20 tips for more effective Amazon book advertising

As an independent book publisher, I’ve had reasonable success reaching parents and readers through Amazon Advertising. Of course, I would like to reach more readers for Sean Yeager Adventures, and this is where you can help. Here are some free tips and more detailed notes for how to use Amazon Advertising more effectively. These are gleaned from many hours of using the tools Amazon provide in the highly competitive markets of selling UK and US children’s books. In exchange, please view a book page on Amazon for one of the Sean Yeager titles and see what you think. You can even use the Amazon Look Inside feature to read a few pages. Thanks in advance for your help. Yes, the Sean Yeager books are good. Check them out, there are also free sample chapter e-books!

Now without any more ado here are 20 focused tips and below them are more detailed notes.

In short:

Glossary: Term(s) means the search terms (e.g. ‘Harry Potter’) you load and bid for in a terms Campaign. Target(s) means the products (ASINs) you load and bid for in a product based Campaign.

1. Experiment to work out which type of advert delivers the best results for your book(s) and strategies – products/categories, terms, brand products/categories or brand terms.
2. Run three or four Campaigns of different advert types/targets in parallel, but no more
3. Be careful in accepting Suggested Bid ranges especially high ones (above 0.40 cents/pence)
4. Start low with your bids and review their performance for a few days/weeks
5. Adjust your term/target bids by small increments (up and down) and check the results weekly/monthly
6. Stick to your break-even average cost per click range (CPC) as far as possible. This may be as low 0.12 pence/cents depending on your click to sales conversion rate and your net income per book sale
7. Tune your campaigns regularly (bids, terms/targets) using weekly, monthly, year to date metrics in the Amazon Advertising tool.
8. Base bid adjustment decisions on your historical campaign metrics (Sales, Clicks to Sales, Clicks, CPC, Impressions, DPV, as well as target/term relevance)
9. Prioritize terms/targets that resulted in sales but not to the exclusion of your break-even CPC or having a breadth of terms/targets – sales can be random and unpredictable
10. Keep in mind seasonal demand and raise bids for your best performing terms/targets in Mar/Apr and especially in Oct/Nov/Dec
11. Use a naming convention for your Campaigns with date, ad type, and tactics in the name
12. Aim for 500 to 900 targets/terms per Campaign and expect only 300 +/- to receive Impressions
13. Review Amazon’s Suggested targets/terms monthly and sense check the best ones to use
14. Keep adding refined targets/terms based on related books, new releases, and new bestsellers, plus refined or related ‘Search Terms’ that resulted in clicks
15. Keep your bid search terms as brief as possible – two to three words ideally
16. Use Negative Terms to weed out unwanted Search Terms that led to ‘bad’ or irrelevant clicks
17. Use the Amazon website’s search feature to preview what the search results are likely to be for your chosen search terms & adjust your terms to be key, stem words (e.g. ‘book 8 years’ not ‘books for children aged 8 years’)
18. Select ‘expanded’ product (ASIN) targets for wider related Impressions
19. Use a mixture of current, classic, high selling and lower selling product targets (ASINS) for coverage (it can be surprising where impressions are cheapest & effective)
20. Experiment with tactics for a defined period – say a month – review, regroup and start fresh Campaigns if needed. Use bulk Archive, bulk Adjust Bids and then Copy Campaign to speed this up.

If you have made it this far and you promise to help spread the word about Sean Yeager Adventures (go on, you know you want to), here are some more detailed notes. They are wordy, so have a coffee on standby.

The long version:

On bid prices and Suggested bid ranges:

Amazon appears to apply all manner of rules in their advertising algorithm/engine. In theory, you are bidding for targets/terms against others. In practice, there are clearly tiers of suggested bids which have little or no relation to the results you will see for your book adverts. It is probable that the engine behind Amazon Advertising has many layers of adjustments and gives bid ranges as approximate quotes or even default ranges. Indeed, you can/will see the exact same target/term quoted with different bid ranges in two different concurrent Campaigns. Amazon support will not answer this question in a meaningful way – ‘your Campaigns are competing with each other’ was the explanation I received. To be frank, that answer side-steps the observable facts. Not all Campaigns are considered equal.

Consider the following example seen repeatedly on Amazon US (Jan ’23) – low, mid, high bids: $0.69, $1.42, $3.43. As a frequently repeating pattern, it is obvious this is not based on actual bids from advertisers. Instead, the engine’s code is repeating this suggested bid range for a reason. Either it has evaluated a Campaign’s worth to Amazon and applied a tiered rate or it has no idea what the current bid price range is for the given target/term in question. Or both. Either way, beware! If your Campaign is being set at a low priority it follows logically that you will be given high-end suggested bids. Whereas, if you experience a run on sales, you will see the suggested bids fall like a stone – probably because your Campaign is at a higher level of priority within the engine and Amazon wants to promote more sales of your book. Make the most of this period, it might be brief.

From my experience, targets/terms can attract good impression counts per day (100’s) at bids of 0.10 to 0.15 cents/pence. It does not always follow that Amazon browsers (customers) are actually looking in large numbers at the targets/terms with the higher suggested bids, and only actual impression/click/sale numbers – by day, week, month – will prove with evidence which specific targets/terms are delivering the best results for your adverts. Hence, experimenting is necessary to find the sweet spot for your adverts/books. Also, this sweet spot will change by season, especially in Nov/Dec when bids will increase due to more advertising spend. (The majority of book purchases being in Nov/Dec.)

