Crista McHugh's Blog

Last month, I enrolled of my older books, THE TEARS OF ELIOS, in the KDP Select Program and offered it for free for 3 days. I have to say, my experiment was a huge success. For a recap of the starting point, go here.

So, are y’all ready for some numbers?

13,684 – the number of free downloads of TEARS across all Amazon sites

486 – the number of copies of TEARS sold after the free promo ended

109 -the number of books borrowed (at $2.48/borrow)

140 – the number of my 2 other self-published titles sold in April

67 – an estimate of my other books sold per Novel Rank

13 – number of new reviews from readers on Amazon

And for the number you’re waiting for:

$1832.30 – amount made on Amazon for TEARS

(that’s more than I made in royalties across all titles for 2011)

So, while I still don’t like the idea of KDP Select being 90 days, I am impressed with the numbers it’s generated. If the term were shortened to 30 days, I’d definitely consider enrolling future titles in it, but for the moment, I’ll leave things as they are and will post TEARS on the other sites as soon as I can.

First off, let me start this post by apologizing to all the people out there who don’t have Kindles. It was a tough choice to take The Tears of Elios off the other sites and make it exclusive to Amazon for 3 months, but I’m going to try and explain why I did it. I promise, when it goes live again at B&N and other sites, I’ll give y’all a special deal.

Second, those that know me well are probably asking why I sold out to Amazon, a company I normally have very few kind words about (and yes, I live in Seattle, the home of Amazon). The answer lies in this article.

I originally published The Tears of Elios in early October 2011. Sales during the first month were modest, earning me $128.51. Big money, I know. Then they tapered off… SIGNIFICANTLY. I only earned $15.24 in March 2012 for that book ($11.10 was from sites other than Amazon).

I had gotten great reviews, praise for the cover art, etc. I was at my wit’s end as to why sales were plummeting after 6 months, rather than increasing (which is what my most people experience with self-publishing). I also had another book coming out in April (A Soul For Trouble), and I didn’t want it languish like Tears was doing.

What I lacked was exposure. KDP Select was launched in December, flooding the ebook market with free titles and burying my title under the “rubble”. Books enrolled the KDP Select program stood in a  favorable position when it came to the Amazon ranking algorithm (see the article for more details). Therefore, more people saw your title, more people discovered your book, and more people were likely to BUY your book.

So, after witnessing dismal sales of this title in March, I decided to take it off other sites and enroll it in the KDP Select program to see if I could benefit from Amazon’s skewed algorithm structure. I enrolled my book on April 4 and listed it for free from April 10-12. I ended up giving away nearly 14,000 copies for free during those three days. I was ranked #1 in both the Free Fantasy and the Free Fantasy Romance Kindle lists, and made it as high as #25 on the overall Free Kindle list. Talk about exposure!

Then,  I watched and waited to see if it would help boost sales for both Tears and my other titles. I’ll post some hard numbers at the end of the month (My KDP Experiment, part 2), but let’s just say the results are good so far – enough to where I don’t regret the lost sales I would have gotten (or in my case, wouldn’t have gotten) from the other sites. And, I’ve had the added benefit of hearing from new readers whose emails make me glow with pride, and I’m looking forward to working on the sequel to Tears later this year.

It’s release day for my Award-Winning Fantasy Romance, A Soul For Trouble!

Book 1 of the Soulbearer Trilogy

When you’re a witch named Trouble, chaos follows.

Arden Lesstymine (known to everyone as Trouble) likes attention as much as the next girl, but this is getting ridiculous. When an insane stranger is murdered at the inn where she works, Trouble becomes the next Soulbearer for the disembodied god of chaos, Loku. Yes, it comes with the ability to channel the god’s limitless power, but at the cost of her sanity — literally. Now she has a sexy but cynical knight claiming to be her protector, a prince trying to seduce her to his cause (and his bed), and a snarky chaos god who offers a play-by-play commentary on it all, whether she wants to hear it or not. To make matters worse, a necromancer wants to capture the soul of Loku for his own dark purposes, and the only way he can get it is by killing her first.

