Ram C. Khatri

Book Publishing & Marketing  

[ramckhatri]

Is Book Discovery a Next Big Challenge for Publishers? Optimize Your Book on Amazon Search

Did you know that more than 600,000 books are published in the United States every year - and over 99 percent of them never see the light of day?

This is, of course, a bad nightmare for every author who has already spent months or even years in writing a book or a similar publication. Fortunately, every author can prevent this issue from happening - with the use of accurate and powerful keywords. That way, their publications will be properly optimized for the Amazon search. On top of that, the cherry picking of these magic words is proven to decrease the various promotion efforts and increases the sales of your book.

But how the use of accurate keywords can boost your book sales and where exactly do you need to use them?

The Search Algorithm That Amazon Is Using

Just like Google and Yahoo, Amazon is a search engine - however a different from the first two. Basically, people visit Amazon site with the intention of buying something. They search the items using specific keywords they already have in their mind and eventually purchase products.

Still, one of the major factors behind Amazon’s success is that it can place the right product at the right time in front of the right customers if the Amazon product is optimized with correct and relevant keywords.

So, if you have properly optimized your book’s metadata information with relevant keywords, the book description will likely show up on Amazon’s Search Engine Result Page (SERP). The more earlier pages the book appear the better will be for your book’s sales. This strategy helps you win your potential readers and is known as Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) - an online decision-making moment of possible audience who are in the condition of to buy or not to buy the product.

Some Other Tips To Have In Mind When Optimizing Your Publication On Amazon

Aside from the catchy titles and meta descriptions, every great book must have a beautiful cover, gripping description and author bio, and other relevant metadata information that makes readers buy your book. There are five major sections) of your book where you need to use the most relevant and accurate keywords, which you can change and update frequently, including:

the book title

the sub-title

the description

the reviews, and

the author name

In my brief research on Amazon books, I found that many books which are published on Amazon were with incomplete in terms of their book descriptions. Even worse, many authors had no Amazon Author Central Pages though books, making their publications empty and lacking great contents.

Luckily, Amazon allows us to use maximum number of keywords in each section - so that every publication or book becomes more discoverable on both Amazon and Google search.

How Do Readers Search For Books And Publications On Amazon

On Amazon, readers generally find your books (or any other product) in two ways:

by typing keywords in Amazon’s search bar or

by searching on Google

Book description sections on Amazon are indexed at Google, which as you probably know is a place where even 67 percent of the world’s Internet searches take place. Therefore, whenever someone types certain keywords on Google, the search query redirects them to the relevant Amazon page - obviously, if it has been optimized with the proper Amazon keywords.

In the end, there are still times when even the keywords used in the interior text—preferably in the copyright page—of the book influences the Amazon search where the ‘look inside’ feature of your book is active. Since book optimization is generally a marketing effort, collaborating with an expert who is specialized in proper Amazon book optimization and knows the book-ranking algorithm can make your book more discoverable and can bring dramatic sales.

Ram Chandra Khatri is the graduate of Book Publishing. Check his website to know more about him. http://ramchandrabooks.com/

[writingservices-blog1]

Is Lindsay Lohan Really A Muslim, And Why Should You Care? by Michael Levin

Word on the street suggests that Lindsay Lohan has adopted the Muslim faith.

Evidence includes a photo of her carrying the Quran, her deletion of all of her social media posts and the replacement of that language with an Arabic greeting, and a strange amalgamation of accents that she has adopted for going down the red carpet.

Her business manager or publicist denied that she has become a Muslim, which only fans the flames of rumor even further.

Here’s my take.

The worst thing that could ever happen to a human being is to become a child star.

Kids are just not built for the acclaim, the fame, the money, or the freedom that child stardom entails.

More often than not, they end up going to the dark side.

Think Miley Cyrus, betraying the trust of a generation of young girls by shaving one side of her head and turning herself into a sex symbol (of sorts).

And then there are the child stars who turn to alcoholism and drug addiction because they need something to replace the high that came when life handed them too much, too soon.

I remember watching America’s Got Talent this season and feeling my heart sink when Grace Vanderwaal won the contest.

Whatever her life had been like, now it would be Las Vegas, paparazzi, people

wanting to be her friend because she’s famous, and all the other things that are just perfect for any child.

