Friday, October 23, 2009

Recommended Reading

For anyone who has ever gone through the process of writing a book, most will agree, writing it was the easy part. Editing it is usually a grind, taking up to three times longer than the fun part---writing it.

Even after you finally get the thing in print, you then realize the real job has arrived---Marketing it. As a first time (self-published) author, I never realized I'd have to spend time actually trying to sell my book. I thought it would mysteriously sell itself. Lol.

For anyone who has ever written a book and had it available for sale on Amazon, they probably realize to pay very little attention to that crazy Amazon ranking system. It's all based on projections and extrapolations that really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things; especially in the early stages of the post-publication process. I recall a week or two after my press release came out about my book, it appeared I was destined to make the New York Times Best-Seller list. It peaked out at something like 8750, which had it in the top 100 in my category (Business General).

Then reality hit. After the initial wave of buyers, things started slowing down a bit. Then things started slowing down more than a bit. And so on and so forth. I was concerned, to say the least.

Then I stumbled across a book written by the President of Outskirts Press, our hero, Brent Sampson---"How to Sell Your Book on Amazon". Brent revealed some pretty good marketing secrets, one of which has become a full-time endeavor for me---doing reviews on Amazon. The logic behind this strategy is simple: The more reviews I do, the more exposure I get for (a) being an authority on my niche and (b) having my book attached to my Amazon reviewer name.  People read my stellar reviews then check out my book.

Finally, I can see the strategy's paying off a bit. I just polished off my 300th review and now my book's starting to sell at a torrid pace again. Lol.

Luckily, the books I chose to review were, for the most part, very good efforts; some were great. As a service to you, the blog reader, I thought I'd pass along my most recent favorites (posted on Twitter). The subject matter ranges from business tips to self-help advice, with a little thought provoking material thrown in for good measure.

Here are a dozen books I really enjoyed, and I bet you will, too:

The Power of Full Engagement (Jim Loehr)  http://bit.ly/IDHJg

The Power of Less (Leo Babauta)  http://bit.ly/125Bxk

On Writing Well (William Zinsser)  http://bit.ly/4vv71N

Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently (Gregory Bernshttp://bit.ly/OV1bz

Primal Management (Paul Herr)  http://bit.ly/CR1v9

Economics in One Lesson (Henry Hazlitt)  http://bit.ly/167hgT

Self-Promotion for Introverts (Nancy Ankowitz)  http://bit.ly/j2fRh

Have a Little Faith (Mitch Albom)  http://bit.ly/FpHnE

Endless Referrals  http://bit.ly/2Q0yrW & The Go-Giver (Bob Burg)  http://bit.ly/FSXnX

That Which is Seen & That Which is Not Seen  http://bit.ly/1d1fy & The Law (Frederic Bastiat)  http://bit.ly/1u3gRV

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't plug my masterpiece. I hate being remiss.

Life Under the Corporate Microscope (Larry Underwood)  http://bit.ly/b2pBY

There you have it. After you read these books, why don't you head over to Amazon and write your very own reviews? It's almost as much fun as reading the books; I guarantee it.

The author can be probed further by going here:  http://www.outskirtspress.com/LarryUnderwood

1 comment:

  1. This is great info Larry because I am working on my first book. I'm still hoping that it will be bought by a big house but I also realize that I may have to self publish and do all my own promotions so I will definitely follow your advice.

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