Making a Splash at Book Festivals

Tucson Book FestivalI used to live in Tucson, Arizona, where they started a new Book Festival back in 2009. That first year, there were over 50,000 attendees, and by the third year that number had jumped to 100,000. Quite quickly, the Tucson Festival of Books was rated in the top 5 book festivals in the country. I attended every TFOB until I moved out of the area, and it was gratifying to see so many people excited about books and reading. But being used to smaller events in book stores and libraries, I quickly realized that a book festival of this magnitude was a completely different animal, and there was a lot to learn. Every year I did things a little differently, and every year I had a more successful time. Continue reading “Making a Splash at Book Festivals”

How to Change a Book’s Title Without Losing Reviews

MR PISH EAST COAST EDITION_It happens. The title you chose just doesn’t generate the sales you hoped. No one besides you “gets” it. It’s time to give up on it and try something new.

But your book has been out for a couple of years now and you have some reviews on it. You worked hard getting those and you don’t want to lose them. It’s just all too horrible to think about.

Not so fast – there is actually a really easy way to update your title and upload a new cover without losing your reviews or your rankings. Imagine that! The order in which you make these changes is crucial, though, so please pay thorough attention. And this is for books on Amazon published through KDP and Createspace only. Continue reading “How to Change a Book’s Title Without Losing Reviews”

What You Need to Know about Amazon Pre-ordering

kindle-itunes-logoWhen Amazon announced that indie authors other than Hugh Howey would be allowed to offer their e-books on pre-order, the timing couldn’t have been better for me to give it a try. I was in the midst of planning my next book release. The description was ready, the categories and keywords chosen, and I’d just sent the final draft of the manuscript out for copyediting. Continue reading “What You Need to Know about Amazon Pre-ordering”