9 Authors Share Tips On How To Get Your First N10,000

Being a company that deals directly with authors, we’ve noticed that a lot of new authors struggle with selling their books. I mean, it’s disheartening, right? After burning the midnight candle and enduring days and months of sleepless nights, you then find that no one is willing to buy your book. Or just a few family members and friends are willing to support you.

It’s frustrating. I know. It is, for this reason, we will be doing a series of daily posts this coming week on creating your book and selling it like pure water. But before the series, we decided to catch up with some of our best-selling Authors and ask what advice they have for new authors, as regards making their first N10,000 in ebook sales.
Their tips will blow you away. See them below:

1. The Fertile Chick – Best selling author of Golibe, Accidentally Knocked Up and other interesting novels has one word for new authors – Keep the pricing affordable.

2. Sally Kenneth Dazie – Bestselling author of several hit romance novels, including The Fourth Finger and The Fish Brain Series has this to say – Use all the tools available for marketing yourself and putting your work out there.

3. Musa Ajayi –  One of our Bestselling Hausa romance authors says – For new authors what I advise is to learn marketing and salesmanship. In this era of self-publishing, knowledge of how to market and convince people to buy your work is much more important than the work. There are so many writers better than me. They write well but they don’t market well hence I sell, they don’t. Take for example, on OkadaBooks, there are so many great books by so many great writers that nobody cares to read, even if they are free. This is simply because they are not well marketed.

4. Emeka Nwankwo – Marketing and Publicity, Cassava Republic Press says – Know your audience, understand your audience and add value with every marketing strategy. Often time we share content without critically considering the value of the content. People buying – or that will buy – your book aren’t doing it out of a sense of altruism. Instead they do it because of the value they will get from the product or from your marketing materials. So look for a way to add value to your followers, readers, and audience.

5. Nectar Boy – Another one of our Bestselling Hausa Authors, has this to say- The main thing a new author need is to make sure he has publicity. You can write 3,4,5 books, but possibly one among the books will give you the breakthrough and popularity. So make sure that book is well written and organized. The moment that book gains a number of readers, the rest will fall in line even if they aren’t as good as the first. But also try to keep the good work because if the readers realize the first one is only the good one, they will gradually shift from your work to someone else with a better imagination

 

6. Ejiro Ukaumune, Bestselling Author popularly known as E PLUS, The Storyteller, says –
a) As a Storyteller, Creative Writer and Author, the first step I would advise that you take is to start with those you know.
√ Your Family
√ Friends
√Collegues
√Neighbours
√Course mates
These are your inner circles and it is quite easy to get their attention in terms of patronage and support.
They will eventually announce you to their friends and colleagues, thus expanding your reach.

b) Strategies: When you strategize, you map out an approach to make your book appeal to your audience.
These strategies could be in diverse ways depending on the content of your work.
For example, an instructional Book can easily be advertised to Schools, symposiums, workshop, Seminars,  e.t.c

c) For the eBook authors, never stop sharing your links…
Leverage on platforms that support your genre. You are more likely to get attention where your works will be much appreciated.

d) Network! Network! Network! Ensure you associate with people of like minds who are willing to support one another’s work by re-sharing links.

Also, I would advise that you take advantage of the press I.e do a press release of your Book. The power of the media cannot be overemphasized. Besides, the more extended your reach is, the more views and followers you gain and this definitely translates often, to more sales.

Ultimately, never relent in pushing forth. Do not be afraid of competition, the market is elastic thus there is room for everyone, it’s just a matter of time.

7. Laju Iren, Author of the bestselling relationship book, “Dating Intelligently” says –
a. Market your book on social media like your life depends on it. Talk about it every day and in every way. Get friends and others who have read it to talk about it as well. Don’t forget to have the link readily available.

b. I also think that as a new author, you should not limit your book only to the app (OkadaBooks app). People should be able to read it on the site as well. People are generally lazy buyers, so it reduces your chances of sales if they have to download the app to buy it. Especially if you aren’t famous.

c. Also, don’t overprice your book. Even if an ebook is made of gold, many people won’t buy for more than N2000…and I’m being generous. Somewhere between N400-N1000 is best for a new author.

8. Naija Singlegirl, bestselling author of 29, Single & Nigerian says – Get an audience before you release that book.
Do you have friends that know you love to write? A blog? A column in a magazine? How about your social media channels? Facebook groups you belong or online communities you are active in? When you announce your newly-published book as a self-published author without an audience it feels like you are selling in an empty market. Your first twenty sales are most likely to come from these channels which at times sets off the marketing chain.”

9. TM David-West also one of our Bestselling Romance Authors, says –
1. Put your name, or pen name, out there. You can do this via social media networks and also owning a blog. Introducing yourself to readers for free as a writer helps to build their confidence in you as a writer and this translates into sales when you publish.

2. Have a good story. A good story is another beginning of selling yourself and the story. Nothing worse than a boring story, in my opinion. Or, a poorly written story

So, write a good and interesting story.

3. Edit and proofread diligently.

It may be advisable to hire a knowledgeable editor and proofreader.

4. Design a good cover. I have found that bright covers with bold fonts are easier on the eye and inviting to readers. I once had to change all my covers in one day because a reader privately contacted and complained about my use of dark backgrounds. So, a good cover is key.

With all of these set, you upload your book into the OkadaBooks restore and part 2 of your becoming a selling author career begins. Just having your book on an e-bookstore is not enough, you will need to sell it. And while I’m still in the learning processes of promoting and marketing my books, here are a few of actions I take after publishing:

1. Make noise about your book. Be a town crier and a very loud one. Never be ashamed to talk about your book. Talk about it like it’s going out of fashion. Talk about it on your blog, social media accounts and anywhere else you’re permitted to.

2. Spend money to make money. I just put this new trick to practice with my book, “All Business,” written under my other pen name: Sophia Bernard. I, and this was the first for me, placed All Business on the Featured Tab of OkadaBooks and noticed a considerable increase in sales from what I used to know. So, the paid ad does help.

3. Get your family, friends and if possible, enemies, involved in the promotion of your book. The more people talking about your book, the more attention it gets and more attention will finally translate into sales.

4. Do a giveaway.

It doesn’t hurt to ‘dash’ some lucky person your book and get them to talk about it and also give a review. Giveaways get attention from readers and give them a free taste of what your story is about.

Finally, I would encourage that you post glimpse chapters of your story. It’s like a bait and most often, they’re too attached to do anything else but follow up with a purchase.

This is, thus far, what I do and this little can earn N10,000 within the first month of release.

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So, there. You’ve read it all people. These advise are from some of the top eBook sellers on our platform. Some of the above authors have raked in a million in ebook sales. You can too.

You have comments or inquiries, please drop them in the comment section. I look forward to reading from you.