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Finding Success in Niche Markets

Author: Laura Resnick

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Finding Success in Niche Markets

We’ve all heard the widely accepted advice given to authors who want to succeed in today’s crowded fiction space: write a series, stick to popular genres and sub-genres, and target a wide audience. This all make perfect sense and has yielded enviable levels of success for many authors. But sometimes going for the widely popular just isn’t the path for us, and deciding to go a niche route is a valid choice as well. The choice The decision to go niche, or to travel what may be a harder road to success,...

change, craft, creativity, goals, indie, Marketing, Publishing, sales, self-publishing, Writing

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Creative Things Authors Can Do With Their Email Lists

Building an email list is one of the best things any author can do. Why? Simple. You own your email list. You certainly don’t own Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and all the other social media platforms where you promote your book. Most of us (while we might own stock) do not own a controlling interest in Amazon, where many of our sales likely come from. In fact, the only retailer you own is your website, and the only channel to reach your readers that is yours to take with you (no matter...

advertising, branding, business, career, email list, mailing list, market research, Marketing, reader engagement, sales, Tools

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NFT 101: Is It Time for Authors to Add an NFT to the Bottom Line?

When I was a newly published author, marketing to readers was mostly done blindfolded. Authors created swag to give away at events, to bookstores, and to libraries: branded pens, sticky notes, calendars, bookmarks, etc., and handed them out far and wide with no way to measure whether any of their efforts resulted in enough book sales to cover the cost of the swag. There was only cost involved, with hope of profit being made at some future time. Now we can measure the effects of our digital giveaways,...

blockchain, branding, business, cryptocurrency, digital, legal, Marketing

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To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym: A Question of Usefulness

George Orwell was a big liar. So was George Elliot. And Dean Koontz. And all three of those nefarious Brontë sisters. And Mark Twain. And Agatha Christie. And George Sand. And Nora Roberts, of course. And that most insidious of liars, Dr. Seuss. So was Jane Austen, though to a lesser extent. When Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility came out in 1811, the phrase “By a Lady” was printed in place of her name on the title page. Anonymity was important at the beginning of her career, even though her...

branding, business, career, Discovery, legal, Marketing, Publishing, Writing

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Code-Switching: More Than Just Slang

In today’s fast-paced society, it’s extremely common to shorten or truncate language in order to get a message across quickly and efficiently. We can see this penchant for abbreviation in things like the 250-character tweet or text messages filled with linguistic acronyms meant to convey broad meanings with as few letters as possible. While code-switching can truncate language, it is much more involved than simply saying less to convey more. Code-switching is when someone changes their spoken...

AAVE, characterization, craft, dialogue, diversity, inclusion, language, marginalized communities, self-editing, vernacular, Writing

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Using Core Values to Strengthen Characterisation

As a writer you will know that the key to memorable, engaging fiction is believable characters that readers can relate to. But how can you dig deep into your characters to make sure that they are as real to your reader as they are to you? In this article I will take you through why developing an understanding of core values can help strengthen your characterisation and improve motivation and conflict. What are core values and why are they important to fiction? Core values are the foundation of...

characterization, craft, editor advice, self-editing, tutorials, Writing

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