How To Get People To Read Your Book – 5 Tips For You

Writing For Your Reader - get people to read your book

As an author, you want to know how to get people to read your book. But you need to understand today’s publishing market.

The latest revolution in the book publishing industry is the ebook, and it is right up there with the printing press.

Suddenly, you can get any book you want at a lower price and environmentally friendly format (no paper) any time you want it without leaving the house.

Just put in a search and pluck it out from your favorite ebook publisher or seller, and start reading. More importantly, though, any author can self-publish a book without having to go through a traditional publisher and waiting for an acceptance (or rejection) letter.

Learn how to market your book

Not only will the readers have a wider breadth of choice of books, but anyone with anything to say has the power to put it out there at any time.

Sounds great, right? Well…

One thing you have to remember as an author is that self-publishing has its downside: you have to market it yourself.

You don’t have access to the marketing machinery that established publishers have.

So unless you make it as an Editor’s Pick or Bestsellers list, you have to do your own promotion.

Writing a book is easy; publishing it is agonizing.

This is something many published authors know. Your book is your baby.

It is a part of yourself that you’ve put out there for other people to see. You only want praise and acknowledgment, and of course, sales.

That doesn’t always happen.

In fact, according to this article, only 40 of the hundreds of thousands of self-published authors on Amazon actually make a lot of money.

If you have invested a lot of time and care in a book and nobody seems to care about it outside your own social circle, then it is a big blow to the ego, so you stop writing.

However, that’s not the way to go.

Many successful and bestselling authors were rejected multiple times before they got their big break.

But in many cases, they eventually became successful because they failed so many times.

Here are five tips on how to get people to read your book.

 

Know your target reader

Know where your target reader

Ironically, one of the biggest problems for self-published authors is making people aware that there is a book out there.

You want to get people to read your book. Perhaps they would love to read if they could only find it.

A good way to do this is to put it where your target reader has a good chance of finding it. Sounds easy, huh? Well, not really. There are many options out there for self-publishing and promotion.

But not all of them will be appropriate for your target reader.

Before you even publish, you have to do some research to identify your target readers, also known as potential readers who would like your book.

Who are they? If you know who they are in terms of demographics, then you will be able to pinpoint where they are.

Such as where they go to find new books to read or which social media platform they are likely to be active.

When you know your target reader, you know where you have a better chance of getting their attention and promoting your book.

 

Write for your reader

If you have done your research on your target reader, then you should realize that promoting your book in the right places is not enough to get them to care.

Sure, they’ll see it, but does it resonate with them?

Before you publish, look over what you’ve written from the perspective of your target reader.

Ask yourself, “if I were them, will I keep on reading?”

If you hesitate to answer even an iota of a second, then you’re headed for a major rewrite.

 

Use the right category

Amazon is the biggest platform for self-published books. So that’s where most people go to find new books.

However, since there are millions of books on Amazon. So, you need to be very specific about choosing the categories for your book.

Avoid choosing a broad category such as “Romance” or “Mysteries,” but drill down to the less crowded sub-categories that describe your book to a T.

If you have a niche audience, they are most likely to zero in on these specific categories rather than combing through a ton of books under a broader category they don’t want.

Choosing a specific category will also more likely get you featured, at least in the “New” listing.

 

Write compelling copy

A common mistake of many self-published authors is giving too little attention to crafting their book descriptions.

You may have the best book ever written.

But it won’t matter if you don’t catch the interest of your audience. For that, you need the baddest-ass copy you can manage.

Look at it this way. How many times have you, as a reader, based your decision to read a print book by an author you don’t know on the description on the back cover or the flyleaf?

Chances are, most of the time.

If the description is intriguing or compelling, then you are more willing to give the new author a try (if the price is right, that is).

It is the same way with ebooks.

Many online readers will check out the copy (and then the reviews) to decide whether it is worth the $2.99 or whatever you price it at.

An important note on copy. Highlight things about the book that address what it will do for the reader.

Most people won’t care about the story unless they can relate to it in some way.

If they can’t relate to anything you say in the copy, then they won’t buy it.

For example, if your target reader is a teenage girl, emphasize how the story is about a teenage girl, just like her, on the brink of an exciting adventure.

Get them excited into thinking that the story is about them, and you will have a winner.

 

Give special attention to your cover

If you think you can design your own book cover to cut down your costs, think again.

Book cover design is very important to your sales sheet. It is horribly easy to make a mistake in the cover design that will have a psychological effect on your target reader, and not in a good way.

Book covers should elicit the desired response from your audience. And disgust is not usually one of them. A well-designed book cover also shows professionalism and respect for the reader.

In one survey, 79% of people said that the book cover influenced their decision to buy a book.

If you are not aware of the principles that go behind good book cover design, you should find a professional designer to do it for you.

A great designer will cost you money. But so will a book that doesn’t get sold because it has a terrible cover.

You can write a book that people will care about if you play your cards right.

It will take a bit more research and effort than you may have realized at first, but they are certainly worth doing if you want to make it in indie publishing.

 

Stacey MaroneStacey Marone is a freelance writer and contributor. She has vast experience in academic writing and is a skilled and patient researcher, ensuring the work delivered is flawless every time. In her free time, she also does volunteer work and organizes some activities for children. You can follow her on Twitter

 

The views expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author and may not reflect the views of Just Publishing Advice.

 

Related Reading: When No One Reads Your Writing – What Can You Do?

4 thoughts on “How To Get People To Read Your Book – 5 Tips For You”

  1. I have followed the advice given on this website – to the best of my ability –
    One bit of advice was to create a website, create a brand and to blog.
    Did that. No obvious response.
    In fact I don’t think any of my family or friends even read my blog
    I post my blog on FaceBook and Twitter as recommended
    No comments or at best 1 comment that does not seem relevant to the posted blog
    Very discouraged
    How can I get people to read and comment on my blog so I can tell them about my forthcoming book?

  2. Thank you Stacey. I do agree that the hardest part of writing a book, is not in writing the story itself, but all the razzmatazz which follows its completion. Oh the awkwardness of book blurbs and biogs…and actually selling your little darling…I am an ancient scribbler, and have had experience of mainstream publishers – which I can’t praise enough – so was somewhat too spoiled early on. When ‘life’ intruded and I came out the other side, oh what a rude shock publishing was! If not a genius/a somebody/’connected/rich/hugely lucky…finding a reliable mainstream publisher is like finding gold in your change.. Most of us have no choice but to go down the ebook route, and I have done but am not a happy bunny.. As you mentioned, it is so important to have an eye-catching cover,title and alluring back blurb. Upwards and onwards.

  3. Thanks, Stacey. Excellent points.

    I’d add a couple.

    With a preview available via most digital markets, it’s more important than ever to draw readers in with the first few pages.

    Typos. Typos. Typos. I hate them. If I notice multiple typos as I’m previewing, I’m likely to bypass a book.

  4. Well written. We are in a seemingly revolutionary era. And the self-publishers are on a journey to catch up even on the Marketing/Publicity muscles of the Traditional publishers…

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