Category: Bestsellers

Bestsellers

Top 10 Best-Selling Books in Self-Publishing from 2015

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, is pleased to announce its top ten best-selling titles from all of 2015, according to combined data from Ingram Book Wholesalers and Outskirts Press Direct via http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore. These authors have likely created a solid book marketing strategy and put it into motion either by themselves or with the help of a Personal Marketing Assistant.

In alphabetical order, the top ten best-selling books in self-publishing from 2015 were:










Congratulations to our best-selling authors for the year 2015!

How can you get your book on the bestseller list? While we can’t make any guarantees on sales success, many of our most successful authors invest time and money in marketing themselves and their book. Authors who are in need of a marketing boost often turn to a Personal Marketing Assistant for help.

All of these books (and other Outskirts Press titles) are available from all major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books A Million, and others, plus conveniently from the Outskirts Press Direct bookstore at http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore for discounts ranging from 10% – 55%.

Are you ready to put a book promotion strategy in place for your self-published book?

Start Publishing

Advice, Author Inspiration, Bestsellers, book marketing, Uncategorized

Resolutions for 2016 That Every Published Author Should Make

For those who have reached their goal to publish a book this year, the New Year is a time of celebration. But why stop there? This year, resolve to refine your writing life, promote the book(s) you’ve published, and get started on your next project! These tips will get the ball rolling.

New Year’s Resolutions for Published Authors

  1. Set goals. It’s nearly impossible to keep those lofty resolutions without clear goals. If your resolution is to finish and publish another book in 2016, make sure you break that resolution down into concrete, manageable steps.
  2. Make writing a priority. Take a break from TV and social media, and set aside a time to write every day. It’ll feed your creative side and improve your craft!
  3. Read, read, read. The number one piece of advice best-selling authors offer to other writers is to read as much and as widely as possible.
  4. Create your author platform. Learn how to put popular social media platforms to work for you! If you’re not sure how to get started or how to make connections with your target audience, Outskirts Press can help with the Author Platform Set-up option.
  5. Cross-promote. Use social media or other writing groups to connect with other authors to share marketing ideas, publishing tips, promote each other’s work, and make the “solitary” life of a writer a little less lonely.
  6. Embrace a good critique. If you want to improve your craft but find it difficult to be objective about your work or spot the flaws in your writing, consider joining a critique group. Constructive criticism is a writer’s best friend!
  7. Try something new. Those who have published memoirs may try their hand at fiction this year, or a how-to author might experiment with poetry. (Stretching your creative wings is never a waste of time.)
  8. Follow up. Many authors find that a second book does amazing things for the first book in terms of sales and publicity. Resolve in 2016 to write a sequel or something completely different!
  9. Release the press! Press releases are an effective tool for announcing new book releases, and they can also be useful when you’ve hit an important benchmark – big sales, good reviews, awards, contests, and more.
  10. Stop comparing your achievements with others. Embrace your own style and remember, each author’s journey is unique. Besides, as Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
  11. Get materialistic. Marketing materials like business cards, posters (for bookstore and library use), bookmarks, and more are extremely inexpensive to produce, but they provide potential readers with a memorable way to find you and your book.
  12. Writing consultation. Stuck in a rut? The Writing Consultation service from Outskirts Press will help you restart or fine-tune your writing and get your book back on track. This service gives you time with a professional, skilled writer to address any writing issues you are experiencing, along with valuable advice and a plan of action for moving forward.
  13. Be on the lookout for marketing opportunities. Resolve to wear your “author hat” at all times this year and don’t miss out on important occasions to promote and sell your book. Recognize these openings-and then be bold and act on them.
  14. Giveaways. Build your readership in 2016 by giving readers something for free-a sample chapter on your website for those who join a mailing list, or a free book through a Twitter “name my next character” contest. Whatever the giveaway, you’ll be creating a buzz for your book!

Need more ideas? An Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant can help you make other resolutions specifically tailored to you and your work.

