Free Book = Free Amazon Marketing Tips

In March 2009, I began writing an article for LLBR about how to market your book on Amazon. The result of that article turned into a longer project that I decided to publish as a book. Taking advantage of Lulu’s free ISBN at the time, I released it as a 93 page guide that included my POD Diary which I wrote throughout the first year of marketing my book, Stealing Wishes.

It took several months for the book to become available on Amazon. Six months in fact. Having emailed Lulu support several times during that wait period and after getting no help, I decided to give up on the project and I retired the book immediately. It loaded to Amazon anyway though and while I have never promoted it, I did go ahead and load it to the Kindle where it has been downloaded enough to gain a sales rank in genres such as Writing Skills and Authorship.

Since the project was retired, but live on Amazon, I also expected never to collect any royalties from the sale of hard copies. My fault for letting my anger get the best of me. But that’s where good ole Lulu didn’t fail me…at least I hope they didn’t fail. To date, I’ve collected royalties for a total of just 5 copies: 3 in the US and 2 in the UK!

After much inner debate, I’ve decided to “unretire” the book. With that decision, I’ve lowered the list price of the paperback to just $9.50 on Lulu and the E-Book to just $4.50, cutting most of my royalties. This may or may not affect the current list price at Amazon where the book is $12.50, but can be purchased starting at $9.50 from third party marketplace sellers. I don’t care. More than anything, I want the book to be available to those who need it most…indie authors who may not have a lot of money to invest in their work, but have a lot of heart already invested in it. And may just need some help in the right direction.

The information presented in this book has not been changed. In fact, I have reviewed it against Amazon and the information is still as current today as it was a year ago when I compiled it. While I’m sure I could build upon the material, the purpose of the book was always to be a “quick” reference for indie authors. I do not feel the need to broaden it, and I believe it can be a very important “go to” book for authors who are out of money and looking for quick ways to market their own book on Amazon.com, the world’s largest online book seller.

So, to kick off the “rebirth” of my POD Pocket Guide, I’m offering ten free copies! That’s right! Ten free copies! To be eligible, just leave a comment with your email address on this post or at LLBR. On June 30th, I’ll pick ten winners at random. Yes, there’s a catch. First, you must live in the United States. Second, you must commit to leaving a review of the POD Pocket Guide on Amazon.com once you’ve read or used it. If you can meet these two requirements, then leave a comment to enter the raffle.

Can’t wait till June 30th for a free copy? Buy or download it right now at Lulu.com!