Finished reading Kristine Kathryn Rusch's posts on pricing (parts 1 and 2) this morning, and decided to take a look at my own plan for pricing in light of that information. Certainly, I've been guilty of giving my books away for free, like I've been doing with Seeker for the last 6-7 months. But has that helped as much as I would have liked? Certainly, when I first started the giveaway, numbers were good (such as the 407 copies it gave away in the first month) and it seemed to boost up sales of my other titles. But as time went on, the number of free copies dwindled, and carry-over to the other titles shrank. So, perhaps there's something to the information that Rusch conveys in her posts...
One of the other bits from those posts is the idea of pricing your titles so low that people start wondering what's wrong with them (with the added bonus of not being differentiated from all the other low-priced material out there). I've done that same thing, all in the name of increasing sales. For example, I've been pricing my novels at $2.99 and anything shorter at $0.99. But honestly, it hasn't really helped all that terribly much (except for some reason, people flock to The Cure on Barnes and Noble when I drop the price to $0.99). So, perhaps there's something to be said for higher prices. Personally, I hate paying $6 or more for an e-book, but I've found that I still do it for a book that I want to read (I still don't find myself trying an author for that much without a recommendation or a really convincing sample). So, maybe everyone else out there is the same way, and I've been doing it wrong all this time.
So, taking Rusch's comments into consideration, I've decided to increase the prices on most of my work, to see if there's something to the "price means value" concept. For my novel-length work, I've increased the price to $2.99 for my entire backlist, and $5.99 for my newest novel. I still don't see anyone paying more than $0.99 for a three-pack of short stories, so I've kept the Triple-Shots where they were.
For the time being, I haven't updated the prices of my print books. I want to try out her statements about bookstores now being able to stock POD books first. If that's true, then I'll need to go out and pound the pavement this year. But feel free to try that out for my titles as well, the next time you're in a Barnes and Noble or independent bookstore.
And I'll check back in a few months to see whether this pricing change has made a difference or not.
Showing posts with label self-publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-publishing. Show all posts
25 January 2014
14 October 2012
Friends and Family
What seems like ages ago, I was signed with a (I found the truth out later) scam publisher, a story which I had detailed some time ago. Fortunately, I'd gotten free of their clutches, but one of the things I remember from those days was a constant insistence (by folks trying to convince this publishers' authors that the publisher was a scammer, which turned out to be true, but anywho...) that print-on-demand publishers such as this one would only sell 75 copies of any title, and this was only to friends in family.
Now, I've gone into details over sales figures many times, most recently in July. Some of the books are new, and still gathering steam (I hope), but I don't buy into the 75-copy ceiling...never have, never will.
One other thing they used to repeat over and over was that print-on-demand publishers would only ever be able to sell to friends and family. Now, this one hits close to home...
As you know, I've ventured into the self-publishing realm, which by and large utilizes print-on-demand as well. I do have sales (that exceed the 75-copy ceiling, but it seems like most of these have come from the dreaded friends and family category (I throw acquaintances I've met through social media into the friends category, regardless of how close a friend they may or may not be). I still have yet to find a way to expand past this group, to where the books basically sell themselves. I watch others, and this seems to happen with great easy. So, is it because their books are so much better than mine? Do they know of some miraculous promotional technique that I'm not using?
Unfortunately, finding new friends is exhausting...and finding more family usually requires a decade or more until children are old enough to read my books. So, here I sit, trying to find a way to overcome an old proclamation, by folks who were dead-on about a scam publisher, but who may be half-right on the self-publishing revolution as well. So, if you have thoughts on the matter, feel free to share them.
And in the meantime, check out my books.
Now, I've gone into details over sales figures many times, most recently in July. Some of the books are new, and still gathering steam (I hope), but I don't buy into the 75-copy ceiling...never have, never will.
One other thing they used to repeat over and over was that print-on-demand publishers would only ever be able to sell to friends and family. Now, this one hits close to home...
As you know, I've ventured into the self-publishing realm, which by and large utilizes print-on-demand as well. I do have sales (that exceed the 75-copy ceiling, but it seems like most of these have come from the dreaded friends and family category (I throw acquaintances I've met through social media into the friends category, regardless of how close a friend they may or may not be). I still have yet to find a way to expand past this group, to where the books basically sell themselves. I watch others, and this seems to happen with great easy. So, is it because their books are so much better than mine? Do they know of some miraculous promotional technique that I'm not using?
Unfortunately, finding new friends is exhausting...and finding more family usually requires a decade or more until children are old enough to read my books. So, here I sit, trying to find a way to overcome an old proclamation, by folks who were dead-on about a scam publisher, but who may be half-right on the self-publishing revolution as well. So, if you have thoughts on the matter, feel free to share them.
And in the meantime, check out my books.
24 June 2012
More Statistics for the Sadists
Because I'm an engineer as well as an author, I salivate at facts and statistics...so bear with me, both of you.
I'm sitting here staring at a check from a recent signing I held (you may have seen the post), and was finding the amount of the check interesting. So, of course, my brain is begging me: Run the numbers, fool!
(and who am I to argue with my mind?)
So, for the purposes of this exercise, we'll start with my two self-published titles in paperback, both of which sold at the event.
The Cure retails for $11.95. Through Createspace, I originally picked up copies for $4.78 each (this includes shipping costs to get them to me). The store sold them at retail price, and sent me 80% of that, taking a 20% cut for themselves (which is phenomenal, since most stores require a 60/40 (their cut being 40%) split). In a nutshell, this netted me $9.56 per copy sold, for a net profit of $4.78 per book (or, a 100% markup).
Death Brings Victory retails for $12.95. Through Createspace, I originally picked up copies for $6.35 (I had to add some rush shipping to get them in time for my trip to ConQuest in Kansas City). Again, my final take from the store (80%) was $10.36 per copy, for a net profit of $4.01 per book (a little over 60% markup).
As a comparison, let's take a look at Heroes Die Young. This book retails for $9.95. For the copies that sold at the store which I supplied, I had originally ordered direct from the publisher. My last order cost me (including shipping) $7.97 per copy. The store also had a copy left over from a previous order from the publisher, which I have no idea what they paid to the publisher...
So, taking the 80% I received on my personal copies, that ends up with me making $7.96 for each book, which (your eyes do not deceive you) means I'm throwing a penny away with each copy that sold during that event. Now, the copies that the store orders direct from the publisher, I do earn royalties on. Looking through my royalty statements, my most recent paperback royalties netted me approximately $0.80 for each copy (which doing some math in the background on my paperback royalty rate, means I've been getting paid based on the cover price? Score!), so we'll assume $0.80 was what I made from the publisher when the store's copies were paid for...
Now, of course, one might be correct in assuming that a book through a publisher is going to sell more, since readers will take that as a sign of quality over self-published works. At least in the case of this event, I sold more copies of Death Brings Victory, and the same number of The Cure as I did for Heroes Die Young.
I'm beginning to come to the realization that readers in general don't seem to notice (unless it's glaringly obvious that that the quality is poor, of course...which I've discussed at length before on my blog). Even some writers have trouble with the distinction...I discovered that one of my writer friends here in Wichita didn't realize that Death Brings Victory didn't come out with the same publisher as the previous two books in the series. That was interesting to me, personally.
So, there you have it...hope you enjoyed this trip through the facts and figures (and a little side trip into opinions)...if you have any questions or would like something broken down a bit more, feel free to ask.
I'm sitting here staring at a check from a recent signing I held (you may have seen the post), and was finding the amount of the check interesting. So, of course, my brain is begging me: Run the numbers, fool!
(and who am I to argue with my mind?)
So, for the purposes of this exercise, we'll start with my two self-published titles in paperback, both of which sold at the event.
