All right, after completing steps 1 through 3 you have a full-length, professional, published novel. Now you want to sell it, but there are problems that you have to overcome.
1) No one knows about your book.
2) No one can find your book because Lulu.com's search engine is terrible and lists your 300+ page novel between a 2 page poetry 'book' and a cookbook.
3) You don't have an ISBN.
Fortunately, you don't need an ISBN to make money. I recommend that you wait until you make $200 from your book, and then simply use that money to buy all the ISBNs you need for this and future novels. That still leaves us with problems 1 and 2. This is where S.P.A.M. comes in. While it is true that we are happy to help any author with writing tips, editing tips, and help publishing with LULU.com, our primary purpose is to help Authors SELL their self-published novels to readers.
Our job is not an easy one. First, we must gain the attention of enough self-publishing lulu authors, so that we have a large number of novels, but I must make sure that each meets the minimum requirements to be sold in our marketplace. I will NOT be judging works on content. I will instead judge works based on length and price. Works that are not long enough to be considered novels or are unreasonably priced will not appear here. Second, I must make sure that all SPAM members' novels are sorted so that readers will be able to browse our wares easily.
So you probably want to know HOW you can join the marketplace. That is easy. Simply go to your Lulu.com account, and join our Lulu group: SPAM (Self-Publishing Author's Marketplace). Then simply submit your content to the group for approval. Upon approval your novel will be placed upon our group Storefront for readers to see.
Then, all you have to do is tell people about SPAM!
I know what you're thinking. Why don't you just tell people about your lulu store? Because then you would be the ONLY person telling people about it. If you are a SPAM member, then every member of SPAM promotes your novel whenever they promote their own work.
I know what you're thinking. Lulu.com works the same way, doesn't it? No. Lulu.com's search engine, combined with the vast amount of unedited, published crap, makes it prohibitive for readers to find good books easily on lulu.com alone.
You can't simply tell people about Lulu.com, because then they won't find your book. You can't simply tell people about your book, because then you'd have no time for writing the sequel.
S.P.A.M. is the best solution, and it is 100% free!
That's right. I am HELPING you sell your novel at no cost. I don't ask for any private information. I ask ONLY that you join my Lulu group, submit your content to be listed in my group, and tell people about S.P.A.M.
If we writers come together, then we can eliminate publishers, editors, agents, and publicists from the equation entirely.
And remember, I'm selling out so I can help you sell out too.
to S.P.A.M. or just buy my book.
J. Allen Wentworth
