated list here of every book service with our scoring system and yay or nay votes, but for now here is an example from reedsy. blog.reedsy.com/book-promotion-services/
13. Cover. Your cover is the first thing your readers see, and if it doesn't grab them or tell them what your book is all about, then they will pass right on by. You've got about two seconds, maybe less, for your cover to catch your prospective readers eye. So make sure it is eye-catching, the genre and sub genre is clear, and the title is easy to read. Your best best before publishing any book is to get your readers and other authors opinions before publishing to make sure you're putting your best cover forward. The good news is that if your first cover isn't that great it's very easy to change it. Many authors whose books weren't selling like they'd hoped find that a change in cover increases their sales exponentially.
14. Your Book Title. Once your book cover has enticed your readers, the next thing they look at is the title, and if the title doesn't grab them, excite them, or intrigue their curiosity, they will pass on by. Misleading titles can often cost you sales. For example, let's say you wrote a cozy mystery. You have a light and cute animated cover, but you chose the title - Red Dead Revolution. That title does not sound at all like a cozy. It will confuse the reader and they'll pass on by. So if you're not selling as well as you'd like, the title is one more thing you could consider changing.
15. Your book description. Not everyone reads the book description. Many readers buy or one-click to read for free based off the cover alone. But for those who do read it, you want your book description to very clearly let peeps know what kind of story you have written, what the tone/atmosphere is like - is it dark and edgy, moody and depressing, quirky and funny, mysterious and intriguing, or light and fun? You also want the reader to know what the story is about - who the main character is, what they want, and what's at stake if they don't get it. It's a tall order, but getting good at book descriptions just takes practice. It's usually a good idea to ask for advice from betas and others before publishing. Just to make sure it does what you want it to, which is make folks want to buy your book!
Now it's your turn. What did I leave out? What more can you add to clarify, correct, or enhance this list? Sound off in the comments below!
