Quick Tip: 3 Rules to Writing an Effective Reader Magnet
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
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Wow. I was about to cut a storyline from a novel. I realized it would make a good reader magnet. Thanks.
Ben, that’s a great idea! I have some outtakes that are sitting doing nothing - I too will utilise those now. Thanks for mentioning it Ben.
So...what should a first-time author do about reader magnets, if anything? I would love to start building my list via my website/blog, but I'll be releasing my first novel in Oct. So I don't know what questions need to be answered, who the favorite character is, etc. beyond what my beta readers might tell me. Is that where I should start? Or is it pointless to try to build an email list before you have a solid collection of books under your belt?
(In other news, thanks for these videos--and your books! I'm learning a lot. :D )
Another great video. I love writing reader magnets and I love reading them. These rules, though, are new to me. My next reader magnet...I'm using these tips from number one to number three. Thank you very much.
I've been considering writing my first reader magnet for my series. I was unsure how to proceed, but you just answered that. Now I know what I must include it is going to be so much easier to get it right. Perfect timing as usual on your part :-)
Omg thank you so much, I was writing a really weak reader magnet. Now I'll implement the 3 rules and see what happens :D
Great video and very timely, as I just released my first short story reader magnet earlier this month. I've grown my list from around 50 people to over 200 and my book doesn't come out for another couple of weeks. So far the reviews have been very positive. I put in a lot of little details that aren't really explained and people want to read the book now to get the answers. So it seems to be working as a cold introduction to the world.
Congrats! It's so great that you're list building even before the book releases. Nice work.
Chris Fox Thanks! I've been watching all your videos and am currently reading Plot Gardening. Going to use it to plot my second book.
You said you got 2,000 email signups in the first month. How did you get traffic? Facebook ads?
Thank you, I have a reader magnet in first draft, that is really tangential to my novel. I'll use it to build my list prior to the book launch, and look at writing a more relevant RM to link at the back of book 1 of the series.
I'd never heard the terminology 'reader magnet', so I had watch and this advice is so useful. Subscribing!
Been hoping for this for a while
third reader magnet can link, but the first book is still being outlined. I write Intergalactic Culinary thrillers. My other two reader magnets are a book review and a shorter version of a work I plan to extend at some point. Subscribers are arriving in small groups. Love the term reader magnet better than lead magnet. Nick did a talk on reader magnets. They force one to list-build.
ooooo~
love the popup effects! production value w00t w00t
Right? Mary is kicking serious ass =D.
What do you think about Wattpad ?
Posting the begining of a story to promote the new book coming ?
Or redirect to the complete free book on your website ?
I love the cover for Battle of Starn. Hope you don't change it too much. Maybe overlay an opaque dragon in there?
The cover was originally slated for a Void Wraith universe book, but I really love it here. I'm having Tom work on a new cover that might be even better. If not, this one will stay, Dragon or no =)
Love his artwork! I'm hoping to be able to afford him after I launch my Space Opera trilogy. Can't wait to read Battle of Starn..
Not at all technical but thay orange and blue is pretty
so helpful! thank you. do you advocate having reader magnets available on amazon ot wherever as well or exclusively for maing list sign ups? (that would be the hook i guess, that they can only get the book if they sign up). also do you set and forget? i saw you mentioned several different reader magnets you wrote, did they replace one another or are they for different lists? as always such a great video, thank you chris :)
I've tried both methods, and found that putting the book for sale on Amazon dramatically reduced the number of list signups I received. After that I stopped putting my reader magnets on Amazon, or anywhere else. I found making them exclusive makes your list of more value to readers.
My magnets are mostly for different lists, but when someone signups up to my main fiction list via the main site I give them all the magnets, with links to the other series. That way they can decide which part of my backlist they're interested in =)
Great advice! :) Would it be too much to write two or three reader magnets and see which does better? Or is that biting off too much? What might be pitfalls to this approach? I have a series set in a near-future war, and I’m considering writing a prequel (before the war) to tell how a couple in the series met or taking a minor character that gets introduced later and telling a story of what they were doing at the start of the war. What advice would you give in this?
I've never heard of this reader magnet before. So these are shorter stories branching off from a novel?
I have two other videos on the channel explaining more about them, but the short version is yes-- a shorter story branching off your main series to serve as an enticement to get people to sign up to your mailing list.
Could you link those? searching for "magnet" on this channel only has this one video as a result.
I scrolled through all my videos trying to find it, and you're right...I've never covered it in its own video. The closest I get is in this video. I'd also suggest checking out the book Reader Magnets. ruclips.net/video/itCVDg3DrkE/видео.html
Great video, Chris, as always! How's Bert doing? Is he a Dark Lord yet?
Bert is not a Dark Lord, but he will be. I so badly want to do the next video in that series. I've got a complete outline, and believe this book is going to be hilarious.
It sounds hilarious! I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Hi Chris!
I started writing a story a few weeks ago. Due to it being my first story, I don't take it too seriously. I want to save my better ideas for later, when I actually have some experience. I know my limitations, so instead of focusing on writing a great story, I want to focus on writing a well written story, that might not make too much sense.
I'm relatively satisfied with my over-convoluted weird writing style, but I find it difficult to write characters. I can come up with them, I just can't change my mindset from writing as the weird narrator to writing as one of my characters.
Do you have any advice on how to make characters act and talk like... well, themselfs?