High-range suggested bids for targets/terms (£1/$1+) could mean a mixture of two things – that many browsers are searching for them or that many advertisers are bidding high for them. (Or that Amazon wants you to spend more on them – cynical me). While it is tempting to bid high for bestsellers, it does not automatically follow that your adverts will convert better at higher bid costs and break-even for you. Therefore, you need to work out which, if any, of the high demand/high bid range targets/terms you can safely bid higher for in your Campaigns. Only experimenting will tell you this, and therefore you need to build up some metrics to analyse. Start with low bid prices – 0.10 to 0.20 cents/pence even for a high-end suggested bid range, and nudge upwards if you see potential from the resulting metrics (impressions, clicks etc).

Example – If the term ‘Harry Potter book’ converts well for your books at say £0.60/$0.60 bids, great. If not, you should reduce your bids (to say 0.12 to 0.15) or even cull the term from your Campaigns altogether. Here common sense comes into play – do buyers of Harry Potter want your book because it is sufficiently relevant to their needs/tastes?  Again, evidence in your Campaign historical metrics will tell you the truth. While most children’s authors would like their titles to sell to the Harry Potter buyers (parents/fans), it does not automatically follow that this is going to be borne out by actual click to sales figures. If it does, you will know a clutch of targets/terms to prioritise right away. If not, find other targets/terms, and there are thousands.

On break-even CPC and bid adjustments:

While it is tempting to bid £1/$1 for impressions and clicks on specific targets/terms, the value of the resulting clicks to you does not increase based on how much you bid. Instead, you will struggle to break even at higher bid costs unless your book converts at a high rate of sales to clicks (2 clicks to a sale for example). Only you can work out what that conversion rate is for your books (per Campaign type and bid type), based on your historical metrics, and it will vary by season – Nov/Dec being the primary buying season and hence the most expensive for winning clicks.

In addition, for Product adverts that appear in the ‘Also viewed’ sponsored section of Amazon search results pages (the ones that scroll left to right horizontally with up to 50 pages of adverts): Yes, if your ad appears on the first page you will stand a better chance of clicks and higher impressions. And, yes, you will have to bid higher to achieve this placement. However, the same break-even logic applies – what is the cost of these adverts relative to their return from sales? Spending £100/$100 per month for these product targets/placements) and achieving 10 sales per month at £2/$2 net income per book sale is not going to break even. (Clearly, 100 – 20 = a loss of 80.) And your thinking needs to be this granular or you are not going to be in control of your advertising spend and cost effectiveness.

From my experience, twenty ‘good’ clicks can be needed to achieve one sale. At best, in Nov/Dec, I have seen ten to twelve clicks being needed for one sale. The break-even bid cost (CPC) for a click can therefore vary but is typically in the range 0.10 to 0.15 cents/pence unless your sale to click ratio is far better.  This is also based on how much net revenue you receive for a book sale. £2/$2 +/- per copy being a typical net return for a KDP sold print / e-book. 

However, you can still bid lower than 0.10 and higher than 0.15 for specific targets/terms (except in Brand ad types with a 0.10 minimum bid) and achieve an average click cost within range, provided you monitor the results day by day or week by week. Yes, that is a lot of work, but it is your money you are spending, and you are a business with the aim of being profitable over time. (You might want to chant that line a few times.)

A note on Amazon Campaign level Bid Adjustments – don’t use them until you are clear on their outcomes. And then use them sparingly if at all. An uplift of 100% could literally mean paying twice the price for the same value click without any guarantee that the browser (potential customer) was about to purchase. To be frank, Amazon does not know who will buy in a given browsing session (how could they?), but they do know how to entice the advertiser to pay more for a single click. The house always wins and you won’t get a refund as the advertiser if the browser clicks but does not buy at a £3/$3 adjusted bid per click!

On tuning Campaign bids per target/term

What do I mean by tuning? Let’s start with some assumed targets and build forwards. Let’s say we want 2,000 impressions per day for a Campaign, we are aiming for 10 clicks per day, and we budget a £1/$1 per day spend for this Campaign for a period that is not Nov/Dec. Clearly, you can scale this up based on how much you are willing to risk, and spend more in Nov/Dec. However, this is a good starting point to learn and gather historical metrics for your adverts/books. 

We should tune our bid prices weekly and monthly based on what targets/terms give the best – 1) sales, 2) relevance, 3) impressions, 4) clicks, 5) DPVs – detail page views (for Brand ads). 

Sales – it goes without saying, if you convert well (low clicks relative to high sales) at a bid price for a target/term (within the same year) you prioritise this target/term and keep monitoring. But remember, sales can be random events – it does not automatically follow that a target/term will always sell your product at a profitable break-even bid price (CPC), you may still need to reduce these ‘proven seller’ bid prices over time if they fail to deliver on a break-even level. Either way, note what sells in a document, Amazon Advertising holds Search Terms for 65 days.

Relevance – Amazon is built on concepts that include relevance. We can also conclude that Amazon prioritises revenue for itself – which books sell and which adverts make money for Amazon through the cost of advertising. Beware of the latter, the house always wins. 