A Soul For Trouble is available in Print and Ebook from the following sites:

Print: Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Create Space

Ebook: All Romance Ebooks, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon

Excerpt

Reviews

From RT Book Reviews:

“Book one in the Soulbearer trilogy, this fantastical romance is completely different from the myriad of others out there. It’s a great book that pits Trouble against Chaos — two characters that all readers will want to visit again and again!” — 4 1/2 STARS

From Reviewer Angel Graham:

“This fast paced story will keep you on your toes, turning pages, cheering the good guys, booing the bad guys and pondering which category  Loku, the God of Chaos fits.  Wondering who will claim the love of Trouble” — 5/5 STARS

From Booked Up Reviews:

“I was drawn in to this book from the opening scene… I love these characters and I think it’s going to be a great series….I can’t wait to find out what happens next. I hope isn’t too long of a wait until we get the next book in this magical series.” — 5/5 STARS

From Underworld Love Addiction:

“This was a very unique story with some great characters… I thoroughly enjoyed this story as well and can’t wait for the sequel.  I say that so calmly now.  I may possibly have had a slightly larger reaction to realizing I was at the end of the book and would now have to wait months to find out what happens next. I highly recommend this story” — 4.5 STARS

From My Book Addiction Reviews:

“A SOUL FOR TROUBLE is a fun book and an easy read… I shared Trouble’s frustration with her too honorable, sexy knight; knew her confusion about the prince’s intentions and affections; and felt her fear over facing an unbelievably strong foe with an army of undead soldiers. The book left me anxious to see what happens next!” — 4/5 Stars

Awards

FIRST PLACE, Greater Seattle RWA’s 2009 Emerald City Opener Contest, Paranormal Category

FIRST PLACE, Yellow Rose RWA’s 2010 Winter Rose Contest, Paranormal Category

THIRD PLACE, RWA FF&P chapter’s 2009  On the Far Side Contest, Fantasy Category

THIRD PLACE, OVRWA’s 2009 Enchanted Words Contest, Paranormal Category

Monday morning, the calls will go out to the finalists for RWA’s equivalent of the Oscars – the RITA award. Due to the rules of this contest, this was the first year I was eligible to enter. Am I expecting a call? HELL NO! Based on previous years’ finalists, my historical paranormal based on Lakota legends doesn’t stand a chance.

Note: If do get a call, fully expect me to go into labor from the shock of it.

The world of publishing is changing faster than RWA can keep up. Based on the current rules, self-published books and digital-only books are not allowed to enter. But if you look at the NYT and USA Today bestseller lists, these type of books are competing neck and neck with traditionally published books for those coveted spots. So as an author, I’m faced with the question of what I want from my career.

As nice as it would be to get that little golden statue one day, I’m not sure that’s the way I want to gauge my success. I’d much rather have “Bestselling Author” above my name than “Rita Award-Winning Author”. Why? Well, for starters, if I’m hitting the lists, it means I’m selling thousands of books, and that means I’m making some serious money. As a career-minded writer, bringing home the bacon is more important than a little gold statue.

And speaking of bacon, the higher royalty rates offered by self-publishing and digital-only publishers mean I’d take home more of the cover price for each book sold than traditional print publishing. Entangled Publishing recently shared the numbers earned by one of their best-selling Indulgence authors – Jennifer Probst. The $51,600 she earned in the first month of publication is far more than most similar category romance writers earn from Harlequin (based on the numbers provided to Brenda Hiatt’s Show Me the Money site). But since the Indulgence line is digital-only, Jennifer’s highly successful book will not be able to enter the RITA (unless Entangled does a special print run for her). Do you think she minds when she’s getting type of royalty check? Of course, I can’t answer for her, but as for me, I wouldn’t be crying about not being able to enter the RITA.

Based on my current contracts and scheduled release dates, I should be able the enter the RITA contest for the next 2 years. But after that, I’m left with the question of “Is it worth the RITA?” Will I continue to pursue publication with print publishers so I can enter the RITA? Or will I opt for the higher royalty rates offered by non-traditional publishing? Granted, not everyone will have Jennifer’s success, but the potential is still there.

What are your thoughts?

