I’ve always been a fan of afterwords in traditionally published books. It’s nice to get a little thank you message from the author or the tale of how the book came to be. Sometimes you’ll even get an interesting essay on the genre or the author’s book-related experiences (some of the omnibuses I’ve purchased by my favorite authors have had these).
That said, afterwords don’t seem to be all that common.
If you’re an ebook author, you might want to consider adding one. What you write is up to you, but this is the ideal place to add links to your other books.
You’ll often see a list of an author’s other works in the front of a paperback, but people reading on a Kindle or other e-reader aren’t that likely to “flip” back to the front when they finish.
Also, with ebooks, you have the unique ability to put live links into the text. Naturally, you wouldn’t want links in the middle of your novel, but adding a list of other books at the end makes sense.
If I’m reading on my Kindle, and a link takes me to the Amazon sales page for the Kindle-version of the sequel, I can buy it right then and there, without having to get out of bed. If I’m not sure if there’s a sequel, and I have to look up your name in the browser, hunt through other offerings, etc., then you’re putting more steps between me and purchasing the next book. Remember, I’m in bed already, so I’m not feeling terribly ambitious.
I always figure the easier you can make things on readers the better. If you do decide to include links to sales pages at the end, make sure to tailor them, i.e. your mobi-formatted Kindle ebook should take readers to the Amazon store. An epub for Barnes & Noble should have B&N links. With Smashwords, if you’ve opted in for distribution, you can’t be sure which store someone will buy your ebook from, but you can always include links to your Smashwords sales pages, since they sell every format of ebook.
Beyond Sales Page Links
Okay, so what else can you do with your afterword? Let’s say you’ve already thanked the reader for trying your book and you’ve included links to your other ebooks. Here are a couple other things you might add:
- A link to your website or email address — Readers might want to visit and find out what else you’re working on.
- A line or two letting them know you having a newsletter they can sign up for on your site — You do have a newsletter, right?
- A request for reviews — While not everybody is into writing up reviews, it doesn’t hurt to add something like, “If you enjoyed my story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, B&N, etc.” This can be especially helpful if your ebook is new and doesn’t have many yet.
- An excerpt of the next adventure — I hate getting these when the next book isn’t due out for 8 months, but if your follow-up is already on the virtual shelves, waiting for buyers, this can be a nice teaser.
You don’t want to go too crazy with making requests (I’ve seen indie authors ask readers to review them, tag them, add them to lists, tweet about them, add them on Facebook, etc. etc. etc.), but the afterword is a chance for you to communicate briefly with the reader so it doesn’t hurt to use that space!
Can you think of any other things authors might want to include in an afterword? Let us know below!
Great points, Lindsay!
Where does an author bio fit in here? Do you think that a brief bio of the author belongs at the beginning of the book or the end?
*heh* Reminds me that a few days ago Smashwords posted on their Site Updates page a note that they kept getting complaints about books that were incomplete, and when they investigated, it turned out that the books were, in fact, complete – the author just hadn’t put anything after the last full stop. Yet another reason to write an afterword. 😉
Things that are not so sales-oriented…
I’ve seen in afterwords are acknowledgements (I care more about who helped with a story AFTER I read it – if I don’t know if I like the story, I don’t care at all, but want to actually start reading the story), or notes about the research they did.
The most entertaining afterwords I’ve seen were by Steven Brust. In one book he wrote with the conceit that he is only the translator of a work originally written by an author in the fictional world, he included two interviews: One of the “translator” interviewing the “original author”, and one the other way around. In his last book he included “deleted scenes”, which I think were either made up just for that, or came from a “I’m stuck and need to write some utterly random thing to get in the groove again”, anyway, highly amusing.
Mind, links to someone’s website, Smashwords, etc. are useful, too; I’m just rambling a bit.
I’ve used the teaser and link to my author page/website in my afterword, but now your post has me thinking about other potential content… Thanks!
I chose not to include an excerpt of my forthcoming novel in my now-on-shelves novella (GOOD FENCES) I could have, but I just put a blurb for the forthcoming novel instead.
Both the current novella and the upcoming novel have the same protagonist so it stood to reason. If both were stand-alones, I might not do even that.
I’ve always enjoyed reading afterwords. It’s really interesting when they provide a glimpse into the story behind the story.
I especially like the idea of including stuff that would be considered “added value” or bonus content on a DVD or Blu-Ray.
As ebooks become more sophisticated, I think there will be a lot more of this kind of thing, like soundtracks, writer commentary, deleted scenes, etc.
And since it is at the end, the reader never has to even look at it if they aren’t interested.
Right now I just put in a little thank-you note, info about upcoming stuff, contact info, and a short bio. But I think in the future, I’ll be adding some kind of “deconstructing the story” segment or something like that. Ha ha, I guess it depends on reader interest.
I like afterwards that give some sort of added glimpse — like extras on a dvd that Jon mentions. I agree that the opportunity to sell more works shouldn’t be missed, but agree we shouldn’t try too hard.
Good suggestions. This isn’t something I would have thought of. Will now. 🙂
Thanks for the comments, all!
Yup, bio is a good one, Glinda. I always think mine is terribly boring so I don’t bother. I need a more exciting life. 😛
I’ve thought (many times) about doing something with “deleted scenes” since it’s always hard to kill those, especially if the dialogue is fun. It’s interesting to see that many others have thought of doing that as well!
I love afterwards, especially ones that might provide a little insight to the author. Let’s face it, we just spent some intimate time together, you pour your heart out on the pages and I was silly enough to join you on your journey, we are pretty good pals now. Tell me about yourself and why you wrote the book.
The idea of DVD extras is very cool, maybe concept drawing of a person or place (something the author did as they were writing to help them) would be neat. Deleted scenes are a great idea. Interviews with the characters. All great ideas.
I eagerly wait for Amarathe, Book, and Maldynado’s interviews. 😉