Andrew Barrett's Blog, page 8

I may be a while...

I May be a While.

At the end of July there were sparks flying from my fingertips every time they went near the keyboard. The new Eddie Collins book, working title: Imperfectly Balanced, was coming along a treat.

That all stopped quite suddenly when we hit August. I had a massive promotion running for my other books and I spent a ridiculous amount of time overseeing it all. When I say ‘overseeing’, I actually mean sitting here, looking at things and fretting a lot.

Not such an idiot...

So maybe I’m not such an idiot after all.

The latest (and last?) promotion of A Long Time Dead ended at 0830 (UK time) 20th August, and frankly, I’m still reeling from it. Running alongside this promotion for my series leader, is another free giveaway of The Third Rule – Part One: Atrocities (the new generation of books), and price-drops for all other books: Stealing Elgar, No More Tears, The Third Rule, and Black by Rose.

Not Such an Idiot

So maybe I’m not such an idiot after all.

The latest (and last?) promotion of A Long Time Dead ended at 0830 (UK time) 20th August, and frankly, I’m still reeling from it. Running alongside this promotion for my series leader, is another free giveaway of The Third Rule – Part One: Atrocities (the new generation of books), and price-drops for all other books: Stealing Elgar, No More Tears, The Third Rule, and Black by Rose.

I’ve been asked by a few people how things went, so I decided to put some figures here on my blog. Results for A Long Time Dead:

15.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #7 in Police Procedurals, #334 in Kindle Store

15.8.13 UK: #27 in Mystery, #11 in Police Procedurals, #225 in Kindle Store

 

16.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #6 in Police Procedurals, #245 in Kindle Store

16.8.13 UK: #18 in Mystery, #9 in Police Procedurals, #126 in Kindle Store

 

17.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #2 in Police Procedurals, #160 in Kindle Store

17.8.13 UK: #20 in Mystery, #8 in Police Procedurals, #175 in Kindle Store

 

18.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #1 in Police Procedurals, #160 in Kindle Store

18.8.13 UK: #15 in Mystery, #7 in Police Procedurals, #113 in Kindle Store

 

19.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #1 in Police Procedurals, #? in Kindle Store

19.8.13 UK: #14 in Mystery, #7 in Police Procedurals, #101 in Kindle Store

 

20.8.13 US: #1 in Murder, #1 in Police Procedurals, #24 in Kindle Store

20.8.13 UK: #13 in Mystery, #7 in Police Procedurals, #90 in Kindle Store

 

Even Stealing Elgar and No More Tears (on sale at 99p/c) climbed into the mid-30s in the USA paid Murder chart.

The Third Rule – Part One: Atrocities reached #92 in Thrillers and #1215 overall in the UK Kindle Store.

By 8pm on the 19th Dead had been downloaded 3723 times in the States and 882 here in the UK. With less than 12 hours of the promo left to run, I took delivery of my regular E-Reader News Today email, and to my astonishment, A Long Time Dead featured. I then saw a 210% increase in downloads until the end of the promo. It would have been lovely if this had happened 24 hours sooner), but I’m not grumbling!

When a promotion ends, a title will usually disappear off a cliff and perhaps land in the 100k+ territory. But luckily Dead found herself alive and well in 20k region. And today (21st), she’s climbing back up towards the pointy end, at 5,279.

A big thanks to several people and organisations before I go.

Indie Book Bargains for featuring A Long Time Dead 18th August as a ‘Leading Indie’.

E-Reader News Today for the mention on 19th, and an assortment of other e-reader sites for mentions across the promo period. Also Morgen Bailey for the interview.

And all those who are friends on Facebook and Twitter who’ve had to endure five days of constant bombardment. Also to my fine and wonderful friends on Goodreads and KUF for their support and patience too.

Further notes for those who aren’t yet in a boredom-induced coma:

Dead sold in all Amazon regions except Brazil and Italy.

I also began a signed paperback giveaway of each book in the Dead trilogy timed to end also on the 19 August (it ran for about 6-8 weeks in total). All in, 3416 people entered the giveaway, and winners came from USA and Canada.

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Yes, I'm an idiot

I’ve been called an idiot plenty of times in my life; I’ve been called a lot worse actually.

But anyway, this time I’m being called an idiot because of what I’ve done on Amazon.

Andy, what have you done on Amazon?

Yes, I’m an idiot

I’ve been called an idiot plenty of times in my life; I’ve been called a lot worse actually.

But anyway, this time I’m being called an idiot because of what I’ve done on Amazon.

Andy, what have you done on Amazon?

I’m glad you asked. I’ve only gone and dropped the prices of all my books to 99pence/99cents. And worse, I’ve done it for five days.