Click to order

RECEIVE YOUR FREE 2016 AUTHOR MARKETING CALENDAR

25 percent off iPadSuccessful book promotion requires an organized plan. Let the Outskirts Press 2016 Marketing Calendar draw your attention to some of the most important book marketing deadlines throughout the year, as well as the most helpful marketing options in the industry.

Best of all, the calendar is absolutely FREE for a limited time for Outskirts Press published authors! Simply enter the promotion code Free2016 when you check out of your shopping cart by January 15th. Your free marketing calendar will appear immediately in your Toolkit.

It’s just our small way of wishing you a Happy New Year!

Click to order

TOP 10 DIAMOND BOOKS FROM OUTSKIRTS PRESS AUTHORS
Bestsellers, book marketing, Top 10, Uncategorized

Top 10 Best-Selling Books in Self-Publishing for November 2015

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, is pleased to announce its top ten best-selling titles for November 2015, according to combined data from Ingram Book Wholesalers and Outskirts Press Direct via http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore. These authors have likely created a solid book marketing strategy and put it into motion either by themselves or with the help of a Personal Marketing Assistant.

In alphabetical order, the top ten best-selling books in self-publishing during the month of November 2015 were:










Congratulations to our best-selling authors for the month of November 2015!

How can you get your book on the bestseller list? While we can’t make any guarantees on sales success, many of our most successful authors invest time and money in marketing themselves and their book. Authors who are in need of a marketing boost often turn to a Personal Marketing Assistant for help.

All of these books (and other Outskirts Press titles) are available from all major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books A Million, and others, plus conveniently from the Outskirts Press Direct bookstore at http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore for discounts ranging from 10% – 55%.

Are you ready to put a book promotion strategy in place for your self-published book?

Start Publishing

Advice, Bestsellers, book marketing, Uncategorized

25 Book Marketing Tips for the Holidays

As our gift to self-published authors everywhere, we have wrapped up a tidy little package of holiday book marketing tips just for you — 25 ways to maximize your book sales during the greatest consumer spending period of the year!

1.  Plan ahead. A little bit of planning now can save you time and boost your sales later, so take a few moments and set realistic goals for the holiday season. Contact local gift shops to include your book in gift baskets; sell a certain number of hardcopies at a holiday event; or make a few new valuable professional networking connections.

2.  Go digital. When your book is available in the Kindle, NOOK, or Apple iBookstore, literally millions of readers will have access to it. If your book is not available in any of these formats yet, consider adding at least one this holiday season. If your book is already available in these formats, ask readers to submit reviews for your book on these sites.

3.  Advertising. There’s no better time to put limited advertising dollars to good use than just before the big holiday book-buying rush, when readers are primed for a splurge or two. Even if advertising isn’t in the budget the rest of the year, consider investing in advertising ahead of Christmas.

4.  Spruce up your Amazon listing. The run up to Christmas is a good time to refresh the Amazon listing for your book with professionally written text that’s optimized for search engines.

5.  Send out a press release. Whether you’re planning a holiday sale or releasing a new book, don’t forget to publicize it with a press release: It’s an exceptionally cost-effective way to get the word out to major players in the news business.

6.  Hire an elf. Things get hectic in the writing workshop, especially during the holidays! Farm out some of the legwork to an elf — a Personal Marketing Assistant (PMA). Your PMA will help you implement targeted holiday marketing, plus give you a great start for selling in the coming year.

7.  Stock up. Keep hardcopies of your book on hand at all times. If you’re like most of us, you come into contact with more people during the brief time between Halloween and New Year’s than you do the rest of the year, so don’t come empty-handed. If there’s not a stack of books in the car trunk next to those holiday packages, order them now!

8.  Light up your author platform. Let your neighbors know you’re in the holiday bookselling spirit by putting out your Christmas lights. If you haven’t already, establish a presence on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and consider an author website to showcase your work.

9.  Brand it. Make it easier for the readers who appreciate the genre you’re writing in to find you. A PMA can help you determine your particular genre or niche, develop that brand, and identify the keywords that will bring buyers to your book.

