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Indie Book Boosters Club

A way for self-published authors to help each other market their books.

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Indie Book Boosters Club

Indie Book Boosters Club

Indie Book Boosters Club

Indie Book Boosters Club

Indie Book Boosters Club

A way for self-published authors to help each other market their books.

A way for self-published authors to help each other market their books.

A way for self-published authors to help each other market their books.

A way for self-published authors to help each other market their books.

The Dalai Napa
The Dalai Napa
The Dalai Napa
The Dalai Napa
2 Campaigns |
Annapolis, United States
$220 USD 18 backers
22% of $1,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

Update:

February 11 - I've added the option to donate by PayPal.

Goal:

To create and run a “club” for self-published authors (and their readers) to HELP EACH OTHER through a few specific, actionable ways  to boost the marketing, ranking, and sales of each other’s books.

This project – excuse me, this potentially life-changing project – is based on three simple ideas:

  1. As much work as it is to write a book, that’s the easy part: marketing it is hard, especially so for a new author.
  2. It’s much easier to sell someone else’s new book than your own (“Buy me!  Buy me!” just doesn’t sit with people nearly as well as “Hey, this other writer’s book is pretty good!  Read it!  Give him a chance while the book is at a low introductory price!”)
  3. Sometimes the best way to help yourself is by helping someone else firstA rising tide lifts all boats! 

All of us indie writers (and readers!) can help each other.

The Plan:

Part 1:

A website that:

  1.   is much more than lists of books for sale;
  2.   is primarily for fellow authors and secondarily for general readers (Reader Members will get a monthly email to promote book sales.);
  3.   lists indie books at an INTRODUCTORY or SALE price of $0.99-$2.99 (higher priced books are welcome, too, but remember that the whole idea of this site is to BOOST sales);
  4.   includes the first 5-10 pages of each book, the front cover, and the back cover blurb;
  5.   allows users to sort by listing date and popularity (by Author Votes or Reader Votes) within genre;
  6.   maybe has an Author Members’ feedback system similar to ebay’s (so Author Members can see which other authors are actively helping to sell books. (What do YOU think about this?  How could we make this work?  Seriously, let me know.

(Right now you can see sample book listings on a partial mock-up of the site at www.IndieBookBoosters.club.  Btw, the site's Reader Members form is functional - feel free to join us!)

​(Question for you: which domain name should be used, IndieBookBoosters.CLUB or .COM?  Let me know!)

Part 2:

The Key and Crucial Part: A membership of authors who actively promote each other’s books.  

Without active participation from the indie author community, this will turn out to be just another website advertising books at introductory prices (which is not a bad thing at all; it is not, however, a new idea.)  So, all you indie authors out there, this is what I define as active participation:

  1. Occasionally (monthly? bi-weekly?) buy a book (probably at an introductory or sale price of $0.99) from your fellow Author Members.  Choose only those books that genuinely appeal to you.
  2. Of these books, when you read one you like:
    •   Write and post – if you feel so inclined - a short, legitimate review.
    •   Give the author a boost by letting everyone you know that the book exists and is available for an introductory or sale price of $0.99 - $2.99.  Ask them – if they get and read the book – maybe to post a review.  Use:
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Your blog
      • Emails
      • Conversation
      • At the end of your ebook, especially if on a similar topic.

None of these things will cost a penny, and it will create good karma for you.

Even if this word-of-mouth publicity is limited to a single Facebook or Twitter post, it is nonetheless the kind of publicity you just cannot buy!

What if . . .

Just imagine . . . if every month every Author Member and some percentage of Reader Members gets just one ebook – spending no more than the price of a single cup of coffee at a convenience store – what could happen . . .

. . . when we have 1,000 actively-participating Author Members . . . that will be:

  •  1,000 sales
  •  1,000 Verified Purchase Reviews (maybe)
  •  1,000 Facebook posts
  •  1,000 Twitter posts
  •  1,000 blog posts
  •  1,000’s of mentions in emails and conversation

These sales, reviews, and “broadcasts” will most probably be unevenly distributed among the Author Membership.  That’s fine: some of our indie authors are going to get a definite boost, and the rest of us will get maybe just little bumps toward the top.  That’s fine because it is fair: the most appealing books, the books most ripe for success, deserve to benefit the most!

Think long-term, which, as an author, is the only safe bet.  If you get only 3 or 4 Verified Purchase Reviews per month, no, it will not help you skyrocket to sales success.  BUT, after about 12 of these months, you’ll have about 50 VPRs, and yes, that will help you sell more books at a better monthly rate.

and . . .
. . . when we have 5,000 actively-participating Author Members . . .
. . . when we have 10,000 actively-participating Author Members . . .
. . . when we have 25,000 actively-participating Author Members . . .
. . . when we have 50,000 actively-participating Author Members . . . 
that will be good for all of us and damn good for the most-ready-for-success of us.

Together we could make deserving books pretty much instant bestsellers.

Is this fair?

