Never thought I'd say this
Authors may have reason to bless AI
I just found out about AEO
AI Engine Optimisation.
And stumbled on a whole discovery apparatus that can be incorporated into websites today to make one’s work more discoverable. It involves schema mark ups that enables AI systems to read and parse them more accurately.
Apologies if I sound as though I’m teaching my readers to suck AI eggs, but I am late to the party and excited. Claude amazed me when I asked how to make my website more machine-friendly. It told me, albeit in detail I mostly didn’t understand. However, a website designer would understand and I hope to brief one and get some discoverability for my Koba books. Reason to be AI-cheerful, huh?
Why is AEO necessary?
Because of the way readers are now using AI for book searches. They (we) put in topics, genres, themes, features we are looking for in our next read, and AI makes recommendations, having mined available websites, blogs, articles, Reddit, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, podcasts, reviews, etc, etc. This means the metadata I attach to my books on various readable platforms, is key.
Metadata = keywords, as you probably know.
For the Koba series:
literary historical fiction; apartheid-era southern Africa; Kalahari San Bushmen; Namibia; survivor; untold story; forbidden love; search for identity; coming-of-age; found family; Bush war
If you can think of any search terms you might use to find books like mine, please suggest them to me.
My epic question
My books are being reformatted and the covers tweaked for a new platform. (Thank you, thank you, MI WI A, Stan Fairbank !) so I have a chance to make the subtitles more AEO. Currently they are Koba book 1, 2, or 3. I considered Koba Epic 1,2,3 but Claude poo-pooed that as creating a Romantasy-expecation and also the colloquial meaning, viz. AWESOME. So what do you think, dear readers, about
KOBA SAGA 1, 2 and 3?
Daughter of the Kalahari, Koba book/saga 3
Paid subscribers who have no objection, will shortly receive chapters six to ten of the final instalment in the Koba trilogy. If you would like to be one of these advanced readers, it’s easy. $5 or £4 a month (less if you pay annually) gives you access, as well as a free audiobook of Salt & Honey, Koba Book 2. And you’ll be helping me to keep food in the hostels at the Nyae Nyae Village schools.
Mi wi a
Koba trilogy
Koba 3 part book series
‘Epic’ sounds to me like something much bigger, like a set of fantasy or sf blockbuster books. It might be off-putting for many potential readers who’d find themselves very much at home in Koba’s story.
‘Saga’ puts me off, I’m afraid. In modern useage (as opposed to the likes of Beowulf) I normally see it in the context of ‘family saga’ which is the sort of reading I avoid. But my antipathy may be unique within your target readership.
Sorry I don’t have an alternative to offer. ‘Chronicle’ sounds too dry and factual. ‘Tale’ and ‘Story’ sound commonplace. ‘Trilogy’ is limiting as well as way too common.