Now comes Lindsay Lohan, and if I may perform a bit of armchair psychoanalysis, this is a young woman starved for attention.

Don’t I vaguely remember photos of her going commando as she eased out of a car somewhere?

Is there anything about Ms. Lohan that we don’t already know?

So in the endless quest for attention, her options were few.

Famous for motherhood? Sorry, but Angelina Jolie and the Octomom got there first.

Famous for caring about the environment? Sorry—Justin Bieber was driving a Prius back when your license was suspended.

Famous for getting sober?

Sorry. You’re about number ten thousand in the line of Hollywood celebrities who have sworn off booze and drugs.

So in a world where it’s increasingly difficult to cut through the clutter, how can you command the attention of the world?

Spoiler alert: It ain’t with a new tattoo.

You adopt Islam.

There are thousands of books that Lohan could have carried through the streets of London without attracting the curiosity of the social media world.

Ah, but if you carry the Quran, all eyes are on you.

Similarly, there are so many deserving, poor, and suffering children here in the

United States who could benefit from the tender ministrations of a former child star.

But nothing will get your name in the paper like a trip to a Syrian refugee camp.

I have no personal knowledge of Lindsay Lohan, aside from having watched The Parent Trap with my nine-year-old two weeks ago.

I don’t doubt the sincerity of her commitment to her newfound faith, if indeed she has adopted a new religion.

My hunch is that she has married a spiritual search, no doubt prompted by the mixed blessing of too much too soon, with the celebrity sense of self-awareness and self-aggrandizement.

If you’re going to convert to a religion, don’t pick Catholicism or Buddhism and expect to be in the headlines.

To become a Muslim?

Days before Trump’s inauguration? Suddenly, you’re a walking People magazine cover.

The Muslim reaction, at least in social media, to Lohan’s apparent conversion has been positive.

And if it makes her happy or spiritually satisfied, more power to her.

But the Muslims should be wary.

Is she adopting a religion, or co-opting one, so as to get her name back in the headlines?

This may be the most cunning move by a former child star to stay in the limelight, or as she might now say, in’shallah.

New York Times bestselling author and Shark Tank entrepreneur Michael Levin runs BusinessGhost.com, a book ghostwriting firm.

[ramckhatri]

“So in a world where it’s increasingly difficult to cut through the clutter, how can you command the attention of the world?”

[sacredthemanga]

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The Pros and Cons of Publishing with a Small Press

The great publishing question… Traditional or self-published?

We all want to land a huge publisher so we can sit back on our laurels, but anyone who’s thrown their hat into the ring knows it’s a hard road to being accepted… and an even harder one negotiating a contract that gives you decent royalties, plus enough control over how your book is edited, what cover it’s given, and how it’s advertised.

On the flipside, being self-published is easy, but when it comes to hiring a cover artist, managing social media, holding marketing campaigns, trying to get into your audience’s ever-changing mind… You feel like giving up, and even if you don’t, there’s no guarantee you’ll make it out alive.

But who said it was an either-or?

There’s a third option for those putting the final touches on their manuscripts: A small press. Authors like Carolyn Mathews, author of Transforming Pandora, used a small press to benefit from the experience of a large publishing company and the control of going it alone. This middle ground means you don’t have to grovel or bash your head in.

Pros:

You Have a Whole Team of Eyes

You’ve read self-published stuff before and you know what I’m about to say. Some of it is utter BBQ’d garbage, and unfortunately no one had the heart to tell them so. There are also some books with excellent potential, but who never really reached it. No author is safe from this mistake. Whether it’s bad typesetting or glaring plot holes, nothing is more valuable than an honest and objective eye to make sure your book really is as good as you think.

With a small press, you don’t have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. You have an entire team of eyes on your work to ensure every comma is in the right place, the chapter structure isn’t confusing, and that your character hasn’t suddenly switched personalities with someone else. This gives you peace of mind that the work you send out into the world really is the best it can be, with plenty of insights to back you up.

Fewer Start-Up Costs

With self-publishing, the costs are high. You have to hire a proofreader, an artist to create a cover, a typesetter, someone to critique your work, and someone to manage your social media (if you’d rather not do it yourself). That’s not including the price of printing and distributing, purchasing advertisement, etc., etc. You have to spend money to make money, and while the reader might only spend a few dollars for your book, you have to spend a notable amount to create something worth reading and then getting it in their hands.

