Readers who have reached the end of your novel are prime candidates to talk about your book. One great way to encourage them to do so is by adding a reader’s guide. This provides some boost to members of a book club or a reading group who want to recommend that your title be added to their monthly rotation.
The reader’s guide need not be long. In fact, a set of 25-30 discussion questions or just 2-3 pages maximum in a paperback is more than enough.
The challenge facing you the author is to ensure the discussion questions are open-ended, that they focus on key points in the key, and that they are interesting enough to foment conversation. One way to accomplish the last point is to ask readers to provide examples from their own experiences as part of the answer; for example, if the novel is Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”, one question might be “Would you characterize yourself as a ‘stranger’ in your community? In what ways?”
Discussion questions might address the following aspects of your novel:
• Title’s significance
• Meaning of symbols in the story
• Character’s controversial decision(s)
• Whether or not the reader agrees with a character’s actions
• Changes characters undergo
• Nature of relationships between characters
• Ways readers might identify with characters
The reader’s guide can be posted to your blog or website as well as to the book. When readers see the intriguing questions, they might purchase the book or feel encouraged to get it on their book club’s reading rotation. And be sure to include in the description on the website pages where people can purchase your book that it includes a bonus reader’s guide.
For most authors, marketing their book is the most difficult part of being a writer. If you don’t promote your books, though, the chances of them ever selling are staggeringly low. Here are six great book marketing ideas to help you get started (click the linked title for the full article):
• Create book club guide for your title
When promoting your book, you always should have a website, send out press releases to bloggers and mainstream media, and arrange book readings/signings to ensure the title is properly promoted. But those aren’t the only things you can do. In fact, they may not be enough. One marketing effort you might want to consider is creating a book club guide.
• Entice readers with excerpt from next book
If you’ve already started writing the next book you plan to publish, the back of the one you’re about to release is a great place to promote it. You might do that by offering readers an excerpt of your next book. This is particularly popular among novelists.
• Market your book with a free unpublished story
When promoting your book, you always should have a website, send out press releases to bloggers and mainstream media, and arrange book readings/signings to ensure the title is properly promoted. But those aren’t the only things you can do. In fact, they may not be enough.
• Offer valuable content to increase sales
When promoting your self-published book, consider offering additional valuable content. This tried-and-true technique can drive readers to a service you provide or to other books you are selling.
• Add reader’s guide to end of your novel
Readers who have reached the end of your novel are prime candidates to talk about your book. One great way to encourage them to do so is by adding a reader’s guide. This provides some boost to members of a book club or a reading group who want to recommend that your title be added to their monthly rotation.
• Try pulse-pricing to boost book sales
Once you set the price of your book, it need not remain that number forever. In fact, keeping a static price actually may hurt book sales.
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional book editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of 80 books including the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.
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