This is a Business

This is a business.

Sometimes I need a gentle reminder.  Sometimes I need a smack upside the head.  So let me say it again...

This is a business.

I tend to forget, in the course of letting my creative side run amok, that this is not about skipping rocks across the publication pond to see how many times they bounce on the surface before they sink.

Or maybe it is.

If you're into rock skipping, you know you have to pick just the right rock or it'll hit the surface with a big kerplop and disappear beneath the glassy water.  It has to be flat.  It has to be smooth.  It needs rounded surfaces to skim across the water.  Otherwise, it's a fail before you even let it go.

You also have to pick just the right day to skip rocks, when the water is kind of glassy.  Can't skip rocks across waves, doncha know.  I tend to suck at this part.  Not for actually skipping rocks, but for this analogy.  I'm really not good at knowing when the best time is to launch my rocks across the publication pond.

I kind of even suck at picking the right rocks sometimes.  DE has been a great rock.  It's still skipping right along there.  (As long as I continue to nudge it.  Helps that it has the most reviews.)  Others?  Kerplop.

Okay, I've beaten that analogy to death.  The point is this is a business.  I've talked about ROI (return on investment) from a marketing standpoint, but never from a publishing standpoint.  If a book will cost x-dollars to publish, will it conceivably make that money back?

To date, not a single one of my books has recouped the initial investment.  Accidental Death has come closest.  I'm within $100 of making a profit on that one.  But paying for marketing makes that kind of a 'one step back, two steps forward' thing.  The worst at recouping so far has been Wish in One Hand - because reasons*.  I'm still in the hole big time on that one.

So, when considering where to go with my writing and my publication schedule, I really should be thinking about how to get out of the hole (or, rather, how to not make the hole even deeper) instead of how to get all the books of my heart published.

Not sure how that will go.  Right now I suspect this writing dry spell is directly related to thinking about the business side of things.  The tiny CFO in my head is at war with the Director of Creative Development.  One wants to audit, the other wants to dance.  And the CEO is beginning to see that the DCD has had far too much leeway for far too long.

DCD:  "Don't make me look at the spreadsheet again.  Please.  It's all too depressing."
CFO:  "Look at it.  Look. At. It."
DCD:  :whimper:

Anyway, it's the start of the year.  Good a time as any to think about things, look at things, and get my mind right.


*Mainly, I paid too much for a shitty cover from a 'real artist' who was supposed to give me something beautiful and gave me, instead, something that looked like it was hacked together from bad video game screen captures.  But I launched with it anyways.  Which sucked.  Then I had to pay for a better cover so my subsequent djinn books' sales wouldn't suck.  Live and learn.

Analyzing This Past Free Weekend

So, Dying Embers was free the 13th (its 1-year book birthday) and the 14th (Valentine's Day - perfect for the scorned singles).

Here are the hard numbers:

On Saturday, I moved 1960 copies.

16 in Canada
1 in France
2 in Germany
24 in the UK
1917 in the US

This got Dying Embers to #1 in the Top 100 Serial Killer list, #4 in the Top 100 Crime list, #25 in Top 100 All Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers, and #92 in all Free Kindle books (all of those are the top FREE lists).  It also encouraged someone to read 198 pages of DE for the Kindle Unlimited program.

I didn't pay for any advertising here.  I just posted it on FB - on my personal page and my author page.  I tweeted about it.  And I posted about it on three FB groups - Amazon Kindle Goodreads, Free Kindle Books, and Free Books for Kindle UK.  Plus, some lovely people shared my posts and tweets.

So far, it's gained me one new 5-star review on Amazon and one new 5-star rating on Goodreads (by two different people, which is cool.  I don't know either person.

They like me.  They really like me.

Yes, I had a Sally Field moment there.

On Sunday, I moved 471 copies.

23 in Australia
2 in Italy
2 in Japan
5 in Canada
1 in France
4 in Germany
13 in the UK
421 in the US

When I went to bed last night, Dying Embers was #1 in Free Serial Killers, and #102 All Free.  This morning, it's at #149 in Paid Serial Killers and #62,512 All Paid - which is definitely a step in the right direction.  (Especially considering that before the free weekend, DE was over 350,000 in All Paid and some non-essential number in Serial Killers.)  Also, someone read 131 more pages in KU. Not great, but better than a sharp stick in the ear.

No movement for the other books yet.  But there's hope.

Anyway, I'm thrilled for the chance to gain some new readers.  And hopefully, everyone who reads DE will be excited for the release of Fertile Ground in May. 

I hope all that's helpful for anyone wondering how 'free' helps sales.  I'll do a follow-up next week, probably.  Any questions?