tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post8529007172610720425..comments2024-02-08T23:04:55.699-05:00Comments on WRITING WITHOUT A NET: The Great E-Book Experiment: ResultsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-63623806206804944052011-03-11T15:22:23.990-05:002011-03-11T15:22:23.990-05:00This is interesting, but two things I see right of...This is interesting, but two things I see right off the bat having to do with price and cover.<br /><br />Most of your covers need work. Serious work. The new sexy cover was an improvement, but still could use some work.<br /><br />Price. You're way out of step with your competition. Where is the entry point for your series? The follow ups? You may be someone who doesn't want to 'lower' herself to the current market demands, but without a strong platform, or a hook, you get a little stuck. So you're left with depending on longevity to sell and 1 year isn't enough.<br /><br />I'm willing to bet if you got new covers, dropped the price down to .99 cents, and offered it was a promotion/entry point, it would increase.<br /><br />What have you got to lose really?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-7905475042674172382011-03-09T17:17:19.297-05:002011-03-09T17:17:19.297-05:00I understand what you mean in a lot of ways. I...I understand what you mean in a lot of ways. I'm a lot younger in the e-book realm than you, I have one book out that's been released since December.<br /><br />I've experimented with price, cover and description. For me, I think the things that have driven my sales are price and presence. I originally priced at $1.99 using Barnes and Noble to force Amazon to put it on sale. Then on the advice of others like Bowerbird, I raised to 2.99. My sales tanked. I was back to one a day. So I went back to $1.99 in March and I've since been at 3-4 a day, varying. I do think $1.99 is a good price point. <br />Reviews have helped me too, I'm certain. I have a large group of family and friends that reviewed my one book. I asked for honest reviews and I think I mostly got them. I was so excited to finally get a few from people I didn't know that were good, too.<br />I also use goodreads, which I used before I was a writer. I try to be my normal self on there, with my blog and my reviews of others' books. I also put a small ad on there. It doesn't generate a TON of views or anything (by my choice) but there are enough people to read my book and hopefully pass the title along to others.<br /><br />Six Keys is not a best seller yet, but I'm hoping to find time to release other titles, since that seems to be the key to a lot of writer's success. Write more, and write well. To me, those seem to be the most important.<br /><br />You could try some novellas, if you don't have the time to write more. I've heard those are pretty successful and you can price them low to drive sales to your other books.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04570179370939148325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-58864603892934111622011-03-09T07:52:36.069-05:002011-03-09T07:52:36.069-05:00To be honest, look at your pricing. Your current p...To be honest, look at your pricing. Your current pricing model is out of step with current market expectations. If you can't control the pricing, then you're not going to compete against those indies that can control everything. E-publishing and trad publishing are two totally different animals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-51817707287851837832011-03-08T21:27:21.594-05:002011-03-08T21:27:21.594-05:00You guys are terrific! I'm the kind of person ...You guys are terrific! I'm the kind of person who tends to take instruction well:) so you can expect me to implement your suggestions to the best of my ability over the next couple of months. <br /><br />Robert, I think you are spot on. Readers have begged for another Raine Stockton mystery but I have been too busy trying to eke out a living with my print publisher to write one. And YES of course I could write another in a couple of months but at 75 copies a month is it worth it? It seems little scary to me to price Book One as a loss leader, since I would be taking the monetary hit on my biggest seller, but I do see the logic. <br /><br />In fact I think part of my issue is that I am STILL thinking like a print publisher (hmmm... the root of all evil) and I need to turn that around. <br /><br />Great comments, all! I hope you'll stayed tuned for further developments.Donnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-37759529072839478092011-03-08T15:29:33.497-05:002011-03-08T15:29:33.497-05:00I thought I recognized your name, and more particu...I thought I recognized your name, and more particularly your character's name. I just talked to my wife, and she confirms that we've both read all three of your Raine Stockton mysteries. But, as Barbara said, there's been nothing new since 2007 in that series. We already own the print copies, so there's no particular reason for us to buy the ebooks.<br /><br />I'd suggest you price the first in the series at $0.99 and leave it there permanently as a loss leader to draw in readers. If you have DRM on your books, republish all of them without DRM. And start knocking out new books in the Raine Stockton series. With ebooks, there's no reason not to build your list as quickly as possible. How long would it take you to add a new title? Two or three months? That's only 1,000 words a day or less.<br /><br />As to promotion, I think you'll need to do a lot less than you fear. Hang out on popular blogs like Joe Konrath's, sure. (That's where I just noticed you.) Put a link at the end every time you post on one of those other blogs. Post stuff on your own blog.<br /><br />But part of your problem is summed up by your comment "(Although I'll probably limit the offer to the first 10 on each book)." Why would you want to limit it? Every free copy you give out is potentially both a review on Amazon.com and a new fan, and that's what you want. Hell, if you get 1,000 requests you'd be nuts not to send free copies to all 1,000. That's 1,000 new people looking at your stuff and potentially singing your praises to their friends privately and to Amazon browsers publicly. You can't buy that kind of promotion.<br /><br />You're on the very early part of the curve right now. Look at Amanda Hocking's and John Locke's current numbers and look at how they did their first few months. You may never get anywhere near their numbers. In fact, you probably won't. Few will. But there's no reason you can't get to the point where you're making $1,600 a week and then $1,600 a day.<br /><br />But to do all that you really need to get as many more Raine Stockton mysteries written and posted as soon as you can, and price them at $2.99 without DRM. Seriously, try to get one new one finished and posted every two or three months for the next year or so. <br /><br />And don't hesitate to ask the readers you provide free copies to to post reviews on Amazon.com.Robert Bruce Thompsonhttp://www.ttgnet.com/thisweek.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-77355342982623231192011-03-08T15:28:17.797-05:002011-03-08T15:28:17.797-05:00your books are stuck.
