How to Get My Book Noticed?
A book gets noticed in two places: on its own product page, and on the pages readers browse when they have not picked a book yet. Most advice covers the first and ignores the second. Here are the five things a reader sees before clicking, and then the places they browse, with the free one first.
Free
no fee, no card
2 days
usual turnaround
Forever
no expiry
What readers see before they click
The cover, at thumbnail size
Readers see it at the size of a postage stamp in a grid of forty. If the title is unreadable at that size, nothing else on this page matters.
The first line of the blurb
Amazon shows two lines before the fold. Goodreads shows three. Put the hook there, not the setup.
The review count
Not the rating, the count. Zero is a signal. A dozen is a book people have read.
The category
A book in the right small category sits near the top of a list readers scroll. In a huge category it sits on page forty.
Whether it is on a list
Readers who do not know what to read next search for the best books in a genre and open a list. If your book is on one, it gets noticed. If not, it does not exist to them.
Where readers browse when they have not chosen yet
Best-of lists on Google, genre pages on sites they trust, the recommendation shelf on Goodreads, and the also-boughts on Amazon. You cannot buy your way onto the last two. The first two you can join today: a free Skriuwer listing puts your book on the genre pages our readers browse, and a placement puts it inside one of the best-of articles they find through Google.
Free listing, optional placement
The listing itself is free and permanent: your own book page, an Amazon buy button, and a badge for your site. Free pages stay out of Google on purpose.
Want readers? A placement puts your book inside one of the best-of articles that bring the traffic, and opens your page up to Google. One-time fee per book, no renewals. Buys the spot in the article, not the listing.
1 book
€29
one placement, one-time
3 books
€24 / book
€72 total, save €15
5 books
€19 / book
€95 total, save €50
10+ books
€14 / book
Best for series and publishers
Get on the genre pages. It is free.
No fee, no card, no account. Fill in the form and we build your page, usually within 2 business days. Add a placement later if you want readers.
List my book for freeWant readers too? Placements from €29, one-time
Common questions
How do I get my book noticed with zero budget?
Fix the five things above, most of which are free, and list the book on every permanent free page you can: Skriuwer, Author Central, Goodreads. Then earn reviews. Money comes later, if at all.
Why is nobody finding my book on Amazon?
Because Amazon shows books to people who searched for something close to them, and a new book with no sales history ranks last for every search. Off-Amazon places where readers browse by genre are how the first readers arrive.
Does being on a best-of list actually sell books?
When the list is one readers find through Google, yes. That is where Skriuwer's traffic comes from. A placement puts your book on one of those lists for a one-time fee from €29. The free listing puts it on the genre pages and gives it a page.
How long before a book gets noticed?
Longer than launch week. The permanent things compound: a page that stays up, reviews that accumulate, a list that keeps ranking. Give it months, and do the free steps first so the months are not wasted.
Related: how to promote a self-published book, getting book reviews, and where to promote my book.