The Cure retails for $11.95. Through Createspace, I originally picked up copies for $4.78 each (this includes shipping costs to get them to me). The store sold them at retail price, and sent me 80% of that, taking a 20% cut for themselves (which is phenomenal, since most stores require a 60/40 (their cut being 40%) split). In a nutshell, this netted me $9.56 per copy sold, for a net profit of $4.78 per book (or, a 100% markup).
Death Brings Victory retails for $12.95. Through Createspace, I originally picked up copies for $6.35 (I had to add some rush shipping to get them in time for my trip to ConQuest in Kansas City). Again, my final take from the store (80%) was $10.36 per copy, for a net profit of $4.01 per book (a little over 60% markup).
As a comparison, let's take a look at Heroes Die Young. This book retails for $9.95. For the copies that sold at the store which I supplied, I had originally ordered direct from the publisher. My last order cost me (including shipping) $7.97 per copy. The store also had a copy left over from a previous order from the publisher, which I have no idea what they paid to the publisher...
So, taking the 80% I received on my personal copies, that ends up with me making $7.96 for each book, which (your eyes do not deceive you) means I'm throwing a penny away with each copy that sold during that event. Now, the copies that the store orders direct from the publisher, I do earn royalties on. Looking through my royalty statements, my most recent paperback royalties netted me approximately $0.80 for each copy (which doing some math in the background on my paperback royalty rate, means I've been getting paid based on the cover price? Score!), so we'll assume $0.80 was what I made from the publisher when the store's copies were paid for...
Now, of course, one might be correct in assuming that a book through a publisher is going to sell more, since readers will take that as a sign of quality over self-published works. At least in the case of this event, I sold more copies of Death Brings Victory, and the same number of The Cure as I did for Heroes Die Young.
I'm beginning to come to the realization that readers in general don't seem to notice (unless it's glaringly obvious that that the quality is poor, of course...which I've discussed at length before on my blog). Even some writers have trouble with the distinction...I discovered that one of my writer friends here in Wichita didn't realize that Death Brings Victory didn't come out with the same publisher as the previous two books in the series. That was interesting to me, personally.
So, there you have it...hope you enjoyed this trip through the facts and figures (and a little side trip into opinions)...if you have any questions or would like something broken down a bit more, feel free to ask.
14 June 2012
Self-Publishing: Not Just For Hacks Like Me
For those who've been following me for a while, you'll know that I often times give my thoughts and statistics about self-publishing. Of course, there will always be those nay-say my posts...I don't sell astronomical amounts of books, I'm not the world's premiere authority on publishing. But heck, when most of my commentary matches up with an author who originally signed a deal for six books with HarperCollins who has now decided to go it alone herself, maybe I do have a few smarts in the noggin after all.
For comparison, my three-post series on "Why Self-Publishing?" (and so far, many of the items between the two match up):
Why Self-Publishing? (1)
Why Self-Publishing? (2)
Why Self-Publishing? (3)
So, there you have it...
For comparison, my three-post series on "Why Self-Publishing?" (and so far, many of the items between the two match up):
Why Self-Publishing? (1)
Why Self-Publishing? (2)
Why Self-Publishing? (3)
So, there you have it...
11 June 2012
A Study in Sequels
Not to worry, I'll be putting together a more comprehensive post on sales information sometime after the end of this quarter. Today, I wanted to do a small comparison just between two of my sequels, Friends in Deed (FID) and Death Brings Victory (DBV). Since both are sequel novels (following Heroes Die Young), I figured it would be a true apples-to-apples comparison. There is a slight price differential between the two, which I'll be discussing later, but for the purposes of the comparison, it's slight enough that it shouldn't be an issue. Cover art is also different, in that the book shown below on the left was done by my publisher and the other (on the right) was done by the wonderful and talented T. K. Toppin (who I wholeheartedly recommend for your own cover art needs, if you should ever be in the market for it). Again, for the purposes of comparison, shouldn't be an issue (even if I personally think DBV has the better cover...).
So, here we go:
My latest novel (DBV) has been out since March, so I only have data for about one quarter. Even so, it's sold 15 copies over on Amazon and another 4 on Smashwords (sadly, due to technical snafus, it just went up on Barnes and Noble's site a few weeks ago, so no sales from there yet). Total sales for the last quarter, 19.
For (FID) the earlier sequel, which came out in January 2010, I have multiple sets of information. The first quarter it was available, it sold 9 copies through its various online outlets. Via my publisher, there's no breakdown of where copies sold, though based on royalty percentage, I'd hazard a guess that 4 of those copies sold through the publisher itself. This leaves the other 5 through places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
Since e-book sales have started becoming more commonplace in recent history, we can also do a comparison of the same quarter, this past one. Compared to the 19 total copies of DBV this past quarter, there were 8 copies of FID (not counting 2 paperback copies) paid for in the first quarter 2012. It's hard to know when those copies actually sold, but likely from the previous quarter considering the timing issue of payments made from Amazon to the publisher (which is the timing upon which royalties are paid).
For comparison, the full year of 2010 brought about 28 e-book sales for FID (compared to 19 copies of DBV for one quarter of 2012).
A couple of things could be said about this. FID is priced at $4.99, where DBV was priced at $3.99 (and has been priced at $2.99 for the last two months...one aspect of self-publishing being that I can toy with pricing until I find the sweet spot). So, does the lower price boost sales? Perhaps. Of course, it could be that sales of my first two novels have gained me several new fans, who are primed and ready to buy the newest novel when it comes out. It's not for me to decide, just to offer facts and let the reader of this post draw their own conclusions. It's possible that I'd sell far more copies at a 99-cent point.
So, that's the comparison of sales numbers. But how about royalties? Although it's not all about the money, it sure does bring a smile to my face when I get paid to do the things I enjoy...
In this past quarter, those 19 copies of DBV have brought in royalties of just over $58. Some of that, I'm still waiting on payment for, but the vast majority has already made it into my pocket. The 9 copies of FID sold from the first quarter 2010 netted me just under $10 (which was paid in full with that royalty statement, but most of the time, the publisher delays payment until the following royalty period if you don't meet a $25 threshold...versus a $10 threshold from both Amazon and Smashwords).
For comparison, the full year of 2010 (28 e-books) netted me just under $27 (this counts the 4Q2010 royalties that were actually paid in 2011).
So, recapping the facts as I've presented them, I sold fewer books (19) in one quarter than (28) in a full year, yet I more than doubled the royalties received ($58 vs. $27).
Looking at the facts behind the scenes, this isn't all that surprising, even considering that DBV is priced lower than FID. Royalties through my publisher are based on net receipts, which are the payments they receive from the online retailers (unless those sales come through the publisher's storefront). So, where I would receive around 70% royalties from Amazon (the percentages vary at Smashwords, depending on the outlet the books sell at), the publisher would receive the 70%, and then I would receive 30% of that amount. So, while I make $2.05 a copy (at a sales price of $2.99) on e-books sold at Amazon, my projected royalties on those same sales through a publisher would be 30% of the $2.05, or $0.62 each. So, for 19 copies, my comparable royalty payment would have been a little under $12 (compared to $58).
On a side note, I commented earlier about possibly selling more copies at the 99-cent price point. I've seen enough evidence of my own to know that it does tend to boost sales, though it also tends to deflate royalty rates due to only a 35% rate on those price levels from Amazon (oddly enough, Smashwords tends to give higher royalties on the sub-2.99 prices). So, sales do increase, but royalties decrease...all about the goals you have for your books, as I've mentioned many times before.
But I digress...
