More Indie Stuff: Marketing, Money, and POD, oh my!

Happy October!

I'm hard at work on my sequel to THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN. Which means I've been sucked into the black hole of my own brilliance. LOL! That may be a slight exaggeration. I'm busy. My fabulous agent has my literary fiction manuscript, ECHOES OF NEVERLAND, out on sub, which means I'm in writer's limbo. Basically, I'm scattered and writing my brains out.

However, the wonderful world of Indie Publishing goes on. So I thought I'd share some recent (and some not so recent posts) on sales, marketing and POD.

Theresa Ragan has posted her October Sales Update. She's awesome and I wish I had her numbers!
As usual, Dr. Debra Holland's post on September Sales is impressive. I love her transparency!

Traditional publishing is a very real part of the indie equation. To make an informed decision, it helps to understand what traditional publishers typically pay. So if you haven't seen these posts, they

Romance: Brenda Hiatt - Show Me the Money

YA: Agent Mandy Hubbard - Things You Want to Know & Things You Want to Know II

Other posts of note:

POD: CreateSpace or Lightning Source: Which is the more intelligent choice for self-publishing? By Terri Giuliano

WG2E's Indie ePublishing D.D. Scott-Style: Prequels, Sequels, and Short Stories, Oh My!

Write To Publish's 4 part series on Goodreads Marketing. 101 part 1; 101 part 2; 201 part 3, 201 part 4

Going Indie - Is it worth it?

Time to talk results.

I take this giant leap of faith - so necessary to gain forward momentum in my career - and three months have passed. Some authors are selling tens of thousands, some authors are making thousands a month, and a very lucky few are doing both.

And me?

My results have exceeded my expectations. I have recouped my initial expenses. And most importantly, I have taken the next step in my career. No regrets.

So lets talk Dollars and Cents:

THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN sells for $2.99 eBook and $14.99 print (discounted at B&N but with very little margin for me).

	Sales	Earned
MAY 24th
Amazon	36	$36
B&N	24	$46
JUNE
Amazon	19	$32
B&N	27	$52
JULY
Amazon	24	$45
B&N	20	$38
Print	6	$35
AUGUST
Amazon	19	$35	est.
B&N	5	$9
Print	2	$7
Smashwords (3mo. total)	10	$23
TOTAL	192	$358

A good friend of mine, who published about the same time, has sold in the thousands. While ecstatic for her, for like a second I was jealous of her sales. (LOL Tonya).

Keep in Mind at my Pricing structure: 100 = 700

I considered dropping my book to $.99. While $.99 price point does tend to explode sales, the margin is very low.

$2.99 (70% is $2.093) x100sales = $209.30

$.99 (30% is $.297) x100sales= $29.70;  700sales= $207.90

My choice, earnings at $2.99 or sales at $.99? The authors who are really doing well have a tiered approach (that I plan to model). When their subsequent book releases for $2.99 or $3.99, their current title drops to $.99. That way they are accomplishing both sales and earning. So I'm hard at work on the sequel THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE KEEPER. :)

Here are some other AMAZING indie authors who have transparently shared results:

Norah Wilson

Debra Holland

* Debra also has a great post on price point

Debra's August sales information

Theresa Ragan

Gemma Halliday's results (1 year 600k and counting)

D.D. Scott (on Right side of page)

Cate Rowan on The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood site

Julianne MacLean's promotion experiment (How important are cover and price?)

Know of any other indies disclosing sales? Post a link in comments and I will update this post. :)

Losing it

Less than one week until book release.

This morning I had an eloquent analogy about the Kentucky Derby and the home stretch. Then I got in the shower—where I usually have my best thinks—and it all unraveled. Not only did I lose my extremely clever, relevant, and (dare I say) world-changing opening. I couldn’t remember if I conditioned my hair or merely thought about it. Bottom line: I’m losing it! ;)

So today, I’m going to give a quick update on where I am, and then open up the cyber floor for questions: Professional, personal or other—my filters are down, so ask away.

Then Tuesday, I’ll be doing a very special Launch Day blog. I’ll be giving away a free digital copy of THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN. **And I’ll be unveiling the first book I ever wrote** It’s from 1977. Prepare to be amazed and blown-away.

Where I’m at: Formatting done. Uploaded to Smashwords, B&N, Amazon Kindle. Waiting for publications to clear, then I’ll do a final check to make sure everything looks right.

Conclusion: In the home stretch, focus is the most important thing.

Mood: Dry?

Related topics: Theresa Ragan sold 10,000 books in 10 weeks. Whether traditional or indie, her blog will inspire you. Be sure to check out How I Got Started.

Next steps: final checks

Your turn: Ask me anything you want!