WRITING TO SELL: How to Write Your Book’s Sales Page

As we discussed yesterday, a sales page is an important part of maximizing your ebook sales. Well, the process of putting words together in a way that will convince someone to buy is called copywriting, and there are three key copywriting lessons that are particularly important for authors.

1.     Benefits vs. Features: Any copywriting worth his or her salt will tell you it’s important to talking about the benefits of a product instead of the features that product happens to have. Chances are you didn’t buy the last book you read based on the number of pages, chapters or words it had in it.

How it applies to a book: The benefit of a book is best conveyed through an excerpt (much like Amazon’s “Peek Inside” feature) and through the book summary you include—these things allow potential readers to see for themselves that your book will satisfy their needs.

2.     Endorsements & Testimonials: Buying an unknown product (or a book from a new author) can be scary. You don’t know what you’ll get. And, sadly, many of the books out there that are self-published aren’t up to par—making readers wary. Endorsements and testimonials help convince shoppers that a product won’t be a waste of their time or money.

How it applies to a book: In the book world, endorsements and testimonials are better known as reviews. An endorsement would be a review by another author, someone with authority or someone a reader might already know; a testimonial is simply a review by another reader. Knowing others have read your book and were willing to say something good about it can help reassure readers they your book will be worth it.

3.     Branding: Once a shopper has limited their selection to a few similar products, in order to decide which product to buy he or she will often look at who is selling the product to them. Does the shopper want to buy from a particular company?

How it applies to a book: In the book world, the author is the brand. Why should something read a book written by you? Your author bio is an essential part of your sales page and should make a convincing argument for why you are qualified to write this book—whether it’s because you’re a fantasy lover, who began consuming the genre while still in grade school or because you’ve made Amazon’s top 10 list with each of your last three books, you should be able to find some reason that you were qualified to write that which you have written—you did write it, after all.

This is a guest post by Melissa Breau, for detailed how-to info on creating a strong book description, getting reviews (of both varieties) and writing an author bio, check out her FREE online tutorial: Maximizing your eBook Sales. Or, if you want help making it happen, sign up for her new eBook Sales Package (packages start at $150).

Six Steps to Maximize Your Relationship with Your Editor

Jessica Klassen is a freelance editor who works with authors to make their manuscripts publication-ready. She believes a good story can do more than entertain: it can enlighten and inspire. To learn more about Jessica’s editing services, visit her website at http://www.jessicaklasseneditorialservices.com./


So, you’ve hired an editor. You slogged through websites and forums, perused testimonials and samples, and finally settled on someone. And now, the real work can begin. Many first-time authors are unprepared for the vigour of an edit, and can feel overwhelmed or frustrated with the process. So, in order to maximize your relationship with you editor—and thereby improve the final product—consider following these six steps.

1. Be clear about which services you want

Now that you’ve hired someone, it’s time to decide what you want them to do for you. There are several levels of editing a freelancer can perform, and unfortunately, many writers confuse them. While most editors are aware of this lack of understanding among writers, a miscommunication of your desired services can lead to delays and hidden costs. So educate yourself , and think objectively about what your manuscript really needs. In my experience, it is a rare writer who can go without all three stages of editing: structural, stylistic, and copy editing. Asking your editor what services she would suggest is a good way to evaluate what your manuscript needs.

2. Evaluate your finances

After you’ve decided what services your manuscript needs, it’s time to budget for them. Good editors are highly trained, and charge accordingly. Most freelancers are flexible, and willing to accommodate requests for scheduled payments. But, it may be that you’re unable to afford all the services you need at one time. If this happens, be upfront about it. Negotiate. Maybe she’ll bring the price down, maybe she won’t. But, if at all possible, don’t skip the editing steps your manuscript needs. Pay for the services you can afford now, then save up and get the rest done later. Readers notice editorial lapses, and a bad review citing shoddy editing can cost you much more than the price of the edit, in the long run.

3. Establish boundaries

Once you’ve established which services you can afford, it’s time to decide how your edit will proceed. Talk to your editor about how she usually marks up a manuscript, and think about what you’re comfortable with. Most editors work on-screen, usually using MS Word’s track changes feature. But, if you’re a hard core pen-and-paper person, you may be able to convince her to mark up a hard copy manuscript by hand. You will also want to decide whether you want your editor to make changes directly into the text, and track them, or only to make comments and suggestions, and leave the changes up to you. You may want the entire manuscript edited at once, or you may want to review it one chapter at a time. Discuss your preferences with your editor, find out her preferences, and decide together how you’ll proceed.

4. Set a schedule

At this stage, you know how the edit will progress, so it’s time to adopt a tentative schedule. Edits can drag out if there are no deadlines in place to keep both parties on track; you can become trapped in a cycle of endless edits and revisions. So, since you decided how many iterations the edit will progress though during stage three, you can now decide how much time to spend on each one. Discuss this with your editor, and settle on a few deadlines for the important milestones. But remember to budget for setbacks; there always seems to be at least one puzzle that arises to delay a project.

5. Discuss your vision for the manuscript

Before editing begins, tell your editor what you envision for the manuscript. This may seem like a no-brainer, but many people skip this step and assume that the editor will be able to surmise their intentions from the manuscript itself, or from a short email. But, if you and your editor are on different wavelengths about what material to emphasize, and what can be eliminated or re-formatted, you could be facing weeks of backtracking when you get the edited manuscript back in your hands. Avoid this by getting together (in person, over the phone, via Skype) and sharing your vision with her.

6. Keep your head

When you receive the marked up manuscript, don’t panic. It can be a shock seeing all that red on your lovingly crafted work. Initially, you may want to write a strongly worded note to your editor, while clicking reject on every change she’s made, but please, resist this urge. Instead, under the Review tab in MS Word, click the drop box that says “Final: Show Markup” and select “Final,” instead. The red will disappear and you’ll see your manuscript the way a reader would. Take the time to read it through in this view, and you may not even notice that the text was modified. Also, read through the notes or explanations your editor may have left in the margins or in an attached letter. If you still disagree with some of the changes, write a note outlining your concerns and reject the corrections she made in error. But, be diplomatic about it. And be prepared for a negotiation: a skilled editor won’t have made changes without good reason.

All of these six steps have one thing in common: communication. Like every successful relationship, an effective author-editor relationship is built on clear communication. So take the time to plan and share with your editor before you begin. You will most likely find the process less frustrating and more productive than your contemporaries who dive in with little preparation, and there’s a good chance you’ll see a corresponding increase in profit from the sale of your book.

*Side note, Jessica is my editor and she is FABULOUS. I wouldn't be where I am with Sundered, Bound and Dauntless without her help. *