Become informed about your product and the competition! #amwriting #socialmedia

Man! I’ve sure heard that a lot. Though I never paid too much attention
to it in the beginning of my career. Heck, there wasn’t enough time in the day
to write my own book, never mind try and figure out what others were writing.
After all, a person doesn’t think of themselves as being in a competition when
all they’re doing is trying to produce an item they hope will miraculously fly
off the shelves.

Well, think again.

For instance, if you write paranormal romance just maybe you should
know which books in the genre are making good money. If time travel is
strong and that’s what your book will be about, then check out those that are
at the top of that category. Read the reviews if you don’t have the time to
read the whole book. See what parts of the story the readers love or love to
hate.

Check out the prices that those books are drawing and how their sitting
in their ranking and if they’re in the top 100 in the time travel category. The
covers will also tell you a great deal. For instance, do the sexy men bring in
more sales than the fiery female fatales? Are the titles sexual or mythical, humorous
or romantic?

Do the longer novels sell better? How about the bigger book with lots
of characters versus the harlequin type romance that serves just the main two
protagonists. Should the time travel be from today moving forward or backward
in time? Which area of the world? What era, western, vintage, regency or even further
back to medieval?

Would it be better to write a single title or a series? One that encompasses the same characters or maybe completely different stories that take place in the same setting?