Relevance means – based on actual metrics, is a browser for X going to have an interest in your product? Has Amazon seen sales go through for your book and these targets/terms? If so, great you are beginning to progress and your suggested bid price ranges may reduce over time for the performing Campaign.  If not, it will probably require hunches and experiments to find and establish relevant targets/terms and earn better prominance on Amazon as a whole. Remember, with good sales comes organic placements and recommendations by Amazon. Also, intuition and honesty come into play. Spending a lot on advertising for targets/terms that are not closely relevant to your book may yield a lot of impressions and clicks, but it is sales that you need! Hence, as a strategy, stay relevant in your choice of targets/terms on the whole.

Impressions – Your book(s) need to be seen to sell. They may sell today or a few days later based on a browser’s click or two. And seen means visible on the main search results pages for other products. Impressions can be misleading in numbers terms. Page 40 impressions on ‘Also Browsed’ are not a lot of use for your aims. However, each target/term needs to deliver at least double-digit impressions to be of any value for your aims. A larger number can be good, provided the target/term is relevant and specific enough. To be clear, if a target/term attracts only one impression and a sale, guess what? You’ll naturally  go after more impressions for the same target/term. And this can happen, although there is no guarantee this focused tuning will attract more sales due to the randomness of what was in the browser’s mind at the time they searched for a book – i.e. this click/sale could have been a fluke. It is better therefore to build up a set of targets/terms that reliably give good impression counts week after week as the core of your approach.

Also, gaining thousands of impressions by targeting the latest best-selling book might bring visibility. However, how many browsers clicked? And did any buy your book? These kind of tactics can be morale boosting but without sales conversion they are a distraction from your core tuning. You can also argue (and I’ve debated this inwardly) – if these targets/terms cost little, where is the harm? My advice is to try a few of these but don’t rely upon them in a scatter-gun manner. And bid low for these high flyers unless you see a healthy sales conversion rate (sales to clicks).

Clicks – There are good clicks and bad clicks. With Search Terms you can tune out the bad click results for your bid terms and to a limited extent for products and categories. Each bad – as in irrelevant Search Term that did not lead to a sale – is a cost burden and needs to be limited or culled. You can use Negative Terms to eliminate the worst bad clicks. You may need to cull or reconsider the words in too broad a bid search term as well. e.g. ‘Children’s Book’ as a ‘Broad’ term may lead to all kinds on unwanted clicks – childrens toy, railway book, book about West Africa etc. Sometimes, the matched Search Terms for clicks can be bizarre. I suggest limiting the use of Broad terms for this reason. I tried ‘Warriors’ once and it led to thousands of matches for a war veteran’s book, not the cat fantasy book series. Sadly, the resulting clicks did not lead to sales.

Good clicks should be nurtured, within reason. Good clicks lead to sales or the likelihood of a later sale. You should review the Search Terms for clicks and assess – Was this a close match? Were they looking for a book like mine to buy?  Did they buy my book later? Good clicks are to be encouraged within the average break-even range you have worked out for your campaign. And beware, not all clicks are of equal value to you. A click that converts to sales is gold dust, a click that does not is a cost of sales. If no clicks for a specific target/term convert within say 20 clicks, pause that target/term and review your advert and product detail page. Something is wrong and needs to change – either your product’s presentation and blurb is too weak, or the target/term is not relevant enough to convert sales and should be culled or reduced substantially in bid price.

DPVs – For Brand adverts, Amazon provides metrics of Detail Page Views (DPVs) You should review the ratios of clicks to DPVs. Those clicks with low DPVs and low sales should have their bids reduced or culled. Because – if the browser did not proceed to review your book’s product page, they were not attracted enough by your brand advert to find out more. Either your brand advert was not interesting/relevant enough for the browser who had in mind that specific search target/term, or the browser was not minded to explore your brand further for other reasons. Obviously with adverts we want to attract good clicks and interested potential buyers. DPVs give an insight into which brand terms/targets are encouraging near misses. By the way, a target/term that converts sales will typically have a DPV value equal to or higher than the number of clicks it attracts.

In summary, by tuning your campaigns, weekly and monthly based on actual historical campaign metrics, you will gain insights to target more effective advertising – higher sales revenue, for lower average click costs, and lower costs per month. In the longer-term, this will help you reach break-even for your adverts/book sales. Clearly, if your book takes off in sales terms, you will be able to flex/loosen your controls. Whereas, if you achieve minimal sales, you may conclude after several months that your product is not commercially viable for advertising on Amazon Advertising and cut your losses. Either way, tuning is about gaining control of your campaigns instead of a splatter-gun approach of spraying adverts around, paying higher CPC amounts, and praying for sales.

I sincerely hope these tips and notes help you with your Amazon Advertising.

D M Jarrett

The heroes of Sean Yeager Adventures – an exciting, hidden gem book series for ages 8 to 14

Hi there, now we’ve explored the bad guys in the Sean Yeager Adventures children’s book series, let’s introduce some of the heroes who are striving to thwart Krankhausen and Vrass’ ruthless plans.

• Sean Yeager
• Emily Campbell
• The Founder – Cassius Olandis
• Major Clavity
• Agent Stafford
• Maximilian Argentus
• The Wanderer – Livia Tarvus
• ‘KB’ – Victor Kyboamski

Sean Yeager – A brave, impulsive young teen who is unwittingly pulled into an escalating conflict he knows nothing about. Sean has to find his feet in an ever-changing landscape when his home is broken into and eventually demolished. While discovering abilities and a past he knew nothing about, Sean gathers clues about his missing father. Sean always does his best to protect others and evade Deveraux’s evil clutches, often at great personal cost. Fortunately, he is protected by Agents from the Foundation, although he often wonders if they are a help or a hindrance.

