editorial

Why I Wouldn't Read Your Book!

Irene Watson

Simple answer: You haven't given me enough reason to choose your book over others.

 With near 400,000 titles published yearly, we have a lot of choices.  Brick and mortar stores are stacked with books, online stores with hundreds of thousands of books are being established daily (Google produced 39,200,000,) and the internet is inundated with author sites.  And, with tabbed browsing to rank, evaluate, and distinguish you from other authors it will only take seconds for me to decide if I want to read your book. (I Googled "Read Mystery Books" and ended up with 107,000,000 hits! I got 119,000,000 for "Read Self-Help Books.")
So, again, why wouldn't I buy your book?  Answer:  Because you failed to position your uniqueness  relative to all the other books in your genre. You have failed to move the dial on my who-gives-a-crap meter.

What do you do about changing that?

First, position yourself with your website.  A typical reader looking for a book will evaluate your website by comparing to three to five others. 

Second, position yourself on the landing page of your book website as well as every other page on your site. Potential book buyers rarely only stay on the landing page.  Give them reason t to find out more about your book and you.

Don't use flabby or sugar-coated content.  No, your book isn't amazing, innovative, original, wonderful, incredible, breathtaking, blah, blah, blah.  At least it isn't unless  credible readers say  it is.  And, no it doesn't mean Mom or Uncle John.  I said "credible" which means someone that is known in the industry of your genre and/or a known reviewer or review service.  And, no it doesn't mean you can use a blurb and give credit to "a reader" or "D.K." or a blog site that has no credibility.  

Remember I told you we typically see 5000 ads/buy-me messages per day?  (See my article on establishing a first mental image.) If you can't cut through the clutter of blah blah blah immediately and offer your potential readers something that is of interest, relevant, and credible, (see my article on relevancy and credibility) then they will move on to another site still looking for the book that will hook them. We have short attention spans, and even shorter memories than we did 20 years ago therefore it is extremely important to hook the potential reader right away - within the first 15 seconds, or less - on the landing page of your website. (And, that's even stretching it.) Do an experiment right now - get a clock/watch with a second hand and see how long 15 seconds is.  It seems like a long time, doesn't it?  Personally, if the landing page of a site I visit doesn't hook me within about 3 seconds I move on and I will bet my oldest child on it that I'm not the only one.

Okay, so I've given you all this and now you are wondering how to position yourself.  Right?

Do this now:

1.  Write down every possible reason anyone would want to read your book. (At least 10 and no less!!)

DO NOT GO TO THE NEXT STEP UNTIL YOU'VE WRITTEN AT LEAST 10 REASONS.

2.  Review the list and remove everything that is true of other books in your genre. (I mean everything that can be claimed by another author.)

DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU'VE DONE THE ABOVE EXERCISE!

(No cheating!  If you cheat you aren't going to fully understand what changes you have to make on your landing page.)

Now that you've done the exercise and probably eliminated all your 10+ reasons you can continue reading. 

Start a new list using these suggestions:

1.  Why is your book unique compared to others in your genre?
2.  How is the uniqueness/content relevant to current social issues, interests, and times?
3.  What uniqueness of your book (content, relevancy)  is most difficult for other authors to imitate?
4.  Which unique aspect of your book can the potential reader relate to?

Difficult?  Yep, I thought so.  However, now that you have your unique qualities listed,  create a memorable and relevant message about your book. And, make sure the message speaks with relevancy and to the need of your potential reader. (No, that doesn't mean some self-centered stuff about yourself, it means the focus is on your potential reader and their needs/wants.) Now go to your website landing page and evaluate it.  Does it need to be changed?

I want to hear your comments.  Please tell me here.

Watch video -Anonymous Letter from Customer

featured this week

Fiction - Short Stories, Humor, Satire

Follow the Money: A collection of interconnected short stories

Ross Cavins

RCG Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9780982772003
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (04/10)

Synopsis

Follow The Money by author Ross Cavins is a collection of ten interconnected short stories, guaranteed to tickle your funny bone (and those of the people within your direct vicinity). The stories begin with a botched kidnapping, a money scam, a not-so-average convenience store holdup ... and then they flow (with the money) through a series of interesting, and sometimes bizarre, plots. Each story stands on its own but watch for recurring characters and motifs that bind the ten stories into a single plot, one that supports the title of the book, Follow The Money.

Read review of Follow the Money
Listen to interview on Inside Scoop Live
Visit authors' website

featured this week

Fiction - Romance, Erotica, Satire

The Sweet Distraction

Tim Smith

Extasy Books (2010)
ISBN 9781554875771
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (06/10)

Synopsis

In The Sweet Distraction by author Tim Smith, George Sullivan's life is a disaster in progress. His last few books haven't sold well, he drinks too much, he sleeps around, he's on the hook for a gambling debt bestseller. His love life isn't faring much better, due to a bad break-up that still haunts him. When his agent arranges for him to write the memoir of notorious mob boss Vito Pasquale, it's the opportunity of a lifetime and a chance to make all his dreams come true.

What George doesn't count on is falling for the Don's beautiful but spoiled daughter, Cookie. It's lust at first sight for both of them, but George resists her come-ons and seduction attempts because he fears how her father might react. When Cookie wages a relentless campaign to snare him it's only a matter of time before George caves in, but what if things don't work out between them?

Read review of The Sweet Distraction
Visit authors' website

Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner

Perceptive Marketing Book Award for the Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

Indigo Awakening by author Dr. Janine Talty

Energy Psychology Press (2009)
ISBN 9781600700637

Janine Talty is board certified in Family Medicine by the AmericanCollege of Osteopathic Family Physicians. She specializes in clinical biomechanics, orthopedic medicine, and Osteopathic manipulative medicine. She holds two masters degrees. The first is in the field of Public Health, double majoring in Health Resources Management and Community Health Science, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health. The second is in Clinical Biomechanics, from Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr Talty attended medical school at Des Moines University and completed her internship and residency in Family Medicine and fellowship in Clinical Biomechanics at Michigan State University.

Synopsis: Dr. Janine Talty, as a child found herself bewildered by a world full of challenges that she could not understand. She felt isolated, unable to cope with the regular life issues that other children managed easily. She could not comprehend math or spelling—yet she could see energies that others could not see, and had levels of awareness than no-one around her possessed.

Indigo Awakening is the inspiring story of how she overcomes these challenges, finds her voice and identity, and discovers a channel for her healing abilities as an osteopathic physician. She speaks directly to the experience of fellow indigos, and shows them that some of their biggest challenges can be their most powerful gifts. She reveals that much of our personal physical suffering is actually clearing the way for human transformation, and that there is meaning and purpose to the events in our lives—even when we can't see this.

Read review of Indigo Awakening
Visit Janine's website

Enter Literary Awards Program