It's the final week to enter my Kindle for the Holidays contest! Make sure you get your entries in before 12pm PST on December 10, 2011! I have the brand new Kindle 3G Touch sitting on my desk for one lucky winner. Thank you to everyone who's participated so far – this has been so much fun. Congrats to Corrina and Ashley, the week 4 and week 5 winners.

The question this week comes from my upcoming February release, "A Waltz at Midnight", and the weekly prize is a $25 gift card to DecalGirl so you can snazz up your phone, laptop, MP3 player, or maybe even a brand new Kindle.

Question: What does Susanna plan on doing with the money she earns from Charlotte for writing the letters?

Answer can be found here.

If you are new the contest, you can got through and answer all the previous questions for entries into the grand prize drawing. The complete rules of the contest and all the details can be found here. Remember, all your entries need to be in before 12pm PST on Saturday, December 10th, to be entered into both the weekly prize drawing and the grand prize drawing. Thanks, and Good Luck!!

The complete rules of the contest and all the details can be found here.

The question this week comes from the third book in the Kavanaugh Foundation series, Kiss of Temptation, and the weekly prize is a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

Question: What important information about the Staff of Octavius does the stranger share with Daniela?

Answer can be found here.

Remember, you can answer the question any time before December 10th to be entered into the grand prize drawing for the Kindle Touch 3G, but only those correct responses received before noon on Decemeber 4th will be entered into the weekly prize drawing. Thanks, and Good Luck!!

Wow! We're halfway into the contest, and I love the fact we've already had three winners. The Week 3 winner was Nancy G.

The complete rules of the contest and all the details can be found here.

The question this week comes from the second book in the Kavanaugh Foundation series, Angelic Surrender, and the weekly prize is a $15 gift card to Amazon.

Question: What does Will do to all the pictures in Anjali's apartment?

Answer can be found here.

Remember, you can answer the question any time before December 10th to be entered into the grand prize drawing for the Kindle Touch 3G, but only those correct responses received before noon on November 27th will be entered into the weekly prize drawing. Thanks, and Good Luck!!

I'm amazed at how many people have entered! Thank you!! Congrats to last week's winner, Angel G.!

I have 8 bonus questions available in my Holiday Newsletter that will be going out over the weekend, so if you haven't signed up for it yet, that's 13 more entries you're missing out on (5 for signing up and 8 for the bonus questions).

The complete rules of the contest and all the details can be found here.

The Question for Week 2 comes from my Historical Paranormal Romance, The Alchemy of Desire. The prize this week is a $15 eGC to B&N.

Question: What does Diah offer Oni as a deposit for her guide services?

Clue: Answer can be found here.

Remember, you can answer the question any time before December 10th to be entered into the grand prize drawing for the Kindle Touch 3G, but only those correct responses received before noon on November 20th will be entered into the weekly prize drawing. If you're new to the contest, you can answer previous week's questions for entries into the grand prize drawing. Thanks, and Good Luck!!

Wow!! Week 1 was awesome! Thank you to everyone who's entered so far.

The winner of the Week 1 prize was Gigi S. Congrats!!

Remember, the complete rules and all the details can be found here.

The Question for Week 2 comes from my latest release, The Tears of Elios. The prize this week is a $10 eGC to Amazon.

Question: What is the name of Gregor's dog?

Clue: Answer can be found here.

Remember, you can answer the question any time before December 10th to be entered into the grand prize drawing for the Kindle Touch 3G, but only those correct responses received before noon on November 13th will be entered into the weekly prize drawing. Thanks, and Good Luck!!

That's right — I'm giving away a BRAND NEW KINDLE TOUCH 3G for the holidays. For all the fine print, go to this page on my website.

Remember, there's no purchase necessary to enter. Each week, I'll post a question from one of my titles and even give you a clue where to find the answer. Only correct answers get entered into the final drawing. Please use my contact form to send me the answer. All correct answers sent to me from today until 12pm PST on Sunday, November 6, will also be entered into a weekly drawing for a $10 B&N giftcard.

Since it's Halloween, I decided to pick a question from my sexy ghost story, "Provoking the Spirit".

Question: What does the ghost break in the front parlor?

Clue: Answer can be found here.

Remember, you can get one extra entry a week by retweeting about my contest and using the hashtag #CristasKindle.