Yes!  Here’s why:

Reason 1: There will be no requirement for any member (author or reader) to buy any specific book or any number of books.

Reason 2: Authors who are producing books that are ready for some level of success – good or great story, good or great writing, and good or great cover – will naturally, organically be the most popular.  Because members will easily be able to preview the first 5-10 pages of a book, view the front cover, read the back cover blurb, and even access the reviews already on Amazon and GoodReads, chances are they will choose books that they consider actually worth reading.

Reason 3: There will be no requirement or expectation for any member (author or reader) who buys a fellow member’s book to post an Amazon Review (a VPR) for that same book or author (or, actually, any other.)  Because of this, together with Reasons 1 and 2, the VPRs will be legitimate.

Note: Amazon’s rules do not allow authors to buy reviews, which makes simple sense.  The closest an author can get to that is to give someone a free copy and only ask – with no obligation – for it to be reviewed.

Authors understand the value of both VPRs and their own name.  If they like a book enough to write a VPR and attach their name (even only their Amazon username), they will.  Or they won’t.  None of us feels the urge to write even a short review for everything we read, do we?

That being said, still, all of us indie writers (and readers!) can help each other!  This site will be simply an efficient clearinghouse for emerging authors to meet each other and the public.

NOTE: It should be clear that this is not in any way a “guaranteed sales success package” for any book – all purchases and reviews are completely voluntary.  There is no “I’ll buy yours if you buy mine” agreement, explicit or implicit.

That’s pretty much it.

The cost to Author Members:

Originally I thought this should be a free service, but then I thought of all the free services I’ve signed up for and then soon forgot.  “Free” can often mean “forgettable,” whereas even a paltry investment of money tends to anchor emotion and participation.  So, if there’s a very small one-time listing fee per book, say $2 . . .

  • Would the site get fewer Author Members? Most certainly.
  • Would the Author Members that do join, on average, be demonstrably more involved in this site?  Most certainly.
  • Would it give the site more working capital to start and build momentum?  Most certainly.
  • Would the listing fee rise as the site grows in popularity and value to the Author Members (and require more computer resources, customer service, email services for the Reader Members list, etc.)? “Maybe” to “probably” . . .

(What do you think would work best overall? Would $5 per listing work better?  Or maybe $5 for membership (as an Author)?  Seriously, what do you think? Let me know.)

What is needed to make this a reality:

  1. Web hosting (no way around it: this requires cash, and no, those $1 / month site packages you see advertised are not nearly adequate.)
  2. Web programming - (this will require somebody’s time, and “time is money”)
  3. General support from the Writing and Reading Community – a wonderfully coded website is worthless if nobody wants to use it. Show us and every other interested indie author that you’ll participate – pledge something!

Here’s how you can help with this, and what you’ll get in return:

  • $1 – Thanks!  You’re helping to build something good!
  • $2 – A listing for your book.
  • $3 – Listings for TWO of your books.
  • $5 – A sidebar ad for your book, for 3 months.
  • $10 – A sidebar ad for your book, for 6 months.
  • $15 – A sidebar ad for your book, for 12 months.
  • $25 – A permanent listing on the Sponsor’s Page.  You can post your biz, your blog, or your book!

Who am I, and why should you trust me to follow through with this?

My name is Mik Hetu, and I wrote the fun little gift book Napism.Info (it’s for people who take their naps “religiously” . . .)  I am currently getting the several novels in my head the rest of the way onto the laptop screen.  The point is I have a public reputation to maintain and build.  I am going to build this site.  How well it will work I do not know, but I promise on my name that I will do the best job of it that I can.

Help me, and whether you’re an indie author or an indie reader, you will help yourself . . .

 

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Choose your Perk

Every little bit helps . . .

$1 USD
Thanks! This perk is for readers and anyone who wants just to help a little. (By the way, the Reader Members form on the website is functional - feel free to join!)
1 claimed

A listing for YOUR book

$2 USD
You'll be added as a site member and YOUR book will be listed on the site.
0 claimed

Listings for TWO of YOUR books

$3 USD
You get the idea.
2 claimed

Sidebar ad / YOUR book / 3 mth

$5 USD
A sidebar ad for your book, for 3 months. These will be on the menu and other "top" pages, so they'll show up on a lot of users' screens!
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
2 out of 10 of claimed

Sidebar ad / YOUR book / 6 mth

$10 USD
A sidebar ad for your book, for 6 months. These will be on the menu and other "top" pages, so they'll show up on a lot of users' screens!
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
2 out of 20 of claimed

Sidebar ad / YOUR book / 1 YR

$15 USD
A sidebar ad for your book, for 1 year. These will be on the menu and other "top" pages, so they'll show up on a lot of users' screens!
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
0 out of 30 of claimed

Charter Sponsors Page

$25 USD
Your name and book, blog, or business listed permanently - in order of appearance - on the Charter Sponsor’s Page.
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
6 out of 25 of claimed

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