Emily Campbell – A feisty, slightly older teen who befriends Sean at Kimbleton Hall. Emily uses her keen detective skills to make sense of the chaos around them. She loves animals with the notable exception of ‘the cat’. When Sean’s impulsive nature leads him into trouble, Emily is first to pick him up, calm him down, and help to figure out an escape plan. She forms a close bond with Sean, and when she meets the Wanderer she explores her own unexpected abilities.

The Founder – Cassius Olandis – A tall, enigmatic man of indeterminate age who heads up the Foundation and previously commanded the Eternal Promise. Skilled in telepathy and neural suggestion, Cassius leads by using his Aether craft skills and instructs through direct communication. Few are aware of his past and even fewer would dare to ask him. However, Cassius is becoming frail and desperately needs Sean and Emily’s help.

Major Clavity – Sometimes unfairly viewed as clumsy and prone to mishaps, Clavity is a brave and loyal Foundation Agent from a military background. Assigned important missions by the Founder, Clavity risks his life to save others. While he’s not averse to regular snack breaks, which may have contributed to his physique, he often surprises people with his skill and determination.

Agent Stafford – Initially a flashy agent with a lofty view of himself, Stafford is brought down to earth by a series of challenging missions. He enjoys the finer things in life and is said he have been extremely lucky in lotteries. During the events of Mortal Thread, we find out whether Stafford can complete the mission he has dreaded for years. And whether he’ll make it on time for one of his coverted fine dinners.

Maximilian Argentus – Built like an ox, he is known to Sean and Emily as ‘Uncle Max’. Of unknown origin, Max is the right-hand-man to the Founder. Paternal and moral, he has guided Sean and Emily for many years. In Claws of Time, Max takes an interest in Sean and Emily’s training and leads an important mission to locate Major Clavity in Central America. Max has a calm, commanding influence and is the person you would want by your side when surrounded by ruthless androbots.

The Wanderer – Livia Tarvus – In Mortal Thread, we meet Livia after Sean and Emily embark on a lengthy journey. Sworn to protect life, Livia is a Hexator of the Gaia craft. She nurtures exotic creatures at the Ranch and refuses to engage in military action against Krankhausen or Vrass. Left to her own devices, Livia runs the Ranch with a cohort of Patersons and her treasured guard bird. No one is quite sure what Livia is capable of when provoked by aggressors, least of all Sean and Emily.

‘KB’ – Victor Kyboamski – A keen surfer, KB’s laid-back nature hides a sharp mind and remarkable engineering skills. When not ‘modifying’ equipment, he enjoys experimental cookery, fast cars, faster flying craft, and ultra-secret missions. His heroes include Agents Stafford and Geist after the events of Claws of Time. If you have a problem, KB can probably help, provided of course that the Ancients approve. Incept? Who are they?

To find out more about the exciting Sean Yeager series, explore free sample e-books on Amazon, or visit the Sean Yeager Adventures website.

www.SeanYeager.com

The artwork of Sean Yeager Adventures

Hi there,

Over the years, the Sean Yeager Adventures crew has had the pleasure of working with two talented artists who have played a major part in bringing the Sean Yeager children’s book series to visual life.

Joel Carpenter https://joelcarpenter.carbonmade.com/

Joel contributed some amazing covers and story artwork in the early days. His tireless concept work was a major boost for the visual identity and feel of the series.

In order, DNA Thief – with its amazing flying car and Sean Yeager’s DNA trace. Hunters Hunted – Sean and Emily discover the mysterious ruined cottage. Also from DNA Thief – Clavity and Sean narrowly avoiding the burglars’ van. Agent Rusham and Major Clavity race to Sean Yeager’s house. Brigadier Cuthbertson on hearing bad news at Foundation Control.

Andy Dodd – http://www.andydoddcartoons.com

More recently, Andy created some incredible covers for the next two Sean Yeager episodes which helped to signal the slightly older target readership as the series developed. Andy also brought some amazing light effects to the cover designs.

Claws of Time – Sean Yeager seizing the life-cog inside an ancient templ. Mortal Thread – someone activating a device using an orange crystal.

Looking ahead to the next episode – Sean Yeager Blade of the Quel – once the plot is well progressed, concepts and work on the next SYA artwork are sure to follow.

Sean Yeager Adventures is an exciting children’s action, adventure, sci-fi series. It follows the journeys of Sean and Emily as they seek the truth about their fathers while trying to save the Earth and themselves from a ruthless enemy.

For more information visit: http://www.seanyeager.com

Sean Yeager titles are available worldwide from Amazon and Ingrams affiliated retailers in UK and US English versions.

Please share this article and the website link to help spread the word. Sean Yeager Adventures is an independent labour of love which began in 2012. We take great care to provide high quality reading for young readers (8 to 14) guided by young readers. Free sample e-books are regularly available for Kindle on Amazon, or use the Look Inside book feature.

