Rebelious rules by Kristina Gallo

Everyone wants to have a big number of followers. It is familiar how some famous persons bought followers, to increase their popularity. Having many followers doesn't mean that everyone will support you. If my 10.230 followers bought my book on Twitter, I would be very happy. To see beyond the surface, think about why people follow you: You have a nice profile photo. Guys want to flirt, and women might think you are popular, so they want to be in your crew. If you are a writer, book promoters, cover creators and editors want to earn money on you. Other authors want to offer you their books, to buy them. Trolls have interest too, in spamming your page, wanting to sell you lies, and spreading viruses on your computer. Desperate men who can't find a partner, in reality, try to get a connection with you. I know, it doesn't sound like a fairy tale. It sounds like a nightmare. Well, how to use your big number of followers in the best interest? Talk to them in public. Open a statu...

The average indie author doesn't earn much. He has a problem with selling books and usually, the sale is about 5 books per month.  On other hand, indie authors do many investments. You need to pay the editor, covers, and book promotion, and if you can't format the book alone, you will also pay for it. If you want to get a review, you will struggle to cooperate with other authors, read their books or talk mouth by mouth in the hope to sell something. The result is: you can't sell the book even to get small money, and especially, you can't earn from books enough to quit your regular job. The conclusion : You will spend more money than you earn. Most of your money will never get back. You will buy your own books. You will have a problem with selling paperback versions of books, these are the hardest to sell. What is the solution? You had a dream to sign your book in the local library, give autographs in public promotions, and people are standing in line to get your book. Y...

What are you reading? Why you chose this book? I can ask you this question because I want to know, did you pick a book by the cover.  If you want to watch a movie, you wish to know who are actors and what they look like. You wish to know the content and the plot. The same is with a book, to pick a book from Kindle or from the library, you wish to see the book. When the author wishes to sell the book, he must pay attention to the cover.  What do you need to avoid? Generic cover from Kindle. Templates that everyone uses because you will get lost in the crowd. Amateur cover. It means, covers with errors, gloomy, you can't see the title well and it looks like a kid draw it. Repeating. That cover looks familiar like something you saw before? Probably you did. If you pick a book by the cover, you are not a shallow person. Nice cover can promise, at least the author took the effort to his book to attract readers. What I don't like? Covers without photos, just with letters. Confusing ...

Indie authors are underestimated and our life is hard. When someone hears you are an independent author publishing on Amazon, a person will say: "Oh, well you are not a real author. You don't have a publisher, you have self-made covers and you are not famous." That could be partly true, but a real talent could be hidden under millions of books on Amazon. Why should not we give it a chance? Some authors on social media make the basic mistake of promoting books of famous authors on their pages. They will share, retweet, or brag about "Fifty shades of grey", "The Stand" or "1984." We all hear about these books. Their authors sold a million copies, movies are based on books, and extra promotion is unnecessary. Why do people do this? Remember high school. Girls wanted to date popular guys, to be seen with them. That guy needs to be more intelligent, but he has the fastest motorbike. He is not an intellectual type, but he is famous because he is a...

I got a review.  Every author will be delighted by reviews of his book. It means someone read it and posted an opinion. Reviews are hard to get because competition is big. Also, readers in Amazon read books from famous authors, and we, indie authors are getting a piece of cake. Probably you heard about this magic number of reviews. 20-25 reviews, your book will be marked as "you might also read". 50 reviews will bring you to mention in the Amazon newsletter. It looks tempting and authors are struggling to get a huge number of reviews, but in reality, things look different. 7 myths about reviews: Bad ratings mean that book is trash, the same as bad reviews. It is not true, as tastes are different. Someone can spit on your book because of the genre you write, or because this person doesn't like the author. Also, many trolls are around, who can't wait a chance to ruin someone's rating. Excellent reviews mean that book is a bestseller. It is hard to please everyone, a...

Your book is done. You wrote your story, but it is not ready for publishing. Why not? You need an editor. Before you assume it is easy to find, I offer some tips to save you from liars, cheaters, and opportunists. What kind of qualities a good editor should have? It must be an American or British editor. Don't think you can find a good editor in your country if you are not a native English speaker. Those who are Americans or British know the best about their culture, habits, phrases, and they will make a benefit for you. Your editor must have a testimony. It is praise from readers, usually made on their website, about their work. A good editor will communicate with the author. It is not like, I have done your book, give me the money. No! You must talk to your editor about your sentences, emptiness in your story lines, things that are not logical, and make a common agreement on what is missing in your book. It means, your book should go to the editor at least twice. A good editor...

Jealousy and envy are followers of success. When you hear stories about friendships that broke because one friend is successful and the other did not manage, that is not a surprise. Marketing your book might lead you to some dark waters, where you can meet people who don't want your success. These categories you can meet: People who offer you to promote the book on their sites for a high price. You will just make your wallet empty. People who want your book free in exchange for a review. Many people will take a book, but you will not get a review. People who offer "favor for a favor" but there is a trap. You can read their book and they will never read yours. Trolls. Those people will rate your book with negative stars just to ruin your sales. You wonder, where is the cause, why this happens? It can explain by various reasons. Many people wish for success, and sabotaging their competition is their way to clean their path. Many people did not manage, so they wish the same ...