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Writer's pictureRachael Hardcastle

Indie Author Diaries: Part 7 - When It's Just NOT Working Anymore...

"I am really struggling to get the TSAW description to format correctly on Amazon. I've tried by copying and editing it in a Word document, removing the second header and just using bold and we will see if that works... I've re-written a 5-page summary document for my new talks, and proofread it."


I remember writing about this in my June 1st entry. Lots of things were on my mind, and I had an ever-growing to-do list for my novel, To See A World (TSAW) and how best to promote it. I made 2-pages of notes that I haven't included above due to how boring and complicated they are (to anyone else, they probably won't make much sense) around keywords and Amazon Ads, but after May 2024 and trying my hardest to learn how they worked, I wanted a few days away from the stress.


This went in my 'success' journal. It isn't really about success but progress, documenting everything* about the re-release of my series 'The Chronicles of Pandora' to see just how far I've come, what I have achieved, and what I've survived.


I hope it helps you (or at the very least entertains you!). Perhaps you can prepare for or completely avoid the mistakes I made.


*Yes, these entries are real, but I've edited out some of the more personal and private information for obvious reasons. I hope you understand! I will also not mention the names of people, companies or shops I've encountered in a negative way. It's only my experience, so it would be unfair of me to name them when others may have had a fantastic experience.


 

01/06/2024 - 03/06/2024 - There were a few awkward days here where lots went on book-wise and my notes were scattered. I decide to get some honest feedback using a Google Docs questionnaire to help clarify a few things.


After I finally fixed the description mentioned in the first part of this post, I matched my e-book and paperback descriptions on Amazon to pull both editions together. But sales were still slow, and I was beginning to ask myself that same question again...


"I'm going back to the theory that maybe my book... isn't good."


Google Docs


I'd put so much work and effort into making it the best possible edition it could be, and I allowed my stubbornness to take over. I knew there would be room for improvement still as there always is, so I thought it best if I created a questionnaire that people could anonymously complete to give me honest feedback on the product description and the book's content. Immediately, I began to get responses (03/06/2024).


One female responded to say the book cover was 'cute' and another said the description was 'disparate' and not YA. They suggested I clarify how the cover and the description and the genre all tie together, which lead me to believe that perhaps, after all the work I'd put in to perfecting the description, the cover could be the issue.


Someone else then added they don't know what LOTRxOUAT (my USP from part 6) meant, and they thought also removing the references to using AI images inside would help, as people are still unsure about the technology. Someone else commented that the cover (the green edition with the pink flowers as shown below) was far too young for the reading level and reminded them more of a romance than a high fantasy, even though at the time I was trying to target mostly teenaged girls (due to previous readers being mostly young women). They suggested I remove 'for girls' in my description and the USP as some teenaged boys might like the content if not for the cover and this initial targeted line on Amazon.


I completely agreed, and this is one of the first things I changed.


The A+ content seemed only to appear on the paperback edition and not the e-book edition, and only in some countries. This was brought to my attention by a reader completing my survey from abroad.


Someone must have read the first chapter as they commented mentioning wine in a YA may not be ideal. I decided to trust my own instincts here, as the setting and age of the characters involved made the drink necessary.



A Facebook 'Warning'


It was at this point I received a 'warning' from a Facebook group I posted the questionnaire in. I asked for some honest advice and feedback to help me progress my marketing skills, and was warned not to 'self-promote'. I would have argued here that I cannot promote a book that is not actually ready for promotion yet (and asking for tips to promote a book is not promoting the book, but trying to learn the skill), but decided simply to ditch the group altogether for the admin's pettiness. I have unfortunately had to leave lots of groups that claim to support indie authors, and encourage indie authors to ask for help and advice, only to 'tell you off' when you actually do so, particularly if there's a link involved or a picture that could be seen as trying to sell books. Yet another struggle that new authors have to face.


Questionnaire Raises Questions


Back to the questionnaire, I received a note to say this person didn't know what Haeylo was, and another to say they wanted Arriette's powers to be more obvious. Somebody else told me I wasn't charging enough, even though others had previously told me to lower the e-book price.


The 6th reply I received was overall... negative. The cover was hard to read, and the A+ content needed more. But everyone else gave a constructive mix.


Summary


Most people liked the cover, but doubt had officially set in. It was too 'romance' and too young for my target audience. It also alienated any male readers.


Nobody seemed bothered by the number of reviews but they preferred a book to have 4-5*.


50% liked that I did a video flick through of the book's interior. But this wasn't for Amazon, and was only for socials and my website.


Some suggested I needed to release all the books in the series before attempting to market it. Others said the themes were re conflicting so to focus on one book at a time.


Everybody loved the fantasy map at the beginning.


Some liked the AI additions and others not so much. There wasn't really anything solid either way, but I chose to remove them and to put them only on my website.


Everyone seemed happy with a £4.99 price. Until this point, I'd priced much lower in fear nobody would spend more than £2.99.



 

This kicked off June and gave me much to think about. I wanted to address each of the points the questionnaire raised. I'll be posting more about my June progress in the coming weeks. Please stick with me for the 8th instalment in this series coming soon...


Rach x








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