Financially, then, it doesn't seem to make sense to use a publisher. This isn't to say that it doesn't make sense in other areas (for example, the publisher for FID attends several Sci-Fi conventions in Canada which I don't currently have access to, and of course, there's still a stigma about books put out by the author themselves, whether anyone cares to admit it or not). Every author deciding whether to dive in on their own should read my series of posts on self-publishing (this link is to the final segment of the series, which has links to the previous two posts on the topic). But for my own situation, I'm able to do most of the editing on my own, as well as most of the formatting for e-book readers. For other authors, a publisher may have what they need, and they'll just be giving up royalty money to do so.
And of course, e-books are long-term, so a single quarter may not show the full story. It's possible that DBV may not make another sale for the rest of the year (I certainly hope that's not the case, but...). If that turns out to be the case, I'll still have sold fewer and made more money in a year doing so......but I'd still be one sad panda.
Again, I'll be putting together another compilation of sales statistics for all of my books before long. Until then, be sure to check out the two books I've been discussing here, Friends in Deed and Death Brings Victory. Both are awesome titles, and well worth your investment of time and money. And if you've already read one or both of these novels, I'd appreciate if you could (if you haven't already) type up a little review over on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other spot you can find.
So, here we go:
My latest novel (DBV) has been out since March, so I only have data for about one quarter. Even so, it's sold 15 copies over on Amazon and another 4 on Smashwords (sadly, due to technical snafus, it just went up on Barnes and Noble's site a few weeks ago, so no sales from there yet). Total sales for the last quarter, 19.
For (FID) the earlier sequel, which came out in January 2010, I have multiple sets of information. The first quarter it was available, it sold 9 copies through its various online outlets. Via my publisher, there's no breakdown of where copies sold, though based on royalty percentage, I'd hazard a guess that 4 of those copies sold through the publisher itself. This leaves the other 5 through places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
Since e-book sales have started becoming more commonplace in recent history, we can also do a comparison of the same quarter, this past one. Compared to the 19 total copies of DBV this past quarter, there were 8 copies of FID (not counting 2 paperback copies) paid for in the first quarter 2012. It's hard to know when those copies actually sold, but likely from the previous quarter considering the timing issue of payments made from Amazon to the publisher (which is the timing upon which royalties are paid).
For comparison, the full year of 2010 brought about 28 e-book sales for FID (compared to 19 copies of DBV for one quarter of 2012).
A couple of things could be said about this. FID is priced at $4.99, where DBV was priced at $3.99 (and has been priced at $2.99 for the last two months...one aspect of self-publishing being that I can toy with pricing until I find the sweet spot). So, does the lower price boost sales? Perhaps. Of course, it could be that sales of my first two novels have gained me several new fans, who are primed and ready to buy the newest novel when it comes out. It's not for me to decide, just to offer facts and let the reader of this post draw their own conclusions. It's possible that I'd sell far more copies at a 99-cent point.
So, that's the comparison of sales numbers. But how about royalties? Although it's not all about the money, it sure does bring a smile to my face when I get paid to do the things I enjoy...
In this past quarter, those 19 copies of DBV have brought in royalties of just over $58. Some of that, I'm still waiting on payment for, but the vast majority has already made it into my pocket. The 9 copies of FID sold from the first quarter 2010 netted me just under $10 (which was paid in full with that royalty statement, but most of the time, the publisher delays payment until the following royalty period if you don't meet a $25 threshold...versus a $10 threshold from both Amazon and Smashwords).
For comparison, the full year of 2010 (28 e-books) netted me just under $27 (this counts the 4Q2010 royalties that were actually paid in 2011).
So, recapping the facts as I've presented them, I sold fewer books (19) in one quarter than (28) in a full year, yet I more than doubled the royalties received ($58 vs. $27).
Looking at the facts behind the scenes, this isn't all that surprising, even considering that DBV is priced lower than FID. Royalties through my publisher are based on net receipts, which are the payments they receive from the online retailers (unless those sales come through the publisher's storefront). So, where I would receive around 70% royalties from Amazon (the percentages vary at Smashwords, depending on the outlet the books sell at), the publisher would receive the 70%, and then I would receive 30% of that amount. So, while I make $2.05 a copy (at a sales price of $2.99) on e-books sold at Amazon, my projected royalties on those same sales through a publisher would be 30% of the $2.05, or $0.62 each. So, for 19 copies, my comparable royalty payment would have been a little under $12 (compared to $58).
On a side note, I commented earlier about possibly selling more copies at the 99-cent price point. I've seen enough evidence of my own to know that it does tend to boost sales, though it also tends to deflate royalty rates due to only a 35% rate on those price levels from Amazon (oddly enough, Smashwords tends to give higher royalties on the sub-2.99 prices). So, sales do increase, but royalties decrease...all about the goals you have for your books, as I've mentioned many times before.
But I digress...
Financially, then, it doesn't seem to make sense to use a publisher. This isn't to say that it doesn't make sense in other areas (for example, the publisher for FID attends several Sci-Fi conventions in Canada which I don't currently have access to, and of course, there's still a stigma about books put out by the author themselves, whether anyone cares to admit it or not). Every author deciding whether to dive in on their own should read my series of posts on self-publishing (this link is to the final segment of the series, which has links to the previous two posts on the topic). But for my own situation, I'm able to do most of the editing on my own, as well as most of the formatting for e-book readers. For other authors, a publisher may have what they need, and they'll just be giving up royalty money to do so.
And of course, e-books are long-term, so a single quarter may not show the full story. It's possible that DBV may not make another sale for the rest of the year (I certainly hope that's not the case, but...). If that turns out to be the case, I'll still have sold fewer and made more money in a year doing so......but I'd still be one sad panda.
Again, I'll be putting together another compilation of sales statistics for all of my books before long. Until then, be sure to check out the two books I've been discussing here, Friends in Deed and Death Brings Victory. Both are awesome titles, and well worth your investment of time and money. And if you've already read one or both of these novels, I'd appreciate if you could (if you haven't already) type up a little review over on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other spot you can find.
01 June 2012
Guest Interview - Gayle Ramage
Greetings, everyone! Welcome to today's guest blog post from author Gayle Ramage. Gayle is here today to answer a few questions, and to tell us all about her brand new book (part of the Quality Times blog tour). Gayle Ramage is a writer, living in the Scottish lowlands. She would love to grow her own TARDIS if only to go back in time to find out if her ancestors were as mad as she is. So, sit back and enjoy, as we find out a little more about Gayle and her new book!
TMH: Why don’t you start with telling us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?
GR: I’m a Science Fiction and fantasy writer, and write in those genres because it’s great to immerse myself in something totally different from mundane real life.
TMH: Were you an avid reader as a child? What types of books did you enjoy reading? Do you still enjoy those, or something different?
GR: Yes, I loved to read as a child, especially Roald Dahl’s whimsical books. I also remember reading a series by Hunter Davies, I think, about a young boy who, when he put on his grandfather’s WWII bomber jacket, became a teenager. Sadly these books are out of print, now. So I suppose I’ve always enjoyed reading fantasy stories.
TMH: Tell us about your latest book. What inspired you to write it?
GR: The Quality Times series is partly inspired by Doctor Who (people travelling through space and time), but it was also inspired by wanting to write my own light science fiction series.
TMH: How long does it take for you to write a book?
GR: So far I’ve only written short books. Quality Times is the longest one I’ve written, clocking in at around 16000 words. So, for instance, a first draft can perhaps take me a week or two, depending on whether I have the entire plot sorted out in my head.
TMH: What’s your favorite part of writing/publishing? What part do you dislike?
GR: I think my favourite part is writing the first draft. With first drafts, you have a freedom you don’t have with other drafts. The most important thing at that stage is just to get the story written down, and not to worry about spelling and grammar. That comes later. The part I dislike most about writing is marketing. Seriously, there’s always that danger of coming across as a spammer. That’s why I only promote my books on Twitter, and even then it’s maybe once a day and that’s it.
