Well, it's been six months since I started self-publishing. Actually, I started considering self-publishing seriously about a year ago. And it'll be a year in November when I spent money on the endeavor. But, for the purposes of this post, it's been just over six months since my first book hit the e-shelves. Here's how it all breaks down.
Dying Embers - published 2/13/15
Copies sold: 442
Ebooks: 430
Print: 12
Accidental Death - published 5/18/15
Copies sold: 372
Ebooks: 368
Print: 4
Wish in One Hand - published 8/18/15
Copies sold: 12
Ebooks: 11
Print: 1
All books:
Copies sold: 825
Ebooks purchased: 691
KU books borrowed & read*: 112
Other vendor sales: 6
Print copies sold: 17
I was going to put the number of how much money I've gotten, but then I thought better of it. It's gauche to talk money, and it's really not anyone's business. Suffice it to say, I have not cleared expenses for Dying Embers, let alone the other two books. I'm hoping to be able to eventually fund this endeavor without dipping into living expenses. I'll be happy when I can pay back what I borrowed from the living expenses budget. I'll be ecstatic if this ever gets to the point where I have spending money out of it.
The marketing part of this is still a mystery. I pay for ads that bring me sales. I pay for ads that don't. I've had free ads that made me money and others that didn't. Making Dying Embers free didn't really do anything definitive for either sales or reviews, but it did make it available for pirates. I discovered I moved more books on one pirated site than I've sold to date. That was the last time I made a book free and I'm not inclined to do it again.
So far, six months in, I'm calling this a win. Sure, WIOH started out slower than I would've liked, but it'll get there. I'm aiming for an average of 2 books sold per day per book. Right now, I'm at an average of just over 4 books a day. (4.07 as of this morning)
Any questions?
*I have no idea how many people actually borrowed thru KU because I don't get data until they read the book.
Marketing will always be a mystery. What works for one person fails for another. I really think it's all LUCK. Just like winning the lottery. :)
ReplyDeleteWith each new book, readers will find your back list and those numbers will grow. And writing in two genres will take a little time to get the ball rolling. Not everyone is a cross-genre reader like I am. You're talented. You put out good product. You'll find the audience. And I need to jump over and get a review up on Amazon, speaking of. I did GR but forgot the 'zon. *jumps*
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