With a small publisher, these expenses are theirs, and they also have the connections to ensure the money goes to the most profitable places. In some cases, your small press may negotiate for you to contribute to the cost of publication, but in any case, choosing the right publisher will ensure you get more for your money than self-publishing.  

There’s Less For You to Manage

Publishers exist because, like it or not, publishing is a full-time job. You may check your social media every day, but there’s more to it when you have to hold marketing campaigns, interact with followers, create newsletters, make guest-posts and content for your blog, and tailor your website to actually catch the attention of your audience.

A small press can handle this for you, putting people on the job with the experience and education to not only take this burden off your shoulders, but do it better and more regularly than you.

You Have More Control

As already stated, traditional publishers call all the shots. Do you like your current title? Too bad, it’s being changed. Hate that color scheme of this cover? Sorry, it’s what the genre likes. Think this section of your story is valuable? It can still be cut.

Small presses are more flexible when it comes to the decision-making process, giving you more freedom to keep titles, revise chapters, and put your foot down about keeping a certain character. Mathews’ book is a late coming-of-age novel about spirituality, hard choices, and lost loves, and she received some resistance on the spiritual element. However, with a small press, she was able to keep what she sees as one of the most valuable parts of the book. Even if they drive a hard bargain, smaller publishing companies will at least put more serious consideration into your suggestions.

Royalties Are More Evenly Divided

On average, a traditional publishing company will offer 5-15% royalties to authors, but some small presses will offer up to 50%.

The author of Transforming Pandora made a deal with her small press to “contribute towards the cost of production and [not] get any royalties for Transforming Pandora until 1,000 copies [were] sold.” However, “The contracts for the next two books, Squaring Circles and Pandora’s Gift are better. I get royalties from the start.”

You can negotiate with your small publishing company to make a deal that best works for you, with a lot more promising results than you’d find from the traditional route.

Cons:

You Won’t Control Your Prices

Unfortunately, a publishing company is still a publishing company, and they only succeed if they’re able to make back the money they’ve invested in your work. This means most small presses don’t give authors control over the price their book is sold as.

Carolyn Mathews said, “I don’t have any control over the price of the paperbacks and ebooks, and can’t do any cut-price promotions – that’s all in the hands of the publishers.”

Mathews’ publisher has put her book on sale on Amazon for 99 cents until July 15th, but other ideas have had the breaks put on them. This is a gamble, since maybe you’re in the right – and maybe they are.

You Still Need Permissions

You wake up one morning with a brilliant idea of holding an author interview with your favorite podcast. It’ll drive sales; it’ll get your name out there! Hold the phone; don’t make contact with the podcast hosts yet. You still need to ask your small press for permission on things concerning your book, even after it’s been published. Running out there on your own will muddle their efforts and yours, and even if it’s a great idea, you still need to check in with the team before going forward.

You’ll Have Disagreements on What is “Necessary”

That podcast idea? Your small press might turn you down.

Like any cooperation, there’s going to be disagreements. While you’ll have more control over some elements of your book, your publisher may decide that a second round of proofreading isn’t what your book really needs. You need to be prepared to make compromises and accept some losses. Trust me, no author has ever been 100% happy with every element of the publishing process.

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The Benefits of Digital Reading

There are many different ways to consume books now thanks to advancements in the publishing industry. One of the best positives to come out is that you can literally read a book anywhere and everything, or even have them read to you. Read more …

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Why Building an Email List is Important for Your Book Marketing

Building an marketing email list for both authors and publishers is a great help in targeting specific readers. In this inexpensive digital marketing method, readers are provided with free content to easily download such as sample chapters, prequels, or previews in exchange for their emails. The email subscribers are then followed up with promotional emails in order to convert them into buyers.

Using this effective and proven marketing system, authors like John Locke and Nick Stephenson were able to sell millions of books to their targeted readers. In his “How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months” webinar, Mr. Locke tells how he was able to sell his books by targeting his readers by building his own email list. Building the email list is not easy but it well pays off in the long run. Continue Reading…

[ramckhatri]

Not all marketing people are writers, but all writers must learn to be marketers.

[ramckhatri]

how to optimize your author’s blog with keywords