10.  Tease your readers. A book teaser is a media splash which sends an advertisement about your book into the Internet social realm. Instantly available to all those YouTube viewers and easy to share on sites like Facebook and Twitter, a book teaser is an excellent marketing tool during the holiday season.

11.  Enter contests. Contests are also a great way to promote and publicize your book! Winning an award (or even being recognized as a runner-up) will have lasting benefits. These contests are deadline-sensitive, so be sure to keep your eyes open for these opportunities in your first year after publication.

12.  Go local. For those authors who are comfortable meeting and greeting readers, the holiday season is a perfect time to reach out to libraries, bookstores, and coffee houses who are often open to inviting a local author to read a chapter of their book. Asking two or three of your friends to join you that day to sit and listen will attract other store patrons, and before you know it, people will be buying your book and asking for an autograph. Be sure to have business cards or other promotional materials available to handout.

13.  Host a party: Consider doing a pre-holiday “Coffee & Tea with the Author.” Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to your home. This intimate event could also include a time for you to read from your book and/or invite book buyers to have their photo taken with you.

14.  Cross-promote. Have you met another self-published author and/or read their book? Consider posting a review for that author’s book, mentioning it on your Facebook page or in a Tweet. Ask them to read your book and post a review for it as well. Contact other independent published authors in your area (through local associations you may belong to) and combine your resources to fully exploit the opportunities during this month.

15.  Remember it’s the giving season. Consider offering an incentive to potential readers who need that little, extra push, such as a limited, holiday-themed discount available to attendees of your book signings or speaking engagements. You can choose a buy-one-get-one gift bundle, or perhaps an attractive discount on all orders.

16.  Make a video trailer. Create a 60-second book video trailer and distribute it to video and social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook. Don’t know the first thing about how you would do that? Outskirts Press can do it for you, affordably and professionally.

17.  Get reviewed. If you haven’t yet sent out review copies for your book, now is the time. For published Outskirts Press authors, your Book Review Starter Kit has many book reviewers listed, and you also have the option of the Book Review Submission Service.

18.  Get published (again!). Write a Christmas story and have it published in your local community paper or regional magazine. Make sure to include information about your book in the author bio. Or publish a short excerpt of your book that has holiday ties to pique readers’ interest.

19.  Give a reading. Volunteer to read excerpts of your book at your local libraries, and if you’re a children’s book author, volunteer to read at story hour and at school assemblies or for smaller groups at the school library. Donate copies of your book to the library as a thank-you!

20.  Host a free children’s book drive. Contact a local reporter or blogger and organize a children’s book drive, where you invite the public to drop off new books for the library’s children’s section. Be sure to include copies of your book. Public donations can either go to the library or be given away to attending children.

21.  Get creative. Contact local salons and give patrons something to read other than the same old boring magazines while they’re sitting under the dryer. You can also create holiday spa gift baskets (include your book!) for the event.

22.  Go social. Add photos of your book’s cover to your Facebook profiles (or create a fan page specific to your book) and encourage others to ‘share’ it. Be sure to include a link with each post to where potential buyers can learn more about your book and buy a copy.

23.  Carry out interviews. Radio interviews are a great way to spread the word about your book’s publication. Many smaller radio stations love discovering local artists and authors. Radio hosts may allow you to read select passages over the air, pose questions for you to answer, or open the lines to listeners who are interested in interacting with you.

24.  Put your book on holiday gift guides. Not only do websites like Amazon and Goodreads host list-making tools which you can use yourself to create a holiday gift guide, but many bloggers, journalists, and other media content writers publish similar lists that are guaranteed to reach new readers. Create a new format for your book (ebook, paperback, hardcover) for the holidays, or in some other way make your book more accessible to new readers.

25.  Keep writing! To sustain your readers’ interest, it’s more important to generate regular, high-quality material across your chosen platforms than it is to create a sudden flurry of updates all around the holidays; still, consider boosting your usual engagement by inviting your followers to a few special events or promotions around the holiday season. No matter what you write, just remember to keep at it!

