First Week In Numbers
Just a quick post on this week's numbers (not counting Friday). I sold 20 copies alone on November 1, 19 at Amazon and 1 at Barnes & Noble. I have since sold two more, one at Amazon, and one at B&N. Add that to the 4 that sold prior to November 1 and at this point I've sold a grand total of...26 copies, 22 this week.
Obviously I won't be able to maintain those numbers, I'm not doing a ton of advertising and won't have another big release day. I might get a bit of a boost once the paperback is ready, I'll probably sell 50 copies just between students and family and friends, and that's thinking on the low side. A lot of my 'fan' base seems to be clamoring for the paperback. Maybe all the work I did for the ebook will get the word out and make the paperback sales great. Or maybe they'll be the same. Whatever, I'm just excited to see people reading it!
I've had 12 people add it on Goodreads, which I think is a great site to get the word out. Do you have any other suggestions for sharing the info? I am not a spammer, so I like it best if people come across it more naturally. I've been doing interviews as well, and I'm open to more if anyone is up for it! I'm happy to talk about anything, really.
Well, back to caring for my icky sicky baby and trying to squeeze out some NaNo words!
Obviously I won't be able to maintain those numbers, I'm not doing a ton of advertising and won't have another big release day. I might get a bit of a boost once the paperback is ready, I'll probably sell 50 copies just between students and family and friends, and that's thinking on the low side. A lot of my 'fan' base seems to be clamoring for the paperback. Maybe all the work I did for the ebook will get the word out and make the paperback sales great. Or maybe they'll be the same. Whatever, I'm just excited to see people reading it!
I've had 12 people add it on Goodreads, which I think is a great site to get the word out. Do you have any other suggestions for sharing the info? I am not a spammer, so I like it best if people come across it more naturally. I've been doing interviews as well, and I'm open to more if anyone is up for it! I'm happy to talk about anything, really.
Well, back to caring for my icky sicky baby and trying to squeeze out some NaNo words!
Nice starting numbers. :) It depends on what you consider spamming, because if you consider anything mentioning your own book, then you're not going to sell much. Too many writers do over-use the media and spam...but many, many more don't do anything at all and wonder why nobody buys their book. You should consider a giveaway on Goodreads, for the paperback. I did one for Promise back in June and got the attention of over 1,500 people! I think it helped in generating interest outside of my sphere of influence. It's a start...I have other ideas. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea (Goodreads contest)! I think I'll be able to do a lot more once I get those paperbacks! Maybe the occasional FB status/Twitter link would be a good idea as well. I can try to do that a couple times a week.
ReplyDeleteOh, and we can add another sale to the list...up to 23 on the week, 27 overall!
What about offering an e-book to some YA reviewers to review? I say this not only as a reviewer myself but as a writer. Some bloggers (The Story Siren) get thousands of views a day, which is definitely spreading the word!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Kristie about the contest!
Maybe a street team?
Reviewers are a great idea, Harmony. I'll have to look in to their (and your) submission info.
ReplyDeleteStreet team is a good idea. I'm a high school teacher, so I've had a bunch of kids get the word out on their FB pages, and once the paperback is out, a lot of them plan on buying a copy (I put their names in the credits for helping me promote, so they're excited to have a book with their name in it). I'm hoping that will make the rounds with their friends.
I was also thinking of local newspapers, the school newspaper, and donating copies to a couple of the high school/public libraries.
Congratulations on your early success. I'm hoping to get my first ebook out this month. It looks like Amazon is far and away your best marketplace so far. (I'm starting out with formatting for the Kindle and will move on from there.)
ReplyDeleteHave you had any luck with Smashwords? So far, it seems to be well-known amongst ebook publishers but less so with readers I've come across.
Lindsay, I agree with you regarding Smashwords, it's not widely known. I've had 13 sample downloads and only 1 purchase from there so far. It's good to have available, in the sense that you can direct your non-Kindle users there to purchase a copy if they would like it. But Amazon has been where I've been doing the bulk of my sales. I've only sold 2 copies on Barnes & Noble, so that's a very small market as well. 27 of the 30 sales were on Amazon!
ReplyDeleteAnd they do everything so well, I can't complain!