Achieving Commercial Account Status

HELLO, FELLOW WRITERS!

Okay, I've been requested to shed some light on how to achieve a commercial account as I am the first to have achieved this goal on the US version of Litnet. There are plenty of writers who are earning money for their works in the Spanish and Russian versions, just so you know this really does work. 

100 FOLLOWERS

For some of you, this may feel like an impossible task but there are two ways to get followers,

FIRST - AUTHORS FOLLOWING

One is following the authors that read your books or that follow you.

Go to Followers in your profile list and look through those that are following you. If they have a number next to the book icon they are a fellow author who is following you so be a friend and follow them back. 

I have followed every author on my list that has followed me. I continually check my list as my followers grow to be certain I follow back any new authors who have decided to follow me too.

Check out your readers... when readers comment click on their profiles and if they are authors follow them and hopefully, since you know they already like your work, they will follow you back.

SECOND - READERS FOLLOWING

If they don't have a number next to the book icon. Congratulations you've won yourself a reader. Authors are not allowed to follow readers so the only way to attain them is to write a good story that would attract them to your profile. 

Also, try posting a gentle reminder in the comments of your book. When you see many are commenting... thanking them for the votes and comments that you have received. Stating don't forget if you are enjoying the story to follow, is a perfectly acceptable thing to do, without being rude. 

80 REGULAR READERS

I'm not surprised some of you may be confused as to what this means exactly. I was too until I asked an editor here at Litnet for an explanation. Here is what I was told:

The Regular Readers indicator (RR) was created to understand how many readers actively read books of an author. We keep the exact algorithm in secret because we want to protect it from cheating. It is precise and effective. 

So basically what that means is you have to write books that will attract returning readers.

Ways to do this:

1. Great Cover- You want to create a cover that will grab a reader's attention. This is the calling card for your book, it's the reader's first impression they get as to what kind of writer you are and what kind of stories you write. This includes coming up with a catchy title. 

2. Interesting Blurb- The description of your book has to be exciting, enticing, and engaging. You have a limited amount of characters to tell what your story is about and why the reader should read it. So take extreme care when writing it. Be exact with your words to give your book the best description you can give. 

3. Create Amazing Stories- Writing stories can be hard but if you write what you love and love to read, you will find the task far less daunting and you will be able to create the stories that are worth readers reading. This is done through good character development, thought out plots, interesting settings, and conflict with a satisfying resolution. 

4. Edit Your Work - Another way and I know this isn't always easy as it is very time-consuming but try to post your best work, your most polished work. No work is going to be error-free. That's why editors exist, but you can at the very least proofreader your own work before posting it to be certain you are posting the best version of your work that you have. Showing love for your craft and your story immediately translates to your readers and they will show their appreciation by reading, liking, rewarding, and following you as an author. 

5. Update Regularly- If you're trying to get the RR algorithm working for you, you need to keep up with regular updates. That doesn't necessarily mean you've got to post a chapter every day but trying to keep to a regular posting schedule not only does it ensure return readers, but also regular updates of a story can make it appear in the widgets on Litnet more often, giving your book more exposure so it can be found and read by new and active readers. 

6. Be A Participant - Be active on Litnet ...

- Use the blog feature to let your readers know what you are working on

- Reply to the comments received on your stories

- Reach out to readers to thank them on their profiles for reading. 

- Reward the authors that you really enjoy

- Be sure to Like stories and Follow authors

- Get involved in social media Litnet is on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and YOUTUBE. Check them out like, comment, share, and follow. 

- Participate in contests

WRITE A BOOK WITH 240,000 CHARACTERS

Just to give you an idea 240,000 characters translates to about 70,000 words. (I had originally used a character count converter to estimate the words but thanks to @Vijay Kerji it has been decided that the converter count of 120,000 words is incorrect, which makes the count far more attainable.) 

Now, this does have to be one book. This does not work in combination with other books you have written.

So if you write several short stories you may want to post them as one collection to reach this mark. If you write novellas you may have to branch out to create at least one complete novel to get to 240,000 characters. 

Best way to complete this goal is to keep on writing and finish that story. 

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So this is how you reach the 3 markers needed to get a commercial account. Once you've reached them you can contact Litnet through the Commerical Account Button and ask to be approved for an account. One thing though you may want to make sure before you do this that you have something ready to sell. 

There are two ways to sell your book:

COMPLETE where you sell a story that is already completely finished like I have with From the Ashes or as ONGOING this where you sell your book while you are writing it. To sell your book this way you will be required to keep up a regular posting schedule, so again be sure you have something you believe is sellable, and you can keep up with. 

Hopefully, this has answered some of your questions. I will try and expand these ideas in future blogs for those of you who would like additional information. If you have questions please feel free to post them in the comments and I will try my best to answer them. 

Thank you and best of luck in your career writing on Litnet, 

Ruechari