The bad guy characters in Sean Yeager Adventures

Hi there, here’s a quick tour of the bad guys in the exciting Sean Yeager children’s action, adventure book series for ages 8 to 14. Acquiring and leading their many helpers and ‘volunteers’ are:

• Egbert Von Krankhausen
• Darius Deveraux
• Vrass
• Seventy-one

Egbert Von Krankhausen – A wealthy international businessman with a sideline in criminal dealings. Early in the series, he is responsible for the burglary on Sean Yeager’s house. After his failure to give Deveraux what he wanted, Krankhausen is taken virtual prisonner and ‘encouraged’ to work on Deveraux’s evil plans. As a result, Krankhausen is seldom seen in public and has pleaded repeatedly for daylight and a vacation.

Darius Deveraux – Fair of skin and hair with blood-red eyes, Deveraux has a mysterious past. He runs Vrass’ expanding commercial and human empire in a ruthless manner. However, he is far from free and frequently feels the wrath of Vrass’ impatience. Wanted by the Foundation for years, Deveraux has an uncanny ability to fake his presence and slip away from danger. For a considerable time, he lived on a stealth submarine in international waters. Lacking any concern for human suffering, Deveraux is a very dangerous customer.

Vrass – Telepathic and alien in origin, Vrass is a Vuloz creature with a serious grudge against humanity. All most people see of Vrass are three black, penetrating eyes of malice in their mind’s eye. Vrass’ whereabouts are unknown and it is believed to be capable of spawning new Vuloz spores, swimmers, and warriors. Aquatic by preference, Vrass and the Vuloz are capable of rapid evolution and bio-engineering with dangerous results.

Seventy-one – An androbot of biological origins, Seventy-one is Deveraux’s chief aide. As if with most of Deveraux’s personal staff, its body was grown to order and fitted with technology. Seventy-one communicates directly with other androbots (controllers, warriors, scouts, sowers, and infected people known as sleepers) and relays Deveraux’s orders across his growing empire. Incapable of emotion, Seventy-one’s bio-electrical brain is ‘trained’ to interpret language literally with many misunderstandings.

Next time, we’ll explore the heroes and helpers in the SYA universe.

For more information about the Sean Yeager Adventures book series visit:

www.SeanYeager.com

What makes a story plot work? Pointers for plotting.

Hi there, now I am in plotting mode for Sean Yeager Blade of the Quel, here are some thoughts on what to consider when devising and reviewing the plot of your next story. Gathered from various sources and personal experience, I hope you find these pointers helpful in your story plotting.

• Characters drive plot
• Plots as sequences of actions and consequences
• Unexpected challenges or barriers enrich a plot
• Red herrings matter
• Line up an unexpected twist or three
• Know your resolution outline early
• Flow charts, notepads, and whiteboards are your friend
• Keep it plausible

Characters drive plot – What the characters want, how they go about getting what they want, and what their capabilities, drive the backbone of any story. If you map out the sequence for each major character it will help drive the substance of a story plot. Obviously, stories focus on what the characters do and how they interact, and this is shaped by their drives, their motives, their capabilities/weaknesses, and agendas. In addition, characters should evolve in their outlooks and behaviours after major experiences and during a series. It keeps things interesting for everyone if we care about the characters and ‘how’ they progress towards their goals. In fact, I would say ‘how’ is possibly the most important aspect of all. As in a character overcoming weaknesses and challenges that are unique to them, so that we care.

Plots as sequences of actions and consequences – It can be useful to use flowcharts to map out sequences of major events. This can consist of chains of events and what characters do as a result. Whether as parts of an overall plot, an arc for each character, or as the spine of the whole story. This can also evolve and act as a rough guide as the writing progresses and new thoughts arise (driven by characters and fresh ideas). Nothing has to be 100% set in stone until the final draft, but 60 to 80% firm helps. Write in pencil or wipeable marker – easily amended.

Unexpected challenges or barriers enrich a plot – As a plot technique, devising the barriers (challenge/solution cycles), particularly in mid-story, can be tough. Beginnings and endings tend to be easier in my experience. One approach I find useful is to think about the worst, best, and most unexpected things that could happen to characters as a result of their previous actions or plot events. Putting your characters through the ‘wringer’ can lead to great interactions and fun writing. Where do they need to go? Why? What compels them to take deviations along the way? And what stops them in their tracks – forcing a change of some kind?

Red herrings matter – As the writer, being aware of possible continuations and signalling that the characters are human and consider them can be very useful. Introducing dead-end clues or explorations within the plot is a great way of introducing humanity to the characters and the next layer of plot surprises. Few people in life go directly from start to outcome without distractions and setbacks along the way.

Line up an unexpected twist or three – To keep a reader turning pages there are many ingredients – quality, pace, wit, subject matter, caring about the characters etc. To encourage readers to finish a book and read more in a series requires the ‘not knowing what’s going to happen next’ aspect in a work. If a story is too predictable, it will usually be weaker as a result. So, throw in some planned surprises at intervals in the story. These can also help overcome the ‘flabby middle’ issue many books suffer from.

Know your resolution outline early – Some people like to be ‘pantsers’. I confess to being very much the opposite. Either way, its important to know what the story is building up to and at least the options you have in mind for how the story’s central conflict will be resolved. I say options, because foreshadowing and plausibility are important in the plotting and writing. There can still be different possible outcomes given realistic factors explored in the story, but it is important to know where you are heading – or you’ll never get there.