TMH: What do you see for the future of publishing and e-books?
GR: I’m afraid I don’t have a crystal ball when it comes to that. The whole self-publishing movement is evolving all the time. I know there’s a lot of dreich (that’s ‘rubbish’ in Scots, folks!) out there but on the other hand there’s a lot of great self-published writers. They just need to be given a chance and not tarred with the same brush as the ‘writers’ who are only in it to make a quick buck. I just see ebooks as an alternative format to print books, like audiobooks are.
TMH: What is the most difficult part of being a writer and do you write whenever the mood strikes, or do you have a specific routine?
GR: Oh, I wish I had a routine! No, the mood (or rather, the muse) seems to strike when I’m trying to get to sleep, or when I’m doing some housework. I think the most difficult part of being a writer, in my personal experience, is thinking people just assume I’m messing around on the internet when I’m sitting at my netbook, and not realising I’m actually working, when I’m writing my stories. Thankfully, my other half is very understanding and encouraging about my writing, but I know other writers whose partners aren’t as enthusiastic, sadly.
TMH: Do you have another book in the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?
GR: Yes, you could say I have quite a few books in the works. I did start a time-travelling assassins series last year (I published a couple of short story prequels to the series) but I’ve lost my passion, a little, for it, and I firmly believe that if you don’t love the story you’re writing, then put it aside. I’m still going to write Book 1 in the series, as I have had a number of people say they want to read it, but for the moment I’m going to concentrate on another Quality Times novella, and then either return to Book 1, or continue with my historical-fantasy ‘A Dark Age’, whose first draft is done and dusted.
TMH: If you could team up with any other writer out there and write a joint novel, who would it be and why?
GR: At the moment, it would have to be Derek Landy, creator of the Skulduggery Pleasant series (about a Skeleton detective and his teenage sidekick). He just mixes the humour and drama so well, and his books were partly the inspiration for my time-travelling assassins series.
TMH: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started in the writing business?
GR: To get all the preparation for your book(s) ready BEFORE the publish date, hence why I’m doing this blog tour!
TMH: What’s your comfort food?
GR: Hmm, I wouldn’t say it’s ‘comfort food’ but I like a nice chicken stir fry, now and again.
TMH: What’s a quote you like the most?
GR: Currently, it’s one that appears in a Doctor Who novel, called Vampire Science, featuring the Eighth Doctor.
TMH: What’s your dream vacation (assuming money and schedule were no issue)?
GR: Ha, well, given that I’ve never been on an actual holiday (in the UK, or abroad) in my life, anywhere! For years, I did fancy going to San Francisco, after reading the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin but, I dunno, I’d just like to go anywhere!
TMH: Is there anything you wish you could go back and change from your past?
GR: Yes. To have started doing Open University courses a lot earlier instead of waiting until 2010 to do my first one. But then again, if I’d taken the course earlier, I wouldn’t have met some great writer friends!
TMH: Thanks, Gayle, for the interview. And now, let's take a look at Gayle's new book, The Whispering Tombs.
TMH: Why don’t you start with telling us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?
GR: I’m a Science Fiction and fantasy writer, and write in those genres because it’s great to immerse myself in something totally different from mundane real life.
TMH: Were you an avid reader as a child? What types of books did you enjoy reading? Do you still enjoy those, or something different?
GR: Yes, I loved to read as a child, especially Roald Dahl’s whimsical books. I also remember reading a series by Hunter Davies, I think, about a young boy who, when he put on his grandfather’s WWII bomber jacket, became a teenager. Sadly these books are out of print, now. So I suppose I’ve always enjoyed reading fantasy stories.
TMH: Tell us about your latest book. What inspired you to write it?
GR: The Quality Times series is partly inspired by Doctor Who (people travelling through space and time), but it was also inspired by wanting to write my own light science fiction series.
TMH: How long does it take for you to write a book?
GR: So far I’ve only written short books. Quality Times is the longest one I’ve written, clocking in at around 16000 words. So, for instance, a first draft can perhaps take me a week or two, depending on whether I have the entire plot sorted out in my head.
TMH: What’s your favorite part of writing/publishing? What part do you dislike?
GR: I think my favourite part is writing the first draft. With first drafts, you have a freedom you don’t have with other drafts. The most important thing at that stage is just to get the story written down, and not to worry about spelling and grammar. That comes later. The part I dislike most about writing is marketing. Seriously, there’s always that danger of coming across as a spammer. That’s why I only promote my books on Twitter, and even then it’s maybe once a day and that’s it.
TMH: What do you see for the future of publishing and e-books?
GR: I’m afraid I don’t have a crystal ball when it comes to that. The whole self-publishing movement is evolving all the time. I know there’s a lot of dreich (that’s ‘rubbish’ in Scots, folks!) out there but on the other hand there’s a lot of great self-published writers. They just need to be given a chance and not tarred with the same brush as the ‘writers’ who are only in it to make a quick buck. I just see ebooks as an alternative format to print books, like audiobooks are.
TMH: What is the most difficult part of being a writer and do you write whenever the mood strikes, or do you have a specific routine?
GR: Oh, I wish I had a routine! No, the mood (or rather, the muse) seems to strike when I’m trying to get to sleep, or when I’m doing some housework. I think the most difficult part of being a writer, in my personal experience, is thinking people just assume I’m messing around on the internet when I’m sitting at my netbook, and not realising I’m actually working, when I’m writing my stories. Thankfully, my other half is very understanding and encouraging about my writing, but I know other writers whose partners aren’t as enthusiastic, sadly.
TMH: Do you have another book in the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?
GR: Yes, you could say I have quite a few books in the works. I did start a time-travelling assassins series last year (I published a couple of short story prequels to the series) but I’ve lost my passion, a little, for it, and I firmly believe that if you don’t love the story you’re writing, then put it aside. I’m still going to write Book 1 in the series, as I have had a number of people say they want to read it, but for the moment I’m going to concentrate on another Quality Times novella, and then either return to Book 1, or continue with my historical-fantasy ‘A Dark Age’, whose first draft is done and dusted.
TMH: If you could team up with any other writer out there and write a joint novel, who would it be and why?
GR: At the moment, it would have to be Derek Landy, creator of the Skulduggery Pleasant series (about a Skeleton detective and his teenage sidekick). He just mixes the humour and drama so well, and his books were partly the inspiration for my time-travelling assassins series.
TMH: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started in the writing business?
GR: To get all the preparation for your book(s) ready BEFORE the publish date, hence why I’m doing this blog tour!
TMH: What’s your comfort food?
GR: Hmm, I wouldn’t say it’s ‘comfort food’ but I like a nice chicken stir fry, now and again.
TMH: What’s a quote you like the most?
GR: Currently, it’s one that appears in a Doctor Who novel, called Vampire Science, featuring the Eighth Doctor.
What kind of person actually sits down and decides that no one should be allowed to end a sentence with a preposition? Not even decide what ideas you should or shouldn't talk about, but to actually make rules about what order to put your words in... It's such an amazing kind of petty tyranny.
TMH: What’s your dream vacation (assuming money and schedule were no issue)?
GR: Ha, well, given that I’ve never been on an actual holiday (in the UK, or abroad) in my life, anywhere! For years, I did fancy going to San Francisco, after reading the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin but, I dunno, I’d just like to go anywhere!
TMH: Is there anything you wish you could go back and change from your past?
GR: Yes. To have started doing Open University courses a lot earlier instead of waiting until 2010 to do my first one. But then again, if I’d taken the course earlier, I wouldn’t have met some great writer friends!
TMH: Thanks, Gayle, for the interview. And now, let's take a look at Gayle's new book, The Whispering Tombs.