There you have it. Use some or all of these tips to promote your self-published book this holiday season. And while you’re in the marketing mood, consider upcoming holidays throughout the year for additional promotional opportunities. Remember, if you need help with your marketing, we offer a number of services that you can use. Be creative and, most importantly, have fun!

TOP 10 DIAMOND BOOKS FROM OUTSKIRTS PRESS AUTHORS
Bestsellers, Top 10, Uncategorized

Top 10 Best-Selling Books in Self-Publishing for September 2015

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, is pleased to announce its top ten best-selling titles for September 2015, according to combined data from Ingram Book Wholesalers and Outskirts Press Direct via http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore. These authors have likely created a solid book marketing strategy and put it into motion either by themselves or with the help of a Personal Marketing Assistant.

In alphabetical order, the top ten best-selling books in self-publishing during the month of September 2015 were:










Congratulations to our best-selling authors for the month of September 2015!

How can you get your book on the bestseller list? While we can’t make any guarantees on sales success, many of our most successful authors invest time and money in marketing themselves and their book. Authors who are in need of a marketing boost often turn to a Personal Marketing Assistant for help.

All of these books (and other Outskirts Press titles) are available from all major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books A Million, and others, plus conveniently from the Outskirts Press Direct bookstore at http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore for discounts ranging from 10% – 55%.

Are you ready to put a book promotion strategy in place for your self-published book?

Start Publishing

Bestsellers, Book Awards, book marketing, EVVY Book Awards, Outskirts Press News, Uncategorized

Congratulations to the 2015 Outskirts Press EVVY Award Winners!

Outskirts Press has released the winners of the 2015 EVVY Awards. The EVVY Awards recognize excellence in independently published books as determined by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA). Denver-based Outskirts Press is a full-service self-publishing and book-marketing company that helps people write, publish and market the book of their dreams.

Winning an EVVY Award is a prerequisite to being named the Outskirts Press 2014 Best Book of the Year Award-winner and walking away with a Grand Prize of $1,500. The Outskirts Press 2014 Best Book of the Year Award recognizes the best book published by Outskirts Press in 2014 as decided by a social community of self-publishing authors.

Congratulations to all of the 2015 EVVY Award winners below!

1st Place Winners
E.J. Brown, author of “Speechless”
Andrew Ceroni, author of “Snow Men”
John Hudson, author of “Dust To Dust”

3rd Place Winners
Adam J. Beardslee, author of “Out of Reech”
John Quist, author of “What’s Wrong with That Door?”
Jan Spiller, author of “The Astrology of Success”
Peter C. Stone, author of “Dreams to Dance in Moonlight”
Dr. Peggy Turnage, author of “Big Albert the Camel”
Fritzie Von Jessen, author of “Growing Up Ugly”

Merit Winners
Bonnie M. Anderson, author of “Pluto the Starfish”
Michael Burns, author of “Oliver Ornament”
Lawayne Childrey, author of “Peeling Back the Layers”
KaMuLanS, author of “Keys to Armageddon”
John Koski, author of “Pinos Altos”
John Mero, author of “A Holiday From Time”
Todd Michael Putnam, author of “The Garden of Life”
David M. Tavernier, author of “More Stories of the Rich and Famous”
Laura K. Wagner, author of “The Back-Up Mom”

Congratulations to these EVVY Finalists
Will Ottinger, author of “A Season for Ravens”
Rodney Keeney, author of “Cowboy in the Sand”
Roy Albert Andrade, author of “Cultivating the DNA of Crime”
Carol Leslie Bradley, author of “The Inheritance”
Mae Durden-Nelson, author of “In the Outside”
Dortha Jackson, author of “Isn’t It Funny?”
Christina Skarbek-Karakourtis, author of “Keys to Opening A Successful Business”
Mary Jo Wisneski Johnston, author of “The Lucky Seven Show”
Cory Mertes, author of “Micropolis – The Adventure of Johnny Redblood”
L. Gina Davis, author of “Ooh Lolita”
Stephen R. Champi, author of “The Renaissance and the 21st Century”
Pamela Zembiec, author of “Selfless Beyond Service”
Becca Mann, author of “The Stolen Dragon of Quanx”
Nina Johnson, author of “The Story of the Unlucky Teacher and Her Koalas”
E.M. Dixon, author of “Tale Of Tails”
Alfred Sotomayor, author of “Unconditional Letters of Love”
Georgianna Jeans, author of “Wafford Springs”
M.S. Matassa, author of “The Well House”
John Brown, author of “Why Not? Conquering The Road Less Traveled”
Matthew Krumsiek, author of “The Wretched Road to Success”