Flow charts and whiteboards are your friend – Whatever works in taking ideas down and exploring where they can lead. Again, nothing is set in stone until the final draft. I find mapping out complex plot lines helps. Also, getting away from the screen for plotting, and having a folder with various sections that I build up during plotting and preparing to write. It includes various headings – Characters, Plot Outline, Backstory, Includes, Questions to self, Brainstorm pages, Detailed scene by scene workings, Twist ideas, Writing prompts etc.

Keep it plausible – Bottom line, avoid deus ex machina and variations. No reader likes a character doing something completely out of character ‘just because’. Or a happenstance coincidence that is unlikely. Far better to have chains of cause and effect that make sense within the story’s logic. It is still possible to explore interesting areas, depending on the genre and to have an unexpected outcome. However, ‘the butler’s unknown son’s aggrieved lover did it’ is plain annoying. It’s right down there with ‘it was all a dream’. And Harry Potter fans skip a paragraph – ‘love conquers all, just because’ is copping out and a form of deux ex machina. A protective magical object/spell would have worked better and would have been easier to explain. e.g. Harry’s parents used an ancient ‘love pact’ spell which only works if one of them dies protecting Harry and by all wearing an object – thus Harry was a) saved b) splintered Voldemort’s soul without him knowing due to the spell and object he was wearing. I could go on, but please consider the main point – story logic needs to make sense. It can still be elaborate. Just because, is not a satisfying or plausible explanation for a major plot point after thousands of pages. And core plot implausibilities / inconsistencies are just plain annoying. Avoid them by explaining ‘how’ in plausible terms consistent with the story’s build up.

Above all, have fun plotting. I know some people find it tough to plot a story – and it is as with anything really worthwhile, but a good story will develop given time and repeated effort. Some people don’t plot at all – not sure how they manage that – and all speed to their writing! Personally, I think of it as designing the film I want the book to be. And until I am convinced a plot would make a good film, I don’t start writing the book. I figure that if the spine of the plot is good enough, the rest of the book can be refined and polished over the many editing passes that follow the first draft.

Best of luck and have fun writing.

D.M. Jarrett

For more information about the Sean Yeager Adventures children’s book series visit:

www.SeanYeager.com

Free Sean Yeager Adventures e-books

In the run up to the festive season, we are pleased to offer Sean Yeager e-books free on Amazon to help your buying decisions. Over the coming weeks, check out the sites for free sampler e-books of all four Sean Yeager children’s books and find out why young readers love the Sean Yeager Adventures series. Use the search term ‘Sean Yeager Adventures’ to find all the titles on offer or click on the links below. These e-books are also free every day with Kindle Unlimited, and the first two titles are available in full in e-book format.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=sean+yeager+adventures&ref=nb_sb_noss

US: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sean+yeager+adventures&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Website: http://www.SeanYeager.com

Try before you buy into an exciting series of action, adventure stories that chart Sean and Emily’s quest. Written for readers from ages 8 to 14, the Sean Yeager book series has four episodes in print. Each story is self-contained and builds on the earlier episodes to take the reader on a rollercoaster ride unlike any other. Age appropriate and with themes of spies, adventure, quests, and mysteries, Sean Yeager books are designed by young readers for young readers. The print versions are larger than standard paperback sizes and have attractive matt covers. Each year, we review reader feedback and update the series, which means the current editions are the best they have ever been.

Please tell your friends and family to help spread the word about Sean Yeager Adventures. SYA is a real life labour of love, and in 2022 we celebrate our tenth anniversary.

Best wishes

The SYA team

Sean Yeager Adventures – the story so far

Hi there, here’s a quick run down on what to expect from the stories in the Sean Yeager Adventures series. As well as spies, gadgets, robots, aliens and action, there’s a plot that runs through the series from episode to episode. Written for ages 8 to 14, the series is age appropriate and designed to be easy to read. It also has deeper themes that develop throughout the series.

In the DNA Thief, Sean Yeager’s life is interupted by a burglary which leads to a hair-raising attempt to recover his lost belongings. Sean is introduced to the Foundation and a world he knew nothing about. For some reason, Sean’s DNA is the prize.

In Hunters Hunted, Sean meets Emily Campbell at a country safe house. Together, they investigate the mansion and find clues to a mysterious treasure and Sean’s father. Meanwhile, enemy forces close in around their new home and pursue them.

In Claws of Time, the wheels fall off the Foundation’s operation. Sean and Emily embark on a mission to save Major Clavity and encounter far more than they bargained for. Across the world, satellites are crashing and the clues lead to Darius Deveraux.

In Mortal Thread, Sean and Emily must find a way to save the Founder. However, the Foundation is divided and Deveraux’s forces have seized the initiative. Agent Stafford is assigned the mission he has long dreaded, while Sean and Emily search for the Wanderer and help from the US.

Thanks for making it this far. If this series looks appealing, please help to spread the word. Thanks in advance for your help. This series is designed to be intelligent, entertaining, and to prompt readers to research real world history and science while encouraging boys in particular to read more.

Sean Yeager Mortal Thread is live!

Sean Yeager Mortal Thread cover

After months of pandemic writing, editing and tweaking, it’s finally here! Sean and Emily must find the Wanderer in order to save Cassius Olandis and all life on Earth as we know it. But who can they trust?
A page-turning, fast-paced, action, adventure, sci-fi story for children aged 7 to 12. Age appropriate for grade 4+ readers.

