Isn't this Author Self-Promotions forum a total waste of time?

[HighRoadToTibet]

Like most ebook authors, I posted details of my own book on this forum but afterwards came to think, isn't it a total waste of time? In all fairness, who's going to believe any comments I have about my own books? I can say "Hey, my book High Road To Tibet is available on the Kindle at $2.99 and is a great read" but what else would I say???
Don't get me wrong, any publicity is good publicity but I feel a single reader review of my book is a hundred times better that anything I can say about my own work.
What do others think, have you had sales from posting on this Author Self-Promotion forum?
John

[caleb72]

I can't talk for authors or other forum members, but I've bought several books because of posts in this forum.

Edit: Just had to add, I looked at the blurb for your book and although I've never really gone out of my way to read a book like this, you have me intrigued. I've added it to my wishlist on Smashwords in case I want to take the plunge.

[Just4kix]

If you use bit.ly to shorten your URLS they will track where the clicks come from, so you can see which website is working for you.

[leeemerick]

Any publicity is good imo. The more places you're visible the more people get to know of you as an author and your work.
One post on a single forum may look insignificant but they soon add up when you have posts across multiple forums and sites.

[HighRoadToTibet]

Originally Posted by Just4kix

If you use bit.ly to shorten your URLS they will track where the clicks come from, so you can see which website is working for you.

That sounds great, I've seen those links but didn't realise you could track clicks with them. Thanks for the info.

[Dr. Drib]

This thread has been moved from the Self-Promotions forum to the Writers' Forum, where a discussion can be ongoing, and without any self-promotion.

The ongoing discussion can perhaps be beneficial to the writing community.


Don
(Moderator)

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by HighRoadToTibet

Don't get me wrong, any publicity is good publicity but I feel a single reader review of my book is a hundred times better that anything I can say about my own work.John

You've helpfully answered your own question, so we don't have to bother with it.

Actually, looking at your answer (above) makes me wonder why on earth you asked it in the first place ?

Unless, of course, it's to shamelessly plug and promote your own book............

[Penforhire]

Oh no he didn't! lol Isn't it worth it if you got just one more reader? Unless you have other better avenues you are neglecting because of the effort of posting and responding here.

[ATDrake]

Honestly, I kind of think the Author Self-Promotion forum is not so much for the benefit of the author, but rather for that of the regular reader, who gets sick of seeing particular authors plug their books all over the Reading Recommendations forum without disclosing that they're the author while bumping up old threads to do so, to boot.

It does help tidy things up by grouping all the self-promo into one place for the convenience of both the author, who can be assured of, if not exactly hitting an interested target audience, then at least not annoying a non-target audience, and the reader, who if interested, knows exactly where to go to find new authors' works.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HighRoadToTibet

Like most ebook authors, I posted details of my own book on this forum but afterwards came to think, isn't it a total waste of time? In all fairness, who's going to believe any comments I have about my own books? I can say "Hey, my book High Road To Tibet is available on the Kindle at $2.99 and is a great read" but what else would I say???
Don't get me wrong, any publicity is good publicity but I feel a single reader review of my book is a hundred times better that anything I can say about my own work.
What do others think, have you had sales from posting on this Author Self-Promotion forum?
John

I think the point of that forum is for people from this site to have a look, see what you've done. People here are probably more likely to write a review than anywhere else. Main problem is probably the very short window of time you get to be on the first page, which leads to people posting any old nonsense just to bump it back up

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Honestly, I kind of think the Author Self-Promotion forum is not so much for the benefit of the author, but rather for that of the regular reader, who gets sick of seeing particular authors plug their books all over the Reading Recommendations forum without disclosing that they're the author while bumping up old threads to do so, to boot.

Absolutely right. The reason the "Author Self-Promotion" forum was created is that people were finding the endless promotion that took place elsewhere very irritating, so now it's all in one place and those who don't like it can ignore it.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Honestly, I kind of think the Author Self-Promotion forum is not so much for the benefit of the author, but rather for that of the regular reader, who gets sick of seeing particular authors plug their books all over the Reading Recommendations forum without disclosing that they're the author while bumping up old threads to do so, to boot.

It does help tidy things up by grouping all the self-promo into one place for the convenience of both the author, who can be assured of, if not exactly hitting an interested target audience, then at least not annoying a non-target audience, and the reader, who if interested, knows exactly where to go to find new authors' works.

When this is discovered, a stern PM is sent. If it continues, then additional action becomes necessary. Bumping is not allowed; it can get a member banned if the behavior continues.

The only proper place to self-promote is in the Self-Promotions forum. Fortunately, in most instances, it is actually MobileRead's members who make the Report, since they become very irritated by what is perceived as spammy posts outside of that area.


Don
(Moderator)

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by HighRoadToTibet

Like most ebook authors, I posted details of my own book on this forum but afterwards came to think, isn't it a total waste of time?

Not my problem to figure out if it's a waste of an author's time. As mentioned, the forum exists to avoid promo/spam in other places, and because some readers like looking over lists of new works.

In all fairness, who's going to believe any comments I have about my own books? I can say "Hey, my book High Road To Tibet is available on the Kindle at $2.99 and is a great read" but what else would I say???

Sensible readers aren't going to believe your evaluation of your own book. However, you do get to tell them the genre and any details that might catch their interests. Listing the title & price alone is almost entirely worthless, but saying, "this is a gritty nonfic experience of outdoor living" or "this is an adventure novel with intense international politics" or "this is a feminist novel about sexism in Buddhist monasteries" or "this is a science fiction story with flying saucers hiding in the mountains" will all interest different readers. (I have no idea what "High Road To Tibet" is actually about.)

I have bought books because of the author self-promo listings here. Not many, but my most preferred genres aren't very active here; my interest in mystery or adventure is limited, so those pitches have to be incredibly well-written and hit some other interest of mine for me to even click on the link.

Still, it's possible; a mystery that centered around conlangs, or an adventure novel with hippie protagonists, would both be interesting to me. Other people have different interests (I note by the lack of multi-book adventure series with hippie protagonists); the self-promo forum is a way to seek readers who won't be looking at the Kindle or Smashwords genre listings for your book.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Oh no he didn't! lol Isn't it worth it if you got just one more reader? Unless you have other better avenues you are neglecting because of the effort of posting and responding here.

Absolutely - I'm afraid I took it as a given that the writer would be delighted if he got one extra reader.
Have to be the "right sort" of reader, probably.............

[crich70]

Originally Posted by leeemerick

Any publicity is good imo. The more places you're visible the more people get to know of you as an author and your work.
One post on a single forum may look insignificant but they soon add up when you have posts across multiple forums and sites.

That was my thought also, and of course it doesn't just help the one author if you think about it. I mean say someone liked Wesley Allison's "His Robot Wife" and did a Google for other books by Mr. Allison. One of the links they might stumble across would be here at MR which might lead to the reader looking at other writer's works that they might not have known existed. In that case not only would Mr Allison possibly benefit from the promotion of a new book he'd written but other authors might also benefit all because the Google led the reader to the forum. You never know what gold you might find in the Author's Self-Promotion threads.