About Outskirts Press, Inc.: Outskirts Press offers high-quality, full-service self-publishing and book marketing services for writers and professionals who are seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining 100% of their rights, 100% of their profits, and 100% of the creative control. http://www.outskirtspress.com.

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Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd – 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS

Bestsellers

Self-Publishing Author Spotlight: Diane Dettmann

Reading a great book is an act of transference as the experiences of the characters in the story become apart of our own knowledge and understanding. The characters we come to know, the events that unfold in their lives, the loves they encounter, the griefs they endure, the lessons they learn — all of the treasures of human experience and resiliency of the spirit is ours through the reading of great stories. This week our Self-Publishing Author Spotlight illuminates Outskirts Press author, Diane Dettmann, who writes with wisdom that comes from deep inner strength and resiliency amidst unexpected turns in life.

Diane has published five titles with Outskirts Press and each book conjures feeling, stirs empathy, grows compassion, deepens understanding, and gives the gift of perspective. Learn more about Diane through this week’s Self-Publishing Author Spotlight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Dettmann lives with her loving husband, Alan, in Minnesota. Diane has presented her books around the world Diane has presented her books around the world and has written articles for “Women’s Voices for Change” in New York City. Sharing her story of loss, Diane provides grief outreach to organizations in her local community.

Do you have a book of your own in the works? Let Outskirts Press get you started on your own publishing dreams!

Start Publishing Today
Advice, Bestsellers, book marketing, Marketing Options, Uncategorized

How to Use Google to Sell Your Book

As a published author, you know the importance of making your book as visible to as many readers as possible – in as many venues as possible. And what better venue is there in the virtual book world than Google?

Google, already a giant in the internet realm, has expanded its reach in recent years into apps, music, social media, and of course, books. The potential reach is enormous. Learn more about how to use this Web behemoth to sell your book.

  • Take advantage of the world’s most powerful search engine. Bing, Yahoo! and a handful of other search engines have tried, but none of them have unseated the king of all search engines. Use that power. It’s yet more avenue through which to capture the attention of potential reader and boost sales. Plus, Google scans and indexes the text of your entire book so that readers can more easily discover your content.
  • Offer readers a sneak peek. Google Books automatically gives book buyers who find your book a limited preview. That preview is often just the enticement a reader needs to make a purchase.
  • Don’t miss any links. Use the links within your Google Books listing to help lead readers straight to your book with major online booksellers.
  • Expand your circles. While you’re taking full advantage of the tremendous visibility of Google Books, don’t forget to reach out to devout Google users through Google+. These Google devotees may well be your best shot at touting your book in a more personal, one-on-one venue.

Outskirts Press can help make your book more discoverable on Google with the Google Books Preview Program submission.

Click to order

GOOGLE BOOKS PREVIEW PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE!

Now you can get a tantalizing sample of your book in front of millions of readers quickly and easily with the Google Books Preview Program submission option, available through Outskirts Press.

There are several benefits to the Google Books Preview Program that all contribute to a vastly to greater sales opportunity:

  • Your book instantly becomes more visible.
  • Your book becomes more discoverable.
  • Readers get a sneak peek.
  • Links make buying easy.

Get selling now! As an Outskirts Press published author, it’s quick, easy and effective! Just follow the “Click to Order” link below and add the product to your cart to complete your purchase. We’ll handle all of the submission details for you!