Sean and Emily seem to have everything under control until their ship decides to crash land. When they are instructed to find the Wanderer, they begin an exciting voyage of discovery spanning Europe and the USA. While Vex Lauricus and Agent Stafford attend to the demands of their superiors, can anyone stop Darius Deveraux expanding his vice-like grip on the western world? Sean and Emily encounter more than they bargained for in an adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Sean Yeager Adventures is an action-packed, fun-filled series that will entertain children, middle school students, and young teens alike.

Click “Buy Now” to order the Sean Yeager Adventures series today!

Books in the Sean Yeager Adventures series:

– Sean Yeager and the DNA Thief
– Sean Yeager Hunters Hunted
– Sean Yeager Claws of Time
– Sean Yeager Mortal Thread

For more information visit: www.SeanYeager.com

News Update – Book Four is on the way

Hi passing web traveller,

Here’s a quick update on progress with Book Four in the Sean Yeager Adventures series.

The first draft of Sean Yeager Mortal Thread has now been written. Hurray! It is in the process of being edited and improved, which will take a few months. After this, we will issue a limited run of print copies to beta readers, gauge their reactions and make any final corrections. All being well, Mortal Thread will be published in Autumn 2021 and in time for Xmas 2021.

We can reveal that the story is reading back really well. As usual a lot happens. The story features several new characters – KB, the Wanderer, Zabaroni – alongside established favourites – Agent Stafford, Dr Vex, Uncle Max – and of course Sean and Emily. Picking up from Claws of Time, the Mortal Thread travels to orbit, the US, England, and Greece. Alas, Darius Deveraux continues to progress his evil plans under the orders of Vrass. But who can stop them?

For more information about the series refer to http://www.seanyeager.com

Sean Yeager Adventures: Questions and Answers

 

Welcome, passing website browser,

For a bit of fun, here are answers to questions about Sean Yeager Adventures raised by readers over the past year:

Q: Why do you write the Sean Yeager stories from multiple perspectives?

– To keep things interesting. To keep the stories fast moving and show more of the characters.  From the readers’ feedback we’ve received, most readers enjoy seeing the bad guys and the good guys in action. We also seek to write movies on the page, because it keeps things fresh and different. The monomyth / hero’s journey has been done so many times, we decided on a fresh approach.

Q: Is Brigadier Cuthbertson a reference to Dr Who and are you influenced by the Dr Who series?

– Not really, no. The Brigadier is an affectionate nod to Dr Who which we have watched over the years. It is also a well established military rank in the UK. However, the Brigadier is far from the focus of the stories as becomes clear from book one. Sean Yeager is an original story and we’ve yet to come across a similar series. Much as we enjoy Dr Who, SYA does not feature time travel or daleks.

Q: Why don’t we find out more about Sean Yeager in the first book?

– We’ve taken on board that some readers wanted to know more about Sean (and other characters) so we’ve added a little more about them in the enhanced, reissued books now on sale. Having said that, the idea of the SYA books is that you discover more about Sean and Emily as they discover more about themselves and their place in the world. We realise that some readers prefer character focused books, which are themselves a genre. However, SYAs are action books and progress at pace. As the series develops, more details about the main characters are revealed – just as in real life when you get to know someone over time.

Q: Why do the bad guys steal Sean Yeager’s DNA in book one?

– Without giving away too much – because of who Sean Yeager is. The series reveals answers to all the key puzzles and mysteries as the stories progress. Imagine someone wanted to clone you – why would they do that? And how would you feel about it? Remember, to begin with Sean just wants his stolen belongings back.

Q: Why is Deveraux so evil?

– Darius Deveraux’s character has been shaped by his ambitions and his master. As you read the series it will become clear why he behaves the way he does. Without giving away too much from later books, let’s just say – he’s not evil just for the sake of it.

Q: Why are Sean and Emily’s families living together at Kimbleton Hall?

– Because they have a lot in common, including their guardian. As the series progresses it becomes clear why Sean and Emily are looked after by the Foundation.

Q: What is the Foundation and what are they doing?

– The Foundation for International Technology is run by the Founder – Cassius Olandis – and others. As the series progresses their origins and mission are explained. They have been around for quite a long time.

Q: What do other readers think about the books?

–  It’s always a thrill to hear about readers enjoying the characters and stories in SYAs and we’re often asked when the next one is coming out.  Most encouragingly, SYA books have been favourably compared by readers with highly successful series such as Percy Jackson, Alex Rider, and Artemis Fowl. Of course, some readers prefer more grown up books, which is fine with us, especially when those readers are adults and older teens (LOL). Side note – SYA’s are written for ages 8 to 14. If you are an adult, please buy a SYA book for a young reader. If you want a Young Adult book, please buy one. SYA’s are substantial stories for younger readers.

Q: Did you work out the back story and answers to the SYA mysteries before you wrote the books? And does the reader find out answers about everything that’s going on?

– Yes, pretty much. We worked out a lot of back story before starting each book and in fact before even starting the series. Rather than ‘telling’ everything up front, we invite the reader to figure things out for themselves, to guess what is happening and discover answers as the series progresses. All the big questions are answered in the series, that is a promise! However, all is not as it seems, even in book one. As a writing team, we dislike exposition – which is having a character or narrator explain the whole plot – like in James Bond films. Also the plot line running through the series is pretty deep, for each character and the various factions. So instead, we drip feed the bigger story book by book. There is a large back story and ‘expanded universe’ yet to be written in bookform, which informs the series.

