MSI Press Blog

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic takes a look at how a book gets into the Top 100 on Amazon, based on the experience of our press. From what we have seen, there are at least three ways to get onto this very desirable list: 1.       The first month after your book is released, hustle like crazy to get sales. It is much easier to get into the top 100 of “hot new releases” because you are only competing with other books coming out that month, not with all books available on Amazon. 2.       Concentrate your book sales into a short time period if you can. (If you are selling at a workshop, for example, or a public event, this is not all that hard to do.) Amazo

Is there anything that makes an author's heart beat a little faster than having a book land in the top 100 bestselling Amazon books? How about coming close...in the second 100? Beat...beat...beat...will it tip over the top or not? Please, please...! This week, we have two books in this position. Take a look below. The Wilcoxes' book, Andrew's Awesome Adventures with His ADHD Brain , has floated around #114 and flirted with the border at #108. can it make it to 100, 99, or less next week? There are two authors hoping it can. Winner, Best Indie Book Award Gold medal, Literary Titan   Susan Lewis's compelling book (call it a real-life psychological thriller), From Deep Within , just dropped into the second 100 by four points: #196. We are cheering for 96 more points to take her down to the gold ring: #100. Gregg Bagdade's book, Mental Health Mayday , has been on the Top 100 list many times, Right now, though, it is at #104. Fingers crossed, as we watch, that it once a

And the best books of June 2023 are ... drumroll! .... Top 100 Amazon 1.          Hot new releases           Bob McGee’s book, A View through the Fog , was #1 in hot new releases in bridge engineering for the entire 30-day new-release period and bounced around #13-#41 overall in bridge engineering. Great showing for a first-time author.         Steven Greenebaum’s book, An Afternoon’s Discussion , was #1 in ecumenism in hot new releases on June 24 and #21 overall in Christian ecumenism, mostly staying in the top 100 during the new-release period. Congratulations to him on that #1 status!!  General categories   Larry MacDonald’s book, RV Oopsies , was #28 in travel humor. Another repeat performance and another dandy showing for a book of multi-year vintage!   Awards Congratulations to Steven Greenebaum for being the runner-up (finalist) for the Pacific Books Award competition in the category of religion for his book, An Afternoon’sDictation . There are only two awards in e

  And the best books of September 2023 are ... drumroll! .... Top 100 Amazon 1.          Hot new releases           Bob McGee’s book,  A View through the Fog , was #1 in hot new releases in bridge engineering for the entire 30-day new-release period and bounced around #13-#41 overall in bridge engineering. Great showing for a first-time author.         Steven Greenebaum’s book,  An Afternoon’s Discussion , was #1 in ecumenism in hot new releases on June 24 and #21 overall in Christian ecumenism, mostly staying in the top 100 during the new-release period. Congratulations to him on that #1 status!!  General categories a.    Kris Girrell’s book, Learning to Feel , reached #60 in biographies of social scientists and psychologists.   b.      Shannon Gonyou’s book, Since Sinai , reached #10 in biographies of Judaism.   c.       Steven Greenebaum’s book,  An Afternoon’s Discussion , reached #59 in ecumenism.   d.      Larry MacDonald’s book, RV Oopsies , reached #34 in travel humor, #116 in

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post looks at the relationship between book marketing plans and book sales. Specifically, book sales can be quirky, which makes it difficult to put together a book marketing plan for self-publishing authors. (Publishers usually have established plans that they apply to all books, and they only accept books that they believe they can market effectively through their established marketing plans. Let's take a look at some favorite marketing barometers and see how they really stack up. Amazon Top 100 If a book lands in the Amazon Top 100, it clearly has scads of sales, right? No, not always. Perhaps even not often. Amazon's t

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's topic looks at the differences between books that sell well long-term and those that fizzle out.  Recently, I decided to analyze two kinds of books that experience good sales to see if there is some general guidance for authors; the long-term steady sellers and the first-year wonders. Book niches and author individualities vary widely, but perhaps some general information could be insightful if you are trying to make some decisions about how to market/promote your book. Criteria. In analyzing both sets of  books , I looked at the following 15 categories of criteria: ARC, prepped followers, platform, social media presence, recogni