You write a book. But when you launch it, you hear crickets. What now?
Visibility matters when it comes to selling books. It’s also the biggest hurdle most writers face. Many think it’s the writing process. Don’t get me wrong, that takes time and hard work, but writers love to write. Creating is joyful.
It’s the business end of the deal, the marketing and selling stuff that sends some writers into cold sweats like a teenaged driver trying to make it home before curfew with only seconds to spare.
So, how can you give yourself the best chance of reaching your target audience, without sweating out the marketing aspect or having bad dreams of selling your story like a used car salesman desperate for a new buyer?
You write to market.
Write to market?
Yes…
Let me explain.
By narrowing the gap you have to jump over, you give yourself a better chance of getting your story seen. Seasoned writers know this, but new writers often say things like, ‘my book is for everyone’ or ‘any science fiction reader will love it’… Oh!!!
Slow down, there and let’s have a talk.
Every science fiction reader?
What about the hard-core ones that one all the heavy-duty details like hard-driven facts? Or the ones that prefer a fantasy element that’s lighter on details and heavier on action? What about those that prefer steam-punk engineering over people looking for a more modern-day age? And how about comparing science fiction readers who like their stories to take place in outer space vs those who want to be firmly planted on the ground?
See, readers are varied. There is a massive and growing base of books that are out there, but simply don’t sell. Why? People the author didn’t take the time to learn who their audience is or understand what that reader is hoping to read if they open your book (reader expectations).
That’s where K-lytics comes in. *psst, they offer a free report so you can check them out.
They offer reports which show you things like: sales ranks of the top 20 titles, estimated sales, rank of the top books in all the different sub-genres… you may even learn there’s a sub-genre you didn’t know about! Seriously.
Let’s talk romance readers. There are some readers who will only read historical romance. Others will only read regency which is a subgenre in historical romance. You’ve got other readers who have no interest in historic reads and would much rather read something hot and spicy set during contemporary times. Maybe they prefer shifters in their stories and paranormal elements. A lot won’t want that at all.
See, again…varied readers. What about those that want sweet and clean small-town romance with no heat? Or inspirational romance? Or romantic suspense? The further you drill down, the more you know what you’re writing, the better chance you have of finding your specific audience. Finding your niche could be a way to get your foot into the door and find raving fans. If you’d rather leave your luck to the pool of millions of books with no distinct genre or topic… (sighs) Good luck with that!
Okay, so let’s look at why I’m telling you about this cool resource. Again, it’s called K-lytics. What they do is offer you a chance to take a peek at the marketplace, find hot niches, areas that are more or less competitive (hello, visibility), and show you the kind of income these books are bringing in, along what the trending covers and blurbs of the top one hundred books in that area are bringing in. And just a heads up, I’m affiliated with them (after using and liking their products). I happily recommend them, because I know they offer new writers a great way to pick up deep-dive research while saving you time.
In fact, I jumped into my e-mail just now to see when I first starting using them…it was somewhere between 2015-2016. Here’s a screenshot from back in 2016.
Wait! I know what you’re thinking. What if you write westerns or mysteries or action-packed thrillers?
That’s what I love about K-lytics. There are different ways they can help you. They offer one off reports, where they dive deep into a topic. You can see the full range of topics covered in the shop section of the site. What I suggest you do first, is check out one of their free reports.
This way you get a feel for what a report looks like, the information included, and if it’s something you think will help you.
There are different ways to get value out of them, but for now, since you’re just starting pick up your free report first. This way you understand if it’s helpful for you.
Writing to market simply means understanding what your readers want (their expectations of a certain type of story or trope) and making sure those important elements are within your book.
It can be confusing when you’re starting out. Most people write a book, then try to cram it into a genre. A common question in writing groups coming from newer authors sounds like this…
- I wrote a book, but I’m not sure what genre it is. It can fit in a lot of different categories (uh-oh, not good)
- When asked who their target audience is, they respond with, ‘everybody’ – thinking every man, woman, and child needing a bedtime story will absolutely love what they wrote
- You ask them, did you check out your comps? They respond, my what? Books that are comparable, books you’d be shelved with/near in a bookstore.
There are just some things that you learn over time. There’s nothing wrong with being new to the author world. It’s a wonderful experience, and many will offer help when you have questions…but not taking time to truly understand your market will set you back another couple of months once you start digging into that research.
That’s why I really like K-lytics. They take a lot of that guess work out of things. They are a time saver, which in my world is a big win. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out one of their free reports. You’ll like you’ve won the lottery once you realize there’s an actual service that helps you do this stuff! Pretty awesome…right?
I’ve grabbed K-lytics reports on a couple topics which was really helpful when I moved between genres. It gave me a quick edge up on research. I did a side project on a new to me niche, and one of their reports was right up my alley, saved me loads of time, helped me see what was trending and what types of covers and blurbs were popular for the sub-genre I’d been looking to get into.