Q: Who is your favourite character to write?

We like different characters for different reasons. We like the bravery and inventiveness of Sean and Emily. We enjoy Dr Vex and his blunt approach to problem solving. The cat was an early favourite, because it has no filter and says what it likes. Deveraux is always fun, so utterly cruel and remorseless, but not someone you’d want to meet. The Brigadier bumbles through situations and doesn’t do a great job as a boss, but is still brave, which we enjoy writing. The Founder is fun in his sage-like and mysterious way. We have a lot of fun with Seventy-one and the limitations of artificial intelligence understanding humans. Major Clavity was also fun to write as an older character whose heart is in the right place, even though he makes mistakes. Mrs Yeager is amusing and drawn from several sources – the ultra-hyper mum who wants the best for her son. And Agent Stafford has become a recent favourite due to his interests and his unique take on being a real James Bond. Look out for KB and the Wanderer in the next book (Mortal Thread) who are a lot of fun to spend time with. Overall, KB and Dr Vex have been the most fun to create and write so far. You could say Dr Vex has a few issues to work out, given his extensive past lives. Meanwhile, KB has been busy making ‘minor modifications’ to all kinds of gizmos and devices.

Q: Why do Sean Yeager books have relatively few reviews compared to best sellers?

– We have genuine reviews and do our best to spread the word to encourage parents to buy a great book for their child. Keep in mind that best sellers have the backing of large publishers who effectively buy reviews with advance review copies and paid reviewers (yes, really), and when their books sell in stores in higher numbers they naturally generate more reviews – that’s simple mathematics. It’s the rule of the jungle – the bigger publishers have more reach and more power.

Please support us as an independent publisher by posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads if you or your child reads and enjoys a Sean Yeager book. All reviews are appreciated and they help to spread the word to other readers (and parents). And yes, we do read reviews to go back and improve earlier books – DNA Thief and Hunters Hunted have both been updated extensively based on feedback from readers. They are now improved versions – which you will not find with major published books.

Q: Are the books too old for age 7, or too young for 14 year olds?

– It depends on the reader and their tastes. Some readers advance to adult books by 14, or earlier, and prefer them, while others enjoy lighter reads. In a young book market dominated by light, comical reads, we suggest you will find more depth in SYA books.  All SYA books are age appropriate from age 8 upwards. We’ve had adults tell us they have enjoyed SYA books because they are light, tongue-in-cheek and easy to read. We realise everyone has their preferences, which is fine by us. We do try to make sure that the books are easy reads from age 8 upwards. And each book is aimed at a slightly older reader (as with the Harry Potter series). Having said that, we know  there are younger and older readers who also enjoy SYAs.

Q: Who is your favourite writer and why?

– We have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Jonathan Stroud’s series – the Bartimaeus quadrilogy and Lockwood and Co. We find that Stroud’s plots, characters, worlds, humour and use of language are a cut above the average book. While we have also enjoyed Harry Potter, Stroud is quite simply a better writer in our opinion. Most importantly, both series by Stroud are great fun to read and you can become absorbed in them. We do also enjoy Harry Potter, which is fun in a different way. (And we’ve visited the parks and movie sets).

Q: What do you enjoy most about writing Sean Yeager books?

– The best part for us is hearing about readers’ favourite characters and incidents, that really brings everything to life. We enjoy plotting and writing, but hearing about what works in the books is the biggest reward. The writing team also enjoy discussing what-ifs for the characters and the backstory (and the expanded Aenaid universe, as yet unwritten in book form), which sits behind the books.

Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

– Yes, we do. Our advice is to believe in yourself and to learn your craft. Find writers you admire and study how their work flows. Work out your own story ideas, make sure you are inspired by them, and create your own writing style. It is a tough job, so believing in the value of what you do is very important. Also, accept that you will need to improve the work on the page many times over before it is ‘done’. You will face a lot of rejection unless you are very lucky. Learn to be resilient and to go around the rejecters. Most of them know no more than you do. Your readers are the most important judges of your work. Be open to fresh approaches and accept that practice will improve your writing, though not all ideas are good ideas. You will need to learn to separate the good from the poor writing. When it is good, you will know and sometimes it will feel as if you are reading another author’s work after all the hard work is done.

Q: What are you currently working on? And how do you go about writing?

– At the time of updating this blog entry, Sean Yeager Mortal Thread is written and published. We are now plotting book five. As always, it’s a case of working out fresh ideas and a plot to rival the best, which can take a while. The writing team is very keen on plotting and outlining.  We find it works best to know what is going to happen, so we can focus on character interactions and action within a chapter. When writing, we still deviate and discover new ideas as the books progress, but most of the story is already plotted out. We do this to ensure the plot is worth writing before even starting.  We also review the books from many angles to tighten everything up. Editing follows for quite a while after the first draft and even after publishing the first edition. DNA Thief in particular has evolved considerably from the early drafts.

Q: When is the next Sean Yeager book coming out?

–  Once we’ve pulled together the strands Blade of the Quel will emerge over time. Meanwhile, there are four Sean Yeager books available which should keep most readers busy for a while. Blade of the Quel could take some time, so check back here once in a while.

Happy reading,

Stay safe and well,

D.M. Jarrett & the Architect