Meet Quality Times, just your average 21st century woman who happens to own a shrinkable time machine. Along on her intergalactic adventures is Tim, a self-confessed sci-fi geek who takes everything in his stride.In The Whispering Tombs, Quality and Tim are residing at the luxurious Baala Haven Resort, on an unpronounceable planet, when they're invited on a quest to find ancient hidden treasure by a wealthy alien archaeologist. Reaching the caves of Azrokaran, however, loyalties are tested to the very limits as those within the group reveal their true colours.A light-hearted mix of science fiction, adventure and humour.
And there you have it, folks. Be sure to ask any other questions you'd like to know more about in the comments section. And be sure to check out more about Gayle over on her website and blog, or follow her on Twitter. If you'd like to check out her new book, click the cover above (or for the UK version of Amazon, click here).
07 March 2012
Why Self-Publishing? (Part 3 of 3)
Welcome to the third and final installment of my discussion on self-publishing. If you haven't already taken the time to read the first two posts (discussing how I got into self-publishing and the pitfalls of this route), be sure to go back and check them out here and here. And now, the benefits of self-publishing.
The Benefits (as I see them)
Higher royalties by cutting out the middle man. Many e-publishers and small presses (major publishers can sometimes be worse) will offer a 30-50% royalty on “net” (the amount they take in). Self-publishers can often make 35-75% (depending on various factors) off “gross” (or the sale price of the book). And with the e-publisher or small press, the “net” they receive is quite often the same amount you would have made yourself. For a $5 e-book, a 75% royalty would be $3.75. If you self-published, this entire amount would be yours. If you were signed with a publisher (ignoring those who also have to split another 15% with an agent), you’d potential make only 30% of this, or $1.13 for each copy. In essence, you’d have to sell three times as many books just to equal the same amount of money earned.
Total control over the product you’re selling. In self-publishing, because you take on all of the different roles (writer, editor, publisher, etc.), you have the final say on every aspect of the process. Don’t like the cover art? Change it. Want to reduce the price to spur sales? You set the book at whatever price you want, at any time you choose. Want to give away free copies to potential reviewers? You don’t have to wait for someone else to decide whether it’s worth the time or not.
Adapt your material whenever you want. With a regular publisher, once you’ve given your final edits, that’s it. If you find a glaring typo (or a major fact flub) that makes you cringe every time someone brings it up, you have no recourse. With self-publishing (mostly with e-books), you upload a new version, and it’s fixed. If you experience low sales, and think your book’s description may be to blame, you can punch it up and re-load to the online stores.
Getting your work to the public faster. Publishers can often take a full year or two to get a book from contract to the public. When self-publishing, you set the timetable. If you want to have your new book come out this year, and you put all the parts in place, you can do it. Heck, I was able to self-publish my novella Seeker, my novel The Cure, and a small three-story collection all in the course of a year (along with the publication of my eleven-story collection Dead or Alive from another publisher). My last Aston novel came out in January 2010, and if I choose to go with a small press, I could be another year or more before publication. Or I could choose to self-publish and have it out in a month (or less).
Conclusions
Ultimately, each author will have to make their own decision on how to proceed. It’s truly all about your goals, and how to achieve them. My personal recommendation to everyone, if you’re considering going into self-publishing, is to get some experience in publishing to make sure your books are at a level which publishers believe can sell. Learn what it takes to produce a book, get in tune with the technical aspects of editing and formatting a book, and learn all you can about marketing your book in today’s world. And if you’ve done all that, and still want to invest the time (and potentially money, depending on how much you’re doing yourself), decide for yourself whether it will be worth it to reach your goals.
The Benefits (as I see them)
Higher royalties by cutting out the middle man. Many e-publishers and small presses (major publishers can sometimes be worse) will offer a 30-50% royalty on “net” (the amount they take in). Self-publishers can often make 35-75% (depending on various factors) off “gross” (or the sale price of the book). And with the e-publisher or small press, the “net” they receive is quite often the same amount you would have made yourself. For a $5 e-book, a 75% royalty would be $3.75. If you self-published, this entire amount would be yours. If you were signed with a publisher (ignoring those who also have to split another 15% with an agent), you’d potential make only 30% of this, or $1.13 for each copy. In essence, you’d have to sell three times as many books just to equal the same amount of money earned.
Total control over the product you’re selling. In self-publishing, because you take on all of the different roles (writer, editor, publisher, etc.), you have the final say on every aspect of the process. Don’t like the cover art? Change it. Want to reduce the price to spur sales? You set the book at whatever price you want, at any time you choose. Want to give away free copies to potential reviewers? You don’t have to wait for someone else to decide whether it’s worth the time or not.
Adapt your material whenever you want. With a regular publisher, once you’ve given your final edits, that’s it. If you find a glaring typo (or a major fact flub) that makes you cringe every time someone brings it up, you have no recourse. With self-publishing (mostly with e-books), you upload a new version, and it’s fixed. If you experience low sales, and think your book’s description may be to blame, you can punch it up and re-load to the online stores.
Getting your work to the public faster. Publishers can often take a full year or two to get a book from contract to the public. When self-publishing, you set the timetable. If you want to have your new book come out this year, and you put all the parts in place, you can do it. Heck, I was able to self-publish my novella Seeker, my novel The Cure, and a small three-story collection all in the course of a year (along with the publication of my eleven-story collection Dead or Alive from another publisher). My last Aston novel came out in January 2010, and if I choose to go with a small press, I could be another year or more before publication. Or I could choose to self-publish and have it out in a month (or less).
Conclusions
Ultimately, each author will have to make their own decision on how to proceed. It’s truly all about your goals, and how to achieve them. My personal recommendation to everyone, if you’re considering going into self-publishing, is to get some experience in publishing to make sure your books are at a level which publishers believe can sell. Learn what it takes to produce a book, get in tune with the technical aspects of editing and formatting a book, and learn all you can about marketing your book in today’s world. And if you’ve done all that, and still want to invest the time (and potentially money, depending on how much you’re doing yourself), decide for yourself whether it will be worth it to reach your goals.
29 February 2012
Why Self-Publishing? (Part 2 of 3)
Welcome to the second installment of my discussion on self-publishing. If you haven't seen the first, which covered how I got to this point, be sure to check it out. And in today's segment, I'll discuss some of the pitfalls I see with self-publishing.
Pitfalls of Self-Publishing
One must know what they’re doing, in all aspects of the business. Whether it be writing a story that will sell, or having an intimate knowledge of editing, formatting, and promoting, you’re going to be the only one involved in every aspect of the publishing process. If you don’t already have these, I’d recommend either continuing down the “traditional” route, or working on improvement in these areas.
It will be costly if you aren’t. Certainly, if you don’t have the traits described above, you can proceed without them, but expect your book to suffer in the marketplace, costing you sales (or rather, repeat sales on future books). You can also hire those who have these traits, but it can get a bit pricey when you enlist the services of an editor, a formatting guru, marketing specialist, promoter and publicist.
If you’re looking for bookstore placement, odds are against it. Although e-books certainly won’t be stocked by a brick-and-mortar store, many have corporate rules which also prevent print-on-demand (the most popular form of printing for the self-publisher) titles from being stocked. There’s the possibility that you may be able to get in on a consignment offer (splitting the price 60/40 with the store), but even then, your book may or may not even be easily visible to crowds. Other printing methods do exist, but all can get into the high costs previously mentioned.
The time investment required. As mentioned, you’re going to be taking on the roles not only of writer, but of editor, publisher, and promoter. Like or not, all of this takes an enormous amount of time to do properly. If you have a day job meant to pay the bills, or small children who require your attention, your days are going to get filled and fast.
