Monday, October 24, 2011
Honestly YA's new post is up
Lorie Langdon talks about how being a dreamer inspires her writing in Following the Yellow Brick Road
Thursday, October 20, 2011
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:
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
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
Monday, October 10, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
50 Things Under $50 to Promote Your Book
As a result of some exciting developments, the blogs been a bit quiet recently. Soon I hope to be able to share details.
In the meantime, check out Penny C. Sansevieri's great report:
In the meantime, check out Penny C. Sansevieri's great report:
Thursday, August 25, 2011
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).
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.
Here are some other AMAZING indie authors who have transparently shared 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:
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?)
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. :)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Honestly YA: Six authors, one love
Honestly YA launches this morning. Check out my post: WHAT ABOUT PROM, BLAINE? WHAT ABOUT PROM?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
IT'S BACK-TO-SCHOOL WEEK!
Did I say wonderful?...I meant painfully chaotic.
So rather than post for the sake of posting, let me tell you what's coming up next week.
MONDAY 8/22 I will be launching a new multi-author blog venture where we talk YA not the business of writing YA. The title of my inaugural post: "What about prom, Blaine? What about prom?"
Swing by Monday morning for a link to the new site. :)
Then on THURSDAY 8/25 I'll be divulging my sales-to-date here: Going Indie - Is it worth it?
For anyone in the Cincinnati area, on FRIDAY 8/26 I'll be headed to the Carrico-Fort Thomas Branch of my local library for the Girls Taking Over the World Young Adult Author Event including NYTimes bestselling author and 2011 RWA RITA winner Julie Kagawa sponsored by the awesome Blue Marble Bookstore.
See you next week!
Did I say wonderful?...I meant painfully chaotic.
So rather than post for the sake of posting, let me tell you what's coming up next week.
MONDAY 8/22 I will be launching a new multi-author blog venture where we talk YA not the business of writing YA. The title of my inaugural post: "What about prom, Blaine? What about prom?"
Swing by Monday morning for a link to the new site. :)
Then on THURSDAY 8/25 I'll be divulging my sales-to-date here: Going Indie - Is it worth it?
For anyone in the Cincinnati area, on FRIDAY 8/26 I'll be headed to the Carrico-Fort Thomas Branch of my local library for the Girls Taking Over the World Young Adult Author Event including NYTimes bestselling author and 2011 RWA RITA winner Julie Kagawa sponsored by the awesome Blue Marble Bookstore.
See you next week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)