These are the 8 key factors that made my book a best seller. If you’re a current or prospective self-published author, you’ll want to bookmark this one.

1. 8 Ways to Become a Best-
Selling Author with Your
First Book

2. 1. Give Your Book A Chance To
Succeed
Obvious, isn’t it? But how many self-published authors out there are paying
enough for skilled editors and talented cover artists? I don’t know the answer,
but I know that a lot do NOT invest much money into their book—only their
time. The problem with only investing time is that publishing a book takes an
alarming number of varied skills to pull off. The likelihood that you can do
everything to a high standard is about as likely as North Korea being voted
“friendliest country.”
To have a chance, you usually need to take a financial risk. I paid $150 for my
first cover. It wasn’t horrible, but I did decide to pay $550 to have another one
created that fit the book better and gave a more cheerful vibe. That’s $700 I put
into the cover alone. Then you have editing, proofreading, and any other
services you might need to fill in your skill gaps.
To compete at a high level in the marketplace, your book must be polished.

3. 2. Launch Big Or Go Home
Book launches are like space shuttle launches—if there’s a problem in the
beginning, your entire mission is in big trouble. The reason is a simple, yet
powerful observation that any of us can identify as true.
The books that sell are the books that sell.
It’s unfortunate that so many gems are buried in obscurity, but it happens all
the time. For your book to have a chance, at some point it must rise up the
charts to a place where browsing readers can see it, and the best time for that
to happen is right when you release it.
It’s not just visibility, either. Who wants to buy a book that has sold one copy in
the past year? Psychologically, we’re wired to think that the books that sell the
most are the best ones. That’s not always true, and the way in which it is most
incorrect is in assuming books that don’t sell aren’t any good.

4. Perception and visibility make your book’s success or failure.
How do you launch big?
The most reliable way is with your own targeted email list. I had just over 4,000
email subscribers when I launched Mini Habits. It reached as high as #1,503
overall on Amazon in the first couple of days in which members of my list
bought 100-200 copies.
The second best way is with another person’s email list. I was fortunate enough
that Steve Scott—a prolific blogger and author—liked the book and shared it
with his list of about the same size. This helped minimize the dreaded post-
launch cliff and kept it visible.
If you don’t have an email list or know anyone who does, you’ll need to get
creative and try to build partnerships with people of influence. One good idea
that has worked for some is to give out advance copies of your book to
bloggers in your book’s niche. Then ask them to share it if they like it.

5. The point here is that it’s unrealistic to think your book will sell if it doesn’t have
a big push to get it into the spotlight. Just think about a best-selling author like
Stephen King—the moment he releases a book, there are already thousands of
people waiting to buy it, sending it up the charts and making it visible to even
more people. That’s what you need to aim for (on a smaller level, of course). I
did it by building a platform (my blog). I’m a poor networker, but I was still able
to have a big launch. Play to your strengths and leverage email lists for a big
launch! Even if you have to pay someone to advertise to their list, email is the
best sales channel. Continue reading...