Sales and Kindle Unlimited

Here is a look at my Amazon 30-day sales graph as of yesterday

If you haven't seen one of these, the top graph is the quantity of whole books sold and the bottom is pages read through the Kindle Unlimited program. 

The spikes you see in the first graph directly correlate to paid advertising.  There's a little residual sale activity after the ad, but beyond that, crickets in the whole book sales area. 

What's notable is the continued page reads after the sale is over.  Two weeks after the ad went live for Dying Embers, I'm still seeing people in the KU program reading books even if nobody is buying the whole thing all at once. 

Sure, these numbers aren't going to wow anyone and I'm nowhere near making the list of top sellers in KU, but to see residual pages reads at all is always welcome.

This is why I keep my books in KU.  As I've said before, the times I've taken my books to a wider distribution, I do not see enough sales to make up for the page reads I've lost.  Of course, your mileage may vary.  We all have to do things that work best for us.  I just don't have a wide enough reach to bother having my books available everywhere.  And I don't have a large group of people out there telling me they'd buy my books if only they were available for Nook or Kobo or whatever.  (I used to have a couple people who asked, but one sale here or there wasn't making it worth my while.  If you don't have a Kindle and want to read my books, Amazon has an app for that.)  My stay in Kindle Select could change, but for now, this is working for me. 

Any questions? 

Using Your Kindle For Work

First off, I'd like to say that if I'd known I'd be using my Kindle for work, I would've claimed it on my taxes.  Unfortunately, I thought that when I first got a Kindle, it would only be used for pleasure reading.  Shame on me for not thinking ahead.

And it's a good thing I have two because while I'm working on one, I can still be reading on the other. 

"Working on your Kindle?" you ask.  "P'shaw."

Yep.  I use it for work.  Writing work, that is.  Or more specifically, editing work.  When I finish the first draft of a manuscript, I email it to one of my Kindles.  (Usually the older one, which was a gift, so yeah, I probably couldn't have claimed it anyway.  Derp.)  Then I take my trusty 5-subject notebook over to my comfy recliner and while I read the manuscript on the Kindle, I make notes with my handy-dandy red pen.

Sure, I could do the same thing over here on my computer.  But using the Kindle, besides allowing me to be in my comfy chair while I work, has the added advantage of removing me from where I wrote the book and thus providing me with a little distance and perhaps a different perspective.  This makes, I hope, for an easier time seeing mistakes I might no otherwise catch.

Anything that gives you perspective is a good thing.  Plus, I can put my feet up while I work.  ;o)

So, there I am, making copious notes in my big spiral notebook.  When I get all the way to THE END, I'll input those notes.  After I input those notes, I'll email the book to my Kindle again and start the process over.

I also use the Kindles after I publish to look for formatting mistakes.  Having an older one and a Fire helps give me an idea how the book looks to other people.  So far, so good.  Every little thing helps, right?

And to think, I was a real anti-Kindle kind of gal.  Until someone gave me my first one back in 2013.  That was a real game changer.  Now, I don't think I could live without one.  Oh, I still love hardcopy books, but I'd never give up my Kindle either.  The best of all worlds.

What kinds of tips, tricks, and tech do you use to help you write and edit?