How I made the Bestseller list with my first novel: the secret is out!

In 2017 I independently published my very first novel The Brothers of Brigadier Station. This was the first novel I had ever finished. I had slogged over this manuscript for two long years - fitting in writing at the crack of dawn while my four young children slept. This book was the product of a small fortune worth of craft workshops, courses, webinars, conferences and how to books on writing. This was my passion project. I'm not kidding when I say blood, sweat and tears went into that 50,000 word romance novel.

Back in Australia in 2017 self publishing was still frowned upon and really only the last resort for desperate writers who couldn't get a traditional publishing contract. My book could have been swallowed up in the abyss that is Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.

But it didn't.

It started earning sales instantly - while it was still on preorder and two months away from publishing. Within a few weeks it had that lovely orange banner all authors dream of BESTSELLER.

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Okay I didn't make the New York Times or the USA Today lists but those are extremely hard to make these days and still biased towards traditionally published paperbacks sold in bookstores.

67% of all fiction books are sold on Amazon so making their list is pretty exciting and it really did pay off. That book proved I could be a career author which is exactly what I've been doing ever since. Making writing and publishing my full-time occupation.

So how did I do it?

Firstly I wrote the best book I could. I learned all the key aspects bestselling novels have in common including interesting, three-dimensional characters, an interesting setting, lots of conflict and emotional punch. I truly believe that the first step in getting on bestseller lists is by writing the best novel you can. By learning everything you can about your craft and putting it into action.

Secondly I collaborated and networked with other authors. I joined the Romance Writers of Australia and attended their yearly conferences. I used this time to make friends with fellow authors and learn from them and their experiences.

It had a fabulous cover which was perfect for the genre and the blurb was well written and intriguing. I also didn't skimp on professional editing. 

I built a strong author platform. I grew a large mailing list by giving away a novella in exchange for readers email addresses. I created an author page on Facebook and joined groups where my ideal readers were. I also created my own website: www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com which ranks highly in searches thanks to some serious Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) I did.

I also learned Amazon's algorithm and worked it to my advantage with meta data and keywords. I know this sounds a bit techie but it was so worth working out!

A hundred other smaller things also helped that book stay on the bestseller list for several months. Then my next book became a bestseller almost as soon as it went up for pre-order. This still happens now. I have built such a great readership and reputation that my books practically sell themselves these days.

Join me and my amazing community of fellow authors inside Fiction Writing Academy today!