The stigma (and there still is one). Although there are many out there who profess that self-publishing is the wave of the future, just as many still consider it a way for “hacks” to bypass the system. Sadly, there are many authors out there who don’t do an adequate job in editing their book or acquiring decent cover art, and in this game, the sins of the few spread out onto the many. There will be those out there who decry anything self-published as unworthy of publication. The goal is to convince enough people that your work is different.
Make sure to turn in next week for the final installment of this series, where I'll go over the benefits of self-publishing. And again, feel free to leave comments...I'll be sure to respond to them all when I return.
Pitfalls of Self-Publishing
One must know what they’re doing, in all aspects of the business. Whether it be writing a story that will sell, or having an intimate knowledge of editing, formatting, and promoting, you’re going to be the only one involved in every aspect of the publishing process. If you don’t already have these, I’d recommend either continuing down the “traditional” route, or working on improvement in these areas.
It will be costly if you aren’t. Certainly, if you don’t have the traits described above, you can proceed without them, but expect your book to suffer in the marketplace, costing you sales (or rather, repeat sales on future books). You can also hire those who have these traits, but it can get a bit pricey when you enlist the services of an editor, a formatting guru, marketing specialist, promoter and publicist.
If you’re looking for bookstore placement, odds are against it. Although e-books certainly won’t be stocked by a brick-and-mortar store, many have corporate rules which also prevent print-on-demand (the most popular form of printing for the self-publisher) titles from being stocked. There’s the possibility that you may be able to get in on a consignment offer (splitting the price 60/40 with the store), but even then, your book may or may not even be easily visible to crowds. Other printing methods do exist, but all can get into the high costs previously mentioned.
The time investment required. As mentioned, you’re going to be taking on the roles not only of writer, but of editor, publisher, and promoter. Like or not, all of this takes an enormous amount of time to do properly. If you have a day job meant to pay the bills, or small children who require your attention, your days are going to get filled and fast.
The stigma (and there still is one). Although there are many out there who profess that self-publishing is the wave of the future, just as many still consider it a way for “hacks” to bypass the system. Sadly, there are many authors out there who don’t do an adequate job in editing their book or acquiring decent cover art, and in this game, the sins of the few spread out onto the many. There will be those out there who decry anything self-published as unworthy of publication. The goal is to convince enough people that your work is different.
Make sure to turn in next week for the final installment of this series, where I'll go over the benefits of self-publishing. And again, feel free to leave comments...I'll be sure to respond to them all when I return.
22 February 2012
Why Self-Publishing? (Part 1 of 3)
As I'm going to be away from the internet for a few weeks, I've decided to schedule some posts for folks to read in my absence. Go ahead and comment...I'll respond as soon as I'm able. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this post, the first of three discussing my take on self-publishing.
A little about my story
If I’m honest about it, I’ve been seriously writing for the last twenty years or so. Sadly, my first experience with “publishing” was a disaster, and soiled me on the idea of finding another publisher for several years (but thankfully, it didn’t keep me from writing more books). Then I was propositioned about moving that first book over to a small press publisher who primarily focused on e-books (as well as some print titles). I had some familiarity with those running the company, so I took the opportunity and my first book (Heroes Die Young) and then my second (Friends in Deed) were both published.
Along the way, I’d also gotten into short stories, having several published in various online magazines. One of the magazine publishers was also starting up a small press, and approached me about doing a collection of short stories. Jumping on the opportunity, my first collection (Dead or Alive) was published.
The Disturbance (or, how I started self-publishing in the first place)
I follow many blogs online, and one of them is Joe Konrath, a successful mid-list author who first decried self-publishing, until he soured on the publishing establishment. Once he converted, he began professing that any author who wasn’t self-publishing was a fool (and going into the multitude of reasons why). It was an interesting theory, but my mind was entrenched in the idea that going that route was for those who couldn’t hack it in the real world.
Back in the fall of 2010, I’d written a small novella for a submission call (for space opera, right up my alley) by a fairly popular romance e-publisher (not up my alley, by the way), which garnered a rejection (not the level of romance they were hoping for). So, I had this novella on my computer and was debating what to do with it. I’d enjoyed the story, and wanted to see it published, but was a bit concerned what sort of price point my other publishers would place on it (I’ve always been a bit antsy about pricing, likely stemming from my first sour experience in publishing).
So, I decided to try out self-publishing for Seeker, figuring it was a good throwaway novel if things turned out poorly. But lo and behold, I was selling about the same number of copies of this one as I was with my small press titles. I was hooked, and ended up self-publishing a full-length novel I’d created in 2011, The Cure (this one, I also went ahead and created a print-on-demand version of).
Tune in next week, for the second installment of the series!
A little about my story
If I’m honest about it, I’ve been seriously writing for the last twenty years or so. Sadly, my first experience with “publishing” was a disaster, and soiled me on the idea of finding another publisher for several years (but thankfully, it didn’t keep me from writing more books). Then I was propositioned about moving that first book over to a small press publisher who primarily focused on e-books (as well as some print titles). I had some familiarity with those running the company, so I took the opportunity and my first book (Heroes Die Young) and then my second (Friends in Deed) were both published.
Along the way, I’d also gotten into short stories, having several published in various online magazines. One of the magazine publishers was also starting up a small press, and approached me about doing a collection of short stories. Jumping on the opportunity, my first collection (Dead or Alive) was published.
The Disturbance (or, how I started self-publishing in the first place)
I follow many blogs online, and one of them is Joe Konrath, a successful mid-list author who first decried self-publishing, until he soured on the publishing establishment. Once he converted, he began professing that any author who wasn’t self-publishing was a fool (and going into the multitude of reasons why). It was an interesting theory, but my mind was entrenched in the idea that going that route was for those who couldn’t hack it in the real world.
Back in the fall of 2010, I’d written a small novella for a submission call (for space opera, right up my alley) by a fairly popular romance e-publisher (not up my alley, by the way), which garnered a rejection (not the level of romance they were hoping for). So, I had this novella on my computer and was debating what to do with it. I’d enjoyed the story, and wanted to see it published, but was a bit concerned what sort of price point my other publishers would place on it (I’ve always been a bit antsy about pricing, likely stemming from my first sour experience in publishing).
So, I decided to try out self-publishing for Seeker, figuring it was a good throwaway novel if things turned out poorly. But lo and behold, I was selling about the same number of copies of this one as I was with my small press titles. I was hooked, and ended up self-publishing a full-length novel I’d created in 2011, The Cure (this one, I also went ahead and created a print-on-demand version of).
Tune in next week, for the second installment of the series!
08 February 2012
Sales Update - February 2012
It's been a little over three months since my last update on sales figures, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to give a little update. To recap those figures, here are the stats from that previous post (as of October 30):
Heroes Die Young (released September 2008) had sold a total of 231 copies (print and e-book total), for an average of around 73 copies per year.
Friends in Deed (released January 2010) had sold a total of 65 copies (print and e-book total), for an average of around 33 copies per year.
Seeker (released December 2010) had sold around 42 copies (e-book only).
Dead or Alive (released in print, February 2011) had sold 19 copies. An e-book version was not available.
The Cure (released in e-book, July 2011; in print, September 2011) had sold 2 print copies and 11 e-books.
And now for the new stats:
Heroes Die Young has now sold a total of 260 copies (print and e-book total). This includes copies that were previously sold, but not yet paid for by the vendor (such as Amazon), so 29 copies have passed through the system in the last three months. I have not yet received my royalty statement for the 4th quarter of 2011, but am expecting it soon, so any copies appearing there will be included in the next update.
Friends in Deed has now sold a total of 66 copies (print and e-book total). Same comments about the upcoming royalty statement. There may have been a discrepancy on the past update, as I've sold 6 copies since then...but the 66 copies is correct.
