THE BACKGROUND:
I have now spent many years writing, reviewing and blogging about books. My mission has always been to help Indie Authors who have self published. I have my own reasons for blogging and reviewing, but at the heart of if is fairness. I feel that many Indie Authors never really get the recognition or exposure which they deserve. Although it is not always the case, in many instances their writing is equal to or better than numerous mainstream published authors.
All this being said, I have now decided to branch out with what I do. I am a writer at heart and want to spend more time doing this. I love to write and am proud of what I produce. The question then becomes how do I continue to fulfill my mission? Actually, that query is understated at best. It is more along the line of “how do I grow and expand my presence in the industry in order to garner a greater impact?”
One thing which has always frustrated me during this experience has been lack of book sales. Once I read and review a great book, I am then able to promote it. If it is a 4 or 5 star review, I do my utmost to get the word out about the book. While the author feedback is that this effort has always spiked sales, it has still not transformed into steady sales over time. Therein lies the conundrum. What sells books? Almost every author I know has this as one of their main objectives. The following factors have been proven to sell books over an extended period of time:
-Quality writing (without this you are done)
-Book Covers
-Book Descriptions/Blurbs
-Book Reviews and Buzz
-Elevator Pitches
-Ad Copy
-Marketing and Promotion
-Querying out to get a publishing company to market
When someone is looking for a book in a store or online it is typically the cover which first grabs their attention. What comes next? They read the book description, or blurb. If it looks like something they are interested in, they will either buy it at this point or see if they can find some book reviews about it. Then the purchase is made. It is important to note however that if the book has an attractive cover, great description- but shoddy writing… Customer A will never come back. They will feel cheated and deceived. Nothing which is sustained over time will be gained except the failure of future sales.
That is where I come in. I am rebranding “Leonard Tillerman” and am adding writing services to what I do. While my book reviews will always be free, I do have to charge for the new author services. With expansion comes new costs which have to be recovered. I have already been providing a number of these new services for a while but have not publicized this. The results have been quite impressive.
Starting immediately, I will be offering the following services:
Book Descriptions/Blurbs
Book Summaries/Synopsis
Author Biographies
Elevator Pitches
Query Letters
Ad Copy
Ghostwriting services
Consulting/rewriting- Developmental support (e.g., reworking parts of a book where you have become stuck)