You see, the big giveaway I have running on Goodreads is due to end on the 19th August (that’s a giveaway of signed paperback versions of A Long Time Dead, Stealing Elgar, and No More Tears – already well over a thousand people have entered), and I thought it’d be a good idea to have a promotion on the ebooks to coincide with it.

But wait… there’s more!

For the last time, I’m giving away free ebooks of A Long Time Dead and The Third Rule – Part One: Atrocities.

This might seem crazy when you consider the entire catalogue is now less than four quid compared to the normal price of nearly eleven. I know, I know, I’m an idiot, remember?

Go on then, why are you doing this, Andy?

Hey, that’s another great question. I want to use an additional ebook distributor for A Long Time Dead, which means Amazon isn’t my exclusive distributor, which means I have to take the book out of Select – so no more freebies I’m afraid.

Anyway, here’s a little breakdown (no, haven’t had mine yet!)…

15th August until 19th August

A Long Time Dead is free on Amazon as an ebook

Stealing Elgar is only 99p/99c

No More Tears is only 99p/99c

The Third Rule – Part One: Atrocities is free too

The Third Rule – Part Two: Running Scared is only 99p/99c

The Third Rule – Part Three: Sacrifices is only 99p/99c

The Third Rule – The Complete Story is only 99p/99c

Black by Rose is only 99p/99c

So, in the words of my old mum, ‘Get it while it’s hot!’

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Been sitting on my hands again?

Been sitting on my hands again?

Yes. And no.

Some people have been asking if there’s another book on the horizon, so I thought I’d cobble together a few words to explain the answer – which is, ‘slightly beyond the horizon, actually’.

Been sitting on my hands again?

Been sitting on my hands again?

Yes. And no.

Some people have been asking if there’s another book on the horizon, so I thought I’d cobble together a few words to explain the answer – which is, ‘slightly beyond the horizon, actually’.

Due out in the autumn is an anthology by some of the authors over at the Kindle Users Forum (www.kuforum.co.uk), and I’ve been doing a little writing towards that. I’ve submitted two short stories, one is an Eddie Collins short called Beth’s Story where Eddie plays sidekick to a new-to-us CSI, and the other is called Shelley Mandrake. Shelley is an off-the-wall story, something I initially sub-titled No Rules Fiction, but eventually sub-titled Experimental Fiction.

It’s experimental in that all view-points are mixed together, first and third person are similarly mixed too. I love it – but be warned if you ever come to read it: read it slowly or you’ll have no idea what the hell’s going on.

Anything else?

Well, yes actually. I have begun another Eddie Collins novel. I said a few months ago after finishing Black by Rose that it might be the last we see of Eddie. I wasn’t lying to you; it could easily have been the last, but shucks, I like the guy, and there are still more stories to be told from his perspective, so it would be silly not to use him as the vehicle. I’m not very far into it; I haven’t planned anything – as usual – but it has the makings of something a bit special. More on that later.

In other news, The Third Rule joins A Long Time Dead, Stealing Elgar, and No More Tears on the real bookshelves. I’ve managed to cram all 260k words into 750 pages, and it’s a tight squeeze but the end result is wonderful. In the not too distant future, I hope to add Black by Rose to those shelves too.

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Everyone should have a Kath

Everyone should have a Kath.

I began Angel666 back in November 2012. I wrote two scenes that had been spinning around inside my head for the better part of a month. One was a cash-machine robbery, and the other was the... Oh dammit, I can't say.

1M words

Well really, it snuck up on me!

It actually popped up somewhere in the middle of The Third Rule.

What am I talking about? My one-millionth word.

1M words

Well really, it snuck up on me!

It actually popped up somewhere in the middle of The Third Rule.

What am I talking about? My one-millionth word.

Here’s a little run through of the books and word count that goes with them:

Lord and Master                     85k

Charlotte’s Lodge                   94k

Knavesmire                            175k

A Long Time Dead                 92k

Stealing Elgar                         157k

No More Tears                       142k

The Third Rule                       260k

Black by Rose                         106k

So I wrote a further full book after the million word milestone. But there’s more too. I wrote a couple of short stories: Charlotte and the Troll (7k), and Shelley Mandrake (3k), plus eleven hours of telly scripts but I have no idea of a word count for those.

Wow, Mr Barrett, that must mean you’re a super-duper writist now then?

No. I’m still learning, and still trying to improve. From the list above, the first three books never made it out of the house because they were not up to standard (and some might say I have quite low standards!), but since the beginning of Stealing Elgar I managed to find a way in which I enjoy telling stories, and more importantly a way in which readers like to hear them told. So that’s a major hurdle crossed. They say you’re still developing throughout your first million words and I’d certainly agree with that. What I’d add to that is you’re still trying to reach the pinnacle of your abilities too, or you should be, long afterwards.

Anyway, let’s raise a glass to me and my pinnacle

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