Seeker has now sold around 50 copies (99-cent e-book only), so about 8 copies have sold over the past three months.
Dead or Alive has now sold 22 print copies (3 copies over the past three months). An e-book version was made available in July 2011 over at Smashwords (Kindle version came out in January 2012), and has sold 6 copies (an estimate based on sales ranking numbers...with four of these for the Kindle in the past month).
The Cure has now sold 29 copies (print and e-book total), so 16 copies have sold in the past three months. One side note to this is that I recently dropped the price to 99 cents, and my sales in January and February so far (at least through Smashwords) have been the same number as my sales were in the first six months at the $2.99 level.
As mentioned in the last update, I went ahead and put out my first Triple-Shot collection in November 2011 for a 99-cent price point. Since that time, 8 reported copies have sold.
Now for the analysis:
First, in conversations with others, they aren't entirely sure why some of these numbers are so low. Other books seem to do far better, even though they aren't written as well. This could be for lack of sufficient marketing, a matter that I've previously mentioned is being corrected.
As I mentioned about The Cure, sales drastically increased when I dropped the price to 99 cents. Although the royalty figures decreased accordingly, I believe these prices will need to stick around until such time as my sales figures improve. All of my self-published titles have been priced at this level now, but once my new title (Death Brings the Victory) is released, I'll have a decision to make regarding that price point. Since it already has a base with fans of Aston, it may sustain itself at a higher price. Time will tell.
In the past three months, I've sold 76 books for a total of just over 25 books a month all-inclusive (counting all titles). This backs up the assertion that many have made before, in that putting out additional titles helps boost sales figures. So, if you're spending all of your time trying to promote one book while neglecting your next book in the process, you're doing it wrong. Promote, yes, but if you don't have a new book coming down the pipeline, you're only hurting yourself.
Hopefully I'll do a little more analysis about these figures (specifically, the comparison between sales figures for each book) in an upcoming post. In the meantime, I hope they were useful to you in your search for a publisher, agent, small press or for helping you decide whether to go into self-publishing.
Heroes Die Young (released September 2008) had sold a total of 231 copies (print and e-book total), for an average of around 73 copies per year.
Friends in Deed (released January 2010) had sold a total of 65 copies (print and e-book total), for an average of around 33 copies per year.
Seeker (released December 2010) had sold around 42 copies (e-book only).
Dead or Alive (released in print, February 2011) had sold 19 copies. An e-book version was not available.
The Cure (released in e-book, July 2011; in print, September 2011) had sold 2 print copies and 11 e-books.
And now for the new stats:
Heroes Die Young has now sold a total of 260 copies (print and e-book total). This includes copies that were previously sold, but not yet paid for by the vendor (such as Amazon), so 29 copies have passed through the system in the last three months. I have not yet received my royalty statement for the 4th quarter of 2011, but am expecting it soon, so any copies appearing there will be included in the next update.
Friends in Deed has now sold a total of 66 copies (print and e-book total). Same comments about the upcoming royalty statement. There may have been a discrepancy on the past update, as I've sold 6 copies since then...but the 66 copies is correct.
Seeker has now sold around 50 copies (99-cent e-book only), so about 8 copies have sold over the past three months.
Dead or Alive has now sold 22 print copies (3 copies over the past three months). An e-book version was made available in July 2011 over at Smashwords (Kindle version came out in January 2012), and has sold 6 copies (an estimate based on sales ranking numbers...with four of these for the Kindle in the past month).
The Cure has now sold 29 copies (print and e-book total), so 16 copies have sold in the past three months. One side note to this is that I recently dropped the price to 99 cents, and my sales in January and February so far (at least through Smashwords) have been the same number as my sales were in the first six months at the $2.99 level.
As mentioned in the last update, I went ahead and put out my first Triple-Shot collection in November 2011 for a 99-cent price point. Since that time, 8 reported copies have sold.
Now for the analysis:
First, in conversations with others, they aren't entirely sure why some of these numbers are so low. Other books seem to do far better, even though they aren't written as well. This could be for lack of sufficient marketing, a matter that I've previously mentioned is being corrected.
As I mentioned about The Cure, sales drastically increased when I dropped the price to 99 cents. Although the royalty figures decreased accordingly, I believe these prices will need to stick around until such time as my sales figures improve. All of my self-published titles have been priced at this level now, but once my new title (Death Brings the Victory) is released, I'll have a decision to make regarding that price point. Since it already has a base with fans of Aston, it may sustain itself at a higher price. Time will tell.
In the past three months, I've sold 76 books for a total of just over 25 books a month all-inclusive (counting all titles). This backs up the assertion that many have made before, in that putting out additional titles helps boost sales figures. So, if you're spending all of your time trying to promote one book while neglecting your next book in the process, you're doing it wrong. Promote, yes, but if you don't have a new book coming down the pipeline, you're only hurting yourself.
Hopefully I'll do a little more analysis about these figures (specifically, the comparison between sales figures for each book) in an upcoming post. In the meantime, I hope they were useful to you in your search for a publisher, agent, small press or for helping you decide whether to go into self-publishing.
30 October 2011
A Brief Sales Update
Since it's been a while, I figured I'd give a quick sales update for those who find an interest in knowing how those without a large fan base do in self-publishing and being published by small presses. I've been tweaking my sales tracking spreadsheets, so can give a bit of a run-down based on total sales:
Heroes Die Young has been in circulation since September 2008 (over three years), and is available in both print and e-book formats. The publisher does some promotion at sci-fi conventions (as do I). Counting both personal sales and publisher sales (except for the publisher's 4Q 2008 sales, which I can't find my statement on), a total of 231 copies have been sold (on top of that, I've given away 198 copies). That breaks down to around 73 copies sold per year.
Friends in Deed has been in circulation since January 2010 (almost two years), and is available in both print and e-book formats. Same publisher as HDY. Counting both personal sales and publisher sales, a total of 65 copies have been sold (41 additional copies given away). So, sales have been slow in comparison, with only around 33 copies per year. I could make guesses as to why it hasn't sold as well as the first, but I'll just stick to the facts for now.
Seeker was my first foray into self-publishing, and is a novella just slightly smaller than Heroes Die Young. It's priced at 99 cents compared to the (currently) $2.99 price point of my first book. Coming out in December 2010, it's been available roughly 11 months and is only available in e-book format. Right now, I've seen sales of around 42 copies, so a little more than the annual sales on FID (although that book is currently running $4.99-$5.99 in its e-book format), but lagging behind HDY.
Dead or Alive was published by a new house, and is a short story collection. It's mostly available in print, with an e-book currently available only on the Smashwords site (and an app for Apple devices, although for the purposes of this post, I'll only be discussing print sales). At the moment, I've seen 19 true sales (and an additional 20 giveaways) between my publisher and myself since the print version was available back in February of this year (so nearly 9 months).
The Cure is my first foray into self-publishing a full-length novel. It's available in both e-book and print formats, and has been since July (the print has only been available since September). To this date, I've seen a total of 2 print sales (3 additional giveaways) and 11 e-book sales (not counting the lag that I've noticed from several vendors under the Smashwords distribution umbrella). Not anything stellar, but it seems roughly on par (13 for the quarter equates to 52 copies for a projected year) with my other titles.
For a few future projects, I'm considering the idea of packaging a trio of short stories into a single e-book and placing them for sale as e-books. If that comes about, I'll be sure to add those into the mix.
Perhaps some conjecture into the how and why will come for another post, but for now, hopefully these facts and figures will be useful to you. And of course, for those who have questions about anything I've posted here, feel free to leave a comment.