Click to order

TOP 10 DIAMOND BOOKS FROM OUTSKIRTS PRESS AUTHORS
Bestsellers, book marketing

Top 10 Self-Publishing Book Marketing Tactics for April 2015

Book marketing is one of the most important pieces of being a successful self-publishing author. Outskirts Press is an industry leader in providing post-publication support, products, and services to its growing family of published authors.

Your book is written. Your book is published. Now what? Our list of Top 10 Book Marketing Tactics can help you prioritize your book marketing efforts by providing you with excellent marketing and promotional tactics you should consider pursuing.

These are the marketing products and tactics determined to be most popular by our authors for the month of April 2015, listed below in alphabetical order:

Amazon Extreme Package Amazon Extreme Package: Save 25% on 3 of our marketing services focused on Amazon.com. This package includes a Kindle Edition of your book, participation in the Amazon Search Inside the Book and Amazon Cover Enhancement.
Amazon Kindle Submission Service Amazon Kindle Submission Service:  Make your book available on Amazon’s Kindle ebook reading device. More formats on Amazon means more exposure on Amazon, and the Kindle is heavily promoted by Amazon.

Amazon Search Inside the Book		 Amazon Search Inside the Book: Amazon claims that books participating in this program enjoy “significant” sales improvement, on average, over books that do not.
Barnes & Noble NOOK Submission Service Barnes & Noble NOOK Submission Service:  Millions of books are available on Barnes & Noble’s NOOK. If your book isn’t one of them, you are missing out on tapping a very important, and growing, market of readers.
Custom Press Release Custom Press Release:  Have our professional press release writer compose an original, unique press release for your book, submitted to you for your review/approval, and then distributed to our newswire service on your behalf.
EVVY Awards Submission EVVY Awards Submission: Winning a book award helps separate your book from the rest, especially when it is the coveted “EVVY Awards” and “Book of the Year” Award, held annually by Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA).
Google Books Preview Program Submission Google Books Preview Program Submission: An inexpensive and extremely effective way to get your book in front of millions of readers quickly and easily.
Apple iPad iPhone Standard Edition Apple iPad/iPhone Standard Edition: Allows self-publishing authors to enter the ebook marketplace at significantly lower upfront cost with a no-hassle, standard iBookstore retail price of $9.99. It’s the simplest one-click solution for published authors to publish a book in Apple’s iBookstore.
Personal Marketing Assistant Personal Marketing Assistant: Do you need help developing a book marketing plan? Arranging book signings? Establishing/developing your author platform? Hire your own Personal Marketing Assistant today!
Readers Favorite Award Submission Readers Favorite Award Submission: Want to gain notoriety as a self-published author? The best way is to become an award-winning author. With our Readers Favorite Book Award Submission, you have an opportunity to not only gain that notoriety but also receive additional free targeted book marketing services/promotion.

Outskirts Press Published authors who are interested in any of these (or many of our other available services) can find further details and ordering information from the Marketing Options page of your author’s center.

Not yet published with Outskirts Press? Today is the perfect day to start and take advantage of our current publishing promotion.

Start Self-Publishing Now!

Bestsellers, book marketing

Top 10 Best-Selling Books in Self-Publishing for April 2015

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, is pleased to announce its top ten best-selling titles for April 2015, according to combined data from Ingram Book Wholesalers and Outskirts Press Direct via http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore. These authors have likely created a solid book marketing strategy and put it into motion either by themselves or with the help of a Personal Marketing Assistant.

In alphabetical order, the top ten best-selling books in self-publishing during the month of April 2015 were:








Congratulations to our best-selling authors for the month of April 2015!

How can you get your book on the bestseller list? While we can’t make any guarantees on sales success, many of our most successful authors invest time and money in marketing themselves and their book. Authors who are in need of a marketing boost often turn to a Personal Marketing Assistant for help.

All of these books (and other Outskirts Press titles) are available from all major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books A Million, and others, plus conveniently from the Outskirts Press Direct bookstore at http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore for discounts ranging from 10% – 55%.

Are you ready to put a book promotion strategy in place for your self-published book?

Start Publishing