My Frustrating Attemp to Make my Book Known

Aug 11, 2008
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Time feeling wasted
by: Steve B.

Maurice, thanks for your post. I hear disappointment and frustration. You believe in your work, yet it's not finding the audience you want.

That's a common disconnect.

I can't offer much, but I can give you some thoughts on your website. Maybe they'll help.

The thing I see that gives me hope for you is your willingness to write. Your site is full of text. The search engines seek text. You could be a good match for each other.

There's another author with an interest in biblical study who posted to my site. Foreign-born but, like you, not afraid to write, and, like you, eager to succeed. His online efforts consisted largely of a page posted to another organization's site.

He took to heart much of the advice I give on this site. At its center, that advice is:

Write a website on a subject LARGER than your book, but INCLUSIVE of your book.

That way you attract search engine traffic from people with a natural interest in the subject matter contained in your book. For broader information, there's your site. For compelling in-depth information, they can buy your book.

Here's the site the other fellow created (and continues to create. A healthy website is a growing website).

If you click on Jesus Biography you'll find his book.

Do you Google? I'm sure you do. When we post a site to the web, we have to remember to think like we do when we're using Google and when we're "surfing."

For information on Revelations, would you go to awitness.org or mauriceawilliams.com?

Would you click on link text that says, Maurice A. Williams - Revelation, or The Bible - Revelations - Index?

Do you feel you're on the right site when there's additional material on other books of the bible or when you find a book citation on "Principles of Pet Food production by cooking Extrusion and Expander"? (As you have on your bookchaps.html page.)

I'm trying to touch on some of the many reasons why, despite your close focus on your subject matter, you seem not to be getting the traffic - and the sales - you desire. Take your bibliography page...

If I'm impressed by your scholarliness, where's the link to purchase? If I'm compelled by one of your citations, where's the link to more information?

Links, for more reasons than I can state here, are important. Your pages are almost devoid of them.

Nikola, the fellow I referenced, decided to use the same service I do to guide me through the creation of a search-friendly site. Without the proper background on how to craft such a thing, one's writing tends to go to waste.

Here's a link to one page that describes the major benefit - traffic - of the website service I use. Please use the page only as a starting point and then click around. It strikes me as a good fit for you.

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Aug 11, 2008
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Submitted by: Steve B.

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Comment
Maurice, thanks for your post. I hear disappointment and frustration. You believe in your work, yet it's not finding the audience you want. That's a common disconnect. I can't offer much, but I can give you some thoughts on your website. Maybe they'll help. The thing I see that gives me hope for you is your willingness to write. Your site is full of text. The search engines seek text. You could be a good match for each other. There's <A HREF="http://www.shared-self-publishing.com/faith-in-the-future.html">another author with an interest in biblical study</A> who posted to my site. Foreign-born but, like you, not afraid to write, and, like you, eager to succeed. His online efforts consisted largely of a page posted to another organization's site. He took to heart much of the advice I give on this site. At its center, that advice is: Write a website on a subject LARGER than your book, but INCLUSIVE of your book. That way you attract search engine traffic from people with a natural interest in the subject matter contained in your book. For broader information, there's your site. For compelling in-depth information, they can buy your book. Here's <A HREF="http://www.life-of-jesus.org/index.html">the site the other fellow created</A> (and continues to create. A healthy website is a growing website). If you click on Jesus Biography you'll find his book. Do you Google? I'm sure you do. When we post a site to the web, we have to remember to think like we do when we're using Google and when we're "surfing." For information on Revelations, would you go to awitness.org or mauriceawilliams.com? Would you click on link text that says, Maurice A. Williams - Revelation, or The Bible - Revelations - Index? Do you feel you're on the right site when there's additional material on other books of the bible or when you find a book citation on "Principles of Pet Food production by cooking Extrusion and Expander"? (As you have on your bookchaps.html page.) I'm trying to touch on some of the many reasons why, despite your close focus on your subject matter, you seem not to be getting the traffic - and the sales - you desire. Take your bibliography page... If I'm impressed by your scholarliness, where's the link to purchase? If I'm compelled by one of your citations, where's the link to more information? Links, for more reasons than I can state here, are important. Your pages are almost devoid of them. Nikola, the fellow I referenced, decided to use the same service I do to guide me through the creation of a search-friendly site. Without the proper background on how to craft such a thing, one's writing tends to go to waste. Here's a link to one page that describes the major benefit - <A HREF="http://traffic.sitesell.com/writingsuccess.html">traffic</A> - of the website service I use. Please use the page only as a starting point and then click around. It strikes me as a good fit for you.

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My Frustrating Attemp to Make my Book Known

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My Frustrating Attemp to Make my Book Known