Become that character. This comes very naturally for me, because my favorite hobby growing up was pen and paper roleplaying. Five or six of us would play Dungeons & Dragons, or similar games, and everyone would assume the role of a character. We'd think and act like that character, and make decisions as they would.
You want to do exactly that when writing. Is your character rich? Educated? How does that affect their speech? Are they a little over weight? How does that affect their self-esteem? Keep that in mind as you write them, and their dialogue will flow a bit more naturally.
+Chris Fox
Thanks!
I guess this is gonna be a skill I have to hone. The story I'm writing now isn't too dialogue heavy, but I'm not planning it to be long. Once I finnish this, I'll write something that has a lot more dialogue in order to practice writing characters.
Thank you for making these videos :)
I'm curious. You write in trilogies and it seems like your recommendation is to not launch those trilogies until such time as your third book is at least begun, if not into the editing process. That begs the questions, how do you know what characters are fan favorites? The books aren't out by the time you should have your reader magnet done.
I don't advocate writing in trilogies. I did that, and regret it. I've since rebranded two trilogies in the same universe into one 'Void Wraith Saga' and I won't be doing short series like that again. If you're writing a reader magnet before seeing fan reactions, then just do the best you can. Exiled was written before I had any feedback, and I was lucky in being right about popular characters.
If you get it wrong and your reader magnet isn't converting, then you can write another one and try again. Fans always love getting free short stories, so I offer them as I add more. =)
I'm addressing that in this week's video, but the short version is you lose a ton of momentum. People get to the end of the trilogy, and may choose to investigate your other work. Most, though, will move on to other authors. By penning a longer series it makes it clear to readers what their next action step is, and the more the read the more loyal they are. A 6 book series is both more profitable and more likely to create loyal readers than a trilogy.
Are all your reader magnets actually shorter works? I see on Amazon that THE FIRST ARK is around 10 thousand words. EXILED is an audiobook, so I can't find its length. Same for the other examples you mention.
Hey Chris! This was really helpful! I'm going to rewrite my reader magnet in light of this new info now. May I ask, where do you get your covers done? They look awesome!
I have lots of different artists. Tom Edwards does most of the SF stuff =)
Chris Kallias is a friend, and an amazing cover designer if you're looking in our genre and don't want to spend Tom Edwards level money.
@@ChrisFoxWrites Great, thanks so much Chris!
Your thumbnail says "3 types of character flaws"
Fixed! Nice catch.
Chris,
Your videos are the best!
How long should the reader magnet be?
The longer the better, so far as the reader is concerned. My shortest is about 10k. If your genre allows for even shorter that's fine, so long as the magnet is telling a great story =)
Hi Chris,
Really great tips. Does length of the story matter? Short story, novella, or full length novel? Or do they all work about the same? Assuming the story hits the right points.
Length doesn't matter nearly as much as providing a satisfying story. Mine usually end up around 10-15k, but I've read shorter ones that were amazing. Fans always want longer, if possible.
Perfect, thanks!
also judge books by the description. Got a video on introversion?
I don't understand when you write the reader magnet ?
I am writing my first novel of a possible trilogy.
Should I write the reader magnet before launch the first book or just after or wait the entire trilogy ?
My guess is : launch the first book, write the reader magnet and maybe relauch the first book ? Am I right ?
I've done both routes and found there's no wrong answer. I tend to like having a magnet ready when I launch a new series, but that isn't always possible and I don't think it hampers you not to have one. I'm a fan of adding more magnets over time, say 2-3 a year. Fans love the extra content, and you can bundle the stories together when you have enough.
Thanks for the answer ! I hope the hard work will pay !
I tried writing a short one and now it's a novel. But there's a character that betas have noted being curious about and I have an idea for his story. I could hit those points you said, but what about the cover? My covers are original illustrations so the reader magnet would need to be done by the same illustrator, right?
If at all possible I'd use the same illustrator. Branding should be as close as possible.
Chris Fox that's what I'd thought you'd say. It hurts a little bit knowing what I'll have to pay only to give it away. But it's a marathon right?
Thank you
Chris has mentioned on another video that he might commission one piece of art work, and use different parts of that one piece for all the covers in a series. Perhaps you can use part of your existing art work for the cover of your reader magnet, depending on your agreements with your illustrator/cover designer.
In other words:
1) Write (self-?)fanfiction.
2) Don't make it about your (new) OCs.
3) Don't rely on prior knowledge.
Good advice, don't get me wrong, just poking fun.
reader magnets don't have covers. I'm blind. I know people judge books by the covers, but don't understand what that means. Can't they judge by the title and possible audio sample?
The single most important marketing tool in your arsenal is your book cover. Readers will start there first, and if the cover doesn't grab them, they're out. They'll never read your description. They'll never see the rest of your product page, or sign up to your list. That cover needs to hook them, and more importantly the thumbnail of the cover needs to draw the eye. Ideally, your title is legible even at a small size, because after cover, that's the next thing nearly every reader will check.
If they like both the cover, and the title, then they're willing to read the blurb, and maybe listen to an audio sample. But if they didn't like your cover, and your title, then they never even made it that far. These principles apply just as much to reader magnets as they do books you're selling. =)
A good reader magnet has a cover. If you check out any reputable author, all of their reader magnets have covers, and they’re all great covers too.
Don't judge a book by its cover...
Design the cover like it represents the entire worth of your book...
Because everyone will Judge the book by its cover. X-X