It is, I suspect, a combination of vanity and fatigue. Once we finish our book, we believe it speaks for itself. Hell, we put all that work in: it had better.
Our book can only speak for itself, though, once someone reads it. And reading it requires buying it. You see where this is going.
Elsewhere I've provided some other valuable tips about how to optimize the author tools for self publishing on Amazon, toward this end. As important as are all those tips, the most important and most challenging is doing a good job on your book description.
After someone invests money, even a modest sum, in the purchase of your book, it is likely - unless they just hate it - that they'll give you at least 20 pages or so to convince them to keep reading. Your book description requires no initial investment and so it's a lot easier for them to simply click away. You have about 20-30 seconds to win them over, before they go looking for greener literary pastures.
If you don't win them over, they won't be buying your book. So, what is it you have to do in your book description and how do you do it? In just a few short sentences, you want to accomplish three things.
#1 Tell them what the book is about. I don't mean by this rehearsing your plot. The point is to concisely provide the genre details. Is your book fiction or non-fiction? Drill down from there. For the sake of discussion, assume it is fiction. Is it fantasy, romance or kitchen sink realism? Is it a period piece? Set in an alternate world or exotic locale? Some kind of evocative comparison could be helpful: e.g., a throw-back to the style of Jacqueline Susann, reminiscent of Salman Rushdie; Michael Chabon-like.
2. Entice them. Why should they read it? For non-fiction this is easier, which is not to say that all self-published authors of non-fiction leverage this advantage. All non-fiction is filling some kind of need - even if only an increase of knowledge (though it's usually more than that). Have the benefit to your reader right up front. What will they be able to do easier or better thanks to reading your book?
For fiction, it can be a bit trickier. I suggest emphasizing the conflicts confronting your characters. Try to tap into the potential reader's own experience of such conflict: they may want to better understand it, relive it, or simply live it vicariously. The more vivid and impacting you can make it in a few short sentences the more likely it is to resonate with them.
Third: Show them what reading your book is like. Maybe the most difficult of the three, this can be the clincher. Think of the book description as a mini test drive of your book. If your promise is to explain some technical skill, such as website building or home micro brewing, show off your gifts for explanatory clarity. Use clear, easy to follow language to explain some technical detail, so they'll feel confident of being able to follow and learn from your book. Give them confidence that you can make it all easy to understand.
For fiction writers, can you convey (not name, but show) the genre and style of your book in the description of it. You could start with a throwaway first sentence that evokes the tone. For instance, were your book an atmospheric cloak and dagger spy novel, you might begin with a description of the anxiety of sheltering in a doorway on a rain drenched cobblestone street, awaiting a dubious contact who, for all you know, may have sold you out already. Or, if your novel tells a story of urban city drama, you could evoke the kind of desperate situation which the limited options of life on the street may present to your protagonist. Again, this is a tease, but if you do it well, it's also an audition.
So tell what it is, entice with the benefit they'll achieve, and show them a flavor of the style they can expect. Yes, that is a lot to do in a very short space. That's why it's difficult to do well and why the rewards for doing it well are so great. It's a key secret to success in self publishing on Amazon.
Don't be surprised or discouraged if you find yourself doing three to five times more drafts of your book description than you did of the book. Getting it right is taxing work. And, after you've done all that, you still haven't any guarantee of an Amazon bestseller. The truth is that, despite the self-serving claims of marketing type, none of us can be induced to purchase a product that we don't actually want.
What you can do, if they are open to what you're offering, is convince them that your version of what they want is going to satisfy what it is they're seeking. That's where you close your sale, sell your book and create the potential for a long term reader and maybe even enthusiast of your work.
It all starts, though, with not having them pass you over as inadequately interesting from the start. So, sorry, but finishing the book wasn't the completion of your writing requirements. Sharpen up that pencil.
Our book can only speak for itself, though, once someone reads it. And reading it requires buying it. You see where this is going.
Elsewhere I've provided some other valuable tips about how to optimize the author tools for self publishing on Amazon, toward this end. As important as are all those tips, the most important and most challenging is doing a good job on your book description.
After someone invests money, even a modest sum, in the purchase of your book, it is likely - unless they just hate it - that they'll give you at least 20 pages or so to convince them to keep reading. Your book description requires no initial investment and so it's a lot easier for them to simply click away. You have about 20-30 seconds to win them over, before they go looking for greener literary pastures.
If you don't win them over, they won't be buying your book. So, what is it you have to do in your book description and how do you do it? In just a few short sentences, you want to accomplish three things.
#1 Tell them what the book is about. I don't mean by this rehearsing your plot. The point is to concisely provide the genre details. Is your book fiction or non-fiction? Drill down from there. For the sake of discussion, assume it is fiction. Is it fantasy, romance or kitchen sink realism? Is it a period piece? Set in an alternate world or exotic locale? Some kind of evocative comparison could be helpful: e.g., a throw-back to the style of Jacqueline Susann, reminiscent of Salman Rushdie; Michael Chabon-like.
2. Entice them. Why should they read it? For non-fiction this is easier, which is not to say that all self-published authors of non-fiction leverage this advantage. All non-fiction is filling some kind of need - even if only an increase of knowledge (though it's usually more than that). Have the benefit to your reader right up front. What will they be able to do easier or better thanks to reading your book?
For fiction, it can be a bit trickier. I suggest emphasizing the conflicts confronting your characters. Try to tap into the potential reader's own experience of such conflict: they may want to better understand it, relive it, or simply live it vicariously. The more vivid and impacting you can make it in a few short sentences the more likely it is to resonate with them.
Third: Show them what reading your book is like. Maybe the most difficult of the three, this can be the clincher. Think of the book description as a mini test drive of your book. If your promise is to explain some technical skill, such as website building or home micro brewing, show off your gifts for explanatory clarity. Use clear, easy to follow language to explain some technical detail, so they'll feel confident of being able to follow and learn from your book. Give them confidence that you can make it all easy to understand.
For fiction writers, can you convey (not name, but show) the genre and style of your book in the description of it. You could start with a throwaway first sentence that evokes the tone. For instance, were your book an atmospheric cloak and dagger spy novel, you might begin with a description of the anxiety of sheltering in a doorway on a rain drenched cobblestone street, awaiting a dubious contact who, for all you know, may have sold you out already. Or, if your novel tells a story of urban city drama, you could evoke the kind of desperate situation which the limited options of life on the street may present to your protagonist. Again, this is a tease, but if you do it well, it's also an audition.
So tell what it is, entice with the benefit they'll achieve, and show them a flavor of the style they can expect. Yes, that is a lot to do in a very short space. That's why it's difficult to do well and why the rewards for doing it well are so great. It's a key secret to success in self publishing on Amazon.
Don't be surprised or discouraged if you find yourself doing three to five times more drafts of your book description than you did of the book. Getting it right is taxing work. And, after you've done all that, you still haven't any guarantee of an Amazon bestseller. The truth is that, despite the self-serving claims of marketing type, none of us can be induced to purchase a product that we don't actually want.
What you can do, if they are open to what you're offering, is convince them that your version of what they want is going to satisfy what it is they're seeking. That's where you close your sale, sell your book and create the potential for a long term reader and maybe even enthusiast of your work.
It all starts, though, with not having them pass you over as inadequately interesting from the start. So, sorry, but finishing the book wasn't the completion of your writing requirements. Sharpen up that pencil.
About the Author:
Self publishing writers who want to keep up on the hottest news and tips need to follow the Self Publishing on Amazon site. Lance Fallbrook is a frequent commentator on writers and writing. See his provocative piece on famous American authors -- the dead list!
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