Semi-nerdy post ahead. You've been warned.
So, it’s a month in. I won’t make a habit of talking about my numbers. I don’t post them up for comparison purposes, but just for the record, because I like data. *fiddles with glasses*
The book has been out for about a month now. A little over a month. It is up on Smashwords, Amazon, B&N. It got approved for premium service, so I’ve seen it on iTunes and Diesel Books. It has yet to show up on Kobo. (More on that in a minute.)
So far, across the board, the reported amount I’ve made is a bit over $30. I know, breaking the bank! But I’m an unknown. I’ve had about 6 sales on Amazon US, plus two more this week. On Amazon UK, I’ve had three all together.
Smashwords has my biggest amount of downloads. I put it for sale on the 11th and made a coupon to get it for free for two weeks. By the 13th, I’d had 400 page views and 170 downloads! Three were purchased. As of now, I think I’ve had six purchases? I’ve also been approved for premium distribution.
On Diesel Books, Ruin made some lists. It’s a top seller in the sci-fi> general and other category. I figured that in a sub-category the amount of books would be smaller, so no big deal to make a bestseller list. What did surprise me was the book climbing their bestseller list for science fiction eBooks. As of today, it’s number 5 (it was number 7 at the time I wrote this a couple days ago and had been slipping down to number 8). Yikes! I hope people are liking it since it is not what I would consider pure science fiction.
Just how well am I doing on Diesel Books considering the listing? I have no clue. With Smashwords, the extra distributers report every few weeks. It could just be that I’m selling a book every few days and that’s what’s bumping me up. I will say, though, that the big difference I see between Diesel eBooks and other sites is that they do recommendations based on genre, not on purchasing history. That’s sort of a big difference between them and Amazon, and for that I’m grateful. Even if it turns out I have something like three sales from them when they do report. I think it’s still a great system that gives more chances to unknowns like me.
Now, on Kobo, there are some things that have made me think about this a little. I love Kobo because I have a Kobo. I’m biased. But a recent entry from Catheryn Ryan Howard (Why is my Book is Still 99c?) has made me think about it in a different light. Not a negative light, just different. If you want to do temporary sales by changing the prices of your books, and you have your book in the Kobo store, then you’ll have some things to consider.
It takes a long time to get into the Kobo store. It also takes a while for changes to occur through the Kobo store. So if you temporarily price a book at 99c, this could lead to problems when it comes time to bring the price back up.
A better solution for sales is probably just to use coupons from Smashwords. Word about these coupons gets out quickly! Those first few days, I made all sorts of lists because the book was free. People spread the word about the coupon. I know a lot of people say they have few sales on Smashwords, but I think Smashwords is one of those sites where you get what you put into it. Personally, I do like the control it gives me over my books and pricing with coupons where I can set how much they are and how long they’re valid. Plus I can modify existing coupons just in case something goes wrong.
I sort of wish Amazon let us make our own coupons.
Anyway, that’s the report for right now.
Wow! Glad to hear that Ruin’s been doing so well. You definitely deserve the recognition
Thanks, Renee!
wondering if book reviews on places like Amazon would help boost sales and get the word out more? honestly i could not have done what you have, try to independently promote. it is a tremendous commitment and amount of work. kudos to you for doing this.
I’ve heard yes, reviews help, but there seem to be a lot of exceptions. People have said they don’t believe a book that has all five stars, and I wouldn’t either. A lot of poor books have five star reviews, so they almost mean nothing. This happens because a lot of authors swap reviews, and rather than being honest, they’re going to say nice things to get the other author to say nice things back.
It’s really just a matter of waiting. I don’t believe that I have to spend too much time marketing. I just need to wait for word to get out. If I have a good book, it will literally sell itself given time. I really haven’t done much of anything in the way of marketing, and I leave most marketing for the weekend, with weekdays for writing.
This is sort of the exact opposite of the “traditional” publishing model. At a larger publishing house, they want to sell a lot of books right out of the gate. This is how they determine how much money to bank on an author. Then those books disappear. It’s the same model used for movies.
But books aren’t like movies. They grow slowly, and being in business for myself, I can nurture that growth and watch it happen. Hopefully that makes sense. Basically, indie publishing is a waiting game.
Glad to hear you are doing well, I agree about the reviews, I do not solicit them. My publisher sent my ebook about to 30 review sites, only a couple reviewed it. Did it help sales? I have no idea. Novel Rank at Amazon is notoriously inaccurate. I will know more when I get my next royalty statement, the third party sites will be on there.
Ebooks do grow slowly, mine came out in May, yet according to NR, I have already sold 3 times as many books so far in Sept at Amazon than I did in August. So on-going promo is a good idea. It is very different from the print publishers expectations. All the sucess to you
As more word gets out and more people talk about it, I can only see you selling even more. Especially now that you have other stories that will be coming out!
Thanks, Karyn!
Congratulations on your first month! Insightful information on self-pub, and the link to Catheryn’s blog was both educational, but not very surprising to me.
I don’t know if self-pub is anything similar, but I’ve heard that personal businesses can take up to three years to show whether there is success in the endeavour. As always, one of the best things you can do for your book and yourself is to keep writing the next one!
~Ashlee
http://ashleesch.com
http://theDragonsHoard.bigcartel.com
I’ve heard the same. I don’t know how true it is, but I figure that based on the speed I write, it will probably take me that many years. In three years, I should have out three full length novels and some smaller, cheaper companion novels.
The important part really is to never stop writing!
Nina, I have been so remiss on commenting on your blog (and others)! First of all, congratulations on your release! I’m so happy for you. I know what a huge, huge thing it is to throw your “baby” out into the world. I found the book on Amazon and saw you already have three five-star reviews, so you’re on your way!
Second… I hate to say it, but I don’t know if reviews help much at all. I honestly don’t think there’s a magic bullet or key or anything like that. I think it’s just quality, reasonable prices, and time. And if luck comes along to help you a bit, then count yourself blessed by the universe…
Reviews are definitely not the same as word of mouth. I don’t believe they help much at all either, but they’re great for the ego. (Like that beast needs more fuel, am I right?)
Thank you, Amy. I know you’ve been busy, so don’t even worry about being behind on the blog!