you need to do something
th...your books are stuck.<br /><br />you need to do something<br />that will get them unstuck.<br /><br />you can try "marketing"...<br />might work. (might not.)<br /><br />but until you've tried<br />pricing all your books<br />at $.99, not just one<br />unrepresentative one,<br />you haven't really tried<br />to get 'em unstuck at all.<br /><br />-bowerbird<br /><br />p.s. $1.99 is no-man's land.<br />buyers search $.99 and $2.99.bowerbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05962115094107919533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-88132397092710075572011-03-08T14:48:59.993-05:002011-03-08T14:48:59.993-05:00I think the missing element is promotion. Every su...I think the missing element is promotion. Every successful bestseller on Joe Konrath's blog does fantastic promotion. A few of them claim they don't but then you find out, "except for five hours a day on twitter" or whatever. They do.Tara Mayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095632631554776002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-65003560471255518152011-03-08T05:34:23.518-05:002011-03-08T05:34:23.518-05:00As someone who only recently came to Kindlebooks, ...As someone who only recently came to Kindlebooks, it's goods to get a splash of cold water to the face (from my perspective) about the realities of the self publishing industry. How do we setup a platform? How do we maintain or establish presence?<br /><br />Thanks for posting your results. It was a good read.Rex Jamesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02110714906372459985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-662300350943508122011-03-07T22:41:33.680-05:002011-03-07T22:41:33.680-05:00Thanks for your honest post, Donna. I'm not r...Thanks for your honest post, Donna. I'm not really sure what the "magic bullet" is either. Sometimes contributing on forums feels like you're just talking to other writers and not reaching readers. I think you've got the best explanation - chaos theory. Some books resonate with a wider audience for some reason but predicting which ones is impossible. At least we do know that it's the same no matter how you're published - traditionally or independently.C.J. Archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05065708666691591337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-61609946565681717902011-03-07T16:21:06.449-05:002011-03-07T16:21:06.449-05:00These are great comments and absolutely on point. ...These are great comments and absolutely on point. When I started the experiment I admit I was MOST intrigued by authors on the Kindleboards & elsewhere who said all they did to promote their books was make an announcement on KB or Facebook, who rarely blogged,never went out of their way to market their book. That's my kind strategy! Of course I now realize that by their very presence in the forums they were creating awareness. And if my question was--Can you make an impact on Kindle without marketing your books?-- the answer is No. (sigh) And I was hoping for a magic bullet.Donnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-12871513014637015622011-03-07T12:15:21.281-05:002011-03-07T12:15:21.281-05:00I'm on two cozy groups that are very active. ...I'm on two cozy groups that are very active. I remember your mystery books coming up as being on Kindle sometime last year a couple of times. I would imagine that helped drive some sales. As someone mentioned on Kindleboards, presence online and being active in groups makes a pretty huge difference. I don't have backlist--I have all original stuff, I'm a complete no-name. Some of my covers are professionally done, some are homegrown. <br /><br />BUT. I spent about two hours per day on various cozy forums, on Kindleboards, Goodreads, and so on--not promoting, just participating, getting to know the readers and so on. <br /><br />My book covers are in my signature line on forums where it is allowed. Links to my books are in my signature when allowed. <br /><br />Forums do peak and fall, but in general participating has helped my momentum.<br /><br />I also have an active blog; I do cover polls there which has drawn a lot of interest. I submit review copies to bloggers who have e-readers.<br /><br />Just making them available was a great first step. Getting a mention from readers on forums--golden. But they have to know about the book and that can mean some serious footwork, especially initially. I know writers who spent an hour per day. I know writers who seem to spend all day on forums. But those who are visible, sell better by most accounts!!!<br /><br />At any rate, best of luck. You've been at it a while and it looks like you have the legs to continue--and your eggs aren't all in one basket!!!Mariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11234907275906877802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7215436439240552447.post-10611666183657491152011-03-07T12:13:11.866-05:002011-03-07T12:13:11.866-05:00Donna, I think it's important to establish you...Donna, I think it's important to establish yourself and make your presence known as well. If you're not finding ways to spread the word about your books and experiences it will be difficult for people to find out about you. You can have the most beautiful cover in the world, a great blurb and clean copy and a $.99 price tag on your eBook, but if no one hears about it, it won't sell.Jennyhttp://jennybeans.netnoreply@blogger.com