First, my apologies for not posting last week. We had a pet illness that, sadly, led to the passing of the kitty. I was in no fit state to write anything for a few days.
Now, on to what I’ve been up to this week!
I was recently reminded of two very important things authors need to have in their books: an up-to-date list of other books and a reader magnet to entice readers to sign up for your newsletter.
I’ve been working on getting all of my books updated with both (and with 40-some books, that’s not a quick and easy task!).
For nearly each book I’ve written I have short story or vignette that is either a prequel or about a secondary character in the story. Many authors will use an epilogue as their reader magnet. That works really well too. Cut chapters or scenes does as well. I happen to have written a number of short stories (I used to include them in my newsletter every month), so that is what I use as my reader magnet.
Well, I have to admit, I’ve not been keeping up with my short stories. I currently have five I need to write.
So, here are the details of what I do and what you may want to do as well — or a version thereof:
1. On the last page of the book just below the final line of the story, in a way that the Amazon bot thinks is part of text of the story, I put the following:
“Turn the page for a sneak peek at the next book in the series and the opportunity to download a free story when you sign up for Meredith’s newsletter!”
The reason why it’s important for this to look like it’s part of the story is that as soon as Amazon’s bot thinks the reader has come to the end of the story, a screen pops up requesting the reader the rate the book. Once that screen is there, only the most savvy readers know that there is more from the author. Therefore, we need to tell them! With the note above, readers will know to close the popup and look for the first chapter of the next book and the newsletter subscribe page.
2. After the popup, I have the promised description of the next book and the first chapter.
3. There is then the subscribe page which includes a teaser for the short story being offered (such as “But wait! Wyatt deserves his story to be told! Download A Sally for the Gentleman and join Meredith’s monthly newsletter for updates on her work, books, and special opportunities only open to newsletter subscribers.”)
4. About the Author page, which includes a brief bio and links to my website and every social media account I have. I also have links to my page on Goodreads and Bookbub, and for copies of the book that gets uploaded to Amazon readers, my Amazon author page.
5. Other Books by… This list is up to date (as of now…) and even has the next book coming up in the series I’m writing right now. My Amazon links are from https://kdpbook.link which will create a link that takes the reader to the Amazon store local to where they are (if they’re in Canada, it opens the book on Amazon.ca, in the UK, it opens Amazon.co.uk, in the US Amazon.com, etc).
I use software that allows me to put in links to every retailer for my books that are not exclusive to Amazon. (Jutoh allows for “conditional formatting” and Vellum has this option as well.) This way, the links a reader clicks takes them to the store where they bought the book. I am doing all I can to make it as easy as possible for a reader to buy another of my books.
It was recommended that I update my “Other books by” page every time I put out a new book. I have to admit, with so many books, that’s a huge job. I tend to do this after two or three books have published. If you have a smaller backlist, it’d be great if you could do it with every book.
Five Things You Need at the End of Your Novel