Heroes Die Young has been in circulation since September 2008 (over three years), and is available in both print and e-book formats. The publisher does some promotion at sci-fi conventions (as do I). Counting both personal sales and publisher sales (except for the publisher's 4Q 2008 sales, which I can't find my statement on), a total of 231 copies have been sold (on top of that, I've given away 198 copies). That breaks down to around 73 copies sold per year.
Friends in Deed has been in circulation since January 2010 (almost two years), and is available in both print and e-book formats. Same publisher as HDY. Counting both personal sales and publisher sales, a total of 65 copies have been sold (41 additional copies given away). So, sales have been slow in comparison, with only around 33 copies per year. I could make guesses as to why it hasn't sold as well as the first, but I'll just stick to the facts for now.
Seeker was my first foray into self-publishing, and is a novella just slightly smaller than Heroes Die Young. It's priced at 99 cents compared to the (currently) $2.99 price point of my first book. Coming out in December 2010, it's been available roughly 11 months and is only available in e-book format. Right now, I've seen sales of around 42 copies, so a little more than the annual sales on FID (although that book is currently running $4.99-$5.99 in its e-book format), but lagging behind HDY.
Dead or Alive was published by a new house, and is a short story collection. It's mostly available in print, with an e-book currently available only on the Smashwords site (and an app for Apple devices, although for the purposes of this post, I'll only be discussing print sales). At the moment, I've seen 19 true sales (and an additional 20 giveaways) between my publisher and myself since the print version was available back in February of this year (so nearly 9 months).
The Cure is my first foray into self-publishing a full-length novel. It's available in both e-book and print formats, and has been since July (the print has only been available since September). To this date, I've seen a total of 2 print sales (3 additional giveaways) and 11 e-book sales (not counting the lag that I've noticed from several vendors under the Smashwords distribution umbrella). Not anything stellar, but it seems roughly on par (13 for the quarter equates to 52 copies for a projected year) with my other titles.
For a few future projects, I'm considering the idea of packaging a trio of short stories into a single e-book and placing them for sale as e-books. If that comes about, I'll be sure to add those into the mix.
Perhaps some conjecture into the how and why will come for another post, but for now, hopefully these facts and figures will be useful to you. And of course, for those who have questions about anything I've posted here, feel free to leave a comment.
30 July 2011
Reality Check - July 30, 2011
You've no doubt seen the success stories of those who self-publish their e-books...people who sell a million copies, are able to write full-time and make a living at it. And no doubt, you've heard them pitch the idea that writers would be foolish not to do it this way...
And it makes you wonder, maybe I should do it too...
So, to test this theory, I've self-published two pieces, first (back in December) my Aston West novella Seeker...and then (2 weeks ago), my latest (non-Aston) novel, The Cure. The first, I've priced at the ultra-low 99 cent level (for a 20K word novella), while the latest is available for a more moderate $2.99 (for around a 60K word novel). With these two data points, I'm hoping to give a more accurate reading for would-be self-published authors (and myself) as to whether this golden goose is really as shiny as we'd be made to believe.
A few things to realize about me (for comparison purposes):
-I have been previously published, though by a small press without widespread bookstore distribution, with two books under my belt (Heroes Die Young and Friends in Deed). I also have developed a small niche following based on my series of short stories featuring Aston West.
-I do not have hundreds of thousands of followers on my blog, nor my Twitter feed nor my Facebook fan page. I believe that all of these together net about 1000 people, maybe.
-I do market myself, through my social media outlets, through online groups and webpages, and through visits to conventions from time to time.
-I have a full-time job that I use to fund my writing exploits, so I don't have a lot of spare time to write or market (but I make do with the little time I have).
-I'm generally able to get a new novel finished in about a year or two (see the aforementioned full-time job information), though I've been attempting to better that.
-My two self-published titles are only available in e-book format, though I'm expecting to eventually self-publish a print version of The Cure (and am in talks on bringing Seeker to print as well)
So, all that being said, here's the breakdown so far:
Seeker has been out since (late) December 2010, on Amazon (Kindle) and Smashwords (who has then distributed to such spots as Kobo and B&N (Nook). It's averaged around 2-4 sales most months. With the price point of 99 cents, royalties are low, around $2-3 a quarter (which because of the minimum payment requirements, are being stored up until I sell enough). The sales totals for this book come in around 40 books in the last 7 months. For comparison, my first quarter sales of my two small press books (which are priced at $2.99 and $3.99/$4.99 (depending on the store)) ran 12 and 5 copies each...I have not yet received the second quarter statement.
[For those keeping score at home, my novella sold 13 copies in the first quarter...but at a much lower price point...royalties, however, weren't that much different, which is another post for another day]
The Cure has only been out for two weeks, so more concrete sales numbers will be forthcoming in future updates...though I can say that the "initial rollout" sales are fairly consistent with those I saw with Seeker back in December (and ironically, are running fairly close to the sales of Seeker in the same two-week period). I will note here that after The Cure came out, I did see an uptick in sales of Seeker from June, from 2 to 4
So, I don't really know how often I'll give these updates, but stay tuned for more. And hopefully the numbers that I post will give you a feeling of what to expect from a foray into self-publishing e-books.
And it makes you wonder, maybe I should do it too...
So, to test this theory, I've self-published two pieces, first (back in December) my Aston West novella Seeker...and then (2 weeks ago), my latest (non-Aston) novel, The Cure. The first, I've priced at the ultra-low 99 cent level (for a 20K word novella), while the latest is available for a more moderate $2.99 (for around a 60K word novel). With these two data points, I'm hoping to give a more accurate reading for would-be self-published authors (and myself) as to whether this golden goose is really as shiny as we'd be made to believe.
A few things to realize about me (for comparison purposes):
-I have been previously published, though by a small press without widespread bookstore distribution, with two books under my belt (Heroes Die Young and Friends in Deed). I also have developed a small niche following based on my series of short stories featuring Aston West.
-I do not have hundreds of thousands of followers on my blog, nor my Twitter feed nor my Facebook fan page. I believe that all of these together net about 1000 people, maybe.
-I do market myself, through my social media outlets, through online groups and webpages, and through visits to conventions from time to time.
-I have a full-time job that I use to fund my writing exploits, so I don't have a lot of spare time to write or market (but I make do with the little time I have).
-I'm generally able to get a new novel finished in about a year or two (see the aforementioned full-time job information), though I've been attempting to better that.
-My two self-published titles are only available in e-book format, though I'm expecting to eventually self-publish a print version of The Cure (and am in talks on bringing Seeker to print as well)
So, all that being said, here's the breakdown so far:
Seeker has been out since (late) December 2010, on Amazon (Kindle) and Smashwords (who has then distributed to such spots as Kobo and B&N (Nook). It's averaged around 2-4 sales most months. With the price point of 99 cents, royalties are low, around $2-3 a quarter (which because of the minimum payment requirements, are being stored up until I sell enough). The sales totals for this book come in around 40 books in the last 7 months. For comparison, my first quarter sales of my two small press books (which are priced at $2.99 and $3.99/$4.99 (depending on the store)) ran 12 and 5 copies each...I have not yet received the second quarter statement.
[For those keeping score at home, my novella sold 13 copies in the first quarter...but at a much lower price point...royalties, however, weren't that much different, which is another post for another day]
The Cure has only been out for two weeks, so more concrete sales numbers will be forthcoming in future updates...though I can say that the "initial rollout" sales are fairly consistent with those I saw with Seeker back in December (and ironically, are running fairly close to the sales of Seeker in the same two-week period). I will note here that after The Cure came out, I did see an uptick in sales of Seeker from June, from 2 to 4
So, I don't really know how often I'll give these updates, but stay tuned for more. And hopefully the numbers that I post will give you a feeling of what to expect from a foray into self-publishing e-books.
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